Chapter 557 [557] Ah, Politics it seems?

"..."

And here I was, sitting in a conference room decorated by nothing flashy, appealing to the minimalistic standard Sir Oliver possessed. I was already gritting my teeth in frustration. I had intended to simply rest, yet the moment I had awoken I was 'sincerely' greeted by nuisance after nuisance.

Furthermore, I had merely wanted to rest, yet I was not even given the opportunity to do so. So why must I entertain such things...

Ah.

"So, with the addition of the architect and maintainer of the portal, I believe we can truly begin."

The dwarf said with a snicker on his face. Ah, it's f.u.c.king you, isn't it?!

Among the room were five people, who were the most important, the rest could only be regarded as being there as a formality. Three dwarfs, headed by the b.a.s.t.a.r.d that had spoken just now. Three orcs, headed by the same orc that stopped my fist, Three humans, who were Sir Oliver, Harrison Soubuelle and Ragnar Drakmor. A man I hadn't seen in a while. His aura seemed different, and his att.i.tude made it quite clear he considered being here a waste of time.

As if the portal was not worthy of his attention...

'I wonder why...'

I wanted to know why, but I didn't have the opportunity to do so right now.

Oh, I seemed to have missed the last person here. An elf with golden hair that seemed to be drinking an exorbitant amount of coffee...

There were seven cups already by his side...all empty.

"He may be the architect of the portal, but he is simply a child with some talent. He has not yet had the opportunity to gather experience that would make him qualified for being here."

Sir Oliver protested my presence here, and to be honest?

'Woo! Go! Go! Yes, more!'

I supported him fully, I truly did not want to stay here even a second more! I am already being consumed by the pressure of this room.

Although yes, I admit my recent acquisition of aura had finally made me stop suppressing my rank, and had even given enough of a boost to get to the peak of S-rank... I was still weaker in this form than everybody here, even the dwarf.

All of them were a rank higher than me, and I would be able to handle one or two, but so many? It was suffocating for me.

Sir Oliver, gave me a look that screamed.

'Stay quiet, we will handle this.'

I was, honestly, quite relieved to see this. I didn't want to partic.i.p.ate in such useless banter at all! It was tiring.

'So I just need to stay silent... I can do that.'

I think... My experiences at doing so resulted in a horrible conclusion, but none of that was my fault!

To further my resolve, I kept muttering myself to stay silent in my mind, and the proceedings went as follows.

"Nonsense, He is a genius of great remarkable ability, to not only have reached his rank at such a young age but also construct a portal by himself and even find the spatial coordinates of a planet."

The dwarf pressed on, making a clear stand that I must be involved in the conversation on this table. He sees me as young and hot-blooded despite my achievements...and hopes I can make a mistake. Furthermore... I have a feeling that simply speaking would be what he needs to get an edge.

I don't know why, but I just feel it is like such... But he is wrong in some cases. I am a genius only in reaching this rank of mine at my age. The other things? I didn't have much involvement in them. I was given the guide to spatial magic by Suleras, and Lanesha told me what I needed to construct a portal and how to do it. And the spatial coordinates were calculated by Sabrina.

I was just there, to simply put...supply the spatial mana and make a connection. It was momentous, but not really at the level of the previous accomplishments.

"Elder Grimbald is correct, He does have a right to be here."

The orc chimed in. I furrowed my brows at this.

'Well, makes sense.'

The orcs are also interested in gaining another planet, From what I know, they have a high reproductive rate and thus are slowly getting overpopulated at every planet... Giganta is extremely large, it should be the great help to their large population...

As to why the dwarves covet it so much... I don't know.

The elf, here, is simply there to preside over the meeting and make sure the meeting is civil and doesn't start a war or issue between the three races that could quickly escalate into a conflict.

A conflict with the dwarves and orcs would be bad for humanity right now. We don't have enough strength to do it, especially since the main world of the humans is at war with the demons...

'Sigh...'

I sighed to myself, and watched the proceedings.

Oliver and Harrison were the ones being involved in the talks, while Ragnar took a step back.

Seeing that there was no hope in trying to get me to leave the room in front of all these races, they simply looked at me and told me to be quiet. I could try making an excuse, but that would be seen through quite easily, and would only worsen the situation.

"We are a new race, and you should already know our main world is currently at a war with the demons, and an entire continent is in their grasps... We discovered this world for ourselves and have every right to explore it!"

Harrison said, but the dwarf was quick to reply. With a strange look on his face, His bald head reflected the light on the ceiling above. With a shrewd demeanor, he spoke.

"Of course, it is precisely because you are a new race that the planet is wasted in your hands! We understand that the human race is at war with demons on theirmain planet, but it is what it is. We ask for only the coordinates of the planet and in return, to help you against the demons, we promise our full support!"

"The orcs, will also support you in exchange for the coordinates."

"Support? You all promised the minimum of support in terms of artillery and war-items! Not even a single man!"

"Please, We dwarves and orcs are mighty creatures! We ourselves have a lot of tasks that require our manpower...we simply cannot afford to send some here! But we would be happy to oblige with items and war-machines! Do you not agree, Elder Karack?"

The dwarf, included the orcs in his words to get the orc leader, Karack on his side. Previously, he was only pa.s.sive and didn't outright support the dwarf...but now with the invitation given to him, he needed to take the bait.

"Elder Grimbald is correct, The orcs and dwarves will send you whatever aid you need."

'Bulls.h.i.+t.'

I cursed in my mind. Of course, the aid they would be sending would be food and weapons. Humanity does not lack that at all, I would even say they possess weaponry above the level of the orcs...but below the dwarves.

But that is not the issue... Even if they were to send the weapons, Orcs have special items that are blessed by their shamans and require their aura to use effectively... On Earth, only two individuals can use it.

One is someone who wouldn't be brought into the front lines due to his age and inexperience...which is me. And the other is presumed dead, and also a far too valuable force to just be stationed at a single weapon.

The dwarves may use mana, but their technology is complicated and can only be used by a dwarf. Humans could get it to study their technology and eventually learn...but that was a trade that no man would accept.

An entire planet for a few weapons and some technology? Humans are advancing at a steady rate, it wouldn't take long for them to be on par with the dwarves, only a few hundred years or so.

'Hmmm...'

Ah, I'm getting so used to a dragon, I just referred a few hundred years as 'merely a long time'. Well, can't be helped. We don't die due to age, perhaps my mind is just accepting of that fact.

Anyway, They could send the weapons but with no dwarf or orc to man them, they would be useless.

No matter what, The spatial coordinates cannot be leaked at all!

Harrison stayed silent. If he or Oliver suggested that they did not need the aid provided by the orcs, it would be saying the orcs and dwarves are beneath them. It was a slap to the face to them...

It would hardly be considered such, and could be just that we didn't want their help but right now... Likewise, it could simply give them an upper hand. Humans were already at a disadvantage from the start compared to the rest. I don't know what happened here before I came, But I realize that the dwarves and orcs suggested some other terms I am unaware of...

Harrison gritted his teeth, and finally looked to the elf in the room.

"Elder Gold wood... You should understand our situation. We simply cannot afford to agree to these terms..."

The elf looked at him, finis.h.i.+ng his tenth cup of coffee.