Having returned to Crescent Moon, the capital of Fonkavun, Tonukapori promptly called an emergency assembly of the Staff-Bearers—the elder council comprising Fonkavun’s ruling class—and relayed the entire sequence of events without omission.
Initially, cries of astonishment rose from the Staff-Bearers, but as the account progressed to the involvement of Takuto Ira, a terrifying silence descended upon all present, creating a surreal spectacle where only Tonukapori’s voice echoed through the gathering hall.
However, every face wore an expression of bitter consternation.
Conflict and anguish were vividly etched upon their features.
Eventually, Tonukapori’s explanation reached the topic of the joint operation with Mynoghra, and she concluded by stating she had placed Pepe in charge of overseeing Dragontan and had come before the council to explain. An uneasy silence then dominated the chamber.
The council remained motionless, lost in contemplation.
Though Tonukapori had steeled herself for criticism, censure, or perhaps even impeachment, even she found this silence deeply uncomfortable.
What felt like an eternity of silence eventually ended. The human Staff-Bearer who served as the council’s presiding elder spoke quietly.
"Well, this is a pickle."
That remark opened the floodgates, and other Staff-Bearers began voicing their confusion in turn.
Most of their comments amounted to vacuous statements like "This is troublesome" or "What are we to do?"—evidence that even these Staff-Bearers, who had attained their positions through long years and vast experience, were incapable of rendering an immediate judgment on the situation.
"I never expected Pepe’s foolishness, but to think even you would rush into such a rash decision!"
"Hah! What rashness! You understand our circumstances, don’t you? There were almost no choices left. To say the very least, had we not requested their cooperation, Dragontan would have fallen within days."
"Hmm..."
Sensing the Council’s hesitation—whether from age or from having too much to protect, their judgment and decisiveness as leaders were admittedly sluggish—Tonukapori plotted to decisively raise her own standing in this assembly.
She fully understood that her actions in this matter placed them entirely in the wrong.
Yet she had made that decision for the survival of her homeland, and she did not believe it was a mistake.
At least the decision had been made, and events were now in motion.
She had no desire to commit the folly of allowing petty issues of responsibility to distract her now, further imperiling the nation’s precarious situation.
"You sure you ain't been deceived? I've heard more than enough about the cunning of those who belong to the demonic arts from my dead elders."
The old wolf's staff-bearer asked in a somewhat rough tone.
He was indeed a creature with the temperament of a predator, but the keenness of his perception was precisely why he had been chosen as staff-bearer.
Tonukapoli smiled inwardly at this.
"I don't think so myself, and the conference was conducted in good faith. What's it look like from your end?"
"Be still for a moment."
The lizard's staff-bearer quietly raised his staff.
The tip of his staff glowed faintly, and simultaneously a prickling sensation enveloped Tonukapoli's entire body as a faint musk wafted through the air.
The divination magic borrowed from the ancestral spirit of a small omnivorous beast said to possess an exceptional sense of smell and excel at detecting foreign threats.
"..."
All the staff-bearers turned their gaze to the lizard's staff-bearer.
Even Tonukapoli feared the remote possibility and awaited his response.
The lizard's staff-bearer took his time scrutinizing Tonukapoli with deliberate caution.
This was the magic that the staff-bearer of Fonkavun—devotees of the spirits of earth and nature—would use in this sacred assembly hall steeped in spiritual history.
It could be called without exaggeration the pinnacle of detection magic at their current disposal.
"I sense nothing amiss. Or perhaps it is a technique so masterful that even we cannot perceive it..."
A collective sigh of relief. Everyone exhaled at once.
Had it been confirmed that Tonukapoli had been deceived, the situation for Dragontan and the Pepe they had left there would have been utterly desperate.
All present were relieved that the worst outcome had apparently been averted, but still, their circumstances remained profoundly complicated—and the fact that she had not been deceived posed yet another difficult problem.
"Wouldn't it have been simpler if I actually had been deceived? The King of Ruin comes along saying let's be friends, and I'm at a loss for how to respond."
"The King of Ruin... if that's true, it's a terrifying notion."
The elder serving as mediator crossed his arms, gazing upward.
In this world, all manner of supernatural beings run rampant.
They rarely appear within the range of human activity, but when they do—as they had now—they invariably bring chaos to the human world.
Therefore, their very existence was never in doubt; yet, even so, most of the staff-wielders except Tonukapoli felt little immediate resonance with the title "King of Ruin."
"Actually seeing one would make your legs turn to jelly. Someone as old as you might just keel over on the spot!"
"I'd rather not experience that firsthand, thanks."
"But seriously, what do we do now? The conversation's racing ahead like this because some staff-wielder went off the rails. Can we even pump the brakes now?"
The wolf staff-wielder forcibly steered the conversation back from its tangent.
No one present was inclined to hold Tonukapoli responsible. While it would be a lie to say there were no reservations, there was also sympathy—the understanding that none of them could say for certain how they would judge in his position.
Above all, they had no luxury to spare for such matters now.
As leaders even in old age, they were naturally equipped to set aside emotion.
"If you can't believe in Mynoghra, there's always the option of laying everything bare to Quolia and asking for their cooperation."
"Whoa, whoa. After Mynoghra, now it's Quolia? How many times are you going to get taken in before you're satisfied?"
Tonukapoli chuckled, making the suggestion half in jest, and the beast staff-wielder, stifling a laugh of his own, replied.
"Demi-human groups can only live as people by abiding by God's law—"
"They stopped short of calling us barbarians, which shows some restraint from those pompous Quolian priests, but if you're going to bring that up, you should praise me too for holding back when that missionary looked down on us."
"Ve stopped him, didn't ve? You were about to bite his throat out. That's why ve're called savages."
"Hmph! My ancestors were carnivores! You expect me to just swallow being mocked like that?!"
Watching the two bicker back and forth, the mediating staff-wielder let out a deep sigh.
It is well-known that Quolia harbors discriminatory feelings toward all races except humans and elves.
In truth, they do not even consider it discrimination.
From the depths of their hearts, they sincerely believe that demi-humans are pitiable, wretched, and foolish races that must be saved.
How could one possibly build friendly relations on a foundation of inequality?
Rather, outright refusal was the sentiment held by Fonkavun's staff bearer—no, by nearly all of its citizens.
"See? There's no choice to make either way. Can you really see a bright future teaming up with Quolia? They'll treat us like livestock and work us to the bone, that's how it ends."
"Yeah, can't argue with that."
"Quite, quite, indeed."
Ultimately, there were no other viable options.
A rational judgment clearly showed the merit in accepting Mynoghra's cooperation.
Furthermore, Pepe had deemed it acceptable.
Putting aside emotional factors, there was no denying that this choice, disregarding its contents, was the most prudent course of action.
"Anyway. Let's get back from Quolia's old fools to the matter at hand. We're talking about Mynoghra now. First, let's consider it a good thing we can ask for their cooperation."
Thus, the direction of the meeting solidified.
Before they knew it, everyone naturally accepted cooperating with Mynoghra as a given.
Normally, such a decision should have caused considerable dissension, especially given the shocking revelations brought by Tonukapoli.
Yet, inexplicably, they shared a strange sense of agreement, even a conviction that the matter had already been settled.
—They never realized, to the very end, the miraculous phenomenon that had befallen them.
……
……
"Let's wrap this up."
The moderator clapped their hands once.
It had been a long meeting to reach this point, but the general policy concluded by largely ratifying the initial agreement struck between Mynoghra and Fonkavun. It was a distant possibility that other staff-wielders might engage in negotiations with Mynoghra in the future, but the dire state of urban defense meant that was likely far off.
Still, a light of hope had appeared. If Mynoghra could be entrusted with the defense of Dragontan, Fonkavun could focus its efforts on homeland defense and counteroffensive operations.
And then there was the Dragon Vein Cavity.
It was a regrettable matter, but the merits were substantial. Mynoghra had apparently already established a method to harness the immense Mana gushing from the Dragon Vein Cavity. If preparations were complete, it would become a formidable trump card for both nations.
The cause of the barbarian outbreaks was unknown, but perhaps countermeasures could be devised and the root cause investigated.
The only lingering concern was what thoughts this nation of Mynoghra harbored within itself, but...
"In the end, things will turn out as they must."
"I worry about Pepe. Is he handling things properly?"
"More than that, I'm worried about whether that brat is causing trouble for others elsewhere..."
"But well, Pepe will manage somehow, won't he?"
Before they knew it, the staff-wielders were entirely consumed by talk of Pepe.
Their most praiseworthy successor. The egg of a great leader.
Everyone present vaguely believed that Pepe, with his usual idiocy and inability to read the room, might just navigate this crisis as he always did.
……
…
"By the way, Tonukapoli."
"Hmm? What is it?"
"You're looking awfully healthy lately—did someone feed you something good over there or what?"
"Ugh..."
It should be noted that Tonukapoli would later face a thorough interrogation at Mynoghra about the meals served there.
Though she maintained a serious facade throughout the assembly, she could never escape the keen insight of a seasoned veteran.