Despite having been gone for the better part of an hour, when Sasuke arrived back at McCullugh's the old smith was still bickering with Eleanor. Deciding that this had gone on long enough he cleared his throat loudly to get their attention. Eleanor stared at Sasuke with a puzzled look, as the gears in her head clicked into place recognition dawned on her that there was in fact a specific reason for their being there.

Blushing lightly she cleared her own throat and pulled out the pair of shuriken, placing them on the table. Motioning towards the smith he picked them up off the counter and gave them an appraising look.

"Ya done piqued ma intrest lass. Whad'ya need?" McCullugh stated bluntly.

Adjusting her glasses and adjusting her posture Eleanor replied. "I need you to figure out just how in the world these are made, the alloys, composition, and crafting methods. They're harder and stronger than any iron I've ever seen, and they keep their edge better too." At this Sasuke stepped in to speak.

"And I need a supplier who can make more of them for me, along with other items."

McCullugh looked at them both with interest "Well, once I know 'ow they're made I shoudn't 'ave too much trouble makin' ya more." McCullugh pulled out various other items against which to test the throwing stars' stated hardness and durability. "Metallury ain't cheap, needs reagents an' a lotta smarts. Yer run a tha mill smithy ain't gonna make heads er tails a sumthin' they ain't ne'er seen before…" McCullugh let his sentence just hang in the air, apparently assuming that either Sasuke or Eleanor understood he was subtly asking about payment.

Eleanor spoke first. "The Vallieres can easily supply whatever materials or supplies are necessary to analyze and break them down, and I will personally assist with their analysis."

McCullugh hmmed softly before speaking, ,this time turning to Sasuke. "An' 'ow'dya intend ta pay fer more a these things."

Sasuke gave the man a hard look. He could tell that there was something unsaid, something missing from the discussion. If everything was ready, the smith would be just giving Sasuke an item-price estimate and haggling from there. The fact that he had avoided talking numbers meant there was something he was hoping for. Looking at McCullugh again, Sasuke noticed that the smith was fidgeting with the shuriken, glancing at them and again at the handful of metal plates that had been scratched to test its hardness.

"Exclusivity. I'll agree not to take these stars to anyone else, nor give them the opportunity to make their own. You'll have an effective monopoly on how to make them." Seeing McCullugh's expression rise, it appeared he guessed correctly at what the man wanted. "But." At this the smith's expression fell again "In exchange for that I would want my purchases to be at-cost."

McCullugh stared Sasuke in the eyes with a stern gaze, trying to make the young man waver. After a tense moment or two he smiled and put his large hand out for Sasuke to shake. "Ya got yerself a bargain. I can 'ave the molds ready fer ya within a day or two, after that I can start workin' on figuring out just what these babies are made of."

"Hn" was Sasuke's eloquent reply. Letting McCullugh get to work Sasuke and the trio of sisters left the shop.

The next several hours were spent perusing various stores for inks, brushes, and paper. Unfortunately it appeared that Eleanor did not have any experience with purchasing specialized inks, and so the group had to go around the old-fashioned way, just checking each and every store until Sasuke managed to find a place that had what he needed.

Fortunately the proximity to the castle meant that there were many stores that sold what he was looking for. While low by the standards of the elemental nations, the capital of Tristain had a surprisingly high literacy rate, and as such there was ample supply of producers of the items he was looking for.

Less fortunate was that he'd had to go to a store that sold painting supplies to find a suitable brush. The people of this land used ink-dipped feather quills for writing. While he could understand the advantages of such tools, Sasuke was also aware that all of his information on sealing presumed that it would be written using brushes, or similar tools. The writing-style used required the ability to both increase and decrease the thickness of lines, something that these quill-pens were not made to use. After getting an actual understanding of the art, he could see eventually trying to create smaller seals using quills, as they were quite good for thin, small, and precise forms of writing.

Upon reaching the palace the group was lightly accosted and questioned as to their business and identity. After giving name, rank, and number they were escorted to a large hall where many people could be heard shouting back and forth.

The group stood at the door waiting for the current discussion to finish. After only a few minutes of back and forth between two particular nobles about something related to taxes that Sasuke couldn't quite understand without more context the conversation ended.

With the attention of the room on them the eldest of the sisters curtsied and spoke "Eleanor Albertine le Blanc de la Blois de la Valliere, heir apparent to the Duchy de la Valliere. Acting on behalf of the Duke and Duchess de la Valliere" Eleanor then pointed to her sisters "Along with counsel."

At this Cattleya curtsied and responded. "Cattleya Yvette la Baume le Blanc de la Fontaine, acting as counsel to the actor on behalf of the Valliere."

Everyone's attention turned to Louise, who gave a stern look to Sasuke that he interpreted as 'You need to go next, you idiot'.

Giving a slight bow Sasuke Introduced himself. "Sasuke Uchiha, Head of the Uchiha clan, former Konoha military rank Genin, formerly team seven under Kakashi Hatake. Former disciple of Sannin Orochimaru, heir to the Snake summons contract and current holder. Current holder of the Hawk summoning contract."

WIthout giving the group time to be more puzzled than necessary Louise curtsied "Louise Francoise le Blanc de la Valliere, acting as counsel to Sasuke Uchiha."

One of the seated members began at that. "Ah, yes. I believe the Duke mentioned that there was a young man in his care who intended to petition for title. Miss Valliere, does the Duke still wish to nominate mister Uchiha?" At this Eleanor simply nodded in the affirmative.

"Mr. Uchiha, was it? If you would please, could you explain why it is you believe you are deserving of a noble title?" One of the men responded. "I think it is fair to say that your lineage is not sufficient, and that your service to your previous home, while admirable, is clearly insufficient to qualify you for even the lowest of noble titles." Another opined. "Surely there is at least some great deed or accomplishment you could point you to indicate that you should be awarded title?" A third joined in, shaking his head as if in utter disbelief. Many of the others sitting around the table appeared to have similar sentiments.

"I would certainly say I do... sir?" Sasuke left the his question open to allow the last man to respond.

"Grand Duke Guldenhorf." The man replied dismissively.

"Sir Goldenhorse I-" Sasuke was interrupted.

"Guldenhorf, not Goldenhorse! You insolent little-"

"Ah, my apologies Sir Gildedhorn. I admit I am still new to th-"

"GUL-DEN-HORF you disrespectful little-" Guldenhorf was interrupted by chuckling amongst the other nobles present, but before their laughter could get too loud Sasuke continued.

"My deepest apologies Sir Geldedwaif." At this several of the nobles just lost their composure in laughter, at least one of the more portly men actually falling out of his chair. Guldenhorf himself looked so enraged and insulted that he was just beyond words. "As I was saying, I am still new to the language and your customs, so I apologize for mispronouncing your name earlier." Sasuke's face remaining unemotional gave enough of an appearance of sincerity at his comment that several more nobles began laughing even harder. "As I have been informed by the Duke de la Valliere; my exploits, while great, are not events that this group would be likely to appreciate for lack of context."

Deciding that she'd had enough of Sasuke just screwing with everyone present, Eleanor stomped on Louise's foot and glared at her while motioning to Sasuke with her head. Getting over her shock at Sasuke's blatant disrespect to Guldenhorf, Louise tapped Sasuke on the shoulder to whisper in his ear. "Tell them about the duel with mother."

At this Sasuke closed his eyes and nodded sagely. "Ah, I have been informed that there is one thing that would be useful. I fought Karin to a draw in a duel." Sasuke allowed a smirk on his face as he feigned wistfulness at the memory.

The room went dead silent. The men and women who were laughing had stopped immediately, and the ones who had been trying to ignore the entire affair were now paying keen attention.

Even Guldenhorf, who was about to have a rage-induced aneurysm immediately cooled his head at this. For the first time since entering the room it was the Princess who spoke with wide eyes. "Miss Valliere, is what he says true? Did he really fight the Duchess in a duel, and managed a draw no less?"

Eleanor nodded at this. "They did fight, though mother stated very explicitly that it was not a draw." The entire room looked quite confused. Henrietta prompted Eleanor to continue. "It is mother's conviction that the match was in every way her loss." The room was again alight in murmurs, several of the nobles attempting to talk quietly amongst themselves.

The talk went on for some time before the Princess raised a hand to silence the chatter. "Sasuke, you stated it was a draw. Yet according to Miss Valliere the fight was in fact the Duchess's loss. Understating one's ability is itself admirable, but telling a falsehood is not a good way to entice myself or anyone else here to acquiesce to your request. Would you care to explain?"

Sasuke's mind was reeling, replaying the fight in fast-forward over in his mind several times. He was so engrossed in his thoughts that it took Louise's patting him to bring him back to the present. Coughing into his hand lightly Sasuke spoke. "Hn. Um. Well." Sasuke began just rattling off his thoughts. "With all due respect, I was not telling a falsehood. While I would prefer not to go through the fight in its entirety, I can assure you that it ended with us both unable to fight. I myself was rendered unconscious, and am fairly certain I witnessed the Duchess crumple to the ground after being hit with my attack before I finally blacked out. I cannot imagine that she managed to stay conscious through it, and was informed that it did not kill her. I fail to see how how such a situation could be considered anything other than a draw."

This drew a raised eyebrow from the Princess whose gaze was now directed at the eldest daughter of the Valliere family. Understanding that more was needed, Eleanor spoke "While it is true that as far as we can tell both mother and Sasuke were rendered unable to fight at the same time, or close enough to be irrelevant, both mother and her manticore D'artagnan suffered grievous injuries, while Sasuke's were rather minor. It is still unknown whether or not the water-mage healers we hired will be able to repair enough of D'artagnan's wing to ensure he will ever be able to fly again…" Eleanor took a moment to stare sternly at the group to impart the seriousness of the familiar's injury.

"Mother is also still in intensive care, and it was her injuries that necessitated that I and Cattleya attend in place of her and father, who insisted he stay behind to assist with her recovery." Eleanor finished by just making a vague gesture in Sasuke's direction, the meaning of which was not lost on the monarch-to-be.

"And Sasuke here is apparently uninjured." After a moment of thought Henrietta spoke again, with conviction. "I can say that I would have to agree with the Duchess's assessment of the fight." To which she gazed much less harshly at Sasuke. "But can understand why you believed it to be different."

At this one of the nobles stood up and declared "A skilled fighter and powerful mage he may be, if this fight is to be believed. Besting the Heavy Wind in single combat is no easy feat, surely. But how do we know that this isn't some setup between him and the Vallieres!? Afterall they are the ones sponsoring him, and he would obviously be indebted to them for their aid in getting him his title. Surely more than just a single duel under dubious circumstances is not enough to grant noble title!" Several of the others, including Guldenhorf assented in agreement with these statements.

"How dare you!" Louise and Eleanor both shouted at the same time. Louise caught herself immediately afterwards, as she was not here to represent her family and would only give credence to the preposterous idea that was just proposed. "Sir Richmond, you ought to know better than to impugn my family's honor with such a slight!"

Sasuke sighed as he saw what appeared to be yet another long screaming match between Eleanor and a loud man. Henrietta, seeing his exasperated expression waved him and Louise over to her. "Please, sit. I cannot imagine this going quickly." Henrietta's tone was one of regret and a slight bit of annoyance at what was occurring.

Curious, Sasuke responded "Can't you just stop their bickering?"

At this Henrietta chuckled lightly "If only I could… No. Only the Queen herself technically has the authority to command this particular group in that manner. Even the representative of the royal family, I am not myself the monarch, and so have little formal power during such a discussion. While my words do carry weight, and I could end the fight if I pressed the issue, I have discovered that it is actually best to just let these arguments run their course. Better they have it out now, and have it over, than to let these feelings fester unsaid. This way there is no chance of them believing that I am playing favorites. At the end of the day the family doesn't actually run everything itself, and keeping myself out of these fights tends to make them do their jobs better than intervening. At least... That's what Father used to say."

"P-princess. Is it really alright to be talking so informally here?" Louise stuttered out.

Smiling kindly Henrietta responded before whispering conspiratorially to Louise, but loud enough that Mazarin who sat next to her could hear. "You don't think those guys are actually going to be paying attention to us are you? I am sure that I could leave the room and they wouldn't even notice I was gone for an hour at the least." Giggling she nudged the Cardinal. "Isn't that right Mazarin."

At this Mazarin grinned slightly and looked around the room quickly to make a show of inspecting for listeners. "One time your mother got into it with Guldenhorf so bad that they didn't notice the King slam the door on his way out in frustration!"

This caused Louise to stutter incoherently and blush in embarrassment.

Sasuke sat listening to various conversations going on throughout the room by enhancing his hearing with chakra.

After about a half-hour the argument between Eleanor and Richmond finally came to a head when Richmond exclaimed "Even if we were to accept everything you say as fact, there is still the problem of reconquista! If this nobody gets a title it will sow discontent amongst the nobility! If after taking Albion reconquista sees such weakness they won't think twice about lashing out at us!"

To this Eleanor had no response, the room was dead quiet in nervousness and anxiety about that particular topic.

Having some understanding of the problem Sasuke opined. "So, then. If I took care of Reconquista, you would have no problems correct? With no war on the horizon with Albion it sounds like you would be fine with accepting my title, is this correct?"

"Hah, get rid of Reconquista? What. By yourself? They have all but taken over Albion. Even in jest such a suggestion is ludicrous." Richmond stated dismissively.

Henrietta, not yet having regained her composure from the informal discussion that she was having with Mazarin and Louise snorted lightly and responded "Sasuke. If you got rid of Reconquista and rescued Albion I wouldn't just grant you a noble title in a heartbeat, I'd marry you and make you king!"

At this Mazarin scolded Henrietta about her behavior and the others had a small chuckle for a moment before Sasuke responded in total stoic seriousness.

"Deal."

AN: So... I actually like this chapter. I get to have some fun with Sasuke's characterization as well as several other characters who I really wanted to write.

For those who aren't already aware, Richmond was playing a delicate game here. Richmond is actually one of the reconquista conspirators, and he knows that anyone capable of beating the Heavy Wind in single combat and coming out apparently unscathed is someone that you do NOT want to have on the enemy's side.

For history buffs, I apologize. I really couldn't find too much useful information on the procedures that normally go into inducting people into the nobility, and aside from the queen granting it for great deeds (ala Saito), there is really no in-universe context. Additionally we don't actually know how the politics of the nobility and the crown actually works from what I can tell (it is mostly glossed over in the books, and basically non-existent in the anime/manga).

I suppose I should apologize again, because this chapter is still basically setup for the arc coming up... and I STILL need to apologize again because there will be at least one more before the arc is in full swing (for those who haven't already guessed, our protagonist is headed to Albion to put the pain to reconquista).

Sasuke was perfectly willing to rebuild the Uchiha clan the slow and 'easy' way by getting a title and contributing to the country, but when the monarch gives you the opportunity to jump straight to the top of the hierarchy, you take it and don't let go. Being the Royal Family of a fairly large country is certainly not beneath the dignity of the Uchiha after all.

I don't have too much else to say about this particular chapter. If you have any particular questions/suggestions feel free to PM me or review, or whatever. I do make it a point to read all of them (not that there are many to begin with), and discussing why I make certain decisions helps me better understand the mechanics of the world/setting I am building.

Much Thanks to my friend Viktor Mayren who proofread this for me, and helped me clean up some of the dialogue.