This army of your king's, surely after the war it will remain there? I ask you- what use is an army with no Calamity to fight? Conquest and control, my child. I fear I may sound crass but your crown is simply taking advantage of circumstance to further their eventual gains- to propagate their own lust for feudal control at the expense of the peasantry and the true will of the people...
For the time of the Calamity, it is in the common interests of king and country alike to fight, but when the war ends, I do hope you understand the full gravity of what will happen. That so-called will of the people is nothing more than a disguise to legitimize the power-hunger of your liege and when the facade is no longer useful, it shall shatter like glass. You have a duty to not abide by this.
Why do you have a duty to a man who fabricates both the wills of the people and of God? Why must you serve an autocrat who will not be satisfied until all within his sight is under his banner? Why must you be a simple instrument of murder and militarism when there are better ways? There is enough food and plenty in all of this world to feed every living person thrice over, yet there are those amongst us who still go hungry. That is because of devils like your king, so perverse in their greed and temptation that they should go around wearing clothing lined with gold and fielding exorbitantly costly armies to kill their rivals.
(Michael is in the main room now, and has noticed Link talking to Iro. Michael is wearing his white and blue uniform without the equipment he had borrowed from the library, though he seems to be slightly on edge.)
Hey, Link. You wouldn't happen to know where Liman is would you?
(To Iro) Hi, sorry for interrupting. Michael Tapferin (Offers his hand in greeting)
"We all fail. We all make mistakes. That is what makes us human."But he also- stuck to one plan.
And his focus was on making sure that plan succeeded, no matter what.
He was decisive, rather than keeping many possibilities open- he focused on few.
-he moves, and takes a crucial piece from the board out of Liman's plan-
It made it fascinating to play against him, because I knew what he was planning. But- not how he'd do it.
There were times he would feint, and he'd lead anyone else to believe that any of his moves could've been a feint. But all of them were in pursuit of a single goal.
Do you know what that is?
1.5 imperial gallons of tea were consumed during the writing of this post

-he opens up the briefcase, revealing an ornate chessboard-
-red vs green-
-though the pieces on the red side are mostly white, with rubies set inside them, such as red eyes on the knights, depicted as horses-
-likewise, the green side is mostly black, with jade set into them in the same manner-
-all in all, it looks very expensive-
My most treasured chess set.
I always like to have this with me.
Which colour will you choose-?
I presume that you are familiar with the rules?
1.5 imperial gallons of tea were consumed during the writing of this post