Chapter 140: Negotiations
The international Portkey activated right on schedule, and now Bella and I, along with a guard of ten fighters, were in Russia, walking with an escort toward the negotiation office.
"Good day. My name is Alexey Vitalyevich Semyonov."
We were met by a respectable-looking man of about forty, wearing a black business suit, white shirt, and tie. I happened to be dressed similarly, while my mother had opted for a formal skirt, white blouse, and jacket.
"Good day. It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Draco Black, and this is my mother, Bellatrix Black."
"Glad to meet you. Shall we get straight to business?"
"We can."
I nodded.
"Very good. Answer me: why do you need these poor sentients?"
"So, honestly?"
I remembered the briefing sheet shoved at me and smiled inwardly. *Well, that manual hadn't anticipated this.*
"Yes, honestly."
"All right, if I'm being honest, there's a Faunus girl in the group who's currently living in my Quarter. She's the daughter of the Faunus state's rulers from her world, and she asked me to take them in, if possible."
"Draco..."
Bella said my name in a deeply disapproving tone.
"Mom, if Mr. Alexey Vitalyevich had started playing word games, I probably would have followed your manual, but..."
I shook my head.
"...we were invited to speak frankly. And I decided to trust him, which might not seem like the politically logical choice. However, we currently have fairly warm relations with Russia. We purchase quite a lot of food from them, despite having already achieved self-sufficiency in that area, so..."
I shrugged.
"...I think our existing relationship allows for a more trusting conversation."
"I'm glad you think so."
He nodded.
Since that's the case, we'll hand over the Faunus to you, but only those willing to go. You must understand that if they don't want to, we can't force them.
I smiled faintly.
"We're grateful for this opportunity."
"Don't be... Let's talk about something more interesting. Along with the Faunus, we received certain technology samples, and we'd be willing to transfer some to you for study..."
I nodded thoughtfully.
"And what do you want?"
"Naturally, we want you to pay for them. And if you succeed in reverse-engineering the technology, we want you to share the results with us."
I closed my eyes.
"Payment is possible..."
I nodded a couple of times.
"...but sharing the reverse-engineering data..."
Now I shook my head.
"Either we pay for the equipment now, or we share the data if the reverse engineering succeeds."
"That's... not quite what we were counting on..."
Alexey Vitalyevich frowned slightly.
"Mind you, I'm not saying we won't inform you if we succeed. It goes without saying that we'll grant you first rights to purchase the results. That would be natural if you sell us these technology samples. However, there's no question of simply handing over the data."
"And what if we transfer the data to you ourselves, in the event of success, free of charge?"
"Now that..."
I nodded in thought.
"...that's an entirely different conversation. But first, I'd like to understand exactly what technology we're talking about."
"Large equipment, similar to a tiltrotor aircraft. In fact, many of its assemblies are inferior to our own, but... the engines and electronics remain a mystery for now. We can't understand exactly how they function."
"Hm..."
I gave a thoughtful nod.
"All right, let's sign the contract. I'll summon those who can pilot these vehicles, and..."
"I beg your pardon, but could your specialists tell us a little about these vehicles? It's just that the sentients who arrived with the Faunus, and who most likely know how to operate them, aren't making contact right now."
"No problem..."
I nodded.
"...Mom, please summon Summer and the girls here. I think all of them know how to operate Bullheads, at least at a basic level."
"You even know the name of the vehicles? Perhaps you also know how they are constructed?"
"How they are constructed, no..."
I shook my head, and the man frowned, clearly not believing me.
"...I am, after all, a wizard, nearly a master of charms and spells. I simply do not have time to study technology, especially not something as complex as aviation. However, I know that the primary modes of transportation in the world where the breaches originate are either Bullheads or heavily armored trains."
I caught my breath.
"Also, while Mother and your legal scribblers draw up the contract..."
The man smiled and nodded in understanding.
"...I can share some information. Bullheads do not run on engines alone, but on Dust. Essentially, in that world, Dust is the main fuel."
"Dust?"
Alexey Vitalyevich furrowed his brow. He clearly did not like where this was going.
"No, don't get the wrong idea... It's simply what they call the main resource extracted from the earth, and not only from its depths, in their world. It comes in several types..."
I cut myself off.
"...In any case, you can learn all these details from the introductory lecture that Summer gives all students. The thing is, until recently, this knowledge was useless."
"Useless, but only until recently?"
"Yes... the wizards of my Quarter were able to tune certain search spells specifically to detect Dust."
"And?"
"And I can say there's very little of it... very little, so either it never existed on our planet and is now being transferred through the breaches..."
"Or?"
Alexey Vitalyevich was intrigued.
"Or there was initially very little of it on the planet, and we'll have to look for an alchemical replacement."
"I see..."
My counterpart nodded.
"...Thank you for the information. I'll have our scientists look into it..."
"Don't play games with me."
I smiled thinly.
"If you've acquired virtually the entire mine, along with its physical infrastructure and personnel, then the odds that its Dust warehouses aren't now in your possession are laughably slim."
Alexey Vitalyevich smiled tensely.
"But that's not what interests me."
"Draco..."
Mom looked up from drafting the contract and stared at me in shock.
"Mom, we've already redesigned the Huntsmen's weapons. Summer and the others no longer rely on Dust, and according to her, they haven't become any less effective; if anything, they've improved. The girls will soon receive their weapons as well, completely adapted to our reality."
I shrugged.
"So in the near term, we don't need Dust. However, if Alexey Vitalyevich were to include certain quantities of various Dust types in the contract so our potioneers, alchemists, and other wizards could study the substance, I'd be grateful..."
I looked at Alexey Vitalyevich, who was thoughtfully drumming his fingers on the table.
"However, there's still plenty of time before the full Convergence of Worlds. We have time to fully develop our own replacement fuel for such complex equipment. Yes, without Dust, Huntsmen's effectiveness will drop, but... we'll find a way to compensate for that too."
"I'll arrange for you to receive a suitcase of each Dust type. However, as I mentioned before, I ask that, should you successfully develop an equivalent, you grant us the right of first refusal on the technology. I don't want the United States beating us to it."
"As for the United States, don't worry. Personally, I have no intention of transferring anything to them at all. They behave with far too much arrogance."
"Yes, I heard about your... disagreements. I should note that if the situation were reversed and one of our citizens fell into your hands, we would also attempt to secure their release."
"Oh? Would you, under the ICW's fig leaf..."
Alexey Vitalyevich snorted approvingly.
"Come to my home and start threatening international sanctions?"
"No. I think we would find other methods. For example, an exchange of prisoners... I think your Queen would be interested in the release of certain prisoners held in our prisons for espionage, and she would insist you hand the girl over to her."
"Hm... I cannot say I approve of such an approach. After all, it is a slap in the face, a message that you're a nobody and we will not negotiate with you. On the other hand, I cannot say I condemn it. You would use a method that would give an almost one-hundred-percent guarantee that the citizen of your country would be returned to you. And most importantly, without threats."
"Precisely."
"However, the United States took a different path, and the path taken here carries great significance."
"We are finished with the contract."
Bella sat down again in the chair beside me, while Alexey Vitalyevich's assistants vanished from the office as if they had never been there, and then we reviewed the contract and signed it.
"Ah..."
Alexey Vitalyevich sighed with relief.
"How pleasant it is, after all, to work with people rather than lawyers..."
He shook his head.
"In just a few hours, we discussed the terms and signed the contract. Beautiful! Not like usual..."
"That is true..."
I nodded.
"Well, will you take me to our prospective new residents?"
"Of course..."
Twenty minutes later, we arrived in a spacious room with many beds. Essentially, it was something of a barracks, where all the Faunus had been housed.
"Greetings, honored ones..."
My voice, slightly amplified by magic, carried throughout the entire room. And while the room had already fallen silent when we appeared, after my address, you could hear a pin drop.
"I am here at the request of my friend, Blake Belladonna, daughter of Kali and Ghira Belladonna, rulers of Menagerie. She arrived in our world a little earlier than you, and now, learning that other Faunus have ended up in this world, she asked me to offer you her help."
"You are human! We don't believe you!"
A girl with rabbit ears on her head shouted and was immediately seized and pulled back into the crowd.
"Master, please do not punish the little one. She does not yet know her place and..."
"And what would I punish her for?"
I looked in surprise at the man with ram horns who'd spoken.
"She only expressed her opinion. You are free people now, or Faunus, whichever you prefer, and I cannot take you from here without your consent. Alexey Vitalyevich simply won't allow it, so I suggest you consider my proposal... The proposal is this: I will transport you to a place where I am in charge. There, you will be given several communal apartments. A communal apartment is where each family is assigned a room, sometimes two..."
"We'll have a room for each family instead of a barracks for everyone?!"
A little boy shouted.
"Yes..."
I smiled warmly at him, even as I wanted to tear the SDC representatives to pieces. Only the knowledge that it would solve nothing stopped me.
"The apartment will also have a shared bathroom and kitchen."
"Only for several families?"
One of the women spoke with distrust.
"Yes, only for several families. Those are the conditions in every communal apartment. Furthermore, I guarantee that all of you will receive medical care, so the illnesses tormenting you now will no longer trouble you."
The Faunus stood as if thunderstruck.
"Naturally, the children will be sent to school to learn to read and write, and knowledge of our language will be transferred mentally to all adults."
"This..."
"That's not all."
I shook my head.
"You must understand that everything I've listed is already a major investment, but I will also provide food and simple clothing for the first two months. After that, everyone eighteen or older will have to find work. Don't worry..."
I raised a hand.
"It will be real work, not what you suffered at the hands of the SDC. In my Quarter, the workday is eight hours, with two days off per week. Naturally, all of you will receive decent wages. Truly decent pay. And after roughly two years, some even sooner, you will be able to afford a separate apartment, and after a couple of months, you will be able to heal old scars and cure old illnesses..."
"This... sounds fantastic..."
An elderly woman whose skin was covered in snake scales stepped forward.
"I'm not asking you to believe me right now... The girl I spoke of will be here soon, and you can speak with her. She'll tell you about the place I'm inviting you to, and then you can decide whether to come with me or not."
"We will listen to the daughter of the Belladonna family..."
The old woman nodded, and with that, our negotiations with the former slaves concluded.
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