The manner of speaking the elven Elders had towards Sylvester changed drastically in Alfia. No more did they try to argue with him or show him their usual pride. Rather, they even feared looking him in the eye.
It was a matter of shame to the Elders. The way they had dismissed Sylvester as a Supreme Wizard, someone weaker than their King. It all had thoroughly backfired for them.
"I'll be taking all the human and Beastkin slaves you have in Alfia with me. It doesn't matter to me how you abolish slavery, nor do I care. Alfia, as a civilisation, must learn to exist with their own hard work and innovate to automate processes with magic. Or, if you really want servants—hire them with money. Right to life and dignity is a thing I have introduced in Sol. Alfia can use it as well," Sylvester voiced his thoughts while sitting in the room with the Elders.
With heads hanging low, the Elders could only accept his wishes as this one was absolute.
"I want slavery abolished throughout Beastaria as well. How you make the other species agree without causing a war is something you must plan. I can advise you if you need me to, but I will not meddle until you accept your failure," Sylvester added, sitting back in his seat, quite relaxed.
The awkward silence in the room wasn't broken by anyone, as there was nothing to say. They feared Sylvester's sharp tongue at that point.
"Meow!"
"Cat?" All of the Elders exclaimed all of a sudden and looked around.
Sylvester almost sweated, knowing very well that Rathagun would be able to feel Miraj's presence. So he quickly spoke mentally with his little friend, sitting on his lap.
'What happened? What was that for?'
'Feed me, Maxy—You promised me treats if I drank all that water. There were also a lot of fishies I had to throw out. Where are my fish?'
Sylvester sighed, 'Boy, you're acting less like my mature father and more like my spoiled son now. Which one are you?'
'Whaaat? I'm just hungry… You want me to fly away and find my own food?'
'Alright, there will be dinner after this meeting. I'll feed you there.' Sylvester promised again and caressed the boy to silence.
"Ah, on the matter of goblins," Sylvester diverted everyone's attention.
Bam!
"Finally, some real talk!" ex-general Zelphar slammed his fist on the table. "When do we go out to eradicate those pests?"
"Let's plan a joint campaign after you announce the end of the Thousand Year War to all the species in Beastaria," Sylvester suggested and got up. "I shall depart tomorrow, so I hope you can also decide on an ambassador who will represent Alfia in Sol. I shall send an ambassador to Beastaria as well. They shall sit in a private office in Deca Imperia, representing the humans, me, and the continent of Sol."
"I'll go as Alfia's ambassador!" Avanss exclaimed all of a sudden.
However, the thing was, he wasn't a member of the council and wasn't supposed to be in the room. He came down from the ceiling and landed beside King Rathagun out of nowhere.
"..."
"It was Pope Sylvester who saved me from my confinement in the Masan Empire. I believe there's none here who understands human society better than I do," Avanss rested his case and stared at Rathagun with puppy eyes.
The older brother, King of Alfia, sighed and nodded. He didn't need to listen to the Elders anymore or consider their vote. "Since Avanss already has a level of understanding with Pope Sylvester, I believe he is indeed the right choice. I do hope none here question my brother's loyalty now."
And no one did. The balance of power had shifted to favour the King more now than ever.
"Great, let's eat now. I'm famished," Sylvester clapped his hands and left the room as if it were his own home.
With him gone, the Elders raised their heads again and breathed in relief. They looked at their King annoyedly but held back any contempt they had.
"We shouldn't waste time and elect two elders," Elder Ellitran proposed, with the agreement of some Elders. However, his camp was now weaker, as two of his most staunch supporters had died.
"I don't believe this is the right time. Let us deal with Deca Imperia first and bring order to Alfia. Once we end slavery, things can get out of hand very quickly," King Rathagun sternly replied, openly opposing Ellitran for the first time. "Council is adjourned—Let us proceed with the dinner."
…
Sylvester arrived at the dining hall and saw Queen Delimira already sitting there, waiting for the rest. The place was empty at the time, as the servants and the guards stood out of sight.
He walked over and sat beside her, "Good evening, Delimira. As promised, Rathagun is back in one piece."
She smiled with a new glow of delight on her face. "I must thank you for everything, Sylvester. I don't know what you did, but Rathagun hasn't insulted me or made me feel lesser than him ever since he returned. There's a change in his demeanour, and I'm cherishing it, however long this lasts."
Sylvester folded his arms proudly and sat back, "Well, I did tell him to stop being dumb. I guess it worked."
"Hehe…" She giggled like a girl newly in love. "Thank you for everything, Sylvester. With peace, we will have one less thing to worry about. The plague is gone, the Demon is killed, and the Supreme Wizard from the dragon's side is also dead—Akin to what you are to Sol, Rathagun is to Beastaria now."
He decided not to burst her bubble of fancy. There was no equal to him and the Holy Land. He was supreme in Sol and now supreme in Beastaria as well.
Bam!
The Elders and the King finally entered the hall and took their seats. Soon enough, the magnificent feast began, and Sylvester resumed his theatrics by adding his strategic spices. This time, some elders were also interested and asked for some.
Sylvester, the spice dealer, was born that day since the Elders got hooked on the taste. They were all old monsters, and the taste was something new. A magical way to make the bland food delicious.
"I wish to acquire five tonnes of each of these spices!" Roared Zelphar greedily. "I'm sure it will be popular all across Alfia and beyond."
"No! Give me ten tonnes!" Another elder shouted.
"Three for me!"
"Silence!" Rathagun suddenly roared and slammed his fist on the table, clanking the plates. "Pope Sylvester, please forgive their impudence. Such behaviour is unbecoming of an elder—such a brazen display of greed!"
The old Elders looked down in shame.
Rathagun scoffed and continued, "How can you all be so blind to the greater picture? Pope Sylvester, I'll take eighty tonnes of this spice."
"..."
"..."
"Shameless," Ellitran muttered under his breath and kept eating silently.
The other Elders stared at the man foolishly, taken aback by this new persona of the King. There was less tension and more calm now, and they liked it no matter what.
…
As the morning came, Sylvester arrived at the official royal port of Alfia. Sylvester's entire fleet was anchored there, and the ex-slaves were being directed to the ships.
He had been completely thorough in his pursuit to get each slave home. So he asked Rathagun to use his soldiers to check each and every elven family to make sure no slave was being forcefully held back. And sure enough, there were a few such cases.
By morning, all the slaves had been gathered and freed, and they couldn't be more excited to head home to somewhere safer and freer. However, since the number of slaves was twice the number of elves, Sylvester had to borrow some ships from Rathagun, even though he called a few additional ones with a fleet commander from the Holy Land.
Eventually, a massive fleet of almost five hundred ships prepared to head to the Holy Land.
"Pope Sylvester, I hope the peace you speak of lasts longer than anything we've had in the past," Rathagun came forward to bid farewell and hugged Sylvester. But he whispered what was truly in his heart into Sylvester's ear.
'Thank you for the help, my son. I pondered what you said, and I've decided to make amends. I'll help you look for a means to prolong Xavia's life. At the same time, I'll try to give this kingdom an heir. It's hard for us elves to procreate—so 'if' Delimira gets pregnant, I vow to forget Xavia.'
Emotionally, Rathagun clearly had a few doubts left. But like Sylvester, he wanted to move on now.
Sylvester smiled and whispered back. 'No matter what happens in the end, nothing will change the fact that I have your blood in me. Xavia is my mother, and so is Delimira—I may have no family other than Mum officially, but I hope we can count on each other in a moment of need.'
"I will see you again very soon, King Rathagun," Sylvester stepped back and bid his farewell.
After that, he approached his main ship's deck and waved back. However, there weren't many enthusiastic elves since he had taken their way of life from them.
"Don't mind it. They will change soon," Avanss followed Sylvester and watched as the ship began to move.
The journey towards the Holy Land was nothing short of majestic. As the massive fleet travelled through the sea, all gave way. The villages on the coast of Beastaria watched them go. Meanwhile, as they passed near the shore of Libertia, the land of the free, loud cheers were heard as the flag of the Holy Land and the Pope fluttered in the soothing winds.
In a few days, using magical sails, they began approaching the Holy Land.
Trrrrrrr! Trrrrrrr!
"What was that?" Sylvester exclaimed at the peculiar sound he heard for the first time in his life.
"It came from Captain's cabin, Your Holiness," Soulbreaker noticed.
"What made it?" Sylvester inquired and walked towards the noise. He walked into the Captain's cabin on the top deck, just behind the helm.
Trrrrrr! Trrrrrr!
Clank!
"Captain Edward speaking… Yes, we're half a day from the port. Prepare for a fleet of five hundred. Ten ships shall dock in the Pope's reserved area… May the Holy Light enlighten us."
"..."
Sylvester stared at the peculiar thing the white-haired Captain of the ship and the master of the fleet used. It was a black box on which two semi-spherical objects were attached with wire. One semi-sphere was placed on the ear and the other on the mouth.
"What was that?"
"Oh… Y-Your Holiness!" Captain Edward almost jumped in fright at Sylvester's sudden presence in his room. "This… This is a Magic Communicator, Your Holiness—You invented it… Such a marvellous instrument to speak across great distances."
"Speak?!" Sylvester exclaimed in shock. "But I only made the design of a simple telegraph."
