"Huh?" Lucian was somewhat taken aback by this sudden arrangement. He hadn't prepared any remarks—what could he possibly say to make a good impression?
In truth, Lucian had initially prepared a speech to persuade the committee members, but over the past two days Florence had never mentioned anything of the sort, which led him to believe that no such event would occur. He had grown careless and forgotten about it entirely.
Ailerstine and Exilion, on the other hand, appeared quite excited, whispering insistently: "We must present the Druids' philosophy of natural balance in full, and make those mages understand and accept it!"
Their brief excitement meant neither elf felt any pressure, and listening to them made Lucian's head throb. At a time like this, the key was to be concise and forceful—going on about grand principles certainly wouldn't work. What should I talk about? There wasn't enough convincing material ready on short notice!
His involvement in the pollution cleanup was fundamentally about a forward-thinking person choosing where to live—a rational action. He had no personal stake in it yet, nothing visceral to draw upon, so it would be difficult to write something heartfelt, emotionally sincere, or tear-jerking enough to move an audience. Hmm, let me see if there's anything useful in the Soul Library.
Led by the adamantine golem, Lucian, Ailerstine, and Exilion arrived at the side door of the Affairs Committee's meeting hall, then sat on a plush bench to await their summons from within.
Tick-tock, tick-tock—the clock on the opposite wall in the corridor emitted its mechanical, monotonous sound. As her excitement faded, Ailerstine suddenly grew nervous and looked at Lucian with wide eyes: "Mr. Evans, what should I say when it's my turn?" This was nothing like her experience presiding over the "Festival of Trees" ceremony in the Elven Court. It wasn't a matter of simply following a set procedure diligently; the audience wasn't familiar elven companions, but mages with unknowable intentions.
*Why were you so excited earlier?* Lucian grumbled inwardly, then said to Ailerstine with a gentle expression: "Talk about the consequences of not dealing with pollution, nature's retaliation, and so on. Isn't that what you're best at?"
"Talk about the consequences of not dealing with pollution, nature's retaliation..." Ailerstine repeated, trying to calm herself. Exilion was far more composed. He had managed many internal affairs within the Elven Court and frequently represented the royal family in dealing with visiting guests. Compared to his inexperienced sister, he clearly had far more experience in giving speeches.
Just as Ailerstine was racking her brains for what to say, the side door creaked open with a soft sound. A young woman wearing Fourth-level Archanist and Fifth-ring mage badges stepped out lightly. She appeared to be around twenty, brimming with vitality, though her actual age was probably not so young.
"Honored guests, which of you would like to go in and speak first?" Her voice was clear but kept low, as though she feared disturbing the committee members inside.
Exilion glanced at his still-unprepared sister, stood up, and said: "Beautiful lady, allow me to go first."
"Just call me Rachel, Your Highness." The youthful girl smiled and curtsied.
Upon hearing the name, Lucian instinctively raised his head to look at her. She had a plain appearance—hair and eyes both an ordinary flaxen color—but she radiated an aura of energy, vitality, and optimism that made one feel warmly drawn to her upon first meeting.
Rachel was a prodigy in astrology, force field, and illusion magic, with a reputation roughly on par with Larry, Timothy, Ulysses, and others. She belonged to the Tower and was approximately twenty-eight or twenty-nine years old. She hadn't been far behind Felipe once, but the gap had now widened considerably.
Sensing Lucian's gaze, Rachel let her eyes drift over and responded with a smile, then led Exilion inside and gently closed the side door.
About five minutes later, Rachel escorted Exilion back out.
"Brother, how did the speech go?" Ailerstine asked with concern.
Exilion shook his head with a grave expression: "They simply listened to what I had to say, offered no response of any kind, and then had me escorted out."
The atmosphere seemed to grow oppressive. After some further discussion among the committee members inside, Rachel was sent to invite Ailerstine.
Ailerstine straightened her simple, unadorned, easy-to-climb emerald-green Druid robes, trying to project an air of calm trustworthiness.
After another five minutes, Ailerstine returned with a dejected expression on her stunningly beautiful face. She looked on the verge of tears as she told Exilion: "The very first thing out of my mouth was 'talk about the consequences of not dealing with pollution, nature's retaliation'—I just blurted out Mr. Evans's words verbatim without thinking."
"You had been muttering that to yourself the whole time... And then what happened?" Exilion tried to divert his sister's attention.
Ailerstine pressed her lips together: "Then Ms. Florence soothed me with a smile, and I was able to say what I had in my heart. But they didn't offer any opinions either—only as I was leaving did I catch a bit of arguing. It sounded like someone was opposed."
While browsing through materials in the Soul Library, Lucian offered the two elves a casual word of comfort: "You've both done your very best..."
"I wonder what the outcome will be..." Ailerstine gazed worriedly at the closed side door. "If it's not favorable, our alliance with the Magic Parliament will grow distant... But no matter what happens, Mr. Evans, you are our friend."
In the quiet, oppressive atmosphere, time flew by. After who knows how long, the side door emitted a soft sound once more, and Rachel stepped out with a warm, friendly smile: "Lucian, it's time for your speech."
Lucian wore a white dress shirt, a black evening suit, and gold-rimmed glasses today—very formal. At Rachel's words, he smiled and nodded, stood, adjusted his bow tie and cuffs, and followed her through the side door.
Behind the side door was a narrow, quiet corridor. Rachel led the way ahead in polite silence.
After a dozen steps around a bend, Lucian saw the committee members seated around a large round table.
Some wore mage robes, others different types of formal attire. They were sparsely seated—fewer than Lucian had expected.
As Affairs Committee members, aside from someone like Florence, they all had various external duties that took them away—for example, Roderigo from a few years prior. Because of this, Alingur typically had just over half its committee members present at any given time. But today, they had broken even that floor—only nineteen committee members were in attendance.
And as long as two-thirds of those present agreed, the regulation could be passed.