Chương 129: Chapter 128: The Continental Peace Charter and the Signing Ceremony of the Century

The Hall of Unity at Tartarus Central Station blazed under chandeliers of solid magical gold. Hundreds of broadcasting crystal orbs from the seven empires' largest news agencies hovered in midair, flashing white light in steady bursts. Over a thousand high-ranking delegates — army field marshals, Cardinals of the Holy See, and Demon Lords of the Council — packed both sides of the chamber, every eye fixed on the red-velvet signing table at the center. To the left sat the Solaris delegation.

To the right sat the Council of Twelve Demon Lords, represented by its formally mandated plenipotentiary, Field Marshal Belial. Between them, Lucian sat beside Eleanor as the chartered commercial mediator. BANG! Pope Lumina, seated among the Holy See delegation, slammed her golden staff down onto the stone floor and spoke, voice ringing out.

"Hold on! The Holy See demands one million gold in spiritual damages for the clergy who sacrificed themselves over three centuries of border war — or we will not ratify this treaty!" From the other side, General Malphas shot to his feet and slammed the table, his four black horns quivering.

"One million gold, my ass! Then the Solaris Royal family owes us the return of the full three thousand miles of the Shattered Heaven Ravine your ancestors stole from the Demon-kin ten thousand years ago!" The two sides glared at each other, and the air in the hall went tight enough to spark. Lucian sat in the chairman's seat, fingers flicking his magical abacus — click, click, click. He pulled two red-stamped invoices out of his leather case and slid one toward the Pope, one toward Malphas.

"First: the audited food-corridor receivables under the pilot framework total one million gold. With all three parties' consent, Vance Commerce assigns that receivable to the Holy See as settlement of its capped claim. Tartarus still pays one million—once, to a different ledger. Nobody pays twice." Lucian flipped over the territorial-escrow annex both governments had approved in the framework and pushed it in front of Malphas.

"Second: under that clause, the disputed ravine enters ninety-nine years of joint administration. Vance Commerce receives a revocable operating concession for the resort and theme park. Net admission revenue is split fifty-fifty after audited costs." This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. He tapped a finger lightly on the red velvet.

"Those are the last recorded fiscal and territorial reservations before ratification. Any objection?" The Pope, holding the million-gold noodle invoice, blinked twice. General Malphas, holding the fifty-fifty theme-park contract, swallowed hard. The two of them stared at each other for a long five seconds, then nodded rapidly, almost in sync.

"Reasonable!"

"Sign it, right now!" SCRATCH! SCRATCH! The last two ratification objections—cleared in five minutes with a debt assignment and a water-park concession. Belial signed under the Demon Emperor's sealed plenipotentiary mandate. Eleanor added the Solaris royal seal beside his, formally ratifying the charter for her delegation. Eleanor tilted her head toward him, the corner of her mouth curving into a bright smile.

"As of today, our governments are implementation partners, President Vance." Lucian stamped his seal down onto the document with a firm, flat thump, answering without missing a beat.

"Breach penalty is arbitration, liquidated damages, and public disclosure. Keep that in mind." Eleanor laughed out loud and tipped her head to rest lightly against his shoulder. Ting! Ting! Ting!

The most triumphant chime yet burst through Lucian's mind, gold text sweeping across his vision: [HISTORIC MILESTONE COMPLETE] First-phase Solaris–Tartarus Peace Charter ratified [SYSTEM REWARD] Read the Fine Print: proficiency increased Treaty role registered: Commercial Coordinator Scope limited to logistics clauses accepted by the signatories [GEOPOLITICAL RISK ASSESSMENT] Immediate return to open war: reduced, not eliminated Remaining risks: implementation failures, spoilers, unresolved claims, and anyone reopening the water-park concession The charter rose above the table as each signatory's authentication seal burned across the page and registered matching copies in the national archives.

Emperor Alaric stepped up to the dais and clasped Field Marshal Belial's armored hand. Outside, scheduled fireworks lit Tartarus while mixed crowds of soldiers and civilians cheered; several reading clubs started the familiar chants:"LONG LIVE PEACE!"

"LONG LIVE THE NAMELESS KNIGHT!"

"THE CREATOR HAS SAVED US ALL!" They attributed every clause of the ratification to Lucian. Ding... ding... The gold bell on the Vance family's armored carriage rang softly outside the station's main hall. Sylvia carried the contract documents, Astra held a plate of strawberry ice cream, and Evelyn hauled her engineer's toolbag as the three of them climbed aboard.

Lucian took Eleanor's hand and stepped up the carriage stairs, looking out toward the dawn-lit horizon where the newly opened railway stretched into the distance. The corner of the ten-year-old's mouth curved into a satisfied smile.

"Demon Realm's business is done..." He tapped the side of the carriage.

"Driver—take us back to the Solaris capital. Time to get ready for the treaty reception and collect our cut of the tourist rail fares."