Reincarnated as a Son of the Sword Saint and the Sage

Chapter 455: Worthy

After having a private discussion with my family, we all went back to the throne room. This time, Mom, Big Sis, Iris, and Sophia joined partly because they wanted to see the spirits in person. But the most important reason was that they could personally join the audience.

We chatted for a while, finalizing the terms, before we summoned the three tree spirits again. I could hear the gasps my family made upon finally seeing them for the first time.

"Wow... They look so human, but they feel so surreal."

"And they are all pretty stunning."

Sophia and Iris gave their remarks to the tree spirits, respectively. The tree spirits were surprised to see the increase on our side too.

Just like before, Aesfen, Fyr, and Gron promptly kneeled down before the queen without waiting for our words. That was pretty respectable of them, I guess, if I had something to say. With that being said, Mother then reinitiated the audience, but we had to check on them first.

"We, the people of the Queendom of Raevender, are welcoming you once again, tree spirits of the Great Forest of Darkness. Before we can proceed with our unfinished business, can I ask if you enjoy your break?"

"We are delighted, Your Majesty," Aesfen said with a gentle smile. "The service we have received in the palace is excellent. We have a great time."

"We are pleased to hear your thoughts. You are our special guests, and you should have the best treatment."

"I greatly appreciate your efforts." Aesfen nodded once, and then she scanned the people nearby the queen. "It seems like you brought some people with you, Your Majesty."

"Ah, yes. These people are my family as well as the future ones. Here's one of my queen consorts, Claire. Then, my eldest daughter and the crown princess of the queendom, Louise. And then these two young ladies are Iris and Sophia, two of the future wives of my son, Raphael."

Once Mother introduced our members one by one, my family exchanged greetings with the tree spirits. Afterwards, Mother explained to them why the other queen consort, Gabrielle, could not attend the meeting today, which they understood.

Well, although Gabrielle was kind of sensitive these days, she was quite active in bed every night. She would probably continue doing the deed until she gives birth, but I would stop doing it for her once her baby bump was visibly noticeable.

There were times when I solely enjoyed her in bed, a single time during her pregnancy, and she did not mind if I filled her womb with my essence. Personally, I preferred doing it with Gabrielle than my other female clones. Not only was she a fragment of myself, but also my lover and my third mother.

Anyway, after the greetings, Mother cleared up her throat before she continued the audience. The air in the throne room eventually got serious, and the tension began to feel heavy.

"Alright. Earlier, my family discussed the request that you asked us. We eventually have come up to a conclusion. But before we finalized it, let us ask you a few questions, if you may."

"It's no problem, Your Majesty, ask us what you want."

"Very well. For the first question, why did you choose to approach us other than the reason of being the first civilization to settle in the forest? Do you have that much trust in us even though you barely know us yet?"

"To be honest, we are not sure if we can put our trust in your nation yet," Aesfen explained. "But our situation is about to get dire, and we leave no other choice but to approach your nation without thinking about what the other side would demand. That is why we are here today asking for your protection. We have a gut feeling that you all are trustworthy."

"I see. Thank you for trusting us. How many tree spirits are there in your abode?"

"We are around a few hundreds, and there are a few ones that are still developing and yet to be born in a few years."

So, they were just that few, around as many as the number of villagers worshipping the spirit foxes that migrated to our nation. It might be a little for a settlement, but their individual quality must be top-notch, enough to protect the World Treant for a long time.

"A few hundreds, huh? But considering that you live in this middle of the forest, I assume that most of you are pretty strong individually."

"I guess so. We are the guardians of the World Treant, and we have to protect our mother at all costs."

"The World Treant is basically your parent, and we totally understand that family is what matters the most. I highly remark your efforts to protect the tree and the forest."

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"You flatter us, Your Majesty."

"Now then, for the next question," Mother paused for a few seconds and caught her breath before she continued. "If you are asking us for our protection, what would be your offer in exchange? This audience is also a transaction, and we did not want to be the only one whose demands are not granted."

The tree spirits seemed to be anticipating for this question to be brought upon this audience. They looked at one another, and their expressions were kind of complicated. Eventually, Aesfen raised her head and looked at Mother with a serious face as she put her palm over her chest.

"Your Majesty, we know that this moment will come, and we have come here prepared. As the ones who defeated the powerful ancient dragon, we are certain that this nation is worthy of its reward. In exchange for your protection, we offer your nation...the full authority over the World Treant."

The moment Aesfen revealed their offer, all of us were surprised and widened our eyes. Although we just literally talked about that possibility earlier, hearing it directly from them really took us aback.

"What...? Did I hear it right? Did you say that you would hand the authority of the tree to us?"

"That's right, Your Majesty. We are offering the tree in exchange."

"But why? Isn't the tree holding so much value in your very existence? You could not just entrust something that important to someone you barely know."

"I know we just made a risky move, but the safety of our mother is what matters to us the most. By entrusting her to your nation, we can assure that she is in safe hands."

"Oh-kay." Mother fully leaned her back on the throne for a second. "That's too much faith you got there. Are you sure that is your offer? We are not going to let that opportunity pass, you know?"

"This is what we have decided, Your Majesty, our final resolve."

"That's it."

Suddenly, Mother stood up from her throne and walked toward the three ladies, who were seemingly baffled by her action. Mother eventually stopped before them and stood proudly on her spot.

"Rise yourselves, our special guests. I cannot shake my hands with you if you remain in that posture, you know?"

"Shake hands? I apologize, Your Majesty, but I am not quite familiar with human interactions and gestures."

"I should have known this." Mother left out a sigh. "What I meant is, we are going to have a deal. We will be accepting your request."

"Is that true?!"

"Yes. So please stand up so that we can seal the deal."

"We understand, Your Majesty."

With a handshake, the Queendom of Raevender and the tree spirits of the forest had formed an alliance.