Isaac snapped out of his thoughts and coughed lightly. He had been focusing far too much on the cost of the message. That was definitely because of his dragon instincts. There was absolutely no way the real him would spend that much time thinking about money.
"She said she will fully support me against the Third Priest’s faction. Though I need to bring the Third Priest back alive," Isaac replied.
"Thank the Great One," Althea said with visible relief. She had expected the Seventh Queen to support Isaac, but expectations and certainty were two different things. Until the answer arrived, there had always been the possibility that something unexpected might happen.
The tension in her shoulders slowly faded. For the first time since this meeting started, she felt as though this crisis could be resolved without spiraling into something even larger. The Seventh Queen’s support would make an enormous difference.
"Do you want to sign a contract?" she asked after a few moments. The question caused Isaac to blink in surprise. He had not expected her to bring up the topic.
"A contract?" Isaac repeated.
"The Seventh Queen has given her word, but I imagine you would prefer a contract to ensure everything proceeds as promised. Since she is too far away to create one herself, I can make one on her behalf. That way, you would have a formal guarantee," Althea explained.
Isaac considered the proposal carefully. From a practical perspective, it was not a bad idea. Contracts existed precisely because trust alone was often not enough when powerful people and political interests became involved.
In the end, however, he shook his head.
"It’s okay. The Seventh Queen has helped me several times already. I didn’t know she was Seer, but she’s always been helpful whenever we interacted. I trust her," Isaac said.
Althea looked genuinely surprised. Hearing that the Seventh Queen had helped Isaac multiple times through Lord Chats was unexpected.
Isaac added, "Besides, politics isn’t simple. Even if she intends to keep every promise, something unexpected could happen and force a breach of contract. That would just put your life at risk for no reason. I’d rather avoid that."
For a few seconds, Althea simply stared at him. After everything that had happened with the Third Priest, trust was not something people handed out lightly. Most people would have demanded as many guarantees as possible.
"Thank you," Althea said sincerely. There was no trace of diplomacy in her voice this time. The gratitude was genuine.
Isaac waved his hand dismissively. "It’s not a big deal. Like I said, she’s already helped me several times. If I can’t trust her once after all that, then it would be pretty embarrassing."
Althea nodded slowly. She did not say anything else, but her opinion of Isaac improved once again. The more she interacted with him, the more she liked him.
While his clone continued speaking with Althea, another clone was busy elsewhere. Inside the Moon Pendant, Isaac stood beside Averon while facing Oz and Ezekiel.
"So, how exactly did you clone us?" Oz asked.
"It’s because of his Lord Talent," Isaac replied while patting Averon’s shoulder. He delivered the answer casually, as though revealing something capable of changing entire kingdoms was no big deal.
Averon stood stiffly beside him. Isaac had already warned him beforehand, but even then he struggled to believe any of this was possible. Seeing the cloned Ancient Kings with his own eyes only made Isaac seem even more terrifying.
Oz noticed the stunned look on Averon’s face almost immediately. Suspicion appeared in his eyes. He clearly thought something else was happening.
"He’s surprised because I didn’t tell him I planned to reveal his Lord Talent to you two. He’s kept it hidden for years because abilities like this attract the wrong kind of attention from other Lords," Isaac explained before a misunderstanding appeared.
"I see," Oz said after a moment. His suspicion quickly disappeared. The explanation made sense.
Meanwhile, Ezekiel walked directly toward Averon. The giant dwarf stopped in front of him and folded his arms. Averon was forced to crane his neck upward just to maintain eye contact.
"Bahaha! Lad, that’s one mighty ability you’ve got there! With a talent like that, our territory can grow faster than ever. Ye don’t need to worry about a thing. We’ve got yer back. From today onward, use that ability as much as ye want!" Ezekiel boomed.
"Th-thank you," he replied, his smile slightly strained.
With the Ancient Kings openly supporting Averon, Isaac finally had a believable explanation for why Averon had hidden his Lord Talent for so many years. More importantly, nobody would question him revealing it now.
The conversation soon shifted to another topic. Oz narrowed his eyes as he recalled the battle from earlier. Something had been bothering him ever since it ended.
"So who was that at the end?" Oz asked. Even Ezekiel turned toward Isaac after hearing the question.
"That was the Elemental Spirit of Machines. Selene—my secretary—has a contract with her. Since Selene was in danger, the Spirit decided to intervene personally," Isaac explained.
"Another Spirit? How does our world have so many Spirits if it isn’t advanced enough to naturally produce them?" His question was directed at Isaac, but it sounded more like he was thinking aloud.
Isaac shrugged. His guess was no better than theirs. He had already asked Avery about the matter and received nothing but a smile. He had also questioned the Sword Empress and gotten no meaningful answer. Either Sword Empress did not know, or she was simply not willing to reveal the truth.
The discussion gradually slowed after that. Isaac was preparing to leave when a thought suddenly crossed his mind. He stopped midway and turned back toward the two Ancient Kings.
"Third Priest, the Purification Cult member, and the Florathi team should have brought a lot of equipment with them, right?" Isaac asked.
The thought had only just occurred to him, but considering the identities of their captives, the potential rewards were significant.
"They did, but the Elemental Spirit’s attack damaged a portion of the equipment carried by the Third Priest and the Purification Cult member, so don’t expect everything to be intact," Oz answered.
Ezekiel stroked his beard thoughtfully before speaking. "Aye, but that shouldn’t be a problem, lad. I can hammer those damaged bits back into shape and forge ’em into somethin’ useful. As fer the items inside their spatial rings, they oughta still be fine. Give me a few hours, and I’ll crack those protections open proper without damagin’ a single thing inside."
Spatial rings belonging to powerful individuals were notoriously difficult to access. Most of them contained safeguards that would destroy everything inside if someone tried forcing them open.
That was precisely why Ezekiel’s words were impressive. Opening those rings without damaging their contents required a terrifying level of mastery over spatial and crafting techniques. It was yet another reminder of why the Ancient Kings had earned their reputations.
"Okay. Take your time. There’s no reason to rush if it means preserving the contents," Isaac said with a nod.
"Bahaha! Ye won’t be disappointed, lad. Rich fools always stuff their rings with all sorts o’ valuables. I’d be more surprised if there wasn’t enough treasure in there to make a king weep and a kingdom turn green with envy." Ezekiel grinned broadly.