"Right, why did you want to see us?" asked Edison Gray, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. A weary expression rested on his face as he looked at Orazio and the other heads of the Great Houses of Europe. He had never enjoyed dealing with these people because they had long ago moved beyond the simple act of buying politicians. Instead, they occupied important positions throughout society and influenced Europe from the shadows.
One of the most famous examples of their influence was the police force. For the last seventy years, the head of the European police organization had always come from one of the Great Houses. Crime across Europe had become almost nonexistent because the Great Houses despised anything that disrupted trade and business. Whenever criminal organizations grew too troublesome, they simply erased them.
Their power was frightening enough that every prime minister inherited classified reports about them from their predecessor. Edison had spent many nights reading those documents, and some of the stories still made him uneasy. One report described how drugs had continued to enter Europe despite two years of relentless crackdowns. Eventually, the Great Houses had decided to solve the problem themselves.
They had not tried to negotiate with foreign governments or improve the poverty that fueled the drug trade. Instead, they had deployed private armies with enough logistical support to shame many nations. Their forces had even been equipped with fighter jets, making the operation look more like an invasion than a police action. The resistance they encountered had been fierce, but the Great Houses had simply pushed forward.
A note attached to the report had contained only one piece of advice. It had stated that, in matters involving the Great Houses, it was often better to look the other way. Their interests rarely aligned with those of governments, and opposing them directly was considered unwise. After a year of fighting that turned the upper half of South America into a war zone and left nearly a million dead, the drug trade into Europe had simply stopped.
The cartels had quickly realized that the continent was under new management. More importantly, they had learned that the Great Houses did not play by ordinary rules. Edison did not particularly care what had happened in South America, but he certainly did not enjoy sitting across from the people responsible for it. Whenever the Great Houses called a meeting, it usually meant they wanted something.
"Simply put, we need your help tracking down a group of people," Orazio said lazily. "In return, we have information that will cost you one hundred thousand silver coins, so pay up."
"What is wrong with these people?" asked Erik Behrend, the Chancellor of Germany. He leaned forward with narrowed eyes and folded his hands on the table. "And let us see this information first."
"These people are suspected of being corrupted humans," Orazio replied without hesitation. "One of them was captured by the same people who sold us this information, and the incident directly angered Gaia."
The room immediately fell silent. Several leaders exchanged nervous glances, while others stared at Orazio as if he had lost his mind. The existence of corrupted humans was already bad enough, but the mention of Gaia made the atmosphere far heavier. Orazio, however, ignored their reactions and continued speaking.
"As for the information itself, we had to sign a contract before receiving it," he continued. "You will have to do the same. Do not worry, the restrictions are reasonable."
"We will have our intelligence services investigate these people immediately," Edison said while trying to remain calm. His hands trembled slightly beneath the table. "But have you confirmed that Gaia is real?"
That question changed the atmosphere entirely. If Gaia truly existed, then society would never be the same again. The revelation could either stabilize the world or throw it into complete chaos depending on how the public reacted. Naturally, every leader in the room wanted to know the answer.
"Yes, she is real," Orazio answered calmly. "I have personally spoken to at least two people in Europe who have met her, and there are many more besides them. However, that is not important right now. Sign the contracts."
Documents immediately appeared before the various leaders. Unlike the contracts drafted by the Sonnenbergs, these had been carefully examined by the lawyers of the Great Houses. Every loophole had been closed because they did not trust governments to ignore even the smallest opportunity for exploitation. The requirements, however, remained largely the same.
"But what do you mean this is not important?" Erik demanded after reading the contract. "This is groundbreaking information, and we demand to know more about Gaia."
"First of all, you are in no position to make demands of us," Orazio replied coldly. His voice caused the room to become noticeably quieter. "As for learning more, we would gladly help if we could. Unfortunately, the people who possess that information are not interested in talking, and we have no desire to force them."
The other heads of the Great Houses nodded in agreement. They could already imagine the disaster that would follow if the governments attempted to pressure Karl and the trade families. None of them wished to witness such a spectacle. The consequences would be far more troublesome than simply keeping silent.
"What are you implying?" Edison asked. "That we are not good enough? Why would things become worse if we became involved?"
"Simple," Orazio answered. "They dislike being disturbed, and governments are incapable of doing anything quietly. There would be investigations, committees, and endless bureaucracy. They despise all of that."
He folded his hands and looked directly at the assembled leaders.
"Furthermore, you do not truly have access to them. The trade families live around mana veins and ancestral territories far from civilization. They prefer it that way, and frankly, so do we."
"But all of that is secondary," Gustaw suddenly added with obvious irritation. "The real reason we do not want you meeting them is much simpler. You would become greedy for their knowledge and eventually try to take it, and we do not wish to replace the leadership of Europe."
"What do you mean?" asked Augustin Duclos, the President of France, with a scoff. "Who could kill us? Not even you were capable of doing that before the System arrived, and you certainly cannot do it now."
"That is where you are wrong," Orazio replied calmly. "Before the System arrived, eliminating all of you would indeed have been difficult because of modern technology. Now it is surprisingly easy, and every person who knows about Gaia is capable of it."
The room became deathly silent once more. The Great Houses were not foolish enough to challenge the trade families directly because those ancient families had survived history in very different ways. Whenever they were threatened, the outcome was usually ugly. Orazio knew this better than anyone.
"And I personally know at least four families that could kill every person in this room and get away with it without ever becoming suspects even before the system arived," Orazio added with a faint smile.
The smiles on the faces of the politicians vanished. For the first time since the meeting had begun, they realized that Orazio was not joking.Silence filled the conference room after Orazio's declaration. The political leaders looked at one another, trying to determine whether the head of the Great House was bluffing. Unfortunately for them, Orazio's expression remained perfectly calm. The man looked as though he had merely stated that the sky was blue.
Augustin was the first to recover from his shock. He opened his mouth several times before finally finding his voice again. The arrogance that had filled him only moments ago had diminished considerably. Even so, he was unwilling to back down completely.