Free Web NovelChapter 25: Siren Stronghold [ 21 ]
Voss’s lips twitched. It might have been a smile. It was hard to tell with all the wrinkles.
"My daughter is a captain in the Third Legion. She’s been deployed to combat zones since she was nineteen. She’s killed more enemies than most soldiers see in a lifetime. And in all those years, I have never once heard her describe anything as miraculous."
He stood up from his chair, and despite his age, there was nothing frail about the movement. "Whatever you did to earn that kind of praise from her, I’m willing to give you the benefit of the doubt."
Elder Korith looked like she was about to have an aneurysm.
"Elder Voss, you cannot base a decision of this magnitude on your daughter’s... wellness treatment!"
"I can base my decision on whatever I please, Korith. That’s rather the point of having a vote." Voss waved a dismissive hand. "The count is now two to two, with one abstention from Elder Thessan, who appears to have fallen asleep during our recess."
Everyone turned to look at the oldest of the female Elders. Sure enough, Elder Thessan’s chin had dropped to her chest, and a soft snore was emanating from her robed form. freewebnσvel.cѳm
Are you kidding me? fгeewёbnoѵel.cσm
Nacho caught Sera’s eye. Her expression was carefully neutral, but through Mind Fortress he could feel her internal screaming.
"A tie goes to the military authority in matters of asset classification," Elder Maren spoke up for the first time. Her voice was warm but carried an undertone of steel. "Grand General Sera’s designation stands. The entity known as Nacho is hereby classified as a military asset under her direct supervision."
"This is absurd!" Korith slammed her palm against the armrest of her chair. "We cannot allow—"
"The matter is settled." Voss’s voice cut through her protest like a blade through water. "Unless you’d like to wake Elder Thessan and convince her to change her vote? I’m sure she’d appreciate being disturbed from her nap to hear your complaints about proper procedure."
Korith’s jaw worked silently. She looked at the other hostile Elder, who gave the tiniest shake of her head. Whatever play they’d been planning, it had fallen apart the moment Voss changed sides.
Nacho let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. His grip on the Silverion Daggers relaxed, and he slid them back into his inventory.
"So," he said. "Does this mean I’m not getting enslaved today?"
Sera shot him a look that clearly said shut up while you’re ahead.
Voss actually laughed. It was a strange sound in the formal chamber, rough and genuine.
"Not today, boy. But I would recommend staying on your best behavior. The Elders have long memories, and some of my colleagues hold grudges like drowning victims hold driftwood."
No idea what kind of wood is driftwood. Though maybe it’s a slang for something? Either way...
"Noted."
The meeting dissolved into the kind of procedural chaos that Nacho recognized from his old life. Paperwork being shuffled, voices talking over each other, people trying to figure out what had just happened and who was responsible for it.
The hostile Elders were already huddling together, probably plotting their next move. Elder Maren had approached Sera and was speaking to her in low tones.
Nacho hung back, watching the room and letting his Mind Fortress sweep across the surface thoughts of everyone present.
—complete disaster, we’ll need to regroup—
—how did she know about the Tide rule? Someone’s been feeding her information—
—interesting young man, I wonder what else he can do—
—must speak with Rhea, this changes things—
That last one came from Voss. Nacho filed it away as something to worry about later.
Sera finished her conversation with Elder Maren and made her way back to him. Her face was composed, but through Mind Fortress he could feel the relief flooding through her like water through a broken dam.
"We need to leave," she said quietly. "Now, before they find something else to complain about."
"Yes ma’am."
They walked out of the Council Hall together, past the guards who now watched Nacho with a mix of wariness and curiosity rather than hostility. The morning sun had risen higher during the proceedings, and the streets of Lumen were starting to fill with people going about their daily business.
Sera didn’t speak until they were three blocks away from the Hall, tucked into an alley between two merchant buildings.
"You slept with Elder Voss’s daughter."
Nacho held up a finger. "Technically, I gave her a massage."
"With your tentacle."
Nacho thought over it for a moment, then replied, "...It’s a very versatile massage. Why else do you think those women keep coming back?"
Sera stared at him for a long moment. Then she did something he’d never seen her do before.
"Pfft... Hahaha..."
She laughed.
It wasn’t a polite chuckle or a sardonic snort. It was a full, genuine laugh that shook her shoulders and made her lean against the alley wall for support. Her cracked armor clinked with each breath, and her navy hair came loose from its tie.
"I just watched you survive a council vote to enslave you because you accidentally seduced the daughter of the most powerful Elder on the board." She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. "I’ve been playing political games with these people for years, and I have never seen anything like that."
Nacho shrugged. "I didn’t know who she was. She came in asking for a massage, so I gave her one."
"You gave her more than that, apparently. Miraculous, she called it."
"I’m very good at what I do."
Sera’s laughter faded, but the smile lingered at the corners of her mouth. It made her look younger. Less like a Grand General and more like a woman who’d been carrying too much for too long.
"You realize this changes things," she said. "Voss isn’t our enemy anymore, but he’s also not our friend. He voted with us because he was curious about you, and because you apparently impressed his daughter. That kind of goodwill has limits."
"I figured. What about the other three?"
"Korith will hold this grudge until she dies. The other two will follow her lead unless something more interesting comes along." Sera pushed herself off the wall and started walking again. "We need to move fast. Get you established as a legitimate asset before they find a way to undermine the classification."
Nacho fell into step beside her. "Established how?"
"The original plan still holds. You infiltrate the Mortal World, gather intelligence on the Empire’s operations, and report back. If you can produce results, even the hostile Elders will have to acknowledge your value."
"And if I can’t?"
"Then they’ll find an excuse to reopen the classification debate, and next time Voss might not be in such a generous mood."
Great. No pressure at all.
Still...
"I didn’t really get to extort them."
Sera shrugged. "You’re not powerful or influential enough just yet. You need a lot more than just yourself."
He got the rough picture, and despite the commands he was supposedly given, aka, reporting back to them, he could always just ghost them.
That should be easy enough...
I hope.
