Spending My Retirement In A Game

As the next group of envoys arrived at the meeting hall, Eisen once more waited to greet them. The giants, all shrunken down so that they could properly walk the roads in this city, seemed to be looking around curiously. Giants weren't particularly known for being travelers, despite the fact they could cross continents at the fraction of the time others could.

They usually stayed in the environments they were most used to, so a place like this was definitely a unique experience to them. Though, excitement wasn't the only thing on their face; the envoys from the cloud giants in particular seemed more disgusted than anything else. But of course, for the most part, their eyes were settled on Silber, whose figure was still towering over the meeting hall.

And as Eisen expected, different to the central continent's envoys, the giants were rather excited to see Silber. This was exactly why he didn't want to do this.

Trying suppress a groan, Eisen just waited for the envoys to arrive, greeting them one after another. Not to mention, about half of the envoys that came here from the giants' side were the clan chieftains.

With the exception of the cloud giant envoy, all the ones that had been in favour of preventing the war, whether it was because they were on Eisen's side or because they didn't want the war in the first place, had come here. The only reason the cloud giant chieftain wasn't here was because he was still suffering from the side effects of being taken over by Samuel during the chieftains' meeting.

He hadn't died, but he was practically bedridden at this point after the block he had placed on himself was broken through.

And there was one more individual that Eisen was actually almost shocked to hear had come here. The king of the giants himself. Having the King come here definitely put a lot of pressure on the envoys of the central continent, but the people that came here from their side were specifically trained for these matters. Discover exclusive tales on m,v l'e|m-p| y r

The kings had to stay in their countries to keep things in line, instead sending high-ranking officials and nobles, such as Aaron.

But the structure of the giants' country was different; the king was more of a leader of the chieftains, holding them all together. That was why, even if just temporarily, he could be replaced by a group of other giants, even if they had less effective power than the king on his own. On top of that, the giants' king always had a history of leading the charge for things like this.

Wars, politics, important battles against powerful monsters; the giants' king was usaully at the forefront of these encounters. And that wasn't any different here.

"Eisen, I hope you have been well," the giants' king said with a smile on his face, and the old man quickly nodded.

"I have been alright. Keeping busy, as you may have noticed," Eisen replied with a welcoming smile, "How have the reconstruction efforts been?"

"Everything has been proceeding wonderfully," the Irngrad explained with genuine happiness in his voice, "We have received those 'construction drones' that you prepared. It took a little while to figure out how to make them work, but once we did, the reconstruction speed sped up a dozen times over. Truly, I cannot thank you enough."

Though the king was about to bow, Eisen quickly stopped him by placing a hand onto his shoulder, "There is no need to be like that. It is the least I could do to help even after taking my leave."

The Irngrad smiled back at the old man, glancing upward, "It looks like your brother has not lost old habits yet, has he?"

A bit taken aback by the unexpected joke, Eisen let out a laugh, "Well, he's been a statue for a hundred thousand years, after all," he replied, as the Grandour quickly stepped up to him as well.

"More importantly..." he started, and Eisen already had a feeling he knew what the fire giant chieftain was about to ask about, "That 'train', just what is that wonderful invention?"

"Right! It was so... incredible," the Irngrad agreed, "We were able to cross such a long distance without stop! There was no need for horses or to worry about the wind!"

Eisen wasn't able to hide his smile. If not only the king but the ones that were directly in charge of large territories were interested in the train, then spreading it through the giants' country would be an incredibly easy task. Not to mention, if the giants were interested, that would naturally help raise the interest of those from the central continent.

Just having the envoys report that the giants were adapting the technology would make them want to do it as well. After all, whether or not a war was about to happen, and even if they didn't actively show this sentiment, the nobility from the central continent's countries would never let the giants have superior technology.

They didn't even want other countries of the central continent to be technologically superior, so allowing that to be the case for the giants would probably never happen.

And so, Eisen quickly replied, "It's actually rather simple to construct them, though much harder to perfect. Xenia and I worked together to develop the motor that runs it all, and it works off mana. We have actually been working out some data to see how the railway will influence the internal development of our country; I don't mind sharing some general prognoses."

The Irngrad's smile quickly dropped, "... You were counting on our excitement, were you not?"

"I don't know what you're talking about. More importantly, how about you each make your way to your chambers for the time being to recover from the trip? There will be a banquet later tonight, so resting should be your main priority."

"A banquet? We're not gettin' right into the meeting?" the Grandour asked with a puzzled expression, and Eisen slowly shook his head.

"It would be better for you all to recharge your energy before such discussions. I personally feel quite tense right after travelling for so long, and a banquet would be a good way to let off some steam, right?"

"... That's a good point," the Grandour replied, though he did seem a little annoyed. Knowing exactly what was at stake, Eisen definitely understood why the Grandour wanted to get started soon, but rushing into this really wouldn't help anyone.

Not only would the banquet help everyone calm down a bit and lose the tension that this city naturally brought with it, but it also allowed all the envoys to get used to each other a bit more. The best case scenario was for just a single conversation between some envoys from the opposing sides.

And even if it was just Aaron doing so, which Eisen could very well imagine, just a single conversation would help open the path to a treaty so, so much more.

Eisen had the giant envoys lead to their rooms, and now that this was done, he could finally do something he was practically dying to do. He stepped outside, handing his jacket to Kirisho. His button-up shirt specifically had slits in the back to allow Eisen to transform, so he quickly did so and flew up to Silber. The massive giant soon spotted Eisen, a light smile forming on his face.

"Oh! How did-"

"Be quiet! Shrink down, you-" Eisen tried to hold back from yelling at his brother, but it was more important to make sure that the envoys couldn't overhear Silber speak. Considering his size, that was almost impossible even if Silber whispered.

The giant quickly did as told, soon standing on the rooftop, and Eisen landed by his side, "Alright! So, how did it go? Were they intimidated? That was the goal, right?"

Eisen rubbed the bridge of his nose, letting out a loud groan, "Silber, just... why would you do this? No, actually, I know why, so don't answer that. Rather; never do this kind of thing again before speaking to someone that knows what they're doing. Okay?"

"... Should I not have done that?"

"It would have been better if not, but it is what it is. Can't change it anymore now. But in the future... just do not take political advice from Brody and Jyuuk."