Chapter 433

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Chapter 433: Fate (5)

『It… it’s moving!』

The Earth let out a sound almost like an elastic snap as it looked up at the sky, and Yeongwoo's eyes widened in response.

“The, the Sun…”

Above his head, in the condensed solar system, the largest red dot—representing the Sun, Moro—was moving.

『…Don’t tell me it really intends to revolve around us?』

The Earth said this because the Sun had already left its original position.

A new orbit had been set for the Sun, and it was physically moving.

Then, above the Sun, a bright red holographic text appeared, looking very much like a warning.

「New Solar Orbit: Transfer negotiations required」

“Transition negotiation? What the hell does that mean?”

Confused by the completely unfamiliar phrase, Yeongwoo tilted his head, and the Earth rubbed its cheek with an anxious expression.

『I think it means an orbital transition. Right now, we revolve around the Sun in a slightly elliptical orbit. So if the Sun is going to revolve around us…』

“So it also has to move in an orbit like ours?”

To Yeongwoo’s question, the Earth fell silent for a moment.

It was trying to figure out how to explain the concept of orbital transition to someone who wasn’t a planet, but a native life form.

Then it finally responded.

『…Something like that. The important thing is, even if the Sun and I switch places, there can’t be any ecological issues for us.』

“So basically, we need the Sun’s cooperation?”

『We need the Sun’s mercy.』

Meanwhile, the solar system in midair—or maybe it should now be called the Terra system—was rotating in a very peculiar way.

All the components of the solar system had started to revolve around Earth, each maintaining its own stability as much as possible.

But even that wasn’t enough.

Flash! Flash!

Soon, above each planet and dwarf planet that had been orbiting the outer edge of the system, a holographic text appeared one by one.

Beep!

“Dissatisfaction”

This much even Yeongwoo could instinctively understand.

“What the hell? They’re all pissed off.”

『Of course. From our perspective, we just swapped orbits with the Sun. But for the other members of the system, their own orbits are now massively disrupted.』

“Other members?”

『Damn it, do they just look like dots to you?』

The Earth referred to the other members of the planetary system as "people."

A clear sign that, having spent its entire life watching over humanity, Earth’s default concept for other beings had become "people."

So Yeongwoo held back his usual snark.

“…Really? Are they people like you?”

『Well, not exactly people…』

The Earth scratched its chin.

『In our terms, they’re sentient entities.』

“Our terms.”

A strange way to phrase it.

『That’s basically saying, because we arbitrarily switched orbits with the Sun, the rest of the system got screwed. Now we’re looking at full-on interplanetary complaints.』

“Come on, is an orbital shift really that big a deal?”

『Maintaining stability is crucial for everyone. If the Sun starts revolving around us and Earth becomes the center of the system, everyone’s balance gets wrecked. It’s like they’re all experiencing motion sickness.』

“Oh.”

『And that’s not all. Forced orbital changes mean distances from the Sun will vary. Some planets will get colder, some will feel way too hot.』

“I know I shouldn’t laugh… but this is kind of hilarious.”

Yeongwoo laughed without even trying to hide it.

Then he looked up at the sky again and asked,

“So what do we do about it? Even if things go well with the Sun, the other planets are still going to complain, right?”

『All we can do is apologize.』

“What?”

『There’s no other way. Changing the central body of a planetary system is inherently disruptive. You can’t avoid causing problems.』

In short, if this absurd plan became reality, the other planets and dwarf planets would have to endure discomfort—whether they liked it or not.

“Well… it’s not like I haven’t lived my whole life as a walking nuisance.”

Yeongwoo scratched his cheek nonchalantly.

Meanwhile, the newly reorganized planetary system was now rotating around Earth, all while sporting “Dissatisfaction” labels.

“All the orbits are messed up. That guy's orbit is completely elliptical.”

『Planetary orbits were always different. But now that the central body has changed to Earth—and Earth has more mass than the Sun—the planets are probably freaking out about their new orbits.』

From the planets’ perspective, this was a chaos of incomprehensible scale.

That’s why the simulation had been prepared—to let them get a preview of the impending mess.

Then Yeongwoo muttered to himself,

“What even is a planetary ship?”

『You're just now wondering that?』

“Think about it. Is a planetary ship just a ridiculously strong battleship? I think it’s something more than that.”

The clue lay in a formula from the simulation earlier.

(「|l||I–Earth」 + 「Jeong Yeongwoo07」 + 「l||–Moro」) × Planetary Ship Coefficient = 68

Realistically, adding Earth and Yeongwoo’s presence to the Sun’s stats shouldn’t have made a huge difference.

Yet the result was a two-level increase—from 66 to 68—for the Sun’s power.

“That means the planetary ship coefficient is what actually made it level 68. Flip it around.”

Yeongwoo raised a finger and pointed to the Sun, which now held one axis of the new system.

“The Sun, without a planetary ship, would never reach level 68. Not in a million years.”

『……!』

He was right.

The Sun had functioned as the solar system’s center for eons.

What more could it possibly become?

Most likely, it was destined to stay in that spot until it eventually faded away.

“And isn’t it a little too perfect that the Sun was at level 66, and now, thanks to the planetary ship, it can reach level 68?”

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

『What do you mean?』

“You’ve never tried beating someone up before, have you?”

『……?』

As expected, the Earth looked blank and confused.

Yeongwoo let out a heavy sigh and said,

“Reaching level 68 means… you can finally beat the crap out of someone who’s level 70.”

『What the—』

That's right.

According to the cosmic order system, if there's a two-level difference or less between you and someone above you, you no longer need to show them 'courtesy.'

It means you can fight them at full strength.

"Hey, the Sun is Level 66, right? But what the hell are those guys with cosmic Prestige Level 70? And if we build a planetary warship, we can even beat them?"

『…….』

At this point, Earth had nothing more to say.

But—

『D-Don’t be mistaken. That’s just a simulation. It’s not the real thing.』

Shk.

Earth pointed to the bizarre planetary system spinning like crazy above their heads.

As he said, that was merely a kind of experiment result.

It wasn’t like the Sun had actually decided to orbit Earth.

And then—

Rumble rumble...

Once all the members of the new celestial system had their own orbits, the entire planetary system began to move three-dimensionally.

“W-What the hell.”

Up until now, the simulation displayed in the sky was a 2D structure with only an X and Y axis, but suddenly a Z-axis was added, and the entire planetary system, including Earth, soared upwards.

“Where the hell are they going now?”

Surprisingly, Earth remained calm.

『That must be the final procedure.』

“What is?”

『The Solar System’s orbital path.』

“No fucking way.”

As Yeongwoo clamped his hand over his mouth, golden letters lit up in the sky simulation.

Paaah!

「Solar System Orbit Transfer」

Then the entire planetary system, including Earth and the Sun, turned into a collection of dots spiraling away somewhere.

Like tiny specks of dust swept up in the wind forming a miniature vortex.

『Even the Sun has its own orbit. And since we’re bound to the Sun, we naturally revolve around that path as well.』

“W-Where does it go?”

『The center of the galaxy.』

“The center… of the galaxy?”

『It’s a place I don’t even dare to look into. I just instinctively know it’s the domain of the Supreme Beings.』

Perhaps that’s why—even in the simulation, the galactic center wasn’t depicted.

All that was shown was the Solar System drifting through a pitch-black void.

“But the Sun knows, right?”

『Knows what?』

“What’s inside its own orbit. And if that really is the domain of the Supreme Beings, then the Sun would understand the true value of a Prestige Level 68 better than anyone.”

『You’re going to convince the Sun with a planetary warship factor?』

“It’s not persuasion.”

『…Then what is it?』

“Destiny.”

『……!』

At Yeongwoo’s brief reply, Earth involuntarily collapsed to the ground, its legs giving out.

『Y-You maniac. You’re seriously insane, you know that?』

As Earth mumbled from the limp reeds it had slumped onto, Yeongwoo pointed Bastard at him.

“Show proper courtesy, planet!”

『You...!』

Since the planetary ascension process hadn’t completed yet, the prestige level difference between Yeongwoo and Earth was a whopping 4.

Which meant, technically speaking, Earth was obligated to show 'courtesy' to Yeongwoo.

“At least in this matter, you have no choice. My Prestige Level is higher, and I’m the one who brought back the championship prize.”

With that, Yeongwoo looked back up at the sky.

“And I’ll be the one to include the Sun in our equation. Just like the prophecy says—I'm destined to become the Sun’s son-in-law.”

And from the looks of it, the future inscribed in the prophecy seemed close at hand.

In other words, the guaranteed future was about to end.

“The Sun… or rather, my future in-laws—when are they coming? They should have figured out what’s going on by now, right?”

At his words, Earth, still sitting on the ground, lit up its eyes in a pale blue glow.

『The energy states of the other planets are already acting weird. They’re definitely trying to request a meeting with the Sun.』

Yeongwoo’s eyes widened.

“Wait, why are they meeting with the Sun? Just tell them all to come here.”

『What?』

“We’re the problem, right? So bring everyone to Earth. We’ll negotiate with the Sun, and then apologize to the rest.”

Then, as if remembering something, Yeongwoo added casually:

“Oh, and can we install the cannons now?”

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]