Date: Unspecified

Time: Unspecified

Location: Myriad Realms, Card World, Southern Region, Blossom District, Sky Blossom City, Headquarters

After witnessing Corey’s display of strength and hearing her reasoning, everyone in the room still remained in survival mode. Even the members and representatives from the Border City—who had just been handed a golden opportunity, neatly packaged and tied—showed no excitement.

The threat they had felt from Corey’s two Bolas Supernovas was far too real. It had shaken them to the core. And her casual remark about being able to kill them all together did little to calm their nerves. Still, there was no way around it.

I detested politics, and there was no room for it in my empire. If there was a problem, we found a solution—not shuffle assets around, turning one issue into another while pretending everything was fine until the bubble finally burst.

Despite what had just happened, this wouldn’t be the last time someone tried something like this. It was simply impossible to keep politics out of the picture. The bigger we grew, the harder it would become to reject it and stick to straightforward problem-solving.

However, I believed that well-placed Calamity Daughter Gems within my empire could act as a buffer—not to keep politics at bay, but to control it. Take the exchange between Tess and Saintess Catherine, for example. A single bloodkin had ensured that the Empire integrated smoothly with the rest of the forces, while making both sides feel heard.

It was a dangerous game, but a necessary one. Without it, my empire would end up as just another failed experiment. What Ned was trying to do was a perfect example of how easily things could slide in that direction. I could understand him looking out for the Freedom Fighters, but doing so at the expense of the Border City forces was simply unacceptable.

Not addressing Corey’s explosive reintroduction or its aftermath, I continued with the assembly. "Now that the issue of the Southern Watch bases has been decided, let’s move on to filling the official posts in the cities that choose to join us. Priority goes to the Border City and capable people from my other organizations, then the southerners among the Freedom Fighters. The remaining positions can be filled by recruits from those cities. Anyone who isn’t native to the Southern Region will be ineligible."

I paused and glanced around the room, letting my words settle. I noticed the members and representatives shifting in their seats. After what had happened with Corey, no one dared to interrupt me even though they weren’t convinced with my decision. If I didn’t give them a proper explanation—help them truly understand—then quiet, ugly resentment would begin to take root, corroding my empire before it was even fully established.

I let out a long sigh before continuing. "I know this might sound like I’m contradicting my campaign for world conquest, but I’m not. I haven’t conquered the world yet. I won’t start taking what belongs to the Empire or the South just to fuel ideology. Once I deliver a united world, I’ll personally remove the borders and let nature take its course. That is to say, if the Empire wants to be part of that united world, it will have to open its borders as well. You can’t demand seats in someone else’s house while refusing to offer them seats in your house."

Hearing me call out the Empire on this issue, its members and representatives held back from arguing. It wasn’t that the Empire didn’t want to open its borders to everyone—it simply couldn’t. It was their holy land, and only those who respected it were allowed to live there.

However, their ruler, Saintess Catherine, seemed to have a different idea.

She nodded in agreement with my words and suggested, "I agree with you, my lord. Therefore, the Empire will open its borders to everyone—except for the Eleven Sacred Cities—"

"They’re the most developed cities in the Empire. That’s where all the wealth flows—they basically control the market. It’s like you’re handing us the hard shell while keeping the meat for yourself," Tess shot back, cutting in, worried their lord might not grasp the Empire’s geography and economy and would fall for Catherine’s trickery and agree to her suggestion.

Tess wasn’t wrong, but she overlooked one thing. The Eleven Sacred Cities held that power under the old regime. Under the new order, they would be slowly reduced to little more than tourist attractions.

Catherine, however, wasn’t concerned about Tess’s opposition—her focus was on her own people. She knew the only way to bring them in line was to frame this as an opportunity: a chance to spread their doctrine across the world, and, over time, reclaim the positions they would lose by filling them with those who shared their faith.

"City Lord Tess, your concerns are unfounded. Please don’t disrespect the Saintess’s good faith," the Field Marshal said, subtly hinting why this arrangement was better than it appeared and urging her to stop opposing it.

Tess didn’t catch on, but the elders beside her did. They signaled for her to stand down. It was clear Tess was a soldier first and a city lord second. Fortunately for her—and for the Border City—her council was made up of capable, loyal people. Still, so far into the assembly, she did a good job on her own.

"Now that management roles have been settled, let’s move on to your tasks. For now, I’ll only cover the most urgent and pressing ones. As for the rest, I’ll brief the relevant personnel personally.

"Wondering why the secrecy? We’ve already caught the Southern Princess attempting to spy on us. I have people investigating it as we speak, but I doubt she’s acting alone. Other regions and organizations are likely probing us as well. Hopefully, we’ll root them all out before it’s too late—"

I noticed Diana was about to speak. Knowing what she was going to ask, I cut in gently, "Don’t worry. No one in this room is a rat. As for the rest of our organization, every rat will be found and captured by tonight, at the latest."