Chapter 209: Start of the Changes

Ordinary.

Logos felt nothing but mundaneness from the person opposite of him. Just like a drop of water in the sea, his existence fits so well with the surroundings that he's more of a "common" person than the CEO of a large company. His appearance is the only thing that makes him stand out, perhaps.

However, he knew more than the norm to treat him as 'ordinary'. In Terra, such incongruency between one's 'identity' and 'aura' is enough to alarm him. Basically, a person who has a high position but feels 'normal' is NOT normal.

One such entity is the Feranmut whose true appearance is hidden to keep the others safe. After all, their true identities are gods, albeit they chose to limit themselves to descend into the chaotic world of Terra.

'A sankta.' He thought. 'His aura is nothing like theirs.'

Usually, the Sankta possesses a certain 'solemn' aura due to their connection with their god known as "The Law". Meanwhile, Shiro is nothing like that as he's more 'easygoing' than them.

Logos saw the man smile for a while before he asked:

"You prepared the official form, no?"

"Yes. They are all handled by Madame Kal'tsit."

Taking out his black suitcase, Logos handed out a stack of printed papers to Shiro. They are all brought together by a clip, something that was removed by Shiro before he began going through it.

"Quick question." He said while reading. "How much work does Kal'tsit do in your place?"

"She is responsible for managing our foreign affairs, economic work, recruitment of employees... Virtually any macro-level work, she's the department head."

"...I see. How many departments is she a head of?"

"Nine."

"..." Shiro went silent as he thought of Kal'tsit's heavy workload. 'Looks like there's someone more workaholic than Cardinal.'

He then said, "Did you guys consider that the reason behind her deadpan are these?"

"We did."

"Oh?"

"Our Commander, the King of Sarkaz once asked her to take less burden. Only, Madame Kal'tsit insisted that she must do so, or so I have heard."

"I understand."

Shiro went back to reading the 'contract' before stumbling upon several lines that made him smile.

["Mutual help is required if a party experiences an adverse event."]

["The agreeing party would gain access to the proposing party's intelligence network (limited to non-confidential data)."]

["When a mission is deemed as "failure", the proposing party shall compensate the agreeing party unless under special circumstances (situations special that nullifies the "failure" status)."]

Upon reading the agreement, Shiro immediately saw several favorable conditions for Nexus. Of course, what Babel would acquire is also high-quality service, hence they don't lose out that much.

Simply put, Kal'tsit gave him benefits as a form of thanks to Shiro. After all, he is not obliged to form a cooperative status with Babel, yet he's willing to dive into the pit full of political struggles just to fulfill his promise. Moreover, she had discouraged him several times back in Aincrad, but he chose to continue with the plan.

Thus, she is very grateful to him as her trusted friend.

"Pfft..."

Suddenly, his calm expression was broken as a small laugh escaped his lips.

"Did... did she ask you not to read this?" He asked.

Logos felt that something was wrong but put it aside for now.

"Yes. This agreement is classified as confidential. Only she and our King has seen it."

"Alright, I understand."

Still, Shiro is laughing loudly inside his mind.

["The agreeing party shall provide a special provision to the proposing party once a month."]

'Oh, Kal'tsit...' He thought of her attachment to his cooking. 'Such a straight-faced workaholic sneaked this in?'

At this moment, he couldn't help but imagine Kal'tsit being a real cat for once while saying "Nya~!"

To save Kal'tsit's dignity, he kept a calm expression as he read. Though, he's already laughing hysterically inside his mind.

'Pfft.... Ahahahahaha! Oh god... pffft..! Kal'tsit... Ahahahahaha..!'

Too bad, he didn't know that the reason behind it is Shinji's picture of the miraculous breakfast that he made back in Emiya's household...

In the end, Shiro finished reading a hundred-page agreement within 3 minutes. It shocked Logos who thought that he'll stay more than 3 days in Kawalirielki before the agreement gets validated. This is how things went when he was in other organizations.

Shiro took out a pen from his [Dimensional Storage], making it look as if he got it out of his sleeve. Then, he looked for the several lines that has to be filled up and wrote on them one by one. Due to his max-level charm, every stroke of his seems graceful and alive. Just by one look, they would immediately know that the one who wrote it is an extraordinary person.

Taking the clip, he attached it to the stack of papers before handing it out to Logos.

"From your reaction, it looks like you didn't expect that everything will be finished in under five minutes?"

"That is so."

Nodding, Shiro said, "There's still the..."

Tap-!

Abruptly, he sensed something and activated [Lord of the Mysteries]. Grey fog can be seen deep within his pupils, a manifestation of his identity as one of the three Pillars in a certain universe. No mysteries can hide away from him, hence he immediately knew the cause of that feeling just now.

'Those guys... They want to die.'

It is none other than the Outer Gods who he had 'warned' yesterday. As if his warning isn't enough, he foresaw a future in which four such beings descend into their mortal vessels. Unfortunately, their descent occurred in Kawalirielki. It is enough to let him know that they most probably came for Cardinal and Strea, the unaccounted foreigners of this world.

'Tomorrow, huh.' He thought.

Soon, the fog receded from his pupils. It came and went silently, as evident when Logos only caught on a faint feeling that something is different from Shiro.

'What was that..?'

"Hm... I was about to recommend you to the Majors. You know, maybe find a potential recruit for Babel. But now... I advise you return to Babel, lest you will be caught up with something unpleasant."

Hearing this, Logos fell silent. Aware of his tendency to spout incomprehensible things, he felt how it is to be the confused side for the first time.

"Will you deal with it, Sir?" He inquired.

"I will. If you want to be an audience, feel free to do so."

To be honest, Shiro isn't that keen on hiding his power completely. If his partial strength could help Kal'tsit fully convince the others in Babel with this cooperation, then he would gladly do so. He's not naive enough to think that everyone had unanimously accepted this cooperation. Perhaps, it touches the interests of some.

After all, Kazdel is the center of political struggles involving every major powerhouse in Terra—a worldwide chessboard, so as to speak.

Other than that, it could also intimidate some fellows that are eyeing Nexus Corporation. It could better protect it when he's temporarily gone or in trouble. This would serve as its shield until they can protect themselves from the gods, foreigners, and the higher powers in Terra.

Lastly, he formulated a plan on a whim. While hastily made, it is enough to see through the leaks that could occur in Babel's higher-ups. If they do get caught in this bait, Kal'tsit can exclude them for more confidential information and even enact a purge that will clean up Babel.

"I will keep this in mind." Logos stood up as he lightly bowed. "Thank you for your cooperation."

"No problem."

Shiro stuck out his hand that wears a black finger glove.

"For Kazdel's sovereignty."

Logos' eyes widened as he heard Shiro's statement. It came off as a surprise to the point that his noble etiquette is the only one supporting him to maintain his elegance. Still, he managed to adapt quickly and mimicked Shiro's action, something that he deems as "sealing an agreement".

The two men inside this room sealed an agreement that will change the entirety of Terra itself. Many don't know that such a huge change would start... now.

*****

A/N: There's only 5 chapters until the Terra arc is done. These chapters serve as a development for what I designated as the main world. These build ups would slowly lead to the final chapter of Terra, to its ending. I'm just saying this as I do not write any (useless) filler chapters. I have already planned nearly two~three advanced arcs and add some addition if necessary.

Anyways, here's the fact of the day.

Fact #88: The voice of Kaname Madoka and Tanya Degurechaff is one and same (Aoi Yuki)! I was quite dumbfounded when I first discovered this, considering the huge difference between the two. She literally voiced a literal angel and a devil! Oh, she also voiced Shiori from Kumo Desu ga (Nai wa~), Mami from Kanojo Okarishimasu (The lion, the witch, and the au—), and the Japanese VA of Lumine.