"I must admit, I've always been rather partial to tea, as opposed to other traditional beverages," the bespectacled Draconian sitting in front of me mused as he held his earless cup in both hands, and I couldn't help but nod and raise my own cup in response.

"I can completely agree with the sentiment."

"Is that so?" Naoren whispered with an amicable smile and took a careful sip from his cup. "Do you prefer green or black tea?"

"Either or," I responded and took a whiff of my own drink.

It was only the two of us in a comparatively small, yet still just as lavish chamber right next to the ballroom. It was specifically designed to hold private meetings during social gatherings, and as such, it was sound-proofed to the point I had to strain my ears to catch a few stray notes of the music on the other side of the wall.

We sat face to face on fancy leather-bound armchairs, with a small coffee table between us, and half a dozen old-school, gas-lamp style light fixtures illuminating the walls and the paintings on them. More importantly, we had a fancy porcelain tea set sitting on the table, and a steady stream of steam rising from the fat yet elegant pot in the middle.

"I personally prefer green teas. The mellow, delicate taste always helps me to calm my heart." He paused here, and his lips parted into an almost mischievous smile. "Do you care for a challenge?"

"Depends. What do you have in mind?"

Naoren's smile widened and used both hands, still holding his cup, to gesture towards the teapot.

"This tea is a sample brewed from the blend we brought along as a gift to our western brethren. I'm curious if you can identify it."

I glanced at the pot, then back at him, and ultimately shrugged. It wasn't like I had anything to lose other than my title as a 'tea aficionado'.

"I'll give it a try." I took another whiff of the tea in my mug, then a careful sip. "This is certainly familiar."

"Is it?"

Naoren sounded unexpectedly intrigued by my comment, but instead of saying anything else, I drank another mouthful.

"I'm sure it's a green tea blend. You brought it, so I'm fairly sure it's not a Japanese blend, and based on the creamy feel and the slight aftertaste of almonds… I'd say it's Dragon Well tea."

"Well, I'll be damned," he whispered between two sips. "It's indeed Longjing. I didn't expect you to recognize it right away. You are indeed knowledgeable in the art of tea."

"You're making me blush." I finished up my cup and put it back onto the tray before adding, "To be perfectly honest though, I cheated a little. Sebastian brewed me this exact blend about a week ago, and I could still recall the taste."

"Sebastian? Ah, you mean the Dracis Clan's mysterious servant."

"I wouldn't necessarily call him 'mysterious', but sure, it's him."

"I didn't expect you two would be on such good terms," my bespectacled conversation partner noted with an odd glint in his eye as he closely observed my reactions.

"What can I say? While he might look unfriendly, gruff, and insufferably smug at first glance, if you scratch the surface, you'll soon realize that he's infinitely more unfriendly, gruff, and smug underneath." Seeing that Naoren was looking increasingly perplexed, I shrugged and added, "That said, he certainly grew on me."

"If you say so."

Since he still hasn't finished his drink, I figured I would keep the topic rolling a little longer.

"Honestly, we kind of started off with the wrong foot, but he's been decently helpful, and even taught my assistant how to make great tea, so I can't stay mad at him."

"You have an assistant?"

"Oh, that's just how I call Judy. Force of habit."

My company remained silent while he finished his drink, yet the moment he returned it onto the tray, his eyes narrowed and he crossed his legs with an air of provocative nonchalance.

"Judy Sennoma, if my memory serves right. Your second fiancée." Naoren linked his fingers in his lap and added, "I believe she will serve as a perfect segue into the topic we must discuss."

"So it means the preambles are over, huh? Just a minute." I forestalled him with a raised finger and refilled my cup. "What? The pot is only half empty."

"You mean half full," he corrected me, and I exhaled a soft 'Bah' under my breath.

"Let's not get started on the whole pessimism versus optimism thing again."

"In that case, let's save it for later," he granted me and followed my example, filling his own cup nearly to the brim again. "May I continue?"

"Be my guest."

Naoren slightly nodded, and after taking a sip, he breached the topic with the delicacy of a tomahawk missile.

"Put simply, your sudden appearance, and engagement, had dashed many of my plans."

"In my experience, those are usually a waste of time anyway."

The man with the glasses acknowledged my comment with an ambivalent shrug and continued without missing a beat.

"To be honest, I can't blame clan head Abram for enticing a rising power early. Your reputation does precede you, and I can't say I wouldn't have done the same if you began your operations within my sphere of influence."

"Entice?" I repeated after him with a frown and firmly shook my head. "Let's nip this misunderstanding in the bud: my relationship with Elly isn't politically motivated, but rather the results of a series of small misunderstandings, coincidences, and mutual attraction."

"Truly? Forgive me, but based on your actions during this banquet, I can't help but doubt that."

"Doubt all you want, it's still genuine," I huffed, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't bothered by what he said, so I grudgingly asked, "Also, what exactly do you mean by 'my actions'?"

Instead of answering right away, Naoren raised his cup to his mouth. Very. Slooowly. Probably just to mess with me.

"The first instance that raised my suspicion was the sheer vehemence of your reaction upon the grand elder labeling your second fiancée as a concubine."

"What's strange about that?" I inquired, but he gestured for me to let him finish.

"Then there was your behavior during the dance. You had a quick, awkward dance with Lenore, but then spent almost twice as long with your other fiancée, showing obvious favor."

"It wasn't awkward, I just had a hard time keeping up with the princess, and... How the heck do you even know about any of this when you were negotiating with Abram at the time?"

"Let's just say I have eyes everywhere."

"So do I, and that still didn't answer my question at all!" The bespectacled Draconian remained smugly silent, completely deaf to my objections. "Listen. You really seem to be laboring some odd misconceptions, so let me state this again, on no uncertain terms: I'm. Not. Engaged. To. Elly. Because. Of. Politics."

"Yet your actions say otherwise."

"And I'm telling you, you're reading way too much into way too little."

"Do you think so?" He let out a soft huff and finished his cup. "From my point of view, it all seems so obvious. You already had a lover, but you required the support of the Dracis clan, while they needed a suitable independent consort for their heiress. As such, you reached a mutually beneficial compromise: you would marry into the family, while also maintaining your relationship with your original lover. I presume holding up the veneer of a harmonious relationship to the outside was a small price to pay."

"... No offense, but if that's how you see things, you really, really need to see an optometrist." I downed my remaining tea in one go and roughly placed the cup back onto the table. "I don't know how else to say this, so please try to listen closely this time. Elly and I? We love each other. That's why we're together. Period."

"If that's the case, then how come you only announced your engagement today?" Naoren swung back. "It's almost like you specifically waited until the grand gathering just to spite my efforts at establishing an alliance by matrimony."

"There's no 'almost' there; that was the point. Also, our relationship and the timing of the announcement are two separate matters. Don't conflate the reasons behind them."

Naoren remained still for a beat as he scrutinized my face, then uttered, "So it was on purpose."

"Of course it was! It's our way of saying, 'Back off, she's with me now'," I told him flatly, and the Draconic bigshot let out a surprised hum.

"Such directness is... refreshing. Unfortunately, I can't back off." Naoren linked his fingers again and stressed, "I require Lenore."

"Well, tough luck."

He more or less ignored me and said, "Our bloodlines had been left to branch out and decay for far too long. If we are to survive in the modern age, we must consolidate the clans, both in terms of leadership and our bloodlines. For this reason, I must unite our family with the Dracis, and so I absolutely cannot back down."

"Oh, yes. The noble goal of unification. How nice." Rolling my eyes, I crossed my legs and rested my chin on my fist. "And by complete coincidence, this union would have you at its head, holding all the power and authority, right?"

"My intentions are far from selfish, I assure you. I merely wish for security."

"Security," I repeated after him with a squint. "Let me guess: this is all about the Knights."

The man at the other end of the table let out a tired sigh.

"In part, yes, but they are but a symptom of a greater problem."

Okay, that was definitely intriguing, and seeing my interest, Naoren decided to elaborate.

"We are an ancient lineage. We collectively hold unimaginable prestige, wealth, and power, yet we couldn't eradicate our scourge to this day. Ever since I was a boy, I wondered why, yet I only really understood the problem once I became the head of my clan. We have made too many enemies, scattered our bloodlines too wide in search of wealth, and left ourselves vulnerable to the people preying on us. Worse yet, some viewed this threat to our very existence as a tool for their own advancement, selling out their kin to the Brotherhood over meaningless feuds and disagreements. So long as we remain divided, we remain weak and exposed. I took it upon myself to unite our kin, and to do that, I need this alliance. I need Lenore."

Putting aside his needs and whatnot, I had to say I was intrigued. I originally didn't intend to bring up the topic yet, but I figured this was a great opportunity to test the waters.

"So, if I get this right, you want to unify both the Eastern and the Western Bloodlines to form a united front against the Knights and your other 'enemies'." He nodded, so I continued with, "Well, I hope you realize that Draconians have so many enemies to begin with because of all the unsavory business some families engage in."

"You mean organized crime."

"Of course, I mean organized crime," I scoffed. "I presume you want to crack down on that too, right?"

"Eventually."

"Neat. So, what if I told you that doing so can also solve the whole Knight-problem as well?"

Naoren silently sized me up for a while, and ultimately relaxed his posture.

"I find the prospect highly dubious, but for now, you have my attention."

"Simply put, the Knights are attacking Draconians because of two things: a simple dogma saying that all Draconians are evil, and centuries of grudges. There is little you can do about the latter for now, but what if we challenge their preconceptions on the former? So long as Draconians remained 'innocent', by some measure of the word, the Knight would lose their justification to attack them."

The man blinked at me uncomprehendingly and finally uttered a flat, "You can't be serious."

"Oh, but I am. Of course, such an arrangement would require some concessions, but in theory, so long as no Draconians engaged in criminal activities, played nice, and gave to the community, the whole conflict could be quenched."

"I still don't see the through line. Even if our kin ceased all 'unsavory activities', as you called them, how can we expect the Knight to simply end their attacks?"

"It's not that difficult though. All we really need is a strong collateral to get the Knights to the negotiation table, the collaboration of the most influential Draconian families, and maybe some kind of regulatory organization to keep everyone in line, and the Knight problem would pretty much solve itself."

"Even if we presume that there's a way to convince our kin to cease their incriminating activity, how would we ever gain collateral on the Brotherhood?"

"I can do that," I proposed, and the bespectacled kept staring at me in mild befuddlement.

"Normally I wouldn't readily believe such claims… but I've learned that it was the information you provided that allowed us to evict the Brotherhood from their strongholds within our territories. I presume it means you already have a collaborator working for you amongst their ranks."

"In a certain sense, you're correct."

"And you believe you can force a ceasefire."

"No, I think I can do you one better. How does a complete and permanent cessation of hostilities sound to you?"

The room once again fell silent as Naoren contemplated on my words, and I let him do so for as long as he needed. Unfortunately, his thoughts somehow ended up straying in a completely unexpected direction.

"Based on what you said, I reckon you've already had a plan like that in motion. If I consider the requirements of such a grand plot, it certainly puts your relationship with Lenore into a new light."

"Okay, I have to amend my previous statement: you shouldn't just see an optometrist, but also have your ears checked, because I'm getting really tired of trying to explain our relationship to you, and you apparently aren't listening."

Naoren closed his eyes and shook his head.

"... Fine. I'll henceforth grant you the benefit of the doubt and provisionally accept that the three of you aren't engaged as part of a political play."

"How gracious of you."

"Unfortunately, this also means we are at an impasse. I was planning to match whatever support clan head Abram promised you, but if I was to believe you, such an offer would be not only counterintuitive, but downright insulting."

Look at that. Some common sense. Why was it so rare around these parts?"

"Yes, it would."

"However, I still require Lenore for my plans."

"I said it once, I say it again: tough luck, buddy."

He once again ignored my quip and solemnly stated, "That said, my duty as the clan head, and representative of the Eastern Bloodlines, demands that I listen to any propositions that could save the lives of my kin, and so I'm willing to listen to the details of y—"

Whatever he was about to say was cut short by a muffled crash, followed by a small quake running through the whole building. Naoren looked up apprehensively, and my brain also kicked into a higher gear as I rose from my seat. We were in a soundproofed room, and yet we could still clearly hear the clamor outside, meaning something major had to happen. I Far Glanced using Judy as the anchor, and while being suddenly dropped into the commotion was a little disorienting, at least I could see that the girls were safe.

By the time I started moving, the bespectacled Draconian was already on his way towards the door, and I followed right after him without a word.

The scene welcoming us in the ballroom would've been shocking if I hadn't already taken a peek. I rushed past Naoren, pushing several placeholder guests out of the way. While most of them were confused and apprehensive, there wasn't any panic. To the contrary, a few onlookers seemed downright intrigued, and following their gazes, I quickly found the source of clamor. In the beginning, I was unsure whether I should find the girls first and ask them about the situation, but these reactions told me this wasn't an attack from the outside, and once I narrowed down the remaining suspects in my mental ledger, I redoubled my efforts to reach the epicenter of the attention.

As I got closer, I had to shield my eyes from a sudden flash of light, followed by a gust of hot wind. I pushed the last circle of gawkers aside and found the area in quite the sorry state. The ground in front of me was covered with way too much wooden debris, even considering the broken and upturned dining tables in the back. Under all that, the stone floor was cracked and even scorched here and there, and I quickly found the source of the disturbance by following the trail of carnage.

"Infernal Crimson Vermillion Lotus Blade!"

My eyes immediately honed in onto the source of the shouting, and before I knew it, I was already moving towards the spikey-haired redhead brandishing an oversized sword covered in flames, barely registering the black blur passing by my left as I did so.

Time slowed down to a crawl, as it tended to do in situations like this, and I focused my attention on the burning weapon. Or rather, the bundle of flames in the shape of an impractically huge single-edged sword. In any case, it was too dangerous to ignore, so as I closed in, I lashed out with both of my Phantom Limbs. The first strike cut through near the hilt, while the second one bisected the blade in the middle. As the magical weapon summoning spell technique whatever lost its cohesion, it revealed a surprised boy on the other side.

Whatshisface, the younger brother of Naoren, had his jawline partially covered with green scales, and his already bright red hair was glowing in a brilliant shade of orange, but otherwise he looked normal, if comically startled at the moment. His hands clawed after the dissipating hilt of the fire sword, and since he was already off-balance, I used the opportunity to grab him by the arm.

The moment my hand clamped on the guy's forearm, my sixth sense immediately warned me of incoming danger, and I ducked under his other hand, lashing out towards me. That was wholly uncalled for, so I gave myself some extra leeway when dealing with the troublemaker. I twisted his arm, firmly planted one foot in front of him, and with a solid yank I tripped him over. Long story short, in less than a second, he ended up flat on his stomach, with one arm twisted behind his back, and one of my knees firmly pressed against the small of his back.

It was only at this point that I paid any attention to the stunned silence surrounding me and glanced around. To my utter surprise, I found another person on the floor, with Naoren looming over them, his elbow pressed against their neck to keep them still. He looked back at me, and after a long beat, he lightly cleared his throat.

"My brother looks uncomfortable. Could I ask you to release him?"

"I will, the moment you let my friend loose."

The man with the glasses glanced down at the Magiformer-clad Josh, then back at me, and uttered a nonchalant, "Fair enough."

Without any further ado, he got off the guy and stood up, so I had no other choice but to let go of his brother in turn. The moment I released my grip on him, he kicked the ground and rolled away, then jumped to his feet with a thundering frown.

"Big brother! Don't interfere in my matters!"

Before he could say anything else, Naoren made his way over to him and knocked him over the top of his head, followed by a reserved yet at the same time scathing, "I told you not to cause a scene."

For now, I ignored those two and hurried over to Josh groggily rising to his feet. He still had his Magiform on, but even so, his hair was a mess, his left cuff was burned, and…

"Dude, I think your nose is broken."

"Thank you, captain obvious. I noticed," Josh grumbled, but despite his strong words, his legs looked anything but, so stepped closer to keep him upright.

Once I was sure he was steady, I tried to ask what the hell just happened here, but before I had the chance, we were almost tackled off our feet by the sudden appearance of a certain Celestial.

"Josh, are you all right? Oh no, you're bleeding!"

"It's not that bad," my friend told his frantic childhood friend, but honestly, he looked like he was just hit by a truck.

Angie completely disregarded his objection and patted him down while humming, probably using some kind of diagnostic spell. In the meantime, my girlfriends also pushed their way through the ring of onlookers, so I uttered I flat, "Sitrep, please."

"I didn't see much," Judy told me as she straightened my clothes. "I was with Emese by the other end of the room."

"I only saw Josh flying off the balcony," Elly added, and after some hesitation, decided to contribute by dusting off my knees.

Looking up, I found the balcony in question. It was hard to miss, considering half the railing around it and a whole column was missing. Oh, I see. So that's where all the wood came from. One small mystery solved. I was just about to ask about the big one again, but I was beaten to the punch by Naoren clearing his throat to get my attention.

"I'm afraid I have to go and apologize to clan head Abram about this chaos, among other things, and it appears your friend is in need of some medical attention as well. How about we conclude our discussion another time?"

"… Fine by me."

"Great. Now, if you excuse me, I need to have a long talk with my brother."

Saying so, he grabbed hold of the fuming younger guy by the scruff of his neck and unceremoniously dragged him away and out of sight, leaving only our little group in the crossfire of curious gazes. While I really wanted to know what went down here, Naoren was right about one thing: Josh needed medical care, and for that, we needed a more private space.

Luckily, the room I just came from was probably still empty, so I gestured for the others to follow me, and we left the circle of onlookers in a single file. I could hear dad-in-law's voice in the background, but for the time being, I was pinpoint focused on three things: getting Josh looked at, finding out just what the heck happened, and figuring out how this figures into our Narrative predictions. Also, the way Judy was fidgeting by my side like she really wanted to tell me something filled me with a certain sense of foreboding, but let's focus on one thing at a time.