Bastard Homunculus: Reborn in the Corpse Pit-Chapter 134: The Elven Nation of Sylph(Part 4)

"I know it may have seemed like a long time ago to you humans, but for us, it is quite recent. Your predecessors saw fit to effectively cut contact with us, and it does appear as though your desire for an alliance is genuine, it is more than likely that your eventual successors may decide to take the same approach as your predecessors," Remarked one of the Elven Elders with a condescending smile.

"That may be so, I can’t control what may or may not happen in the future, after all, so there’s no way that I can guarantee that things won’t change. However, I can assure you, the Kingdom of Persona isn’t the same as you knew it. We’ve already taken several steps to make changes in the right direction for our nation," Responded Lyra, maintaining an amicable smile as she did her best to stay composed and even-tempered.

"So you say, but we have no real assurance that these changes will actually last. Humans have such short lives, too short for any individual to make real, lasting change," Replied another of the Elders.

"Damn it, this is going nowhere. They’re so...so patronizing, they really are treating us like we’re just children. This is beyond insulting," Jules thought to herself with a frown.

"They clearly don’t want to agree to an alliance, but they’re also trying to avoid antagonizing us...the outcome they’re probably after is to get a non-aggression pact and nothing more. In other words, they want to avoid any potential conflict against us, while also having nothing to do with us," Surmised Aster, before glancing back as footsteps echoed out.

The door then opened and an Elf stepped in, shutting the door behind her as she entered the room.

"Please pardon the intrusion, Elders...but we’ve had a bit of an incident that I believe needed immediate reporting," She remarked as she got down on one knee and bowed her head.

"Hm? Oh, God, please tell me one of the others hasn’t caused some commotion, we literally just got here!" Jules thought to herself with a sense of dread.

"Very well, you may speak. What happened?" Responded one of the Elders warily.

The Elf then explained what had happened in the clearing where the others from Persona had been escorted to, the appearance of the Earth Dragon and how the Knights saved a group of Elf children that had wandered towards the clearing.

As she concluded her explanation, she then excused herself and left the room, a brief silence ensuing as the Elders took a moment to process the information.

"We owe you our thanks, for your subordinates saving some of our young ones," Spoke up one of the Elders with a respectful bow. ƒreewebɳovel.com

"Yes, it’s quite fortunate that no one was injured. Now, then, let us get back to our discussion, shall we?" Added another of the Elders with a smile.

As the conference then continued, the Elders displayed a very noticeably better attitude towards their guests.

They were clearly showing more respect towards the humans, and the discussions became a lot more fruitful and productive.

"We truly appreciate you giving us the chance to make us for the disrespect shown to you by my predecessors, we certainly understand that their actions would have left you feeling insulted. But I want to be different, I have absolutely no intention of following in their footsteps...I want my nation to prosper, I want to turn it into a place where all our citizens feel proud to have been born into it.

And I truly believe that if we form an alliance, both our nations can prosper like never before...our respective nations each have various resources that the other does not, if we can set up trade agreements and share our resources, both our peoples can be given a higher quality of life. I mean, as the leaders of our nations, shouldn’t that be our ultimate responsibility to the people we lead?" Stated Jules with a smile.

"Hm...yes, that is a notion we can certainly agree with," Nodded one of the Elders thoughtfully.

"Like you pointed out before, there’s no way to guarantee what will happen in the future...but, at the very least, we can take measures to ensure a peaceful, prosperous future going forward, can’t we? If our nations can form a strong, friendly relationship, don’t you think that raises the chances of a brighter future? I fully intend to approach the nation of Anima with a similar proposal in the near future, with my ultimate goal being a three-way alliance between all our nations," Stated Lyra frankly.

"Hm...I can’t deny that this is certainly worth considering. We already do have trade agreements and a decent relationship with Anima, but due to the distance between our nations, facilitating trade has no been easy, even with Teleportation Spells. But if Persona is added to the mix, trade will become much easier," Surmised one of the Elders thoughtfully.

"Yes, it would prove highly beneficial if this works out. What say you, Saevel?"

"I believe it is worth the risk...the potential benefits are too good to ignore."

"I suppose so...any thoughts, Kolvar?"

"I must admit, I am rather skeptical...I have had some rather unpleasant experiences at the hands of humans in the past, so I cannot deny that I am not completely unbiased here."

"I too am a bit skeptical, but it is also true that this is an opportunity that we perhaps should not pass up on."

The Elders continued discussing the matter for a bit, five of them seeming to be reasonably on board with the alliance, while two of them were somewhat on the fence.

"Well, it would appear that the majority of us are leaning in favor of this alliance. We shall need to discuss it a bit further before making our final decision, but I believe it’s safe to say that you can expect a favorable response. We shall make it official in a few days or so, in the meantime, you’re welcome to stay in our nation," Remarked one of the Elders.

"Thank you kindly, we’re grateful," Smiled Lyra with a bow of her head.

"Before we wrap things up, if I may, I’d like to inquire about the Monster attack. Based on what the one who reported it said, it wasn’t simply an accidental or unlucky encounter, someone was behind it. And you seem to have an idea of who or what might have caused it," Spoke up Jules.

"Yes, but it isn’t anything to be concerned about. It’s simply an insignificant thorn in our side that we’ll be sure to deal with soon enough, so you needn’t worry about it. Now, then, I’m sure you all must be feeling at least a little fatigued, so please, rest for the remainder of the day."

With the conference adjourned, a guard was summoned to escort the trio to the guest quarters where the others were.

"We shall prepare a meal for you and rest of your party shortly, we will bring it to you here once it is ready," Remarked the guard politely as they arrived at the clearing, before bowing and leaving.

"Hm? Oh, hey, they’re back. How’d the conference go?" Called out Celia as the three of them walked over.

"Not too bad, thanks to you guys. They weren’t taking us seriously initially, but after they heard about what you guys did, they were a lot more respectful," Responded Aster with a thumbs up, as all the others gathered around.

Lyra then explained how the conference had gone in more detail, looking fairly satisfied with how it went.

"So, yeah, it looks like we might accomplish what we came here for, so I’d call this a success," She concluded with a smile.

"I gotta say though, those Elves were kinds naive. I mean, what happened with the Monster attack clearly swayed them in our favor, which was good for us, but probably not the best move logically on their part. Think about it, while you guys did save some people and all, that shouldn’t have been enough in erasing their concerns and suspicions over us. I guess long lives and experience aren’t everything," Shrugged Aster wryly.

"No, I disagree, I think there’s more to it than that. Yes, the Monster attack certainly helped in that they were willing to actually hear us out after it happened, but if we hadn’t made a good case for ourselves after that, I doubt they would have agreed to the alliance. And besides, the alliance isn’t set in stone just yet...I thought it was a little strange that they said they’d need a few days before finalizing it, but I think I get it now.

The way they said we were welcome to stay here until then, I believe they intend to observe us over these next few days. They’ll watch us closely, looking for anything suspicious, to confirm and justify whether allying with us is really the right move. So, the way we conduct ourselves going forward is likely to affect their final decision," Surmised Lyra with a nod.

"Yes, I believe you’re right, your Majesty. Alright, then...I don’t mean to sound like a broken record, but with this, it’s now more important than ever before that we stay on our best behavior and don’t cause any trouble," Declared Jules as she looked around sternly at the others.

"We really don’t need be reminded over and over again, Commander, I think we’ve all got it," Smiled Tilda wryly.

"Honestly, I’m not worried about most of you. You, on the other hand...," She trailed off as she glanced warily at Colt.

"Hm? Me?"

"Yes, you. Please don’t do anything foolish in the hopes that you get punished for it afterwards," She implored him nervously.

"Oh, right...yeah, I wouldn’t be surprised if he did something like that," Responded Celia with an exasperated sigh.

"Hey, come on, I’m not that stupid. I mean, I’d be lying if I said the thought hadn’t crossed my mind, the temptation is there, but I definitely won’t act on it," Replied Colt with a sheepish grin.

"Yeah, that response really doesn’t inspire a whole lot of confidence. Okay, how about this, i-if...if-...oh, I can’t believe I’m saying this...," Muttered Jules with a reluctant look on her face, before taking a deep breath and continuing with a grimace, "If you don’t cause any trouble, once we get back to Persona, I’ll...I-I’ll give you a beating."

"Oh, my," Responded Lyra in bemusement.

"Uh, you really don’t have to go that f-...," Began Aster.

"Woah, for real?! Alright, I’m holding you to that!" Exclaimed Colt with an excited gleam in his eyes, as Jules already began to regret her decision.

"Maybe...maybe I shouldn’t have brought him along with us."