The OP Lich is a Returnee, Chapter 189

Chapter 189 – Arms Deal

Making arrangements for Boone and his people was fairly straightforward, especially since I didn’t care about the whole ‘not making waves’ thing. While Armonk wasn’t exactly a major metropolitan center, it still counted as ‘local’ to New York City. So, when a successful local businessman sold off his business, home, and everything, that got attention. When a couple hundred families did the same to their homes, removing over six hundred people from a town that had a population of less than forty-five hundred? And then those families just disappeared, with no forwarding addresses? Well, that got on the news.

Of course, I had known that would happen. Moving that many people so quickly, from a place that small, was always going to be noticed. However, knowing beforehand that something was going to happen meant that you could prepare for it, and ride that wave, rather than being bowled over by it.

I had Holly put together a statement for the press, talking about how Risen Athelia had granted asylum to Boone, the members of the New England werewolf pack, and their families. Of course, the statement only went out after said families had already passed through the Embassy, using the teleporter to reach Saipan. They had money to stay at a hotel for a while, as they looked for work and a permanent place to stay.

The possibility of creating a pocket dimension for weres and other supernaturals wasn’t something I was counting out, just yet. Actually, I was considering creating a series of pocket dimensions, so that different packs or types of supernatural creatures had their own place. Not as a ‘reservation’, like the US did with the Native Americans, but more as a refuge. Someplace that they could be themselves, without worrying about what the normal people thought.

Still, building stable pocket dimensions that people could enter and exit at will was not something I could do working remotely. Better to wait on that until I was back on Athelian soil. While I’d sufficiently made my point after my speech before the General Assembly, and in my private meeting with the US Ambassador, that did not mean I could ignore the other meetings I had scheduled with world leaders.

Like the meeting I was currently in, with representatives from the European Union. Not the entire union, of course. Just the United Kingdom, Germany, France, and Italy. So, four of the biggest players. As for why they wanted to speak with me? Well, trade was one part of it, of course, but the other was in trying to find ways to curtail Russia’s ‘enthusiasm’ for territorial expansion. And, by now, it was an open secret that I was keeping a close eye on the Russians, to ensure that they didn’t upset me again.

Sabrina Dean was the UK representative. She had a reserved look to her, which worked to enhance her conventionally attractive looks. She perfectly fit the ‘strict young librarian’ mold. Fitting, then, that she was a Lumenancer, or Light Arcanist.

Justus Rehn was Germany’s ambassador. He was older, in his sixties, at least, but he had that ‘elder statesman’ aura which lent weight to his words. The fact that he was a Demon, or Shadow Sorcerer, added to that weight, especially when he turned his thoughts towards intimidation or threats.

Marrius Allard was the French ambassador. Young for the role, barely in his thirties, but as a Lifesoul, his very being was infused with a youthful energy and aura of hope that made people want to work with him, or at the very least listen to his words. Something that he apparently used shamelessly, both in diplomatic negotiations, and in the dating scene. But then, that was the nature of those who had a connection to the Life element.

And then, there was the Italian representative, Anastasia Cesa. She was a Flame Sorceress, and she had clearly immersed herself in her element. After all, no one naturally had eyes that shade of orange, or hair that looked like flames drifting down their back. That kind of bleed-through into her physical body meant that she had tried to draw on more power than her body could safely channel. Such a thing could happen to any practitioner, of course, but it was always more common in Sorcerers, with the way they sought to master their element, rather than studying it like an Arcanist or moving with it like a Witch.

“Your Majesty,” Dean began, “thank you for agreeing to meet with us. I must say, your actions the past couple weeks have been thrilling to watch. It is nice to see someone put the Americans in their place, and doing it so completely.”

“Well, I will admit it has been fun to poke at them, especially since there is nothing that they can do to me which wouldn’t backfire terribly on them. After all, Risen Athelia already has no trade with the US, and we conduct international exchanges using the yuan, rather than the dollar, so there is nothing that they could do with sanctions or economic pressure to hurt us. And the idea of military action is laughable. Politely informing them of those facts in a public setting is hardly an act of courage.”

Allard chuckled. “Yes, but we mere mortals are sadly not in a position to do that, most of the time. Which is why seeing someone pull it off successfully is so satisfying. But perhaps we should move to the meat of the matter? I know you aren’t one for pointless politicking, after all.”

“Of course,” I nodded. “I believe the topic was weapons, yes?”

“Indeed,” Rehn nodded. “Specifically, the new ‘spellguns’ that are spreading through the EAA. The idea of being able to switch between physical and magical attacks on the fly is… enticing, for obvious reasons.”

“There is also the civilian and police markets to consider,” Cesa added. “The so-called ‘Shockpistol’ and ‘Shockrifle’, would be a great boon for people living in more rural climates, who have to deal with these mana-altered creatures. I know that, back home, there is a population of goshawks that appear to have started using wind blade attacks, and some of the wolves have gained fur that is closer to stone, but doesn’t limit their movement any.”

I nodded at her description. “Those are common adaptations to mana in creatures. I expect that you’ll find more and more animals starting to change, especially as natural selection starts making new things possible. I know that, in the GSPC, a nasty subspecies of the Komodo dragon has arisen, commonly called a Death Dragon, since the thing added a Death mana poison to its already troublesome bite.”

“Yes,” Dean said, a look of distaste coloring her face. “I’ve heard about that, and the horrors that have cropped up in Australia. As if that continent needed anything more to haunt nightmares with.” She shuddered, but recovered quickly enough. “But back on topic. We were hoping to arrange for the production and sale of these ‘mana weapons’ with a focus on EU military forces, but also considering the civilian market for nonlethal weapons. If there were a version of the Shockpistol which did not accept physical ammunition, for instance, that would make it a solid choice for those living in rural areas who just want to keep unruly creatures at bay.”

Thankfully, I had been expecting something like this, and had done a bit of research on different manufacturers. I had also, through product testing and iteration, come up with several basic designs for the enchantments that could be mass-produced, not counting elemental variants, of course. Much of the iteration had gone into ‘smoothing out’ the enchantment, to reduce the mana cost per shot, but it was still not something that most people would be able to handle on a fully-automatic weapon.

“I am open to allowing licensing agreements through Phantomline for the use of the enchantment schematic to be used on weapons for use in the European Union, similar to the agreements already in place with Zaubertechnik. As with all such agreements, there will be some royalty payments per unit, and the strict agreement that items produced under the license will not be sold or transferred to US or Russian hands. I would propose several separate deals, rather than one single trade, however.”

Cesa was quick on the uptake, since she was already nodding. “Different deals, for different weapon styles, which can be spread out to different manufacturers, right? Specifically, manufacturers in different countries, so that Zaubertechnik, and, by extension, Germany, doesn’t gain too much influence, which could upset the balance of power in the EU? Probably giving a deal with each of the countries represented here, so that none of us can offer too much pushback on the others?”

Rehn huffed, “I mean, you don’t have to split them up. Since you’re already working with Zaubertechnik, and all…” But there was no real strength behind his words. It was a pro forma objection, just so that he could say he had done his due diligence for his country.

“Of course, Justus,” Allard grinned. “But do leave something for the rest of us, will you? We all have governments at home we need to speak for.”

After a bit of back and forth ribbing between the ambassadors, I cleared my throat. “While the final deals will have to go through the manufacturers and all that entails, here is what I am willing to offer. Split the contracts into five parts. The first part will go to Zaubertechnik, producing a straight copy of the Phantomline Kanden pistol, in both the dual-purpose and spell-only versions. The spell used functions like a taser, but at ranges up to 20 meters, and the output is locked at that level. For the second part, the French Government can pick a contractor, who will be given the production rights to the Phantomline Inazuma rifle, which, like the Kanden, comes in dual-purpose and spell-only versions, has a 500-meter range, and is locked in its output. Since these are both ‘civilian-grade’ designs, locking the output keeps it at ‘taser’ instead of ‘lightning’.”

I saw both the French and German ambassadors nod, and then turned to the other two. “For the third part, the Italians will pick a contractor, and get to produce an equivalent to the Phantomline Mahōnoya pistol. The Mahōnoya fires both regular 9mm rounds with a 15-round magazine, and a Magebolt spell, with a range of up to 30 meters. Unlike the spell used on the Kanden and Inazuma, however, the output of the Magebolt spell is not locked, but scales with the amount of mana put into it. The spell itself needs line of sight, but has tracking capabilities, so that, unless the target is protected in some way, if you can see it, and it is in range, you’ll hit it, though the spell locks on to center-mass, rather than precision targeting.

“For the fourth part, the United Kingdom will get to pick a manufacturer to get the license for an equivalent to the Phantomline Kaminoya rifle, which is typically chambered in 5.56x45mm rounds and a 30-round magazine. The Magebolt fired by this version has a range of 600 meters, and is uncapped in strength, like the Mahōnoya.”

I paused, and said, “Before I go on, I will caution that the uncapped spells offer more power per shot, but also drain a shooter faster. If the users are not careful, then mana fatigue or even spell burnout is possible. But sometimes just hitting someone with the force of a bullet is not quite enough, yes?”

Cesa nodded. “Yes, and I can see why you would qualify the uncapped versions as strictly military. If someone didn’t care about needing multiple shots, they could theoretically overpower any armor or shielding in place with a single hit.”

“Yes, but there’s a point of diminishing returns with the basic Magebolt spell, which is why higher-tier spells have more focus on piercing defenses, or causing blast damage, and other such things. However, that’s something best left to mages, or special weapons teams. For individual soldiers, the Magebolt spell is quite serviceable at scale.”

“What about the fifth contract?” asked Dean.

“That fifth contract will go to another contractor, from one of the other EU countries not represented here. They’ll get to create their version of the Phantomline Shinoya anti-materiel rifle. For standard ammunition, I’m sure you can make all the appropriate assumptions on distance and power. However, the spell the Shinoya fires is called the Kingslayer, because it is like the uncapped Magebolt, except has elements of ‘cloaking’, ‘piercing’, and ‘precision’. These elements increase the mana cost, naturally, but they hide the spell from normal senses, and allow it to better pierce physical and magical protections. It also allows the spell to target precise locations on a target, like the head, or a knee, rather than center mass. The range on the spell is the horizon, so I would advise you to be extremely careful with any such weapons produced, as the spell was often used for assassinations in the other world.”