Is Unlocking the Stellaris Tech Tree in Star Rail Really Okay? [305]

The Imperial Governor’s Office…

It sounded like a place of grandeur and solemnity. Yet, when Fia knocked on the door and stepped inside, she was surprised to find that it was nothing like she had imagined.

In the corners stood two large cabinets, stacked high with books and documents. At the far end of the room was a rectangular desk, with a sofa and coffee table nearby for resting. On the table, three cups of freshly brewed tea were still steaming.

A holographic projection was displayed on the wall, playing what seemed to be a variety show.

And there, seated on the sofa, were the Imperial Governor, the Supreme Guardian of Jarilo, and the Fleet Admiral—all watching the program with great interest.

Fia rubbed her eyes, struggling to believe what she was seeing.

She had expected to find them sitting sternly at their desks, deeply engrossed in their work. Even after she entered, she had assumed they would keep her waiting, establishing their authority before formally acknowledging her presence.

That would have been the proper protocol. She was, after all, merely the leader of a small, insignificant civilization. A little power play was nothing unusual in the realm of politics.

But… what was this?

As Fia stood there, stunned, the three on the sofa calmly switched off the program. Bronya rose to greet her.

"There's no need to be so reserved, Princess Fia. Please, have a seat."

"Ah… alright."

Fia carefully sat down on the opposite sofa, her posture stiff and formal.

Bronya glanced at her—perched at the very edge of the seat, back straight, hands resting rigidly on her knees. Amused, she chuckled.

"You don’t have to be so tense, Your Highness. You can sit more comfortably."

Fia shook her head with a wry smile. "To be honest, until my people are free from the threat of collapse, I doubt I'll ever be at ease."

She took a deep breath and decided to cut straight to the point.

"I won’t waste your time. Sterbe is on the brink of destruction. The IPC have stirred internal chaos, and a full-scale civil war has broken out. The rebel nobles are armed with large amounts of IPC-supplied weapons, and the royal family is losing ground."

"The Empire is our only hope."

"I humbly ask the Empire to extend a helping hand to Sterbe."

"Name your terms. We are willing to negotiate."

Fia had nothing left to lose.

Among the powers in the galaxy, only the Empire and the IPC stood as equals. The IPC wouldn't risk outright conflict with the Empire.

She had to bet everything on this.

If the Empire could cut off the IPC’ support to the rebels, then with the royal guards and loyal generals, the insurgents could be ground down over time.

Bronya exchanged a glance with the other two.

They understood Fia's predicament immediately.

She wanted the Empire to intervene and stop the IPC from expanding their market influence in Sterbe.

But that posed a problem—the Empire and the IPC shared significant trade agreements.

From a purely pragmatic standpoint, why would the Empire risk diplomatic tensions with a major economic partner just to save an insignificant third-rate civilization?

What Fia didn’t understand was that, to the Empire, Sterbe was not some distant foreign nation.

It was right in their backyard.

A small neighboring state, separated from the Imperial core worlds by only a few interstellar provinces.

From a galactic perspective, it was practically part of the same region.

There was no way Chen Lin was going to let the IPC meddle freely in his own domain.

He already knew, from Topaz, that the IPC had the capability to intercept short-range communications.

If the IPC entrenched themselves in Sterbe, Imperial operations in Jarilo would be at risk.

Allowing them free rein would be like leaving his front door keys under the neighbor’s welcome mat.

No chance.

Chen Lin studied Fia, his expression thoughtful.

"Can you explain, in detail, what exactly led to the conflict between your nation and the IPC?"

Since he already knew that Fia was of the Great Khan’s bloodline, and a psionic user awakened through her lineage, there was no way to monitor her thoughts directly without her noticing.

He needed to hear it from her.

If the Sterbe royal family had truly been pushed to the brink, he would decide how much information to reveal based on her response.

Fia took a deep breath.

"It all started long ago… with the Perris family’s ancestors."

She spoke of a time when Sterbe had been nothing more than a IPC-controlled mining world, its surface dominated by scattered tribes forced into uneasy coexistence under IPC rule.

The Perris family had once been leaders of one such tribe.

Back then, Sterbe’s people toiled in the mines from dawn till dusk, extracting minerals in a desperate bid to survive.

But the IPC controlled the trade networks—they would only buy from the tribes willing to sell at the lowest prices.

And yet, the tribes were forced to feel grateful that the IPC even considered buying from them at all.

Why?

Because the IPC had automated mining operations that outperformed manual labor by orders of magnitude.

Then came the Stellaron disaster.

The IPC had abandoned them overnight, taking most of the able-bodied population and leaving the rest to fend for themselves.

What followed was a century of endless war.

Then, by sheer chance, the First Emperor of Sterbe discovered a relic of immense power.

This artifact only responded to Perris bloodline, granting them incredible strength.

With it, the Perris family united the planet, forging the Sterbe Autocratic Empire and successfully driving back the invading Legion forces.

But by the time her mother ascended to the throne, the IPC had returned—not with aid, but with mountains of debt records and rebel factions willing to betray the crown.

Fia hunched forward slightly, her normally upright posture faltering.

Her voice was quiet.

"The IPC… they want to take away the last thing we have left."

"They call it a loan—resources that we never received."

"Resources that had already been wiped out in a century of war."

"At least under our rule, we never once relied on IPC handouts."

Bronya sighed, nodding in understanding.

Sterbe’s fate mirrored what could have happened to Belobog.

But in Belobog’s case, at least they had used the IPC’ abandoned infrastructure to build defenses.

Sterbe had received nothing but war.

It was as if Jarilo had experienced one possible outcome, while Sterbe had been dealt the worst-case scenario—not a city under siege, but an entire planet trapped in a feudal free-for-all.

Chen Lin tapped his fingers on the armrest.

"The Empire and the IPC currently maintain numerous joint projects," he said suddenly.

"In fact, they’ve even set up a dedicated department specifically to handle trade relations with us."

"Do you understand what I’m implying, Princess Fia?"

Fia’s expression darkened.

"…Yes. We understand."

It was over.

The Empire wouldn’t risk its partnership with the IPC over a useless backwater like Sterbe.

Their last hope was gone.

Her face turned pale, her heart sinking into despair.

But then, Chen Lin spoke again.

"There's just one problem."

He leaned back, his tone casual.

"As far as I recall…"

"I don’t remember the IPC doing any business with Sterbe."

"…What?"

Chen Lin spread his hands. “Wasn’t the company’s original goal to collect Sterbe’s debt? Setting aside whether this so-called bad debt was even legitimate, the moment they realized there was a Lord Ravager on your planet, they turned tail and ran. Did they ever bring up the debt again after that? I’m guessing they didn’t."

“If they never mentioned it again and outright abandoned the claim, it’s obvious they were prepared to write it off completely. On top of that, the company didn’t even have any real industries left in Sterbe to begin with—so how could this even be considered ‘doing business’? If they dropped the debt collection and left, it doesn’t even count as an ongoing negotiation.”

Seele, resting her chin on her hand, chimed in lazily, “Business is about mutual consent, isn’t it? Just like when you walk into a store—the owner can choose to sell to you or not. If there’s no proper transaction, then what kind of ‘business’ is it?”

“So, the company withdrew, and the so-called debt was probably just an excuse,” Chen Lin continued. “Miss Fia, I’d wager they were after something else entirely.”

Fia remained silent.

She had initially planned to offer Sterbe’s underground natural gas reserves as a bargaining chip in negotiations with the Empire. The fact that the company had been so relentless in trying to force the royal family to sell it off only proved that this gas—something Sterbe had never seen as more than a basic fuel—had to have some other value.

Little did she know that the three people sitting across from her already knew exactly what that value was.

Sterbe’s intelligence network was essentially a one-way mirror when it came to Jarilo. No one knew just how many spies had already infiltrated Sterbe, nor how many layers of informants those spies had recruited.

“The mineral reserves in Sterbe are nearly depleted,” Fia admitted with a sigh. “You’re right—the company is after a flammable gas found underground."

“They want to extract all of it.

“But this gas is Sterbe’s last natural resource. It’s also what our people rely on to stay warm during the winter. We cannot agree to this.”

Winters in Sterbe were brutally cold. Over the years, they had developed central heating systems fueled by the natural gas that continuously vented from underground.

If they lost that supply, thousands of people would freeze to death every year.

And if they were forced to find an alternative heating solution, the company would undoubtedly charge them for it.

There was no way the royal family could accept such an absurd arrangement.

Fia lowered her voice. “If the Empire requires it, I can authorize up to 80% of the reserves for Imperial extraction."

“We just need the remaining 20% to keep our people alive."

“As for what happens a hundred years from now… we’ll figure something out.”

Fia knew this was a gamble.

She wasn’t even sure if the Empire would consider it worthwhile.

And even if they did—even if the Empire agreed to help drive out the rebels and the Lord Ravager, Phantylia—there was no guarantee of victory.

A Lord Ravager was a terrifying existence.

Even her mother, the previous empress, wouldn’t have dared to claim she had even a ten percent chance of defeating that monster.

Fia clenched her fists, waiting for the Governor, the Supreme Guardian, and the Fleet Admiral to reach a decision.

Right now, the fate of billions of people rested in the hands of the Empire.

If the Empire refused, Sterbe would become nothing more than a IPC colony.

If the Empire agreed, Sterbe would still have to struggle for survival in the next century.

Neither outcome was ideal.

But at the very least, the Empire wouldn’t exploit them the way the IPC had… right?

A weak civilization—once it finally looked out at the stars—could only abandon its pride and lament its powerlessness.

A weak civilization had no right to dignity.

She didn’t dare listen too closely to the three Imperial leaders as they whispered among themselves.

She was terrified of what she might hear.

Instead, she simply lowered her head and tried to empty her mind.

Where would the Empire steer Sterbe’s fate?

Fia sat as if she were on trial, waiting for the judgment of the Empire’s tribunal.

After what felt like an eternity, their discussion came to an end.

Chen Lin leaned forward slightly, resting his arms on the table. His expression was open and unwavering.

And then, he spoke.

"The Interstellar Rift Empire recognizes Sterbe as an independent and sovereign civilization."

"The Imperial Governorship of Jarilo and Qlipoth Fort express their deep concern for the rights and well-being of the Sterbe people. We urge all parties, including the Sterbe Autocratic Empire and its noble governors, to exercise restraint and refrain from further bloodshed."

"The Governor’s Chief Guard, Lunatylia, along with her associates, will travel to Sterbe for an official exchange visit. However, this visit is strictly personal and does not represent the political stance of the Empire."

"The Interstellar Rift Empire seeks to establish a stable and harmonious political environment within this star region. We will demonstrate this commitment through objective and transparent actions."

"An independent Sterbe has the absolute right to govern its internal affairs."

"Outside forces should not interfere excessively."

"However—given that large numbers of foreign mercenaries have already appeared on Sterbe, the Empire believes that the Sterbe Autocratic Empire has the legitimate right to expel all external invaders and defend its sovereignty."

"And should malicious foreign actors continue ignoring the changing structure of interstellar politics, attempting to overthrow Sterbe’s rightful government—"

"The Interstellar Rift Empire, in the name of humanitarian aid, will not rule out the possibility of military intervention against foreign mercenaries…"

"In order to assist Sterbe in restoring internal peace."

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This is a fan translation of 在星穹铁道点群星科技树真的没问题吗? by 杏雨诗韵 All rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!