When Leon awoke, for a brief few minutes, he was happy.  His mood was not tainted by worries, stresses, or any other weighty things that titles such as ‘King’ brought.  The reasons for his mood were tucked under his arms: Maia and Elise with limbs entwined beneath his right arm, and Cassandra curled up with her back to him under his left.  He missed Valeria but felt secure knowing that he was going to see to her needs this night.

And so his good mood persisted even as he carefully extricated himself from his ladies—despite his care, he still disturbed them enough that Cassandra was loudly groaning in protest while Elise had sat up, blinking with bleary eyes, clearly still half-asleep and thus not quite knowing what he was doing.  Maia, on the other hand, simply curled up and went back to sleep.  Leon didn’t think her eyes even once opened.

It took him barely a minute to bathe thanks to his water magic, and when he returned to the bedroom, he found Cassandra was now sitting up and Elise was leaning against the backrest, propped up by pillows and with Maia in her arms.

“Time for work?” Elise asked, her emerald eyes narrowing as a smile bloomed on her face.

Leon nodded.  “Among other things, we have to sit in on the beginnings of the negotiations, and when we can leave, I have a lot of people to visit.”

“When you say ‘we’…” Cassandra murmured, her ruby eyes heavily lidded.  She looked like the last thing she wanted to do was get up.

“I mean ‘we’,” Leon playfully said.  He raised his eyebrows and gave her a meaningful look, which she responded to with a glare and rolled over onto her side.  “My grandmother doesn’t need me for this… I can get in a few more minutes…”

After pulling on his pants, Leon crossed the space between them and gave her bare butt a quick slap.  He put not even enough strength in the playful strike to redden her skin, but it certainly made a satisfying noise.  More satisfying, however, was the sound of Elise’s restrained laughter.

Cassandra squawked in surprise and almost bolted upright, but he’d leaned over her, trapping her against the bed as he propped himself up with his arms on either side of her.

She glared up at him, little heat in her eyes, while he smiled right back at her.

“Let’s not be lazy, now,” he said.  “These are our duties.  Let’s see to them quickly, and then fuck off to do whatever else we want.”

Her glare softened into a mild look of reproach, and her legs lifted a bit to tease at his thighs.  “You’re going to pay for that later…” she promised.

“Wonderful, I’m looking forward to it,” Leon said as he slid his hands beneath her back and sprang up, taking her with him.  She gasped in shock and might’ve fallen to the floor had Leon not tightened his hold on her and held her a few inches off the ground.  Only when she clearly had her legs beneath her did he swiftly seal her lips with his and let her down.

With a deep sigh, Cassandra gave the bed one last mournful look before following Leon’s example and making for the bathroom.  Unlike Leon, however, she had time to not only fully dress before she came back out but also to sit on the bed for a little while and spend just a few more minutes with Elise.

Once Cassandra was ready, though, it was time to get to work.  Leon gave Elise a deep kiss goodbye—she had her own things to do running the villa, but she would remain in bed for a little while longer—and rose to leave.

“We’ll be back soon, I promise,” Leon said to his fire-haired wife.

“Take your time,” Elise replied with a loving smile.  “And bring back some peace while you’re out, won’t you?”

“I’ll see if I can find some,” Leon grumbled without much seriousness.

And with that, Leon held out his arm for Cassandra, and together, they started their day.

---

For Leon, the negotiations were easy, if nerve-wracking.  He met with his delegation early for one last strategy meeting where he reiterated his desire for peace, though not at the expense of the Ten Tribes.  He also repeated that he didn’t expect they’d return to Kataigida with anything more than a temporary truce contingent on further negotiations, so they didn’t have to worry about delivering the moon during these sessions.

Once that was complete, Leon and his delegation were brought to one of Heaven’s Eye’s most opulent towers within sight of the Hexagon.  They were shown to the top floor, which was entirely taken up by a massive meeting room.  The walls were enchanted to see the city outside, and the floors were marble polished to a near-mirror shine.  The only pieces of furniture inside were two tables and their accompanying chairs, though each table was large enough to seat several dozen.

Each side of these negotiations would sit at one of the tables, though what surprised Leon the most about this was seeing only two of them; he’d assumed that the Sacred Golden Empire and Ilian Empire would be negotiating separately, though this at least implied they’d be presenting a united front against his Kingdom.

Soon enough, the Imperials arrived, only a couple minutes behind his people.  Leon nodded in greeting at Anastasios and the Grand Druid, both of whom were now accompanied not by any powerful guards, but by a small army of bureaucrats, few of whom were even seventh-tier, let alone eighth.  However, from the look of them, Leon assumed them to be master diplomats.

Accompanying them was Cassandra, who gave him a confident smirk as she entered, dressed in a golden gown cut in the Evergolden style.

Once everyone was in the room, both sides took their seats at the same time, with Leon sitting in the center of his table and flanked by Sar and Exallos.  Opposite him was the Grand Druid and Anastasios seated side-by-side, and Cassandra on the Grand Druid’s other side.

Introductions were made again, but before any terms could be stated, Leon rose and made his desire for peace known.  He spoke no more words than that, not wanting to box his people in with his words, and when he was finished, the Lord Protector and Grand Druid both rose and spoke similar words.

And with that, they left.  Cassandra joined them, leaving the negotiations to each other’s people.

‘Easy enough,’ Leon had thought as he rode the lift back down to the ground floor, where horseless carriages awaited them to take them as a group back to his villa.

Seemingly on the same page, Anastasios said as the lift shot downward, “Painless, wasn’t it?”

“Hmm?” Leon hummed in response.

“Our roles in these talks,” Anastasios said with a smile.  “Isn’t it great to be so powerful and important that one can just tell other people to do something you don’t want to do?”  His smile turned into an almost diabolical grin, which faltered when the Grand Druid pinched his arm.

“One shouldn’t be so eager to foist one’s duties off on others,” she reprimanded.  Turning to Leon, she added, “A monarch’s role is integral, and they should never shirk their responsibilities.”

“No one’s shirking anything!” the Lord Protector responded with faux indignity and outrage, dramatically rubbing the spot where the Grand Druid had pinched him.  “I but do what all good monarchs do!  Delegate!”  He flashed Leon another grin.

Leon chuckled.  “As you and so many others have repeatedly tried to teach me.  Better for a King to recognize his shortcomings and find someone competent to pick up the slack.”

“See?  Look at that, you get it!”  The Lord Protector earned himself another pinch for that one, though Leon could tell it was all in good fun with how exaggerated his look of betrayal was.

“So, Leon, where to next?” Cassandra asked as she draped herself over his shoulder.

Leon noted Anastasios and the Grand Druid glance at him with great interest when his wife asked that question, so instead of giving her a straight answer, he simply turned his head, grinned mischievously at her, and said, “Oh, you know, places.  Things to do, people to see…”

Cassandra pouted and cried, “You can tell me, can’t you?”

“I could, but we’re about to reach the bottom floor,” Leon pointed out.  Immediately, the four of them straightened up.  When the lift reached their destination and the doors opened, they exited with all the dignity and grace that their stations demanded.

The three Imperials were met with their large entourages—Cassandra’s unit of personal guards having come from Evergold to see to their now-Queen—while Leon linked up with his Tempest Knights.  Up to this point, his knights had mostly been in full armor when on duty.  Now, however, with him not wanting to draw too much attention, they were dressed in rather nondescript clothes that didn’t stand out too much from what the average citizen in Occulara was wearing.  They were clearly his people, but no longer was it obvious that they were from the Ten Tribes.

Thankfully, they were extremely professional, remaining calm and stoic even in one of the biggest and most important cities in Imperial territory, surrounded by people who might’ve been baying for their blood if they only knew who they were.

At the street, he bid the other three farewell and made his way to the Hexagon.  Since it was right there, he figured it would be better to visit it now than later.

Unfortunately, there hadn’t been much progress with most of Magical Research and Development’s projects, but he received updates from them all the same.  He was going to have to link them up with the Ravens, but that might take some time.

Certainly before he left, though.

After visiting his tower, it was to the Hexagon itself he went.  He was interested in getting into the weeds with his research team leads, but it was the Director that he really needed to link up with.

Upon arriving at the man’s office, he was shown in immediately, though his knights had to remain outside.

About as expected, the Director was in front of his desk, leaning against it with his window at his back.  Penelope was right next to him.  While the light from the window obscured the Director’s face, Penelope was more relaxed, allowing Leon to easily see the smile on her face.

“Look at you,” Penelope said as he walked in and the door closed behind him.  “Swaggering in here like a King!”  She pushed herself off the desk and walked up to greet him.  She extended a hand, and Leon clasped her wrist.  “Congratulations, Leon,” she said.

“Penny, dear,” the Director said, amusement practically dripping from his voice, “he’s a King, now!  Don’t forget your manners!”

Penelope gave the Director a mirthful look before turning back to give Leon a searching look.  “I haven’t offended You Majesty, have I?” she asked sarcastically.  “I would be so terribly embarrassed if I have upset Your Majesty in any way!”

“I’m afraid you have offended me, and quite grievously,” Leon replied, laying the snark on fairly thick by his standards.  “But I am a just and benevolent King, so to you, I issue a pardon.”

“Oh!  Truly, your magnanimity knows no bounds!”

“All right, enough,” the Director intoned as he stood up fully.  “In all seriousness, Leon.  Congratulations.”

“Thank you,” Leon replied.  “It’s been a long time coming, I think.  I’m happy I’ve finally come this far.  But let’s not start passing out the cookies just yet, we still have a lot to do.”

“I’d like some cookies,” Penelope snarked.  “Cookies improve any situation…”

Without missing a beat, Leon retrieved some cookies from the travel rations he kept in his soul realm.  They were not particularly good by any measure, but they lasted a good long while.

Penelope took one look at the cookies and said, “Maybe I spoke too soon…”

“Now, then,” Leon said, his tone turning serious, “let’s just jump into it, shall we?”

“I’m ready for it, let’s go,” Penelope said.

The Director merely nodded.

“First of all, now that we’re here, in private and in person, let’s reaffirm our partnership.”

“We are allies,” the Director declared.  “Heaven’s Eye will devote to you all the resources it has, in return for you aiding us to leave this plane.”

Leon slowly nodded.  “I agree to those terms.  What I’m a little more uncertain about, though, is what comes after we leave…”

“After…?” the Director whispered leadingly.

“After,” Leon confirmed.  “What are your plans for after?  It’s always been your dream to achieve Apotheosis and leave this plane, hasn’t it?  When it’s yours, what then?”

The Director smiled.  “I almost think we’ve been over this before.  But in case we haven’t, let me be clear.  If you would have me, I would follow you for a time.  There is much we can achieve together, and I, for one, fully believe that any business you get mired in will be some of the most mentally and physically stimulating in the entire universe.”

“So you would acknowledge me as your King, then?” Leon asked, wanting him to be specific.

The Director paused a moment before looking Leon in the eye.  “I would.”  He bent slightly at the waist, not lowering himself too much, but enough to be clear that he was bowing.  “For political purposes, I won’t make a public statement.  But here, in the safety of my office, allow me to make it clear: you are my King.  Heaven’s Eye is yours, returned to the Thunderbird Clan that laid the groundwork for it so long ago… so long as you keep your word to me.”

Leon regarded the man as dispassionately as he could, and after detecting no lies, clapped him on the shoulder.  “That goes without saying.  And I would be quite remiss if I didn’t at least try to recruit you into my Kingdom!  I’m happy that you are willing to take that step yourself!  You can rest assured that I will always keep faith with those who keep it with me.”

The Director nodded, and a moment later, Penelope bowed as her father had, and spoke the same words.

Leon, barely able to keep the smile from his face, thanked them both and said, “Now, let’s put all this formality behind us and crack on with business!”  Without further ado, he conjured some documents from his soul realm and slapped them down onto the Director’s desk.  “Here is what my people have regarding Titanstone output.”

The Director’s eyes practically bulged out of his eyes as he snatched up the papers with lightning speed.  He scanned through them quickly, knowing as well as Leon did the difficulty of refining Titanstone.

After a moment, he put the papers back down, a strained smile on his face.  “Worse than I hoped; better than I feared.”

“My thoughts exactly,” Leon replied as Penelope made to go over the papers herself.  “I’d hoped with their skill in arksmithing, the Ten Tribes would have better techniques for extracting Titanstone from the quarried or mined ore.  No such luck.  But it’s still an improvement compared to what we might’ve gotten our hands on before.”

The Director agreed.  “Seven tons, though…”

“Would take decades to accumulate,” Leon finished.  “We can’t just halt all ark construction without negotiating a lasting peace with all Empires, and current stockpiles aren’t even close to what we need.”

With a sigh, the Director said, “It was too much to hope for.  But it’s better than nothing.  Still, I have consulted with Nestor a couple of times since you brought him here.  Repairs for Storm Herald are proceeding with what is currently possible to repair.  The other arks… may take more time.”

“The Ravens-of-Hail-Hall will be brought on to help,” Leon said.  “Bringing the arks down to Kataigida might be for the best; having to hide them here means that even if we had the raw resources and technical know-how to fix them, our pace would still be slow.  Down in Raiginn, we have advanced arkyards with highly experienced arksmiths who could have these repairs done as quickly as possible.”

“Moving those arks won’t be easy,” the Director said.  “Just getting that arkyard built and the arks moved in was a serious hassle…”

Leon grimaced in sympathy.  He assumed the Director would’ve had to use his soul realm to move the arks, and while just about anything could be stored in one’s soul realm, the strain of putting something in and taking it out again increased dramatically with that thing’s size.  Leon was a ninth-tier mage, but he still strained with his modular villa; he could barely imagine how much it might hurt to squeeze an ark the size of Storm Herald into and out of his soul realm, let alone the damage he’d risk in trying to do so.

“We’re not operating with limited time,” Leon said.  “We can take this slow and easy.  But I still think getting those arks down to Raiginn is the best play.”

The Director sighed again.  “I… agree.  The lack of progress made on those arks so far has, to a large extent, been because I’ve been trying to keep them hidden.  Being able to be open about them, even if it’s among Sky De—the Ten Tribes, would, just by itself, be an enormous boon.”

Leon glared reproachfully at his almost use of the less-than-polite way that the Empires referred to the Ten Tribes but gave no further admonishments.

“I’ll arrange introductions with some Ravens later,” Leon said.  “Tikos will have some new comm lotuses for me, and I’ll be passing more out once I return to the island.”

“Wonderful,” the Director responded.

Leon smiled.  He and the Director would have more to discuss later, but he ended their meeting there.  He had others he needed to get an update from, and he wanted to take care of that before his people finished the first day of negotiations.  And he’d start with Nestor.

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