After Naga and Shore left, Kyle sent a letter to the Chief.
"The Skysand Kingdom says that the conflict has to be resolved within a month or they will step in. In my opinion, the conflict has already achieved our desired result. There's no point in continuing it. They have not given me any direct confirmation, but I believe the two Guilds are ready to accept your request."
This was the letter.
If anyone read this letter without context, it wouldn't be suspicious.
However, there was a deeper message in the letter.
A week passed.
Not much happened.
Another week passed.
The Crown Prince was putting more pressure on the three Guilds, reminding them of the deadline.
The next week passed without incidents.
Noah's letters contained the same content as always.
Yet, as soon as the weekly meeting started, things changed.
Kyle could already tell that the mood in the room was far from normal.
Naga and Shore had severe expressions on their faces.
"Larian, we have something important to discuss," Naga said at the beginning of the meeting.
"Yes?" Larian asked. "I'm listening."
The next words came from Shore, and they shook the entire room.
"The conflict can't be saved. Our relationship with the Stark Brotherhood is not salvageable."
"We request the Skysand Kingdom to step in."
'Oh, guess the Chief won,' Kyle thought.
The Chief was no longer keeping his identity secret, which meant that his enemies knew that he had an Aristocrat's Body.
This meant that the Naga Covenant and the Shoreshells would have to muster significant forces to assassinate the Chief.
They must have sent at least two people in the Late Third Realm.
Every person at such a level was extremely important.
And since the Chief had, apparently, won, it meant that two people of extreme importance were dead now.
Such deaths couldn't be kept secret for long.
It was better to come out with the truth directly since it was going to come out anyway.
Larian narrowed his eyes.
He also knew that something significant must have happened.
"What happened?" Larian asked.
Shore looked with a neutral expression at Larian.
"Maester Vianna vanished two days ago," she said. "We found the corpse of her Primary Beast."
Larian's eyes widened.
Vanished was putting it mildly.
When a Primary Beast died, the Beast Master would lose control of their Secondary Beasts.
And where did Beast Masters store their beasts?
In their Soul Space, the most vulnerable part of their being.
The Secondary Beasts just had to expand, and the Beast Master would pop like a balloon.
Maester Vianna was one of the three Maesters of the Beast Association.
She was one of the three most powerful Beast Masters that the Skysand Kingdom had.
"Elder Juniper has not shown herself in public recently," Naga added from the side.
This was even more shocking.
'Holy shit,' Kyle thought. 'The Chief really had his work cut out for him.'
It wasn't unusual for Elder Juniper to not show herself in public a lot, but when Naga just added this sentence at this specific moment…
It could only mean that Naga was telling the Crown Prince about who had died without admitting to how and why they had died.
The fact that Maester Vianna died was one thing, but Elder Juniper's death was something completely different.
Elder Juniper was the owner of the gigantic tower in Janus' Hold.
She had been a Peak Grand Sorcerer.
She had been the most powerful Grand Sorcerer in the entire kingdom.
Larian's eyes narrowed, and his right hand clenched into a fist.
"Wait here," he said as he stormed out of the room.
The representatives just waited.
"This is serious," Wild said from the side. "You guys really made a mess this time."
"I'm sorry," Shore said coldly, "but we do not have the advantage of not being located besides the Stark Brotherhood."
Wild raised an angry eyebrow. "You could have dealt-"
"You know what?" Shore suddenly said with an angry and annoyed tone as she looked at Wild.
The others were surprised since they had never heard Shore talk in such a… bratty manner before.
"I don't care," Shore said. "I just don't care. Why am I even pretending to care anymore? There's no point to pretending anymore."
"We are going to be sent to the frontlines, and that's it. What's the point in acting like I give a shit about you, your Guild, your life, or anything even remotely related to you?"
These words hit Wild pretty hard, but compared to Shore, she still had to keep her integrity and status.
Sky looked with interest at Shore.
"You know what, Wild? I don't like you. I've never liked you," Shore said. "And I'm tired of pretending I like you. Whenever I'm in the same room with you, I count the seconds until it's not impolite anymore to send you away or leave myself."
"This is not appropriate," Wild answered with contained anger.
"I don't care!" Shore shouted. "I hate you and your stupid attitude! You're insufferable!"
"I have not done anything to you!" Wild shouted. "Focus your anger on Stark!"
Shore looked at Kyle.
Then, she gave him a sarcastic thumbs-up. "You know what? You got us! Good job! You lured our strongest allies to their death! Good on you! You win!"
She spoke these words half-honestly and half-sarcastically.
But then, she quickly focused on Wild again. "But you! I really, really, really, really, REALLY, dislike you!"
On the side, Naga's proud demeanor vanished, and she squatted down in the corner like a hooligan.
"You don't seem to be as angry," Tomb commented, looking at Naga.
"Eh," Naga said with a graceless shrug of her shoulders. "Just glad I don't have to act like I'm in love with that dickhead of a Crown Prince anymore."
When Kyle heard that, he remembered the time Naga had acted like she couldn't capture that one fish and how Larian came over to save her.
She had seemed so proud, strong, and graceful before, but she had also had that hint of needing help that pulled in many men.
"I don't know why I chose this proud, ego-driven persona," Naga said. "Probably since it reflects the name of my Guild better."
"Big, strong, smart, powerful, and so on," Naga said.
Then, Naga looked at Tomb with an evaluating expression. "Hey, have you ever seen bare-knuckle fights between dwarves?"
Tomb seemed a bit caught off guard. "Maybe?" she asked.
"They're great," Naga said casually. "I should absolutely invite you to watch one. Remind me when I'm back from the frontlines."
A small, almost imperceivable smile appeared on Tomb's face. "I will remind you."
A moment later, Larian walked back into the room.
The first thing he saw was Shore shouting abuse at Wild, who just gritted her teeth.
Then, he saw Naga squatting with Tomb in the corner.
Finally, he looked at Kyle, who was just casually standing there like nothing out of the ordinary was happening.
"Naga, Shore, Stark," Larian said.
The three of them looked over.
"Father wants to talk to you."
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