CHAPTER 64: STRATEGIST

Sirius sat on the ground, hands clasped under his chin. He was visualizing the mission they had been assigned in his mind.

("Calling it difficult would be an understatement. For the candidates to stop the duchy’s forces even without the duke and the marquises would already be a perilous operation. But if we add the condition that no one is allowed to die in this war and that the majority of the candidates must prove their worth, then it’s simply an impossible task.")

Lifting his head, he saw that groups were already forming among the candidates. There were always natural leaders who rose in these kinds of situations, he noted.

("However, it’s not in my best interest to let idiots rush to their deaths.")

("We need to act now. The rest, I’ll improvise as we go.")

Sirius snapped out of his thoughts, then approached Iris and whispered something in her ear.

Iris shook her head.

"No way. That’s way too much work for me. You deal with it yourself."

"You know you’re the only one who can do it."

"And you know I have nothing to gain from it."

Sirius sighed. He was caught in a dilemma.

("How do I convince Iris?")

Their hushed conversation drew some curious glances, but Sirius didn’t care for now.

("In exchange, I’ll owe you two favors. You can ask whatever you want.")

Iris saw the tempting offer, but declined:

"If I ever want something from you, I already know how to get it."

Sirius felt a headache coming on.

She was too stubborn, never leaving a single opening.

Pushed to the edge, Sirius had no choice but to use his ultimate weapon.

"Big sister..." he whispered softly.

Iris’s eyes sparkled for a moment.

"Say that again."

"If you do this for me, I’ll call you ’big sister’ for an entire year."

Iris nearly jumped for joy.

Since they were children, the two had competed countless times over who was born first and deserved the coveted title.

Iris, unwilling to let such an opportunity slip by, accepted and patted him on the head.

"Deal."

"What wouldn’t I do for my dear little brother?"

She savored each syllable of those words, indifferent to Sirius’s inner pain.

---

Once negotiations were over, Iris went to fulfill her end of the deal. Climbing back onto the platform, she spotted a microphone lying around and grabbed it.

"Mic test. 1, 2, 3."

All eyes turned to her immediately.

"Hey everyone. I’ll be the leader for this mission or rather, this group exam. Any objections?"

"What?"

"What is she talking about?"

People began voicing their discontent that some random girl was declaring herself in charge. Those who had already formed groups were the most vocal in protesting.

Iris didn’t flinch in the face of their protests.

"Who wants to take my place? You’re all talking at once. Anyone who thinks they can lead all of us, come forward."

Some hesitated. Leading a small group was within their grasp, but this whole diverse crowd?

Still, there are always bold ones. Just as a few started stepping forward to climb the platform, Iris cut them off:

"Oh right, your opinion doesn’t matter. After all, our lives were entrusted to us, not to you."

Iris’s words referred to the director’s instructions. Indeed, the newly appointed eleven were the ones meant to take command.

Once that sentence settled into everyone’s minds, even the most ambitious couldn’t argue anymore.

("This girl...") thought the angry bold ones.

Iris had started this way to crush the schemes that were beginning to form. Now she just needed to convince the other ten.

"Who wants to take full command of the candidates?"

Still holding the mic, Iris now addressed the other ten.

---

Elizir Mist believed himself to be the ideal candidate. After all, he had been a prince of the Empire before even being accepted, and that was just today.

But just as he raised his hand to volunteer:

"I vote for her."

A voice rose among the eleven—not Sirius, but Kritos Franklin.

"I vote for her too."

"So do I."

Sirius and Lucy naturally gave their votes to Iris.

Elizir was left confused.

("Who exactly is this girl?")

And as he still hesitated to speak, others voted for Iris, who quickly self-declared as the leader, this time by majority vote.

"In that case, I’ll be your leader for the entire duration of this exam," she announced.

With her position secured, Iris now had to win everyone’s trust. Luckily, that was her specialty.

"As you’ve heard, this second trial is a simulation of an enforcer’s life. That means we have to play our roles to the fullest if we want to make the impossible, possible."

Iris spoke with an infectious positivity.

"Each of you, in this mission, will play the role of either an enforcer or a trainee, depending on the department you’re assigned to. And we," she said, pointing to herself and the other ten, "will each be the heads of the various departments. As leader, my first task for Elizir and Lucy is to count all of us. We need to know how many we are, who can fight, and who can play support roles.

Oh, and anyone who applied to the Chancellery should help Elizir and Lucy with this task.

That’s it for my first speech. The rest of what we’ll do will wait until we directors consult together."

She ended with a wink at Sirius, as if to say:

"We’re counting on you, little brother."

---

A few hours had passed since Iris’s speech, and the eleven gathered in a tent set up at the center of the encampment in the parking lot, since the candidates no longer had access to the military base dormitories.

"We’ve finished the headcount. Altogether, around 40,000 continued the exam. Ten thousand are awakened, and among them, only 2,000 claimed to have resonances allowing them to fight. As for the remaining 30,000, they’re ordinary humans; they’ll be useless in combat."

Elizir summarized the numbers.

("Even though I lost the position because I hesitated, I just need to wait for her to make a mistake and take command back.")

Elizir was already plotting to seize leadership from Iris unaware that she’d be more than happy to hand off such a tedious job.

"I checked. Besides us, who officially belong to the Order, the candidates aren’t allowed access to the military equipment on base. All they have are broken, worn-out weapons whatever the base deemed worthless."

This time, it was Ereis Victara, hooded and quiet, who delivered the report Iris had requested.

After hearing the reports, Iris turned to Sirius.

"Little brother, what do you think?"

All eyes turned to Sirius.

The fact that they were twins was known only to Lucy, which sparked a wave of speculation among the others.

"As my big sister pointed out, we’re playing the role of department heads. So we need to act like the departments would."

Sirius had read the assignments for each group. He used them to lay out his plan.

"If we want to complete this mission without losing a single candidate, we’ll need strength greater than theirs. After all, all methods are allowed, and the ones who will spill blood in our place are..."

He paused for dramatic effect.

"... that nation. If it’s a country that’s not part of the treaty, it means they never had access to the serum. Which means every adult there is at least an Initiate."

"Absolutely not," Elizir objected. "You’re planning to send them to the front lines as cannon fodder. What gives us the right to command them? Let me remind you they’re not treaty members; the Order has no authority over them."

Sirius stared him down and said:

"That’s your job. If we want any chance of no one dying, using their strength is essential. Either they fall, or the candidates do. In any case, it’s your responsibility, as part of the political affairs department, to handle it. Isn’t it?"

Elizir still refused to back down.

"What right do you have to command me? As far as I know—"

Iris cut him off, instantly extinguishing his rising temper.

"He’s the one who’ll tell you what to do when it comes to strategy. Unless any of you think you’re a better strategist and have a plan where no one dies?"

"Go on, Mr. Strategist," said Kritos, placing his feet on the table.

"Gladly. If we want to make proper use of that nation and not just as cannon fodder..."

Sirius clarified.

"Have them fight with us, not for us?" Lucy added.

"Exactly. If we can convince them to join the treaty, the Order would then have the right to intervene in their defense. I personally believe that’s what the director had in mind when he mentioned the country and promised to take care of the duke himself.

If we let that country be destroyed while weakening the duchy’s forces, then all candidates applying to the Chancellery will fail automatically. Remember: the first question in every exam booklet was ’What is the purpose of your department?’, and the last asked you to impress the department to be recruited."

"So if I understand correctly, for the Chancellery candidates to pass, they need to get this nation to sign the treaty," Elizir summarized, before realizing something.

"Why didn’t you start with that?"

"You didn’t let me finish," Sirius reminded him, then continued:

"As for the internal affairs candidates, they’ll need to protect the non-awakened Chancellery members sent there. After all, we know nothing about this country. It’s up to them to investigate it and work closely with the Chancellery to ensure the success of this diplomatic mission."

Gracia and Fridi simply nodded.

"As for me and Ronel, we’ll take all candidates from Archives and Exploration to act as scouts, gather intel on the enemy, or delay them if necessary."

"Can’t wait," Ronel muttered, grimacing at all the dangerous tasks.

"Finally, Iris, Rana, and all the candidates from Military Affairs will lead the frontline alongside anyone capable of fighting."

"In that case, we’ll focus on repairing as many weapons as possible while preparing emergency supplies to heal the wounded and set up fortifications."

Ereis volunteered to take responsibility for the lab.

"Thank you," said Sirius.

"Now that everyone has their role, let’s get to work and make the impossible... possible," Iris concluded, ending the surprisingly positive meeting.

Just as they were about to leave, Director Gramm stormed into the tent.

"Impressive. You reacted very quickly."

He congratulated them, then tossed each of them a wooden box.

"These are the starter kits issued to every Enforcer. Use them wisely. And no need to remind you what you’re holding is strictly confidential and for your use only."

As soon as he delivered the goods, he left, as if he had other business to handle.