Chapter 135: Recruiting Robin

No matter how composed, mature, or indifferent Robin usually appeared, she could not help but flush with anger at Garen’s words.

"Nonsense!" she exclaimed. "Demacia? Isn't Demacia just the name of your company!"

Her expression grew grave, and her gaze towards Garen was filled with suspicion. She did not know the true name of the Great Kingdom. What if Garen truly had some connection to it, and that was why he had chosen its name for his company?

Garen, however, immediately addressed her doubt. "As for that..." He waved a hand dismissively. "It’s all made up anyway, so what’s the problem with calling it Demacia?"

Robin’s chest heaved with indignation. "You—you don’t understand the Poneglyphs at all, do you?!"

"Does it matter if I understand them?" Garen countered, waving his hand nonchalantly. "Let me ask you a question. In this world, besides you, is there anyone else who understands the Poneglyphs?"

"..." Robin caught her breath in the silence, her face darkening. "There might be, but I don't know of any."

"Then, for all intents and purposes, there are none." Garen nodded and pointed to the stone slab carved with strange characters. "Since no one knows what is written on them... then whatever I say is written on them, that is what is written!"

"You?!" Robin instinctively retorted. "How can you fabricate history like that!"

"How can you call this fabricating history?" Garen looked quite pleased with himself, proceeding to share his propaganda philosophy with her. "This is merely a reasonable method of public opinion management. When I have the need and the capability in the future, I can simply set out a few giant stones that no one can read."

"Then, I’ll find a few 'noted' scholars from the fringes who are 'allegedly persecuted by the World Government,' prop them up as public intellectuals, and have them publish endless articles in the media to 'interpret' the text on the Poneglyphs."

"Since no one can read them anyway..."

"I’ll just claim that I am the legitimate heir to the Great Kingdom of Demacia, the Child of the Era burdened with the weight of history—who could possibly refute me?"

Garen paused, then continued his shameless plan for deception. "Besides, there’s no need to spend effort hunting down actual Poneglyphs. Aren’t they just stones? I’ll just hire a few stonemasons and carve a couple myself! With me watching over them, no one would dare to test their authenticity."

Robin remained silent, staring at Garen with a look of astonishment. From the academic perspective of an archaeologist, such behavior was despicable; yet, from the pragmatic perspective of an ambitious schemer, the tactics Garen described sounded terrifyingly effective. She had seen his ability to manipulate public opinion firsthand these past few days—twisting truth, fabricating facts from thin air—nothing was difficult for him.

Garen, however, grew more animated as he spoke, his ambition to create history resonating in his chest. "When I finally stand in open opposition to the World Government..."

In front of Robin, a wanted criminal of the World Government, Garen had no fear of revealing his deep-seated malice toward the regime. "I can simply claim that the Celestial Dragons, who founded the World Government, were nothing but rogues, bandits, and thieves who undermined the Great Kingdom and rose to power during a global crisis."

"No, that lacks impact..." Garen frowned, refining his newly created history to be even more sensational. "Let’s just say the Celestial Dragons are actually parasitic beasts disguised as humans, or ghouls that survive on human flesh—monsters that will die if they don’t eat people. After all, not many people have seen a Celestial Dragon, and those who have wouldn't know if they ate people or not."

"..." Hearing Garen casually paint the world’s rulers as man-eating monsters, Robin could already imagine the impact such a "Poneglyph" would have on the world’s political climate if it were to spread.

"Hmm..." Garen’s eyes lit up, and he blurted out another wild idea. "Or, we could say that eight hundred years ago, a demon from another world appeared on this planet. This demon destroyed the beautiful Great Kingdom and, along with twenty evil henchmen, began living the life of an exploitative ruling class."

"Stop!" Robin covered her face in frustration. Her integrity as a true scholar couldn't bear to listen to his nonsense any longer. "Calling the Celestial Dragons man-eating monsters is one thing, but what is this 'other world' rubbish!"

"My research findings are very well-founded..." Garen continued, undeterred and full of spirit. "If it weren't for a demon from another world, how could the ancient language have been lost? And yet, what remains are English, Japanese, and Chinese characters..."

"Silence!" Robin couldn't help but shout.

Garen’s voice stopped abruptly, as his mouth had been tightly clamped shut by two hands sprouting from his shoulders. He finally, obediently, suppressed his burgeoning creative urge.

Garen silently reached up to pry away the hands sprouted by Robin’s Hana Hana no Mi powers, joking, "Next time you want me to be quiet, could you use your own hands? While these sprouted hands feel roughly the same, the sensation is just too surreal."

Robin ignored his attempt at humor, her face cold. "Since you have absolutely no need for an archaeologist like me, why bother recruiting me and risking conflict with the World Government?"

"That..." Garen pondered for a moment before answering earnestly. "First, I was never a 'law-abiding citizen' of the World Government; standing against them was only a matter of time. Second, the whole world knows you as the 'Demon Child of Ohara,' the only archaeologist capable of reading the Poneglyphs..." Garen looked at her intently. "Therefore, when the time comes, you are the best candidate to help me weave my story."

"You want me to help you tell these lies?" As a scholar, Robin was deeply resistant to his lack of respect for history.

"Of course." Garen admitted his intentions quite frankly. "I took you in—a thorn in the side of the World Government—and went through the trouble of helping you find the Poneglyphs you’ve dreamt of. Is it too much to ask for you to speak on my behalf?"

Garen looked at her again, his tone turning serious. "If anyone else had grabbed my neck the way you did earlier, they would have already died under my blade, just like the Desert King. I didn't kill you, and I kept you on as my secretary, partly because you are useful to me. As an employee, you really shouldn't disobey your boss!"

"..." Robin pondered for a long time before finally deciding to board Garen’s pirate ship. Compared to a warlord like Crocodile, who sought to force the location of an Ancient Weapon out of her, this strange, ambitious man who only wanted to use her as a prop for his propaganda seemed much safer.

"Fine..." Robin sighed softly, pledging her loyalty to Garen. "I will fulfill your requirements, Boss."

"Just call me by my name." Garen smiled with satisfaction and extended a hand toward her. "Then, here is to a happy partnership!"

"Happy partnership." Robin took his hand, then suddenly asked, curious about a strange detail in his earlier words: "You said that me being 'useful' was only a 'small part of the reason' you didn't kill me. Do you have other considerations regarding me?"

"Of course." Garen explained with a straight face: "The act of 'interpreting' history can actually be done by anyone; it’s just that having you do it produces the best effect. Besides, who knows how long it will take before I can actually put you to that use—at the very least, not until I dare to face the World Government head-on."

"Then why did you..." Before Robin could finish her question, Garen started telling a random story.

"When I was in the Goa Kingdom, I once went exploring in the dense primeval forest. There were many ferocious beasts in the woods that would instinctively try to attack me the moment they saw me."

Robin looked puzzled, but Garen continued his story regardless. "A tiger and a crocodile attacked me at the same time. But those beasts were no threat to me, and they were quickly defeated by my greatsword. In the end, I killed the crocodile but spared the tiger."

Garen looked at Robin and asked, "Do you know why?"

Robin furrowed her brows, unable to decipher the "profound meaning" behind his story no matter how hard she thought. Finally, she had to ask, "Why?"

Garen stated the absurd yet true logic behind the story with a grave expression: "Because the big tiger looked good."