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~~((The National Ice Cream Day Special -- page 12 of 15))~~
It was almost like a biosphere. The trees behind the main building were large enough that their collective canopy created a dome of leaves, allowing the late morning sun to shine through only in sparkling fragments.

The party entered through a pair of enormous double doors, and a large group of sharply dressed attendants were already there waiting for them.

Secretary Karr was moving a bit sluggishly, which was certainly understandable after all they had been through. Her clothes were scuffed and dirtied all over, and most of the feathers that had adorned her red coat were now missing.

She said her farewells and then ventured off with her bodyguards and a couple of newly attached attendants. The other Lorentians were also escorted away, presumably to a place where they could finally get some rest.

Ambassador Stoutamire, however, remained with Hector's group. And he did not stop talking as they all walked together.

"Allow me to serve as a temporary guide," he said. "I imagine you all must be quite tired after such a grueling night. Oh, or perhaps you aren't? Now that I think about it, that wouldn't surprise me. Myself, I am absolutely destroyed. Barely staying on my feet, truth be told. Ah, here we have the western corridor. These rooms are primarily offices, and in them, you will find many meticulous individuals. The type to go through more papers in a single day than I see in a month, searching for discrepancies and the like. Organizing them, too, I'm sure. And ahead are the guest rooms, which I'm sure you are--"

Honestly, Hector was pretty damn exhausted, too. Even after devoting an entire parallel thought process just to listening to Stoutamire, he was finding it difficult to actually pay attention.

It certainly wasn't the most tired he'd ever felt--or even close to it--but still. Right now, a bed sounded like paradise.