Ravendale. The City of White Raven. Agatha's office.
"With this, the ties between Ravendale and Mater have deepened, Miss Agatha. I, Valeria Vanlor, thank you for your cooperation."
Valeria thanked Agatha who sat opposite to her on the other side of the desk. She was all smiles because of the long-term business and cooperation deals she had struck with the White Raven Guild, which was the only major power in Ravendale.
She also thanked Eren with a nod who sat right beside Agatha. Eren had basically let Agatha handle the matters related to the deal between Mater and Ravendale. He only offered his insights whenever necessary while ensuring that Agatha's authority was retained in the process.
Valeria was not alone in representing Mater, the newly formed continent that was majorly run by the Amazonians at this point. Seraphina Riversong, Isadora Frostborne, Callista Blackthorn, Evelina Green, and Galen Ironfist were also there attending this crucial meeting along with a few more.
On Agatha's side, Eren was one of the major decision-makers along with her. Apart from this duo, Nina, Levine, Jiana, and a few other White Raven Guild members were present. Since the trade and deals were large scale this time and concerned the future of their respective continents, all of the major players needed to be on the same page. Thus, Agatha had summoned everyone to this business meeting.
"I thank you too, Matriarch Valeria," Agatha responded with a smile on her face. "It is much easier to talk to someone like you who understands us. You had been our guest in the past. And we'd be happy to host you if you decide to stay here for a few days."
Agatha had met with the Amazonians a few months ago, right after the Great Shattering. The Amazonians were pretty scared back then, lost about what they needed to do in a world so chaotic because of Eren's actions.
It was Eren who had made Valeria and the rest see this calamity as an opportunity for all the Amazonians in Anfang. It was he who had hinted to them to change their dynamics with the Anfang Alliance and claim their own continent for themselves in this chaos.
Valeria and the rest were a bit skeptical at first. However, they all remembered what their goddess had said to them when Eren first came to the sacred land dedicated to her. She had told them that Eren would bring a new era in Anfang and they needed to support him in his endeavor. As such, they decided to heed their goddess' words.
Valeria took the lead and formed a temporary alliance with the White Raven Guild before departing from the newly formed Ravendale. It was only on this day that this temporary alliance was finalized.
"We would like to stay here as well, Miss Agatha," Seraphia smiled bitterly before speaking in a voice tinged with exhaustion. "However, we have a lot of work cut out for us. That evil man who sits beside you has made sure that no living being on Anfang dares to take even a moment of rest," she said while looking at Eren with mixed emotions.
Seraphina was not alone in wanting to stay in Eren's city. Evelina and the rest of her original crew who knew Eren personally before the Great Shattering also wanted to spend some time with him. They had a lot of questions to ask.
Galen would have been eager to have another spar with Eren as well. He had learned quite a lot in his last battle with Eren at the cost of almost crippling his path as an Amazonian. He would have definitely asked Eren for another rematch if things between them had stayed the same.
However, Galen did not dare to after sensing that Eren had surpassed him and become a Grandmaster. What was the use of a spar if he did not even pose a challenge to Eren? and as far as he knew, Eren was not someone who would take things lightly even if it were to be a friendly spar. The guy would treat it as an opportunity to make Galen suffer the consequences of his absurd demand for a spar between two non-equals.
"There's one more thing before we go, Miss Agatha. Eren."
Isadora spoke while looking at Eren and Agatha. She then looked at Valeria and received a nod. Leaning forward against the desk, Isadora spoke in a serious tone.
"Arsalan and Katiyal are planning to initiate a maritime siege against Ravendale from their end," Isadora spoke as she looked at Eren. "they have also asked Mater, Velen, and Kojurao to cooperate."
Agatha looked at Eren when Isadora brought up the subject of a potential siege in the future. She wanted him to take the lead on this. From the looks of it, nobody on Agatha's side looked surprised. It was almost as if Eren had already predicted something like this was bound to happen someday.
"Hm. Let me meet you personally to discuss this," Eren spoke while tapping his fingers on the desk.
"Hm? What do you…" Isadora looked puzzled when she heard Eren's response. However, she witnessed Eren vanishing from his position before she could even complete voicing her query.
The one who was Shadow-switched places with Eren was also another Eren. This time, Eren's presence was much more prominent than before, almost making Galen gulp in frustration.
"You… since when can you use clones like an Elementalist?"
Valeria asked Eren, expressions of surprise painted across her face. She couldn't believe that a Ranker could use a clone so proficiently, so much so that even she failed to recognize it was a clone until the real Eren came to meet her.
The Amazonians had heard a lot of rumors surrounding Eren ever since the Great Shattering. Some rumors claimed that he had killed Sages, chopping them into fine pieces like vegetables. Some had him portrayed as someone who had struck a deal with Anfang's World Will itself.
Some rumors even claimed that he had defeated the Witch of the Enderflames, a calamity-like existence, a Titan Slayer from the Calamity Era who would have wreaked havoc on Anfang after her resurrection.
Valeria was starting to believe that there was some truth in those rumors after looking at the real Eren in his eyes.
