"...And so, I hope that we co together to work as one and make this country even stronger and greater than it already is! Thank you!"
She concluded her speech on a high note, stepping back as the crowd erupted in applause and jubilation. Rui activated a misdirection technique, drawing only her attention to him. Her red eyes grew serious as she spotted him, before simply closing and departing from the stage once her official address was concluded, refusing to take any questions from the press.
Most likely, she didn’t want to say anything to provoke the Dragon Emperor into attacking them once more. She would take her victory and survival with grace and move on.
"Your Majesty, we have a eting prepared for..."
"Your Majesty, we have reports from the surveys of the pathwalker corps..."
"Your Majesty, we have compiled an initial report on the damage done to the city..."
Imdiately, her executives began peppering her with all kinds of pending matters that demanded her attention, but she simply put them off.
"I am exhausted after confronting the Dragon Emperor with the resolution to risk my life." She heaved a deep breath. "I need so rest in my private chambers."
And so, she secluded herself in her room, as untidy as it was, locking the door behind her.
"Good speech."
Rui’s voice ca from behind her.
She turned around slowly with a serious gaze as she found Rui having already taken a seat at her little table, gazing at her with a nonchalant expression.
"...You are aware that breaking and entering into my room is punishable by death, do you not?" She heaved an exasperated sigh.
"Yeah, well, good luck with that." Rui smiled wryly. "To be honest, I’m surprised that you are willing to enter your room without a bodyguard after my first appearance. I would have expected that you would have completely made sure to never be alone again."
"I don’t care to live such a life," she replied, walking towards him with a asured gait. "I am already surrounded by people at all tis outside of my personal chambers. This place was supposed to be the one and only place where I could be myself. And now, you have defiled the sanctity of what this place was supposed to an to ."
Rui shrugged. "You’re the Empress of a country with the entire nation at your service, you’ll have to forgive if emotional inconvenience isn’t a particularly heart-tugging sob story."
She huffed at his words. "More importantly, why have you co here again?"
"You know why," Rui replied without missing a beat. "I want to know whether you are going to reconsider your stance regarding the Hlakaschken Trade Empire’s stance with the Panama Continent. I think that we made a rather great show of goodwill when we ca to your aid, even though we weren’t bound to by a military security agreent."
"Your people did it because they have a hostile relationship with the Dragon Emperor and don’t want to see him gain control of our island," she replied swiftly. "I don’t believe that you genuinely have our interests in your heart."
"We never claid to." Rui shook his head. "What we seek is nothing special. We seek the exact sa relationship that the Hlakaschken Trade Empire has with every other nation in the world. That’s all. We ask that you maintain neutrality for our sakes as well as your own."
"...And what if the Evolutionary Army?" She asked with an exhausted tone. "What are you going to do about the next generation of super evolutionaries?"
"Build an alliance to take them down, of course," Rui replied. "We will grow stronger to ensure that we have the power to handle them when the ti cos."
"...How am I supposed to trust those words?"
"You don’t have to trust my words; you can look at the things that we will accomplish, starting with tackling the problem of the Dragon Emperor and the War Coalition of the Kiriket Continent," Rui replied. "After all, once we handle that and turn Kiriket Continent into our ally, we will have a powerful set of allies with the dark elves and the therianthropes on our side. We are also making progress with the dwarves, who are not inherently violent. With four powerful civilizations working with each other, do you really want to ally yourself with the Evolutionary Army of all forces in this world?"
She winced at his words. "...I don’t want to, but I may not have a choice. The Evolutionary Army is too close to us now, while the others, aside from the Panama Continent, are too far."
"All I’m saying is don’t commit," Rui replied. "It is words for now, but we will display powerful results soon, and you will see that you are wrong to bet against us. Besides, the Evolutionary Army is lying low for now because they have lost their Supre Commander and have sustained many losses in the Panama Continent. There’s no point in proactively forming an alliance with them."
"I can forge a better alliance with them when they are weak than after they beco strong, where it will beco more one-sided," she countered.
"Not if they beco strong enough to ignore the consequences of violating their agreent. If you put your trust in us, then I can assure you that the Panama Continent will grow strong enough to form an effective counter-balance with the Evolutionary Army. This is the only path in which you can avoid the destruction of the Hlakaschken Trade Empire, or its enslaving," Rui inford her. "You have seen the power that Amare, the Omni-Martial. And soon you will see what I’m capable of. You will learn that it is not a good idea to bet against us."
Empress Schlieffen grew conflicted in her expression before heaving a sigh.
"...I will place greater trust in your words if you succeed with whatever it is you’re trying to accomplish with the Dragon Emperor and Kiriket Continent. If not, I will remain on the course that I am now."
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