“First, I believe introductions are in order.”

Queen Seong Eunhee’s demeanor was unexpectedly casual as she addressed the gathering of Jia, Eui, Rika, and Kaede.

“As I am sure you know, I am Queen Seong Eunhee, matriarch of the Seong clan, which is the elected representative of Goryeon Council of High Nobility. The others here are my daughters, though to avoid confusion I’ll endeavor to describe relations as you understand them.”

The queen gestured towards one of the two women flanking her throne.

“On my right, Princess Seong Minhee, my older sister. If you find it strange that the younger sister is the matriarch, suffice it to say that our clan simply views things a bit differently. I’m sure you’re all smart enough to understand.”

To punctuate her statement, Queen Seong’s eight tails swayed slightly behind her, already fanned out in a peacocking display of her power and heritage. Even without that hint, Jia understood from the rare occasions that Eunae had spoken of her family that the number of tails was everything to the Seong clan. It was why Eunae often lamented having so few after coming of age, and why she’d been overjoyed when she’d somehow grown an extra in the course of her training.

“On my left is...”

The queen paused for only the barest instant, and if not for Jia’s empathy she might not have even noticed the suppressed sigh.

“Prime Minister Grand Magus Princess Seong Min. My daughter. In truth, while I am the final arbiter on matters of state, it is her who runs most of the country—particularly wrangling those pesky lords and ladies of the high houses.”

Seong Min bowed to her mother.

“You exaggerate your praise, your majesty.”

Though she hid it well in her expression, Jia could tell that the Prime Minister was overjoyed by the praise. Jia had to suppress a frown—these were all xiantian cultivators, yet their emotions were an open book to her empathy. Was it intentional? She didn’t have time to ponder it further as the queen gestured to Seong Misun.

“Lastly, Princess Minhee’s oldest daughter, my niece, Princess Seong Misun. I understand that you’ve met her before.”

Jia swallowed nervously, not entirely sure whether she was supposed to respond to that or not. The decision was taken out of her hands by Seong Misun, who continued to glower at them as she spoke.

“During the descent, yes. All four of them were there. With her. They’re compromised—this is a waste of time.”

The queen shook her head ruefully.

“Tsk tsk tsk, let’s not be so quick to judge, my daughter. Our guests have come a long way, and you’ve always been overly harsh with your sister.”

Misun scoffed, but didn’t argue with her aunt. Or...mother? Dae had explained it to her once—Eunae hadn’t wanted to talk about it—but Jia’s understanding was that the Seong Matriarch acted as a representative of their ancestor, the nine-tailed fox spirit Kumiho, with the remaining members of the clan acting as her ‘daughters’ regardless of their actual blood relations. All of the Seong clan were women—they did not marry, and they did not give birth to sons. Jia’s reverie was broken by the Queen addressing them once again.

“Now, Miss Hyeong already announced your names, but why don’t you introduce yourselves and explain the reason for your visit.”

That was Kaede’s cue, and she took a step forward as she began.

“I am Princess Hayakawa Kaede, first heir to the Hayakawa shogunate, rulers of Yamato. I am here to represent my father, Shogun Hayakawa Takeo, to discuss the potential of an alliance between our nations in order to address a matter of grave importance to the fate of the continent. With me, I have Consul Takeda Rika, Consul An Eui, and Ambassador Lee Jia. Each of them has knowledge and expertise critical to the matter I wish to discuss today.”

The queen nodded at each of them in acknowledgement.

“Very well. Though we are already aware of the matter you wish to discuss, why don’t you explain for the sake of posterity? You want a defensive pact to counter the campaign of aggression led by Qin’s new divine ally, yes?”

“No.”

The four Seong women all did a double take, blinking in surprise at Hayakawa Kaede with eerily similar timing and expression. Before any of them could respond, Hayakawa went on.

“While that was the original intent of my mission here, I have come into possession of intelligence which forces me to change my priorities. During the descent of the gods two and a half years ago, Lee Jia and An Eui came into contact with one of the entities from the divine realm. It revealed to them the reason behind the sudden appearance of god-like beings throughout the continent. I’ll let them explain in further detail.”

All eyes fell on Jia and Eui, and Yoshika took a deep breath before stepping forward with Lee Jia’s body and bowing deeply.

“With your permission, your majesty?”

Seong Eunhee gave her a vague gesture.

“Speak. I’ve heard the report from High Magus Hwang Sung, but I’d like to hear it directly.”

Oh, right. It made sense that they already knew. Was all this formality really necessary, then? It felt like they were wasting time on a bunch of theater that nobody was actually watching. Yoshika kept her thoughts to herself as she raised her head, fighting back her nerves as she addressed the queen.

“At some point in ancient times, an extremely powerful being hid an artifact of unimaginable power somewhere in our world. Due to the endless wars waged over the artifact, the divine realm tried to seal our world away. The only way to open the tomb in which the artifact is hidden is to present two of the three keys left behind by its creator, and for a long time the factions of the divine realm each kept one key for themselves, with the last hidden somewhere in our world.

“Over the course of the last few...decades—maybe centuries—former Grand Magus Do Hye conspired with the sword demon Jianmo to upset that uneasy balance by casting the third key back into the divine realm. With the third key located, the balance was broken and the factions began to move in order to secure the artifact before their rivals. This culminated in the event two and a half years ago, now known as the descent of the gods.”

Queen Seong Eunhee pursed her lips.

“That does match the High Magus’ report. What do you think about this story, my daughters? Misun, you’re the youngest—you go first so that your older sisters can correct any errors.”

Seong Misun frowned, looking a bit put out as she stared at Yoshika and huffed.

“It’s obviously nonsense. I don’t know what their game is, but this artifact is nothing more than a fantasy to lend weight to their petition. Yamato must be pretty desperate if that’s the best they can come up with.”

“Mm, Seong Min, what are your thoughts?”

The ‘Grand Magus’ looked like she wanted to protest over her mother dropping the titles, but answered sharply nonetheless, her tone cold and professional.

“I hesitate to say it, but I am in complete agreement with my younger cousin. High Magus Hwang has a weakness both for former students, and any indication of a conspiracy by my predecessor. I find their story hard to believe—in the first place, why would one of the invaders tell them all that? It makes no sense.”

The queen nodded.

“I see. And you, sister?”

Yoshika’s gaze fell on Seong Minhee—Eunae’s mother, and the only one who had stayed silent thus far. Minhee met her eyes dispassionately, staring at her for a long moment with an unreadable expression. Unlike the others, Eunae’s mother kept her emotions very guarded, but once the moment passed she broke eye contact to look at her sister as she spoke, her voice soft and melodic.

“The elementals.”

That was all she said, and the queen raised an eyebrow curiously.

“What about them?”

“They wanted us to fight Qin, or the demons. They didn’t care which, and until now their motives have remained alien to us. However, if what the ambassador says is true, then it gives us that answer—they sought the keys.”

Seong Eunhee turned back to Yoshika with a wide grin.

“Well now, that certainly does put some things in perspective, doesn’t it?”

Seong Min held up a hand.

“Wait! In the High Magus’ report, he had told the ambassadors about the elementals. It’s possible that this story was invented or adjusted specifically to match what they had been told.”

The queen shrugged.

“Perhaps, but it still lends credence to their story. Princess Hayakawa, say we believe you—how does this change anything? Should I take this to mean that you wish for more than a defensive pact?”

Hayakawa Kaede nodded.

“Yes. Yamato is prepared to commit its full resources towards the safe recovery of the artifact known as the Sovereign’s Tear, and formally requests Goryeo’s aid to that end. Should the artifact fall into the hands of Qin or any of the descended gods, the results would be disastrous for this continent—no, for our world. Due to the seal placed on our world by the divine realm, the Sovereign’s Tear is the only thing preventing its total collapse.”

A silence fell over them at Hayakawa Kaede’s words. Seong Misun rolled her eyes in disbelief, but the two oldest members of the clan both stared at Kaede with intense focus, searching her face for any sign of deception. The queen broke the silence with a long sigh.

“Well, you’ve certainly given us a lot to discuss once the noble representatives have all arrived. I expect the next few months will be busy indeed. Prime Minister, as the representative of the High Council here, how does a deadline of the end of the year sound?”

Seong Min paused for a moment, and Jia saw the familiar expression of a mage scanning their own memories for something.

“I believe that should be acceptable, yes. A few traditionalists will grumble about the haste, but they are in the minority—it shouldn’t be a problem.”

Haste?! Yoshika had to hide her shock. That was six months from now! They weren’t going to decide until then? For some reason, Kaede seemed rather pleased by the news, bowing to hide her smile.

“Thank you, your majesty.”

Queen Seong chuckled mirthlessly.

“Don’t thank me too quickly, young princess. Even if you’ve convinced me—which, for the record you have not—you’ve got your work cut out for you getting the high council on board. Now then—”

Seong Eunhee sat up straight in her throne, and her entire presence—right down to her domain—became the very picture of regality. Her tone became official as she spoke.

“It is our decree that until the end of this year, the four before us are to be admitted temporarily as members of the royal court so that they may petition their case before our peers. They are to be given quarters within the palace befitting of their station, and will be free to come and go from them as necessary. This audience is now concluded, and all present are dismissed.”

The three other members of the Seong family all bowed as she finished speaking, and Yoshika’s party quickly mirrored the gesture. As they left, Yoshika found herself once more under Seong Minhee’s expressionless scrutiny, but she left without another word. As Yoshika and her friends turned to follow, they were stopped short by the Queen calling out from behind them.

“Ah, one more thing! Ambassador Lee Jia, you stay behind for a moment. I wish to speak with you in private.”