Bernia's Royal Capital, the top floor of the Steel Club.
The oval conference table had been polished from a single slab of obsidian, reflecting the soft glow overhead. Boer sat at its head, the collar of his black casual clothes slightly open. His fingertips tapped unconsciously against the tabletop, producing faint, regular knocks.
Nico Robin stood quietly half a step behind him to one side. She wore a finely tailored dark gray secretary's skirt suit, her straight, ivory legs sheathed in sheer black stockings that let the sheen of her skin show through, with matte high heels on her feet. Her hands rested folded before her, her expression calm. Only when Boer fell into thought did a barely perceptible trace of worry pass through her dark brown eyes.
Boer slowly swept his gaze over those attending.
First on his left sat Prince Locke Hall, representing Bernia's royal family. The prince, who had still been somewhat immature back then, now sported a carefully trimmed short beard, his purple robes lending him a composed bearing. Before the new year, he had married a princess from a neighboring country, and not long ago, a little angel had just been conceived. Time passes so quickly. A faint sense of unreality flitted through Boer's mind. This was his fourth year in this world, and he had already been settled in Bernia for three years...
Below Prince Locke sat Master Hokushin Ichiteru, who had taken charge of the kingdom's core security operations. Dressed in a plain gray robe, he rested with his eyes closed, seemingly detached from the proceedings. But Boer knew that the pulse of Bernia's entire underground intelligence network lay within his grasp. Thatch, Master Hokushin's personal disciple, stood like an iron tower behind his teacher's chair, his face stern and his gaze sharp.