'Okay…this is a lot more formal than I was expecting.' I thought as I sat at the head of the of a long oak table in the board room.
The board room felt cold and suffocating, this was thanks to several of the people seated in the various chairs around the table. To my right and left sat Iris and Jane respectively. Seated on the right side of the table was Damon, Louie, Nate, Sin, and Astrid in that order. Grandpa Seamus was seated in a chair directly across from me. Three women and two men sat on the left side, though I had no idea who all but two of those people were. All five of these people were military splicers and high ranking ones at that.
"Master Kingston, I wasn't informed that you would be joining us today." Angela Estrada, A general in the Spanish military who I had met on Tsushima Island, before my dual with Loki.
"I didn't know I would be joining either until a few hours ago…" I said sheepishly. This earned pointed looks from Iris and Jane.
"It is unexpected but welcome!" Sazeem, the Minister of National Defense, exclaimed happily. The smile on his face seemed unnatural, considering that he'd only ever frowned or scowled every time I met him before. Admittedly it was only twice but each time the man left an impression.
"Since this is your first time attending one of these meeting Chase, I'll introduce our guests." Jane said, switching to her cold princess voice and demeanor. She stood and motioned to each of the five splicers. "From the Spanish army we have General Estrada, from the Neo-German alliance Navy Admiral Richter, from the Naval branch of the Royal Japanese Self-Defense Force Admiral Shikaku, from the Egyptian Air force Captain Alejah, and lastly the minister of National Defense, Minster Sazeem."
I nodded politely as Jane introduced each person, even the ones that I had met before. I was slightly suspicious as to why there were several high ranking members of multiple countries military attending a company meeting but the fact that Grandpa didn't seem concerned relaxed a few fears.
"Now as is normal with these meetings we'll first hear any concerns or modifications our military representatives have about our contracts with them." Jane said then sat down. General Estrada raised her hand first and all eyes focused on her.
"Spain would like to halt shipments of evos after this next one." The general said, her voice changing to a more authoritative one.
"Is there a problem with the evos?" I asked, concerned for many reason. Memories of the Primordial and its rampage flashing in my mind. General Estrada quickly shook her head, holding her hands up reflexively.
"No! Of course not Master Kingston!" She exclaimed, then pulled a brief case from under the table and pulled a folder out, sliding it across the table to me. "The Spanish army has purchased eighty Lycan Zee Jaegers, two hundred Ogarai, and ninety Scare-adorables in the last six months. Currently the units and squads the splicers of those evos have been assigned to have the highest kill counts and lowest casualty rates. With the highest being only two percent over the last six months."
I picked up the folder, opening it to find pages of spreadsheets and graphs that I couldn't make heads or tails of. I spent a few moments glancing at the graphs until Jane leaned over to look at them then frowned at me. She gently took the folder and turned it right side up. I pretended that she had done nothing and continued to read the spreadsheets.
"So what is the reason you want to halt further shipments?" I asked.
"The evos that you have sold us are too good at killing the enemy and protecting their splicers. Spain is currently at war with six minor countries that border our own. These conflicts are projected to end with our opponents surrender in the next two months, this is entirely due to the power of the evos purchased from Sho'lajah Artifact Company. With these conflicts resolution our king would like time to recover before jumping into another conflict with the countries that tried to assassinate you." General Estrada quickly explained.
"So you're hoping to save money by relying on the forces you have and the evos we've already sent you?" Iris asked. General Estrada nodded, earning a contemplative look from Iris.
"A war against six countries simultaneously sounds impossible to win General. Are you sure you want to forsake further shipments from Master Kingston's company?" Minister Sazeem asked.
"They are small countries, Minister Sazeem. Their armies all combined do not equal Spain's army." General Estrada replied. The minister nodded at that comment but didn't reply further. I glanced to Jane who took the queue.
"We will modify our current contract to reflect this General. Louie, be sure to inform production of this change." Jane said. Louie nodded and made a note in a notebook he pulled from his pocket.
"Thank you…" General Estrada said. Admiral Richter raised his hand next.
"The Neo-German alliance would like to cut back on the evos sent to us as well." Admiral Richter announced. "Our war with England and France has progressed rather rapidly in the last few months, so much so that more than sixty percent of English territory and forty percent of French territory is currently under my country's control. This is thanks to the evos sent to us, we believe in another six months the war with England will be over and we can focus on France."
"If that is the case then wouldn't it be more prudent to order more evos instead of less?" Damon asked. The Admiral looked then Damon and nodded grimly.
"Yes normally. However we are currently experiencing a problem, we have having less success finding viable matches among Shaped evos and splicers in our military." Admiral Richter replied.
"So there are a lot of rejections then?" Jane asked. The Admiral nodded, a look of shame flashed across his face for the briefest of moments. I looked to the other representatives.
"Is everyone here to asked for reduced or halted evo orders?" I asked. The men and women in the room all shared looks before they nodded, one after the other. I shared a look with Jane, she didn't look concerned. Rather like she expected this.
"Your evos are costly but worth the cost Master Kingston, however with the exception of Spain the rest of our countries are just in the beginning stages of war. Sticking to one doctrine when our enemy will be forced to evolve if they want to survive is a good way to end up having the tides turned on us." Minister Sazeem explained.
"So basically you want to cut back on investing too much into one particular group of evos in case your enemies adapt to them." I summarized. All of the representatives nodded, albeit reluctantly.
"That is fine, its not like there is a minimum number of evos you need to buy each month or anything. Plus of your country's military doesn't have enough splicers able to bond with evos then buying too many is just a waste." I said casually.
Every representative in the room seemed to relax at that comment. Captain Alejah even visibly let out a breath of relief, like he was afraid of my anger. I blocked out the little voice in the back of my head that was annoyed at that revelation.
"I might be the owner of the company but first and foremost the well being and care of any evos created at my company is my greatest concern." I announced to the table. Nate, Louie, Damon, Astrid and Sin all nodded approvingly at my announcement while the representatives expressions turned thoughtful and contemplative. "Though while I have everyone here, I would like an update on the war efforts of each country."
The representatives all flashed each other a look of suspicion, not of me but of each other. Which made sense considering they were members of different militaries. Regardless Minister Sazeem spoke up.
"Egypt is currently engaged in a war with England and France working with the Neo-German alliance. We are currently conducting joint operations to secure points of egress into the countries as well as cut of support from their allies in the Divine Chinese Empire, Scotland, and the Divine kingdom of Nigeria." Minister Sazeem explained. I frowned at the last part of his news.
"The Divine Kingdom of Nigeria is a ally of France and England?" I asked.
"A reluctant ally, England and Nigeria have been in a cold war for years now but Nigeria and the Neo-German alliance has been enemies for decades and Egypt has been rivals with them since both countries birth." Jane explained.
"So they are siding with England because they're worried about two openly aggressive enemies attacking a passive aggressive one?" I summarized. Jane and Sazeem nodded in agreement.
"Hostilities between Japan and The Divine Chinese Empire have progressively escalated. There have been several skirmishes at the boarders of Chinese waters." Admiral Shikaku offered, then paused before adding. "We are currently focused on keeping China occupied and unable to send aid to any of their cohorts in their attack on Tsushima island."
'Makes sense, considering Hideyoshi's brothers are nobles in England and France, he wouldn't want to outwardly attack them. He's probably working in the background to get them out of their countries before things got too intense.' I thought.
"What about Scotland?" I asked. My words hung heavily in the air for some reason while everyone else in the room share looks. After a few moments of awkward silence Jane spoke up.
"We will discuss that topic when the military representatives return to their duties." She said, the cold authoritative tone leaving no room for objections from anyone.
"I see…" I said then looked to the representatives of the Neo-German alliance and Spain. "…I have a good grasp of your country's military maneuvers from your reports earlier."
Both representative nodded, relief spreading across their faces again. Hearing that Jane clapped her hands, getting everyone's attention.
"I believe that this is a great place to end this meeting." She said.
All the representatives except for Minister Sazeem stood at that and bowed respectfully to Jane, Grandpa Seamus, and me before turning to the others in the room and offering respectful goodbyes then turning and heading towards the doors to the boardroom. The soliders that had escorted the representatives, except for the ones escorting Sazeem, followed them to the staircase and down to the lower floors.
"Well now that they are gone the real meeting can begin." Sin said with a stretch and roll of his shoulders. "Gods above I can never relax around those military types."
"You do realize I was a captain in the army before I was elevated by his majesty, right?" Sazeem asked with a arched brow. Sin; to his credit; didn't looked fazed and instead shrugged.
"Yeah but you're not now. You're not as straight-laced unless the Pharaoh is around." Sin replied. Sazeem chuckled then looked to Jane.
"Shall I start your, highness?" Sazeem asked. She nodded and sat up straight. Sazeem grabbed a suitcase from under the table and slid it across to me. "The queen and her people have finished their audit of the royal library. They found several text and artifacts hidden among the tomes and scrolls. The foremost being that."
I opened the briefcase and saw a small jade tablet inside. It had Torapos inscribed across the face of it. I frowned as I tried to read it and found that there were a few words I didn't recognize. After a few moments of attempting to decipher the message written on it I found I was getting a headache.
"Grandpa can you read this?" I asked, sliding the briefcase across the length of the table to him. He looked the tablet over a few seconds then frowned.
"For the love o've a bog-bitten cod piece!" Grandpa Seamus growled then pinched the bridge of his nose.
"What does it say?" I asked, insistently. Grandpa grumbled then pushed the briefcase away.
"I don't know Starlight. The bloody thing is encrypted!" Grandpa Seamus said with a annoyed hiss.
"Encrypted? That's a new one…depending on how old the encryption is the cipher could be lost…" I commented. Grandpa Seamus huffed and shook his head.
"Its not lost Starlight, ya can find the cipher in Sullivardic village." Grandpa Seamus said, though his tone was bitter and bordering on resentful.
"Really?" Everyone exclaimed. Grandpa nodded then crossed his arms.
"Aye! While I can't read ta bloody thing is recognize it as the cipher used by the village chiefs."
"While that information is all well and good Master Craftsman MacClery, it means nothing if we know nothing how to get to the legendary village." Minister Sazeem said.
"You know how to get there though, don't you? You were born in Sullivardic village." I asked. Minister Sazeem's eyes nearly bugged out of his skull when he heard me say that.
"Aye…but yer not ready ta go there yet Starlight." Grandpa's voice dropped to a steely tone. This made me frown.
"Why? What do you mean?" I asked. Grandpa pointed at me and his expression turned concerned.
"Yer skin 'n bones laddy! Ya look more like a corpse than a young'un!" Grandpa Seamus said. He shook his head then crossed his arms and leaned back in his seat. "Ya have more on yer plate than just that tablet Starlight. A lot more than ya want to admit."
The vagueness of his comment made me frown but at the same time it spoke volumes about what he was really getting at. I wasn't the only one that noticed either, whether because it was obvious or because he had spoken about it before I couldn't tell.
"You mean the plague?" Astrid asked. Grandpa nodded then looked at me.
"Yer in not condition ta tackle either problem. The table or the plague. The answer to both lies in Sullivardic village…"