Otherworldly Liberty

Chapter 3: Big Stick's First Contact

While Asriel was honestly surprised at seeing one so young executing such difficult tasks — international relations are no joke — he knew better than to underestimate them for that. He had seen many young geniuses in this mana-rich world, and one does not grow old and wise without being humble and intelligent. As such, he curtly nodded before indicating them to follow him.

At the same time, even if he was genuinely curious about the interesting-looking muskets and alien clothing the six men — most likely bodyguards — wore, he was not stupid enough to go into such a tangent, for now, his mission was to avoid making a bad impression with the people that the Navy just tried to attack unprovoked. Claimed by the Admiral himself, there was no doubt of the veracity of such information, at least in his book.

After a brisk, twenty-minute walk filled with looks of curiously, awe, and even a little bit of fear — surely from the strange individuals he was guided around the streets — they arrived at the entrance of an opulent, prestigious building, its decoration, and intricate patterns speaking of a work of art made from skill and dedication.

As they walked in, Asriel only nodded towards the female staff at the entrance, both of which answered with a quaint bow of respect towards the man, from this point on, only two marines followed while four of them stayed on the first floor, standing there as a warning for anyone who dared to attempt an attack on their fellow Americans.

Reaching Asriel's office, only the two diplomats entered while the security detail stood guard outside the office.

Already inside the room was another person working hard on the paperwork present on top of the desk directly facing the door.

The individual — now identified as a woman — looked up with her confused red eyes and jet-black, perfectly smooth hair that contrasted with her thick eyelashes, being her most recognizable features.

"Asriel, sir, who are these people?", asked the woman in genuine curiousness, dropping the paper in her hand inside a filing cabinet just before standing up at a formal posture behind the chair she was previously sitting at, allowing him to sit down in her place.

Asriel shifted in his seat, trying to find a comfortable position, "Mina, these people have come here as a foreign delegation, don't you think the professional thing to do would be to introduce yourself first?", said the man, slightly amused by the woman's reaction of embarrassment at him calling her out like that in front of the guests. Yet as if a switch just flipped in her mind, her posture straightened and her expression neutralized itself.

"Mina Azrati, diplomat assistant under tutelage from the Head of the First Foreign Affairs department of Her Majesty's reign, a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I apologize for my undignified behavior just now, this is all still fairly new to me...", she finished, her mask cracking slightly at the tail end of her statement.

'That girl seems so easy to manipulate that a CIA operative would've already convinced her that the sky was actually green in the time we have known her...', Alexandra analyzed coldly, 'The problem will be the old man, but even he seems a bit intimidated, our gunboat diplomacy is working as planned!', the diplomat sported a chilly, calculating gaze hidden behind the sweet, friendly shell she was letting off.

After the Americans introduced themselves to Mina and all the formalities were out of the way, they got straight down to business.

"So, let's get started, shall we? What have you come here for?", said Asriel with a nice smile on his face and a respectful tone.

"We've come here to discuss the establishment of official diplomatic relations, commerce treaties, and other agreements — like the possibility of establishing an embassy for faster communication between our nations.", stated Nolan, a relaxed posture adorning his elegant aspect.