Death... and me

In response, Rean simply shrugged his shoulders as he replied, "I killed a lot of Zasfins, didn't I? In the end, that's what war is. I'm just happy that Frandin didn't appear on the other side of the battlefield since I wouldn't hold back just because of him." 

That was a very straightforward answer, much to Devou's surprise. "I see...if that's okay with all of you, then I'm obviously okay with that as well. I won't play dumb, though. I still think that humans should be serving us. That's how it has always been as far as I remember. I know that it isn't possible anymore, but this kind of mindset won't change anytime soon."

Rean couldn't help but look at Frandin after hearing that, saying, "He really is your father."

"I agree." Frandin nodded in agreement. One must remember that Frandin always made it clear that he saw human slaves differently from Rean's group. He didn't try to hide it at all.

Nevertheless, Rean was satisfied with that. "Devou, I quite like you. As long as you're open with your feelings, I think our negotiations will run a lot smoother. It's definitely a lot better than trying to keep things hidden." Rean then smiled as he continued, "Of course, if you try and go around killing humans or try and make them your slaves, I definitely won't hold back, even if you're Frandin's father."

"That's fine by me." Devou would be lying if he said that he wasn't nervous about the result of this conversation. After all, he did put his feelings out in the open. He still felt aggrieved at the fact that his city's economy was ruined after Wringan was taken away. Otherwise, he would have never resorted to Frandin's connection with Rean to ask for help.

After that, Frandin, Xiria, Rean, and the others spent some time talking with each other. They tactfully kept the war out of the discussion, though. It wouldn't be nice to hear more about the death of their races. Their time of relaxation continued until suddenly, they heard another knock on the door.

A city worker then came inside, telling Rean, "Elder Rean, all the representatives of the cities in the north of Fausec Country are here already. We can start the negotiations at any time." 

Rean nodded before looking at the others, telling them, "Alright, you guys can continue to talk. I'll head out to participate in the meeting with Senior Devou. The rest of you aren't considered part of this, so I can't let you come."

Devou couldn't help but ask, "Can't Frandin come with me? He will eventually inherit the position of Danve City's City Lord."

Rean shook his head in response, telling him, "Every city has only one representative, so it would be suspicious if you had someone to accompany you. They might also think it's unfair treatment. I'm sorry, but this has nothing to do with my relationship with Frandin."

Devou could only sigh in response and accept Rean's arrangements.

In the meeting, Malo and Poliana obviously took part as Sect Leader and another elder of the sect. Suana, the one responsible for the sect's office, was also participating. As one could imagine, the meeting started off very rough since the Zasfins still feared being taken in as prisoners or getting tortured and killed. Of course, such a thing didn't happen since the city lords or their representatives understood the economic advantages of these trades. Some time into the negotiations, the Zasfins gradually relaxed, understanding that the humans really wanted to get to business here. That also helped them state the conditions of their contracts more openly.

The meeting kept going for several hours and deep into the night. After all, each participating city of Palif Empire's Tasman Country had different deals with the few towns in Fausec. Well, it wasn't called Fausec Country before anyway.

By the time the meeting ended, everyone there was feeling quite mentally fatigated. After all, it wasn't like their feelings for each other changed all of a sudden. Humans still hated the Zasfins for being slaves or being confined in the Sealed Regions for so long. Zasfins still thought that humans should have continued to be their slaves. In any case, real agreements were reached between the several parties in the end.

"Alright, I would like the representatives of Fausec Country's cities to head back and report your achievements today in this meeting." Rean then looked at the representatives of the Zasfin cities. "As for you guys, I would like to discuss the communication system. I want to test if using the communication system in Zasfin territory is viable or not."

The Fausec Country representatives were taken aback. After all, they thought that the communication system should only be used by humans. Wouldn't that put the human's future advantage at risk if the enemy could do the same thing? However, before they could voice their thoughts, Rean interrupted them, telling them, "There's no need for you to worry. Our Freedom Sect obviously has its own thoughts by offering this. It won't jeopardize the humans' situation in the future. I can guarantee that much."

Only after hearing Rean's confirmation did the guys head out of the room, leaving only the Zasfins and the Freedom Sect members inside.

Rean then smiled at the Zasfins, telling them, "There's no need for you to think too much about it either. Whether you want to try the communication system is up to you. I won't explain why it wouldn't be a problem for our human race. All I can tell you is that the Zasfins won't be able to use it against us. Well, as long as it's only used for things other than talking about invading the Wringan Continent, it's more or less fine by us."

The Zasfins looked at each other with a hint of hesitation. They thought the same thing as the other humans who first heard about the system. Wouldn't the Freedom Sect use it to listen to their messages? But then again, Rean used the same reasons as he did before, which forced them to go silent. In the end, only half of the Zasfins agreed with letting the Freedom Sect install a few antennas for tests while the others would first watch and see how it would go. 

Rean wasn't disappointed by that. In fact, he was surprised that half of them accepted it. 'Well, they're probably thinking about using their own Formation Masters to analyze and reproduce the Circuitry Formations.. Hehe! Good luck with that.'