After helping Rimuru define his political posture that morning, Loki returned to Coleus, where his government was locked in a quieter, equally grueling battle over ink and paper.
The high-ceilinged conference hall of the Coleus State Secretariat was an architectural testament to the nation's newfound stability, blending demonic obsidian with the airy, vaulted glass favored by Western artisans.
Yet today, the air inside was thick with the scent of dried wax, heavy parchment, and stale tea. At the Council Secretariat's request, an extraordinary implementation conference had convened in Coleus so accredited envoys and merchant representatives could inspect the proposed safeguards before signing. The atmosphere was fraught with the nervous energy of delegates who knew they were sitting in the heart of a demon-ruled nation, trying to dictate terms to beings who could outlive their empires.
Veyron adjusted his cravat, his sharp eyes scanning the room of foreign envoys and merchant councilors representing member states of the Western Nations Council.
Coleus's permanent Council seat and voting rights had already taken effect under the reinstatement resolution. What remained unsettled was a supplementary implementation instrument governing merchant compensation, commercial insurance, and the handling of cross-border claims. And right now, the human delegates were using the looming threat of Walpurgis as leverage.
"We are not questioning Coleus's military might, Lord Veyron," said Lord Marquand, a senior diplomatic representative attached to the Holy Empire of Lubelius's commercial delegation. He tapped a manicured finger against a thick leather ledger, his posture rigid. "We are questioning security. We are dealing with entities capable of leveling entire districts. If a contract dispute arises between a merchant house from Ingrassia and a resident entity of Coleus, particularly one involving high-ranking majin or demons what guarantee do our citizens have that their property will not be summarily seized or reduced to ash without recourse? Human courts operate on the presumption of mutual vulnerability. Here, there is no such vulnerability."
"A valid concern," Marquand's colleague chimed in, leaning forward and resting his elbows heavily on the oak table. "Which is why several council members propose deferring the final signature until after the Demon Lord conference concludes. Let us see how the international balance settles first."
Veyron's expression remained unreadably smooth, though his fingers tapped a silent, rhythmic cadence against the silver edge of his portfolio. They were trying to stall. If the Western Council delegates delayed execution until after Walpurgis, any potential friction or hostility directed at Rimuru or Loki during the assembly would be used to force a heavily discounted settlement. They wanted to preserve their bargaining leverage before their guilds committed capital.
"Deferment is unacceptable," Veyron replied, his voice calm, low, and smooth as polished obsidian. "The reinstatement resolution required Coleus to meet specific judicial and economic benchmarks before this instrument could take effect. We have met every benchmark due at this stage. We have published the required tariff schedules, filed our customs protocols, and registered every recognized point of entry. To delay execution now is a breach of good faith, Lord Marquand."
"Good faith does not cover supernatural indemnity!" Marquand countered sharply, his voice echoing off the vaulted glass ceiling. "If a demon under your administrative umbrella voids a commercial agreement through coercive force, a human court cannot enforce a judgment against them. Without a dedicated financial guarantee, our guilds will not endorse the instrument."
In the gallery behind the negotiation table, Cien leaned over to Testarossa, displaying a series of neatly drawn financial ledgers filled with meticulous actuarial projections.
"The human merchants fear administrative impunity," Cien whispered, tracing a line of projected tax revenues. "I have drafted a proposal for a specialized Commercial Guarantee Reserve. It will be ring-fenced from the general treasury, funded strictly through luxury-sector tariffs, foreign trade registration fees, and licensing surcharges on high-tier goods. No new general levy will be imposed on ordinary citizens of Coleus."
Testarossa looked at the figures, her crimson eyes narrowing slightly. "An indemnity pool funded by our own trade surcharges? Why offer them a cushion at all, Cien? If a foreign merchant enters Coleus, they operate under Coleus law. If a majin breaches contract, our judiciary enforces the law directly. A state guarantee from Coleus should be more than sufficient."
"A state guarantee from a demon nation sounds like a threat to a human guild master, Lady Testarossa," Cien explained gently, understanding the cultural divide. "They do not understand our internal discipline. To a merchant from Ingrassia, a state guarantee feels like asking the wolf to promise it will police its own appetite. A ring-fenced financial reserve, using insurance mechanisms they already recognize from their own banking houses translates our legal authority into a language they trust."
Testarossa remained silent for a moment, weighing her administrative pride against the tactical reality of the situation. She looked at the nervous human delegates across the room, realizing that their fear was not an insult, but a lever. If Coleus simply bullied them into submission, the merchants would constantly look for an exit. But if their greed could be harnessed, if their bottom lines became inextricably linked to Coleus's financial health, they would defend the demon nation with the same ferocity they used to defend their own vaults.
A subtle smile touched her lips. "A language foreign merchants can understand... Very clever, Cien. Once their contracts, claims, and profits depend on our markets remaining stable, supporting Coleus becomes more valuable than containing it. They will have a financial reason to defend our stability in the West."
Testarossa signed her approval across the margin and passed the draft to an aide. Moments later, it appeared beside Veyron's portfolio. Across the table, Veyron seamlessly incorporated Cien's structural framework into the ongoing debate.
"Coleus will establish a ring-fenced Commercial Guarantee Reserve," Veyron announced, sliding a drafted clause across the polished table to Marquand. "Funded through luxury tariffs, foreign trade registration fees, and licensing surcharges on high-tier goods. Should an eligible cross-border claim arise involving a registered participant, a Coleus public authority, or proven government negligence, the matter will be heard by an accredited neutral arbiter jointly selected under the Sovereign Conduct Charter. Coleus magistrates will provide the domestic record, while accredited Council observers may witness the proceedings without overriding Coleus law."
Marquand picked up the parchment, reading the fine print carefully. The Lubelian delegate looked for traps in the syntax, his brow furrowing. "And if a foreign merchant submits a fraudulent claim to exploit this reserve?"
"The wording is absolute," Veyron said, his eyes glinting with a cold, precise light. "Any claimant found by the neutral arbiter to have submitted a fraudulent or deliberately inflated claim forfeits their Coleus trade license, repays the costs of the proceeding, and surrenders local assets directly connected to the fraud. Repeat offenders are permanently barred from Coleus markets. We offer reassurance to legitimate traders, Lord Marquand. We do not offer charity to thieves."
In the rear of the hall, a Coleus domestic fiscal administrator shifted uncomfortably, leaning toward Cien. "Are we allocating too much capital to reassure nervous foreign houses? That luxury revenue could fund domestic roads, school additions, or civic sanitation."
"The reserve is structurally capped," Cien answered smoothly, tapping a precise set of projections that mapped out a decade of anticipated growth. "The reserve will be administered through a ring-fenced office of the Coleus Treasury. Accredited Council auditors cleared under the reinstatement resolution may verify only its deposits, covered payouts, and statutory cap through a separate annual reserve review authorized by this instrument. They will hold no management authority over the fund or Coleus's wider budget. The cap will be recalculated during that review in proportion to total registered trade volume. Should a cluster of valid covered judgments exceed the available pool, Coleus remains legally bound. The shortfall would not void the judgment; it would remain payable from the same earmarked luxury, registration, and licensing revenue over subsequent fiscal quarters. Once the baseline reserve reaches its statutory limit, all excess revenue is automatically redirected to municipal infrastructure projects. The initial cost remains capped, while the resulting trade growth should recover it over time and give the domestic budget greater stability."
Loki, who had been sitting quietly in the shadows near the back wall, listening to the monotonous hum of legal jargon, shifted in his seat. He had initially found the entire bureaucratic exercise tedious, but as he observed the trade representatives and local officials, his expression grew serious.
He looked past the parchment and the legal grandstanding, considering how this friction trickled down.
He had spent the past weeks walking the lower districts, watching the city rebuild itself. He had seen the stonemasons, the weavers, and the freight drivers who relied on the promise of an open border. Without this final vote, Coleus's international trade status remained commercially clogged.
Foreign merchant caravans were delaying shipments at the borders, their cargo baking beneath the desert sun as they waited, afraid of sudden tariff shifts or legal instability. Storage yards in the lower districts were backing up, dockworkers were losing paid shifts, and small workshop owners were holding off on buying raw materials because they didn't know if their export contracts would hold next week. The delay was cutting wages and shrinking household budgets across the lower districts.
Loki stood up quietly and walked down the side aisle, stopping just behind Veyron's chair. He leaned down, speaking in a low voice meant only for his senior diplomats.
"Sign the guarantee," Loki instructed softly. "Uncertainty doesn't stop with the guild masters at that table, Veyron. It's choking the warehouses and the dockworkers outside. The workers and small shops can't plan their months while these delegates wait for Walpurgis to decide whether Coleus deserves predictable trade. We aren't building a nation for the sole benefit of our own pride. Get the routes open."
Veyron inclined his head slightly. "Understood, Lord Loki."
Loki stepped back, slipping one hand into his coat pocket, his presence alone reminding the room of the authority behind Coleus's administration.
Veyron turned back to the Western Council representatives, tapping his quill against the inkwell to draw their focus. "The terms are on the table, delegates: a Commercial Guarantee Reserve funded by luxury tariffs, foreign trade registration fees, and licensing surcharges on high-tier goods, supported by neutral arbitration and strict anti-fraud penalties. Coleus has fulfilled every prerequisite required for this instrument. You have your safeguards."
Finding no unresolved safeguard in the revised instrument, Marquand exchanged a final look with the other delegates. The Lubelian commercial representative recognized that they had exhausted every legitimate avenue for delay.
Coleus had answered their security concerns with a system their auditors could verify and their guilds could understand. Marquand reached for his seal.
"Very well," Marquand said, pressing the heavy signet ring onto the hot red wax of the sheepskin parchment. "The Western Council representatives accept the implementation."
One by one, the remaining envoys attached their signatures and seals to the document. The scratching of quills echoed against the obsidian walls as the agreement became enforceable.
With the final stroke of the pen, the Commercial Guarantee Instrument became binding. It did not create Coleus's seat or voting rights; those had already been secured at the extraordinary session. Instead, it closed the last commercial loophole opponents could use to delay recognized trade with Coleus.
Veyron neatly gathered the signed documents, checking each seal before passing the master copy to Cien for immediate archiving. He then turned toward Loki and Testarossa, offering a deep, flawless bow.
"The commercial framework is secure, my Lord," Veyron reported smoothly. "They can no longer hold our merchants hostage to an unsigned guarantee."
"Good timing," Loki said, a confident, sharp grin returning to his face as he looked out the high arched window toward the horizon, where the afternoon sun cast long shadows over the revitalized city. "The transfer array is ready. It's time we take our places before Rimuru arrives at the Night of Demons."
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