“Of course,” King Arthur nods, his gaze shifting to Mensacus with clear curiosity for a fraction of a second before he starts the formal introductions himself. “I’m Arthur Wynn Modo the Second, fourth circle, and king of Modo.”

“Emily Coldstone, fourth circle mage, and fourth stage mechanic,” Emily replies, watching his brow twitch in confusion. “I’m the Technomancer, and an independent mercenary. This here is my daughter, Silica, a first circle living golem.”

“Mensacus,” her son continues without missing a beat. “Fourth circle mechanical chimaera, and mother’s firstborn.”

The king nods, completely masking his reaction as he turns his gaze on the final person in the room.

“Podrick Rockworth, second stage mechanic, and Emily’s only apprentice. Just call me Pod.”

This time, Arthur doesn’t bother hiding his curiosity, looking back at Emily with a raised brow.

It looks like the Elders are reluctant to spread information on mechanics. I’m not surprised Virgil didn’t bother sending word ahead, but I half expected Max to have mentioned it to the Salvias already.

“Magic isn’t the only way to exceed human limits,” she begins explaining, going through the process of concealing her circles and releasing her machina. “Before I became aware of magic’s existence, I was only focused on my mechanical pursuits. However, after discovering magic with the help of some materials I appropriated from the Mandragos, I also discovered a method for mutating my brain into an energy processing organ similar to our magic circles that processes another esoteric energy type: machina. Before you ask, existing mages cannot be awakened to a separate cultivation system. They must be awakened at the same time and, even then, I doubt many others have the talent required to induce two self-awakenings at once.”

“Must they be self-awakenings?” Arthur questions, leaning forward in his seat as an inquisitive glint lights up his eyes. “Have you tried an assisted dual awakening?”

“No.” Emily shakes her head, pausing to take a sip of her tea as she tries to break down her instinctual rejection of the suggestion, despite never having tested it. “But I don’t need to; I just know it won’t work. The same as I know I’m the first awakened mechanic on this planet, and the first of my kind in existence.”

“I see. But you can assist others in a standard mechanic’s awakening, I take it?”

“That I can, for the right price. I’ve already begun spreading the vocation in New Denntimo.”

Arthur hums and relaxes back into his seat, taking a pause to take another slow sip from his tea.

‘Greed and anxiety,’ Mensacus whispers into Emily’s mind, exposing the king’s calm façade for the lie it is.

Oh, he’s good. He exposed enough minor tells when his genuine reactions would work in his favour and covered the rest.

Emily doesn’t move an inch, sitting still as a statue, other than the hand gently caressing Silica’s head, as her impression of Arthur goes up.

“In that case,” the king says, seeming to come to a decision as he sets down his teacup, “before we talk business, I believe it pertinent we first establish a baseline of trust for our future dealings to proceed smoothly.”

Emily raises a brow and nods, silently urging him to continue. He takes a deep breath, letting it out as a hard light settles in his gaze.

‘Resolve… and anger,’ Mensacus tells her, as she awaits the king’s words.

“I may be called the king, but I’m practically a figurehead. I wish I could publicly clear your name and pay you back for how we’ve wronged you.”

‘Remorse and frustration.’

“But too many of my nobles are against me,” he continues with a sigh, pausing to down the rest of his drink. “How much do you know about our country’s history?”

“More than most,” Emily admits, casting Switch again to recall and refill Arthur’s cup.

“Then I assume you’re aware of my late father’s policies,” the king says with more vitriol than she would expect of one carrying on his name. “For a man who rose from common blood himself, he held nobles in far too high a regard. He established laws with our country’s founding that forbade revealing the existence of magic to the masses and allowed the enslavement of any commoners who showed promise. While I abolished the latter in principle, by outlawing mental magic the moment I took the throne, a faction rose among our nobles to resist any further changes I wanted to put in place. Unfortunately, nearly half our fourth circle mages sided with them.”

The exhaustion that bleeds into his tone at the end is confirmed as genuine by Mensacus, and the middle-aged-looking man appears to age even more when he pauses to take a sip from his fresh, steaming cup.

“They’ve continued to ignore the laws I put in place within their own territories, and I’ve been unable to punish them for fear of losing our ability to fight off our enemies.”

“Let me guess,” Emily says, flashing him a cold smile that doesn’t reach her eyes. “You heard I ended New Denntimo’s war and want me to act as a new deterrent to keep Morzea from invading once your treaty ends.”

“Eventually,” he admits freely, nodding before returning a bloodthirsty grin as his mana roils, bubbling from his skin like boiling water and jagged rocks. “But before that, I want you to be my sword. You’re a mercenary, right? I want to hire you to cull the families that refuse to stand by me and release the mages they’ve enslaved."

“You think they can be freed?” Emily questions as her face falls back to neutral.

“I know they can be, and it’s thanks to you. After your rather dramatic removal of the Mandragos, I had a thorough investigation launched into you and your interactions within The Dome. Through that, I just so happened to be made aware of a certain mage researching mental magic with an account of someone resisting a standard binding spell.”

Emily nods in understanding, brewing herself another cup of tea with a fruity aroma that has Silica attempting to sneak her nuzzle into the still-heating pot.

“Is Jenny doing well?” she asks while digging her fingers into the spot between her daughter’s ears, forcing her to remain in her lap as her tail kicks up a sand-filled gust that doesn’t leave their sofa.

“Very,” Arthur responds, eyeing the swirling sand with an evaluating look but not commenting on it for now. “I gave her access to our family’s personal library, where we keep the taboo content we were able to confiscate, and provided her with several test subjects to work on, courtesy of the late Mandrago family. While you left no members of their bloodline, there were several of their servants, both awakened and not, still under the effects of their bindings. Just a month ago, though, Miss Forsythia finally succeeded in shattering their bonds.”

“She did? Impressive. I look forward to hearing about her findings.”

“I can call for her if you’d like?”

“Later.” Emily waves her hand dismissively. “For now, let’s discuss terms. I’ll happily take that contract, but I don’t intend to remain on this continent until your treaty ends, and I have several requirements.”

The king furrows his brow with a conflicted expression.

“Can I ask what New Denntimo offered to keep you?”

“Nothing,” she scoffs in response. “I just refuse to be tied down.”

Arthur’s expression relaxes a little, but there’s still concern clearly etched across his brow.

“If you’re worried about a loss in high-level combat power, you could hire some of New Denntimo’s mercenaries. Silver Moon and Black Fang are both looking to extend their operations overseas already, if the old man lasts that long.”

Pod snorts a laugh at the dig at Silver, but Emily continues without sparing him a glance, holding Arthur’s gaze.

“And that’s probably not enough, but I’ll be happy to sell you enough bombs to flatten their half of the continent.”

“You’re willing to sell us your weapons?” Arthur asks, unable to resist glancing at her smoothly-articulated metal arm.

Emily nods, staying quiet and watching the man fall into deep consideration. It’s not until he finishes his third cup of tea that he finally breaks the silence.

“Name your price.”

A predatory grin stretches Emily’s lips before vanishing as quickly as it came, and coupled with her next words, causes a cold shiver to run down Arthur’s spine, despite his already hardened resolve and clear hatred of his political enemies.

“Oh, I will. But first, I need a few details. Do you need them all dead with confirmed corpses, or is never seen again good enough?”

“I believe Miss Forsythia’s control removal method requires the entire core bloodline to be eliminated, but if you can work out how to get around that, and guarantee they’ll never be our problem again, that’s perfect.”

Mensacus clicks his jaw in excitement at the news, letting liquid malice seep from his teeth and drip down his chin to his chest, where it’s reabsorbed into his metal skin. Emily rotates her left arm back in an unnatural manner and pats the cold tentacles curled around the edge of her seat to calm him, ignoring his whispers about Arthur’s well-hidden disgust.

“How many families are against you, and how many have fourth circle mages?”

“There are thirty-six families,” Arthur says, surprising Emily as he states triple the number of houses Jenny warned her against back in The Dome. “Only six of them have fourth circle mages, though, with their leader, the Hederas, having two.”

He pulls a simple sheet of unenchanted parchment from his robes as he speaks, sending it over on a light cloud of condensation that doesn’t wet the page. Emily reads over it, noting the home cities written down and adding them to her mental map, beginning to plot a route through them all.

“I assume you’d like this done quietly, with minimal civilian casualties and damage to these houses’ properties, correct?”

The king nods, and Emily shuts her eyes, falling silent to consider his proposal.

“Okay.” Her eyes snap open, a flicker of machina dancing in her sclera as she comes to a decision. “In return for completing your contract, awakening a small selection of mechanics, and agreeing to sell you weapons and technology, I have a few hard requirements. First, and I doubt you’ll have an issue with this, but the moment I’m done with your contract, you must publicly announce the existence of magic.”

Expectedly, Arthur simply nods as he planned to do so anyway after reestablishing his control of the country.

“Second, I expect a full public pardon, and you must reveal to the entire country the full extent of the Mandrago family and their allies’ crimes. Nothing can be hidden.”

This time, it takes a moment of hesitation before the king gives his agreement.

“Third, I require a portion of land with a mana vein, a junction of several if possible, to set up a base on this continent. I’ll need a constant supply of materials, both magical and not, to produce weapons, but we can discuss the specifics of that later when I have an idea of what you need, and I’m willing to sell.”

Arthur nods immediately, more than happy for her to set down some roots in his kingdom.

“Do you mind where it is?”

“No. Set me down on your border with Morzea if you really want,” Emily says dismissively, already guessing his intention. “I couldn’t care less as long as I have room to expand and will be left alone. And if anyone tries to enter my factory? Well, Mensacus has to eat.”

‘Displeasure and acceptance,’ the child in question silently informs her, watching their unflinching host closely.

“Fourth, I want permission for a merchant company under my banner to travel and trade freely between Modo and New Denntimo. Their Elders are already aware of my intentions and expressed an interest in a closer relationship with you anyway, so long as you deal with the houses among your ranks that supported Denros.”

It takes more than a few seconds for Arthur to come to a decision on this point as he begins tapping his fingers on his armrest.

“Their sales across the border will need to be properly tracked and taxed more heavily than the merchants’ standard.”

“Not a problem.”

He nods.

“Then finally, and these I’m willing to negotiate on,” Emily says, immediately hearing whispers of his relief. “I want full access to your magical records, both of The Covenant and the kingdom. That includes any reports on natural magical phenomena like elemental sightings and dungeons.”

She doesn’t need her son to tell her what the king is feeling as he leans forward, narrowing his eyes.

“Reinstated access to The Covenant’s library, reports on magical phenomena, and a week in my family’s library,” Arthur offers instead.

“A single visit to the city’s mist array, during which I will inform you of any weaknesses I discover, including those specific to my technology, along with all reports on magical phenomena, and a single day in your family’s library," she fires back.

Arthur hums, unable to see the trap laid in her terms, and falls silent again to consider her terms.

“Deal,” he finally says, pulling out an enchanted sheet of parchment to write up a magical contract, using a delicate touch of his mana to lift a pool of ink from an open well beside him before scattering it across the page.

He floats the completed contract over, and Emily begins inspecting the terms and the enchantments on the parchment itself to make sure she isn’t being cheated. The price for breaching the contract is complete loyalty to the other party, but she has no issue with that, despite Arthur’s ability to abdicate to save his kingdom from the consequences and the term he’s added barring her from initiating an attack on their kingdom without either being provoked or offering a ten-year warning in advance.

“I look forward to working with you,” Emily says as she burns her name onto the dotted line at the bottom of the parchment, sealing their deal in the name of their magic.