As Alicia and Evelyn blocked Vanessa's path and cursed her, Vanessa's face flushed a deep red.

"Who the hell are you two to stop me?" she snapped.

Alicia's expression darkened. She stepped forward slightly. "His future wife."

Alex, who had just taken a sip of tea, choked and almost spat it out. 'Not even girlfriend—just straight-up wife, huh…'

Evelyn opened her mouth. "And I'm… I'm…"

She hesitated, mind scrambling. 'What am I again?'

Aurora's voice echoed in her head. { Say it. That you're his girlfriend. }

'Are you insane?!' Evelyn screamed back internally.

Out loud, she straightened and said, "I'm his friend. Yeah… a friend who cares about his well-being. That's right."

Vanessa glanced at her with a raised brow. "So you're just some kind of… friend with benefits, then?"

Alicia's face turned pitch black as she slowly looked back at Alex.

The color drained from Alex's face. The cup in his hand nearly slipped from his fingers.

Evelyn's cheeks reddened with a mix of embarrassment and rage. A dangerous smile appeared on her usually expressionless face. "What did you just say, you fish-breed?"

The tension in the meeting room spiked.

Before it could explode, Alex stood up.

He infused mana into his voice, making it ring clearly through the hall. "That's enough."

Everyone's attention shifted to him.

Alex turned to Vanessa. "Miss Vanessa, I'm honored that you think so highly of me," he said. "But I'm sorry. I must decline your proposal."

Vanessa stared at him, stunned for a moment at being rejected so directly.

Then she smiled. "We've just met. I think you'll come to like me once we get to know each other better. This isn't the right place to talk about it… but don't worry. We'll have more chances."

Alex's smile twitched slightly. 'This girl is persistent…'

Vanessa returned to her place beside Eleanor, still smiling to herself.

Once everyone had settled back into their seats, the first to break the renewed silence was Selvic Storm Everforge, the Dwarven King.

He looked at Alex and grinned beneath his beard. "So you're the human my son won't stop talking about, huh? Gotta say… he was right."

Alex met his gaze. "And I also know what an amazing parent you are to him."

Selvic's mouth twitched. "Alright, listen. I have an offer. Return Draven to me, and I'll give you the most advanced technology we've developed recently."

He leaned forward. "I won't go into detail, but let's just say—using it, even a normal human will be able to fight at the level of an Intermediate to Advanced-rank awakener. So. What do you say?"

Alex smirked. "Now you realize his true value in times of war, huh? Poor Draven."

He shook his head. "Sorry, but no. I can't. He's a very precious friend of mine, and I care a lot about him. I won't throw him back into a life where he'll be hurt again. So I'll have to refuse politely."

[ Aren't you working that 'precious friend' of yours to the bone? ] the system's voice muttered in his head.

'Shut up. He loves working for me,' Alex replied mentally.

[ Sure he does. I'm sure he'll give you "Employer of the Month" at this rate. ]

Alex's smile twitched again.

"So you're declining my offer, huh," Selvic said.

"Yes," Alex replied.

Selvic muttered under his breath, just loud enough for himself. "Looks like he made at least one right decision in his life."

"Hm? Did you say something?" Alex asked.

"It's nothing," Selvic grumbled. "Forget it."

The next to speak was Cian Aurelias.

"Regarding the proposal I made earlier," Cian said coolly, "I'll need your answers as soon as possible. So think carefully."

Alex turned his head toward him. "And what proposal would that be?"

Cian explained again—about strengthening the Holy Empire's defenses, about the massive ritual, the Ceremony of Ascension, and about having all of them fund a goddess' descent into Ethan's body to defeat their enemies in one stroke.

Alex listened quietly, fingers tapping the table, his expression unreadable as the weight of yet another gamble was laid before him.

Cian finished his explanation and leaned back. "As annoying as you are," he said to Alex, "I want to include you as well. Our goddess will share her grace with all of us equally."

Alex stared at him blankly. "Are you an idiot?"

Cian's mouth twitched.

"Even if I go along with your idea and support you," Alex continued, "there's no guarantee it will work. We don't even have proper information about our enemies right now."

Damon nodded slightly. "What Alex just said… is exactly what I was thinking."

"Besides," Alex said, voice firm, "leaving everything to one person is never a good idea."

He raised his voice so everyone could hear clearly. "As you all know, we're getting picked off one by one. So let's flip the board. Let's combine our strength by sending our forces to help each other's countries."

He looked toward Eleanor. "The merfolk specialize in warfare in the oceans. You're the best at securing sea routes and defending supply lines underwater."

Then to Sylphoria. "No one understands aerial warfare better than the fairies. You rule the skies."

Sylphoria nodded once, acknowledging the point.

"As for the Lycans attacking the human empire," Alex went on, "they're weak against magic. The elves are their natural counter. Your mages and archers can tear through them."

Thalion's eyes glinted with interest.

"And the strongest race here—the vampires," Alex said, glancing at Damon, "can easily handle the dark elves. Physically stronger, faster, and you don't rely on the same terrain."

He folded his arms. "Our main problems are the dragonkin we haven't directly faced yet—and whatever other forces they're hiding that we don't know about."

The hall fell into thoughtful silence.

Thalion smirked faintly. "Gotta say, you've got a brain, kid. But you're forgetting one thing—trust issues."

Everyone glanced at one another.

No country wanted foreign soldiers inside their borders, learning their strengths and weaknesses, seeing their defenses up close. Old grudges and caution ran deep.

Alex shrugged. "Well, you'll have to work that out with each other or… you can get destroyed. Your choice."

A cold breath seemed to pass through the room as the weight of his words sank in.

Slowly, one by one, they looked at each other and nodded. Survival outweighed pride.

Damon spoke next. "So. How do we proceed to execute this plan?"

Before Alex could answer, Eleanor raised a hand. "Before that, I have something to say."

She looked around the table. "I've recently discovered that someone has been feeding our enemies information about our countries and our hideouts. And that someone is from another nation—because only the leaders here had even an inkling of where the merfolk are hiding."

Murmurs spread around the table.

Thalion nodded grimly. "Same with us. Information is being leaked from our side as well."

One after another, the monarchs echoed:

"Same here."

"Same."

"Our movements are exposed too."

Alex sighed. "Same here as well."

He leaned back and clicked his tongue. "What kind of asshole would do something like that?"

The system's voice echoed in his head. [ I think I know who that asshole is. ]

A devilish grin slowly spread across Alex's face.

'Ofcourse you do.'

------

A/N:

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