The first day of negotiations was hard. At first, Aoi was afraid that the Union had decided to take a confrontational course. Thankfully, they changed their minds or, just, negotiated hard from the beginning. She had some doubts about giving the Union an airship, even if it was an obsolete construction. However, there was no doubt that the Union was determined to obtain that magitech. Using this as a bargaining chip will surely help her achieve a satisfactory result. Aoi wasn't sure how Theon was going to react to the news, and because of that, she was a little bit nervous. She waited in her quarters for the magi-radio connection with Avalon with anticipation.

"Aoi?" Theon's voice sounded before his illusion appeared in her quarters.

"Hi, Theon!" She beamed a smile and put her hands on the desk.

"I just caught up with the reports you ordered to be sent to Avalon." He smiled softly and widely. "You are doing great. I'm so proud!"

"Thank you." Her heart beat faster. However, she took a deep breath and prepared to tell him about something she hadn't put in her report. "There is one thing you need to know."

"Go on..." He said and his expression instantly got serious.

"The Union demanded to obtain the magitech necessary to build an airship in exchange for basically accepting all our demands." She said slowly, nervously rubbing her hands together.

"Have you agreed?" He asked calmly.

"Well... Yes. But I offered them only a brig and building plans for it. We won't be transferring any military-grade magitech. So no magi-cannons, shields, storage... Nothing. Just a naked airship without any improvements."

"Hmmm... That's not a bad deal, to be honest. They might even be thankful and change their politics towards us, but I won't be holding my breath." He slowly nodded. "It's risky, but that was the easiest solution. I would do the same if I was in your place. Excellent work, my Darling."

"I knew it was risky. However, I think the Union was going to obtain that magitech anyway. I have no idea what they were planning in Metaka, but they could obtain those ships through acts of piracy and simply kidnap people who could build them. If they do something like that, it would put us in an awkward situation given our growing alliance with Metaka. Giving them the old type of airship will just speed up things for them for a few years. Most importantly, it's not like they can build a few hundred airships overnight anyway."

"I agree with you. Without our shields and weapons, those ships pose a minimal threat. Of course, at some point, the Union will need to step up their game but, hopefully, by that time, we will be allies."

"Pardon me?" She chuckled. "It didn't take Ian, Ragnar, Berni, Vernon, and their army of engineers that long to build Dauntless."

"You do realise that the technological gap between Victory and Dauntless, is basically immeasurable? Development alone will take them decades, maybe even centuries. We have everything so fast because, in most cases, I have ready solutions for the problems. Or, at least, I knew what Ian, Ragnar, Bjorn and Vernon had to develop on their own."

"Oh..." She nodded. That made sense. The amount of books in the Palace's library was simply staggering and she wasn't even sure what was there. While the tomes about magic were still rare, and most of them were written in Avalon anyway, the library had all the knowledge that Theon brought from his world in one way or another. "So you are not angry?"

"Of course not, my Sunshine! I'm going to find a basic brig and ask Jehaness Terion about the plans..." Theon nodded, more to himself than anyone else. "As long as they agree to all our demands, the deal is great. How long will it take before you sign any official documents?"

"No clue, but maybe tomorrow?" Aoi yawned.

"I wish you good luck then! Sleep well, my Darling."

"See you soon!" She sent him a kiss. "I love you!"

"I love you too." Theon smiled, and the transmission was terminated.

Aoi smiled to herself and sat more comfortably in her chair. She wasn't sure if Theon was going to approve the Union's offer but it turned out that he was happy about it. She yawned and looked at the tray with her supper with a tired gaze. Aoi tried to eat something but just after a few bites of her sandwich, she decided to go to sleep. However, before she managed to summon a Slime Maid to help her with her dress, the doors to her quarters opened. Aoi looked up a little bit surprised at a familiar face.

"My Lady," Morrigan said with a hushed voice. "I believe that we might have a problem."

"What happened?" Aoi instantly focused her gaze on the Vampire's Scion.

"Dauntless detected a group of rapidly approaching contacts. Five in total, one of them is the size of a galleon-class airship and four smaller, about the size of a brig. Admiral Sparrow sent one of our destroyers to intercept and hail them. I was informed that Dauntless locked on targets with UCMS-1 and the Admiral is waiting for the first sign of hostility. HMS Longsword will enter a visual range within ten minutes."

"She just can't wait to use them, can she?" The Empress almost chucked and waved her hand to indicate a rhetorical question. "Bearings?" Aoi asked a simple question and rushed towards the doors. She was already so used to using the Dungeon Movement that she forgot that other people have to actually run in case of alarm. "I'm going to the bridge."

"North, fifteen degrees east, eight hundred metres altitude. They are moving exactly over the borderline, my Lady," Morrigan said and led the way.

The two Praetorians who guarded the inner side of the quarters followed them, closing the defence formation around her. Two other Praetorians stayed behind but she doubted that any of them was needed to protect her inside the Arcadian flagship. The groups of sailors they passed on their way to the bridge perked up with broad smiles, saluting her. She replied with a smile and saluted them back. Fortunately, the distance between her VIP room and the bridge was reasonably short. They quickly reached the bridge checkpoint where two large Marines were standing on guard duty. They were wearing Living Armours and were holding massive glaives called sentinel blades, capable of firing the arcane bullet spell. Before one of them welcomed her, Aoi felt a wave of his appraisal skill that crushed any masking attempts or faking skills.

"Your Highness!" He opened the doors for her, and both of them straightened in attention before saluting her and yelling. "Empress on deck!"

"Thank you." She saluted them back as she passed between them without even stopping for a moment. The soldiers of Arcadia were just the best, she smiled to herself as she approached her throne. "What do we know, Admiral?"

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

Aoi looked around and noticed with satisfaction that everyone simply acknowledged her presence without stopping whatever they were doing. The red light indicated that the ship was on combat alert and the strict protocol rules were lifted for its duration. It was another brilliant solution introduced by Theon.

"Nothing new yet. But we should have the first data any moment now." Janet waved her hand and five huge holographic screens with the same content as hers opened in front of Aoi. She studied them for a moment and observed the image seen by the destroyer observers. "But... I bet it's Metakans."

"Most probably, to be honest." Aoi nodded, and very soon, the Admiral's prediction was confirmed. The leading ship was waving a large flag of the Empire.

"Interesting..." Janet watched a small speck of light flashing on and off in rapid succession on Metakan's ship. "They are using a Morse code..."

"What are they saying?" Aoi looked at her friend.

"They introduced themselves as an official Metakan delegation sent by the Emperor himself. They are asking if we would allow them to join the peace conference."

"Communication! Hail Avalon at once, and ask them if they know anything about the delegation from Metaka." Aoi ordered, and Janet looked at her, surprised. "If they know nothing, tell them to switch us directly to Theon!"

"At once!" The officer confirmed with a firm but not loud voice. Her fingers quickly danced over the console buttons while magic and technology worked their miracles. "They know nothing... Wait. Correction, Ma'am! The warship we sent to warn Emperor Darius just sent an update. Those ships are indeed carrying the official delegation. It's... Oh... Princess Vettalia and Prince Guad!"

"Pffff... Let them through, it looks like I won't be going to sleep any time soon..." Aoi sighed and looked at Janet. "Admiral, I will need your presence during my meeting with the Metakans."

"As you wish, Your Majesty. As soon as I prepare the parking orders I will join you. We don't have any protocols for joint operations..."

"Well, you can create some protocols for similar occasions if you want. However, as far as I am concerned we are hosting this party, so you are the highest-ranking officer here and coincidentally also have the biggest firepower. So make it clear that they have to follow your orders. I will deal with any backlash." Aoi shrugged and stood up. "Go and inform Leonard and Cassmira about this, Praetorian. I will be waiting for them in my quarters. Also, tell Mia and Tia about this."

"At once." He nodded and instantly sent a mental message to the Praetorians guarding the twins.

•••

After a brief and mostly pointless pre-meeting, since no one had the slimmest idea why Guad and Vettalia would personally join the conference, Aoi tried to figure out where they should meet. At least they drank a good coffee before they prepared to board the assault craft and meet the Metakans on the neutral ground. However, before leaving, Janet approached her and managed to convince her to invite Guad and Vettalia on board Dauntless. The briefing rooms were a bit too small to welcome the royals there but Janet had an idea of where the meeting could be held. The hangar was already cleared of assault crafts and prepared to hold the conference. As an improvised conference room, it was very spacious, brightly lit, and, most importantly, warm. Aoi sighed, rubbed her tired eyes, leaned back on her throne, and looked at Cassmira. The Princess seemed nervous and fidgeted on her chair.

"Something wrong, Cass?" She asked her friend.

"I would never expect them both to come here..." She admitted and trembled a little bit. "I hope they are not angry..."

"Don't worry. I'll handle it." She shrugged and mentally thanked Janet for convincing her to hold this meeting on Dauntless. The intel about Guad and Vettalia was rather scarce, but it pictured them as competent but short-tempered people. Fortunately, it was hard to be arrogant towards someone whose flagship could obliterate your entire task force in a heartbeat.

As Cassmira calmed a little bit, the commotion outside made it apparent that the inheritors of the throne of Metaka had arrived. Once the doors opened, a small procession into the hangar led by Janet, Guad, and Vettalia. They were followed by forty mean-looking soldiers. Aoi took her time to take a better look at them. Vettalia was slim and tall; her long brown hair was still shining, but it had begun to show her age. She wore a long and exquisite dress, but it was a bit loose here or there in an attempt to make her look younger. She had wrinkles around her brown eyes and a soft but serious gaze. Guad, on the other hand, was shorter than his older sister, and his once muscular shape started turning into fat. He was a dashing man in his prime and the wrinkles around his mouth showed that he often smiled. He was wearing the uniform of the Metakan Navy and a sabre on his hip.

"We weren't expecting you here, Princess Vettalia, Prince Guad. However, it's a pleasure to meet you." Aoi stood up and inclined her head. She smiled at them and pointed towards the large and comfortable chairs as she sat down.

"We arrived as fast as we could." Guad inclined his head in a similarly deep bow and smiled widely. His firm voice was calm and gave out the impression of a natural leader. "It's an honour to meet you, Empress Aoi Sora va'Theon. The rumours brought by our soldiers turned out to be grossly underestimating the beauty of one of the Empresses of Arcadia. Queen Mia, Queen Tia, it's an honour to meet you as well."

"Oh, stop it, brother." Vettalia rolled her eyes and shook her head. "It's a shame we couldn't meet in better circumstances. I want to assure you that we took the warning sent by Emperor Theon very seriously." She said with a serious facial expression that brightened as quickly as she looked at her step-siblings. "Cass, Leo! You look great! What's the situation?"

Aoi smiled to herself. Both of them seemed likeable. Cassmira and Leonard appeared relieved after talking with their older brother and sister. Aoi briefed them about the first day of negotiations, which made Vettalia and Gaud fall silent. Guad crossed his arms in front of him as he looked at the table. Vettalia leaned more comfortably in the chair and closed her eyes.

"Hmmm... While I understand that you both bluffed Leo, you were a little bit too lenient. I think that we will participate in the next round of negotiations. While we don't want to undermine your authority it's time for us to step in, brother." Guad sent Leonard an apologetic smile.

"Yes. We won't be making any changes to the deal you helped negotiate. However, Father told us to make sure that the Union takes away all their supporters from Metaka. We are going to negotiate with the Union separately." Vettalia took out some scrolls. "You did great, Cass and Leo. Thank you both. We hope that you are going to care for the interest of Metaka in the future. Empress Aoi, if you allow, we would like to tell you about the demands of Metaka. We know it's late, but the matter is rather urgent."

"Of course." Aoi nodded and felt that she needed one more coffee. "I'm afraid that it's going to take us more time than we hope, so could you arrange for us some refreshments and snacks, Praetorian?"

"At once, Your Majesty." The cold voice of a Praetorian sent chills down the spines of Guad and Vettalia, who simultaneously looked at him. The royal guard turned around and left the room for a few moments.

The royalty of four nations sat around the table and made notes as they discussed mutual plans and strategies. The beverages and snacks arrived a few moments later and streams of coffee were poured. However, they weren't alone as Aoi noticed that Janet was discussing something with the Metakan captains. They seemed shocked but brief laughters and gestures looked friendly. Soon, more officers from both sides joined, and their faces turned serious as they started discussing something, but their voices never raised to disturb their superiors. The discussion around her own table seemed far less interesting in comparison.

"What exactly are you doing?" Vettalia finally noticed the officers and the growing piles of paper around them.

"We are preparing the protocol in case our Navies have to work together, my Lady!" The captain of the Metakan flagship replied and lowered his head with respect.

"Oh..." Vettalia seemed uncertain about what to do.

"By all means proceed, Admiral!" Guad nodded, pleased, and turned his back towards the table. He rubbed his eyes with a tired gesture and took a sip of the coffee. He looked in shock at the cup, and then he smiled. "Now... I think we clarified everything, and we managed to establish a unified front; there is only one thing left. Empress Aoi, the Empire of Metaka is ready and willing to begin serious negotiations."

"I'm afraid I don't know what you mean..." Aoi felt tired and the only thing she wanted was to go to sleep.

"We want more coffee and we can make a very serious offer to obtain it." Vettalia briefly nodded but she couldn't restrain a yawn. "However, that might wait until tomorrow..."