Chapter 165: Thomas Longsong
I moved around the desk and sat across from him on these familiar couches. I sighed as I leaned back on the couches looking across at the Dark brown Bunny-kin man across from me. "Thomas Longsong," I began tasting his name slightly before continuing, "You have found yourself replacing me in the coming weeks. I cannot say that I envy you."
His eyes narrowed, he looked over to the stack of papers on my desk, and his frown deepened. "Is it because of the workload you have inherited?" Thomas asked.
"No," I replied before pausing for a moment to think. It took a second before I continued, "First before I begin, I need you to tell me what they have told you about my situation and the current situation of my predecessor."
Thomas looked at me and tilted his head in thought. "They told me that the Demon Lands situation isn't looking bad nor good. Or it was more like they told me that I was inheriting a complex and complicated situation that looked both positive and negative. The Elders finished that it is something you would fill in for me. Also, The elders have given this to me to hand to you."
Thomas held out an enchanted sealed envelope from his inner shirt pocket. I leaned forward and took it from him with two fingers. As I did so, I felt a trace of mana touch me, and the letter's enchantments broke. I opened the envelope and wondered how they did that enchantment as it wasn't one I personally knew.
Inside was a folded paper, and I unfolded it to read the contents.
"To Ambassador Chelsea,
We have sent one of our more experienced members to come to relieve you. Although he has never held an ambassador position, Thomas has come recommended by his supervisors as an open-minded man for his position. He is a Brawler of C rank abilities and seems more useful for his diplomatic abilities than his combat abilities. We believe that during the war, he should be able to keep your work moving forward in the Demon Lands.
Please help him catch up on the current situation and brief him on the situation you have found yourself in and what the Traitor Ralph has done on the ground there in the Demon Lands. We will need you heading back within two weeks of Thomas taking over for you. Please advise him to the best of your abilities, and if you believe he can, recommend our allies trust him. We need to keep our closest allies in the Demon Lands happy, and we believe and hope Thomas can help facilitate that.
As for your orders, Please do what you can to speed up the process of coming home. Your achievements have been notable, and we would like to discuss them further in person for debriefing when you come back to Silvermoon Tower.
The Elders"
I frowned looking at it, and I disliked these orders. I would not recommend anyone to trust Thomas at this point as I did not know him yet, and two weeks wasn't enough time to do so. Also, I was not too fond of the orders in general, but I would get him up to the best speed possible.
I folded the papers back up, and I sighed, leaning back. I looked over at the older man in front of me. Thomas was at least a couple of years older than me, and I knew that he must have some contacts back home. I hoped that he would be a good fit here as things were getting more complicated, and I wondered where to even start with updating him.
"You are not going to like what I am telling you or the situation that you are being thrown into here in the Demon Lands," I told him bluntly, "This isn't a question of what you want in many scenarios as you are going to have to play it by ear and the seat of your pants."
"What do you mean?" Thomas cut in, looking extremely serious.
I showed him a wry smile, "I mean that when I arrived here some months ago, not even that many, I landed in a shit show. A serious shit shows that I blindly walked into," I told him bluntly. "In my first few months here, I learned that our intelligence operations here in the Demon lands have been plundered by at least one of my predecessors, if not more than one series of ambassadors." His expression turned extremely grim as I continued, "To make matters worse. My direct predecessor Ambassador Ralph was a traitor and did his dead-level best to sour relations with the Succubi, Incubi, and the Devils, not even to mention that I might not even have found some of the others that he soured the relations with."
My blunt assertion at the high treason that an Ambassador committed stunned Thomas. His mouth was wide open in a large O shape that showed how surprised he was. It took a minute for him to absorb the beginnings of the issue I landed on when I came here. I let him sit and think about it, and after a solid minute, almost two did, his mouth close. I could see him thinking as his brain reasserted itself.
"How bad is it?" Thomas asked.
I shrugged, "To be fully honest," I began, "The true extent of the damage isn't something we know. I kept Ambassador Ralph here for extra time to appease the Succubi, Incubi, and the Vampires. They were happy that I was keeping him in confinement as they believed but did not have sufficient evidence to provide the Elders of his crimes to make him lose the diplomatic immunity that we Ambassadors have. I held onto him, thinking that he only committed crimes in the Demon lands and to give them time to complete their investigations at the time. It won me a lot of goodwill and support from various races. In fact, I probably won more goodwill than I know with that than I might have realized. But there was only so much time I could hold onto him for. So eventually, I sent him back although I had laid my own charges on him when I sent him back for gross negligence and things that would have him punished, but clear short of the Traitor that Ralph was." I paused, giving him time to come to terms with that, "Then I had a thought when I was in a party with the Incubi from something they said and decided to hold an emergency meeting with the Elders. After that meeting, they sent an A rank elder to confirm my suspicions. When they did," My smile somehow became even writer, making Thomas frown, "It confirmed my suspicions as the elder found an Empire A ranked member retrieving Ambassador Ralph from the boat he was sent back on. We are not sure, but we captured the Traitor Ralph, but we lost a storage device with unknown contents. So the true extent of the damage that we have suffered here in the Demon lands remains unknown."
"So bad," Thomas said, understating things.
"Very bad is an understatement here in the Demon lands," I replied before taking a deep breath. "I have accomplished things here, and you will not be inheriting the shit storm I walked into," I told him with a genuine smile, "Some I cannot say at this moment, and you need to pay attention to some relations that are still in recovery. Although I will give you a heads up on the financial situation." I made my expression turn serious, "All the gold in the coffers and treasury here is, in fact, my gold."
"What?!" Thomas said, his expression one of extreme surprise.
"I earned every gold coin in the basement through contracts and making potions. All of the gold is, in fact, mine, as I was left with very little gold when I took over. I will also inform you that I have set aside gold for wages and maintenance of the Embassy as I do not have enough gold to play around with. Things are that bad even inside of here." I said, and Thomas looked bleak.
"Now, I believe I need to give you some more positive information." I began, "Not everything is looking down, and some of it is confidential. I can tell you that I have made some good deals with the Devils and a more important one with the Succubi. The Succubi, at this moment, is one of the most important relationships you need to maintain once you take control. They will be an ongoing player with us and are very important to keep neutral at a minimum. Do not let it get that bad as they are very happy with us after a couple of things I have done for them. I need you to maintain that at a minimum." I said, noting his priorities, "Next in the Incubi as I have refreshed our relations with the Incubi that Ralph almost completely destroyed. When possible, listen to them, and if the gold becomes available, host a party for them as the relationship booster, although, the healing is still strained.
"The Succubi then the Incubi?" Thomas said, nodding to himself clearly in thought.
"Any questions?" I asked, leaning back.
"Yes," Thomas said, looking at me, "You said the spy ring was more or less destroyed. Has there been any progress to fix this?"
"Yes," I replied, sitting forward, "Effort is being put in, but the progress is slow, and you will be blind for a period of time. Christina is probably already bringing your lead spy up to date with the new operations being set up here in the Demon lands."
"Great! Amanda picks that stuff up quickly," Thomas said with a smile, "Can you have Christina write a short report for us?"
"I believe that Amanda will get reports that she can summarize for you as she is still extremely busy finishing the passing of authority cannot be done overnight for spies," I replied. "I am also trying to set up multiple businesses to help facilitate the expenditure that the Embassy needs to run smoothly. That is not going as well as it could be, but it is in the early stages."
"You are correct about that, although I think it would help with something more personal to report. I will try my best with the time restraints that we are within. Is there anything else most pressing?" Thomas asked.
"There is one thing that is pressing, and that is a vote for a Free Trade Agreement with the Demon lands vote is coming up within the week. It is notable and will greatly increase trade with the Demon lands if it is signed." I said carefully, watching his expression, but all I saw was curiosity.
"Oh, I haven't heard of this," Thomas remarked, leaning forward, "I know that among the lower class of Bunny-kin, particularly the weak, many are crying for more jobs. That is even with the war effort building up and bringing more tribes into the fold," I frowned, looking at Thomas as he spoke, "Although the tribe's farming has been particularly good, so no one is going hungry. In fact, there is a surplus! All those crops need to be brought in, so I don't understand why they complain. We are providing the food to survive."
I didn't know what to make of Thomas with those words. I knew from my past life that just because someone couldn't stand up for themselves didn't mean they were weak. In fact, some of the people who progressed the world forward the most when it came to the sciences couldn't fight themselves out past a small group of twelve-year-old girls. But that didn't mean they were worthless and only needed pity.
Many could be like Tina and make things and drive technology forward. There was more to progress than just mana. I had to hold myself back from Thomas at this point as it wasn't something of an issue right now.
"It is more complicated than that, Thomas," I chastised a little, and he nodded, sealing his lips. "It will help the overall situation and bring more resources from the Demon lands, though, and that will be the biggest thing." I told him, setting the other thing, "But one of the provisions was about fishing that would allow the Demon lands to, put in simple terms, take over our coastal waters and fish them. This is unacceptable and has been a major hiccup in the plans. So this vote is important, and I have called many favors to have it in our way. That will be soon, and I will hold some meetings with you so you can be all caught up hopefully if it passes."
Thomas nodded, and I sighed. "Any questions?" I asked.
"So when is our first meeting?" Thomas asked, and I didn't know if I should be annoyed.
"Probably tomorrow; I planned today to be around paperwork when your ship came in. Why don't you go grab some food and settle in for the night? We can talk more tomorrow, okay?" I finished.
Thomas nodded, "That sounds great, and I hope to learn a lot from you, Ambassador Chelsea, before you have to go. I think this is a wonderful opportunity for me both for myself and for me to serve the tribe," His smile was bright, and I believed him a little.
Thomas stood offering his hand for me to shake, and I shook it. I saw him out before messaging Yuri to serve him drinks and food outside before bringing me some in my office.
I moved to my desk, and I sat down. I let out a prolonged stress-filled sigh.
I leaned back, looking up at the ceiling, not sure what to make of Thomas Longsong.
"Everything okay?" Yuri said as the door closed.
I turned to her and replied, "I am not sure yet; I have no idea and couldn't create a strong impression of him for some reason. I do know he doesn't think much of weak people, and I don't like that much." I finished telling her my impression with a frown on my face.
"Well, you have two weeks, and there will not be another replacement unless you think he cannot take the job so badly that you will call the Elders to change the person," Yuri said.
"You're right, I don't know, and I think I won't have second thoughts about anyone they send. Let alone his first day after a long boat ride. I will play it by ear," I finished my thought before turning to her as she set out some food and drinks. "What took so long for the food though? Usually your faster," I asked her curiously.
"I was just about to come in when you messaged me. The Kitchen had a large crash and the food spilled all over the floor. It was a huge mess but it delayed things. Now with everyone from the boats that came to the Embassy they are playing catch up." Yuri finished and I sighed.
"Fair enough," I replied not angry in the least, "I think I need some time later with all my ladies," I said turning to her. "I believe you will enjoy it later, For now," I groaned, "Paperwork."
Yuri smiled her expression one of anticipation. "See you soon, Ambassador."
I barely heard the door closed as I pulled another sheet out of the stack.
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