216 Meeting. (1/2)

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-In a room with a long round table-

A couple of middle and old looking men sat around the table, each having a solemn expression on their face, not letting the others get any read on them.

”He is only an arrogant brat! No need to accept anything,” an old-looking man commented, breaking the stillness.

”Exactly. After advancing to Rank-9, he thinks too highly of himself already,” the middle-aged man with shiny red hair expressed his agreement.

Another old looking man also chimed in, ”I also have the same thoughts. There is no need to invite such a presumptuous person. It will only ruin the good atmosphere.”

All of them had previously forced the mercenary guild to invite the Leader of the Three-Eyed Strangers to get a chance at making an alliance with them. However, if he had put his demand to have Emperor Luthien attend as well, it could only mean that he was planning to ally with the Silverbird Kingdom.

Only four people there remained quiet. One of them was the Main Leader of the mercenary guild, one of them represented the Leonhard Dynasty, one was the Archbishop of the Church, and the last was Alver.

Even among other Rank-9 Mages, these four stood out the most because of their aura and temperament. In 1 on 1 fight, they could beat any one of those present here.

”I don't think it is necessary to fulfill some childish demands either,” after a while, the Leader of the mercenary guild spoke. His words satisfied most of them but the Archbishop and Alver.

Archbishop naturally wouldn't want to lose the opportunity to get into contact with Ozul, while Alver wished for things to turn out the way his nephew wanted.

”Since everyone agrees, I hope to-” the Guild's Leader had thought that everyone was of the same opinion. However, his words were cut off by the Archbishop who said, ”I don't agree.”

”Huh?” the Guild's Leader naturally didn't like anyone interrupting him. He turned towards the Archbishop and said, ”And why so, Archbishop Lammert?”

”In my opinion, inviting Emperor Luthien isn't such a big deal,” Archbishop Lammert completely ignored the Guild Leader's question.

The Guild Leader stared at Archbishop Lammert as he thought, 'Why is he taking such a sudden interest in that new kid? Previously, everyone had proposed that we invite him, but he hadn't said a thing... If it was anyone else, I could have ignored it, but the Church is also the part of organizers.'

Although the final decision would still be up to him, the Guild Leader couldn't just ignore Lammert's words either.

Unlike others, the people present here all knew the true face of this kind middle-aged man. They couldn't ignore the hypocrisy in Lammert's last sentence. Instead of compassion, it was rather a threat. He was simply telling them to listen to him, or he will do it himself.

However, if he did what he had said, the situation would really be unfavorable to them. If it was the Church that had personally accepted that new Rank-9 Mage's request, then the latter's judgment would most definitely be in the favor of the Church.

On the other hand, if it was the mercenary guild accepting his demand, everyone would have a fair chance at it.

With such thoughts in their mind, the people who had opposed the idea of accepting didn't speak up. They didn't know what had gotten into the Archbishop, but if they let him accept the request personally, they would lose the chances of allying with that new Rank-9 Mage. Even when they called Ozul a brat just a moment ago, a Rank-9 Mage's strength was not something to be joked about.

The Mercenary Guild Leader, being the only neutral party, still didn't want to accept Ozul's demands.

'Only that could work now...' the Guild Leader thought as he glanced at Alver sitting on the opposite side of the Archbishop. Everyone knew the animosity between the two was such that the Ashin family would go as far as to bear some losses if it meant pushing down the Church another notch.

Trying not to make it so obvious, the Guild Leader first turned towards the middle-aged with unruly long orange hair. He was the man representing the Leonhard Dynasty. He asked, ”What are your opinions, Emperor Elsug?”

”Whatever,” Emperor Elsug shrugged his shoulders. He didn't really care about this small matter that everyone seemed to be making such a big deal out of.

The Guild Leader nodded his head, it was as he expected; Elsug would have a neutral opinion on this. With a small smile, he then turned towards Alver.

Everyone understood what the Guild Leader was trying to do. Even Alver knew that the Guild Leader was hoping for him to stand against Archbishop Lammert. That way, the Guild Leader wouldn't have to take the responsibility of declining the demands.

Archbishop had also prepared himself to have a harsh battle of words with Alver, however, it was unexpected when the latter spoke, ”I don't have any opinions on this matter.”