I wake up with a yawn already forming. After some time lying around, I force myself to get up.

Entering the kitchen reveals an endearing scene. Elisa is happily munching on some pastry that Ulorn has baked for breakfast. It seems like almost everyone I know personally is a real softie. Alcia is enjoying the meal as much as Elisa. I see where the sweet tooth comes from. We greet each other, and I sit down. Let me guess... Yup, delicious.

Alcia finishes up her food and turns to me. "I'll contact you when we are done. You can just warp in." She then hugs Elisa for a long time and departs.

I address the two remaining elves, "While that is happening, we can test out the plan, Elisa. Ulorn, would you like to observe?"

Ulorn nods, and Elisa grabs a pastry for the road. "Are you sure this is a good idea?" she asks.

"Unfortunately, it is not a good idea, but it is the best one I have. The alternatives are suboptimal."

Elisa sighs and Ulorn's excited expression turns a bit concerned. Nevertheless, we step through a portal leading to my favorite desert planet.

***

"Alcia has requested my presence," I say.

Elisa and Ulorn acknowledge, and the three of us return. I leave the duo deep in thought, warping near Alcia's location. After knocking on a suspiciously ordinary door, I enter.

I am in a relatively small room with no windows. There is a light on the ceiling illuminating the space. Every surface of the room appears to be enchanted, the magic nearly overwhelming if one were to focus on it. Alcia is waiting by the door. There are ten other elves in the room, occupying various chairs and couches arranged in a circle. There are two empty seats. None of them show any outward reaction to my arrival. There are nine quickening pulses.

Alcia addresses everyone, "This is Lucius of Earth. You have heard my assessment. It is now time to ask your questions and decide. But before that, I shall abstain from taking part in the vote. I cannot have faith in myself to remain impartial." She makes a small bow and takes one of the empty seats, crossing her legs and plastering a blank expression on her face.

One of the other elves stands up. Small wrinkles on his face, pure white hair, musculature that can comfortably contend with Ren. Councilor Olindir—the last living founder of the Elven Confederacy. "Welcome, traveler from another world, Lucius. Before we begin, I would like to extend my personal gratitude. You have prevented the deaths of so many of our people." He glances at Alcia. "Of so many others. Thank you."

Before Councilor Olindir can continue, another councilor interrupts him, "What is the price for this safety, Olindir? Global surveillance, our privacy gone, each action examined and recorded. How can we trust this nearly all-powerful individual to not abuse that? What right does he have to do any of this?" She turns to me. "What are we but pawns to be arranged as you see fit."

Councilor Olindir levels a kind look at Councilor Ylyn. "Let us at least finish our guest's welcome and then go to questions." Councilor Ylyn acquiesces, holding in her next statements. "Alcia has informed us that this is not your original form. Would you like to change to something else? Please excuse my ignorance, but I do have a good reason, no?" The councilor smiles at me, his emerald green eyes unreadable.

I think for a nanosecond and shift to my human shell. "I greet the council." My relatively youthful appearance raises a few eyebrows, or it might be the human part. There really isn't much of a difference between the two for my current company.

Councilor Olindir gestures to the chair next to Alcia. "Please, have a seat." We both sit down, and he continues, "You wish to be an ally of the Confederacy. In what capacity?"

"Dungeon control and crime prevention. Once the situation around my global reveal has become less volatile, enhanced dungeon management and total infrastructure overhaul by sharing of technology," I explain.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

"Why don't we address Ylyn's question and your first offer—dungeon control. To accomplish that you are using... satellites and drones? Is that correct?"

"That is correct, yes."

"These satellites are the bigger piece of your surveillance network?" I affirm. "What do they record?"

"The locations and states of dungeon gates and the locations of dungeon monsters."

"In what way do you use this information?"

"To monitor for Dungeon Breaks and eliminate any monsters that might pose a threat."

"How are these monsters eliminated?"

"My drones have weaponry."

"So you are infringing upon the sovereignty of nations by carrying out what can be defined as unlawful military actions within their borders?"

I try not to fidget in my seat. "You could say that, yes."

The elf moves on, "How about crime prevention?"

"Real-time tracking of individuals, preventative actions by either subtly informing authorities before the event or using non-lethal weaponry when risk of detection is deemed minimal, dismantling of criminal organizations, and either orchestrating or influencing important events."

Councilor Olindir nods his head a few times. "I can see why Ylyn has her concerns. Concerns which I am sure many people in this room share. Do you agree?"

"I do, yes. I am violating your privacy and manipulating your lives." Most of the council starts whispering between each other. Councilor Ylyn appears somber at my answer not vindicated.

Councilor Elenyn raises his hand, stopping the whispered discussions in their tracks. When Councilor Olindir gives him a nod, he begins, "Didn't Alcia go over this? Even if Lucius has this information, it's not like he is always aware of it himself. What does it matter?"

I interject, "While that is true, Councilor Elenyn, I can still access the information if the situation calls for it. But once that high level of intrusiveness is no longer needed, I shall stop. I know that sounds like an arbitrary goal that can be extended for as long as I want, but I can promise you, it's not."

Councilor Elenyn nods approvingly. "We heard what his technology can accomplish. When that's introduced, each nation can have its own legislation." He thinks for a moment. "I am not saying it's going to be easy, far from it, but in the meantime, I think the benefits massively outweigh the detriments. And, now that Lucius has made himself known to us, we can offer input when operations are carried out inside the Confederacy."

I add, "Not only input. From here on, you will have full control over my activities." Another bout of whispers. "Here." Ten tablets warp on top of a table. "If you approve of my involvement, we can communicate through those."

Councilor Olindir addresses the rest of the council, "That is a temporary solution. We will need to hide this from the populace, from our families. Are you comfortable with that? Are you ready for it?" The questions put everyone deep in thought.

After a long silence, Councilor Ylyn raises her hand. "Why do you care what we want? Why not continue doing what you've been doing? Even if we wanted to, we can't stop you."

A projection of Earth comes to life behind me, drawing everyone's eyes. Captured by some of my earliest satellites. A memory I never wanted to relive. Green and blue. Full of life. A bright flash. Dark smoke. Time speeds up. The smoke clears out. There is no more green. A lifeless rock.

I look Councilor Ylyn in the eyes. "Do you know what I was thinking? Even after I warned them. I wasn't thinking why they didn't listen to me. Or why I didn't do more. No. I wasn't thinking about them at all. It wasn't even an annoyance." I briefly glance back. "So, I will not be consumed by apathy, and I will not ignore everyone around me. I do not want to be that person anymore, if you could have even called me a person."

Councilor Ylyn studies the image. She says, her eyes still trained on a dead Earth, now slowly fading away, "I sense the way you look at us. You'll stop surveillance, but what of the memories? Of us. Will you let them go? Will you suffer another loss?"

I smile at her. "Not a loss. Simply an opportunity to get to know you again." My answer receives only more silence.

Councilor Olindir moves his gaze from the already gone projection. "...Let's proceed to your secondary goals. What do you mean by enhanced dungeon management?"

"Due to the nature of magic, my weaponry is either ineffective or much too destructive to be viable for any eventuality. Thus, a combination of magic and technology has the potential to be extremely powerful, allowing me to delve and destroy high-grade dungeons with improved efficiency. Though that is still in the theoretical stage, unfortunately. And my magical capabilities are somewhat lacking for any significant practical tests."

"You want to do this by yourself? With no help?"

"I... I do not know. And again, I know it sounds like I don't want to give you access to my offensive technologies, but... I just don't want to put anyone else in danger."

A councilor, Alir, asks, "How confident are you about the outcome of employing your weaponry against dungeon monsters?"

"While offensive capabilities, and to some extent, defensive capabilities might be inferior when not strengthened by magic, overall utility like reconnaissance and communication are substantially superior." Councilor Alir nods a few times, satisfied.

Councilor Olindir continues, "Moving on to infrastructure overhaul. To what extent?"

"Are you familiar with the concept of a post-scarcity society?"

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