A small smirk appeared on Jason’s face when he heard the anger in Diane’s voice, but Jason killed the smirk quickly enough so that no one would see it, and he listened as C’thlyanu spoke up.
"Please try to maintain decorum in the hall, Queen Diane. The council is allowed to take its votes without outside influence. The outcome of said votes is beyond the control of any one person."
Diane grit her teeth in anger as she heard this, and she glanced over at Jason in annoyance! Jason turned to look at her, and Diane felt the anger in her heart growing even more when she saw the condescending nonchalance in Jason’s eyes! It was as though Jason was looking down on her! He was treating her like she was some sort of child beneath him! Diane had half a mind to draw her sword and cut this man down! Diane was not only angry about the fact that she was being looked down on, but she was even more angry about the fact that she was being looked down on by a man! A puny, pathetic man who was only meant to be used for reproduction dared to treat her like this!?
Diane had already thought that having Laaina on her side would increase her chances of going ahead of Jason in the votes! It was obvious that Lamina should have voted for Jason, so the fact that Lamina didn’t meant that Jason should have had fewer votes! But the fact that even without Lamina’s vote, Jason still managed to match Diane’s number just made Diane’s anger boil even more! This meant that if Lamina had actually voted for Jason, like everyone thought she would, then Jason would have surpassed Diane in votes!
"Diane. Please take your seat."
C’thlyanu spoke up again, and this time Diane just clicked her tongue in irritation before she turned away from Jason and sat down angrily! Once Diane was seated, the council finally began to deliberate on the results of the votes. The first person who spoke was Hesabeth.
"Well, isn’t this interesting. It is quite clear that two candidates are favoured far more than others, but it is a shame that one of the candidates is a savage incapable of maintaining decorum even on such an auspicious day."
Hesabeth was using her fan to cover her lower face, and she turned to look at Diane with a mocking stare. Diane grit her teeth and glared back at Hesabeth, and Hesabeth just smiled behind her fan and turned away as someone else spoke up.
"If I may speak, and I may, I don’t think the votes should make us overlook the other candidates. No, no. It was I who voted for Vagart Blunde of the lizardmen, and I think he would be a brilliant addition to the council. I know what I speak of very well. His world is located at a strategic midpoint in the sixth domain that would allow him to oversee many of the surrounding worlds with no problem, and he has an alliance with hundreds of other worlds. A very good negotiator. With him as the Overlord, I don’t think we would have to worry about any more conflicts in the sixth domain for a long time."
It was Val’kat, the leader of the goblin race, who had spoken up, and everyone turned to him in surprise when they heard his high praise for Vagart. But even with the amount of praise he heaped on Vagart, there were still many who didn’t care. Baron Skarr, the leader of the Draconian race, spoke up.
"There is no such thing as an elimination of conflict. Even amongst allies, there will come a time when conflict is inevitable. Having a common ally will not solve that problem. And besides, if we were to take their connections with multiple worlds into account, then would you not say that Diane has the most connections out of all the candidates? We all know of her contributions during the Period of Lawlessness. She, on her own, held the frontline against an army of two thousand soldiers, and she carved a legend for herself that day. I don’t think there is any world out there that does not know of this feat."
"Yes, they know about it, but that doesn’t make them her allies, nor does it mean they respect her. After all, Diane and her people are no different from the Machina. They are very reclusive. Do we really want a repeat of the Rubik Saga?"
This time, it was Farlow who had spoken up, and Farlow had a frown on his face as he looked around at all the gathered Council members. It was true that Diane’s world also had a rune array around it that prevented people from opening portals to the world, and their secrecy prevented the council or any other neighbouring world from knowing what was going on in there! The people of Bengari were very reclusive, and somewhere in the back of Farlow’s mind, Farlow knew that it was that same reclusive nature that allowed the Overlord imposter to go under their noses for so long. Many of the council members grimaced slightly when they heard what Farlow had to say, and they realised that he was right about the Bengari!
Rak’hael immediately leaned forward and countered Farlow’s point.
"I believe it is only reasonable to believe that someone as influential as Diane would want to have some form of protection around her world. After all, she has made quite a lot of enemies from the Period of Lawlessness."
Hesabeth scoffed.
"We all made enemies, Angel. But it is our duty as members of the council to welcome visitors from the worlds within our domain and hear out their pleas and complaints. If we prevent any visitor from being able to enter our world, then what sort of leader does that make us? And besides, don’t tell me that a great member of the council is actually afraid that she would be attacked by some second-rate world."
Rak’hael turned to Hesabeth with a snarl when she heard the way she spoke to her! There wasn’t a single person on the council that Hesabeth didn’t speak to in her usual pompous manner, but that doesn’t mean that they liked it! Even though Hesabeth was obviously weaker than Rak’hael, Hesabeth was speaking to Rak’hael like she was some sort of child! But it was obvious that Rak’hael couldn’t do anything against Hesabeth, so Rak’hael just turned away from her in annoyance.
This was how the argument continued for the next few minutes. The council deliberated about what they believed to be the requirements for a member of the council, and who they thought fit those requirements best out of all the candidates. The two candidates who had received only one vote each were being defended by the people who had voted for them, but for the most part, it was the candidates who had three votes each that were being analysed the most by the council!
At the spectator’s seat, Jason was leaning back in his chair calmly while watching the council members argue about the fate of his domain, and Jason turned to the side as Gina put her head on his shoulder. Gina was currently talking to the little fairy Ulyn about something, and Gina had a smile on her face as she saw Ulyn blushing while looking towards Jason with interest. Gina was still trying to build a proper bond with Ulyn, but for now, the only reason Ulyn came out whenever Gina called her was because she could see Jason! After a while, Gina finally sent Ulyn away, and she spoke to Jason curiously.