48th Chapter: World Arbitration Agency

We were not really going to the square. As soon as we left the residential area, we turned into a small alley. After several twists and turns, we arrived at a parking lot where an inconspicuous gray and dirt-cheap car was parked.

I had enough of being carried on Little One's shoulder, flapping in the wind, so I made those Imperial Commanders, who usually only knew how to play cat-and-mouse with urban management, handle some proper business once in a while and prepare this car for me.

Don't be fooled by the car's shabby appearance. It was only inconspicuous because I didn't want to attract attention. This car combined Xyrin Empire technology and was designed for carbon-based life forms. Not only was it absurdly fast and safe, it also drove without any noise. It was also fitted by those war-obsessed Commanders with many extravagant functions, such as a Phase Transition Engine, a Ghost Energy Shield, two heavy-duty Photon Cannons, the Teeth Bone Razor Missile Group with a Super Space-Time Feeding Mechanism, and a whole dozen of Iida Ai's select albums...

I wanted to strangle that Sicaro bastard, I really did!!!

"From a purely comedic standpoint, your subordinate is quite valuable," Sandora commented fairly, looking at the animal world documentary left on the driver's seat by Sicaro.

"...Stop talking, get in the car!"

Although I had learned to drive through Pandora's information sharing, only Pandora could fully exploit the potential of this moving war fortress. So naturally, the driver's seat belonged to Pandora. However, the little one was really too short. Sitting in the driver's seat, she had to stretch her legs fully to reach the gas pedal. Pandora was almost the shortest in her class, looking just like an elementary school student. If our school didn't lack an elementary section, I wouldn't have sent the little one to middle school no matter what. Pandora's petite and cute demeanor now became the primary challenge of driving, making her face slightly red with effort and embarrassment. Finally, having no other option, she pressed a button beside the seat, causing the driver's seat to drop to a height that allowed her to reach the gas pedal.

As a result, Pandora's little head was practically blocked by the steering wheel. From the outside, the car looked like a driverless ghost vehicle...

Luckily, Pandora didn't rely on her eyes to observe the surroundings. Even blocked by the steering wheel, she could drive without any issues. But the sight of an old gray-and-white car speeding silently down the road at midnight, with no visible driver, was inevitably eerie...

So, at midnight on the first day of the Lunar New Year, an eerie car that seemed straight out of a ghost story glided to the city outskirts like a white plume of smoke.

Sitting in the smoothly driven car, I finally had time to converse with the self-proclaimed Xyrin Apostle, Alaya.

"It is an honor to speak with you," as soon as the Spiritual Connection was established, a gentle female voice echoed in my mind.

"Your name is Alaya?" I was first drawn to her name. The name "Alaya" had significant weight in Earth's mythology, representing the consciousness formed by all human thoughts, an existence of the divine level. This, combined with the World Arbitration Agency Unit Two, Gaia, the Xyrin General Pandora beside me, suggested deep connections between my Xyrin Apostles and Earth myths. However, due to lack of information, Pandora could not compile enough data to answer my doubts. She herself couldn't recall how she got her name, and Sandora, the Emperor of distant Xyrin lands, knew little about my part of the Empire either. Without more data, I couldn't make additional guesses about the phenomenon of Xyrin Apostle names aligning with mythological stories.

"Alaya is honored to answer your questions, O my Monarch. Alaya is Unit One of the World Arbitration Agency,"

"Sandora," I asked the golden-haired girl beside me, "what does 'World Arbitration Agency' mean?"

"You don't even know that?" Sandora said in surprise. "This is the most basic common knowledge!"

Do you think any normal Earth high school student treats Cosmic Empire military knowledge as common sense?

Sandora seemed to realize this as well and helplessly shook her head, saying: "I forgot you're not like the typical Xyrin Emperor. I'll explain it in a way easier to understand—have you heard of the human Three Sages theory?"

"The Three Sages? That term seems familiar. What does it have to do with the World Arbitration Agency?"

"The Three Sages was a theoretical judgment system proposed by some of your brilliant scientists. The simplest model applies to criminal trials, setting up three highly intelligent computers informed of all human laws. The criminal's related crimes are informed to these three machines, and the machines independently judge based on their databases. Generally, they'll reach the same conclusion—guilty or not guilty. Given their high intelligence and a certain degree of flexibility, and considering real-world cases are not as rigid as programs with various external factors, it's difficult to judge a criminal's guilt. This would lead the three machines to produce different conclusions. Following the principle of majority rule, the two machines with the same conclusion will make the final judgment. This is the basic idea of the Three Sages. The actual system is much more complicated, making judgments through more precise deductions and analysis. Some cases even have a single judgment system with veto power. Machines, unlike humans, don't have many emotions and can't be bribed, making this judgment method much fairer than current human courts. Unfortunately, with current human technology, it's impossible to create three supercomputers that can serve as judges. However, what humans deem impossible doesn't apply to the Xyrin Empire. In fact, the Xyrin Empire has long used an even more advanced and powerful ultimate judgment system widely. The highest authority belongs to the World Arbitration Agency. When the three machines of the World Arbitration Agency reach the same conclusion, that conclusion holds the same authority as a decree from the Xyrin Emperor. This is a defensive measure to prevent a Xyrin Emperor from making mistakes due to unforeseen circumstances. Understand?"

"More or less…" I shook my slightly dizzy head. I roughly comprehended the World Arbitration Agency as three highly intelligent, ultimate consciousnesses dedicated to judging right and wrong, helping the Xyrin Emperor manage daily affairs based on the majority rule principle. It seemed that during my carefree, hands-off days, Gaia, Alaya, and the third, unknown Unit Three of the World Arbitration Agency were performing my imperial duties on the distant Xyrin Mother Star. But why had Alaya, one of these Arbiters, come to Earth now? Was she here to pull this half-hearted and absent Emperor back to loyally serve the Empire?

This possibility gave me an immediate shiver.

"What's wrong? Are you cold?" Sandora curiously looked at me, then shook her head and said, "Carbon-based life forms are too fragile."

"It's nothing—by the way, you said the World Arbitration Agency is far more powerful than the Three Sages imagined by humans. How powerful are these three super consciousnesses?"

Sandora gave a proud smile and said, "Just like their names imply~~"

"Just like their names?"

"The World Arbitration Agency—an institution that arbitrates the operations of the world," Sandora waved her delicate, white fingers in front of me. "For example, determining how many nuclear reactions a constant star should perform per second, or when a certain planet should stop rotating, or whether a species should become stronger or weaker, or even completing all the daily tasks that gods are supposed to perform according to human myth. This is the work of the World Arbitration Agency. During the peak of the Xyrin Empire, every inch of this universe was under our precise control. We wielded the same authority as gods!"

I was too shocked to form words. My throat produced meaningless gurgles, leaving me utterly at a loss for how to react—precisely controlling the operations of the universe? The Xyrin Empire had once been this powerful? Gods themselves were no match!

My first instinct was disbelief, but I quickly dismissed my doubts. With Sandora and my Spiritual Connection enabling complete information sharing, in an open-access state, we were practically parts of each other. Whether she was lying, I could tell instantly—what Sandora had just told me was entirely true!

"Unfortunately," Sandora's face suddenly darkened, "the Xyrin Empire disintegrated due to unknown reasons, and our powers have significantly weakened. I believe the World Arbitration Agency has also been affected. From what I sense, Alaya seems incredibly weak now and likely can't even exert one-tenth of her power…"

One-tenth—the power of a god, even reduced to one-tenth, was still terrifying!

I suddenly thought of an absurd, yet very plausible idea: Could it be that the gods of human myth and legend were Xyrin Apostles who had once visited Earth?!