"...." Robin slowly turned his head to the side, his movement almost exaggerated in its sluggishness. "Excuse me?" he said, his voice calm yet laced with curiosity. Then, a puzzled smile formed on his face as he tilted it slightly. "Apologies—I sometimes struggle with my hearing, especially when I'm not expecting absurdities. Why don't you repeat that request one more time, just to be sure?"
"I won't repeat my words," Hedrick replied, his tone gentle, almost polite, but with a firmness that couldn't be ignored. "You might not have reached the level of a World Cataclysm yet, but I'm confident your hearing is still sharp enough to catch the gist."
"No, no, that wasn't sarcasm. I genuinely think I misheard," Robin insisted, waving his hand in a confused manner as if swatting away nonsense. "Because if I'm not mistaken, it sounded like you were asking me to hand over a fourth-grade planetary displacement gear—permanently?"
"That's correct." Hedrick gave a small but decisive nod.
