A Tense Standoff and a Late-Night Visitor

John had arranged for the business negotiations to take place in an abandoned waystation in the central Windless Wasteland.

It had stood empty for so long that the negotiation hall felt cold and dim even in the morning.

Several long tables brought from Faoken had been pushed together in a row. Lunebo had spread a parchment map and several business documents across them. By the time John arrived with his people, the delegation from the Saga Kingdom was already seated.

The other side had brought fifteen people. Five were guards from the Black Abyss Clan, each radiating magic power at least on par with a High Mage. The hard look in their eyes marked them as seasoned elites. They stood silently in a corner of the hall, their gazes sweeping the room for threats.

At the head of the seated negotiators sat an elderly Beastfolk man with snow-white hair. He held a cup of black tea and took an occasional sip. He looked drowsy and short on energy, but a closer look revealed keen eyes. According to the list the other side had provided, he was Gerhart Thornhide, the Saka Royal House's lead negotiator. A clan chief of the Thornhide Tribe, the largest boarfolk tribe, he held a rank equivalent to John's viscount title in the Empire. His appointment was proper enough for the occasion.

Aside from the old porcupine man and the musclebound negotiators beside him—men who looked none too bright and had clearly been brought along to fill seats and intimidate—the person who most caught John's attention was the figure at the far end of their group, near the wall.

The man wore a gray robe. His face was unremarkable, and he was of average height and rather thin. He showed no Beastfolk features at all. If John