Chapter 47: Ups and Downs

Washington DC, United States

The meeting in the Oval Office began smoothly enough. Alice and Samson were respectful and were respected in turn. They weren't your typical diplomats however, and they mostly offered military cooperation between the Order and the United States.

They also brought up the discussion of mamono living in America. While some species were tolerated by the Order, it was very obvious to the Order hero and valkyrie that the nation was tolerating more than just those few species.

"Now I understand how this may look," the president began. "But you must understand a few things. One, we haven't been fighting monsters and mamono for thousands of years. And two, we as a nation are much more advanced than anywhere within the Order, meaning we have been able to integrate the mamono into our society. No offence of course, but we won't kill a group of people who are different from us."

Well apparently that wasn't quite the right thing to say to the two, as Samson adopted an irritated expression while Alice looked like she was about to explode. The president knew he made a blunder and rapidly tried to fix it, but Alice beat him to the punch.

"These 'people' have overrun hundreds of villages, decimated the human, elf, dwarven and fairy populations and have made those places uninhabitable for humans for seemingly forever! So yes, I do take offence as you clearly don't know what you're dealing with! The faster the mamono are gone the faster we can start focusing on the Royal Makai back home!"

Only silence met Alice as she finished her explosive rant. The president and his advisors stared at the valkyrie while Samson shifted uncomfortably next to her as she looked around, an unrecognizable expression on her face. Samson cleared his throat and he stood up.

"I think we should take a break, it has been a long day for us and I think we are both a bit stressed. This would also allow for cooler heads to prevail. What do you think, your excellency?"

The president nodded and stood up as well. "Just 'Mr. President' is fine Knight Samson, but I agree. Shall we meet back here in, say, 15 minutes? The kitchen has some excellent ice cream! Have either of you tried some?"

With that the group went on their way, but the American delegation kept somewhat of a distance from Alice.

Paris, France

Arthur of the Royal Makai looked around the office of the president of France confused. The room, while marvelous, looked like it was decorated for a lesser noble, rather than a national leader. The Élysée Palace's exterior gave off the impression of a king's mansion, hence his confusion.

In truth he thought he would be having to deal with someone like an Order leader, afraid and hostile to him. And while the guards and servants at the palace certainly gave off an air of nervousness, they were all polite and courteous to him.

As for the rest of his entourage however, it was a different story.

Apollya had to be quickly reigned in, he ordered some of the guards in their entourage to keep an eye on her, to make sure she doesn't "wander off." The last thing he needed was her sabotaging these negotiations, intentionally or not. As for the rest of his group, they mostly behaved. They did catcall the guards in and outside of the palace, but nothing got out of hand. Mostly they just were surprised at the respect and courtesy they were getting from just normal humans. So they tried to do the same in return to them.

So when he entered the office of the president he took his handshake in stride. The shorter man beckoned him to sit down. He did so but soon realized that there were several problems. For one the chair was too small! The other was that his delegation was simply too large. So the president offered to hold the negotiations in the dining room instead. Arthur agreed and tried to stand up, only to accidentally snap the arms of the chair!

Arthur looked up at the French president, embarrassed, but the president just shook his head and chuckled.

After they all settled in in the dining room the negotiations began. The first and most important piece was the stabilization of relations between the nations of Earth and the Royal Makai. Now the French president quickly explained that he couldn't and wouldn't go and represent the whole of the world. So instead they would discuss terms between the Royal Makai and France, then they would be directed to the international platform.

They talked for an hour or two. On trade, on travel, on the mamono living in France currently. These topics and more were on the docket.

Arthur was most concerned about the status of future mamono generations here on Earth. At this point unless there was an international effort to "purge" them, the mamono were here to stay. And the efforts of the humans here have not only integrated them very well, but have also begun to turn them to their ways of thinking. Already this schism has been apparent, and Arthur didn't want it to go any further. Not without input and guidance from the Demon Lord that is.

There was also the fact that these mamono could give birth to sons. This was now widely known in the court of the Demon Lord. More than a few were very upset that humans, mere humans! Beat them to the punch in regards to this. But the Demon Lord had made it clear that, while unhappy and a little bit jealous, she wasn't about to go and try and stop the humans and their work. This was a huge leap forward for her kind, and she wasn't about to go and squander it because of personal grudges.

However, Apollya wasn't too pleased with these revelations. She firmly was against the human's attempts to "undermine" the Demon Lord. But she kept her outbursts and objections to a minimum. Acting childish in front of the Demon Lord's husband and the rest of the delegation would not only make herself look like a fool, but also keep the fence-sitters away from her and Druella's cause.

Regardless, things went smoothly; eventually the meeting finished. Arthur and his delegation were given several luxury hotel rooms in Paris to stay in for the night, as there was no Royal Makai embassy.

Overall Arthur thought he was on the right track. The French president had sent out messages to other world leaders, including the powerful president of the United States. This was just the next step on the path to permanent peace, but it was one step closer.