Date: Unspecified
Ti: Unspecified
Location: Myriad Realms, Card World, Southern Region, Blossom District, Sky Blossom City, Headquarters
With the Saintess’s demands, the room instantly turned chilly. The demigods struggled to restrain their senses, the tension in the air surrounding each of them revealed the effort it took for every single one of them to remain seated and listen to her make those outlandish demands. If not for their desire to leave a good impression on their lord, they would have already hurled the chairs they were sitting on at them.
However, one person stepped up behind and murmured, "Hey, boss, get a load of these two. The real minorities would laugh themselves to death listening to them."
"Who are the real minorities?" I asked, since there was no race- or caste-based discrimination in this world.
"The mortals who couldn’t contract a grimoire, of course." Aurelia looked at as if I asked that for real.
"Oh!" That’s when I realized maybe I should have stayed in school a little longer.
I get that she ant it as a joke but Aurelia’s words landed harder than anything said in the room.
I hadn’t accounted for them. Actually, I had completely forgotten about them. That was when it struck —they were indeed the real minorities of this world. Their voices were so faint you hardly ever heard anything about them, and with ti, even those faint echoes kept fading.
I an, think about it. Card apprentices lived longer lives, and over ti they naturally kept growing bigger than the mortal population, who endured shorter, harsher lives.
Realizing this, I felt a twinge of guilt for charging mortals and card apprentices the sa amount to use the VR-universe’s features and functions. Mortals could access the VR-universe too, by equipping their free VR-sli cards in their iron grimoires—much like the younger generation who had yet to awaken and contract one.
I silently had the Hive Spirit revise the rules, introducing special discounts for mortals, including those from the younger generation who had yet to awaken. Though currency exchange saw no special discounts or changes.
Also, I decided to use what I knew about artificial demon cores, along with Corey’s unique demon / card apprentice system, to create a way for mortals to beco proper card apprentices in every sense.
Yes, there was silver milk powder, but its supply was limited. And for those with almost no aptitude for active soul energy control, no amount of it would make a difference. People like that didn’t have to despair. They could turn to card cores... Well, that was still a working na. I’d think of sothing better later.
While I was lost in thought, the argunt between Tess and Catherine had taken a sharp, almost violent turn. Ned stepped in, raising his voice, "Ladies, ladies, enough. Repeating the sa points won’t get you anywhere."
Tess and Catherine turned on him almost instantly, their glares sharp, but he didn’t back down. Seeing that I wasn’t stepping in to calm them, he pushed on.
"I’m with City Lord Tess about the Empire taking over the two Southern Watch bases—"
"Then who will take over those bases, genius? You clearly don’t have the numbers to pull it off." Saintess Catherine cut in, openly mocking him, while her representative around her held a thin, disdainful sneer.
Not bothering with them, Ned continued, pointing at the illusionary map hovering above the oval table. "You’re wrong. We do have the numbers. Now that the Empire is part of our Lord’s dominion, the Border City and their camps along the shared border are essentially redundant. So I suggest the Border City take the Southern Watch base on the Way Beyond side, and the Freedom Fighters take the base along the southern–western border—"
"Nah, I won’t repeat my ancestors’ mistake and make my people suffer on the harsh edge of the Way Beyond." Tess cut him off, her voice tightening with emotion, making it clear she had no intention of taking the short end of the stick. But she did agree on one point: if they were no longer defending against the Empire, their forces would be completely free—more than enough to take over both Southern Watch bases.
"Please, let finish. There are strategic reasons for splitting it this way. The Border City has the houndragon legions—you have a strong aerial force, which would be invaluable on the Way Beyond side. anwhile, the Freedom Fighters have connections in the west, which we can leverage if we take the base along the southern–western border. As for the civil positions in the conquered cities, they’ll be filled by our people—unless the Empire is willing to open its borders to ours and grant them positions in its own cities as well. As you said, Saintess, it has to be a two-way street."
Having said that, Ned sat and leaned back in his seat comfortably, indifferent, not waiting for their response or reaction.
Tess, on the other hand, smacked the table in excitent. She knew the Empire would never allow them—infidels, in their eyes—into their so-called holy land, let alone entrust them with positions of authority in their cities.
"That’s blasphemy," Saintess Catherine warned, her voice sharp and cold as a sword’s edge. "Tread carefully next ti."
Her representatives rose behind her as if ready to smite whoever she pointed at, making everyone in the room narrow their eyes in light of their audacity.
City Lord Tess, however, only sneered and shot back, "Sit your asses down, or I’ll make sure you never stand again." She and her people had been clashing with the Empire’s fanatics for as long as they could rember. A display like Catherine’s was nothing more than a joke to them.
After hearing that, there was no way the Empire’s representatives could sit down—it would have been too shaful. What bothered them even more was knowing that this was exactly what City Lord Tess had intended to achieve with her threat.
"What did I say about threats and intimidation? Don’t force to reprimand you all in our very first assembly."
Once I saw the Empire’s representatives reluctantly take their seats, I gave a small nod and continued, "I’ve heard all your suggestions, and I like Ned’s plan to take over the two Southern Watch bases. Let’s go with that."
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