The discussion went on for hours. Each of these nobles gave needless introductions as Hans did. Jack was so bored that he no longer paid attention to whatever these nobles were talking about. He instead trained mana manipulation and the sword's heart while maintaining the façade of sitting still and listening.
He trained until he felt a nudge from Grace.
"… Now that you have all presented your case, I would like you to go back to what our king mentioned earlier," Grace said. "We all understand your concerns. You all had a bad history with the orcs. Some of you have bad blood with the orcs…"
"Blood debt!" Julian Delsodo exclaimed. "The orcs killed my grandfather!"
"And how did that happen?" Grace asked. She didn't show any dissatisfaction with being interrupted.
"… In a battle when his patrolling squad met Verremor's roaming party," Julian answered.
"Then your grandfather died in the glory of battle. I'm sure he also killed some orcs during that battle. Orcs who might have children. Those children could have grown up and have children your age. Those orc children hated us too for killing their grandfathers, but they are letting go of this hate by coming to our cities and making friends with us. We should do the same.
"If we stop letting them come, they will come to hate us again, and then more grandchildren will lose their grandfathers in a future war that doesn't need to happen. It's time to put a stop to the needless war. There are enemies whom we should fight and those we shouldn't. The ones who shouldn't are the ones who are willing to make peace with us, such as the Verremor Nation.
"I know this is hard, but please give the orcs a chance. What happened was just theft and vandalism. No one was hurt. It might be the orcs who have done it, it might not. Even if it was, we can't blame the entire race for the act of a few. As our king said, banning the orcs is out of the question, but we can work together to make sure that adequate security is implemented."
Grace was staring at Jack when she said that, giving him a hint to say something.
Jack nodded. "Thaergood will work with you and listen to your proposal. As long as it doesn't cross the line, we will consider implementing it."
Grace rolled her eyes. Jack was pushing the work to Thaergood.
The nobles looked at one another. Finally, Hans Orline said, "Thank you, Your Majesty, and My Lady, for listening to us. We will heed your words and work with Advisor Thaergood about the increased security."
"In that case, please return to the guest quarter to rest," Thaergood said. "I will arrange a discussion with you all tomorrow morning. For today, I still have matters to discuss with our king."
The six nobles stood up and bowed. "We shouldn't take up more of Your Majesty's time. Please, excuse us."
Jack happily excused them. Anything to end this charade. Thaergood rose and sent those people away.
"From now on, I want you by my side for my monthly kingdom meeting," Jack said to Grace.
Grace giggled at the request.
"You are truly good at dealing with those nobles," Jack added.
"Well, I did meet a lot of high-profile people in our past world," Grace said. "It comes with the territory of my profession. Socializing skill is a must."
"I don't think it is just your socializing skill," Peniel said. "What is the level of your Diplomacy and Influence skills?"
"Uh… My diplomacy is Advanced Master. My influence skill is Intermediate Master."
"Good Lord…! So high? How did you get them so high levels?" Jack asked. "I know so many important natives in this world but I only have Advanced Expert for my influence."
"I don't think any of your important natives are comparable to God Greed now, are they?" Grace chuckled.
"I am close to Goddess Serenity!" Jack declared.
"You are just imagining it!" Peniel slapped Jack's head. She then said to Grace, "Your two auxiliary skills are truly very high. As long as the natives don't hate you from the start, they will listen to what you say, and it will be easier for them to see your point of view because of it. Jack is right. You should be present in his court meetings. It will be easier for him to sway the officials' opinions to his side… Well, as long as his opinions are not too absurd."
"Hey, when have my opinions ever been absurd?" Jack protested.
Grace laughed. "I am happy I can be of use to you."
"You are not just of use. You are extremely invaluable to me," Jack said.
Grace's cheeks became red and she lowered her head.
"Huh? What's wrong? Are you not feeling well?" Jack asked, which resulted in Peniel's slapping his head again.
"Your denseness is truly outrageous," Peniel said.
Thaergood returned to the room then. "Shall we proceed to our regular meeting?" He asked.
"Yes, let's go, but I want Grace to attend the meeting as well," Jack said.
"Certainly. I would have suggested it myself," Thaergood said. He was also impressed with the way Grace handled the meeting just now.
They spent the remainder of the days discussing country matters. Jack listened to everyone's opinions as usual. But because he had gone through this several times, he now had his own opinion once in a while. When he expressed it, Grace helped to make sure that his thoughts were properly articulated.
It was late at night when the meeting ended. Jack was now free to deal with his things the next day. He sent a message informing Domon that he would go to the guild headquarters the next morning.
"Thank you very much for your help today. You are amazing," Jack said to Grace.
"You've only realized that now?" Grace asked teasingly.
"Of course not. I've always known you are amazing, but you prove that you can be even more amazing than your usual amazingness."
"I have no idea what you are spouting. So, you will go to Heavenly Citadel tomorrow?"
"Yes," Jack nodded.
"Can I tag along?" Grace asked.
"I certainly won't mind. Let's go together tomorrow morning," Jack said.
"Okay. See you tomorrow. Sleep well."
"You too," Jack replied.
Jack watched her leave. She had been given a guest quarter in the palace.
"You should have invited her to your quarter. I can't believe you wasted such a precious chance."
Jack heard a voice and turned to see Darmos there.
