Mushoku Tensei: Reincarnated as a Beast Race Chapter 403: 402 - Alliance?

Six of the Seven World Powers were gathered in a single room.

This kind of meeting probably had minimal chances of happening in any era. The only one absent was the Demon God Laplace, but no one could steal his position while he had not returned to life.

Of course, there was also someone present who did not belong to that group of superpowers. Ajax Telamonian, with wheat-colored hair, small horns on his forehead, and a disciplined posture.

Although he was clearly an extremely skilled magic swordsman, the comparison hurt him.

Not because he was weak. Ajax was young, talented, ambitious, and strong enough to have taken control of the current Sword Sanctuary.

But, in that room, that was not enough to stand out.

After his mother's death, Ajax had abandoned the revenge she had left behind as a mission for him to fulfill.

That, however, did not mean he would join the Iron Legion, the group connected to the people who killed his father, much less did it mean he had no goals of his own.

On the contrary.

Having grown up surrounded by battles, encouraged to surpass his own limits, and aiming from an early age at some of the most powerful warriors in the world, Ajax had that desire engraved into his bones.

Even without seeking revenge, he loved battle. And, like many heroes, he had the ambition to stand at the top.

Taking control of the Sword Sanctum was only the first step.

After being recently defeated by the North God in battle and recruited into the organization of one of the most powerful beings in the world, the Dragon God, Ajax saw it as his second step toward his own goals.

Serving Orsted was not exactly the kind of future he had imagined for himself, but drawing closer to figures like Kalman III and the Dragon God himself meant entering a board far larger than the Sword Sanctuary could offer.

Of course, he did not expect to be invited almost immediately to participate in a meeting with so many world-renowned figures.

Even more so with the one his mother had wanted dead until her final breaths.

Rygar Adoldia, the Beast God.

Even so, Ajax knew his place in that meeting, and so he remained silent.

Orsted was once again wearing his metal helm, which almost completely blocked his Curse after constant improvements made by Cliff Grimoire and Rudeus Greyrat.

The only remaining sensation was a natural aversion, weak enough not to awaken extreme emotions in those present, although it still made the Dragon God's presence difficult for any ordinary person to ignore.

The first to speak was Aisha.

She was sitting casually, with one leg crossed over the other and her elbow resting on the arm of the chair.

She wore the robe of the Headmistress of Star Rise Academy, but her posture at that moment did not resemble that of an academic.

"How unexpected..."

Her eyes turned to Ajax.

"You are Ajax Telamonian, am I right?"

Ajax was surprised to be recognized at first sight. He did not remember seeing any of those people in person even once.

Upon noticing his reaction, Aisha sent him a smile that did not reach her eyes.

"Son of Larax, the Desert Tyrant, and Vidette Telamonian... I have to tell you, the last time I heard about your mother, she was not in very good health."

Aisha tilted her head slightly.

"What do you think? Would you like to avenge your father, 'Half-Blood Emperor'?"

Most of those present were confused by Aisha's words, except Rygar and Ajax.

If before Ajax had only been surprised, now he had to make an effort to keep his expression unchanged, despite the cold sweat that appeared at his temple. He was perceptive, and quickly pieced things together after the sudden question.

If the Divine Sorceress knew all of that, then his mother's secret plans had never truly been secret.

Ajax had already suspected as much due to the number of Iron Legion members present in the Sanctuary, but suspecting and knowing for certain were different things.

If, for some reason, he had chosen to follow his mother's last request, he might already be dead at that point.

He controlled his breathing and answered:

"I never knew this so-called Desert Tyrant, Miss Aisha, and I feel no attachment to him. Although my mother held some grudges in life, I assure you they were buried along with her a few months ago."

Even so, Aisha did not miss the opportunity.

She looked at the Dragon God.

"Will all your new recruits hold grudges against us, Dragon God? Should we interpret this as some kind of veiled hostility?"

Rygar, Jino, and Eris seemed ready to stare them down like a pack of wolves before harmless sheep.

Theoretically, Aisha was right. After all, both the Dragon God and the North God, or even Ajax's father, had tried to kill Rygar at some point.

It was a curious collection of former enemies and potential threats being gathered in the same organization.

Internally, however, Rygar was merely amused by Aisha pressuring Orsted to maintain an advantage in the conversation.

Orsted furrowed his brows behind the helm.

"There is no veiled hostility. I have no intention of worsening this conflict. Instead, I hope to resolve it today once and for all."

Rygar spoke next:

"Very well. Since that is your intention, let us get straight to the point. Smaller matters can only be discussed after some larger things have been established."

Eris and Jino had only come to observe and, of course, to fight in the unlikely event that the meeting ended in battle. For that reason, they did not show much interest in the conversation.

Kalman III, meanwhile, frequently looked at Eris, with an obvious desire to challenge her to a battle. Which was understandable, since Eris had ended up ranked one position above him among the Seven Powers.

Rygar continued:

"To begin with, I want all four Sacred Artifacts in your possession, including the one taken from Perugius a few days ago."

Orsted immediately countered:

"I understand your desire for them, Beast God, but it is not that simple. Without the fifth Sacred Artifact, the other four will have no use whatsoever. Of course, handing them over is not impossible. But I need to understand whether you possess some method to accelerate the acquisition of the missing Artifact... considering that it will only appear in about seventy years."

Kalman and Ajax were completely lost on the subject.

In truth, among those present, only Aisha, Rygar, and Orsted knew exactly what was being discussed.

Orsted continued:

"Furthermore, there is also the matter of the eventual repercussions of our common enemy's death. Rudeus Greyrat once suggested some kind of sealing to me. What do you think about that?"

Instead of Rygar, the one who answered was Aisha. She looked at Orsted with a doubtful expression.

"Now, that is a question that genuinely intrigues me."

Rygar laughed softly, remembering one of his recent conversations with Aisha about the Dragon God's nature.

Orsted became confused, and Aisha continued:

"Is all you know how to do killing people? I mean, have you never thought about dedicating yourself to something that was not assassination? What do you mean the four artifacts are useless without the fifth? Did you never once think that these artifacts were created by someone?"

She leaned slightly forward.

"Why did you not dedicate, I don't know, at least a few hundred years to actually trying to find a scientific solution?"

The rain of questions surprised Orsted.

But only for a moment.

"I do not possess the necessary tools to modify—"

"Right, right."

Rygar interrupted him without ceremony.

"We are not here to discuss your creative and technological incapacity."

Aisha glanced briefly at Rygar, but did not object.

Rygar continued:

"What Aisha meant by that is that none of this is your concern, Dragon God. We have our own methods in mind to resolve the lack of the Demon God Laplace's fifth Artifact. Likewise, we have our own thoughts regarding Hitogami's eventual death."

He looked into Orsted's eyes behind the helm.

"But I want to make it clear that he will be killed, one way or another. The Human God is not an ordinary enemy. You should know better than anyone, as long as he lives, he will always be a cancer lodged in this world."

Rygar paused for a moment and leaned back in the chair more casually.

"At the same time, obviously, I am not going to destroy the world I live in, of course."

Even before that discussion, Aisha and Rygar had already been dealing with that topic. Even before the recent battles, the two of them had already been speculating about the problem of Hitogami's death and the world's dependence.

Now, with new information and tools, they had naturally arrived at some very interesting ideas.

Ideas that, obviously, were none of the Dragon God's concern.

Orsted stared at them for a few moments. Then he spoke:

"I understand. I will hand over the four Sacred Artifacts, but I have some conditions that must be met."

Aisha raised an eyebrow.

"Conditions? You seem not to understand your situation exactly, Dragon God. Although it is not convenient to kill you at this moment, that does not mean we are negotiating terms as equals."

Orsted furrowed his brows behind the helm.

Aisha continued:

"We are not only talking about the Artifacts. Any research and information regarding the Human God, or any kind of political support you possess, must be at our disposal. In this alliance to kill the Human God, you only have resources that interest us, but you will have no decision-making power."

Aisha casually pointed at Rygar.

"If you want to disagree with that, then fight him again."

Rygar nodded, agreeing with everything she said.

For a moment, the room fell silent.

The Dragon God finally spoke:

"I understand... I agree with most of your terms, but although my objective is indeed to kill Hitogami, you seem to misunderstand something."

His aura became sharper for an instant.

"There are things I will not give up. If you cannot fulfill my minimum requirements, then all that remains for me is to start over. Although that is not my desire, it would not be the first time I abandoned a promising direction."

Rygar observed Orsted with unusual intensity. This was a little wrong.

Orsted should prioritize Hitogami's death above all else. Would he really give everything up that way? Had something changed this time?

Orsted continued:

"The safety of the Greyrat family. I have already understood that your determination to kill the Human God should not be questioned, and it aligns with my own thoughts. But, due to a promise, I want the safety of Rudeus's family to be guaranteed. I will also ensure that they themselves do not start a conflict."

Orsted stared directly at Rygar.

"Can that be met?"

The question was more serious than it seemed, since it came after a threat to restart the entire loop.

The worst part was that Rygar, even being able to sense people's hearts and emotions like an open book, could not discern whether it was true or false.

He could not tell whether it was an empty threat or a genuine one.

Obviously, it was empty. The Dragon God had simply learned how to bluff, and had methods to block the Beast God's detection.

Rygar nodded.

"I had no intention of entering into conflict with them to begin with. Roxy Greyrat helped my daughters, and Rudeus Greyrat saved Aisha's life on the battlefield."

Aisha did not comment on anything, but her expression changed slightly.

Rygar continued:

"That alone has already left me with a debt that surpasses our old enmities."

Behind the helm, Orsted relaxed his serious expression a little more.

Rygar, however, was not finished yet.

"But since we have entered that topic..."

He leaned slightly forward.

"You also owe us something else, Dragon God."

----

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