The next day,
Zhao Chen understood fully what was meant by 'birdsong and the scent of flowers.'
He truly woke amid 'birdsong and the scent of flowers.'
Even in the breakfast Gladys had prepared today, flower petals could be seen.
He had to say, the petals, chewed, had a slightly sweet taste, much like eating a fresh sweet vegetable.
"Please get ready. In a while I'll take you to the banquet ground," Gladys said beside him.
"Mm." Zhao Chen nodded.
For the time that followed, Zhao Chen and the Owl Dragon mission he had brought went wholly by the program of the visit, and took part in a reception banquet of a quite different style.
The banquet was in a garden; the food was chiefly vegetarian, and every dish was very beautiful and smelled very good.
But Zhao Chen had begun to miss meat a little.
These vegetarian dishes of the elves were fine to try now and then.
But if it were these for several days in a row, Zhao Chen's mouth would truly grow bland enough to sprout birds.
So at the banquet
Zhao Chen took only one bite of each dish, just enough to taste its flavor.
And those present were high elves almost throughout.
Zhao Chen had not yet seen a single interstellar race that was not elven; from this alone the elves' standing within the Sacred Elf Empire could be seen.
But these high elves, for the most part, showed little interest in the visitors from a distant universe.
They only watched Zhao Chen and the others from far off in threes and fives, discussing something among themselves in private.
In some eyes there was even contempt.
"Your Majesty, the looks these fellows give really are annoying," Panther-Girl said beside him, unable to hold it in, after eating a mouthful of greens.
Then she grumbled, "Who knows what these foods even are; they don't fill you up at all."
With that, she picked up some fruit beside her and began to gnaw it.
Compared with the vegetable leaves, the fruit was at least just about edible.
Zhao Chen could still taste these elven dishes, but Panther-Girl, of the beast-folk, used to eating meat, truly did not like this kind of food at all.
"You should think of it this way. Prejudice and arrogance are the most foolish things a race can have. And isn't dealing with people like that something in our favor?" Zhao Chen said with a faint smile.
Panther-Girl thought a moment, and asked back, "But aren't we here to ally with them? Allying with foolish fellows… that……"
Panther-Girl was learning to think for herself.
Zhao Chen smiled slightly. "You must know that, as allies, the too foolish and the too clever are neither of them a good ally. An ally like this, with some small cleverness but foolish and proud: for our Owl Dragon Empire, that's a good ally."
It dawned on Panther-Girl, and she nodded with a smile.
After that, she found these elves a good deal easier to look at all at once.
At this point the Radiant Elf King came to Zhao Chen's side, and the two sides greeted each other.
"It seems His Majesty the Emperor isn't enjoying this banquet much? Have we fallen short as hosts?" the Radiant Elf King asked.
Zhao Chen shook his head with a smile, and explained, "Your country's hospitality has already satisfied me very well. But what matters most right now is still our two sides' alliance, and discussing how to meet the threat of the Devourer Civilization and Order. If these threats and troubles are resolved, I believe that in future I'll come to the Sacred Elf Empire in a better frame of mind to enjoy everything here."
The Radiant Elf King smiled slightly. "His Majesty the Owl Dragon Emperor truly cares for his own people and country. Since that's so, we'll shorten the banquet somewhat. We can discuss the alliance ahead of time. But because our several Elf Sovereigns and the members of the High Council are scattered across every part of the Empire, and can't all gather here in a short time, throughout the alliance meeting those Elf Sovereigns and High Council members who can't be present will take part in the meeting by hologram. I hope His Majesty the Owl Dragon Emperor will understand."
Zhao Chen nodded and said, "Quite understandable."
After that the banquet was hurried along,
and ended sooner than originally planned.
Then Zhao Chen and the others were taken to a half-open-air council hall.
The whole council hall had one huge platform in the middle, and in front of it seats in a half-moon, rising from low to high.
By the look of it, those were the seats of the members of the High Council.
"Over there are the places for your mission's members." Gladys led the members of the Owl Dragon mission to the places that were theirs.
Compared with the High Council's hundred-odd[1] members,
the Owl Dragon mission of only a dozen or so looked like a far smaller array.
But one could see that these members of the Owl Dragon mission all had the air of being sure of themselves.
For their standing was rather special; before this, within the Owl Dragon Empire, they had been something like invisible people:
the Owl Dragon Empire's Ministry of Interstellar Foreign Affairs.
Before this, this ministry of foreign affairs had existed in name only.
For the whole of the Owl Dragon Empire had been united by Zhao Chen.
Foreign affairs?
With whom were they to conduct foreign affairs?
With Order?
It said nothing either.
So the Owl Dragon Empire's Ministry of Interstellar Foreign Affairs had never had any room to act,
until the Sacred Elf Empire appeared not long ago.
Lilith had at once set the Imperial Ministry of Foreign Affairs in motion, and every one of these people of the Imperial Ministry of Foreign Affairs had begun to prepare, every one of them putting in all they had.
For before, they had been drawing their pay and doing nothing for more than two years.
Every one of them had been idle to the point of fretting, and somewhat ashamed of the pay they drew.
Now, at long last, they had their first piece of work, and they had to make something of it.
They could not have drawn those two-odd years of pay for nothing!
As Zhao Chen passed the Owl Dragon mission's seats, he exchanged a look with one of them, a middle-aged woman in glasses.
This was the Owl Dragon Empire's present Minister of Imperial Foreign Affairs, Xu Yan.
Before this, she had served as the Starlight Empire's Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Besides her, the middle-aged men and women sitting chests out beside her
had every one of them, before, been such as the Holy Radiance Empire's Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Warhammer Interstellar Federal Kingdom's Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Angel Race's Minister of Foreign Affairs and so on……
To a person, they were the talents in interstellar diplomacy of the Owl Dragon universe of old!
At this moment, here, these people at last had a use for their gifts.
Every one of them was rubbing their hands, eager to begin.
Zhao Chen recalled what they had said when he summoned them last night.
Xu Yan, this Minister of Foreign Affairs, had said straight out: Your Majesty, tomorrow take your cue from me; without a signal from me, don't speak; leave everything to us. We absolutely guarantee that in these talks our Owl Dragon Empire gets the greatest benefit!
"Your Excellency the Owl Dragon Emperor, this way, please." The Radiant Elf King led the way for Zhao Chen with a smile, indicating a seat on the platform.
On the platform were six seats.
But one could plainly see there were meant to be five seats here, making exactly a half-moon arc, facing the High Council's seats.
And now, in the middle, one more seat had been added, and its style too was unlike the other five; plainly it had been added.
"Please sit." The Radiant Elf King indicated the seat beside him.
Zhao Chen nodded and sat down in this seat.
That put him and the Radiant Elf King right in the center of the platform.
Proud as these high elves were, in courtesy they still did things very properly; perhaps in their eyes, to be discourteous in front of outsiders would be a disgrace.
When Zhao Chen had sat down, he looked around once.
On his left hand was the Radiant Elf King, and on the Radiant Elf King's left the Emerald Elf King.
The seat on the Emerald Elf King's left was empty.
On Zhao Chen's side, the seat on his right hand was empty, and in the rightmost seat sat the Flame Elf Queen.
The Flame Elf Queen noticed Zhao Chen's gaze, and gave a faint smile.
At this point two pillars of light appeared on the two empty seats.
At the same time, in the empty seats of the High Council, figures of light appeared one after another.
These must surely be the people who could not be present, taking part in this meeting remotely by hologram.
On Zhao Chen's right appeared a man with dark skin and cold eyes.
He glanced at Zhao Chen, and then moved his gaze away.
Zhao Chen knew in his heart who this was:
one of the Sacred Elf Empire's five Elf Sovereigns, Onias, the Nightglow Elf King.
At this moment, in the leftmost seat, a female elf appeared as well, with very soft, lovely looks, skin white and delicate, dressed in pale blue gauze.
The female elf looked at Zhao Chen; when their eyes met, she smiled slightly and nodded, giving a very gentle feeling.
This was one of the five Elf Sovereigns, Marietis, the Water-Moon Elf Queen.
This Elf Queen was said to be of mixed elf blood, with the blood of both the moonlight elves and the water elves.
She was also said to be the gentlest of the Elf Sovereigns.
She had very high renown within the Sacred Elf Empire, not only among the elves, but among the other interstellar races too.
At this point everyone in the High Council's seats was present.
The whole council hall brightened suddenly.
"I declare the meeting to discuss an alliance with the Owl Dragon Empire open. Next, may the two sides set out their thoughts and views on the alliance." The Radiant Elf King chaired the meeting and spoke first.
But what followed was all left to the elf members of the High Council below.
"Honored Excellency the Owl Dragon Emperor, it's a great honor to welcome you on your visit to our Sacred Elf Empire." The high elf who spoke was quite pleasant in manner at the start.
But the next second his words took a sharp turn.
"I hear the Owl Dragon Empire has been invaded again and again by Order's Pitch-Black Legion fleets, has only just recovered from a civil war, and, founded only two years ago, has a hundred things waiting to be rebuilt. And now it has caught the Devourer Civilization's eye. We express our deep sympathy and concern for the Owl Dragon Empire's misfortunes and situation. We are very willing to form an alliance with the Owl Dragon Empire and help it. We are willing to station troops in the Owl Dragon Empire……"
The words that followed were in the main much the same as the demands Gladys had put forward at the meeting in the Owl Dragon Empire before:
no more than stationing troops unconditionally in the Owl Dragon Empire, and unconditional priority in using star gates, starports and so on.
At the same time a large permanent two-way universe star gate was to be built, and it must be under the Sacred Elf Empire's control.
And in the fighting with the Devourer Civilization, both the Sacred Elf Empire's fleets and the Owl Dragon Empire's fleets must have a single commander, and that commander must be the Sacred Elf Empire's.
Besides these there were no few excessive demands, but beside these they counted for nothing.
As he listened, Zhao Chen's face still wore a faint smile.
He knew very well that negotiation is no more than haggling.
So what if the High Council put on such a show of strength right from the start?
If the talks truly broke down, at worst he would overturn the table and talk no more.
Just then,
Minister Xu Yan slapped the table outright and interrupted this high elf's speech, which drew this high elf's displeasure.
"I'm sorry; I know it's very discourteous of me to interrupt your side's speech here. But in the same way, I think shamelessly putting forward excessive conditions is very discourteous too. If this is the attitude with which your side means to ally with us, then perhaps this meeting should end here. We have no wish to waste time here either. Rather than waste time here, we'd do better to spend our time getting our armies in order and preparing to fight the Devourer Civilization to the death."
"What does Your Excellency mean by this? What do you mean, shameless demands? These are only reasonable suggestions. We only wish to help the Owl Dragon Empire. With your country as it is now, against the Devourer Civilization, and the Pitch-Black Legion fleets that may come back at any moment, what chance have you? You've never yet fought the Devourer Civilization, and don't know at all how strong the Devourer Civilization is. On your own, you have no chance of winning!" Another high elf spoke.
"We haven't fought the Devourer Civilization, true, but when our Owl Dragon Empire fights, we've always fought with our backs straight, not bowing and scraping! Here I see no sincerity at all from your side," Minister Xu Yan said coldly, and went on at once, "And even if we're no match for the Devourer Civilization, may I ask: is your country a match for the Devourer Civilization? Once we're defeated, the Devourer Civilization's next target is your country. The only difference between our two sides is the order in which it comes."
Faced with Minister Xu Yan's sharp words, the High Council's side struck back close behind.
On the Owl Dragon mission's side, too, people spoke up one after another,
all to win their own side's interests.
From the broad direction at first, to later questions of every small detail, such as garrisons, star gates, starports, command and the like,
the two sides below argued without end.
And the few who truly held the power sat on the platform without a change of expression.
The Emerald Elf King even half-closed his eyes and drank some kind of wine.
Zhao Chen simply closed his eyes and leaned back half in his chair, resting his eyes.
Negotiation of this kind was a test of the two sides' nerve.