The council courtyard filled before the fleet made another move. The written offer lay on the table beside the vote list. Muo asked each household to mark its own choice, then asked Daro to count the council’s decision separately from the family responses.
A majority rejected the demand to surrender the copied records. Several households still wanted to negotiate a limited medicine purchase. They asked the Registry to sell the clinic supplies without requiring the island to preserve every inherited contract.
The count was not a simple yes or no. Some households wanted the medicine but would not return the records. Others accepted the trade offer only if the ward remained on the existing circuit and the new relay could be tested. A few preferred the current contracts until after the storm season. Daro read the categories aloud so no one could claim a single vote answered all three questions.
“Can we ask for the medicine without accepting the contract clause?” a boat owner called.
Muo said the council had asked for that option. The envoy had refused to separate the terms. The council could still offer to buy the goods, but the fleet had not agreed.
An elder who wanted the medicine said, “I do not want my grandchildren added. I also do not want another storm with no bandages.”
