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835 - Behind the Doors IV (Solution)
🕑 Added 2025-01-26 16:53:02 +0000 UTC“F*ck.” That single word ran through the minds of the majority of the individuals present in the meeting room—especially those who had jumped at the chance to insult the Trinarian representative, believing he was merely holding the agreement hostage for personal gain and political leverage.
Silence fell over the room like a heavy fog. No one dared to speak. A few of them internally wished the ground beneath them would open up and swallow them whole, though they knew such a miracle was impossible in the mental network. Instead, they sat frozen, the weight of their premature judgments now bearing down on them as they realized the Trinarian representative had, in fact, raised a valid and critical point.
A small smile crept across Kalron’s face, pleased not only that the Trinarian representative had a solid reason for his hesitation but also because the room's silence presented him with an opportunity to reclaim his position as the de facto leader of the meeting. He cleared his throat deliberately, drawing the attention of everyone in the room.
“Your concerns are indeed valid, and it does appear that you’d be left with the short end of the stick,” he began, his voice measured and calm. “Thankfully, I have a recommendation to address this issue.” He paused briefly, letting anticipation build in the room.
As the representatives turned their focus to him, some with curiosity and others with hopeful expressions, he decided not to drag it out further. “How about we add an additional clause to the agreement,” he proposed, “that entitles the Trinarians to five percent of any increased mana stone quotas?”
The murmurs began, but Kalron pressed on. “This, in my view, is a fair compromise. Your civilization would also benefit directly from the increased quotas, and the amount would grow as the quotas continue to rise. Naturally, the civilizations surrendering a portion of their allocated quota would shoulder the cost of this adjustment. To ensure fairness, the Trinarians would purchase this five percent share at ten times the price we currently pay the empire, serving as compensation for the sacrifices made by the other parties.”
He leaned back slightly, gauging the reactions of the room. The offer was structured enough to appear generous while subtly increasing the complexity of opposition, a hallmark of Kalron’s strategic mind.
Upon hearing Kalron’s suggestion, the reactions across the room were mixed. A few representatives nodded in agreement, others frowned, but the majority remained silent, carefully calculating whether this adjustment would benefit or harm their positions.
The Trinarian representative, however, stayed quiet. His expression betrayed only a faint hint of satisfaction—a subtle change so minute that it could have been easily misinterpreted.
“If they are receiving five percent, then what about us?” the Yrral Coalition representative argued, breaking the silence. “We, too, provided encrypted data to the empire. Shouldn’t we also be guaranteed the same privileges?”
His words quickly garnered murmurs of agreement from other representatives who had also given the empire encrypted knowledge. Sensing an opportunity, a few began preparing to press this angle and leverage the situation to gain similar concessions.
Before the room could descend into another chaotic debate, the Valthorin representative abruptly interjected, his tone laced with displeasure.
“You giving the empire the decryption keys isn’t going to harm the current agreement or reveal the actual price of mana stones, so I think it’s irrelevant to this discussion. Don’t you agree?” the Valthorin representative stated, clearly unwilling to let others capitalize on something immaterial to the proposed agreement.
His stance wasn’t just about the agreement itself—it was also driven by the desire to avoid any form of indirect punishment for his civilization, which had provided their knowledge to the empire openly without encryption or manipulation.
Instead of a direct response from the Yrall Coalition representative, murmurs of agreement echoed through the mental network as others sided with the Valthorin representative’s reasoning. With the room now seemingly united on this point, any representatives who had initially hoped to leverage their encrypted data fell silent. The Yrall Coalition representative, seeing the overwhelming opposition, decided to let it go.
“At least I tried,” he thought, reluctantly backing down. While he had hoped to secure more benefits, the realization dawned on him that pushing the matter further might jeopardize the entire agreement. And despite his ambitions, he understood that keeping the price of mana stones low remained the primary goal—everything else was secondary.
“But five percent is too high, and although our mana quotas vary, if we follow that suggestion, the Trinarians will be receiving 245% of the average of our mana quotas, which is quite unfair to the rest of us,” a representative from one of the lower-tier civilizations pointed out, steering the conversation back to the contentious Trinarian proposal.
Kalron sighed internally, sensing yet another hurdle in securing the agreement. Maintaining a composed demeanor, he explained, “The five percent is not from your entire mana quota but only from the increase in your quota. For instance, if your original quota was ten and negotiations result in your total quota increasing to fifteen, only five percent of the increase—that additional five—will be allocated to the Trinarians. They will not benefit from the base quota, only the increase. I believe this is a fair compromise.”
He deliberately simplified the explanation, using clear examples to avoid misunderstandings, despite knowing that all the representatives were intelligent enough to grasp the concept.
“If that’s the case,” the Feryn representative interjected, “why not reduce it to two percent under the same rules? With fifty civilizations here—forty-nine if we exclude the Trinarians—each contributing two percent of their increased quota would still amount to 98% of the average increase. That seems far more equitable.”
His suggestion was met with a sharp glance from the Trinarian representative, who didn’t appreciate the attempt to cut the allocation. However, the Feryn representative paid no heed, firmly focused on minimizing the cost to his own civilization. After all, every representative in the room was here to serve their own people’s interests, and shaving down the mana stone concessions was his way of doing just that. This was diplomacy, after all—negotiation was the heart of the game.
A murmur rippled through the room as representatives weighed the fairness of the reduced percentage against the practicality of finalizing the deal.
“I’d like to remind the Yrall Coalition representative that we, the Trinarians, are ranked within the top five civilizations in the Conclave,” the Trinarian representative stated, his gaze sharp as it met the Yrall Coalition representative’s. “While we may not know each other’s exact quotas, I believe it’s safe to say our allocations are reflective of our standing. Receiving the average of the increased quotas might seem significant, but it is relative to each civilization’s level and their prior quota. I am certain that, for us, this ‘average’ would fall short of what we could achieve if we handed the decryption keys over to the empire.”
He paused, allowing the weight of his words to sink in, before continuing. “Even if we were to accept the five percent and, as some have suggested, it translates to 245% of the average of the increased quota, it would still be less than what we would gain under normal circumstances. However, since this agreement demands shared sacrifices for the benefit of the whole, we will agree to the five percent—on the condition that additional concessions are made by your civilizations to cover the remainder of our potential loss.” His words were firm yet diplomatic, leaving little room for counterarguments as he turned his attention toward Kalron to take the lead.
Kalron, sensing the precarious tension in the room, acted swiftly to avert another descent into chaos. He immediately began emphasizing the positive aspects of the agreement. “A five percent loss from the increased quota is a minor trade-off,” he stressed but his voice was calm. “Compared to the enormous losses we’d all incur if forced to purchase mana stones at their original price, this agreement is far more advantageous. Let’s not lose sight of the larger picture here—this is about long-term stability and collective strength.”
What followed, however, was a tangled mess of debate. Some representatives pushed to lower the percentage, proposing alternative concessions to offset the loss. Others, while agreeing to the five percent, argued that the Trinarians should purchase their share at the true price of mana stones instead of the previously discussed tenfold increase from the empire's base price. This suggestion sparked immediate rejection from the Trinarian representative, who retorted, “If have to pay the true price anyway, we might as well buy directly from the empire, making all these discussions meaningless for us.”
The back-and-forth persisted, with tempers flaring and points being debated, countered, and re-evaluated. For five tense minutes, arguments bounced across the room as factions sought to protect their interests while still trying to keep the agreement intact. Kalron, acting as a stabilizing force, mediated where he could, ensuring the discussion didn’t spiral out of control.
Eventually, a compromise was reached that represented the least loss for all parties involved. The five percent share from the increased quotas would remain unchanged, but the Trinarians would purchase this share at a two-thousand-percent price increase from the empire’s base price, rather than the tenfold increase initially proposed. Additionally, the Trinarians would receive one basic-level concession from each civilization present, offering them additional benefits to offset their potential losses.
The agreement, though far from perfect, was one that all parties could reluctantly accept and was immediately put to a vote. Unsurprisingly, it passed unanimously, followed by everyone swearing a mana oath to keep the details of the meeting and everything discussed secret from the empire and any irrelevant individuals.
"So, how are we going to give the mana stones to the Trinarian without breaking the mana oath we swore and the mana contract we signed with the empire?"
Comments
GripenSupremacy
TYFTC
Jade
Thank you very much for the chapter!
Sol_Invictus
TYFTC!
