“I’m not even sure if that was an insult or not...” Jake answered after a bit, still not certain what the hell a dendrophile was. It was times like this he really missed having the internet, as usually he would just search up stuff like that. Hopefully he could get his own Partial Omniscience or something similar in the future...
“It was merely an observation. If I wanted to insult you, I would have insinuated you were a paraphiliac instead,” Villy answered, throwing out more words Jake didn’t know the definition of.
“I know this is probably really funny for you, but I’m just getting confused,” Jake shot back, not at all ashamed of his ignorance.
“Eh, fine. I was just hinting at it being a good idea for you to pay the Pantheon of Life a little visit,” the Viper finally stopped beating around the bush. “If I recall correctly, you have a standing invitation and a little gift waiting from Nature’s Attendant, and I’m sure Dina would also welcome you. Oh, and there was one more person there, right? Who was it again...”
Jake refused to answer on principle, as he knew the Viper was just playing with him.
“Ah, yes! Yggdrasil would probably also like to see you. I’ve heard through the grapevine that she’s taken an interest in your abilities, and seeing as Yggdrasil is a very good friend to have, I would heavily implore you to go,” Villy continued, at least turning a bit more serious.
“I already planned on paying them a visit,” Jake answered, fine with being blunt. “Also, it’s about time I clear up the situation with Artemis.”
“Oh yeah, there was that, too!” the Malefic Viper said, sounding incredibly amused. “Looking forward to seeing how that one turns out for sure. It must be super awkward for you both, seeing as you two have never really met and yet been so... close. Definitely a lot to unpack there and deal with; just make sure she doesn’t end up killing you to avoid any bad rumors from spreading.”
“You’re enjoying this way too much,” Jake sighed. “It’ll be fine. She at least invited me to visit, so we will see what happens when the time comes. Hopefully, even if things go south, it won’t end up with me getting permanently deleted.”
“Think positively. If she does kill you, it’ll likely be within the territory of Yggdrasil, at which point she’d probably just bring you right back to life without even thinking about it first,” the Viper said, continuing to be amused. “I’m just going to assume it won’t come to that,” Jake sighed, wanting to move on from the topic. “As I said, I already planned on paying a visit. I had considered waiting for B-grade, but there probably isn’t a need for that.”
“There isn’t,” the Viper agreed, obliging with Jake’s intent to move the conversation forward. “They have some great hunting grounds for you to explore, and I’m sure you can get plenty of levels there if you so desire. Personally, I would also like to see you go sooner rather than later. Not as Jake, muse of Artemis, but as my Chosen and a representative of the Order. Your visit will no doubt be public, and the fact you get a nice welcome will communicate to the rest of the multiverse that the Order and Pantheon of Life are still on good terms, no matter how opposite our factions might be in many areas.”
“So now it’s suddenly a work trip, huh,” Jake muttered.
“Two mushrooms with one bite!”
“Never, ever, use that saying again,” Jake said in his most serious tone since their conversation began.
“Well, excuse me for finding throwing stones at birds a silly thing when you can instead devour some savory snacks,” the Viper continued to tease Jake. “Anyway, we’ll talk more when you’re done on Earth and stop by the Order. How long do you reckon it’ll take?”
“You need me back as soon as possible, right?”
“Eh, no rush,” the Viper said flippantly.
“Please say you need me back as soon as possible,” Jake tried again.
“I’m not gonna let you use me as an excuse to get out of a meeting. In fact, as your Patron, I would recommend that you really get engaged with it. That you go in there with full passion and are an active participant from beginning to end, truly-“
“Oops, you’re cutting out, bye!” Jake said as he severed the telepathic connection before he could hear any more of such drivel.
Besides, he had already arrived at the meeting hall in Haven, and as expected, he was the last person there. Partly because he really hadn’t hurried coming over. Also, everyone knew the system event would end soon, so the World Leaders had all returned to their own planets, only leaving behind a few dedicated diplomats – most of which had skills to contact the World Leader directly in case other means of communication didn’t work.
Many of the people who were supposed to be in this meeting had stayed in Haven for the last few weeks, with only a couple of exceptions. Those exceptions had also arrived before Jake.
Miranda, Lillian, Arthur, the Sky Whale, Sword Saint, and a whole slew of diplomats and officials Jake didn’t know by name were already present in the meeting room, and Jake found it notable that none of the faction leaders were present. Jake had kind of expected to see people like Casper, and maybe Carmen participate. Then again, Caleb hadn’t talked about taking part in any meeting in Haven and thinking about it just a little more, everyone was bound to be busy dealing with their own stuff within each faction.
Steeling himself, Jake opened the door to the meeting room and entered as he also dispelled his stealth skill – because, yes, of course Jake had used his stealth skill to go back to Haven. If he hadn’t, he would have been stuck in a queue at the teleportation center or been caught in the rush of people who were also busy due to the system notification.
This meeting room had been constructed within the last year, as the number of people Haven had to welcome for political discussions like this was seemingly only growing. The new room was far larger than any of the others and had a stupidly large table in the middle, along with several other desks out to the side.
All the important people were seated at the table in the middle, while far more could sit at the other desks. The design alone made it apparant that the people out to the sides weren’t really there to speak but merely observe and take notes.
Jake wasn’t keen on these meetings growing larger, but with a mask on his face, he could manage all the people who were bound to be staring at him for the next who-knows-how-long. It was almost as if they didn’t know Jake could feel how many people were watching him at all times and that it made him hyper-councious about himself.
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Anyhow, after entering, the Sword Saint was the first to notice him. He was also the first to speak to him. “There he is. It’s been a while.”
“Yeah, it sure has,” Jake nodded politely in greeting.
“I heard you took a holiday to visit the family? Good choice. I also set some time aside to spend with Reika and some of my other less disappointing descendants,” the Sword Saint said with a smile that didn’t match his pretty crude words.
Jake also knew enough about political bullshit by now to realize that the reason the Sword Saint even asked him that was because of all the other diplomats and whatnot present. It was all done to humanize Jake a bit, something he had nothing against as he did look a little inhuman walking around with his mask on and everything.
Oh yeah, and they also knew he’d blown up a planet to kill his “rival,” which probably made a few of them a bit frightful.
“It was a good time,” Jake answered the old man with a smile before he turned to Miranda. “Anything surprising happened since last? Besides the system message, of course.”
“No, things are going relatively swimmingly,” Miranda said as she regarded the other people in the room. “With everyone gathered, let’s get started. The first topic to touch on is the Holy Church and its promised retreat from the Milky Way Galaxy. I am happy to report that we have recorded a mass exodus already within minutes of the galaxy opening up. By our estimates, they will be gone within the week.”
Jake had taken a seat by now and nodded along as Miranda continued.
“Regarding the compensation offered for their betrayal of the Milky Way Galaxy, we have chosen to put the vast majority of resources toward rebuilding what was lost during the war. Our people on the planets the Holy Church are leaving behind are also working to hopefully establish a connection with the in-progress galactic teleportation network within the next decade. To clarify, as I received some questions regarding this, the planets shall be under the control and ownership of the Chosen of the Malefic Viper. What happens to them is up to his sole discretion.”
Taking part in a meeting like this with Miranda was always fun because Jake ended up learning a lot of new things, including the fact that he apparently owned a lot of other planets besides Earth. At least this was his first time hearing about it, and while a few in the large room did look disappointed, the big players had either known or expected this.
Jake had no idea what Miranda was planning, something he was entirely okay with. He had no reason to mistrust her, and he believed they shared the same goals, so he just went along with whatever she said by nodding stoically.
In fact, that turned out to be his only real job during this entire meeting. There really wasn’t much new information to discuss outside of the galaxy’s approach to new people from other universes traveling there. Some of those present proposed that they should totally ban all multiversal travel to the galaxy, but it was very quickly made clear that wasn’t going to happen.
What was also clear was the need for a unified framework for how many could migrate or just come for a visit. Having just emerged from one war between large multiversal factions, there was a lot of fear that it could start again now that large factions could get reinforcements from the entire multiverse. Some even raised concerns that the Milky Way Galaxy could become some sort of proxy battlefield for several major factions.
Jake could understand them somewhat, even the ones with solid knowledge of how the multiverse worked. It was exceedingly rare to have galaxies with a lot of factions co-existing like this. While it was pretty normal for the Court of Shadows and even Valhal to hang around in galaxies owned by other factions, the same certainly couldn’t be said about the Endless Empire, Risen, or United Tribes. Heck, Jake was also reminded that the Dao Sect had that planet Eron went to.
What’s more, nearly all these factions also had a massive presence on a singular planet in the galaxy: Earth. In the eyes of many, this was a disaster just waiting to happen, as they were bound to clash and come into conflict at one point or another. While things were okay for now, who was to say how things would look in a hundred years? A thousand? Who could promise that the next generation or the one after that wouldn’t renege on promises made and attempt to take over the galaxy if they saw a good opportunity?
Again, all valid concerns. Miranda wasn’t fazed, though, as she merely took a deep breath and spoke:
“I’m not going to be able to entirely dispel your apprehension and fear today, but do allow me to offer a counterpoint. Why are all these factions present in this galaxy, to begin with? Why are they so keen to have a presence, even if it means living under the Order of the Malefic Viper’s rule? The answer lies in the reason why the Order rules in the first place. What do all of these factions present have in common?” Miranda spoke, a beastkin Jake guessed was from the United Tribes promptly answering her:
“A relation to the Chosen of the Malefic Viper,” he said while looking at Jake.
“Correct... for the most part,” Miranda continued. “All of these factions also have in common that they are on friendly terms with the Order of the Malefic Viper. Something they want to continue being the case. While you may fear what the next few generations might plan, do remember that without the backing of their factions, they will be unable to be any threat whatsoever. Does anyone genuinely believe that any one faction dares to make an enemy out of a Primordial just for one small galaxy? Now or in a thousand years?”
Although her point was obvious to someone like Jake, it seemed to have an impact based on how many people in the room reacted. Riding the momentum, Miranda quickly continued.
“Also, do allow me to remind everyone that while the Chosen of the Malefic Viper is the person in charge of Earth, he is not the only individual with the power to suppress entire factions from our small little planet.”
Taking his cue, the Sword Saint, who’d otherwise been sitting there calmly, flared his aura as he spoke. “I do find it a bit offensive that Jake gets all the attention. I even began to believe it was because I had fallen behind and had so many worthy opponents to fight in the galaxy... yet after wiping out the resistance on dozens of planets, I didn’t meet a single person who could handle more than three sword strokes.”
It was a bit on the nose, but again, it seemed to work. The Sword Saint also used Jake’s actual name and not a title, indicating they were on roughly equal levels... something Jake wouldn’t even contest. While he believed he was more powerful than the Sword Saint by a fair margin, that didn’t include if the old man went all-out with his Transcendence. If he did use it, well, Jake didn’t think he was the only person in the galaxy who had a chance to slay Ell’Hakan, though the Sword Saint would have suffered far worse consequences even if he succeeded.
“Adding on to that, we also have the ones personally allied with the Chosen of the Malefic Viper and not the Order itself. This includes the Sylphian Hawk, who carries a Divine Blessing from Stormild, as well as Vesperia, True Royal of the Endless Empire. Besides that, he is personally close to high-level figures among the Risen, Court of Shadows, Valhal, and even the Dao Sect.”
Okay, Jake wouldn’t really say he was close to Eron in the slightest, but sure, Miranda could use him as an example. Also, he noticed how she didn’t mention Arnold or even Maria, but he didn’t say anything as he assumed she had a reason. Also... the absence of the Fallen King in that list of names was jarring.
Something he hoped to remedy sooner rather than later.
The rest of the meeting was primarily Miranda trying to keep everyone calm and on the same page while giving them pointers on how to communicate with their populace to promote stability.
Jake didn’t have to say a single thing throughout, except at the very end, where he stood up and looked at Miranda and everyone else present. “Continue your good work. Let’s hope I won’t need to personally get involved in any of it.”
His words had two meanings. First, everyone knew that Jake's involvement usually meant killing a lot of people, so what he said served as a warning. Second, Jake was just being honest with them. The second meaning was that he really hoped he wouldn’t have to get involved in any of their work, as that would be super annoying.
Based on Miranda’s approving look as he left, Jake hadn’t done badly during this meeting. Also, while there were many more meetings to go over the next few days, including conferences with other major factions of the galaxy, Jake wouldn’t attend any of them. He’d only been at this one to show himself and back up Miranda, and he was confident she could handle the rest.
With this one last meeting done, it was time to finally return to the first universe and the Order of the Malefic Viper. He also knew he wouldn’t go alone, as he’d already seen a few people waiting at his lodge, likely wanting to ride along on his way back. In fact, he even saw a certain old man get there just before he arrived himself, having slipped out of the building faster than Jake.