<…> Iris clearly didn''t consider the fact that Ayame could also be invited to the call, but I''d included her since the very beginning. She just elected to remain silent, patiently waiting for her rival to make a blunder before pouncing like a ravenous lioness. <Yes, you are.> Iris was perhaps the single most stubborn woman I''ve ever met; her three-year-old self decided she would rather endlessly suffer than give in to her evil father''s whims, so I wasn''t shocked to see her doubling down on her stance instead of making concessions.


    <Would you look at that? I have a wildly different memory of the events… In which you, like an instinctual beast ced under pressure, decided to lunge at the enemy and let yourself be impaled just so we can end the battle swifter, fearing reinforcements could arrive before we win. Even you yourself admitted it.>


    <I was injured and thus not in the right state of mind when I said that.>


    <Haha! You''re getting better at the art of shamelessness at a truly frightening pace. It''s like for every hour you spend in Quin''s presence, the less of a wild woman and more of a shameless scumbag you be.>


    … Did my beloved woman just refer to me as ''shameless scumbag''?


    … Moving on, I allowed the two fierce kittens to continue their bickeringpetition as I left the established telepathicmunication channel and refocused on the talks happening at the table.


    "The stance of the heads right now is ''we wish to retain the current peace that has been existing between us and the nobles''. To that end, you''re forbidden from causing any trouble with the authorities. A small offensemitted during these tense times could be equal to a great onemitted just a few days ago. The duke is expected to not look the other way until his emotionally charged heart calms down."


    "So we''ll just huddle down and wait for time to pass, solving most of our current issues in the process?" A woman with a distinct fashion taste asked. She had an iron cor around her neck, but it wasn''t the typical ve cor. Instead, it was decorated with happy drawings of hearts, butterflies, flowers, and the like. It was as if she was mocking the perilous lives ves were forced to endure. Just from her entric description, I knew her to be the subordinate of the ''human resources'' head, called Freedom.


    "Not exactly," Cipher shook his head. "We''re going to take precautions by stationing our troops in important positions so that we''re ready to respond should talks break down between us and the duke. We''ll send people on missions that will range from the aforementioned sentry duties to spying around important cities and towns to monitor their actions and to prepare for theplete takeover of Braedon. Our first act as the factions existing in this city will be its capturing and executing those that oppose us, should war erupt. To that end, you have to steel your heart, Griffith. You''ll have a role to y."


    Cipher finished his response by ncing at the man sitting very close to him. Griffith''s seat was smaller than the ornate chairs given to the faction leaders and the few uing bigshots like Ignis, and also they were spread apart from each other in equal distance, yet Griffith''s position was close to Cipher as if he was his apprentice, letting me know Cipher was grooming the noble to be his obedient pawn.


    As for how could a noble fall into the hands of criminals this thoroughly?@@novelbin@@


    "Y-y-y-yes, L-lord Cipher…" He stammered weakly while his eyes were hazy and unfocused. His entire body shook every few seconds as if he was freezing, but at the same time he was sweating as if he was sitting next to a furnace. His body was thin and fragile, and his head was balding in an unnatural pattern; patches of his scalp were bald, while other spots sported lush hair.


    It didn''t take a genius to figure out that he was hooked on the drugs of the Consortium. I didn''t quite know what sort of substance they produced, but it was a vile concoction that had to be ingested in the form of ck pills, which caused not only instant addiction but also almost immediate ruination of one''s body.


    I assumed Griffith''s medical expenses were staggering, considering he looked rather goodpared to what I saw in Anna''s and Beatrice''s devastated vige. Their father slowly became a walking corpse, a zombie, and the rest of the settlement didn''t enjoy a better fate either.


    Cipher spent the next few minutes instructing the faction leaders of the n cooked up by the seven heads. Many Phenoms and other members found themselves given important missions.


    However, I wasn''t given any task. Just as I thought that, Cipher nced in my direction and examined me for a few seconds before speaking up. "The bosses decided that if we wanted to give ourselves the best chances ofing out of an all-out war not only victorious but in a shape that would allow us to not be overtaken by the Phantom League and otherpetitors, we need to find allies…" Find more to read at My Virtual Library Empire


    Ambrosia spoke up, "That''s easier said than done, though. We can only count on ourselves. The nobles want us to disappear from the face of Thalorind while other syndicates would stab us in the back during our weakened state."


    "You''re right," Cipher nodded. "To that end, we need to look elsewhere. A curious image struck the bosses when they remembered back to the recent Phenom Trials. There was a certain dog-kin in the stands who had an incredibly favorable expression of her master, Devil, the Elemental Sovereign."


    Numerous heads snapped in my direction with eyes full of confusion, not getting Cipher''s point. I, on the other hand, immediately grasped what he meant.


    They wanted to send us to thends of the Beastman Confederation to look for allies…


    Cipher continued. "Ghost is her name. Due to her extreme adoration of her master, we believe Devil to be the perfect candidate to carry out the diplomatic mission of gathering allies among the beasts, creating a coordinated attack against the nobles together with us. Beast-kin refuse to converse with humans in any diplomatic manner; cooperation has never been an option. The beast ves we have in humannds disy an innate, instinctual hate toward their captors, making tales of deep rtionships between a human and his beast ve more or less a fairy tale.


    However, ck Fang believes Devil to have the social skills and required tools to establish a connection between us and them, using his dog-kin rogue''s overwhelming adoration toward him as the catalyst. When they see her immense trust in Devil, they might open up for the first time. It''s a stretch, we know, and to that end, he will be apanied by multiple elites. The group that will undertake this mission will include: Devil and his Heralds. Ryker and his Heralds. ck Fang''s disciples, Vex and Raika. Lastly, Lord Broker also wished to invest in the mission, thus Vesper Phenom-ranked Wrath is included in the group, and he asks his former Protégé, the Shadow Vanguard-ranked Ignis to participate as well."


    Multiple shocked gasps sounded, and the staring on my person intensified. Making a diplomatic connection with the Beastman Confederation, who were thought to be akin to walking, talking animals with innate hostility toward humanity? It sounded like a mission impossible. I sensed many gleeful thoughts from those that hoped the super rookie would make a mistake and cease being the talk of the syndicate. This was the exact situation they were waiting for.


    However, I wasn''t paying attention to these nobodies, for I was feeling excited.


    With the assistance of the Consortium, I had been granted the chance of crossing the heavily guarded borders and search for Blossom''s mother, which was something I wanted to do for a long while now.


    It was time for us to visit thends of the beast-kin, apanied by the group of has-beens and the elite fighters, and, well, let''s just say that the nature of our visit would not remain diplomatic for very long.