"Welcome, Cain A-*Ahem!* It is a pleasure to see you again." Bastion, the one who baptized him and drove his mother away avoided saying his last name, but he caught on.
Cain smiled, feigning ignorance, "It is good to see you too, High Priest Bastion, and the rest of the High Council."
He nodded to the other members. The three who drove his mother away were all there. Dargon was also there but his heart wasn't in it as he avoided the Blessed Child's gaze. In the fifth seat was not Eldor however, instead, it was a male Lamia, Salmix, and the late Elf's replacement.
Eldor, unfortunately, succumbed to old age, dying with friends and loved ones but leaving behind a corrupted Carven High Council. The entire council was now all male, with four out of 5 supporting the idea of locking this rare bird named Cain in a cage.
Salmix was the most recent addition but already had experience as a High Council member in another kingdom. He also did not like the way that Vala acted, biased since his Lamian race was also endangered, and helped to vote out Vala from her position.
The High Council was the one who started the vote on removing Vala from her position, with the Grand Council confirming it. Originally it would have been harder to remove her, since, if the old geezers were on her side, it would have been a 3-3 stalemate, however with Eldor passing, it became 3-2 and then 4-2 when Salmix joined.
Vala didn't even bother attending the meeting for her fate, spending her last remaining time with her son, knowing she would probably be sent away after losing her position. The final vote was 4-1, and she was stripped of her title and given a "mission" to observe the non-existent monster activity back in her hometown where she raised her child.
It took Cain a long time to find this stuff out, he needed to be careful not wanting to draw attention to his actions so he learned pretty recently about these things. He made sure not to show his hatred on his face and kept his mana calm within his body.
"First of all, congrats on graduating," Taz jumped in, "Top the class 5 years ahead of you, graduating honors with Masters in Monster Biology, Physiology, Genetics, Bioengineering, and Chemistry with Minors in several dozen subjects ranging from the Pseudoscience fields like Psychology and Magic Spell Creation all the way to Artistic subjects like Dance and Music.
"I am honestly shocked at how brilliant you are and also how you somehow managed to find the time to learn all of these things. I don't think anyone could ever claim to know so many subjects like this unless they were a Kaiser like yourself and even then their passion probably wouldn't outweigh yours."
Taz spoke earnestly, scratching his whiting fur as he looked at papers in front of him on Cain. Over the years, his rough and fiery demeanor diminished as he ended up finding himself a mate! She was another feline beastwoman but they were yet to conceive since there were still many issues not only with compatibility between different species but also with the fluctuating mana that beastmen relied on to help move along their pregnancies.
While he had a bit more sympathy for the woman he helped drive out, it wasn't enough for him to regret his decisions. He still firmly believed in keeping this young scholar in their sights at all times since he himself was now realizing the struggle of making babies with his own wife.
"How did you do it?" Taz curiously asked about how Cain found the time.
"Thank you for your kind words, High Priest Taz. I did nothing special really. I just enjoyed what I learned and put that into practice as much as possible. Testing on myself did wonders for me and the Academy and I guess I ended up doing a lot of things.
"I guess I was married to my work huh?"
"Sss! Sss! Sss! I can undersssssstand that!" Salmix laughed, making the others smile.
Normally Dargon would have laughed heartily at the Lamia's sad attempt at humor but he had pretty much given up on life at this point after losing his best friend. Sometimes you don't know what you have until it's gone so he was already going through the paperwork for retiring so he could spend the rest of his days with his family.
Cain smiled as well, waiting patiently for his moment to come. Eventually, it came, when Kelsti clacked his mandibles and asked Cain for his future plans. While they technically could give him something to do, the Grand Council made it clear that he needed to WANT to do what they wanted him to do.
They weren't allowed to bully him into whatever position they wanted to try and give him and let him make his own choice in this regard. This was one of the few things the Grand Council was lenient on, knowing that while he was an extremely important existence, he was still a person who need to make their own choices.
They could influence and direct him in certain directions, but it was ultimately his choice how he wanted to go about saving the world. Cain smiled, making Bastion, the most observant of the group raise an eyebrow as he got a premonition that he was about to hear something he wouldn't like.
"I would like to set up my own clinic. One dedicated to research on Monster Genetics, specifically reproduction and the pregnancy process for all kinds of species, and to provide a safe space where this research can be... tested and improved."
The Council members nodded, hearing that this plan seemed good enough. Just as Bastion was beginning to relax, thinking that he read the room wrong, Cain dropped a bombshell.
"I think I'd like this place to be outside of the capital. Maybe... the frontier. Yeah, let's go with that. That way, it is more of a neutral zone for all species to come to safely and have a quieter place to give birth.
"I think my hometown Nula would do just fine. I heard the Skyland had a 'merging' with a nearby Skyland so there is plenty of space now for my clinic. Oh! Also, don't worry about the construction or staffing of my clinic, I've already got that set up and the building is probably being finished as we speak."
The Council members stared at Cain with wide eyes, unsure if they heard that correct.
"Gahahaha!!!" Dargon was surprisingly the first to break the silence with a hearty laugh.
He cried tears of joy for the first time in a long time as he listened to this Blessed Child change his fate. He had spoken many times to Eldor on his deathbed about Cain and his future. While the two wanted to help, they were powerless to stop the world and Dargon only gave up after his friend passed.
"I fully support this plan. You have my vote on it." The old dwarf grinned through his rough beard and Cain smiled.
"Thank you very much, High Priest Dargon." Cain bowed slightly, knowing that while he may not have helped his mother, he wasn't against her.
He knew the world of politics was a messy and dangerous one and the old dwarf was having a hard time navigating without his elven co-pilot so it was nice to have his vote so soon.
"No worries kid," He waved it off, getting some of his rough mannerisms back, "If ya ever want to help an old man out, I'm sure I can introduce ya to a few of my great-grandchildren. Some of 'em are too busy workin' to get a life so maybe sending 'em to you will get their loins twitchin'."
The other High Priests glared at the Dwarf's course words with Salmix hissed loudly and Kelsti clacked loudly.
"I would be more than happy with the help High Priest." Cain thanked him again as Bastion cleared his throat.
"High Priest Dargon's language aside," The elf glared at the old man who picked his nose and 'happened' to flick it near him, "Your plan does not align with that of this Council and the Grand Council. We need your clinic to be in a populous space so we can open it up to those who may not be able to make it out to the frontier.
"The Frontier is also dangerous, full of savage aerial beasts and pirates. It is not the place for pregnant women and children to be running around."
"I see it differently, High Priest, as I have studied pretty much my entire life about the way races go about breeding and one of the most glaring similarities is privacy. Nobody wants to lay an egg or give live birth, heck, even just going through binary fission for certain Bacterial-based species can be an embarrassing process.
"Having it out in the frontier in a small rural town is the best place not only for the women to feel comfortable but also a good place to raise their child out of infancy. But I have a feeling you're against this because of something else? Right High Priest Bastion?"
Cain fought back with facts and logic, making the elf's eyebrows twitch. The others also narrowed their eyes at Cain's last words.
*clack**clack* "So you wish to see your mother, is that it?" Kelsti was upfront.
"Yes and no. Cain responded with a smirk. While I do want to see her, that is not my main goal. My main goal is to once again, provide a safe haven for women to get pregnant and give birth in my clinic.
"I only chose Nula because it is a place I am familiar with and my mother and grandfather just happen to live there. It has been a long time since you kicked her out after all~"
Cain teased and while the old Dwarf was trying to hold in his laughter, the others were not happy at all.
"That issss a very ssssserioussssss accusssssation Cain Alderman." Salmix hissed in annoyance as he flicked his forked tongue in the boy's direction.
His slitted eyes narrowed a bit and his scaly skin created shadows on his face, making him look scarier.
However, even with his hood being extended out in aggression, Cain only smiled.