"Yes. Thank you for taking the time to work with me on this impromptu celebration." Helix said with a voice filled with gratitude.
"I was impassioned when I announced my plans for a gathering, so I'm humbled the military is sponsoring it."
"No. I should be thanking you." Oakley replied with a relaxing voice.
"After learning of General Tyrene's passing, I needed to plan something anyway.
You saved me the trouble of picking a venue and announcing it, and I would've had to get a symbol of her life.
I assure you, I couldn't have procured a Colossus skull on such short notice."
The table, aside from Mosely, started chuckling.
"I'm glad to have helped." Helix said with a breathless chuckle.
"Tell me, Sir Helix. How… did you get that thing into the arena?" Oakley asked with a curious expression.
"Macron told me that you pulled it out of your item storage, but no one believed him."
"I took it out of my item storage." Helix confirmed with a slight smile.
Oakey's eyes widened in surprise alongside Lieutenant Mosely's.
Lieutenant Manson had recovered from his shock and was bitter and suspicious.
"How? I've never seen anyone put something that large into their item storage." Oakley replied.
"I looked it up later." Helix said.
"The person that kills a monster and casts the intent spell can carry raw materials of any size in bulk." Helix said with a slight smile.
"Once you reach third-evolution beasts, the pelts become extraordinarily large.
So if they couldn't, it would cause a problem.
As a result, the Myriad Record allows a recognized killer the right to store it, and the size isn't a barrier."
The table fell silent.
Oakley looked at Helix in a state of perplexion.
"Are you telling me that the Myriad Record recognized you as the killer of the Colossus?"
Helix nodded in confirmation.
"That's right." He said with a calm expression.
"It's likely that my partners could have also claimed the skull or skeleton if they had cast the spell.
The Myriad Record recognized me as one of them."
Macron's eyes trembled in confusion.
The others were doing the same.
Helix sighed internally.
"Aside from personally landing the final decisive blow to its life, I led the army and developed the entire strategy and trap structure for the mission.
I also led countermeasures to save soldiers' lives by routing the Colossus on the battlefield." Helix clarified.
"Lastly, I cast ten intent spells on the Colossus' head and led the effort to saw it off."
Helix gave them a slight smile.
"So naturally, I deserved at least partial killer status."
The room fell dead silent after hearing the news.
Everyone knew that Helix was involved in the death.
"Then General Tyrene… did she do most of the damage?" Oakley asked with wide eyes.
"Master Tyrene was critical to its takedown." Helix said while shaking his head.
"However, it took a dozen calamity spells from four people, a disaster-grade Level 5 magic circle, hundreds of magical attacks, ballista arrows, and three hundred men to kill."
More silence filled the room.
"Saying anyone did the most to kill it would lead to misconceptions, given that everyone was necessary to bring it down." Helix continued.
"However, from pure physical damage alone, Tyrene's apprentice Charlotte Kline did the most damage to it."
After a moment of stunned silence, Lieutenant Manson stood up.
"That's bullshit! You want us to believe you and some girl apprentice did more than Winter General Tyrene?" He scoffed.
Helix turned a murderous gaze to Lieutenant Manson.
The look in his eyes sent an icy shiver down Manson's spine.
He turned back to Oakley.
"Did General Masov not inform you that he witnessed Charlotte Kline level a small mountain with gravity magic before setting a 250-meter area on fire with 5000-degree flames?"
Oakley's eyes widened in surprise.
"No… General Masov told us you demonstrated your power and called the demonstration [terrifying]." The Major replied.
"He didn't give us details."
Helix turned back to Manson.
"Well, now you know. Please feel free to verify the legitimacy of my statement on your own time." He suggested with an icy tone.
So while you're in this room on General Masov's orders, you will follow his orders like a soldier.
Now sit down like a damn professional, or prepare to face insubordination."
Manson's face flushed with humiliation and anger.
However, he stood tall, prompting Macron to begin yelling.
Helix requested Macron stop with his hand.
"Lieutenant Manson. If you don't sit down and act like a professional in the next three seconds, you'll learn my statements are true when General Masov aggressively reprimands you."
Helix's voice was cold as ice.
Lieutenant Manson's face paled, and he sat down reflexively.
"Let me ask you something, Lieutenant." Helix requested in a frigid tone.
"Do you think General Masov and the Queen would casually allow four young adults to walk in and pretend they own the place if they didn't need their power?"
The lieutenant's dark, yellow eyes trembled in fear.
Oakley studied Helix's face with slightly narrowed eyes.
Helix's demeanor felt unnatural.
He didn't sound like a snobby noble demanding full respect.
The young man also didn't sound like a person of power.
Lastly, he didn't sound pissed off or wallowing in resentment.
Oakley could tell that the young man didn't have experience as a military professional.
So he understood he was trying to assert authority awkwardly.
Lieutenant Manson looked at Helix with shock written on his face.
He wasn't answering.
"Do you think General Tyrene would take four apprentices to fight a Colossus as a field trip?" Helix asked.
Manson's face started trembling more.
"Do you think apprentices taught by Grandmaster Winter General Dame Tyrene Masney would be weak?"
The young man trembled more.
"Do you think you're supporting her will by ruining the meeting held by her apprentices for her funeral?"
The lieutenant's face paled.
"Do you think you were honoring her when you heard her voice tell you not to give me a hard time?"
Manson was frozen stiff with fear.
"Even if you believe any of those things, let me ask you, Lieutenant Manson." Helix requested in a sarcastic tone.
"Do you think you can disregard your general's orders and make a scene in front of two higher-ranked professionals because you want to?"
Helix asked that question with a narrowed gaze.
Manson looked at Macron, who wore a serious expression.
Then he turned to Major Oakley, who was showing his disappointment.
He didn't want to offend Helix, who Masov strictly warned him not to offend.
"N-No." Manson stuttered after ten seconds of silence.
"Good. Now please act like a professional."
"Lieutenant. Please leave." Oakley ordered after a deep breath.
Manson turned his head to his Major with the fluidity of a rusty cog.
"You were explicitly ordered to show Sir Helix respect." Oakley said with a relaxing tone.
"We shouldn't need to remind anyone of that.
So the fact that you were told and you still made a scene here today shows that you're acting upon insubordination."
Manson started shaking in fear.
He didn't want to get reprimanded, and he could tell it was serious.
"Sir Helix wasn't showing off.
He was answering questions upon my request.
You disrespected us both." Oakley continued.
"Now leave. If I hear you start trouble or complain to others, I'll reprimand you seriously or strip you of your title."
Lieutenant Manson froze in disbelief.
Oakley closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
"Now, Lieutenant."
Lieutenant Manson stood up with shaky legs and walked out the door.
When he walked outside, he was facing four inner court Knights.
"I-Is something wrong?" Manson asked the Knights with fear in his eyes.
He felt like he might get arrested.
"No. We are here to protect Helix Margrave." Ripply replied without moving his head.
His eyes met the lieutenant's, and the man trembled with fear again.
"Now, Lieutenant." Oakley called out.
"Y-Yes, sir!"
The man ran down the hall with shaky legs.
"Please forgive my subordinate." Oakley requested while turning to Helix.
Helix nodded his head with a calm expression.
"No, I should thank you and apologize for causing you so much trouble."
He nodded his head, causing Oakley's eyes to widen in surprise.
Macron sighed in relief, knowing that Helix didn't lose some screws.
"If I don't address these matters head-on, people will continue trying to kill me." Helix explained with a calm tone.
"I'm not here to cause trouble, and I think I'm generally reasonable.
I don't have much experience, and I'm young, so I hope my method of dealing with Lieutenant Manson wasn't too aggressive."
Helix was genuinely remorseful, catching Oakley and Mosely off guard.
"You did nothing wrong." Oakley said with a light chuckle.
"I'm surprised, to be honest. I've never seen my general so shaken before."
Macron's eyes widened in surprise.
"So I expected you'd be… scarier I guess." Oakley laughed breathlessly.
"About that…." Helix replied with a slight smile.
"We had… a rough reception in Alzeria.
So my partners dressed up in girly clothing, put bows and flowers in their hair, and casually leveled a mountain and massive hill in five minutes."
Oakley chuckled in bewilderment, and Mosely joined in.
Macron burst into laughter and the entire table joined in.
"I would've loved to see the man's face." Macron chuckled.
"I wish you could have." Helix chuckled.
"My partners were waltzing under a Level 4 barrier as a tornado ripped through the valley.
It was beautiful."
Oakley's eyes animated with a pleasantly surprised expression.
"Waltzing? As in dancing?" He asked for confirmation.
Helix chuckled and gave him a warm smile.
"That's right. Charlotte and Riley were doing spins in girly dresses when the whole place exploded with fire.
It was legendary."
The table burst into laughter again.
The group slowly got to business after they laughed about Marie's cartwheel.
Helix was glad he finally met reasonable people.
—
[A/N: Charisma comes in many forms; it's not a question of charm or invigorating speeches.
Charisma is the ability to inspire actions by mannerisms, actions, and purpose.
While this scene is not as [entertaining] as mocking generals, he's building [relationships] by relying upon existing institutions and hierarchies.
Oakley understands how powerful Helix is.
So the fact that Helix is using legal authority instead of threatening makes him charismatic.
While he has power, he kneels and uses decorum.
Helix speaks to the otakus in their cultural language.
He spoke to the soldiers in a way that was important to them.
Helix and his partners mocked their poor reception dramatically to prove a humiliating point.
However, their arguments were mocking the treatment Helix was receiving by throwing [their] customs in their face.
His greatest charismatic feature is his ability to use force and show extreme reasonableness—not leniency—after.
Helix has less than a month to capture the kingdom's loyalty and soldiers' hearts to train them and prepare them for a biblical-grade death blender attack.
He's eighteen and will face natural opposition. It's life.
But if he pulls it off, it shows his personality, and corresponding actions were enough.
The moment that [mass murder to solve problems] is taken off the table, this is what the world looks like.
No matter how cliche this book gets, this dynamic empowers it and makes it special.
Thank you for reading; I hope you're enjoying the novel!]
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Power stones and grammatical errors = more content. :)
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