"Anyway, whose palace is this? Is it possible for me to meet the owner?" Rose inquired politely.

​The soldiers immediately broke into roaring laughter.

​"Beauty, this is the Zenith Emperor’s Palace. He is like a literal god to us. Even we haven’t had the opportunity to see what’s inside yet. Do you really think he will let you walk in just because you asked nicely?"

​Rose frowned in deep confusion. "Why did Neo call me here? And what exactly is his relationship with this Zenith Emperor?"

​Just then, Zestia, who happened to be passing by the military perimeter, noticed the small commotion.

​She stepped forward, her eyes narrowing as she gazed at Rose’s unfamiliar face with suspicion and curiosity.

​"Who are you? And how do you possess a Top-Class clearance permit?"

Zestia demanded in an authoritative tone.

Rose adjusted her posture, slightly intimidated by the blonde haired girl.

Zestia, despite being powerful, was still younger than Rose in terms of figure and temperament.

​"I am Rosella Davis. I was urgently summoned to this planet by my boss, Neo Godson. I can only assume this clearance was authorized by him."

​Zestia barked like a fierce lioness, ​"Neo... Godson? You dare use His Majesty’s mortal name so casually?"

​The surrounding soldiers, who had been chuckling just moments ago, suddenly started feeling uneasy

​Rose blinked in bewilderment. "His Majesty? Mortal name? I... I don’t understand. I’m just here to see Neo."

​Zestia quickly recognised her mistake.

She then explained patiently,

​"The man you know as Neo Godson... is Emperor Neo himself. The supreme ruler of the Zenith Empire, the Dominator of this world, and the master of the very palace standing before you."

​Clank!

​Every single soldier who had just laughed at Rose instantly dropped to their knees, pressing their foreheads frantically against the cold stone floor.

They were terrified.

They had just openly mocked a personal, Top-Class guest of the Emperor.

​Rose’ shock was overwhelming. Her intellectual mid was on the brink of completely being short-circuited.

​"Neo? An Emperor? The absolute ruler of an entire alien world?!"

​"Follow me, Miss Davis," Zestia instructed calmly.

​Inside the Grand Throne Room

​The sturdy adamantite doors of the throne room hissed open, revealing an architectural masterpiece that defied all logic.

Rose walked behind Zestia, her eyes darting nervously around the massive pillars of dark ether-granite and the glowing magical runes etched into the floor.

Neo was already done with his late night overtime with Noir.

​He was now sitting effortlessly on the towering, looking completely fresh.

​He also exuded a terrifying boundless authority that Rose had never seen in him back on Earth.

Beside his throne stood a breathtakingly gorgeous woman with crimson eyes and dark horns, radiating a dangerously satisfied, predatory glow.

Noir, of course. But she looked a little out of place.

Zestia noticed her flushed face and dismissed it as her usual antics.

​"Rose, Welcome to Zenith."

​"N-Neo...?" Rose stammered as she stared at the literal monarch before her.

"What... what is all of this? You told me you were having trouble with the Federation, not that you were building a galactic empire!"

​Neo smiled, resting his chin on his hand lazily.

​"Umm, what should I say? Things escalated quickly. But I did not call you here just to admire the architecture or show how great I am. Sovereign Corporation may have been shut down on Earth, but its true purpose has only just begun."

​Neo stood up from his throne.

​"Zenith has the military might, the cosmic resources, and the absolute power required to shatter the Federation.

But an empire cannot run on blood and magic alone. It needs an economy. It needs trade routes, resource management, and a financial infrastructure capable of supporting an infinite war."

​He stopped right in front of her, extending his hand.

​"I need my CEO back, Rose. But this time, you won’t be managing a mere corporation. I am appointing you as the Imperial Minister of Commerce for the Zenith Empire. You will hold the absolute keys to my treasury."

​Rose stared at his outstretched hand in shcok.

But very soon this shock transformed into a blazing thrill.

The Federation had taken her life’s work from her, but Neo was offering her a stage larger than she had ever dared to dream.

​Taking a deep breath, the brilliant businesswoman stepped forward and firmly grasped his hand.

​"Well, Your Majesty, If we are building an empire, we have a lot of accounting to do."

And just like that, Neo officially appointed his Imperial Minister of Commerce in a brief but highly dignified ceremony.

​During the occasion, he bestowed upon her a spatial drive containing several mind-boggling, magi-tech blueprints designed to aggressively kick-start the empire’s new economy.

​Among them, there was a top tier blue print for constructing Terra-Farming Autobots.

These magically powered giant machines were designed to completely conquer Zenith’s untamed landscapes. They possessed the brute force required to level violently uneven terrains, flatten unnecessary mountains, and magically transform barren wastelands into endlessly fertile agricultural sectors.

​Rose stood in complete awe as holographic projections of the towering machines illuminated the throne room. As a brilliant businesswoman from Earth, the most advanced tech she had ever managed was micro-robotics and standard AI. But the scale and genius of these magi-tech titans were beyond anything the Earth Federation could even dream of conceptualizing.

​"These, these... With these machines, we won’t just solve food production for our army. We can create an agricultural surplus so massive that we could monopolize the food trade across neighboring star systems. But, Your Majesty... who is going to actually build these?"

​Neo gestured toward the colossal adamantite doors of the throne room.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

​Soon, Ragnar and his six towering brothers entered.

The giant dwarves took one look at the complex holographic blueprints floating above Rose’s hands.

​"Minister Rosella. Meet Ragnar and the Star-Forgers of Dwarvania. They are the supreme architects of this empire. You will manage the supply lines, the capital, and the trade routes, and they will forge your machines."

"HA HA HA, YES!" Ragnar let out a booming laugh, rubbing his massive calloused hands together as he stared hungrily at the Terra-Farming Autobot designs.

​"By the ancient laws of our ancestors! This is a project worthy of our hammers!

Just give us the iron and the ether-granite, little Minister, and we will build you a mechanical army that can reshape entire planets!"

​Rose looked between the towering giant dwarves and the god-like Emperor sitting effortlessly upon his dark throne.

The potential of Zenith Empire instantly skyrocketed in her mind.

​Rose grinned for the first time.

​"Gentlemen, Let’s get to work. We have a universe to monopolize."

The flames of ambition blazed within her heart.