Chapter 37: Plan

No matter where one would turn, white could be seen. The sky was gray, the sun being blocked mostly by the almost endless amount of clouds.

Snow was falling, a never-ending cycle and state common for the area. In the middle of this winter-wonderland stood a singular tower. It was tall, being at least 200 meters high. At the bottom of it was a single door where one could enter from. The common understanding of all who visited was reaching the top would require walking up several flights of stairs.

However, when reaching the top, the view would not disappoint. At the height, see-through glass windows surrounded it, allowing one to peer out. In the far distance, a city could be seen, the lights and tall buildings were distinguishable even from this distance.

Despite the view, no one inside cared to focus on it. Something more pressing had their attention. In the middle of the room with see-through windows was a round table. Several individuals were sitting at it, with their respective attendants standing behind them. There was only one empty chair at the table, and everyone's eyes were on the person who hadn't sat yet.

It was a woman, with hair as white and clean as the snow just outside the tower. Her silver eyes passed over each person seated, and finally, after looking at each one of them, she spoke.

"I'm glad you all made it. It would have been a shame to start the meeting without a single one of you."

"Come on, you know I wouldn't miss this for the world!"

The person who responded to her first had a jovial glint in his voice. The man had jet-black hair, a fox mask covering his face. There were slits in it however, so his piercing red eyes were visible. He was wearing a black coat with two red streaks on the sleeve. The coat was open, revealing chiseled abs as he chose not to wear a shirt. It was a puzzling outfit choice, given their brisk surroundings but nonetheless, he wore it with stride.

"Sure you wouldn't miss it. Luna, why is this clown here?" Another individual spoke up, their tone was impatient and somewhat irritated. The person was a man who had one distinct feature, baldness.

If it wasn't for the cloudy sky which blocked out the fullness of the sun, there was no doubt his head would have been shining. His face was shaped like a block, as his jawline was extremely firm and despite him being fully clothed unlike the other man, he was burly in size. A glare was currently being cast from his deep-brown eyes as he stared down the fox-masked man.

"Come, now Azam. Macro has just a right to be here as you do. After all, his recent operation a few months back in the city of Albeade was a success, pushing us closer to our goal."

As Luna spoke, she glanced between the two men. Macro, hearing her praise released a confident huff as he leaned back in his chair, cupping his hands behind his head. All the while Azam maintained his scrutinizing gaze.

"Even through that, he had the audacity to violate my one request."

"What was it again?" Macro asked, releasing an uninterested yawn.

"To leave my cousin, Meyers, to me… Regardless of your assignment, you killed a nobleman and that cannot be forgiven."

"Forgiven? You act like I give a crap about things like that. The only thing that matters to me is whether the job gets done and last time I checked, it did. So lay off. It was his fault anyway. I mean we sent a letter to him and everything telling him to back down and he didn't."

Azam's fist tightened as Macro's blatant dismissal of his frustration reached his ears. Azam could tell, from the man's body language, to his tone, he truly did not care. As a vein popped from his forehead, another voice interceded.

"Are you two done yet? This is truly foolish and a waste of time." A feminine voice, not belonging to Luna, rang out. The person behind it was a woman with autumn red hair. Her green eyes were somewhat dead-pan, being fixed on the table. Her finger was tapping on it repeatedly at a slow and non-rhythmic pace. Due to her intercession a deep silence befell the room.

A sigh fell from her lips. "Look what you made me do. Speak. Now, you all stopped and it's awkward."

"What? Legali, it's only awkward if you make it!" Macro said, waving his finger adamantly through the air up and down. "Right, Azam?" He asked, glancing toward the man.

"Shut up. Don't talk to me."

Luna stepped forward, grabbing her chair to pull it slightly away from the table.

"It's good to see my subordinates getting along so well."

This is getting along to you? Azam thought, however he didn't voice his annoyance.

Luna sat down in the chair before getting pushed forward by someone behind her. The individual was a giant of a man, standing at over 6 feet tall. He had deep brown skin and steel-armor over his body. A large battle-ax was strapped to his back. Upon moving her closer to the table he took a step back, staying silent. The other individuals seated had someone behind them as well, being their closest attendant. Luna was seated at the tip of the table, to where the others were facing her.

Besides herself, there were four people around her. The only one yet to speak was a woman with dark-blue hair and freckles. She was beautiful, having deep aquamarine eyes and she, like Macro, had two red streaks on the shoulder of her coat.

The entire time so far, she had just been silently observing everyone and everything. It was her first time being in an official meeting like this after all. The attendant behind her was a girl with bright orange hair. She had big yellow eyes and on the edge of her mouth a tiny fang-like tooth was poking out.

Luna clasped her hands together, a focused glint in her silver eyes.

"So, Yura, would you mind telling me what research you've unearthed lately?"

Yura perked up, a surprised look on her face at getting called on so suddenly.

"Sure thing ma'am. I recently created two kinds of pills that can greatly boost performance. The first is capable of heightening one's perception and endurance while the second one greatly increases the natural healing process within the body. I've given several samples of each to Black Jack for testing."

"Yes. We gave it to a possible new ally in the adventuring guild. He apparently took it during a confrontation with two A Rank Adventurers, which he subsequently eliminated." As Macro spoke his voice was more serious, unlike the lax tone it held earlier. A slight smirk was on Luna's face at the news.

"That's good to hear. I know Larouge won't be happy that she lost two important pillars of her organization but to me that's all the better… I'm sure she'll be too busy investigating that to give a single resource to our next move." She paused for a moment, letting silence fill the room. "Besides that, are there any notes or additional things you wanted to say?"

"None from me at the moment." Macro said curtly.

Yura scratched her chin, a contemplative expression lay on her face. Her eyes were raised, as if she was organizing her thoughts as she searched the ceiling. When she was seemingly done, she lowered her gaze to meet Luna's silver eyes.

"Well, I was interested in researching blessings. If you had anyone you could give to me to study that would be appreciated. I've heard of a phenomenon where blessings can be passed down to another individual. That is something that greatly intrigues me."

"Okay then. I'll see what I can do about that. Now, Legali, anything to report?"

Legali, whose eyes had remained fixed on the table, slowly raised them.

"Um, not at the moment n-"

"Miss Legali. Pardon me for the interruption but we wanted to talk about that thing, remember?"

The person standing behind the auburn-haired woman spoke, cutting her off. It was a boy with messy brown hair. He was the only person in the room to have a winter-coat on. Even Legali had a simple blue jacket over a floral shirt. His build, unlike most of the other individuals in the room, was unclear, as the coat was extremely puffy. Regardless, he was certainly the youngest person there, being a mere 15 years old. It was evident in his face which was still somewhat rounded and soft-looking.

Legali turned around to look at him. On her face which typically only had two emotions, being dead-pan or serious, had confusion veiled over it.

"What are you talking about?"

The boy, cheeks flushed red, broke eye contact with her giving a courteous bow.

"I apologize for the intrusion." He then glanced over toward Luna. "Would you mind if I spoke? Miss Legali's memory isn't the sharpest since she's had to use her blessing quite often recently."

"What is your name?" Luna asked, her head was tilted slightly as she gazed at him. Curiosity was in her eyes as she'd never seen him before. The boy knew based on the woman's reputation that her curiosity could just as quickly become malicious intent if he said the wrong thing.

"My name is Uniq, your Majesty."

"Hmm… Very well, you can speak."

"Thank you. Now, the Red Sparrow doesn't typically run into trouble. Any of the districts and cities we do work in, we've made sure to bribe guards and such to look the other way. But, recently we've had a problem. A man calling himself the Sea King has arrived in the coastal city of Maribella. At first we believed him to be a crazy-person or plain hoodlum so we ignored him, however he soon proved to be otherwise. He, in the span of just over a month has managed to disrupt our drug trade and even established his own crime ring. This is a detriment to our contribution to your cause, your Majesty and for that we believe he and his followers must be dealt with."

From across the table Macro clicked his tongue.

"Dang, that's rough bud. I'd hate to have to deal with that."

Uniq gave a nod in agreement. "So, that is the bulk of our problem at the moment. How would your Majesty have us proceed?"

"It would depend… Do you know which trade routes he tends to travel along? What about his informants, connections, even possible allies?"

"We're still figuring that out…"

Luna squinted her eyes, gazing at Uniq intently. Confused, and slightly nervous at her sudden expression change, he averted eye contact. There was a loud silence filling the room.

Did he say something wrong? Sure he may have been better off waiting until they figured more information out but wasn't it better to be pertinent? At the very least it showed they had initiative or at least that's what he thought.

"I will do you a courtesy. I don't know how long you've been working for Legali, you seem young after all. I would just advise you to think things through further. Bringing up a problem when you haven't thought of what caused it, or even the reason for it appearing will simply create confusion and unneeded deliberation. However, just this once I'll assist you on such a half-baked issue. I will lend you one of my Legion Captains to handle the situation. I will send him to you shortly in Maribella."

A smile grew on Uniq's face. When she first started speaking, he could feel nothing but anxiety on where she was going but by the end, relief wedged its way into his chest. He gave a low bow.

"Thank you very much your Majesty. I will take your advice into consideration and improve in contemplation further."

"Good. That's all that I would ask from you. Now, is there anything else you need to share?"

"I don't believe so, but I would like to apologize for my lacking memory."

"Legali, there's no need to apologize. You can't control such a thing due to your blessing's side effects. Also, you had Uniq there to cover your weak point in that aspect."

"Your Majesty… Thank you for the kind words. Even if it's wasted on someone like me…" Legali released a somewhat defeated sigh as her green eyes once again fell to the table.

Behind her Uniq had a wide grin on his face, the cause being that Luna not only remembered, but said his name aloud. This made for a significant contrast in the two individuals' expressions as one was over the moon with the other having little semblance of life oozing off them.

"Legali don't talk like that. You're going to ruin the mood." Macro said, a look of pity was in his eye.

"Oh, you shut up. The mood was already ruined the second you opened your mouth." Azam hissed angrily.

"How come every chance you get you jump down my throat? Aren't you a king? I would think you'd have better things to do then take petty jabs at me."

"Why you…"

"Anyways." Luna said, her voice breaking up the would-be verbal fight between the two. "Azam, tell me what's been happening in the Nation of Sali. Have you started to implement the concept I mentioned to you?"

Hearing his name called, he instantly shifted focus to the white-haired woman. He responded attentively.

"Yes. The system is obviously very new but so far the reception has been quite well. I'm positive that if we just follow the system to the letter things should pay off for us."

"That's good to hear. Well, that aside I presume your borders have been well-protected."

"Of course. While the Mirkol Kingdom is close, having a single state separating us, they aren't a threat. My spies have told me of how their King is sickly. He's most likely planning for his successor soon."

"Ah, I'm glad you brought that up." Luna said, standing up from her chair. The gazes of all at the table followed her as she walked toward the see-through window. Luna was looking further ahead at the capital city of the Aster Kingdom, Revelium.

"As you can see, only one of my commanders is here as my attendant for this meeting." She motioned behind her toward the taller dark-skinned man who previously pushed her chair in. "My second in command, Dokki is currently on the way to the Mirkol Kingdom."

"Oh, for what?" Azam questioned with an eyebrow raised.

"To wage war of course."

"What!?" Azam, Macro, and Yura all said in unison. Legali was the only one to stay silent, an empty expression on her face. Azam stood up, his hand slamming onto the table.

"Are you serious!? What is the size of this force you're sending?"

"530 soldiers. They are meant to infiltrate subtley in several key units before attacking." She responded, her back was facing the group.

Azam had a dumbfounded look on his face. He almost said, just 530? But, those words never left his lips. Luna was no fool. If she sent a mere 530 soldiers, he had no doubt they were the finest she could muster.

Also, his informants had given him information on Dokki. The second commander of the Legion army. A woman able to do things such as breath flames and decimate entire battlefields in moments. Her origins were unknown to himself, however she was apparently alongside Luna as one of her lieutenants 9 years ago when she first usurped the Kingdom.

A soft chuckle fell from Macro's lips. He muttered under his breath.

"This is something... To think she's bold enough to attempt to overthrow a 300 year dynasty in such a way. I chose right in following her. My dream is sure to be realized this way…"

Luna continued speaking. "I got word earlier today that the 530 I sent will all arrive in two weeks. After they handle things, our next move will be revealed. So long as all four of you continue supporting me, our goals will be accomplished in no time. I appreciate each one of you."

In an instant, Macro, Azam, Legali, and Yura all got down on one knee. Each of them lowered their heads, speaking in unison. "All will go according to the will of Veve."

With a smirk on Luna's face she turned away from the window. As she looked upon each of the people bowed, a feeling of satisfaction washed over her. All of these individuals were people she herself had sought out. She could feel their potential and since coming under her, they had been used to their utmost usefulness. "Indeed." She responded. "Now, to save you all the trouble of physical travel I'll have Otis send you home."

Upon saying the man's name, as if she summoned him, he suddenly appeared. He, like the others in the room, was in a bowed position. "Your Majesty. It's a pleasure to see you." He said, reverence oozing from his mouth.

"Likewise." Luna replied.

At this point, the four stood to their feet once more. Then, after saying their brief goodbye's they were teleported away one by one alongside their attendants. Legali was first, with Uniq standing beside her having a smile on his face. Yura, along with the orange haired girl were sent after them. The last two left were Macro and Azam.

Next to Macro was Wilson, who towered over most still remaining in the room. The only person taller than him was Luna's first commander. Wilson, for better or worse, had been eyeing the man down the entire meeting. He wasn't doing so to provoke him, it was merely to gauge his strength.

Wilson could say that doing so didn't disappoint. He could sense from the man a great strength that overpowered practically all in the room. Strangely enough, the only people who seemed to have a similar, albeit lesser aura, was of course Macro, but the other was the young orange-haired girl with Yura.

Before getting teleported away, Marco gave an almost dainty wave to Azam, who simply scowled at him. Otis had sent each individual away by touching them with his hands, following that they vanished. Azam gave one more bow to Luna before Otis placed his hand on him, sending him away.

"Now, Otis?"

"Yes, your Majesty?"

"There's something I would like to discuss with you."