Pass a Poke Around

Order was quickly regained in the room as Luken cleared his throat to show his intentions of speaking.

"We all know Olinthus has been weakened a great deal, though we cannot forget its previous strength. The last war against Olinthus had left many casualties." He paused for a moment to let the atmosphere cool down from the previous heated conversation.

Everyone drew into a long silence. It was common knowledge that the previous rulers of Nelumbo, the parents of Luken, were killed over a decade ago by the forces of Olinthus. The war itself was a mystery, seemingly uncalled for on the part of Olinthus. Nelumbo was not a superpower amongst the other countries, yet were attacked by the ruler of Olinthus, to be precise, the wife of the emperor. Previously, that country had a strong empress that single-handedly brought Olinthus into the ranks of the powerhouses, becoming a strong militant force. However, the current emperor had thankfully brought that glory down with his own debauchery, especially in this recent year where even the citizens migrating.

In the past decade or so, under the leadership of Luken, he had lead many comrades to battle against Olinthus. The majority of the fights had been victories, but they were not enough to knock Olinthus off its pedestal.

Rowan had vague knowledge over the battles between Olinthus and Nelumbo. He had previously given instructions to the armies of Olinthus to the best path of victory, but was never involved with the battles with Nelumbo. At that time, he swept it under the rug as he had no time or leisure to question the abstract minds of the previous rulers of Olinthus to attack Nelumbo.

Through further inspection, the motivation for the war between Olinthus and Nelumbo was nonexistent. As for the gains? As aforementioned, Nelumbo was not a powerhouse country and had no value other than being plundered for its rich resources, but there were other weaker countries that were richer in resources.

He was quite curious of why the past emperor let his empress attack Nelumbo. In his memory, the predecessor was sly, cowardly and only relied on his weak mind control magic to influence others or relied on his wife who possessed powerful fire magic. Or rather, why did the empress want to attack Nelumbo?

These questions would be pushed to the back of his mind as he heard Luken finish his pause to continue his speech to have his generals and subordinates to take the war seriously. If they kept the mindset that the war would be short and easy due to Olinthus being severely weakened, it could lead to unexpected consequences.

"We must have our guard up and not underestimate them." Luken ended strongly and concisely.

The people within the room seemed to wait for more as Luken remained stern.

A nearby politician poked Payton. Payton poked Mara, to which he received a kick underneath the desk, but the poke was dutifully passed Leni.

The black-haired youth quietly shrugged his shoulders and asked the question that everyone wanted to say: "Sir, what are the actual stakes of this war?"

Of course, they all knew it was for the mirror and revenge against Olinthus, but what was the actual value in the item?

That curiosity had been prickling everyone since Olinthus had demanded the mirror.

An ancient artifact? Can it show the future? Or is it really just that pretty and good to hold?

Luken, having lost his momentum that was built up, had blankly stared at the group before him. He had gotten the underlying meaning, but was still confused.

Were they always this curious of his affairs?

The answer was no, up until they realized within the past few months, Luken had communicated with them less and whenever they inquired about it towards Gale, the answer they always received was "He has a new friend." Though, they were all skeptical as one of them had also spotted Luken only holding a mirror and occasionally smiling towards it.

Had their king become narcissistic recently?

The narcissistic and subordinate-neglecting king decided to graciously introduce them to the "stakes" of the war. Of course, after getting a positive feedback from the mental connection shared by the two.

"This is Rowan," A sweet and short introduction, perhaps too short as Luken hastily added on, "- my friend."

Silence once again permeated into the air. Not the one filled with a serious atmosphere, this silence was full of awkwardness. Even the ever sleepy looking Leni had a strange look on his face.

Ah, the king went mad and went on to think his reflection was his best friend.

The generals and politicians agree that their boss was a good-looking man. The most handsome one that they have ever laid eyes on.

They never knew the king would think the same and obsess over his reflection.

Though with King Luken's urging eyes to greet the mirror that was generously placed upright for their eyes to see, they could only greet the mirror in a respectful manner.

Rowan, not feeling anything wrong with the introduction, also politely greeted back.

"Hello, my name is Rowan. It is a pleasure to meet you."

Everyone was beyond shocked.

Payton was the first to exclaim, "The king really just made a voice for his mirror! Our king is truly powerful ventriloquist!"

The statement had a few hesitant agreements and a little more eye twitches from the listeners, especially Luken, who was regarded to have a surprise talent in ventriloquism. Gale decided to lower his existence and enjoy the show.

The brunette beside him was happy to smack sense into him.

"The mir- no, Rowan said that, you ignorant fool! Besides, would our king have such a nice, tender voice?!"

Luken touched his throat and began to doubt life. It did not change the fact that he agrees with Mara, Rowan's voice was quite nice.

On the other hand, Rowan already lost his voice and simply blanked out. The people in front of him truly pick out the strangest points to go off from.

Luckily, Leni had his wits together.

"Is it, or he, a magic artifact?"

"No. Just trapped in the mirror by Olinthus." Luken answered with a casual tone. Rowan agreed with a positive hum.

Immediately, the crowd went to scolding Olinthus and their shameful and despicable deeds.

It seems that further explanation would have to wait.