NOVPUB"All of what you just said… is nothing but lies!" Sendron snapped.
His words struck with a sharpness that momentarily broke the rising tension. Out of the two, he was the first to regain his composure, though the barely suppressed rage in his eyes said he was far from calm.
"Do you honestly believe," he continued, voice rising with barely checked fury, "that the Kingdom of Milham would just roll over if the Empire dared to invade? Are you that delusional? We have Magic Knights, damn it! Those warriors are the elite! Do you really think a bunch of dirt-smeared savages from some backwater empire could ever make it past our fortified walls while they stand guard?"
His conviction echoed through the chamber. And truth be told, he had a point. Magic Knights weren't ordinary soldiers. They were warriors forged through relentless training, their potential scouted and honed within the halls of the Academy. They were handpicked from the very best, trained in brutal conditions, and shaped into lethal weapons of war. Their power wasn't just rumored... it was seen, felt, and feared already.
They weren't just a defense force. They were practically the living, breathing backbone of Milham's military dominance. A symbol of strength. Of pride. Of unshakable resolve.
"I don't disagree with you, High Priest Sendron," I replied, my voice calm yet firm. "But let's be realistic. No matter how skilled a Magic Knight is, even they have their limits. You think a handful of them can take on a few thousand? Maybe. But tens of thousands? Hundreds of thousands? Millions? You and I both know not even the full force of the Magic Knights—no matter how fierce or how gifted—could hold back a wave of that size."
The truth hung between us like a blade, poised to strike.
Every year, the Academy selected only a hundred individuals and those were the one who managed to climb their way to the top-tier Gold Class. Only they were deemed worthy to join the ranks of the Magic Knights. It was a long-standing, ironclad tradition. One that prided itself on quality over quantity.
But that tradition, while noble, came at a price.
That's why Princess Myrcella was pushing to dismantle it. She wanted to open the gates wider, to allow more than just the elite to wear the mantle of the Magic Knight. If she succeeded, the number of knights graduating each year would increase fourfold. It would be an enormous shift in Milham's military structure.
But such a change wouldn't come easy. Centuries of tradition don't just crumble overnight. It would require persistence, influence, and a battle against rigid ideals. But if she pulled it off, it would be a game-changer. It would be a bold new future for the kingdom's defense.
"Stop spouting bullshit!" Riolan growled suddenly, his voice bursting with contempt. "An empire with a million soldiers? Are you hearing yourself?! No country has that kind of manpower! Not even the damned Empire! You expect us to believe they've got that many trained fighters just waiting in the wings?!"
His jaw clenched, his hand balled tightly into a white-knuckled fist. His eyes locked onto mine with venom, like a cornered beast daring me to come closer.
"You're just throwing out scare tactics," he accused, lips curling into a sneer. "Trying to rattle us. Trying to worm your way into our heads so you can get whatever the hell it is you want. But you're wasting your breath. We, High Priests, aren't fools. You won't break us that easily."
I didn't flinch.
Instead, I met his glare with one of my own and spoke, my tone as steady as stone.
"But what I'm telling you, High Priest Riolan… is the truth," I said, emphasizing each word. "The Empire didn't just wake up one day and decide to flex its muscles. They've been preparing for this—silently and methodically—for years. Building their numbers, investing their wealth, expanding their influence. They've poured their entire national treasury into military growth."
My voice echoed slightly, like the room itself was listening.
"They've earned their title as the most militarized country in the world, not just because of what they have—but because of how far they've gone to get it. And it's not just soldiers. They've been forging alliances, throwing money at mercenary groups and adventurer guilds. Most of those organizations have their roots in Imperial soil. You know what that means."
I paused for a moment, letting the weight of my words settle into the room like dust after a storm.
"They can be hired. Bought. Manipulated. Mercenaries don't care about flags—they care about gold. Adventurers don't pledge loyalty—they pledge to whoever offers the best rewards. The Empire has both the coin and the connections. They're not just building an army—they're building a war machine."
I didn't dance around the facts. I shoved them right in their faces. These were truths they already knew in the backs of their minds—truths they chose to ignore because they were too inconvenient and too terrifying to awknoledged.
But you can only ignore the truth for so long.
Everything I said was verifiable. Real. Harsh. And most of all—undeniable.
Eventually, when the truth is staring you in the face, it becomes impossible to look away.
Riolan and Sendron suddenly stiffened, their bodies involuntarily trembling as if a sudden chill had passed through the room. Their faces contorted, eyes slightly widening. It seems that finally, they were starting to get it. The truth I had laid out so clearly was beginning to sink in.
But even now, they didn't seem ready to concede. The fire of resistance still burned in their eyes.
"Hah… no matter…" Riolan muttered, forcing a laugh that barely masked the tension crawling up his spine. It was a dry, hollow sound—like he was trying to convince himself more than anyone else. "Even if the Empire does have that many soldiers, there's no way they'd be able to invade us so easily."
He tried to maintain some dignity, but it was clear I had shaken him, at least a little. Still, it wasn't enough. I hadn't broken him. That didn't surprise me. Riolan was notoriously stubborn. He was a man built more like a mountain than a man, and just as immovable when it came to his convictions. Sendron was no different, his jaw clenched tightly as he refused to accept the shifting tide.
I turned my gaze to High Priest Vertigan.
Unlike the others, he had remained silent since the beginning of my argument. Not a single word and even a flicker of emotion. He was still, like a statue carved from stone, giving away nothing. I couldn't tell if it was because he refused to entertain the thought or because he was taking everything in with quiet consideration.
Either way, I had to confront it.
"What about you, High Priest Vertigan?" I asked.
He lifted his eyes to meet mine. There was something deeper in his gaze—not fear, not defiance… but thought. And after a long moment of heavy silence, he finally spoke.
"Frankly," he said, his voice calm and even, "I agree with the modernization project you're proposing."
The room ignited.
"Vertigan! What the hell are you saying!?" Riolan exploded, his face reddening with disbelief.
"Have you lost your goddamn mind, Vertigan?!" Sendron barked, his voice almost shaking with anger. "You're seriously okay with this man tearing down everything our ancestors and the Goddess Jeanne worked so hard to build?!"
Vertigan raised a hand, quieting them.
"No. I'm not saying any of that," he replied with clarity. "But Master Faust is right. If we don't align ourselves with the natural progression of the world, if we keep turning our backs on change, we'll become weak and vulnerable. Everything around us is evolving at an incredible pace. And if we cling to outdated traditions while the rest of the world surges forward… we'll be left behind. Worse—we'll be crushed by it."
"But…!" Riolan tried to interject.
"I'm not saying I fully support it," Vertigan said, cutting him off before he could build any momentum. "I understand what the Leonamon Company has done. It has completely reshaped the kingdom—for the better. But it's also introduced things that many of us, from a previous era, can't fully comprehend. This technological boom we're seeing right now... it's real. It's massive. But that doesn't mean I can offer my full support. Not without the King's approval."
"T-That's right!" Riolan latched onto that thread. "Nothing can move forward if the King doesn't approve it!"
"Exactly! Vertigan's right! You heard him!" Sendron snapped. "So now that you get it—piss off!"
Both of them lunged at me with their words, emboldened by Vertigan's condition.
But they didn't know I had one final trump card hidden up my sleeve.
A quiet smirk tugged at my lips. I let their outbursts roll past me like wind brushing against stone. Then I calmly spoke, my voice cutting through the noise like a blade through fog.
"What if I told you I could get that approval—right now? From someone in the royal family. Would that be enough to give me the green light?"
The room froze.
Their eyes locked on me again, but this time, panic flickered beneath the surface.
"Quit lying!" Riolan shouted, desperation lacing every syllable. "There's no way you've got royal approval!"
"Yeah! You're lying through your fucking teeth!" Sendron snapped. "There's no way in hell you can pull that off!"
They were practically frothing now, disbelief and fear bleeding into one another.
Without saying another word, I turned to Rose, who had been standing quietly at my side like a loyal shadow. I reached into the leather bag she carried and pulled something sleek, metallic, and unfamiliar to their eyes.
I set it on the table with a solid thunk, the sound alone drawing their attention like a slap in the face.
Then I opened it.
The soft glow of a screen lit up the room. A laptop—cutting-edge, compact, and powerful—its design was clean and minimalist, modeled after the sleek lines of a smartphone but equipped with far more functionality. It was a symbol of the future and it was something they clearly didn't recognize.
The three of them stared at it with wide eyes, confusion etched across their faces like they had just seen a creature from another world.
I didn't wait for them to snap out of it.
"I'm going to call Princess Myrcella right now," I said coolly, my fingers already moving across the touchpad. "And ask for her approval. You'll be witnesses."
