Gene cleared his throat and the room silenced at the audacity.

  “Sir,” he began, inclining his head respectfully to Ifas. “If I may–”

  “You may not!” interjected Ilfas. His face was beat red and he began to huff, repressing his anger that Gene dared to speak without being addressed. “You people with your powers think you can just go about doing whatever it is that you please because you’ve been ‘blessed’ by the system but in the real world that means nothing! Your actions do nothing but contribute to the scarcity of semi-competent workers and the loss of good equipment when you die. What good are your achievements if in the end our coffers are full of cobwebs when we must rebuild?”

  The crowd erupted into applause and Gene gawked. They were fighting a war for the planet and Ilfas was more concerned about personnel and inventory. To Gene, it was clear Ilfas didn’t think about how he contributed to their losses. They were losing a war of attrition because they needed to file paperwork first and secure the support of nobles. Gene wanted to argue the human costs of their inaction but the sound of Derek’s staff hitting the ground of his platform broke his attention.

  “Ilfas, you think too much with your coin purse. You must think like a warrior here. If these five were able to assault a Spire head on and repel a general then it seems a sign that the power of the Dark Lord’s forces have begun to wane.”

  Derek cackled, breaking the scowl that had been pinned on his face since they appeared.

  “That greedy fool has finally stretched himself so thin that a group under level 20 were able to best his forces. Seems we’ve been fighting a careful war for nothing! I think it’s time to redouble our efforts. I call for an immediate operation. I have 20 men at the ready to strike. I’ll lead them to victory.”

  Roars went out from the crowd behind Derek and he laughed. Gene's face went blank. It was clear that he had taken the wrong lesson from their clash with Tir. A twinge of horror shot through him. He knew the only reason they managed to escape relatively unscathed was because of his strange abilities. How could he explain this without revealing what he was?

  “What should we do? He’s going to get those men killed?” Gene projected his thoughts to the group. Ilfas banged his gavel to regain attention.

  “Now, now, Derek,” began Ilfas after he regained his composure. “You know as well as I do that what we face is an existential threat. Not a material one. We strike down these generals and who knows what may rise up in their place? I think what we must do is be calm and careful. Let us consider all of the factors before we make our next play and fix our mistakes.”

  Murmurs echoed in the crowd and Gene’s eyes opened wide at the spectacle. Ilfas looked down at Silvayn and smiled before saying, “What say you, we commend these young heroes with a banquet for all of their hard work? I’m certain there are many among us who wish to meet them and give their thanks personally.”

  The murmurs grew to a rousing applause as the crowd gushed over Ilfas’s plans. Gene felt like he was going insane. Ilfas had just complained about how much their actions had caused the council and now he offered empty platitudes and a pointless banquet.

  “This is all a show for them,” he thought. Gordona reached out to grab his wrist in sympathy.

  “It always has been,” thought Eonis. “The people gathered here are the nobles, the royals. Ilfas has no levels but he doesn’t need them. They are his true power.”

  The applause went on for an uncomfortably long time until Liris raised a hand.

  “Silence.”

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  Hero System Notification: Awareness save succeeded. You have repelled an attempt to compel you.

  Her voice echoed through the entire room and they went silent. The hero system spoke to Gene again. He was shocked. She used her power so quickly, without any qualms about suppressing another person’s will. She was trouble.

  “Let’s not put on a show for our guests here. There will be no celebratory banquet since, as you indicated, we are in dire need of every last copper we have,” she said, setting her eyes on Gene.

  He froze. Her statement was too close to what he’d just thought. Had she read his mind? No, he shot the thought down immediately. Winnie had warned him that a Mindweaver’s power lay in social power. She didn’t need to read his thoughts if she could read his face. Liris eyed him and smirked.

  Derek tapped his lance and he saw Liris roll her eyes through the illusion.

  “Liris is right. We must refocus on the task at hand. The Dark Lord is weak and we miss our window if we don’t strike now!” said Derek with a dramatic thrust of his lance.

  Talia cleared her throat and he nearly jumped out of his skin. The woman had been so quiet since they arrived, he’d somehow forgotten she was there.

  “I only wish to say I care not in what order the lands are reclaimed. Whether now or later, it shall be added to the plots I till. I have many and more beyond that to accomplish if New Venturis to continue to prosper.”

  Her voice was icy despite her bright disposition. The way she said New Venturis struck Gene as odd. There was a longing in her voice and a deeper meaning that she didn’t expand upon. She merely sat back in her seat and stared ahead blankly.

  “Shall I take that as a vote in my favor then?” asked Derek.

  She didn’t respond and Ilfas scoffed. They all knew her silence was complicity. This left Liris as the deciding vote. Her eyes were glued to Gene, both real and illusory.

  “Before I commit to a vote, what location did you have in mind for this little operation of yours?”

  Derek twisted in his seat at her questioning and grew quiet. Murmurs began to grow in the crowd. He finally spoke and they went silent because his volume was so low.

  “I was thinking…the Spire near Tzardiche Keep.”

  The crowd exploded with rumors surging around before Liris’s hand shot up to silence them again. She smiled devilishly, her eyes still pinned on Gene.

  “Exactly as expected,” she said. He opened his mouth to respond and she cut him off by continuing. “Next you say that releasing your family’s land from occupation will provide a new suitable fortress for us to rally around. Then you’ll turn to Talia and say the lands around Tzardiche keep were once verdant and fertile ground that will provide ample space to terraform. Finally, finishing by turning to Ilfas and saying there will be ample back taxes to collect and new properties to manage from those who were lost to the Dark Lord’s raid.”

  Derek shut his mouth and went still. Thanks to her illusion, the crowd merely heard a petty squabble between exes but Gene heard her true words and began to sweat. He very quickly came to understand why Gordona warned him about her. Liris was a monster.

  “Worry not, poppet. You’ll have my approval,” she said with a disinterested sigh. “In exchange, I’ll take a cut of whatever budget you and Ilfas plan to inflate for this operation, once he’s done pretending he hasn’t already reallocated the resources from this free Spire siege.”

  Ilfas choked in response and yelled, “How dare you, you devil woman?!”

  She cackled and the members of Silvayn were at a loss. The Council ignored them as they openly plotted among each other under the cover of an illusion. They put the operation to a vote and Gene couldn’t help but feel played. There were plans that had already been in motion. He merely accelerated them.

  “Damned fools,” said Gordona under her breath. “Derek hasn’t been on the frontline since our failed quest. He’s going to get himself and those men slaughtered.”

  Gene balled his fist. He wanted nothing more than to leave this place and never see these vile people again. But when the final vote went out and the operation was approved, everyone clapped and he heard a message from the hero system.

  Hero System Notification: New mission objective….Raid the Spire near Tzardiche Keep. Secondary objective…protect adventurer 21 of 21.

  His stomach dropped when the system finished speaking and all fury left his body only to be replaced by dread. Why had the system spoken to him then of all times? What did it consider heroic? Questions raced through his mind and he came to a single conclusion: they were all going to die without him.

  He felt sick as he took tentative steps forward and raised his hand, interrupting the applause. The members of Silvayn looked at him in confusion but it was too late. Gasps rang out and murmurs spread like wildfire before he spoke.

  “Mr Tzardiche, sir? I volunteer to assist in this operation.”