Fate's Slave - Shadow Slave X Honkai Star Rail-Chapter 476: Provoker

"Why the fuck are there IPC spaceships flying over my lawn?!"

Clara tilted her head slightly, crimson eyes narrowing with thoughtful curiosity rather than alarm, as though he had just identified an unfamiliar species of bird rather than a potentially hostile interstellar fleet. The faint glow of the telescope’s displays reflected across her irises, painting them with cold constellations as she considered his outburst.

"Is that what they are called? Well, they looked suspicious, and my sensors detected someone decently powerful in there."

Sunny straightened slowly from the eyepiece, jaw tightening as irritation bled into something heavier, more calculating. He did not look surprised, which in itself was concerning, but rather like someone whose unpleasant suspicions had just been upgraded to confirmed fact.

Behind him, Seele shoved his shoulder with none of the earlier restraint and claimed the telescope for herself, muttering something distinctly uncharitable under her breath. She leaned in, one eye squeezed shut as she adjusted the focus with quick, impatient motions, the machinery responding with soft clicks.

Sunny asked without turning around, his tone deceptively casual in the way of a man bracing for impact.

"And how long have they been up there?"

Clara clasped her hands lightly in front of her, posture composed in a way that felt older than her face, older than her voice, older than the girl Sunny remembered hiding behind a towering automaton’s leg.

"A couple of months. They never attempted communication, so I got worried.

Seele went very still at the eyepiece, shoulders tensing.

"A couple of months? And nobody told us?"

Sunny exhaled through his nose, the sound long and tired, as though this development had simply confirmed that the Universe still possessed a personal grudge against him.

"That means they weren’t just passing through. They were scouting. Making sure there wouldn’t be any obstacles when they eventually forced Jarilo-VI into submission."

The temperature in the room seemed to drop several degrees, though the open dome above continued to admit the same indifferent starlight. Clara’s expression did not harden in the way one might expect from a warrior preparing for conflict. Instead, something colder emerged, a precise narrowing of focus that carried none of anger’s heat.

"Are you saying I should shoot them down?"

Both Sunny and Seele recoiled as though she had suggested detonating the planet’s core for convenience.

Seele actually grabbed the edge of the telescope housing for balance, eyes wide as she whipped around to stare at Clara.

"When did you become this extreme?! You don’t just blow up fleets because they look suspicious!"

Sunny shook his head so quickly it bordered on frantic, hands coming up in a warding gesture as if he could physically block the idea from manifesting.

"No! No, no, no! That is exactly what you shouldn’t do."

Clara blinked, faintly puzzled by their reaction, though she did not look offended. If anything, she seemed to be filing the response away as useful data.

"I see. Then what are they?"

Sunny dragged a hand down his face before answering, expression pinched with reluctant patience.

"IPC stands for Interastral Peace Corporation. But honestly, they should just call themselves the Interastral Corporation and drop the pretense. They make money, they expand influence, and they enforce contracts with the subtlety of a supernova when they feel like it."

He stepped closer to the telescope, not looking through it again but staring at the distant ships as though he could see them unaided through sheer annoyance.

"They have to maintain a clean image, though. Trade, stability, development, all that pleasant nonsense. They won’t pick a fight unless you give them a reason, because wars are expensive and bad for business. If you fire on them first, congratulations, you’ve just handed them the legal and moral excuse to flatten the planet."

Seele’s scowl deepened as she returned to watching the fleet, tension coiling visibly through her posture.

"And we wouldn’t win."

Sunny barked a humorless laugh.

"You would not. Nobody wins against the IPC unless they are already so powerful that the IPC can’t afford the losses. If I had to guess, they’re waiting to see if there are any major figures on the planet they can bribe, manipulate, or pressure into signing something incredibly binding."

He tapped a finger against the metal casing, each contact producing a dull, hollow note.

"Still not sure what they actually want with Jarilo-VI. It’s not exactly prime real estate, and the infrastructure is a mess even after the Freeze ended."

The timing nagged at him like a splinter lodged beneath skin. Why now, after centuries of isolation had finally lifted? Why not sooner, when the planet had been weak, desperate, and incapable of resistance?

Clara’s gaze drifted back toward the sky, thoughtful lines creasing her brow.

"The woman on the leading ship is a Transcendent just like me. So, I am assuming they have more on hand."

Sunny nodded without hesitation.

"Oh, definitely. The IPC owns somewhere between five to ten percent of all civilization. That doesn’t sound like much until you remember how big civilization actually is."

He paused, eyes unfocusing slightly as he ran the numbers through memory.

"At minimum, you’re looking at a few hundred Saints. Probably more if they pull from subsidiaries and contracted forces."

Seele let out a low whistle despite herself.

"You’re kidding."

"I wish. And those are just the ones they’re willing to deploy openly. Corporations love hidden assets."

He fell silent again, expression tightening into deep concentration, as though evaluating invisible chessboards layered over one another.

"They won’t lose. Not in a conventional sense. But you can sometimes convince them to back off if winning costs too much."

Clara turned toward him fully, attention sharp.

"How?"

"By making the victory pyrrhic. If conquering the planet costs them resources they can’t easily replace, they’ll decide it isn’t worth it. For example, if you had maybe a dozen Saints defending Jarilo-VI, they would cut their losses and move on."

He spread his hands slightly.

"Losing a single Saint is usually worse than losing a planet. Planets can be acquired elsewhere. Experienced Transcendents are... harder to come by."

Seele glanced between them, lips thinning.

"And we don’t have that."

Sunny gave a small, apologetic shrug.

"Nope. Not even close."

She studied him for a long moment, suspicion creeping into her expression.

"You already thought about this?"

He did not bother denying it.

"I own your planet. I was a little worried the IPC might show up one day and claim it was theirs all along, so I ran the scenarios."

Seele’s head snapped toward him so fast it was a miracle she did not sprain something.

"You own what now?"

Sunny offered her a bright, thoroughly unrepentant smile.

"Jarilo-VI! Though, it does need landscaping.

Clara’s eyes lit up with unmistakable wonder, the childlike awe transforming her otherwise composed demeanor into something almost luminous.

"You anticipated this? You prepared in advance for a threat that had not yet appeared?"

"Oh, well, I am something of a genius, you see~"

Seele, meanwhile, looked like she was deciding whether to strangle him or shake him until answers fell out. She interrupted, holding up both hands as though trying to physically halt the conversation.

"Wait, wait, wait! Since when was any of this your land?!"

Sunny tapped his chin thoughtfully, pretending to consider.

"Since I decided it was."

Her eye twitched with such force that it was probably visible from orbit.

"That is not how ownership works, you bastard!"

"Even if it’s true, don’t call me a bastard! Anyway, the best option right now is to do nothing."

Clara blinked.

"Nothing?"

Sunny nods.

"Wait for them to make the first move. They probably already know about you, Clara, which means they’ll send their Saint down eventually to negotiate."

He paused, expression turning slightly more serious.

"They’ll talk to Bronya too. Political leadership and local powerhouse, cover both angles."

Seele’s shoulders stiffened at the mention of her friend.

"And then what?"

Sunny’s smile returned, smaller this time, edged with something predatory.

"Then you call me. I’ll deal with it. One way or another."

She did not look reassured by that promise, though she also did not argue further. Experience had likely taught her that once Sunny adopted that tone, persuasion became an exercise in futility.

Instead, she turned toward Clara, studying her with renewed intensity.

"So, what’s up with you?"

Clara’s composure wavered for the first time since they entered the chamber. She clasped her hands together, fingers interlacing and tightening slightly, gaze dropping to the floor as though the polished metal might offer guidance.

She began with a small, awkward laugh:

"As I said, it is a rather long story."

Sunny leaned back against the telescope housing, folding his arms, expression settling into cautious attentiveness. For all his irreverence, he did not interrupt.

"Basically, I may or may not have provoked death itself into cursing me..."