Standing on the left side of the large window marker, Aldrich bathes in the incoming sunlight and turns his face to observe Sellen, who remains seated at the table in front of him.
"Don't you think you've been too harsh?"
Closing the book Aldrich always carries to jot down his thoughts, which at some point he has managed. Sellen sets it down on the table and lifts his face covered by the stone mask.
"Tough, me? You literally used your companions to make an amalgamation of mages... Besides I know Nepheli, most likely she wanted to do it too."
"Companions? Please, they were just individuals who could never amount to anything important. I warned them about the dangers of the experiment to increase magical ability, it was all voluntary, otherwise how else did it take them so long to discover me?"
Showing clear disdain for those "untalented" individuals, Sellen doesn't seem to have any psychological baggage for his actions.
In truth it is somewhat to be expected of her little interest in that, she only cares about results and the end of her path. She doesn't care at all about failures and the means by which she moves forward.
"Even when at first she only used volunteers for experiments, she had connections to the top brass of the academy, such as Master Lusat and Master Azur. Everything was planned in detail."
"That's exactly why I left Finley in there, she will be in charge of getting Nepheli to act and be forced to be on our side. She will also keep Kenneth in the room, once they get the bodies out of there, the news will spread and Kenneth will be forced to accept my wishes."
Quite satisfied with his own actions, which have cut off any escape route for Kenneth, Nepheli or Necrolimbo from his hands, Aldrich moves to a shelf in the room.
Twisting his finger along the wood of the shelf, stroking the scattered papyri, stone tablets and books, Aldrich finally finds something that interests him.
"I remember when you first came to ask for guidance you were someone guided by the sword, but look at you now, how did you end up like this?"
"You can say muscle head, which would be true, as nothing gives more confidence than an ultra sword... With the exception of magic, magic is... Incredible."
Picking up a large map lying rolled up on the shelf, Aldrich replies without replying, then spreading it out on the table.
It was a complete map of Necrolimbo, all of Necrolimbo, from the Weeping Peninsula to the Caelid border and the Storm Veil Castle.
"We're here!"
"It's all done, my lord."
"Perfect, take all your seats and let's get this second meeting started."
...Aldrich pov....
The second meeting was more me giving orders and the others nodding, not that I didn't let them participate, but there are no great generals or assassins here like Kristoff or Tiche.
Sellen could enter the conversation if we consider her intelligence, but she doesn't seem very interested and just stays reading my book, the one in which she left certain notes.
On the other hand, the first step is to stabilize the situation in the territory that Nepheli controls, for which I have given him a couple of captivating branches. Of course, some dissidents must also be wiped out, but that's not too important to talk about.
The second is to invade the Weeping Peninsula and reinforce the border with Caelid, both are very important. The invasion is to secure the supply and troop route from Leyndell, while the reinforcement is to maintain the status quo right there.
The third and at the same time the most difficult is to drive the Caelid monsters back to their natural terrain, to get them out of Necrolimbo's territories. Now the thing is that they are strong and many, we are going to need large numbers of troops and personally strong people.
"Hey, Aldrich, do you have any more of these things? They're incredibly useful, don't even doubt that it's your own desire to serve me."
Snapping out of the reverie I had fallen into as I was sorting out my thoughts, I watch as Nepheli comes kicking in the door and slams his hands on the desk in front of me.
Basically she had already missed all of the above, meaning that the respect she had earned for me has vanished, at least when we talk without being serious.
"Not that you're a warrior, isn't this twisting people's minds against your principles?"
"People, which they are not. I've taken down the worst of them, but even so the ones I left to control have a lot of garbage in them."
Being shocked to see her talking to me, at the same time with one leg bringing towards her a chair, I just ignored it and continued with the conversation.
"Are you forgetting who their previous lord was, too much that there are no sick ones that follow their grafting ways."
"There were nobles who followed that path... But I killed them all, no matter how useful Kenneth said they were."
Noticing how Nepheli hits the table again with his little hand, I watch as the cracks spread all over the wood and in a few moments the table falls apart.
"You're going to have to get another table, and about the captivating branches, there are no more... Yes, I have to make more, they have truly come in handy."
"Tsk, too bad, but what do you need to make them? Perhaps I can find the materials?"
"Sacramental outbreaks and Miquella Lilies, both really hard to come by."
Along with the names of the materials, I make those materials appear in my hands. The bud was a small branch bathed in what looks like blood and the lily has a distinct golden hue, though it looks ready to wilt.
"Ahh, I've never seen those things around here, what a bummer. Oh, by the way, Kenneth has already started mobilizing the troops, they should be ready in a week at the latest."
"So you actually came to tell me that?"
"That and also to ask you if you could get that crazy magician to return my servants to normal, I understand that she wants silence in the library... But turning them into books just for the sake of talking... It was too much"
"I'll see what I can do."
What is that woman doing in the library of Storm Veil? Certainly Sellen is a scholar, but I don't think there is anything that could catch her attention in the library of this castle.
All the books here must be normal, history, economics, religion, politics, war and a long etc, nothing that would interest a mage. Wait, maybe she's trying to understand what I wrote, that's why Sellen is reading normal books.