“We should ensure that, regardless of the outco, we do not fully join the Astral Conclave and remain mutually beneficial allies. That way, we retain the freedom to communicate and trade with all civilizations without restrictions, which will allow us to expand as quickly as possible,” Youssef reiterated, echoing his earlier stance from when the issue was confined to Xalthar’s ship.
“Our sovereignty must be maintained, with a strict prohibition on enslaving our citizens as another non-negotiable,” Jeremy added. As the Minister of the Interior, his primary concern was the protection of the empire's people, while Youssef’s focus, as an external strategist, was ensuring the empire’s position was safeguarded from the perspective of outside entities.
{Free trade agreent. On the surface, it might seem like they are the only ones benefiting from this, but it will mark the beginning of their loss of trade dominance in the Conclave to the empire,} Nova interjected, fully aware of Aron's long-term plans. A free trade agreent was the essential crack in the wall that would enable their strategy to unfold.
One after another, both the humans and AIs in the room began pitching in ideas, each voicing key points Aron should consider. He listened carefully, ntally filtering and prioritizing their suggestions, determining which were non-negotiable and which could be compromised based on the situation.
anwhile, news of the negotiations had been broadcasted to the public, with citizens being encouraged to submit their own suggestions. Any proposal deed substantive by the AI would be forwarded to the emperor, adding another layer of input to the situation.
The eting spanned several hours in VR ti, during which Aron fully imrsed himself in strategic discussions now that the ceasefire allowed him to log in. Though only half an hour had passed in the real world, he erged from the session with a well-thought-out list of terms and conditions to be included in the contract.
His priorities were clear, and each suggestion had been ticulously weighed for its importance and potential impact on the empire’s future dealings with the Astral Conclave and other civilizations.
“When are they ready for the start of the negotiations?” Aron asked the mont he logged out of VR.
{They’re ready whenever we are. They’re just waiting for us to finish reviewing the information,} Nova replied, showing him a display of a ship situated at the center of the two opposing fleets. This vessel would serve as the location for the negotiations and be open for observation by all, as only one representative from each side was allowed to be physically present. The other side didn’t choose this setup out of a love for transparency, but because the various powers within their coalition wanted to ensure their interests weren't trampled by their representative.
“We can’t keep them waiting too long then, let’s go,” Aron said, eyeing the waiting ship with interest.
{On it,} Nova responded as the massive mana tanker Aron was aboard creaked silently. A small, sleek vessel detached from the main structure, smoothly navigating toward the center of the forr battlefield where the negotiations would take place.
……………….
“That won’t do,” Liasas, the selected representative for all the Conclave civilizations present, said the mont Aron brought up his first condition—remaining independent from the Astral Conclave.
“That’s why it’s called a negotiation,” Aron replied calmly, unfazed by her imdiate rejection. Without pausing, he continued reading through the rest of the conditions he wanted included in the agreent, moving at his own pace, showing no sign of backing down on the crucial points.
For the next half hour, Aron thodically listed the conditions he wanted included in the agreent, so of which seed odd or excessive. Many humans watching the proceedings speculated that he might be intentionally overloading the terms, expecting several to be discarded during the negotiation process.
When he finally finished, having recited everything flawlessly from mory, he said calmly, "Now we can move to the actual negotiations," signaling the beginning of the serious bargaining phase.
"I'm pretty sure you know we can't just give you anything beneficial without earning sothing of equal value in return," Liasas said calmly, her tone asured. Yet, many wondered if her calm deanor was a facade, hiding intentions beneath the surface, much like humans often did.
Aron didn't miss a beat. "I could say the sa for your side," he replied with the sa steady calmness. "But it seems you've forgotten this isn't a typical agreent—it's a wager. The winner takes the majority of the benefits, and the loser faces the more exploitative terms. As long as I win on our side, all my conditions will be accepted by yours, just as you’ll get yours if you win."
His response made it clear: he wasn’t willing to back down, nor was he going to let his conditions be dismissed so easily. He had laid out his terms with the intention of securing them through victory, not through compromise.
"Although that’s true, the demands should at least be achievable and reasonable," Liasas responded. "Otherwise, we could have just demanded to turn your race into slaves if we win or forced you to hand over all your mana stones without compensation.
Aron remained unfazed. "That's true, but nothing in my list of demands is unachievable. And saying your side’s demands aren’t overreaching is an understatent of the millennium. You’ve got a clause that forces us to sell you mana stones at mining cost if you win, which is essentially the sa as enslaving us, except we'd be managing ourselves."
He paused briefly before continuing, "If we want to avoid overreaching demands, then both sides need to step back, or we could structure the deal in a way where the benefits scale with the level of victory. A perfect win would give one side maximum advantages.
Alternatively, we can make it so each civilization negotiates with us individually, with only the winning civilization getting their demands fulfilled. If they lose, they et our demands. We're open to either, or a mix of both, since so of our demands require the Conclave’s full agreent. And those present here have enough votes to make that happen."
With this, Aron laid out his strategic reasoning, justifying his seemingly outlandish demands while offering a more balanced approach to negotiations.
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