The next day, I was already prepared to embark on a work trip to the other planets still under the rule of the Grivendal Empire. As usual, I had breakfast together with Mendicore and Sherubiel at the apartment buffet, which at that time was fairly quiet because it was still early in the morning.
"Whoooaaa... you finally get to travel to other planets, huh! I hope I can go there someday too!" said Sherubiel.
"Well... actually I feel like I'll be lonely there later because there won't be any other friends to accompany me during my free time. I was just imagining that you two were allowed to come along as well."
"Aren't you already very close to Sir Grelmure, Johann? I think he's more than enough for you."
"He is still bound by the rules of the military order, Mendicore. What I mean is that we could explore every interesting part of those planets with the help of your portal abilities." I explained.
"Ahhh... I understand what you mean. Indeed, someone as relaxed as Sir Grelmure won't be easy for you to take around everywhere to explore new places. We can go there together if we have time, Johann." said Mendicore.
"That's right. Besides, Mendicore and I are going to meet the Head of the Grivendal Research Agency today." said Sherubiel.
"Huuuhhh... You two have been summoned that quickly! Hmmm... I think after yesterday's event Commander Gruzhnil immediately contacted that Research Agency."
"Yes, most likely, Johann. I think they are also interested in learning more about us and they hope that we can provide new research ideas for the advancement of Grivendal's technology." said Mendicore.
"Maybe you can develop interplanetary portal technology, Mendicore. It seems that would be completely safe since the threat from the Realm of Terror portals is almost gone now. As for Sherubiel, hmmm... I'd suggest you don't bring up your previous research...." I said before chuckling.
"Of course not, Johann! I don't want to bring up the history of that research again! It already violated the ethical code of human life. If it continues, High Heaven will immediately find out about it and a much bigger problem will occur."
I simply nodded with a smile and finished my breakfast. After saying goodbye to them because I would not see them for the next few days, I headed to the military airbase again with Grelmure. As if his flirtatious nature had not diminished at all, he even bid farewell to Sherubiel in his romantic style. Sherubiel's face immediately turned red and she turned away. I simply shook my head at his behavior and he just laughed.
"They seem to want to see the condition of the other planets too, Sir Grelmure. But they were immediately summoned by the Central Research Agency today."
"They can tour those planets another time, Johann. This time, of course, the agenda is a military trip where on each planet we can't visit interesting attractions because of the limited time. Besides, if they came along, Mendicore would become extremely curious about the condition of every planet and It might not return when we have to continue the journey to the next one." explained Grelmure.
I nodded and thought he might be right. But on the other hand, I felt Mendicore would only look at the surface land and not explore the interior regions. Still, even scanning only the outer surface of one planet would take a considerable amount of time. I remembered Mendicore's words some time ago that scanning the entire land surface of Planet Grivendal required an entire night.
We arrived at the military airbase and Gruzhnil was already waiting for us. He explained that service uniforms and resting clothes had already been prepared in the luggage. I only brought the laptop Gruzhnil had given me yesterday and my wallet. We all took our respective seats and the aircraft took off. Through the window I could see several military aircraft accompanying our work trip.
"Is Commander Tiberos already on Planet Grohn, Commander?"
"Yes, Johann. So later we will visit six planets over the course of three days. Only half a day on each planet and then continue to another planet where we will spend the night."
"Then after leaving Planet Grohn, will Commander Tiberos travel with us to the other planets and be joined by the other commanders until the final planet?" I asked.
"Exactly. This is Tiberos's idea as the main coordinator for restoring Planet Grivendal's military." said Gruzhnil.
I actually found Gruzhnil's role a bit strange this time. He seemed to simply follow Tiberos's ideas, and Tiberos appeared much more dominant now. Could it be that he himself was already exhausted from the war against those terrible hellish monsters and had handed over the post-war recovery to Tiberos? I thought that was more likely than Gruzhnil questioning Tiberos's methods again.
Our journey to Planet Grohn was fairly short, just like during the previous infiltration operation. Its geographical condition was still the same, with greenish skies and land contours dominated by rocky mountains. Upon arriving at the main military base, Tiberos warmly welcomed us and immediately led us to tactical combat vehicles whose upper sections had been modified. Ohhh... where are we going now?
We traveled in formation with a convoy of other tactical vehicles. I noticed that the roads resembled ordinary highways, and what made them even more unique was that the roads on Planet Grohn often passed through rocky mountains via long tunnels. I also just realized that the vehicles here still used wheels and were more similar to Jeep models.
After some time, we arrived at a place that looked like a city. As we entered the city area, the convoy slowed down and a sea of citizens was already welcoming us enthusiastically. They repeatedly shouted Tiberos's name. I saw that this city was a semi-metropolitan type with several multi-story buildings sharing an architectural style similar to those on Planet Grivendal. It was surrounded by rocky mountains, with several buildings also constructed on the rocky hillsides.
"Is this the capital of Planet Grohn, Commander?" I asked while Tiberos was still greeting the crowds.
"That's right. Even though my capital is not as magnificent as the central planet, I always make sure they are happy, safe, and that their living needs are fulfilled."
After passing through the capital, we traveled to smaller cities, and when we arrived they did the same thing as before, crowding around our vehicle convoy while shouting Tiberos's name. Honestly, what felt strangest to me was why not a single voice congratulated anyone from the central planet, whether Gruzhnil, who was clearly present here, or even David. I saw Gruzhnil still smiling beside Tiberos.
Our convoy eventually arrived at Planet Grohn's main Starstone mine. Tiberos showed us the deposits of those stones that would be sent to Planet Grivendal. After that, we returned to the main base using the shuttlecraft that had already been there when we arrived.
From the main base, we continued our journey with Tiberos to the next planet. Upon arriving there for the first time, I saw that the planet had a larger water area than land area, with the land shaped like archipelagio. The pattern was the same as before, where we met the planet's high commander at the central headquarters, then visited cities with a convoy of vehicles, except now we used combat ships. The transportation system in the cities on that planet turned out to include not only land routes but water routes as well. Our journey ended at dusk at a Starstone mine, and after being shown the deposits for Planet Grivendal, which were fewer in number than those on Planet Grohn, we stayed overnight on a small island that had a fairly luxurious hotel. I shared a room with Grelmure, which had two beds.
"The scenery on this planet is quite beautiful. I wish we could stay here longer, Sir Grelmure hahahaaa..."
"Hahaaa... This planet is indeed a vacation destination frequently visited by people from Grivendal, Johann. If we have time later, we can come here again together with Sherubiel and Mendicore."
I smiled and thought David would like a beautiful beach view like this, even if he would simply sit there silently. Actually, there was another thing bothering me: were the inhabitants of each planet native to those planets as well? Based on history, Grivendal expanded to other planets after its technology advanced rapidly. It was possible that long ago they had been ordered to migrate.
The next day we departed for the remaining planets until the third day, according to the plan Gruzhnil had mentioned. I learned that the other planets also had quite diverse geographies; some were dominated by sandy deserts, swamps, tropical forests, savannas, and even snowy. The agenda was very similar to the two planets we had already visited. All of those planets produced Starstones, although according to Gruzhnil the quantity was not as great as in Grivendal and Grohn.
At the end of the work trip, we stayed once again at a fairly luxurious hotel before returning to Planet Grivendal the next day. However, one thing felt strange to me: every time we visited a planetary capital, the sea of citizens welcoming us always shouted the names of Tiberos and their own high commander. Not once did I hear the name of any figure from Grivendal, despite the fact that Gruzhnil was always present there. I began to feel sorry for Gruzhnil. He might never express it, but I could sense it indirectly.
While Grelmure and I were resting on our respective beds, suddenly the door was knocked on rather loudly. I was slightly startled by it. Grelmure immediately got up and opened the door. To my surprise, Gruzhnil entered quickly and came straight to my bed, glancing at me with a rather sharp gaze. My body immediately froze and my heart started pounding. What on planet had happened for him to look at me like that?
"Johann! You forgot to tell Lord David that you were leaving on a work trip, didn't you?!?! He went to the palace and main headquarter just looking for you!"
Oh no...!!! I had just remembered that and forgotten to tell him when we had dinner together back then...