"You're...asking for us to...advise you? Why? On what?" (Tessa)
"Well...believe it or not, I have zero interest in ruling over anyone, and I'd be particularly incompetent at running a country. Nevertheless, I find myself in a position where my actions will affect whole countries. So, I'd like your counsel on those actions, as people who are experienced with the nuances of government. I find some of your prejudice disheartening, but I respect you otherwise. This country you help run is practically a utopia." (Mizuki)
There are surprised faces all around, and Tessa looks particularly stunned by my response. However, Elira's the first one to voice her thoughts this time.
"Mizuki, am I understanding you correctly? If you had things your way, you're going to come ask us for advice anytime a major event in the world happens, then listen to us tell you what we think you should do? And if anything involving the Elven Kingdom occurs, you'll defer to us as far as it affects our people, and support those decisions? I confess...I'm surprised." (Elira)
Elira is staring at me skeptically, as are most of the other nobles. Her phrasing feels dangerous, though, so I should clarify.
"Well, yes, within reason. Even if it's what your country wants, I won't participate in something that I know will cost innocent elves their lives. For example, I stand firm about the trains. Similarly, I won't kill or harm people who aren't actively threatening you, or whose hostility towards you is completely justified. I also won't stand by if you decide to harm or kill innocent people. As an extreme example, if you started practicing slavery like the humans, I would most certainly interfere in your affairs. I detest slavery, and I don't care who's doing it or why." (Mizuki)
Elira raises her eyebrows in surprise.
"That's it, though? If an Elder Dragon was coming to try and take our country as their own, like Veyron with the demons...you'd just stop them if we asked? Or what if the Empire does send half a million soldiers through Gelrod's Pass to conquer our country? You would help us?" (Elira)
Elira stares at me expectantly, a small smile on her face. I'm fairly certain that I've mentioned this to her before, so I assume that this is a rhetorical question for everyone else's benefits. Glancing around, I see everyone staring at me intently, and Ilina is just smiling.
"In those two cases, yes. If the Empire sends soldiers, simply to conquer your country out of greed, you can count on my protection. Likely, I'd kill a proportion of their army, maybe a hundred thousand, then give them the option for unconditional surrender. If they declined, then I would kill the rest of them. As for Veyron, I do-" (Mizuki)
"Fufufu...you all do not have to worry about Veyron. He's so terrified of Mizuki that he probably won't leave the minor continent the rest of his life." (Nina)
I sense waves of extremely toxic satisfaction rolling off Nina. I'm guessing she's reminiscing about my little jealous rage with Veyron....I sigh internally. I notice that the room has gone completely silent, though, and I look around curiously. Tessa, along with most others, are staring at me with pale faces. Catching my gaze, Tessa narrows her eyes seriously.
"You'd truly kill that many people, that many humans, just to protect us?" (Tessa)
I give her a puzzled look in return.
"Of course I would, and it makes no difference to me what race they are, or how many of them there are. Soldiers in such an invasion made a decision to actively harm innocent people. A thousand, a million, a billion...it doesn't matter to me. If they all made that decision, their lives are worth less than the people they're trying to harm. I consider myself quite reasonable, but make no mistake, I am far from docile. " (Mizuki)
The room falls terrifyingly silent, and I scan the faces around the table. Most of them look conflicted. For a while, the silence drags on, then I hear a hesitant question from Darak's direction – Linnea. She's looking at me nervously.
"Mizuki...what if it were the elves doing the invading, instead of the humans?" (Linnea)
I feel all eyes turn to me again, but I can sense a new fear, hanging thick in the air. I know what I should say, but...it'd be a lie. I sigh deeply and give Linnea a sympathetic look.
"It would depend on your reasons. In the worst case, if you were simply invading out of greed or to exterminate another race purely out of hate, I'd be your enemy. In truth, I should treat you as harshly as the Empire in that scenario, but my friendship with Alto and others would probably cloud my judgement. So, I'm sure I'd try to be as nonlethal as possible in stopping your invasion. However, if you really forced my hand, I would wipe your army out. I genuinely hope you never put me in such a position." (Mizuki)
A tense silence falls over the room for a while, then I hear Alto step forward. I glance over to her, and see her looking between me and the nobles seriously.
"For the record, if that scares you all, then I'm disappointed to call myself an elf. I trust Mizuki's judgement. If the scenario he described truly came to pass, then I wouldn't want him sparing any elves on my account. Fortunately, I seem to have a lot more faith in our people than the rest of you, so Mizuki's words don't worry me in the slightest. " (Alto)
A number of bewildered expressions are directed towards Alto, then I hear Alyse start chuckling. Cara notices and hangs her head in exasperation at her sister's outburst.
"Fufufufu...Alto, you took the words right out my mouth. People who promise you unconditional loyalty are either idiots or liars, doubly so if they promise it to an entire race of people. Mizuki's words should convince you to trust him, not fear him." (Alyse)
The vibe in the room seems to become more conflicted than fearful, and a short silence once again descends over the group. Eventually, Helena lets out a deep sigh and leans back in her chair.
"Honestly, you're absolutely terrifying right now, Mizuki. However, I pride myself on not making emotional decisions, and the truth is that I agree with Alto and Alyse. There's something reassuring about your honesty, even if it makes my blood run cold. You can count on my cooperation going forward." (Helena)
"I suppose that I feel quite similarly to Helena. I'm a bit unsettled by the misjudgments I seem to have made about you, but I also see no reason to be uncooperative. At least now, I feel a bit more confident that I understand how you'll react in a given situation. That's a kind of trust, you could say." (Darak)
That's good enough for me. I give Darak a small nod and look around the table. Jorah catches my gaze and frowns disapprovingly.
"I'm glad that you've shown your true colors, and I don't think I believe that you're as much of a friend to elves as you say. But if all you want is for me to tell you what to do, I'd have done that regardless." (Jorah)
Yup...that response checks out. Also, I can really live without Jorah's wisdom, honestly. I continue looking around the table, towards Cara and Alara. They give small smiles as I meet their gazes.
"I'm not quite as accepting of the humans as Alto is, Mizuki....but you obviously have my support. I owe you a great deal, and I'm thankful for your friendship." (Alara)
"I trust you, too. I'm happy to help. Although...I really wish you would have dialed it back today with your 'snappy' magic and your talk of wiping out armies. It was a little dramatic, right?" (Cara)
After a quick smirk at Cara's comment, I rest my gaze on Tessa. She's looking off thoughtfully, and when she notices me looking at her, she starts studying my face intently. However, she merely looks away after a few moments, and she never says a word.
Eventually, Elira clears her throat.
"Ehem...well, I certainly think Mizuki has been more than forthcoming about himself, and it doesn't sound like anyone objects to a civil discussion with him. If there are no final questions of great importance, we should resume our discussion of the Empire's threat." (Elira)
Elira looks around the room briefly. After a moment of silence, she seems satisfied, and nods her acknowledgement.
"Very well. In that case....Mizuki, could you give everyone a summary of exactly what happened on your trip to the Empire, and any relevant details you've acquired since? I'd like everyone to know why you killed Belmod, why you feel confident that he was going to invade, and what concerns you have about the Empire's future actions." (Elira)
Oof, that's a lot, but I guess it's all important. I nod at Elira.
"Of course, Queen Elira. It's a long story, but I'll be thorough..." (Mizuki)
So, I explain to them everything that happened – unabridged and uncensored. Our summons by the emperor, our decision to go and why, our trip to Rodsgard, our experience at the gate and through the city, and the entire audience with Belmod. I talk about why I waited so long to turn violent, and why I eventually snapped. I explain how I spared Lobe, Nina's lie-detecting, and the demands that I left the Empire.
I also explain the events afterward in Elmesia, and how the Empire is threatening them as well. Finally, I explain my reasons for suspecting their invasion plans – Belmod's comments, Lobe's admissions, and Levi's history. I also make a point to emphasize that Levi successfully infiltrated their country, then faked his own death to protect them from invasion. I know it's a long shot, but I hope that at least helps them hate humans less completely.
After I'm done with my summary, there's a spectrum of emotions in the room. Anger, fear, contemplation, satisfaction, and shock. Mostly shock. Everyone listened quietly, except for a few surprised squeals at certain parts of the story, but now their questions and comments come rolling in.
"Well...I was a little shocked before when you mentioned that your party killed almost seventy people in the Empire. However, after hearing about this Belmod character...his comments...I have to say that your actions seem almost tolerant. I'm surprised you offered the guards a chance to live. But still, why not just spare them altogether? They were no threat, right? And you were capable of just immobilizing them and leaving, it sounds like." (Alyse)
Alyse wears a dark expression as she glances between Alto and me, and it's clear that she's angry at Belmod by proxy. As for her question, though...should I be honest? I suppose I can do that without sounding like a complete monster.