I struggled to look disinterested.
"Lady Fenna, please. If the orcs see you're this eager, they'll increase the prices." My deputy asked the impossible when I was so excited. "Act your age and rank, not your looks."
"Don't lecture me," I demanded, pulling up my nose. "They invited us with promises of trade. I brought adequate gifts for the inventor too."
But arriving at the orc village, I felt only disappointment. It was in the middle of nowhere, with no proper roads, just a small trail leading to it. No walls, or even a lookout tower, and not a single guard, or anyone, for that matter. Just a few shacks thrown together without any thoughts behind them with a small stream running through the middle, too insignificant to warrant a bridge to cross it.
"This is a junkyard," I muttered, looking around. "How did they invent such an intriguing plaything in a place like this?"
"The orcs didn't come up with the idea. It was the Black Cat."
"Shh, I don't want them to hear this," I warned my deputy. That Black Cat was the exact copy of the Goddess of Luck, and I didn't want to upset her. Especially, since she was the inventor of the product I planned to buy.
But regardless of their invitation, the village seemed completely deserted. At least until we reached the largest building across the stream, their mess hall. Its doors were unlocked and when I tried to peek inside, it was jam-packed with people, not just orcs.
The first thing I noticed floated above the large table, glowing white but featureless, strange but simple like a golem. On one side of the table, I saw three humans, on the other, a mixture of orcs, a goblin, an ogre, and even a beastman. The latter seemed very familiar.
"Dad?!" I yelled from the entrance, drawing the entire tribe's attention.
"Fenna?!" He jumped, but the orc hunters quickly forced him to sit down. The whole village was squeezed in here and looked rather agitated.
I noticed their chieftain waving off the hunters, allowing my father to stand again. He ran right up to me for a warm embrace. It was a little embarrassing in front of all these watchful eyes, but I hadn't seen him in years, almost half a decade.
"I didn't know your daughter was such a beauty, Fang." I heard the goblin say as he grinned ear to ear. Just what I've got myself into?
"All right, this is perfect." The orc chieftain noted and motioned me towards the table. "This is Fenna, the leader of the beastmen village. They live just on the other side of the old capital. She will witness our negotiations. I welcome you to our humble abode."
She sounded quite official and continued similarly.
"On the left, the representatives of the Twelve Champions. Dioneras, Bastion, Omerta, and I probably don't have to introduce you to your father..." She started, then waved to the other side of the table. "On the right is her Majesty, Princess Elizabeth of Nordhaben, the paladin Catherine, Captain of the Guard, and court wizard Lambert."
"Objection!" The goblin yelled, hitting the table. "You introduced them with their titles but failed to add mine. I'm Captain of the Twelve Champions and chief of staff of the Demon Lord's army."
"That is not how you introduced yourself when we first met." That strange floating thing claimed. She was rather annoyed, although she didn't seem to have any facial features. I just felt it under my skin somehow.
"I'm pretty sure, you should have started by introducing the Goddess as well." The largest of the orcs noted. He had dark stubble but wore a woman's clothes, and did he say Goddess? Just what was going on here? What an unlikely gathering, I spotted the Black Cat at the far end too.
"I don't care about the formalities, but I won't be fooled again." The floating creature voiced firmly. Was she the Goddess of Luck?
"Look, my life depended on that." The goblin argued. "And you started by refusing to introduce yourself, so... Let the matter drop. We are about to write history here, so let's do it properly."
"That is cheeky, coming from you. Last time you wanted to negotiate, it was just a pretext to get her help for your ambush." The blue-haired human girl noted, slamming the table as well. "And then kidnapped the Princess, and you underhanded monsters even poisoned her."
"She stuffed random berries into her mouth when we looked away for a moment..." My father claimed, still next to me. "Nobody poisoned her, and we didn't try to kill anyone, or banish her in the first place."
"All right, quiet." The white creature demanded, glowing up brightly above us. "What's done is done. So what should we call this conference?"
"Um... I thought this is Nati's, err..." I wanted to say junkyard but was able to stop myself just before it rolled off my tongue.
"Okay, so this will be the Nateaser Conference." The Goddess announced, and I felt like I just caused some horrible misunderstanding.
"Wait, no, I meant to say this is Nati's village..." I tried to stop them. The orc chieftain patted my back as a friendly gesture. I say patting, but she smashed it so hard that I expected it to break.
"It's fine. While Nati only arrived a week ago, it's undeniable how much she affected our tribe." She explained. "And this village didn't have a name anyway, so Nateaser it is. Here, take a seat with us."
"Wait, can I object to that name?" The Black Cat yelled.
"All in favor?" The chieftain ignored her, and all the orcs raised their hands. "Our village is now called Nateaser. Let us begin."
They started with a quick recap to put the pieces together, but it seemed like a historical event, with an actual deity floating above us. The Black Cat inherited Alexandra's body, so no wonder she was so familiar, and the purple-haired Princess set out to face them.
They were to banish her, the order came from the Elder of the Cranta Church, but the Twelve Champions intercepted them. It wasn't even this simple, as the champions were separated in a storm, and their vanguard came across the Goddess and tricked her into helping them. The other half ran into a powerful mage near here.
"By your description, it has to be the Elder," Lambert claimed. "I already suspected her but had no idea she was a necromancer."
"That's impossible." Catherine protested. "By a Papal decree, necromancy is a taboo in the church, she would have been executed."
"And when did you see the pope?" By the looks of it, the humans couldn't agree, but the other side argued too.
"If you came back for us, this wouldn't happen." The goblin blamed the orc witch. My father rubbed his forehead, looking rather annoyed.
"The Elder must plan something, I'm sure she wanted to get rid of us." The wizard claimed, but the paladin silently protested. "She didn't believe what the Princess had foreseen yet we were sent out, alone."
"So it was Purple Locks? Nobody else noticed that I'm here?" The creature floated closer to inspect Elizabeth. She was pale, shaking from her gaze. "I'm still offended that you guys tried to attack me."
"That's the purpose of the Inquisitorias." The paladin shielded the Princess. "It is to guarantee no deities disrupted the continent's peace."
"See, you should side with us, your Grace." The goblin noted. "We would never cause you harm. The Demon Lord only seeks power to unite all the Lesser Races and protect them from the human's tyranny."
"You shut up." The Princess was suddenly exhilarated. "Talk about tyranny when you tried to kidnap me? What did I do to your kind?"
"It was a regretful mistake." My father joined in, bowing his head. He was the most reasonable at the table. "Since the Inquisitorias banished his brother, Gamma, the Demon Lord became too wary of them. An informant told us that Your Majesty performed this great feat. But now we know it was the wizard called Lambert all along..."
"I bet it has something to do with the Elder." The human claimed after they uttered his name. "But the demon I banished rampaged in Sanctuary and spilled blood before the paladin Catherine stopped him."
"Gamma went to seek an agreement with the humans. The plan was to divide the continent between the two nations and establish trade." The goblin claimed, sounding upset. "He must have been betrayed."
"You and your negotiations..." Cath shook her head. "They always seem to be involving the killing of innocents."
"All right, enough, everyone quiet down." The Goddess ordered as things heated up. "So the two demons were siblings?"
"Brothers in arms, not by blood." My father explained, bowing his head again. "The Cranta Church invited them both, but only Gamma attended. In hindsight, it's fortunate since the Demon Lord could have met the same fate, and the New Order would be without a leader."
"Invited? To wreak havoc in the city? That is preposterous." The paladin protested vehemently, but her companion held her back.
"It seems obvious that there were some machinations in the background," Lambert noted calmly. "We have to find the perpetrators."
"Um, may I just..." I heard from the other end of the table, and all eyes were suddenly on the Black Cat. She seemed rather embarrassed from the attention, spoken softly. "It's just my two cents... But someone wanted to play the two parties against each other. Our job should be to foil those plans and prevent an all-out war..."
A long silence followed but on this, all sides agreed. The conference continued differently, while reluctantly, the parties allied, laying down some key points.
"First, we must prevent armed conflicts between all races, instigated by the church, Demon Lord, or any other parties." The Goddess declared. "Secondly, I get immunity. I will prove my innocence in the disappearance of the old capital. I've looked for clues, and I'm almost certain these machinations were already afoot back then."
The representatives of the Inquisitorias were upset by this point, but they couldn't do much to protest against it. The Goddess continued.
"Third, Nateaser will house an embassy, coordinating the defense, trade, and other matters between the New Order, Sanctuary, and the Neutral League." She exclaimed. "And Lambert remains here as a chef to ensure the safety of the Demon Lord. The rest is free to do as they please."