Princess Octavia squinted her eyes. "Do you perhaps know about the Aubert company? They recently visited the lake a few days back with their prodigy Mauricio and we were all quite impressed by their prowess. Mauricio could be considered as one of the best youngsters in his generation!
Oh, how he would have been a perfect ally. Unfortunately, I was not the one that secured their allyship. I tried, but they were quite loyal to the Mammalian Mermen camp."
It seemed that the Aubert Company and this Mauricio prodigy was truly well regarded within the New Sparta community. It made sense. They were a part of the conglomerates once upon a time.
"Mammalian Mermen camp?" he asked.
"They’re a different group of Mermen that has a close resemblance to aquatic mammals like dolphins and whales," answered the Professor. "They’re being led by your brother, correct?"
"Yes," Princess Octavia confirmed. "Now if my dear brother was able to solve the problems of our lake before I do, then he’ll have the support of the majority of the Mermen, making him our leader."
Princess Octavia was ambitious, the complete opposite of Serena who just liked to spend her time lounging in the Nation of Reborn.
"Have you considered allying with other companies?" Michael asked her.
"Yes, I have. The Mezol family has taken my interest. Perhaps you’ve also heard of their prodigy. His name is Pietro Mezol," said the princess.
The professor was the only one who seemed familiar with the Mezol family. "They’re quite famous on the Western coast," he said.
"Exaclty. They seemed to fit our needs the most. We need a steady supply of krill and algae, which they can provide. The only problem they can’t solve is the pollution in the water, but that can be done later." said the princess.
They need krill and algae? ChatJK5, does modern agriculture have solutions for those?
[Yes, Michael. But they will involve massive machineries that will require electricity.]
That’s... doable, he thought.
"Is that the only reason why you want to ally with the Mezol family?" he asked the princess.
"The fact that they’re pretty strong as well makes them a very good candidate for my ally. Their prodigy, Pietro Mezol, is the only one who can stand a chance against Mauricio Aubert."
"I saw him recently. He participated in the Brownblood swordsmen tournament recently," the professor recollected. "And it just so happens that Mauricio is also in the same tournament."
Princess Octavia clapped her hands. "Perfect! This will give a chance for Pietro to show that he’s stronger than Mauricio! They’re bound to end up in the finals—oh how exciting!"
Michael kept his lips sealed. As much as the princess would like to hope, he knew for a fact that Jaku would win the tournament.
"What I would like you to do is to help me recruit Pietro and the other Mezol family as my allies!" said the princess.
But just as Michael and the professor were about to speak, the giant bubble containing them shook as a gust of water burst into the throne room.
A female Merman with a squid-like face and a human-like body rushed inside.
"Princess! There’s urgent news. Pietro has been knocked out of the swordsman tournament in the first round!"
This sudden news knocked the water out of the princess’ gills. She couldn’t utter a single word.
"...ah..."
Her whole plan hinged on trying to recruit the second best prodigy that could stand a chance against the Auberts. Yet, he was just knocked out in the first round?!
"Who defeated him?" she asked her hurriedly. "Has he inherited Davy Jones’ luck and met Mauricio in the first round?!"
The squid mermaid attendant shook her head.
"Is it someone from the famous human families?"
"No, princess. It’s an unknown swordsman. . And it’s a demi-human."
"A demi-human?!"
Her surprise was warranted. Although she tried to be unbiased, many people think that demi-humans were the unevolved versions of the Beastfolks. After all, they had no Dao Heart, which meant that they couldn’t use any Aubility Powers.
"How did a demi-human defeat Pietro? He’s in the second stage of Body Formation!"
"We don’t know, princess. The Werewolves aren’t saying anything. The only thing we know is that the fight ended extremely fast."
Michael couldn’t help but think of a dark-scaled Dragonborn with a penchant for doing everything fast so that he could have more time to sleep. Only he could do something like this.
Meanwhile, Princess Octavia began pondering. "It’s either Pietro underestimated his opponent, or that the difference in skill is just that big."
A thought popped up in her head, one that told her that this demi-human held incredible skill.
"No," she said, denying the thought. "It must have been luck. Keo, Professor, I have a new task for you. If you can help me recruit the eventual winner of the swordsmen tournament, then I will consider us even."
Professor Lichtenstein looked up at her. "You mean..."
"Yes, I will contact the Draconians and ask them to lend the Antique to you. You’ll just have to promise me that you’ll help me after you get what you want.
"OF COURSE! OF COURSE!" the professor squealed.
The princess then gestured for her attendant to give her a coral. Then, she began inscribing on it with her tentacles, squirting ink through her skin.
Finally, she handed the ’conch’ letter to the professor. "Give this to the Draconians. It contains my signature. Unfortunately, I won’t be able to join you there since I have a lot of stuff that I need to handle. My sister Serena, who’s been in the surface world way longer than me, is requesting a meeting."
Professor Lichtenstein gleefully obtained the authorization letter and kept it hidden in his pockets. "Come on, Keo. We have discoveries to find!"
Michael turned towards Princess Octavia. "Princess, you may want to visit the Reborn company. They may have what you need."
The princess looked at him and nodded before going back to discussing with her attendant about Serena.
After the meeting was done, the giant bubble soon ascended back up to the surface of the lake, with the professor still high from excitement.
"I can’t believe it. I’ll be seeing a real bone from a Mythical Beast!"
Michael had to remind the professor of their obligations. "We still have to help her with recruitment."
"Yes, yes," the professor nodded. "But it’s more than likely that Mauricio will end up taking the championship in this tournament. We’ll have to settle with 2nd place."
Michael shook his head. "I don’t think so, professor. Maybe there’s going to be a surprise," he hinted.
"Doubt it. Mauricio is a talented swordsman, and a great Maugnetic. There’s no one that can match him in that tournament."
"Would you like to bet on that, professor?"
Liechtenstein looked at Michael, intrigued at the proposition. "Fine. If Mauricio wins the tournament, then you’ll tell me how you know about Unity."
"And if someone else, let’s say a demi-human, wins the tournament, then I want to recruit you in my company."
The professor stopped and looked at Michael. "HAHAHAHA! How bold! Do you know how many conglomerates have tried and failed to do that?"
"It’s a yes or no, professor. Do you accept the bet?"
Without a second of hesitation, the professor said, "Yes. I’ll take you up on your offer. A demi-human winning against a peak 2nd stage like Mauricio? Yeah, that’s impossible. You should have bet on the other promising human geniuses."
...
...
...
Meanwhile, back in the Brownblood Werewolf Tribe...
"Patriarch, I think we must pay attention to this demi-human," said the female Werewolf. "His swordsmanship is undeniable. Even the Mermen are starting to take notice of it."
But her words were met with a lot of skepticism.
"It must have been a fluke."
"Pietro is strong, but I sense him to be quite inexperienced. He let down his guard."
"That doesn’t take away from the fact that this demi-human defeated the 2nd best prospect in the tournament!" argued the Female Werewolf.
She wanted to continue arguing, but the Patriarch sitting at the front of their campfire raised his hand.
"Mauricio is the perfect ally for us Brownbloods," said Lupan. "The Auberts have connections with the Draconians. The other tribes will respect that. We can use that to our advantage and raise our standing within the Tribes."
And to that, the female Werewolf couldn’t argue.
...
...
...
On the other side of the Werewolf quadrant, Brock, Jaku, and the rest of the swordsmen were waiting on the new instructions for them in the tournament.
The participants have significantly lessened after the first round.
"Wait, where’s Pietro?"
"I haven’t seen him anywhere. Did he leave?"
No one could answer those questions because the only one who knew the truth was sleeping on the grass.
Eventually, the Werewolves came back, with their chief Lupan leading them.
"For the next round of the tournament, we request the swordsmen to form with your companies and teams. Your aim is to once again defeat as many targets as possible in a given amount of time.
The more you defeat, the better your seeding will be in the next round of the tournament."
Brock immediately tried to team with Jaku, but Jaku refused.
"What’s the point? It’s just the seeding. Last place, first place, it doesn’t matter. As long as I’m the only one left standing at the end, then I’ve done my job."