"I may not be able to fight as others or lead the troops in a battle, but... I care for the wellbeing of our house the same as all of you."

Irtuk spoke the words with a calm voice, yet the emotions in his statement couldn’t be denied.

"Fighting Syma would be the worst choice that we can possibly make at the moment. It would be in our best interest to cooperate with them in a peaceful—"

"So what you are saying is that we should bow our heads before them, and beg for mercy."

The young elf interrupted Irtuk once again, his eyes burning with the intent to kill.

"I never said that. I just want the guild to be safe rather than sorry."

On Irtuk’s words, the expressions of many in the room changed.

None of them liked the way Irtuk was displaying their strength. It was as if their defeat was written in stone the moment they decided to act against Syma.

Still... even if none of the executives in the room accepted it, somewhere deep in their hearts, no one wanted to make a choice that could prove disastrous for the guild and House Elor as a whole.

But—

Pride was something that didn’t align with logic.

"My lord, I am still of the opinion that we should accept the deal with the banks and ensure the dominance of our guild in the market."

The frail elder bowed in the direction of the head, his eyes downcast, not wanting to insult the royal blood in any way.

Though insulting Irtuk despite being of royal blood was an entirely different thing.

"I agree."

"Me too."

"All those who are in favour of the proposal, please raise your hands."

The assistant, seeing the head giving no reply, chose to go with the simplest form of voting.

One by one, almost all hands were raised in favour except Irtuk, who had a worried look on his face.

"Seeing the majority being in favour of the proposal, we shall thereby accept the deal with the banks and proceed with the plan to ensure the complete dominance of Eloran Alchemists’ in the world market."

Everyone had smiles on their faces, as the best decision was finalised as per their opinions.

"Thank you everyone for taking out the precious time from your schedules to attend this meeting."

As the assistant slightly bowed his head in formality, the executives did the same before standing up from their seats and heading towards the exit.

Irtuk sat in his seat for a while before sighing in regret.

He had tried his best, but in the end, there was only so much that a failure like him could achieve.

Getting up from his seat, just as Irtuk was about to leave, a single tap on the table made him stop in his tracks, as he turned his head to look in the direction of the lord who had his eyes opened.

"Seat."

On the lord’s command, Irtuk obediently bowed before taking his previous seat.

There was a long silence as the lord observed Irtuk without uttering a single word.

Well... he wasn’t exactly the lord of House Elor, but was still referred to as the lord.

The reason was simple.

Xavier Elor was the twin brother of the current lord of House Elor.

Despite having the same capabilities as the current lord, Xavier had willingly stepped down from the fight for the throne and had decided to lead the Eloran Alchemists’ on behalf of the house.

His care for his twin brother, coupled with his deep love for the house, had earned him the respect and reverence of everyone, including the current lord of the house.

That was why the elves treated Xavier the same as their current ruler and thereby referred to him as the lord.

"What is your opinion about Syma?"

The silence was broken by a question that took Irtuk by surprise.

He had assumed that the lord was going to discipline him for his lack of insight in the meeting and suggesting something that could degrade the dignity of the house.

Still, Irtuk didn’t panic as he carefully thought over the question.

"Syma... their roots are far deeper than what they display."

Irtuk didn’t explain any far-fetched theory or reveal any hidden secret known only to him.

What he said was something that anyone with enough brains could easily deduce.

Still, he chose to speak what was the simplest explanation about Syma.

Xavier just kept looking at Irtuk, his thoughts unknown.

"Wait for the results of the plan proposed by the banks. After the result is out, you will be responsible for negotiating a deal with Syma. I will give you the authority to handle the negotiations and the terms in it as you see fit."

After an extended silence, Xavier uttered his longest statement of the day.

Irtuk processed each of his words carefully, as his eyes widened with every passing moment.

"My lord—"

"You may leave."

On Xavier’s command, Irtuk didn’t prolong his presence in the room, as he stood up from his chair, bowing his head before leaving the room.

Click.

As Irtuk left the room, the assistant looked at the lord with hesitation.

"Speak."

Getting the permission, the assistant sorted out the thoughts in his mind.

"My lord... do you think that our plan would fail?"

The assistant couldn’t understand why the plan would fail, as Syma was just a new guild that had somehow managed to secure some wealth.

Surely they couldn’t stand against the combined might of the Big Three among the banks and a guild like Eloran Alchemists’, which had dominated the alchemy market for centuries or even longer.

"Depends on what success means to you."

Xavier answered in words that were beyond the comprehension of the assistant, or at least the poor guy would need more time to interpret the meaning behind the lord’s statement.

Having said his part, Xavier closed his eyes once again as his body disappeared from the room, leaving no traces behind.