BoI IV

"What are they doing there?" the guard asked as they looked at the top of the lighthouse where they could see the king and the general standing there with papers on their hands and obviously discussing things to each other. "Could it be that King Phantom and General Erico are talking about something that will bring change to our island? They are looking over the whole island, what do you think they are planning?"

The other guard he was talking to shrugged and nudged him. "Whatever it is. It's none of our business yet unless the king tells us to do something. But he's really planning something, that's for sure, and I can't wait for him to do something and prove his worth of being the king. To tell you honestly, I don't feel quite good about the king. It's like he's too idealistic and ambitious, he would try something almost impossible. You know where those things lead them, it's either an achievement or downfall."

"Hey~" The other guard bumped the serious guard and shook his head. "Don't underestimate the king, he might hear you. And he came from the family of Cairo, they had fire burning in them to serve the island. They are not just simple leaders, they are the best leaders to lead us and our island. It's like, it runs in their blood that they are the best leaders. So your doubts are nonsense. Just trust the king, he is the son of King Python who led us through the previous Battle of Islands and got our naval armies the weapons and invented stronger firearms."

"I don't have doubts about King Python. His Majesty was beyond legendary and he had done a lot of things for us like what you said, and even improved the training of both Naval Armies and us, Land Force. He's leading the whole island and not forgetting about the other inhabitants. By what I can see with King Phantom, he's only focusing on improving the Naval Armies. Everything is about Naval Armies. And he cannot even stop talking about Naval Armies. How about the Land Forces? The Back Support System? I've heard nothing planned about us either. So, I don't know yet."

"Give him time. His Majesty sure has a lot of things stored for the whole island. Just give him the benefit of the doubt. Every leader has their own ways of leading. Also, Naval Armies need the most support, we should be most aware of that. They handle external conflict and forbid the enemies from conquering us, while us, the Land Forces, are responsible for internal conflict which they rarely have since we're all in unity. You should understand."

The other guard had a point, it wasn't like he was just optimistic. He somehow understood how the king was thinking why they were focusing on the Naval Armies first. They couldn't also blame the reigning king since he once was supposed to be part of the naval armies if not for what happened, so he knew much better about the field than the Land Forces. However, the other guard was slightly still doubtful over King Phantom. It was like there was just something off he was feeling over how the king was acting and his way of thinking. He didn't want to jump to conclusions, but he couldn't help himself but think like that. Maybe he should really give the king the benefit of the doubt and give him a chance to prove more of himself. It's not like he could do something about his worry. He was just a mere guard, after all.

+++

As what they dealt with, King Phantom and General Erico climbed on top of the lighthouse and were greeted by Guard Miso, the man who had been guarding and eyeing the whole island. He was the one to ring the bell when there's a threat or incoming conquerors looming around the island. He served to be their alarm. There was a somewhat code-like ring of bell to tell the whole island where the enemies were. If he rang the bell once, it was in the north. If twice, the enemies were in the south. If thrice, it was in the west. And four times, the enemies were in the area of the east. Five times ringing the bell tells them that they were losing, or a part of the island needed help and back up.

He was doing well with his job, with his huge body, he could certainly clang the alarm as loud as he could until heard all over the island. It was also hard, since the fact that the bell was as huge, or even huger than him, he was exerting effort from here and there, especially when all of the sides were being attacked.

Guard Miso immediately bowed and put his fist over his chest upon seeing the king and the next powerful person around the island. "Greetings, King Phantom, General Erico."

"Guard Miso, greetings to you, too. How is our island out here?" The king greeted back, tapping the man's broad shoulder as he nodded at him and gave him a curt smile. He was especially chosen by his father even when he was still a teenager. His body was already peculiar, the late king had seen something in him which made him the chosen one, and he gladly accepted the offer. He believed he had nothing better to do so he just agreed right off the bat, and it was the king who asked him.

"Everything is peaceful, King Phantom. There's no conquerors showing themselves, fortunately, and the Naval Armies check the surroundings from time to time. May I know what exactly brought you here, Your Highness? If that's not an intruding question," he asked, shifting his gaze from the king to the general and to the papers they were holding. It seemed like they would be talking about something confidential.

"We'll just discuss a few things. Do you mind if I give you a short break for a while?"

"Not at all, His Majesty. It's good to have breaks from time to time. It's refreshing. I'll be just down there and will be waiting until you're finished. You may take all the time you need," Guard Miso answered and bowed once more to both of them as he walked down the lighthouse and left his area.

The king waited until the guard was out of their sight, he checked the surroundings first, the whole Island of Jussey that he was protecting and leading. The island that provided them ledgers and comforts. The beautiful Island of Jussey. King Phantom breathed in the cold, fresh, and salty air and exhaled with a pleased smile. "The island is very beautiful, don't you think? Very worthy to be saved, worthy to be protected, worthy to be ours."

"It is, Your Majesty," General Erico replied, "And you're doing a very good job in protecting our very own island. The nearby islands were not trying to get us yet. Late King Python also did a very great job in securing and inflicting fear to them so they were not trying to get us. However, we have to always be ready, we don't know when they are going to attack us. They knew King Python is dead, the greatest leader they were scared of, and though since then they had not yet attacked the Island of Jussey and still not had seen your power and how good of a leader you are, so you have to make sure that once they tried to attack, the naval armies would show that you are as good as your father."

"They shouldn't try. I'll devote myself to the island if it's needed. Anyway, let's get to the topic, I don't want Andromeda and Pyro to start the supper without me." He opened the first paper where the first structure was drawn. "First is the Recoup Mechanism. Our Naval Armies aren't robots that had no limitations with everything that they do, especially after they fought for the island. One of my problems before when I was in training was I got exhausted easily, and the only thing I did was to sleep the exhaustion away. Recoup Mechanism is like a recharge area for our naval armies and their weapons. We would need energizers, medicines, boosters, and rest while their weapons were being recharged and fixed as well."

General Erico tilted his head and looked at the king. "Is it through machines, or manually through our people?"

"Machines, General. They would be in transparent tubs, like those that were used in our experiments, things would be connected in their body where the medicines and other things that may quicken the recovery from the exhaustion of concussions from the fights, and they would be resting inside for seventy-two hours or until they were good. I'm sure we can have our Back Support System and the Healing Column provide us the specifics we need. The problem is where will we have to build this since it has to be a huge place."

The general hummed and looked around, scanning the whole place and looking around to see where he could suggest it be built. "North has a huge space left next to their base. Maybe I can talk to Nordman and have him get the area and see if it is the perfect place for this one. This is a very nice idea, Your Highness. I am sure that the Naval Armies would be very pleased to have this."

"Thank you. Next is the Alleviation Sanctuary. This is like it's name, a sanctuary. This is for leisure and for those who are not that exhausted and only want to relax. Alleviation Sanctuary is like a spa, but still with medication mixed in the water. There could be drinks served while they were submerged in the water, or food, or anything that they wanted. It's like a treat, and open for all. We have to take care of our Armies, both in the navy and land. We barely have leisure places and entertainment areas for them since my father wanted everyone to be serious, but a little bit of those isn't that harmful, right?"

"That's pretty much it," the general replied, facing the West side. "West side can be the perfect place for that. West side people are too stiff and stern, they need leisure and loosen themselves up by interacting with other people. I'll talk to Westley to choose the best place for this. Both the North and West sides have the largest areas so I'm sure this will be fulfilled gradually. How about the last?"

"The last just needs a small area on each side of the Island of Jussey's bases. Vault Hall is our jail, whenever we would get conquerors, they would be locked up in there. Investigations should also be done there, both in our Land criminals, or water conquerors, they would be punished inside there. It would be better if vault halls are underground," the king replied, closing all the papers and looking at the general. "Are all of my ideas plausible enough to materialize as soon as possible?"

"They are possible and very realistic. As soon as our goods arrive, I will make sure to start working on these. I can see the enlightenment of the Island of Jussey in your hands, His Majesty. I look forward to more eye-opening years with you."

The king grinned and nodded at him. He looked at the wide, blue sea in front of him. He had a calm expression, but the general could see in his eyes that he had a longing expression. He wanted to be back in the water, but responsibility was holding him back so he couldn't. He had to focus on being a king of the island. He sympathized with him, but he commended how he was using his power to provide everything the Naval Armies needed.

"Did you know? Aside from these three, I'm aiming for the largest one that could save us from every attack the neighboring island couldn't win over."

The general, for the first time ever, felt worried over the matter.