“Yes. I have an opinion to express,” Lina said, speaking politely to Steve, the king of Ashtra Kingdom.

Steve nodded and said, “Proceed.”

She nodded and addressed everyone by saying, “Everyone. Thank you very much for this opportunity to express myself. To be honest, I actually am not fully up to speed on what the meeting is wholly about.”

This caused many of the members to react with surprise and look accusingly towards Lakshman, who just grinned sheepishly as she went on speaking.

“However, I did get a brief information on what this meeting is about, and judging by what has transpired thus far, I finally know what is happening. As such, I feel confident that I can express myself better now rather than speaking recklessly.”

Her last words caused Lakshman to chuckle, causing sharp eyes to focus on him momentarily before turning back to her as she resumed speaking. They all knew she was indirectly accusing them of speaking recklessly a moment ago by trying to shout over one another.

She took a deep breath and breathed out slowly before beginning her speech about her opinion.

“I am a human, my father is a human, and everyone who works under us is human. I want to clarify that because there seems to be a slight misunderstanding still going as to my origins. So, I was very distraught upon learning the numerous deaths occurred on the battlefield, mainly to the many brave soldiers of Mardana Kingdom, who had died fighting bravely for a greater cause!

I feel very sorry towards each and every family member that had lost their loved ones in that war. It cannot be helped. Wars take lives, it causes situations where the morality of everyone is challenged, but we cannot just give in to the sickening feeling and forget ourselves!

Because, it is not just the Mardana Kingdom who had suffered losses. Both Ashtra Kingdom and Floria Kingdom had lost many of their soldiers as well. Lives that can never be brought back, and the suffering that came after cannot be undone. Yet, we cannot let our feelings cloud our judgement as we wallow in the pain of the loss of life and trying to blame someone as to why this happened. Is it wrong, for we are leaders who protect the peace and prosperity of our people in our respective kingdoms on our Human Continent!”

“Girl!” Athurus exclaimed, flaring up angrily as he felt that her words were addressed directly at him. “You are crossing your limits!”

A commotion was about to rise from the Mardana Kingdom side when Steve threw them a sharp look and said, “Calm down, Athurus! The lady is the one currently speaking!”

“Steve!” Athurus protested incredulously. “Do you understand what this girl is saying? It’s clear that the person she claims that had lost themselves to their feelings is me and my people! It is clear she is trying to disdain me indirectly by spouting nonsense and insulting me and my people!”

Steve looked at him for a moment before turning back to Lina and asked, “Miss Lina. Was that your intention?”

“Of course not, your majesty, Steve,” she replied, bowing her head a little in rejection. “I am expressing my concern that our feelings may affect our judgement and decision making. Plus, I have not completed what I wanted to say before his majesty, Athurus, took offense.”

“Girl!” The King of Mardana Kingdom called, causing everyone to turn and focus on his angry face. “Stop trying to butter up your words by cleverly pretending you weren’t trying to insult me and my people!” He turned to Steve and said, “Steve! It is clear from the behaviour of Floria Kingdom’s delegates! They are shameless and plot ways to insult and disregard the dignity that we’ve been trying to uphold since the beginning of this matter!”

“Athurus,” began Lakshman, speaking up for the first time since sitting down to address everyone there, “are you suggesting that a teenager is capable of cleverly plotting to undermine you and your people? Is that what you’re saying?”

His question annoyed his opponent, who glared at him fiercely and asked, “You say that so simply, but what about you? How old are you, Lakshman?”

The moment the age of the Phoenix Titan was raised, muttering began within the room as everyone slowly realised the implication here. Technically, Lakshman was twenty-years-old despite the ten years that he and his family spent frozen in time before being freed from its effect. This made them turn to face Lakshman with uncertain looks.

Lina was alarmed by the question as she realised the current age of her king and knew what he was doing. Not just her, the rest of the Floria Kingdom delegates were stumped by the Mardana Kingdom’s question. It can be said that even though Lakshman is over the age of eighteen to be labelled an adult, he was still far too young to be considered a grown-up adult according to the social standards. As such, this threw him and Lina’s perspectives into question.

Despite all of this happening, Lakshman remained calm, cool and collected as he smiled serenely at Athurus and asked, “Athurus… Who am I?”

The simplicity of the question surprised Athurus, and he was about to give an immediate reply when his mouth froze stiff. He felt a sudden chill run throughout his body as he looked at the gaze Lakshman was giving him. It was cool and serene, but he could somehow tell that there was a strange glint in his eyes almost in a threatening manner.

This made him realise whom he was dealing with. The Phoenix Titan, the strongest warrior in the world and the leader of the Nine Pillars of Power. No one could match his strength or even come close to rivalling the power he possesses. Even the fact that he returned alive despite falling through a portal into the void goes to show his prowess compared to everyone dwelling in that world.

Athurus gulped nervously and cold sweat formed on his face as he felt very nervous to give a reply. It was not until Steve asked, “What’s the matter, Athurus? Why are you hesitating? Is there something wrong?”

“Um… No…” replied the Mardana Kingdom slowly, glancing sideways at the King of Ashtra Kingdom before looking back towards the King of Floria Kingdom. He gulped once more before quickly coming up with a counter attack and asked, “W-Who are y-you, Lakshman? Uh… I-Is that a… t-threat?”

He cursed himself for speaking so brokenly, but he could not stand that dangerous look Lakshman was giving him with the utmost coolness on his face.

“I’m threatening you?” Lakshman asked back and let out a chuckle. “I thought I was asking a question; how is that threatening, Athurus?”

“I…” began Athurus nervously, realising he was not able to get anything against Lakshman since it seems that only he was feeling the chilling look that he had given him moments before. “I must’ve imagined it.”

“Yes. You probably did,” replied Lakshman with a smile. Then he addressed everyone with, “I’m sure Athurus was just feeling under the weather because of all that’s happened so far, so it’s alright. We haven’t taken any offense in him misunderstanding Lina’s intentions, and I implore others to listen to her as well because her words carry my weight behind them as well.”

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This had a strong impact on everyone there because him stating “her word carrying my weight behind them” is basically telling them that “her words are my words” and should be taken accordingly. Everyone on his side were surprised and so were the rest of the people seated on their respective sides. This went a long way to show the trust and faith he has in Lina.

“Um… Y-Your… majesty…?” Lina whispered weakly, looking very nervous from the sudden proclamation he just made.

He did not speak and instead smiled and winked at her before gesturing for her to continue with his head. Understanding, she did her best to cool down the nervousness that suddenly stirred within her and resume her earlier speech. It proved difficult because of the sudden added pressure that every word she speaks from now on would be taken with the utmost seriousness. No longer was she just a protégé of the Phoenix Titan, but she is also the trusted aide of the King of Floria Kingdom.

“As I was saying,” she began weakly before sighing deeply before continuing with, “we must contain our feelings and proceed to do things for the greater good of our society, our people, and the world at large. That is why we must remain open minded and process every side without prejudice.

This leads me to the casualties suffered by our forces at the hands of the Demons, and I would like to add that our forces also included members of the Phoenix Clan. They fought alongside our warriors and tragically… met their end similarly.”

She remained silent and held her head down a little as if in prayer before lifting it up and going on to say, “We all know how the Phoenix Clan is the mightiest clan in the world, even stronger than the Dragon Clan. Despite their ranking in the world, they chose to remain in the Human Continent and protect it from all kinds of threats that would bring negative repercussions on us, the Human Race. So, we must be grateful for all that they had offered in protecting us since the ancient days.”

At this point, the assistant to the Mardana Kingdom raised his hand and asked Steve, “May I interject for a moment, your majesty, Steve?”

Steve looked at him and seeing that he appeared peaceful, he nodded and said, “Very well.”

The assistant nodded in appreciation and said, “Thank you,” and rose to his feet to address Lina. “Miss Lina, you are indeed correct that we owe the Phoenix Clan a great debt for protecting our continent and our Human Race for so long, but please do not forget the facts just because of that. This war was clearly brought upon by the conflict involved between the Phoenix Titan and the Calamity Titan. His majesty, Lakshman, has attested to this already before your arrival.”

This surprised Lina, who turned to look at her king in surprise. He looked up at her and nodded apologetically. She looked a little puzzled and lost for words as this came as a surprise.

“It is clear that the forces around the world were drawn into their conflict, which escalated into a full-scale war. There is nothing to be done since it involved the safety of everyone at large, but because it rooted with the involvement of the Phoenix Titan, we feel it only justifies that we demand a compensation of said amount due to so many of our kingdom’s soldiers dying on the battlefield.”

“So, you tell me, Miss Lina. Do you still think that us asking such a compensation is unjustified?” He asked her finally.

Lina was silent as she was thinking of how to respond to his words. As everyone turned their attention to her, Steve asked, “What do you have to say to that, Miss Lina?”

Lina continued to maintain her silence as she quickly thought on the spot to find an appropriate response to give. However, she was drawing a blank because she could not find a proper way to put the man’s claims down while protecting her kingdom’s integrity.

Her true intentions were to negate the possibility of giving compensation due to the financial strain they were under. She may not know the full details as she was just a teenager studying at Astral Academy, but she often worked with the people employed by her barony and was close with several of them and understood the great strain the kingdom was facing.

Just then, she felt a hand grip hers and turned to her side to see Lakshman holding her hand gently with a soft smile on his face.

“It’s my burden, so I’ll pay for it. I won’t let the kingdom suffer because of me,” he told her quietly.

“But… that’s wrong,” she said slowly, but he shook his head.

“I’m a ruler, Lina, and any mistake the ruler makes must be penalised and paid by the ruler himself. I don’t want to make my subjects suffer. I’m not a ruler that lets its people suffer while I enjoy and thrive in riches and comfort of my position,” he told her softly, but firmly at the same time with a firm look on his face.

She was startled by what he said and wanted to protest, but he shook his head to deny anything she wanted to say.

“Just accept it as my will, Lina. Now, speak your thoughts freely,” he told her and smiled softly.

It was then that she realised that her worry was being shown on her face without her knowing it. This made her feel a little embarrassed, but she composed herself and nodded in acceptance. His words were actually comforting for her since she did not need to concern herself with the financial strain of her kingdom. Even so, it did not stop her from doing something to try and lessen the burden of the compensation that her king would have to pay.

“I understand what you said and it is true. My king has also informed me of his intentions to pay for the compensation, which is unrelated to our kingdom,” she said and saw her opposition smiling in satisfaction in victory, but she did not finish as she went on to say, “but is that correct?”

“What?” The assistant asked and so did several others in confusion while Steve looked keenly at her. The assistant pointed at her and asked, “What do you mean ‘is that correct’, Miss Lina? Are you implying that we are in the wrong for changing the compensation on a man to pay for dragging the world into his problems?”

She shook her head and said, “Of course not. You make valid points, and we accept them. However, just think about it for a second. Stop and think about a second of what we are implying. Many of the Phoenix Clan members died in the war, and the Phoenix Titan escaped death and returned safe and sound after risking his life to save our world from that huge portal that opened in the sky. It could have been the end of our world had it not been for his efforts to save everyone and protect the world, leading to him getting sucked into it in the process.

So, I ask each and every one of you… is it right to place such a heavy burden on our hero?”

The end of her speech caused a stunned silence to fall on everyone in the room. No one had expected such a thing to be brought up and said so passionately and emotionally like the way she did. With the way she put it, the compensation was certainly excessive since their hero, the Phoenix Titan, did indeed save the world at the risk of losing his life. As such, demanding a hefty compensation from him was unethical and downright cold and ruthless.

“That is all I wish to say, your majesty,” said Lina by turning to Steve.

Steve nodded in acceptance and said, “Alright. Those are some very good valid points you’ve raised, Lina. I see potential in you for the future. Keep it up.”

Lina was very surprised to receive such an unexpected compliment and grinned as she replied, “Thank you for that, your majesty! I am honoured to hear you say that about me! I really do!”

Steve nodded at her and as she sat down, he began addressing everyone with, “All of you heard her, so what do you have to say in return?” For a few seconds, he waited for anyone to speak up and as the silence stretched, he turned towards the Mardana Kingdom’s side and asked, “What about you, Athurus? Do you have anything to say to her claims?”

“Well…” began Athurus weakly, finding it hard to give a proper reply. “She’s… made a valid point.”

He disliked very much to admit it, but he had no choice. If he were to ignore it and continued to proceed forward with his compensation plan, then he would be treated as a heartless person. The looks on the faces of everyone away from his side told him exactly how they felt towards him and his plan.

This would not do him any good as rumours would spread despite trying to keep it quiet and soon, he would be viewed in a negative light. Not wishing for such an outcome, especially at the thought of being cast out by his subjects, he decided to retract his method and try an alternative way to peacefully conclude the compensation meeting.

“I believe we should reconsider the compensation since Miss Lina is right to state that the Phoenix Titan did indeed save our world and us from possible destruction at the near cost of his own,” he said finally and heaved a sigh wearily. He looked towards Lina, who was both surprised and happy to hear it and asked, “We will reconsider the compensation by considering everything you’ve stated to be paid by the Phoenix Titan. Is that okay, Miss Lina?”

She was surprised that he was speaking politely to her, but she knew he was just trying to look good in front of everyone. As such, she disliked him very much but did not show her emotions and instead smiled happily at him.

“Yes! I’m happy to hear that!”

The Mardana Kingdom proposed to send a letter within a few days with the adjusted amount of compensation and would ask for the Floria Kingdom’s opinion on it, to which everyone agreed. Thus, this brought the long gruelling conflict regarding the compensation to a surprising and a peaceful conclusion.