Side Story 1 - Royal Negotiations (2)

"By now, I'm sure you've been informed of the appearance of a new Dragonborn, correct?" Arthur Valar hated wasting time, something that both infuriated and pleased several nobles and delegates.

"Of course. A new Dragonborn appearing is a monumental event. I first heard about him through Gethras some few weeks ago, when he participated in the subjugation of the Mammoth Bandits. Since it greatly aided Felneserin's economy by reopening a lost trade route, it wasn't unexpected for him to hear of the young Dragonborn earlier than me." Gethras was the Wood Elf King and bearer of the title of the strongest archer alive as a Lv. 13 Marksman. Since he had reached Lv. 10, the Wood Elf King was one of the few known people to have stepped into the Legendary Realm, a realm that less than half of one percent could touch in their entire lifetime.

With the study's sound barrier active, Arthur had no reason to fear being overheard, so he spoke the truth, "The Dragonborn is young, but he is no normal child. His nervousness might have been real during the reception earlier, but his mind is anything like that of a child. I caught him using one of my Nightwalkers' secret hand signs to meet with me secretly."

Athrahel and Nesine, as critical members of national governments, were both aware of the existence of the Nightwalkers, as any nation would have such a secret intelligence organization. Nesine's expression twitched a little, her gaze sharpening as she said, "Are you playing games with me, Arthur?"

Ignoring Nesine's reaction, the Valarian King continued speaking, "He knew the proper activation sequence for the tunnels spotlessly, where my study was and how to enter it. I called for Athrahel right after the young Dragonborn exited via the tunnels." Nesine's expression seemed to be getting colder by the second, but she remained silent. With her understanding of Arthur, he wouldn't play games with her so seriously. "The conversation we had... I'm still wrapping my head around what I heard. The only thing I'm certain of is that he was not lying at all."

"Cut to the chase, Arthur. Beating around the bush is not like you." Nesine's fingers had started to tap on her armrest, one of the impatient habits that she usually controlled, but between fellow rulers it was unrestricted. It made it easier for them to talk if they knew she was getting impatient.

With a serious gaze that she'd only ever seen a handful of times before, Arthur Valar grunted and said, "Luca, the young Dragonborn, is a time traveller sent by the Twin Lords from 4:075 Divine, 31 years in the future." Once again, he did not let the High Elf Queen speak, "His mission, as per his words, is to "end hostilities between both factions as best as possible and prepare for the return of the Demon Emperor"."

Nesine's finger stopped tapping as she legitimately stared at the human king in mild astonishment. After a moment of silence, she said, "Continue. You're not the kind of man who could make up such a fallacy."

"Reiterating an entire conversation would be exhausting, but I will go over the most important parts. Starting in December of this year, Clearpine City in my nation's Bossen Province will be turned into a bloodbath by a Blood Elf army, ending 13,000 lives in a night. Among them would be my first daughter, who would be abducted and corrupted into a weapon to exterminate my family. A decade of war would follow, during which only three of my children would survive the assassinations that would claim all other Valar family members, myself included. After many losses to both sides, there would be a half-decade of recovery until 4:065 Divine, when the first wave of demons would quickly exterminate countless people. Of the ten factional nations, only four would withstand the first wave while the other six would be crushed. That same year would be the end of my bloodline."

Seeing that Nesine had kept her silence, mostly out of interest mixed with shock, Arthur continued, "Three years of almost hopeless defending of our last holdouts would pass before some deities would sacrifice themselves to create heroes, who would lead our peoples against the demons, a push that would last five years. Eventually, the heroes led the final battle against the Demon Emperor's last stronghold, with the young Dragonborn's previous life being the first mortal casualty in an act of self-sacrifice to blow open a hole in the defensive fortifications. However, he was later told by the Twin Lords that the battle was a failure. The Demon Emperor's true identity is the one true deity of another world, who amassed enough power through the years to forcibly rewrite time to his advantage. In a last-ditch effort, the Twin Lords of the future and our present sent back the young Dragonborn together in an attempt to counter this."

Several moments of silence filled the king's study as Athrahel blankly stared into the distance as he comprehended what he'd just heard and Nesine's stoic face gradually morphed into one of surprise before reverting to one of exasperation. "There's no way you could concoct such an outrageous story on your own, Arthur. Who helped you come up with such a joke?"

"That's not all, Nesine, there's still more, but it would take too long to explain. I asked Luca if he had proof of his words, and he openly stated that he did not, but he knew of a way to prove them." The king's gaze bored through the mirror as he said, "He asked to have the Dreamwalker use Mnemonic Projection on him to prove his sincerity."

This time, Nesine's fist slammed on her desk, rattling several things as she shouted wrathfully, "Arthur Valar, you dared to use our saintess in some inane farce!?"

Arthur calmly continued to stare into the enraged queen's eyes, having expected such a response. With a severe tone and an incredibly powerful aura, he affirmed, "Nesine, sit down and listen. You might be my senior in terms of being a ruler, but you have much to learn in controlling your emotions when faced with information you cannot comprehend."

Nesine had only experienced such an aura from her mother, the previous High Elf Queen, who had constantly told her that she needed to learn to control her emotions. This exact aura, however, had only appeared when she'd nearly made a juvenile mistake during her first years as a ruler because her emotions ran hot. Arthur Valar was many years her junior, but his bearing easily matched her mother, subconsciously causing her to steady herself.