The Vote

The talk with Francis was nowhere near as exciting as it was with Kathy and Mal. Both were charming women, and I confirmed that I impregnated both at the end of the day. I felt odd impregnating them, almost like a business transaction, but I liked them both too. My family grew by another four, and I wondered if I should start to hire staff just to keep track of the women I slept with so that I could track all my children.

On the other hand, Thomas Longsong got along with Francis, and I could see Francis smile at the thought of another brawler to negotiate with as the Bunny=kin mostly sent wizards. The two hit it off, and I liked that. Francis asked some pointed questions about being a Brawler with a tribe that valued wizards more.

Thomas took it all in with a smile and replied to him simply, which made Francis smile, "Our Tribe values Strength, Francis. I may not be a Wizard, and I lack the normal strength for people of this position, but I also have the experience for my tribe to make use of. The Bunny-kin does not look down upon any form of strength or how it is achieved. We look up to those with strength and expertise. So I do not suffer for not being a wizard."

I was happy with his reply, and I could see Francis looking at Thomas with more respect. It wasn't as much as me after I beat him in a fight, but Thomas did not have that luxury when he was a C ranked Brawler. Francis was an Anti-mage fighter and at B rank. There would be no contest in a fight.

I was thrilled, though the representatives took a liking to him at least a little. The Elders sent someone who could do the job, at least even if he didn't have the strength. It also announced to the various races in the Demon lands upper echelons that we were going to war with the Empire. The only time someone of his strength rank appeared as an Ambassador was during times of war.

Reflecting back on these days allowed me to not think about what was happening today as the House of Representatives came together today. I would have no meetings, and I would have nothing other than Paperwork for the entire day. I shooed it off as I wouldn't be able to concentrate on it. Today was the vote on the Free Trade Agreement.

I was nervous, and I wished I could go see the vote and talk to the representatives to see if I could secure another vote. But I couldn't, and I wouldn't try to force it. There was no one allowed in the House of representatives during votes except those that were citizens of the Demon Lands. As an Ambassador, it would look like I was trying to sway votes my way if I showed up.

Now I stood in my potions room staring at a wall, thinking about my fighting form. I could rift and move with speed around a fighting space. That would be critical for me entering the enemy's lines. But that could only be done after the battle started. I needed to come up with something that could kill on mass and force B rankers to come fight me or lose the battles between C rankers.

The examples I saw in historical texts show that the usual combat form was still around Standing Armies. They would march toward each other and sound each other out before deciding to attack. These massed tactics were something I believe the Beast-kin nation could take at first. The problem was that Tribes were gathering together, not as an army. We would be barbarians attacking a military that works together. That meant we needed to stop them from working together and splitting up their forces into small packs where we could take them on.

I thanked the heavens that we had mana in this world, or with how the Beast-kin nation was structured, we would be screwed. The bunny-kin seemed to be moving towards a standing army structure, but I wasn't sure about the other tribes. The Dragonic is a race with Wild magic that I have never really seen. To me, wild magic was almost what we all used, and I was interested to see it in action.

The records I looked at showed that Wild magic could be powerful or weak. The results made it up to chance most of the time, which was not okay. But when it was powerful, it was something that made all the other Beast-kin tribes fear them. So I wasn't sure if it was reliable for the war but also something that shouldn't be counted out.

I decided that a mass frost spell would be perfect for when I rift into enemies—something with spikes but a limited ring around me. I needed somewhere to fight and make enemies notice me when I left the rifts. I smirked as I pictured a spiked frost ring around me that only went out five meters. Something that could kill dozens of lower rankers and provide me a moment to gather where I am and the number before they could respond. It would make the ground hard to walk on, and the bodies of their comrades would be spiked in from of them.

The other solution to that could be, though, was clearing everything with geysers, but that was an image that was something more for solo enemies. I could cast it quickly, and I could always start with a thermite fireball. That would come up with the problem of all the bodies, and the Thermite Fireball wouldn't be that useful when there were others in the way.

My mind raced inside the quiet room before I heard a knock on the door. I sighed and stood, walking over to the door and opening it up to see Yuri standing there looking sad. My stomach dropped as I knew she was here to tell me the news.

"Mira is upstairs, Chelsea," Yuri said, "I believe it is to talk about the results and asked me not to tell you. She also told me to grab Alexia before meeting you in the room." Her tone was odd, and I didn't know why she was following Mira's orders at this time. But Mira was in my camp at this moment. She had signed on too much to be second-guessed at the moment like this, and I would allow it as long as it didn't become a habit for those working from me to take orders from others.

"Okay," I replied, looking Yuri over, "Is everything okay?" I asked.

"Yes, Honestly, I know with the vote that we will be heading back soon," Yuri told me, and I could see some relief in her expression. "I knew that would be happening soon, but I." She paused, and I saw her looking into my eyes. "I just." She paused again, looking unsure now despite the relief, "I know I would be safe in the Demon Lands as they are not going to war with the Empire. The Empire has a lot of experience in war, and I am unsure about the results or if people I care about will be coming back."

I pulled Yuri in, hugging her tightly to me. I held her and caressed her hair, but I couldn't tell her everything would be fine. I couldn't tell her that everyone would be coming back and that life would be perfect when we got back. I couldn't tell her that there wouldn't be magical attacks on cities or anything. "All I can say is that I will do my best," I told her. "I cannot do more or less than that, Yuri."

Yuri held me tighter, and I could feel her sigh heavily. "I know," Yuri said.

I held her tightly for a couple of minutes in silence before I sighed, "Sorry, Yuri," I said with a self-deprecating smile, "But we do have a Queen upstairs waiting on us."

Yuri chuckled and nodded, backing up, "Thank you, Chelsea, I really needed that." Yuri said before turning around.

"Yuri," I said as I saw her almost running away, "If you need to talk. I will make the time. I know I am busy a lot, but I will make the time for you or any one of my women. I love you all, and I know I am busy, but I will never be too busy for you all."

Yuri turned to me, and I saw the smile and the tears. She nodded but didn't say anything else before leaving. It was an odd interaction, but one with the time of leaving so close made sense. But I would look into it later as I felt my curiosity about the Vote results grow. I moved, following Yuri up the stairs, and I wondered if Yuri's father would also be recalled from the Dwarven Kingdom. The Dwarfs needed at least a B ranker that they would be forced to at least respect.

It made sense that not everyone would be recalled as well since there were many irons in the fire when it came to this war. What I feared the most for the war was an early large-scale defeat. Although I didn't have the complete information I could already see when we initially attacked, taking a large portion of land wasn't out of the realm of possibility. If we could cut them off from the Demon Lands all together would also be fantastic. If we could take the city with an intact docks area on the River would help out for attacks deeper into the Empire logistically.

My mind raced as I moved up the stairs of the embassy before quickly reaching the third floor, where I saw Alexia, and she was waving me down. Her expression was a little dark, but she pointed at the door, and I walked toward her. I just realized as I was about to talk to Alexia that I did not know which room Mira was in.

"Hey! Yuri told me she forgot to tell you which room Queen Mira was in." Alexia said with a smile, "This is the room," She said, pointing at the normal meeting room doors. This was a larger meeting room as I had many since they often got dirty when negotiating. "Yuri will be joining us soon," Alexia said as she opened the door.

I saw Queen Mira looking serious as she had small breasts around the small side of B cup. It made her look more refined as she wore a nice red dress that complimented her perfectly. Her black hair was loose behind her, flowing down her back and out of sight. Another change in her body showed that she was changing it all the time. It was an interesting thing I took note of as I entered the room.

"We have something to discuss, and it will affect a lot moving forward," Mira said seriously, and my brows lowered as I contemplated what was next. I moved around the couch and sat across from Mira, wondering what had happened. Mira paused in continuing, and my mind wondered what had happened. Since they gathered, they could have voted on other things as well, including things that may not have been good. With it being almost considered an emergency vote while all the representatives gathered, they could have voted other things into law. Was one of them something that could have been extremely bad to the Beast-kin nation? Maybe something that might affect trade at the worst possible moment? If that was true, then the road to the Elven Forest would have to be made, and that would take much more resources and manpower to upkeep.

Mira suddenly began to chuckle, and I heard two more chuckles join with it as Mira showed a large toothy smile. "I didn't realize how serious you are about the vote," Mira said, "The Vote passed in your favor!" Mira announced suddenly, and my head blanked.

Sudden relief flooded my system without warning, and I felt the tension leave my body. I felt a serious thrill through my body as I did so, and I couldn't stop myself from asking, "What was the vote count?"

Mira grinned, "I don't know how that woman did it, and something tells me that I want to know. But your contact pulled through, and the Medusa she 'convinced' Voted on your side, sending a shock through the opposition, and the final vote came out to fifteen for and nine against. It was a clear majority, with Gargoyles showing their annoyance by jumping sides due to the Medusa miss vote. Or even looked like a betrayal for their faction, I am sure that she will be facing some very pointed questions very shortly."

I was still stunned that it had passed as I had been working on it for the last few months. Whoever Mistress Sally was and making that Medusa vote against her race's faction meant that she did something to her or blackmailed her in some capacity. The other even more terrifying thought was that she trained the woman with BDSM making her essentially her slave.

I shuddered as I felt the last thought was the one that made the most sense. If that was true, that meant this Mistress Sally could train B-rank adventurers that fell into her grasp. A shiver went up my spine with that thought and the amount of power that person could accumulate over time. "I think we need to keep a closer eye on that Mistress," I said, suddenly breaking my silence.

"Agreed," Queen Mira said, "I have already directed some more eyes on her in the shadows, but I have told the other queens not to directly interfere with her or try to have an inside person. Something tells me that woman is dangerous, and I believe with this vote, that was only proven. But for now, let us celebrate!" Mira announced, "Yuri, you bring what I asked?" Mira questioned.

"Of course, I wouldn't miss this opportunity to celebrate!" Yuri announced, and I turned to see her open the doors, and several bunny-kin women walked in with Trays of food and alcohol for us. "LET US ENJOY!" Yuri announced, suddenly stepping over to me, pulling me close, and taking my lips with hers.

"That is unfair," Alexia said, sounding only slightly offended, "I messaged everyone to come to join us now! Let us enjoy ourselves!" Alexia announced and grinned like it was all a joke, and Mira pulled something off a plate and put it between her teeth as Yuri broke the kiss suddenly; I felt Mira's lips and something sweet in my mouth as we kissed, sharing food. I swallowed, and Mira smiled as she broke the kiss herself.

"I will enjoy you all today as we only have a couple more evenings here in the Demon lands," Mira announced, and her red dress dropped to the floor.

The sound of clothes dropped throughout the room even as more of my women came in. No one didn't show up, and I began the very fun job of making the most extensive mess possible for the cleaners tomorrow.

I knew whoever those poor souls were. They would hate me and the amount of celebrating we did this evening.