Chapter 205

Alerting his father to the approaching delegation of beastmen took just a moment. Nick manipulated the wind currents to create a long, thin tunnel and spoke. “Elia and the elders are coming to the Town Hall.”Eugene blinked, glancing up from the stack of paperwork that had piled up on his desk. He took a moment to deliberate before shrugging and standing up. “I’ll be there. Alert your mother.”

“Did you say something, Captain?” The soldier serving as his secretary asked, sounding confused.

Nick quickly dispelled the tunnel with a chuckle. He didn’t often use his powers for fun, but there was potential in messing with people like this.

Now was not the time, though, and so he quickly informed Elena of the situation while he started walking toward the Town Hall himself.

Technically, he didn’t have a role in the upcoming talks, but he doubted anyone would resent his presence.

When he arrived, he discovered that the place was a bustling hive of activity. The building wasn’t used much on a daily basis, but it did have a few clerks who managed the daily affairs of the townspeople, such as granting permits to sell at the market, registering births and deaths, and even keeping track of foreigners.

His mother didn’t hold an official title, but given that everyone followed her commands with military efficiency, she didn’t need one.

A quick peek revealed that one of the larger rooms on the second floor, near the one used for medical exams after the dungeon raid, had been prepared for this momentous occasion. Three tables had been pushed together, and rows of chairs had been arranged on either side, with two larger ones on opposite ends.

Of course, one was more ornate, as befitting the local lord, but the fact that Elia would be afforded the respect of a better chair boded well.

It was the little things like these that made it clear the negotiations would be in good faith. Nick, whose rituals’ success was based entirely on tiny details, knew very well how much they mattered.

“Do not intervene unless you are directly addressed,” Elena said as soon as she saw him enter the room.

Nick smiled bemusedly, “I had no intention to.”

She rolled her eyes so hard they nearly fell out. “I’m sure, but I’m still warning you. If you absolutely need to say something, tap the table three times, and I will give you a signal. But do not interrupt anyone.”

One of the clerks setting the table, a middle-aged woman usually responsible for managing the family registers, added her two cents. “No one doubts your contribution, Lord Nicholas, but this is unprecedented in recent decades. No other noble would revisit the racial treaties, given how favorable they were, so even a wrong word could jeopardize the whole thing. Your father is doing something important.”

Her tone was a weird mix of respect and condescension. Nick knew that he was somewhat of an aberration to the locals, but he was still taken aback by how hard they struggled not to treat him like a kid.

Was it the effect of her Trait? Or perhaps it was sufficient for the beastmen to treat her with respect for the humans to accept it.

Eventually, Eugene joined them, along with Darien and a few others. Among them was an old man Nick didn’t remember seeing before, but the large tome in his hands, embossed with the Crowley symbol, indicated that he was some kind of record-keeper.

They all took their places behind the assigned chairs, and Nick hurried to join them, sliding in next to his mother.

A soldier opened the door again shortly after, allowing the beastmen delegation to enter.

Nick already knew who would be coming, yet he was still surprised that Wulla and one of her co-conspirators, the wolfkin who had threatened him so long ago, had been allowed to join.

He’d halfway expected Elia to purge them from any position of leadership, but that was probably a bad approach. It would breed resentment, and this was meant to be a positive solution to the racial tensions.

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Elia wore clothes that were both similar and distinct from her previous attire to signal her intent to start the negotiations. If anything, they were even more elaborate.

Several layers of kimonos peeked through the artfully placed gaps in the fabric, ranging from a mother-of-pearl one to a more colorful red and gold one at the top.

Even to someone like Nick, who didn’t have an eye for clothes, it was clear these were extremely high-quality garments, and he had to wonder whether they were relics of the once-powerful beastman confederation that had controlled the grassland.

During their adventure, they only visited the temples. While that helped him expand his understanding of their culture, he could now see they had an actual identity, not merely as second-class citizens fighting for their rights, but as a unified people who had developed their own culture over the centuries.

This kind of clothing certainly couldn’t have been made in the time since Elia announced her desire to become a miko. Not without the work of extremely skilled seamstresses and access to very expensive materials.

Likely, they were what little remained of a once proud civilization.

“Lord Crowley, this one thanks you for agreeing to meet us,” Elia began, bowing slightly.

“Lady Miko, as is described in the treaty, the officially designated leader of the beastmen community may request a meeting once a decade,” Eugene replied neutrally. The joviality with which he’d once treated the girl was gone. Only the Lord of Floria remained.

He then gestured to the old man with the book, who quickly nodded and turned it to a specific page.

“As per the third article of the treaty, the beastmen of Floria may request a meeting to alter articles seven and eight, which detail the specifics of their presence within the Lord’s land, though no more than once a decade.”

It was fascinating to observe how everyone on the beastmen side responded to that. Their expressions remained calm, as if having expected as much, but allowed Nick to see deeper. The four elders who flanked Elia didn’t so much as twitch. They were still pools of calm, completely trusting in her.

Wulla felt much more chaotic. Anger, sadness, pride, and fear swirled within her. She looked at the human side and saw both friends and foes simultaneously, fully aware that the power imbalance created by Eugene’s rank-up meant that all the cards were in his hands.

The wolfkin was even more agitated. He was deeply fearful of Eugene, barely able to resist the urge to jump out of the window whenever his gaze flickered toward him.

And yet, both remained in place. There was a well of deep respect for Elia that bound them.

The bureaucratic procedures passed quickly as Nick entertained himself by observing how everyone reacted to everything. It wasn’t exactly a form of control, but it made it much easier to gauge the pulse of the situation.

Despite the united front they presented, the beastmen were acutely aware that they couldn’t accomplish anything without Eugene’s consent.

It both frustrated and scared them, and yet they were still here.

“Now then, let us start in the name of honesty.” Eugene began once the old clerk had finished reviewing the relevant passages. “I am aware of the attempts to destabilize the peace by some elements of your community.”

Silence filled the room. Although Nick had known for months, and Eugene since his return from the dungeon, it hadn’t exactly been common knowledge. In fact, after Sashara’s Descent, everything had been swept under the rug, as the material conditions for a rebellion simply no longer existed.

His willingness to mention it right away surprised many.

Several people shifted in their seats, but Elia remained calm, hands folded and waiting for him to finish.

“I am aware of that, but also of the efforts made by many to prevent things from reaching the breaking point. It is only thanks to those individuals that I have agreed to meet up today. Had there not been a concerted effort to prevent rebellion, it wouldn’t have mattered that a spiritual guide was chosen. I would have had to apply the King’s Law.”

Though no one gasped, it was evident that several people wanted to. Eugene had essentially claimed that the entire beastmen community had been on the brink of being entirely eradicated, and it was only due to a few individuals—Elia and some of the elders, chief among them—that they were still alive.

“So, today, let us discuss what can be done to ensure nothing like that ever happens again.” He finished with a faint smile.

Once it became clear he had nothing more to say, Elia took a deep breath and nodded. Her eyes briefly glanced at Nick, leaving him to wonder what she was thinking. Her emotions were relatively settled, but both worry and hope resided within her, making it difficult to untangle their source.

“That is this one’s goal as well, Lord Crowley. For the beastmen of Floria to become one with the community and never again need to reach such extremes.”

In just one sentence, Elia had changed the situation. The rebellion hadn’t been a narrowly avoided act of violence, but rather a desperate response to injustice.

Of course, she couldn’t say that directly. That would mean implicating Eugene as the one who had presided over such a situation, but it served as a gentle reminder that he, too, was not entirely blameless.

One of the elders, a female foxkin with heavily painted cheeks, sparkled with approval. Clearly, she had been coaching Elia on rhetoric.

Eugene accepted the rebuttal with a nod, seemingly gracious enough to silently recognize his role in this mess.

“What are the beastmen’s requests?” The old clerk finally interjected once the opening statements were done.

Elia pulled a scroll from her ample sleeves and passed it to an elder, who then handed it off to another, until it reached the clerk. “Our request is simple. We want the abolition of the property restrictions placed upon us, allowing our people to buy houses and live away from the temple, and to be recognized as full citizens of Floria.”

Wulla twitched, suppressing her surprise. Given what he knew about her, Nick suspected she would have preferred increased independence over assimilation, but he thought Elia’s approach was quite clever.

By combining the two demands, she could create the impression that it was her desire to fully integrate into the human community, rather than escaping Sashara’s heavy gaze.

Eugene hummed, taking the scroll after the clerk finished recording its contents. “There are some incompatibilities with the King’s Law I’m concerned about regarding the dispensation from the territorial restrictions, but I don’t see a problem with issuing a proclamation declaring all beastmen of Floria as full citizens, as long as some of my concerns are addressed.”

Thus began the actual negotiations. It promised to be a long day, especially since the Shadow was expected to return in less than forty-eight hours, and no one wanted to still be here when that time came.

He didn’t know what the future would hold or whether these changes would be enough to resolve all tensions. Yet, against all odds, they had managed to prevent a disaster.

That much, at least, Nick could claim.