"Please follow , gentlen. Our leader has been waiting for you for so ti," the envoy said.
"Last ti, it was the High Priest who represented us in negotiations on Earth. You haven't yet t our true leader, have you?"
The envoy led Fushiguro gumi and Hakari Kinji toward the area where the Simurian leadership resided.
"So the representative we t last ti wasn't your leader?" gumi asked.
He recalled that squint-eyed, slightly overweight alien and had assud that man was the head of the Simurian people.
More importantly, among the previous delegation, there had been one individual whose re presence radiated overwhelming power—an impression gumi hadn't forgotten.
"Of course not," the envoy replied with a smile.
"You'll understand once you et our leader. He is currently very eager for peace and truly looks forward to building a beautiful new ho together with the people of Earth."
"Eager for peace…" gumi murmured quietly.
"I hope that's truly the case."
Hakari, on the other hand, looked completely unfazed.
He was only here to observe—whether humans and aliens could coexist wasn't a decision he had any say in anyway.
Before long, the two were escorted into a spacious chamber that resembled a large conference hall.
Nurous Simurian officials were already seated inside, clearly waiting for them.
"Leader, the representatives from Earth have arrived," the envoy announced to the figure seated at the head.
The mont the Earth delegates entered, the Simurian leader rose to his feet, followed by the others in the room.
"Welco," he said warmly.
"My na is Garuru Dex, current leader of the remaining Simurian people.
It is an honor to finally et you."
Dex stood nearly two ters tall, broad-shouldered and powerfully built.
Even without releasing any aura, his sheer presence carried an unmistakable sense of pressure.
gumi and Hakari instinctively thought of Zen'in Shinsuke.
This alien leader's strength was likely far from ordinary.
"Pleased to et you, Mr. Dex," gumi replied.
As they took their seats, gumi noticed that the Simurian representative who had previously visited Earth was also present.
Catching gumi's gaze, the slightly overweight Simurian smiled.
"You rember , Mr. Fushiguro, don't you?"
"Of course," gumi replied calmly.
"Mr. Leo. I haven't forgotten."
gumi Fushiguro scanned the room, but did not see the powerful figure who had accompanied this man during the previous visit.
"Hahaha—oh, right," Dex said with a laugh.
"Last ti, it was our High Priest who spoke with Earth on behalf of the Simurian people. You should already be acquainted."
Dex glanced at Leo, then turned his attention back to gumi.
"Mr. Fushiguro, my youngest daughter can be rather stubborn by nature. She hasn't caused you any trouble, has she?"
For the Simurian people to truly coexist with humanity, his daughter played an extrely important role.
"Trouble wouldn't be the right word," gumi replied calmly.
"From the past two days of observation, she seems to genuinely like Earth."
gumi understood Ria's significance very well.
Her impression of Earth would likely shape the Simurian people's perception of humanity—and likewise, how humans viewed Ria could serve as a reference for judging the Simurian race as a whole.
"That's good. That's very good," Dex said with visible relief.
Ria, as his youngest daughter, lacked the natural talent required to beco a warrior. Because of that, Dex had devoted most of his ti to training his eldest daughter instead.
As for Ria, he had taken a hands-off approach—never expecting greatness, only wishing that she might live a peaceful life, free from becoming another casualty of war.
He had never expected her to voluntarily apply to beco an observer, to travel to Earth, and to form bonds with humans as friends and companions.
Perhaps… his youngest daughter would bring sothing new to the Simurian people.
Soon after, gumi and Hakari began in-depth discussions with Dex and the Simurian leadership.
The previous visit to Earth had rely been an introduction—along with negotiations to allow Ria to join Tokyo Jujutsu High as an observer.
This ti, however, the eting was purely about cultural exchange.
If coexistence was to be possible, the two civilizations needed at least a shared understanding in how they approached certain fundantal matters—such as the definitions of justice and evil.
Without that, coexistence would be impossible.
Beyond that, customs, social norms, and cultural habits all needed to be gradually understood.
After several hours of discussion, gumi had ford a rough understanding of the Simurian people.
There were many differences from Earth's cultures, but fortunately, their decision-making processes generally fell within what ordinary humans could accept.
Still, there was one concern gumi couldn't shake.
The Simurian people had spent most of their history at war.
If they weren't fighting, they were on their way to fight.
It was only after their population was nearly wiped out that they realized war brought nothing but catastrophe—and only then did they begin yearning for peace and coexistence.
That made gumi wonder:
Could instincts forged through endless warfare truly change so easily?
After the talks concluded, Dex personally guided gumi and Hakari through the city.
"We've lived aboard this ship for over a decade now," Dex said with a trace of bitterness.
"Drifting through space as refugees isn't easy."
If not for their forr arrogance, how could they have fallen to such a fate?
Even with a self-sustaining ecosystem, the ship was still nothing more than a temporary shelter.
They couldn't possibly allow future generations to spend their entire lives confined to this place.
That would be far too cruel.
"Mr. Dex," gumi suddenly asked,
"may I ask how powerful the invaders who destroyed Simurian were?"
He was genuinely curious—what kind of beings could reduce an entire civilization to only fifty thousand survivors?
"They resembled us," Dex said slowly, his gaze darkening,
"but their bodies were entirely white."
The mories from over a decade ago resurfaced vividly.
"They possessed overwhelming power. Their eyes were composed of concentric rings, and they wielded strange abilities."
"I saw their leader once. He had a crimson vertical eye embedded in his forehead. At the ti, they called themselves the O—O—sothing… It's been too long. I can't quite rember."
Back then, Dex hadn't cared what they were called.
They were invaders—and that was enough to fight.
The outco, however, was obvious.
"They slaughtered Simurians to extract the curse-energy source within our bodies—using it to nurture their divine tree."
They hadn't intended to spare anyone.
Even now, recalling it sent a chill through Dex's spine.
"Extracting cursed energy… nurturing a divine tree…"
gumi fell into deep thought.
If that was the case—
Would Earth beco their next target?
After all, on Earth, cursed energy only naturally manifested within the people of Japan.
Would they really invade an entire planet… for such a small population?
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