CONSCRIPTION of the commoners.
Nikolai's father, the previous emperor, was a war freak who loved starting wars for all the dumb reasons.
As a result, the Imperial Family's military power suffered a lot.
When the Royal Knight Order was reduced to more than half of its original size, the previous emperor created a law that forced ordinary men as young as fifteen to enlist to the military and get dispatched to wars.
Without proper training, at that.
As a result, those inexperienced men only died on the battlefield.
[After all, most commoners are non-Mana users.]
Hence, when Nikolai seized the throne, he immediately got rid of the law that forced commoners to get drafted in the military out of their will.
Duke Arman Winchester, who realized his mistake, cleared his throat. "I misspoke, Your Majesty. For that, I deeply apologize."
"Just don't say anything if you will only suggest stupid things," Nikolai said, scoffing. Then he addressed everyone in the conference room. "All the noble households with two or more children will be obliged to send one of theirs join the war. I don't care if it's a son or a daughter as long as they can fight."
He was glad that Neoma wasn't there.
Because if his daughter was present in that meeting, then Neoma would have definitely opposed forcing the nobles to send one of their children to war.
[However, this is the duty of the nobles whenever a war breaks out.]
"I will make an official announcement soon–"
Nikolai was forced to stop talking when he felt a strange presence summoning him.
[Yule?]
"Your Majesty?" Rufus asked worriedly. "Is everything alright? Your eyes have turned red again."
Ah.
Nikolai didn't even notice that his eye color changed.
The fact that Rufus looked clueless meant only Nikolai felt the god's presence. Even the other representatives of the Twelve Golden Families looked oblivious.
"Let's wrap this up," Nikolai said in a hurry. "I have an important guest to attend to."
***
"WHY IS he here?" Nero, who was in the middle of ignoring Melvin's nagging, whispered to himsend and raised his hand to make his secretary stop talking. Then he stood up from his seat. "I'm being summoned."
"Is everything alright, Nero?" Hanna, who shared the office with him, asked worriedly. "Your eyes turned red."
Oh?
He didn't know that.
Nero looked at Hanna, Melvin, and Sandie Morrisley who were in the same room as him. "Do you not feel any strange presence?"
Melvin and Sandie Morrisley shook their heads politely. "None at all, Your Imperial Highness."
"I don't feel anything strange either," Hanna said. "But you do, don't you?"
Nero nodded while looking at the door. "The Moon God is here."
***
[THE FUCK is Grandpa doing here?]
That was Neoma's first thought as soon as she stepped out of the portal that the Royal Mages created.
They were back at the Royal Palace, and a strong divine presence lingered in the air.
But it seemed like only Neoma could feel it.
[Not even Paige who's also familiar with divine power could feel it.]
"Princess Neoma," Lewis called her name worriedly. "Your eyes have turned red. Is everything okay?"
Omo, omo.
She didn't even notice that her eyes had turned red.
No wonder her other "children" were looking at her worriedly.
Paige and Greko, who greeted them when their group had returned, looked more anxious because the two weren't with them when they headed to Mount Theron.
[It can't be helped since they needed to take care of the patients here.]
"I'm fine, everyone."
Her "children" still looked nervous, and she couldn't blame them for that.
[After all, I become a menace to society every time my eyes turn red.]
"Paige."
"Yes, Princess Neoma."
"Take care of the candidates and make sure they'll be comfortable in the palace," Neoma said, her body already levitating– thanks to Mochi's wind power. "I'm being summoned by my grandpa."
***
NIKOLAI met his son in the hallway that led to Skylus' room.
Glenn and Manu (who was holding the baby god in his arms), were standing in front of the room as if they were kicked out.
"Your Majesty, Your Imperial Highness."
Glenn and Manu greeted Nikolai and his son politely.
Nikolai was about to ask what the two were doing outside, but Nero suddenly walked past the king and the Moon Priest.
[This rude punk…]
"Neoma," Nero said excitedly as he opened the door. "She's back, Father."
Nikolai sighed, then he addressed Glenn and Manu with a slightly apologetic voice. "Let's talk later," he said, then he patted Glenn's shoulder. He could feel Skylus' presence in the room, so he knew why Glenn looked like he was about to cry. "I'll make sure your son is safe, Glenn."
***
"GRANDPA, have you gone mad?" Neoma asked as soon as she entered the room via balcony. She didn't have the patience to go through the door, after all. And she was right to move in urgency. She didn't like how there were bloody tear streaks on Skylus' face. "Why are you possessing Skylus' body when he's still a baby?"
"Skylus only has a physical vessel of a child, but he has the memories of his past life," Yule, who was possessing Skylus' body, said while sitting on the accent chair. "And it's duty as the saint to accommodate me every time I need to personally deliver a message to my precious descendats."
She just clicked her tongue, still annoyed.
Yule chuckled. "It's been a while, Nene. Your temper is still as nasty as ever."
She didn't get the chance to comment because the door burst opened, then Nero and Papa Boss entered the room.
As soon as they did, the door behind them slammed close on its own.
And then the room suddenly changed.
Ah, it was the same boring white room that Neoma had seen so many times.
[Most of the divine beings who summoned me have the same white room and white cubes for furniture.]
But the room wasn't the only thing that changed.
Yule finally returned to his original form while holding the sleeping Skylus in his arms.
Neoma was relieved to see that the baby saint looked fine.
"It's been a while, my precious descendants," Yule greeted them with a smile. "How have you been?"
It would have been a heartwarming reunion…
… had Nero and Papa Boss paid attention.
However, that wasn't the case.
"Neoma, are you okay?" Nero asked, hugging her tight as soon as he got a hold of her. "What happened to that bastard Calyx? They didn't hurt you, did they?"
"Of course, they couldn't hurt me even if they tried," Neoma said, patting Nero's back. "I'm not hurt anywhere, Nero. I let Calyx and the other crows leave unscathed since we can't afford the public's backlash at a time like this."
"You did well, Neoma," Papa Boss said proudly while patting her head gently. "It must have been hard holding back with that temper of yours."
Gosh.
Why was everyone talking about her temper?
[Was it that shocking that I left Calyx alone after just a mere punch in the face?]
"Thank you, Papa Boss," Neoma said. "How is Mama Boss?"
"Mona is fine, but you should greet your mother as soon as we're done here," Papa Boss said. "She's worried about you. So, let's get this done and over with."
At that moment, three pair of glowing red eyes finally turned to Yule.
The Moon God chuckled.
"I thought you've forgotten about my existence already," Yule said, smiling while shaking his head. "It's good to see that you get along, but please don't ignore me. The Sun Goddess is currently putting her life at risk just to give me time to talk to you."
Right.
Neoma broke free from Nero's hug, then she faced Yule properly. "Lord Yule, where are you? Did the Sun Goddess manage to save you?"
"Yes, and it's all thanks to the distraction that you created, Nene," the Moon God said. "When you gathered the strongest and the most talented young people from all over the world in the empire, all eyes naturally fell on you. You kept them wondering if you were already preparing for war. And you were."
"I wasn't thinking of war when I began the Selection," Neoma said. "But who are you talking about, Lord Yule? Who are those people who are keeping an eye on the Imperial Family? Of course, Helstor and the bastard crows are already a given. But who else should we be wary of?"
"Unfortunately, I can't give you names," Lord Yule said. "As you already know, I lost my eyes a long time ago. Hence, even gods weaker than I am could hide their presence from me."
Ouch.
Neoma was reminded of her failure to find Yule's eyes.
It had already been more than a decade since the Moon God asked her to find his real eyes for him, and yet she didn't even know where to begin.
[And many things already happened since then.]
Neoma felt a prick in her conscience.
"Ah, I'm not trying to make you feel bad, Nene," Yule said when he probably noticed Neoma's expression. "I know that it was illogical of me to ask a child like you to find my eyes when I don't even know who really stole them."
"I'm glad you know that, Lord Yule," Nero said, scoffing. "Why do you and the other gods feel entitled to ask Neoma for favors? Stop depending on a child, for goodness' sake."
Neoma wasn't a child, but she didn't correct Nero.
[Compared to the gods who kept asking me for favors, it's correct to say that I'm a baby.]
"I know, and that's why I feel apologetic, Roro."
Nero scrunched up his nose. "Please don't call me by that stupid pet name, Lord Yule."
The Moon God just laughed at Nero's complaint.
"Yule, I know you didn't come here just to have a chat with us," Papa Boss said in a serious tone. "Why did you reach out to us despite the risks?"
"As you already know, most major gods can't move right now," Yule said solemnly. "Aside from the fact that we cannot descend on the human world in our real form, Helstor is also blocking all the possible ways to reach out to you with his Darkness."
Neoma frowned. "Gosh, that bastard…"
"Helstor has also polluted the Upper World in the worst way possible, and it actually made most gods sick and weak."
Papa Boss let out a sigh. "Is this your way of telling us that you cannot lend us a hand then?"
"I cannot directly interfere because of my current situation," Yule confessed in a disappointed voice. "However, I came here to tell you whom you need to reach out to in order to stop what Helstor and the crows are planning to do."
"Oh, that's nice," Neoma commented. "So, who should we ask for help?"
"First, this isn't a battle for humans," the Moon God said. "Hence, you must reach out the other races this time."
Okay, that was a little vague.
"Second, you'll need to work with the Sun Goddess from now on," the Moon God continued. "Hence, you must keep Ruto by your side."
Neoma's heart fluttered.
[I knew it. Ruto needs me… er, we need each other?]
Nero and Papa Boss, on the other hand, snorted at the idea.
"Third, three ladies will play a huge part in the upcoming war."
Neoma raised an eyebrow. "Aside from me?"
"Yes, aside from you, Nene. And I know you are surrounded by amazing women like Mona and Hanna Quinzel. But, this time, these three ladies will really be vital to you," Yule said, then his face contorting as if he was in pain. "Monik. Dahlia. Brigitte Griffiths–"
The Moon God suddenly coughed up blood.
Black.
The blood that Yule coughed up was black– and it only meant one thing.
Neoma clenched her hands tight. "Who's the fucker who had the audacity to poison you, Grandpa?"
***
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