2424 Council Chambers (Part 2)

"War, you know what to do." Lith took the angry blade hung to his hip and put it in front of Kamila's desk.

"Kill. Kill. And kill!" The latches of the sheath writhed like angry snakes, their clicks producing words with a voice that nothing had of human and didn't even try to sound like one.

"No, protect." Lith chided it. "Think of the baby."

"Daughter!" War whined, the memory of Phloria's death still haunting it. For some reason, Elysia had replaced Phloria as the sword's primary mission, making War's obsession with the baby almost as bad as Lith's.

Almost.

"If hurt, kill?" The angry blade moaned like a puppy begging for a treat.

"No, if you even suspect they are trying to hurt her, you can get out of your sheath." Lith shook his head, making War emit a shrieking wail of excitement.

The blade started to float above Kamila's desk, the two violet crystals on either side of the hilt glowing like eyes as War spun around non-stop, leaving no blind spot in its patrol.

"Guys, you know what to do." Four six-eyed Demons armed to the teeth emerged from Lith's shadow, assuming a square formation with Kamila at its center. "Do you want the Golems too?"

"For the gods' sake, just go!" Kamila shooed him.

"You are right, the sooner we start, the sooner we finish." Lith ignored her silent plea and the horrified gazes of her fellow Constables. "Love you."

"I love you more." She replied with a sigh, waiting for the door to close. "Guys, there's no need for this level of security. Can you please go away? You are scaring everyone."

"You heard the Lady." Locrias said. "Covert mode, engage!"

The four Demons merged with the shadows in the room, making it impossible to determine their current position and creeping the Constables out even more.

'This is even worse!' Kamila inwardly whined, afraid to give another order that would be interpreted with Lith-like logic and further screw things up.

Meanwhile, Lith was following the Great Mage to the Council Chamber located inside a heavily guarded tower above his private quarters. The Throne Room was a security nightmare due to the many secret and servant passages and the dozens of staff members who had access to it at all hours.

The most important and secret meeting of the Kingdom took place in a small room about 6 meters (20 feet) long and 4 meters (13 feet) wide with only a round table and several wooden chairs as furniture.

The shape of the table didn't imply that every opinion held the same importance. It was simply the only way to keep everyone close and accommodate as many chairs as possible.

Aside from the furniture, the room was bare, with no windows and only one access point. Both the floor and the walls were of a pale grey, there was no color outside that of the magical stones the room was comprised of.

Most of the assemblies would last hours, and given the sensitive nature of the subjects that required the King's direct approval, discretion was of vital importance. 

The whole place was enchanted to prevent eavesdropping, either by conventional or magical means. It was also equipped with all the necessary protections to avoid the King and his most loyal advisors from getting killed in one fell swoop.

Lith found the Wards and the security of the Council Chamber to be of his liking. They were strong enough to put even his paranoia to rest and most importantly, the security measures were meant to keep people out, not in.

Thanks to his Magus robe, the Royal Arrays didn't work on him and if anything went wrong, he would be capable of Warping to safety.

'Damn, this is one of those moments when I'd ask Solus to use the Eyes to scan this place from top to bottom.' Lith missed her, often talking with her and remembering that she wasn't there only due to the silence in his head.

The room was already full and the most influential figures of the Kingdom had been waiting for him. The King and Queen were there as well, the Headmasters of the six great academies were sitting to their right, and the Head Royal Forgemasters to their left.

Orion sat right next to the King and Marth next to the Queen due to the importance of the role they had played during the War of the Griffons and that they were about to play.

There was only one empty seat on the opposite side of the table from the Royals and Lith gave them a bow before taking his place. The rest of those present stood up to return his gesture, and only the King and Queen remained seated.

"After much discussing, we have decided to give your Tablets a test run before spreading them to the rest of the Kingdom." King Meron said. "We are going to employ them in the six great academies, in the capitals of every region, and in Lutia."

"I beg your pardon?" Lith furrowed his brows in confusion. "I understand the academies since the investment for the central unit will be more than covered by the resources saved from not printing more textbooks."

"That and the possibility for the students to consult tomes from the library without having to wait for their turn." The Queen said and nodded for Lith to continue.

"The capitals make sense too. The Warp Gates make it easy to send reinforcements in case of abuse of the knowledge and perform server maintenance. Also, with their high population density the capitals are bound to provide lots of potential mages.

"But why Lutia? It's a small-sized city without even a Warp Gate."

"Actually, there are two." The King corrected Lith. "One in your barn and the other in your mansion."

"Those are private Gates so my point still stands. What relevance could Lutia possibly have?"

"Lutia has given us a Suprema Magus and two Great Mages already." Sylpha replied. "Also, the Crown is certain that your little brother, your niece, and your daughter will become pillars of our country as well.

"On top of that, Lutia is the place where you live. By giving the citizens of Lutia this opportunity, they will enjoy the fruits of your labor and be grateful for your presence. Also, who better than the creator of the Tablets can evaluate their effectiveness?

"This way we are making the life of your family easier and giving you a small sample size to study the impact on society of your device. Many birds with one stone."

Lith had to admit that the Queen's logic was sound but it also increased his workload.

He nodded and pushed the scroll comprised of several blueprints to the center of the table where an array scanned them and projected a copy for every person to study.

While the Royal Forgemasters browsed through the papers, the King asked:

"There's one point that I'd like you to clarify for me. Based on what you said when you offered the Tablets to us in the Desert, you plan on changing the kind and number of documents accessible by the Tablets over time, correct?"