BoI III

A man in his late thirties, wearing the silver armor that shone and blinded every one who would see and would be lucky to find their eyes burning if they luckily looked at the armor and the sun exactly reflected on the thing. He stood proud and manly, a lot of people admired him, and he was certainly the most attractive when he was using his mind in terms of commanding and deciding for the naval armies and the improvement of the people of the Island of Jussey. He looked very manly, his skin was dark brown due to the exposure to the sun whenever they were in training and whenever he was roaming and checking the whole island of Jussey's territory in land and water. His eyes were sharp and deep, his eyebrows were bushy and almost meeting each other whenever he would crease his forehead. His countenance was sharp, another reason for people to like him.

The sound of his steps were heavy, plus the additional sound of the clanging of the metallic scabbard of the sword hitting the armor. Whoever would hear those sounds already knew that it was the strict and smart general, General Erico, who was coming near them. That also meant that they should be on their perfect disposition, the fact that the man checked it upon himself to look at everyone with his scrutinizing look, from just being the most normal and even the most unseen person in the place, they would never be out of her sight.

He was a perfectionist, that was for sure. Some hated him, especially those who couldn't accept the criticism of the man, but most liked him because they appreciated the fact that those criticisms were making them improve as they were taking it light at heart. They were admiring him because he himself was perfect, and he made sure that he set himself as an example to everyone so they would find anything from him that he didn't want to see to anyone. He was basically making sure that everyone part of the Naval Armies and the Land Force would have the best attitude and self-responsibility starting to themselves before they could serve the people of the Island of Jussey.

"Greetings, General Erico," the guards greeted the general as he walked past them, and even saluted him by putting their fist over their chest. That was the traditional way of Island of Jussey's armies' way of saluting to the superiors, while the way of greeting to the royals was by the same fist on chest and a deep bow.

General Erico was the most superior among all the armies, either Naval Armies or Land Force. He was the chief and the most trusted of the king in terms of looking out for the safety of the land and the territorial sea of the island. He was also the king's main company and the main adviser when he was deciding about something that he thinks would be best to have for the improvement of the Forces. General Erico was one of the youngest persons ever to train the men in all forces along with the other leaders of before who were now dead. He even trained with the king and even shared friendship and skills with him, and now that they were both the highest leaders, they were sharing their brains and knowledge to improve the forces.

When he reached the study room of the king, he knocked three times before opening the door. The two guards at the side stood at the side, saluting at him and let him in. He was one along with the king's family who didn't need to be checked before they came into the king's study room since they were his most trusted. The other people still needed to be checked and confiscated their weapons before they could talk to the king to make sure that they would not attack the most powerful person in the whole island, and would not get away if someone ever tried to hurt him.

"Greetings, Your Highness," General Erico greeted as soon as he closed the door behind him. He waltzed toward the table where the king was seated rather seriously and busy with his hand stroking lines all over the paper. Whenever he would find the king in this situation and position, he knew his mind was working non-stop, and he already had ideas in his mind that he needed to relay to someone who could help him visualize more, improve, and turn it into reality. The someone he meant was himself, the General Erico that the king indeed knew could help him in any possible way. He sometimes felt over praised, and the expectation that the king had in him was somewhat high, but it didn't put too much pressure on him. He knew what he could do, he was aware of the power he holds, and that was enough for people to be afraid of him.

The king stopped for a moment, retreating the quill carefully to not mess up his work and put it back to the inkwell. When he was satisfied, he looked up and met General Erico's stare with a huge smile. He was obviously pleased to see the man who rarely stayed in one place, and rarely visited the palace unless he was called and his presence was requested by the king himself. Take note, the only person who could summon him was the king himself, if it was any other, even if they were part of the palace, he would not follow. That was how special the king was for him.

"General Erico, it's nice to see you well and so handsome as ever," the king greeted as he stood up and bowed to the man, the man whom he considered as his superior and senior that was deserving of his and everyone's respect as always. He was the one who led the armies who kept them safe from the enemies, the loyalty he had to the island was admirable, and the king could rarely find a person with that level of patriotism.

"King Phantom, it's a pleasure to be graced by your presence." The man bowed as well. "What do I need to do for you, and what have you been so busy with lately? I believe you're not forgetting your duty as a husband and father to your family for whatever this is."

The king chuckled and waved his hand dismissively. He pointed the chair in front of his table and beckoned him to sit there. "Don't worry, General. My family's very understanding and supportive of me. You know how Andromeda is, she has no problem as long as what I'm doing for the people and the naval armies. Also, my wife is busy training my son, Pyro. He will be your next person you'd be teaching soon once he comes to his perfect age."

General Erico crossed his legs and arms, smirking at the king. "I'm sure no one would be a match against that little boy. Two of the most outstanding naval soldiers teaching him, plus a natural skill ran in the prince's blood? Of course, I look forward to the kid's journey and see what he can do for the island."

"I am excited about what he'll become, too. After all, there's not much choice of what he will become in this place, either he would be part of the naval armies, which most of our men were part of, or he would be one of those people behind the improvement of our arms and weapons. From what I can see, he's showing enthusiasm with being part of the naval armies through our tainings, so he would be in that. Either way, he will still be under your guidance."

The general hummed and nodded slowly, he held his chin and massaged his stubble. His eyes were squinting as if he was thinking of something. "That's if nothing will happen. You know what I'm saying? That's what your father has told my father as well, but look at what happened? You've been stuck here in the palace and chose reigning as the king instead of being part of the naval armies. The kid would only experience that dream of yours for him, if you would lead fairly well for him, and you would not die as early as King Python."

The king's smiley face vanished at the realization, and he turned serious. He fell to his own thinking. For some reason, General Erico really had a point at that. He was, after all, snatched of his own dream by the sudden death of his father, and he needed to take over the throne to keep the Island of JJussey's people growing and assured that they would be led by a good governance. No one expected that he would die, he had done a lot of things for the island and everyone liked and admired King Python, so Phantom, as his son, could do whatever he wanted, which he chose to train for the Naval Armies. Unfortunately, before he could officially become part of that, and he could have first fight to protect the island, the unfortunate event that put the whole island to grief and loss happened, and he was immediately reigned as the king. Everything was turned and given to him, and being part of the Naval Armies had become a distant dream once again.

King Phantom sighed and pursed his lips. "I will try my best not to give him the same fate. I don't feel any sickness right now, I keep myself healthy as advised by my personal healer. We don't have to worry about that now."

"Well, then that's pleasing to hear, King Phantom. But what is the main reason why you called for my presence? I'm sure it's not something small like talking and asking how I am, is it?"

The king never called for him for something trivial. It was always important, whether something that he needed his power to materialize his ideas, or he needed the reports of how the Naval Armies and the Land Force were doing in keeping peace and order in the island. They were not entirely friends that he could call whenever he wanted and they could talk about everything they wanted the whole day, no. All of their conversation involved their works and anything about the Island of Jussey, there were rarely times that they would talk about their families. So, General Erico knew that the king needed something from him.

"Say, are there a lot of spaces and areas on every side of the island that may allow us to build a few of my ideas?" The king asked, finally getting into the real reason why he asked for his presence. He reached for a group of rolled papers under his desk and put the paper that he was drawing on earlier at the side for a moment while he discussed things to the man first.

General Erico massaged his stubble and frowned, thinking about the area and bases of every side of the island. "Upon checking yesterday, I think there are places available if you are thinking of building a few establishments, though they are slightly limited. Maybe I can personally arrange time, effort, and space for it, so mind telling me what are your ideas, His Majesty?"

"Well, it's not much. You can look at my visuals, the finishing touches are up to you. You have, after all, a more precise imagination than I, and I trust your talent in building and architecture," the king told him, intertwining his hands on the table and watching the general's face as he looked at his ideas.

The general hummed as he skimmed the three papers and the drawings in there carefully. "Not to be rude, but what are these, Your Highness?"

"Those are my ideas. First is the Recoup Mechanism, then the Vault Hall, and the last is the Alleviation Sanctuary."

"I know, King Phantom, there are names written here. What I mean is, what is the meaning of these establishments?" General Erico said, honestly, he was interested in these drawings in front of him. But to better understand and improve these, he needed to know what the king's plans were.

The king grinned widely and stood up. "These will be lengthy. It's better if we'll discuss this in the lighthouse so we can better visualize. But this better stays between the two of us only. There are, after all, threats lurking around."