The next morning, in a conference room at the House of Daena in the Akademiya.
From Inazuma, Miyashiro, Kokomi, and Ayaka, the three principal and vice envoys, attended, while from Sumeru, the Grand Sage and two sages attended, a perfect one-to-one match.
In addition, Miyashiro also saw a familiar Sumeru figure in this meeting, a Scribe named Alhaitham, responsible for keeping a written record of the entire meeting.
Before arriving in Sumeru, the Inazuma Delegation had already been through the baptism of Liyue and Mondstadt, and were intimately familiar with the process of diplomatic negotiations, but this time, the diplomatic negotiations with the Akademiya were extremely tense.
Although diplomatic negotiations are rarely successfully concluded on the first try, the first diplomatic talks between Inazuma and Sumeru proceeded very poorly, with Sumeru proposing many difficult demands.
The tariffs that Inazuma merchant ships had to pay to Sumeru for entering and exiting Port Ormos alone were considerably higher than the combined tariffs agreed upon with Liyue and Mondstadt, while the tariffs that Sumeru merchant ships had to pay to Inazuma were pitifully small, which made the Inazuma Delegation see no sincerity from Sumeru in wanting to cooperate.
In addition, there were other excessive demands, such as providing the Akademiya with sword-forging technology and uploading Inazuma's true historical records to the Akasha.
The most crucial point was that Azar, the Grand Sage responsible for the negotiations, maintained a consistently condescending attitude, claiming that Sumeru was a nation that revered wisdom and was not interested in commercial cooperation or mutual exchange.
They were interested in the wisdom Crystalize of humanity, but looking across all of Inazuma, the only technologies that Sumeru would consider, apart from a few well-known ones in Teyvat, were simply not impressive enough for the Akademiya.
Furthermore, Inazuma had unilaterally declared isolation in the past, which resulted in many scholars conducting research in Inazuma being trapped there, unable to return to the Akademiya in time to submit their theses, leading to delayed graduations and papers missing their deadlines, among other serious consequences. All these required compensation from Inazuma.
Moreover, during Inazuma's years of isolation, Sumeru discovered that without Inazuma as a neighboring country, Sumeru didn't seem to lose much, which proved that Inazuma was merely a dispensable ally to Sumeru.
Given this, to become Sumeru's ally again, Inazuma would have to pay a greater price to make Sumeru feel that Inazuma as an ally was necessary.
Facing the Akademiya's strong and unreasonable rhetoric, the members of the Inazuma Delegation were furious.
As vice envoys of Inazuma, Kokomi and Ayaka had already anticipated that these diplomatic negotiations would not be easy before they even began, but they never expected the Akademiya's attitude to be so unyielding. They couldn't help but look in Miyashiro's direction, worried that their equally domineering and strong Regent would directly overturn the table.
But when they turned to see Miyashiro's reaction, Kokomi and Ayaka both froze, seeing Miyashiro sitting in his chair with his arms crossed, head down, and eyes closed, fast asleep, as if he hadn't heard any of Azar's barking just now.
Noticing the unusual behavior of Kokomi and Ayaka, the Akademiya also turned their gaze to Miyashiro, and upon discovering the truth of Miyashiro sleeping, the three sages of the Akademiya suddenly felt a sense of humiliation.
Azar deliberately coughed loudly, attempting to awaken the impolite Inazuma Regent, but there was no reaction. So, Azar coughed a few more times, but Miyashiro remained unresponsive.
Seeing this, Ayaka felt she should do something, so she slowly turned sideways and gently tapped Miyashiro's ankle with her small foot.
After receiving Ayaka's feedback, Miyashiro seemed to suddenly wake from a dream, subconsciously looking left and right, seeing everyone present staring intently at him.
Miyashiro, without a blush or a racing heart, stood up and said, "Hmm, hmm! The meeting is over, right? Then let's go."
With that, Miyashiro was about to turn and leave, but Ayaka pulled his sleeve, softly reminding him, "Regent, the meeting isn't over yet."
Miyashiro: "What?"
Miyashiro dug in his ears, subtly pulling out two earplugs, and motioned for Ayaka to repeat herself.
Upon seeing this, the three sages of the Akademiya immediately became furious. It turned out that after all their talking, they were parched, and this Inazuma Regent not only fell asleep but also intentionally wore earplugs to block out sound. This was outrageous, an utter humiliation!
But the cunning Azar, with his extraordinary composure, quickly suppressed his anger and put on a fake smile, taunting, "Regent, did you not rest well last night? Is there something lacking in the residence where your delegation is staying?"
Miyashiro quickly chuckled in response, "My apologies, Grand Sage. The residence your side arranged is excellent. It's just that it's my first time in such a lively Sumeru City, and I'm a bit particular about my bed. I truly didn't rest well.
When I previously went on missions to Liyue and Mondstadt, the first diplomatic negotiations, in my impression, basically involved both sides proposing conditions that the other side could never accept, and then slowly negotiating in the time that followed.
Therefore, I wasn't concerned about the outcome of this meeting; it was all just useless nonsense anyway. Since that's the case, I might as well take the opportunity to catch up on some sleep.
However, it's quite a coincidence. When I went to Liyue, Liyue Harbor happened to be attacked by Osial, the Vortex Vanquisher. When I went to Mondstadt, Mondstadt City was attacked by three replicated The Dragon Ursa by 'The Doctor'.
I wonder if anything unusual will happen in Sumeru this time when I go on my mission?"
Miyashiro's last sentence was full of sarcasm and mockery, leaving the three sages opposite him momentarily unsure how to react.
Should they show anger at being humiliated, or surprise at hearing the title 'The Doctor' from Miyashiro's mouth, or simply maintain an expressionless face?
After a moment of thought, Azar finally adopted the amiable demeanor of an elder, downplaying the seriousness of the situation: "Hahaha, did the Regent just say that the reason he didn't rest well was because the area around the residence was too lively?
Hmm... indeed, the residence is near the Grand Bazaar, and there seems to be a theater there that often puts on what they call art and dance. I suppose their rehearsal performances disturbed the Regent's rest, did they?
Hmph! I originally intended to give them some leeway, but since their performances have already disturbed the Regent's rest, I will immediately order them to suspend operations and rectify the situation."
-------------------------------
I've already uploaded 70 chapters of this story on Patreon!
If you enjoy it, come check out the latest chapters in advance.
[patreon.com/TripleCrown07]
Thank you so much for your support!!!
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"