The two sides had finally assembled. Beneath the towering Sky Dome, at this negotiating table, they could finally have a proper talk.
...Right?
By all rights, nothing else should have gone wrong, yet the atmosphere throughout the hall felt decidedly strange.
After taking his seat, Gron said nothing, merely glaring fixedly at the bugs across from him.
Isara's mind was not on the negotiations at all. She had come only to make her position clear.
Mortas... well, he had not come.
The war was over, and he had little interest in what remained. Matters in the Fungal Wastes kept him busy enough.
As for Aemon, he knew all too well that his nature made him unsuited to negotiations. Even a little casual conversation would soon draw his attention to unfamiliar stories.
So at that moment, the illustrious curator of the Great Library, Aemon-Pierce, was leading his team in a flurry of writing and sketching behind the scenes.
There was even less hope of relying on the Snail Shaman. His abilities in political settings fell short even of Aemon's.
Thus, incredible as it seemed, although only three bugs had come to negotiate, Ashen City still had fewer representatives than the other side.
Raily had not expected this either. Her perfect smile remained in place, but inwardly, she was already tense to the extreme.
Her original plan had been to bring only two bugs with her as a sign of goodwill, yet they still outnumbered the other side.
Had every move she made not risked being interpreted as a declaration of war, Raily might not even have been able to hold her cup steady, dropping it with one careless slip.
Breathe, breathe deeply. I need to stay calm. I came here for peace.
After rehearsing what she intended to say once more