The first few presentations were exactly as boring as Aegis had expected.
House Vance talked about wool futures for twenty minutes. Twenty minutes. About wool. Aegis learned more about sheep-adjacent commerce than she had ever wanted to know, and she'd already learned too much at Lord Pellington's estate. House Merriwell droned on about shipping insurance rates, complete with charts that no one in the room was actually reading. Someone from the banking sector explained, in excruciating detail, a new lending system that Aegis was pretty sure was just regular lending with extra steps.
She clapped politely after each one. She did not listen to any of them.
What she did notice, about halfway through the banking presentation, was a new notification blinking in the corner of her vision.
[Hm?]
She focused on it, and a small window expanded.
CONSORTIUM PRESENTATION RATINGS
House Vance: ★★☆☆☆ (Adequate)
House Merriwell: ★★☆☆☆ (Adequate)
House Golding: ★☆☆☆☆ (Poor)
