Chapter 242: Lucien, the Friend of Nature
Translator: _Leo_ Editor: Vermillion
"Huh?" Lucien was surprised by the arrangement. He did not prepare for a speech and he doubted the content would be effective.
Lucien had planned to prepare a speech and convince the members of the committee, however, as Florencia did not mention anything related to the speech, Lucien thought he did not need to do anything. He got lazy and just forgot about it.
Iristine and Arcelion looked excited, as they kept saying, "Make sure you explain the balance of nature theory completely. The theory is what we druids believe and you need to convince those sorcerers of it!"
Due to the excitement, the two elves did not feel the pressure, and their words made Lucien"s head ache. He needed to give a concise but strong speech as long principles would not be effective.
"What should I say? I can"t construct any convincible content in such a short period of time!" Lucien thought.
Lucien decided to help deal with the pollution because he knew that it was good for the environment he lived in and it was just a reasonable action. He could not convince the members with an emotional speech as he just could not relate to the situation. It was impossible for him to cry for the pollution.
"Well, let me check if anything helps in the spirit library."
Led by the Adaminite Golem, Lucien, Iristine, and Arcelion arrived at the side door of the Affairs Committee. They sat down on the soft long couch and waited to be summoned.
*Tick Tick*
On the opposite end of the hallway, there was a clock making monotone mechanical noises. Iristine got nervous after the excitement cooled down and she stared at Lucien. "Mr. Evans, what should I say?" It was nothing like the Tree Ritual hosted by her in the royal palace, as she couldn"t just complete the mission by following the procedure. Also, this time, she had to face the evil sorcerers instead of her elf friends.
"Why did you get excited so early?" Lucien thought, speechless for a while.
He looked at Iristine with a gentle expression on his face. "Talk about the consequences of failing to deal with the pollutions and the possible revenge from nature. It"s what you"re good at, isn"t it?"
"So, the consequences of the pollution and the revenge of nature…" Iristine kept repeating those words while she tried to calm down. Arcelion was not nervous like Iristine, as he had hosted many important events in the royal palace and communicated with the guests as a representative of the royal chamber. Unlike his sister, he had a lot more experience in giving speeches.
*Chi*
The side door opened when Iristine was still trying to construct her speech. A girl with the badge of a level four arcanist and fifth-circle sorcerer stepped out of the room. The girl was about 20 years old and she looked energetic, but everyone knew she was older than that.
"Honored guests, who"ll be the first to give the speech?" She spoke in a crisp tone with a low voice, it seemed like she did not want to disturb the committee members inside.
Arcelion looked at his sister and stood up. "I"ll be the first one, miss." He knew that Iristine was not prepared yet.
"You can just call me Rachel, Your Highness." The young girl nodded slightly and smiled.
Lucien heard the name and raised his head unconsciously. It was an average-looking girl with flaxen hair and a pair of flaxen eyes. The girl gave Lucien an energetic and positive feeling, making him feel that they had met before.
Rachel was a genius in Astrology, Force, and Illusion, and was a member of Tower, just like Larry, Timothy, and Ulysses. She was about 28 or 29 years old, and although her progression was similar to Felipe"s in the past, the necromancer was much faster now.
Rachel noticed Lucien"s sight and responded with a smile. She then led Arcelion into the hall and closed the side door.
About five minutes later, Rachel opened the door and Arcelion stepped out of the hall.
"Brother, how was your speech?" Iristine was concerned.
Arcelion shook his head with a serious expression on the face. "They listened to my speech but they sent me out before saying anything."
The atmosphere became heavy. The committee members had a discussion before asking Rachel to invite Iristine inside.
Iristine arranged her simple green druid long robe. It was designed for climbing, and she was trying to make herself look calm and trustable.
Again, five minutes later, Iristine came back with a depressed look on her pretty face. It looked like she was about to cry, and she looked at Arcelion. "The first thing I said was "talk about the consequences of the pollution and the revenge of nature". It was the same as what Mr. Lucien just told me…"
"You repeated that sentence too many times… What happened after?" Arcelion tried to distract his sister.
Iristine bit her lips and continued, "Miss Florencia calmed me down with a smile and I finally said what I wanted to say. They did not say anything, but I heard people arguing when leaving the hall. It seems like someone didn"t like the idea.
Lucien tried to comfort the two elves while reading the information from the spirit library, "You"ve tried your best…"
"I wonder what the result will be…" Iristine looked at the closed side door, a bit worried. "If we fail, our relations.h.i.+p with the Congress of Magic will get worse… However, Mr. Evans, you"ll always be our friend no matter what happens."
Time flew in the silent environment. The side door finally opened again after a while. Rachel smiled at Lucien and spoke in a pa.s.sionate tone, "Evans, your turn."
Lucien was wearing a white s.h.i.+rt with a black tuxedo and a pair of gold-wired gla.s.ses on his eyes. It was a formal outfit. He nodded and smiled after hearing Rachel"s words. He arranged the collar and the cuff before following her into the door.
Behind the side door lay a narrow and quiet pathway. There was a polite smile on Rachel"s face, but she did not say anything while leading the way.
Lucien turned at a corner after about ten steps inside and saw the committee members that were sitting around a large table.
Some of them were wearing magic robes and the others were wearing different types of formal attire. There were several empty chairs and there were fewer people here than Lucien expected.
The members of the Affairs Committee, excluding people like Florencia, had many things to take care of outside the committee, just like what happened to Rogerio some years ago. That was the reason why there were usually only half of the members in Allyn, however, there were only nineteen committee members there today.
For the rule to be pa.s.sed, only two-thirds of the committee members needed to agree with it.
Rachel took Lucien to a seat opposite to all the committee members, and he saw the gentle smile on Florencia"s face. She raised her right hand and slightly waved it to ask Lucien not to get nervous.
Lucien cleared his throat and opened his mouth slowly, "Ladies and gentlemen, good morning. I think most of the committee members here have their own bloodline inheritors, relatives, and friends, right? The air they breathe, the water they drink, and the resources they acquire from the sea, the forests, and the mountains, are the reason why they"re still alive."
Lucien"s started his speech in a different way and it helped the committee members to forces. Rogerio was looking at him with a strange expression on his face. No one knew what he was thinking.
"If we fasten the development by destroying nature, your beloved ones will…" Lucien described the worst situation possible, as the prophecy told by the astrologists.
Lucien tried his best not to laugh and concluded with a blank expression on his face, "Without a doubt, we need to get what we want when developing, however, during the process we can"t destroy what our inheritors" lives will depend on. I think our development must be sustainable, and we need to develop the magic and collect resources, but we can"t destroy the environment that will help our inheritors survive. The development will never stop if nature is not damaged to a point where it can"t recover by itself anymore."
Lucien copied the idea from a book related to politics…
"Sustainable development. Good concept. Evans, you can leave now. We"ll tell you the result after the vote," Florencia said with a warm smile on her face.
Lucien bowed slightly and followed Rachel out of the meeting hall.
"When will I become the one who can stay in the hall and discuss the things related to the Congress of Magic? I don"t want to just wait outside and listen to the result."
A small flame appeared in Lucien"s mind.
...
Outside the meeting hall.
"Mr. Evans, how was your speech?" Iristine questioned curiously and nervously.
Lucien repeated what he said in front of the members and spoke in a gentle tone, "I don"t know if my speech is good enough to convince the members, and we will have to wait for the result.
Lucien, Iristine, and Arcelion waited on the long couch quietly outside the door. The noise made by the clock was making them nervous.
It felt like time was slower than usual in the heavy atmosphere. Half an hour later, the side door slowly opened when Arcelion was about to stand up and leave. Florencia stepped out of the hall, wearing a purple-tiered skirt with a six-star arcana badge and an eighth-circle magic badge on her chest.
"Prince Arcelion, Princess Iristine, and Evans. The result is out. There were ten votes against the proposal and seven votes supporting the proposal in the first round, so the proposal was rejected. However, we discussed how we should modify the proposal and in the second round, there were sixteen votes supporting the new proposal and three votes against. The new proposal was pa.s.sed. The rule is not as strict as you thought. There"ll be a mild punishment for the alchemy factory that violates the pollution disposal rule. To encourage them to follow the rule, we decided to provide them with subsidies and benefits in the recycling of the separated elements."
Florencia looked at the two elves with a serious expression on the face. The reason why they pa.s.sed this new proposal was to improve the Congress" alliance with the elves and druids. The sorcerers knew that if the Congress was defeated, they would not live a happy life in the future. The sorcerers that were hiding on the other side of the Storm Strait and survived in the dangerous Dark Mountain Range were perfect examples.
Arcelion and Iristine were tortured by the hope and loss of hope multiple times. They were satisfied with the result, at least, as that was a clear rule that came with benefits. They put their right index fingers on their foreheads. It was how the elves showed their respect.
"We can see the sincerity of the Congress of Magic. We hope that the rule will be stricter as the number of alchemy factories increases and the sorcerers change their thoughts about the environment. Also, we"ll report the situation to the elders and the royal palace immediately."
Florencia watched the two elves walk into the hall and start sending messages. She smiled at Lucien and said, "What, Lucien? Disappointed?"
"Well, my goal is somewhat fulfilled." Lucien was indeed slightly disappointed.
Florencia put her hands on her back and stared at Lucien with a pair of green eyes.
"You"re not strong enough and your words are not taken seriously by the committee. If you can make most of the sorcerers respect you and have the power that will make anyone fear, everything you say will be pa.s.sed. Young man, that"s what makes a mature man attractive, and you still have a long way to go.
"My husband, Oliver, is a man like that. Although he"s a playboy, I still love him deep in my heart. Young man, I hope you can become a man like that in the future, and there"ll be a girl that loves you deep in her heart." Florencia waved her hand and turned to the meeting hall to host the next discussion.
Lucien clicked his tongue as the side door closed.
"Grand Arcanist, huh? There"s definitely a long way to go."
Iristine and Arcelion returned as he thought about it.
"Mr. Evans, thank you for what you did for us. Although the result was not what we expected, it was still a success. Your help was the reason why we succeeded. It"s hard to find a sorcerer that has the foresight and loves nature like you. I"ll apply for the t.i.tle, the Friend of Nature, for you after I get back to the royal palace. It"s the symbol of friends.h.i.+p for elves," Arcelion opened his mouth first.
Iristine smiled and said, "Mr. Evans, don"t worry, I"m sure the rule can be improved. We know how much you did for us. I"m glad that I have a friend like you. I want to give you the Bless of Elf."
She took out a piece of leaf that looked normal but it was infused with the energy of nature.
Lucien did not decline the offer, as it was the main material for an important potion.
The potion was called Flight and it was the best supportive potion that could help him advance to the middle-rank. The material requirement was a leaf that dropped from an elven tree and the leaf must be blessed by an elf, and that was why the material was so rare. Using the potion when advancing, he would be able to create a spell model for the flying spell in his body, and his spirit power would be 50% higher than a normal 3rd circle sorcerer.
It was something he did not expect.
"Thank you." Lucien grabbed the leaf and realized that there was another blessing on his body, from the wraith girl named Marry. The blessing had been with him for a long time but nothing happened. He decided to find some magic books related to the souls, wraiths, curses, and blessings after advancing to the third circle.
"I shall write down the piano song named as Storm and gift it to Natasha as a birthday gift after I get back today. I need to focus on improving my sorcery skills and try to advance to the third circle within half a year. My words won"t be taken seriously if I"m weak." Lucien thought quietly.