So, here's how Reeve's story went: While he was taking a walk, he met the spy who had once infiltrated the Southern Earth tribe. According to him, she said they were willing to negotiate. Of course, he couldn't tell them about the foundation stone, or the fact that he was being blackmailed. That was too confidential. There were various reactions from the "jury". Arkad was furious, Myris was confused. Gathar seemed to think about it, while Mrak believed Reeve knew what he was doing.
After waiting for half the day, the red-haired girl returned. She announced the place where the negotiations were going to take place. Moments later, in a tent pitched closer to the battlefield, a table was neatly arranged with exquisite food. On one side of the table, there was the alliance chiefs, while on the other, there was the Southern Water tribe elders.
Saedis was presiding over the negotiations, and as much as he hated it, he had no other choice. He had promised to help Riza with her plan, after all. Other than Saedis, there was also commander Will Valdis, who was there to preserve order. Besides those, there was also someone who was writing down what was happening. Saedis had brought that person because he wanted to send the information back to the government. It was an obligation.
"Right, let us now begin this negotiation. As the almost victors, what are your demands?" asked Saedis, as he looked at the side where the alliance chiefs were sitting.
Reeve stood up and began his presentation. He had been selected as the representative for the tribes. Why? Just because … Anyway, he straightened up the robe he was wearing, and cleared his voice, before saying, "As the representative of the Southern Tribal Alliance, herein to be referred to as the victors, against the Southern Water tribe, herein to be referred to as the losers, I will begin to state the demands of my clients who participated in the battle to be known as the Battle for the South…"
Now, back in the other world, Reeve thought that being a lawyer was super easy. It was knowing the right jargon to use and stuff. It didn't help that his ex-girlfriend was a lawyer. Oh no, it actually made his conviction worse. He thought that once he got in a position to represent someone, he would go all out sprouting useless drivel. Why? One reason was because he wanted to get back at his ex, and the other was because it sounded funny. Pity, his audience didn't get the joke!
Everyone in the tent exchanged looks of surprise, none of them understood a word of what was said. They began to murmur among themselves, asking each other what the funny looking creature was talking about. No one else besides Reeve had a clue. Seeing that his joke was not understood, he cleared his throat and continued, "We demand the immediate release of the Southern Earth tribe's grand priest, Karim Balduk!"
Saedis looked at the elders of the Southern Water tribe, whose expressions were sour. Elder Astrid, being the architect of the failed plan, had been forced to take responsibility. Now, she was the one speaking for the elders. She rose up, and said, "We will release him."
After some minutes, Karim was brought into the tent. He looked pitiful. His black hair was a mess, and his clothes were tattered. It seemed he had been tortured. Mrak almost cried after seeing his state, while Myris was sad.
Reeve spoke again, "We also demand that the mandatory tribute we have been forced to pay be removed! We have been paying taxes to the government, and now we're being forced to pay this illegal tribute!"
Saedis, once again looked at the elders, whose expressions kept turning sourer. Elder Astrid replied though gritted teeth, "It shall be done. However, only the tribes that participated in this battle shall be exempted from paying tribute!"
Reeve looked at the chiefs. They all nodded, and Reeve replied, "Duly noted. We have one last demand! We want compensation for winning the war! This compensation will come in form of gold!"
The elders of the Southern Water tribe began to murmur among themselves. This demand appeared to be unreasonable. Then again, if Saedis had not intervened, something worse might have happened. Speaking of Saedis, he looked at the elders and asked, "Have you made a decision?"
Elder Astrid, being the spokeswoman, stood up and said, "We have, Oh venerable one. We cannot comply with the last demand!"
Saedis frowned. If he had his way, he would just have forced the Southern Water tribe to pay the gold! This would have finished this boring event. Alas, he was supposed to be playing mediator, so he had to seem impartial. The only problem was he couldn't benefit from this. If he hadn't agreed to help Riza, he wouldn't be here. As he looked at her, he saw that she was happy. Rather, there was an expression of happiness on her face. Yes, it was genuine. What he couldn't tell, was if she was happy about helping the other party, or happy to see the Southern Water tribe suffering.
Saedis turned to the Alliance chiefs and said, "Do you accept this?"
"No, we do not! We have been bullied and forced to pay tribute for such a long time, if we let them go scot-free, they'll try it again! What stops them from attacking us again? They have to pay otherwise they wouldn't have learnt anything. The humiliation alone won't pay for the resources we have lost all this time!" spoke Reeve. He sounded like some radical demagogue. The chiefs nodded in response. After all, they would benefit from this.
Saedis turned to look at the elders of the Southern Water tribe. They had nothing else to say. After some time, they eventually agreed to pay. However, they couldn't agree on the amount of gold to pay. Eventually, they settled on five thousand gold coins. This amount was decided by Saedis, after looking at the minimum amount the Alliance chiefs wanted, and the maximum amount the Southern Water tribe elders were willing to pay.