Her Beasts Volume Four

Official Trade Route Part One

Somehow, the past three months had seemed like a lifetime. So much had been accomplished and so much had been on the verge of being lost, only to be saved in the nick of time. Yet, here Iris Hart sat with her mates and her three guests from Red Wood City, ready to begin, potentially, life-altering negotiations. After all, Iris's city, Blue Springs City, was much weaker than Red Wood City and it was important to ensure they maintained good relations between the two cities. However, this didn't mean Iris would just let others walk all over her either, she wouldn't settle for anything less than the optimal results.

Princess Viola cleared her throat awkwardly, resulting in nine heads to pivot her way expectantly.

"I'm not usually the one responsible for negotiations in my family. I thought it would be fine to have brother Ares speak on my behalf, but you insisted on all three of us coming together. I'm not sure brother Ash has the same topics to discuss as we do."

Iris knew things had to be difficult for Viola, but it couldn't be helped. It was difficult to fit so many people in one home comfortably and Iris preferred to have some semblance of privacy. So she had asked Viola to leave her more than thirty males outside. As for why all three of the members of the royal family were here at the same time?

"I'm sorry, I realize this must be a tad uncomfortable for you. I know your city likely has its own politics to consider, but you must realize that it would put our family in an awkward position if we had to play sides. Besides, we are already familiar with Prince Ash since he has been the one we have been negotiating with thus far. It's also quite possible that what you and Prince Ares want to talk about could overlap with what we discuss with Prince Ash, so it is easier for us this way."

Prince Ash rolled his eyes as he retorted

"Ares could just leave, he's pretty useless here. Not super impressed by you all being this intimidated by him either, he's no stronger than your bird-brained male."

Ember exhaled loudly from the door frame, feeling his anger rise at Ash's words. However, one glance at Iris and he was reminded of the last thing she had said to him. Apparently, his mate thought he was no better than that stupid prince, all because he couldn't control his own outbursts of anger. Ember felt his heart ache as he settled back down. He knew it was common for the Phoenix Tribe to suffer from anger management issues, but he didn't like that it was affecting his relationship with his mate.

Iris turned her gaze towards Ash, her eyes narrowed, but she remained polite as she replied

"Yes, well, why don't we move on? I believe Princess Viola originally expressed interest in the specialty goods our city sells."

Viola nodded her head, feeling nervous as she replied

"Yes, well, I'm not sure where to begin the negotiations. I was, honestly, hopeful that it was a single male who was responsible for creating the soaps and lotions. Then I could have tried to convince them to join my family, but, clearly, that isn't the case....."

Ash rolled his eyes, but said nothing. Even he had limits when it came to what he was willing to say aloud. He might have found his sister's lack of planning for a case like this stupid on her part, but he wasn't about to say anything about it. Viola was his precious sister and the only princess of Red Wood City, after all. Iris was quite amused to see even Ash could be silent as times as she easily suggested

"Well, it isn't like we couldn't consider any negotiations. Right now we have Golden Tradesmen who buy and sell goods between our two cities, but we could consider establishing a proper trade route between our two cities and negotiate the terms on a more official basis."

[System 316: Congratulations host for discovering a new quest!]

[Info: Establish two trade routes. Must build proper roads, acquire appropriate trade agreement contracts with a minimum duration of five years, and assign appropriate workers to carry out the task.]