Chapter 917 — Three-Party Contact

In the end, though, she reined in every emotion that had no place in this moment, put all such thoughts temporarily from her mind, adjusted the muscles of her face slightly, and put on the smile most suited to the present occasion.

Byron came down the gangplank and set foot on the solid, steady wooden pier. Apart from his adjutant and a few personal guards, he had brought no one else with him—the siren and naga technical advisors had remained aboard the ship or in the sea; there was no need for them to take part in this contact.

The grey elf chieftain came forward, a faint smile on her face. Though small as a human child, her features were those of a full-grown adult, and she radiated the composure and bearing proper to a ruler of her people. She extended a hand to Byron, her slightly hoarse voice carrying: "Welcome to Whitefeather Harbor, General Byron—I'm glad to see you had a smooth voyage."

Byron extended his hand as well—two fingers—and "shook" Wenna's hand. "Delighted to meet you, Lady Wenna Whitebloom. Today is without question a day worth commemorating."

Then he turned his head and looked at the other non-humans who had appeared alongside the grey elf representatives. A dwarf in black armor, with a grey beard, came toward him—like a walking barrel forged of muscle and iron blocks. The dwarf extended a hand to him and said in a muffled, booming voice: "Paladin Brightstone, from the dwarven kingdom, greets you, human. I bring greetings from Forgehold. Your ironwork is truly fine."

Byron was taken aback for a moment, but soon understood the other's meaning: this was praise for the Curiousity, that cutting-edge experimental ship.

He broke into a smile at once and reached out to grasp the other's hand. "Greetings to you—we received word before departure that dwarf representatives would also be present."

"Forgehold is very interested in your 'restart the sea routes' plan," Paladin Brightstone said with hearty candor. "Frankly, your large mining machines are all fine goods, but a pity they can't be shipped to our side—it would mean crossing the whole Augury Tribal States and a ridge at the edge of our kingdom. But now that I've seen this ship, I think we needn't tunnel through that mountain after all—seven hundred years ago the Ansu people briefly did business with us by ship; regrettably, it had only just begun to show promise when it was cut short. When I return, I'll propose to the Forgehold council that we repair the ports on the western coast..."

It took no small effort for Byron to finally extract his hand from the other's grip, and in the process he gained a profound understanding of what "dwarven forthrightness" meant.

What the other had raised was in fact not part of his task plan for today—today's chief task was the Curiousity's maiden voyage test and the collection of sea conditions and coastal data in the near-shore region. The meeting at Whitefeather Harbor with the grey elf and dwarf representatives was more of a ceremonial contact, to announce the successful maiden voyage of the Curiousity and the formal restoration of the route from Northport to Whitefeather Harbor. As for further commercial plans and route development... that would require more specialized people to work out slowly afterward.

He believed Wenna Whitebloom thought the same, but the dwarf envoy before him clearly did not—the fellow's thinking had plainly already expanded to precisely how the western coastal ports ought to be repaired...

It gave him a feeling of facing Gaoyang or Rebecca—one possessed of incredible foresight, the other ready to say anything at all...

But soon a faint smile appeared on his face—dealing with such forthright representatives was no bad thing. Frankly, he preferred this sort of person; they were far more endearing than those nobles and foreign ambassadors who wrapped every sentence in seven or eight turns and required classical allusions even to sneeze...

The three parties' representatives chatted briefly on the pier, each carrying different thoughts, their attendants standing where each properly belonged, the atmosphere harmonious and congenial. Whitefeather Harbor's grey elf "camera crew" and the Cecil official recorders who had come ashore from the Curiousity simultaneously captured the scene with their arcanet terminals.

One copy of the image was sent to Mosswood, one to the Northport hub.

...

"The Curiousity has successfully completed her maiden voyage, arriving at noon today, 12:15, at Whitefeather Harbor on the border of the Augury Tribal States. General Byron and the ship's company met at the harbor with the grey elf chieftain, Lady Wenna Whitebloom, and the dwarf representatives..."

"The Curiousity's successful maiden voyage marks the opening of the sea route from Northport to the northwestern coast of the Augury Tribal States. The Empire's maritime shipbuilding technology has laid its foundation, and we shall take a longer stride out onto the ocean..."

"...the plan is to extend the route, connecting it to the Dwarven Kingdom, and further still to the southern reaches of the Augurey Tribal Lands...

"In the foreseeable future, we may be able to establish further contact with the Silver Empire by sea..."

Victoria Wilder waved a hand, shutting off the image playing on the magic-net terminal, and rose from the sofa.

"Truly an optimistically forward-looking notion... Whitefeather Port and the Silver Empire are still awfully far apart," the Northern Duke murmured to herself. "Still, a bit of optimism does no harm. The progress on reopening the routes has gone fairly smoothly. At this rate, sooner or later we'll be able to make contact with the elves by sea..."

The room was quiet. Victoria looked up.

A maid stood not far off, head bowed, waiting with meticulous care for the Duchess's instructions. As for the words the Duchess murmured to herself, the maid plainly could not understand them, nor would she have known how to respond—she might not even have been listening at all.

"Ah... if Maggie were here, at least she would join in the conversation." Victoria could not help but sigh, and even her habitually expressionless face showed a hint of helplessness.

Just then, a rhythmic knock came at the door.

Victoria sensed the presence beyond the door and said casually, "Come in."

The study door opened, and an elderly mage entered—gaunt and thin, clad in a deep blue robe of stars, yet with a face still full of vigor. He bowed to Victoria in salute. "Good day, my lady."

"Victor," Victoria nodded to her chief mage, "is something the matter?"

"The connection test for the hub core is complete," the old mage said, unable to keep a brilliant, proud smile from his face. "The data is perfect. You may inspect it at your convenience."

(A friendly recommendation of a book, *Reborn Genius Mid-Lane Girl*, which should also have been written by a fellow reader. Emmmm... in any case, offering it up as a sacrifice to the heavens.)