Renard breathed; "but honestly, there’s really no need for any of us to be so incredibly uptight and tense about everything, people! C’mon now! We’ve mostly all known one another for many centuries at this point; aren’t we... well, you know... something close to frien—"

"No!"

Everyone present—except for Titania who actually was in approval—in the grand hall managed to mutter their disapproval almost at the exact same moment.

Their eyes were already visibly bored and weary of the overly sentimental direction the conversation seemed to be heading.

"Haha! At least you all agree on something for once. I guess that counts as progress, right?" Renard laughed heartily, his voice echoing lightly through the living ironwood hall as genuine amusement sparkled in his bright blue eyes.

Then, after carefully cleaning away the small tears of laughter that had gathered at the corners of his eyes, he straightened up in his seat and started speaking again with renewed energy.

He said; "Elara, you are not going to pull any kind of stunt on anyone, you hear me?"

Elara snapped her head toward him with obvious annoyance flashing across her strong features.

"You do not get to tell me what to do!" She lashed, "You have never had your own special person taken away from you in the way I have!"

"Trust me," he replied, offering her a warm and understanding smile that reached all the way to his eyes, "I have lived long enough—many lifetimes, in fact—to understand, time and time again, exactly what it means to lose something and someone you truly care about deep. Not to mention... you were lucky enough to actually get yours back in the end."

Elara’s eyes widened for the briefest fraction of a second, a flicker of surprise crossing her face.

Then she slowly relaxed her tense shoulders just a little, the hard lines around her expression softening ever so slightly.

"F... Forgive my outburst," she said in a much calmer and more measured voice, lowering her gaze for a moment. "I did not intend to resurface any kind of painful memories or old wounds—"

"No, no! It is completely okay," Renard waved his hand gently in a reassuring gesture, his tone light and forgiving. "we should let bygones be bygones. Even between all of us, alright? No more unnecessary wars or conflicts between ourselves... Hear that loud and clear, Sakura?!"

The beast queen rolled her sharp amber eyes in mild exasperation, slowly drawing another long pull of fragrant smoke from her elegant kiseru pipe before exhaling it in a graceful curl.

"Naturally," she answered in her usual cool and composed manner. "Shishi-no-su will not lay a single hand on anyone who chooses to cooperate fully and without resistance."

Renard chirped happily, his face brightening with clear relief.

"Then it is settled! Elara, please forgive us for turning your god-touched into a bit of a pass-around toy during these difficult times. And in return, kindly release our spies... that is, if they are still sane after everything you must have put them through."

The power was absolute. The suggestion/ advice here was more of a divine decree.

It annoyed the vengeful Elara a little, but truly there was nothing more to be done.

These seven kingdoms were divided into three parts;

The first generation: Renard Valois, Titania, and Mótsognir. They were the three great rulers that time, many thousand years ago.

The second generation: Sakura came along a while later, and Elara soon joined. The five great rulers.

Then the third generation: Belladova joined, and the competent Dynamis got the Goliathens to join, despite being a smaller civilization, much like Verdant Spire.

So there is an unspoken rule. One that everyone below the first generation instinctively knows; [We know when Renard Valois is serious. We do not defy that.]

"Ugh, leave it to this cheeky brat to mend an international hazard so quickly and casually," Mótsognir rolled his eyes dramatically while twirling his bushy reddish-brown beard between thick fingers. "Don’t get too cocky now, boy. I still haven’t forgotten all the evil you did to me all those years ago..."

"Ignoring the short fatty over there," Renard continued smoothly as he turned his attention back toward the rest of the gathered leaders, completely unbothered.

While the dwarven king visibly developed a throbbing vein on his forehead in silent fury.

Renard continued; "let’s discuss some far more important details... Like, how in the world did Benjamin Mark manage to evolve not just once, but twice in a single month?"

The leaders around the massive oval table began to stir noticeably in their seats.

Their eyes darted carefully from one face to another as the weight of that particular thought started to roll through the room like an invisible current.

"Indeed," Dynamis interjected with her deep, resonant voice, leaning forward slightly. "Even for a god-touched, Benjamin Mark is proving to be far too anomalous... far too dangerous to be left in the hands of an immature queen who is so easily swayed by raw emotion and personal feelings."

Elara’s sharp eyes immediately moved toward Dynamis as fresh rage began to bubble and simmer just beneath the surface of her controlled expression.

"I agree completely," Mótsognir added, his tone turning serious this time, all traces of earlier grumbling gone. "It would take no more than a few short minutes to completely remove his existence from the face of Elyndor... but in that very same brief moment, he could just as easily remove the entire kingdom of Steelwood from the map without breaking a sweat."

"Hmph. Defeat Benjamin within minutes?" Sakura drew another slow, deliberate puff of smoke from her kiseru, her amber eyes narrowing slightly. "You clearly underestimate that man, Mótsognir. He and Kurosawa Ren fought fiercely within the borders of Shishi-no-su, and he very nearly won the battle. In fact, he succeeded in draining Ren’s magic and energy so thoroughly that the poor man also fainted right after his victory."

"Well, Kurosawa must be getting far too relaxed and complacent over the years," Mótsognir insisted stubbornly, crossing his thick arms over his chest. "Maybe I should pay a visit there myself and shape him up properly once again."

"You are not welcomed in Shishi-no-su anymore, remember?" Sakura slowly turned her gaze toward him, her expression darkening with clear warning.

"Oh? Did you not realize that I was actually present at the festival you held in honor of the god-touched? So you truly did not spot me at the Trial of the Black Lake?" The dwarf king raised one bushy eyebrow in challenge. "So you have gone senile with age as well... Do you mind if I... shape you up a little bit too while I’m at it?"

The two powerful rulers locked eyes across the table as thick, heavy bloodlust began to rise between them like visible misty vapors.

The sheer intensity of it was strong enough to make several of the Amazon guards stationed at the entrance of the hall take several uneasy steps backward in instinctive caution.

"Hey—