"I'm sorry, it was just...instinctual."
Saying so, the Queen of Arafell instantly stopped casting the spell, making the elementary particles around her go back to normal.
Knowing that he shouldn't press the issue, Daneel only said, "That's alright. Please take a seat."
What happened next let him know that he had indeed been right.
It had been a trap.
The moment before the Queen of Arafell took her seat, the dress that had been transparent before became more opaque, hiding more of her body and giving her more of a dignified look.
Of course, her large assets were still on display, but Daneel no longer felt a strong urge to look at them now.
Although he didn't know her motive behind doing these actions, Daneel felt his guard going up.
This woman had wanted to pull him under her spell so that he would be more 'suggestive'.
It might just be because he was the one in charge of the entire event, and that having him in control would essentially mean being in control of an entire kingdom.
Or, there might be something else which made her want to use her trick right now.
Regardless, Daneel decided to take everything she said with a grain of salt.
"So, what was this about the Giants not participating in the event? It has even been advertised that there will be three races participating, and the Giants are one of them. There is nothing worse than not showing what has been advertised and making the spectators feel disgruntled."
This meeting had been called in the first place because the Queen had suddenly sent the message that the Giants would no longer be participating in the events.
This had greatly puzzled Daneel, as he had even opted not to give any handicap even if the Giants participated.
His initial idea had been to assess the power of the Giants and put down some sort of rules which would take away their advantage of increased size and strength.
Yet, on second thought, he had discarded this and come up with strategies to handle them in a different matter.
After all, what was a great show if it didn't have a weaker party going up against a stronger one and still obtaining victory?
However, it seemed that he would no longer have that chance.
Unable to stomach this, he had called for this meeting and had been glad that the Queen had accepted.
"I apologize, and I understand that this is sudden. But please understand that there are some reasons that I cannot explain to you. They concern the core rules of my Kingdom, and I have no authority to change them. The best I can do is letting them participate in the events which do not require a team. In all others, human Arafellian soldiers will be replacing them. I have taken this decision after much thought, because I felt my previous one wasn't fair. Please do not ask any questions, as even this is something that I'm doing because of the great regard that I have for you."
Hearing the Queen's decisive tone, Daneel sighed as he understood that there really was nothing he could do.
Of course, there was a silver lining as the Giants would at least be participating for the major part of the event.
Yet, handball was the main crowd puller where he had hoped to show the classic trope of weak overcoming strong.
What could have happened? Could his plan have leaked? Did the Queen not want her race to be defeated in front of everyone?
Although Daneel had many questions, he knew that he might not be getting the answers for them.
The Giants were only a part of the Kingdom of Arafell, with the rest being occupied by those of other races and predominantly, humans.
One peculiar thing to note was that the Queen was always a human, and she was the one loved by the Giants more than all others.
The history of this kingdom itself was veiled in a mist, and no one had been able to clear it over the past many centuries.
All anyone knew was that the Giants had come along with the first Queen Arafell and had settled down in the city she had made after promising that they would always be in her service to protect her people.
No matter how many centuries or even millennia had passed, not one Giant had ever strayed out of the Kingdom of Arafell to live somewhere else. They only ever stayed inside those walls, and the few times when they ventured out, it was only on official business such as acting as an envoy or for military purposes.
Hence, they were a rare and fascinating species that made many travel just so that they could see them.
Of course, their gentle nature and simple-mindedness made them endearing to all, and they were also said to be excellent hosts who welcomed everyone.
As all these things about the Giants and the Kingdom of Arafell ran through Daneel's mind, he realized that he was no closer to finding the answers for his questions.
"Well then, I won't pressure you. Is there anything else that you wanted to speak to me about?"
Daneel elected to ask this question, as he knew that this communication was something that could have been sent via trinket.
Instead, the Queen had sent that message and then accepted to meet him the instant he sent the invitation.
Seeing her nod and begin to speak, Daneel saw that his suspicion had been right.
"Yes, there was something. You already know that my Kingdom's main business is the making and selling of weapon trinkets. We just so happen to have a new kind of weapon trinket that we would like to show off to the world in the best way possible. I would like to ask whether it is possible to advertise it during the event. I know that I can simply have my soldiers use the trinket in the event, but this would be a breach of trust in the alliance that we have together. Please consider."
Daneel's eyebrows rose as he heard this. A new weapon trinket? What could it be?
"Do you mind telling me what it is?", he asked, making the Queen look down, as if she was indecisive about saying something.
A Warrior level Mage was actually feeling indecisive in front of him? This was practically the first Warrior he was meeting and talking to, but Daneel did not get that feeling of overwhelming power at all. Chalking it up to just being the character of this woman to not act like so, he waited for an answer.
"With all due respect, I can't do that. I know that you have also entered the trinket manufacturing business, and that you are also in possession of some kind of method to rapidly speed up mass production. I cannot risk you announcing this trinket and being the first mover before we do. I hope you don't take this personally, it's just business."
Daneel actually felt like smiling on hearing this statement.
"Spoken like a true businesswoman. Alright, I won't ask, and you can keep it a secret until you unveil it. But it's time to speak money. What's in it for me?"
The reason behind the smile was that he understood where she was coming from. If he was in the same situation, he would also have chosen to try and keep everything under wraps until the time came to show it to the world. Just like she said, it was business.
"We are willing to share 10% of all the profit that we get from people buying our trinket during the Olympics. This is already very generous, and I really can't offer more."
"Then I'm afraid I cannot accept. The kind of exposure that you will get here is something very unique, and I trust that I don't need to tell you just how much of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity this is. There can be no other forum where you will have better exposure, and I would be a fool to not milk this opportunity for as much as it's worth. Make it 30%, and we can seal the deal right now."
Taking a sharp breath which made her assets rise into the air almost making Daneel look at them again, the Queen said, "King Daneel! 30%! That's just-"
In this way, the bargaining went on and on until it was settled on 20%.
In the process, both the King and Queen understood that they were dealing with someone very similar to themselves.
Someone who would never lose an opportunity to gain as much as they can.
After the Queen left, Daneel let out a long sigh and collapsed onto his bed.
The Olympics were going to start soon, and things were starting to get more and more interesting.