"Speaking of which, our unexpected gathering here tonight also carries a hint of destiny, doesn’t it?"
At this time, Keren, who was beside him, spoke in a low voice, his tone slightly cold.
This stern young man with dark gold eyes was sitting on the rock railing at the edge of the terrace, his hands casually placed on both sides of his thighs, with a black great sword without a scabbard on his back.
The night wind lifted his brown hair, and the strong muscles of his chest were slightly revealed from the slightly open collar of his uniform, adding a roughness to his demeanor.
"We each come from one of the Empire’s Four Great Families, and by coincidence, have all chosen to come here to relax tonight.
Whether this is truly a coincidence or there are other reasons, we have already arrived at this outcome."
"So, since that is the case, shall we discuss our views on the current situation of the Empire for a while?"
Carelessly tapping the protruding rocks beside him, Keren’s animal-like dark gold eyes swept across the three people.
His gaze paused briefly on Anvis’s light golden hair and deep blue eyes, then moved to Rasul Alfred, who had the same hair color as Anvis.
Having hurried back to the academy to participate in the grand competition, he had long heard that Duke Carrot’s youngest two descendants carried perfectly balanced dual Legendary Bloodlines, and now he finally got to see them in person.
"Views on the future, huh? Quite pragmatic. I thought you might propose discussing our individual ideals like in the plots of hero biographies."
Hearing Keren’s suggestion, Rasul raised his eyebrows, a flash of surprise crossing his light purple eyes.
"Hmph... Ideals... What significance do they hold for us?"
Keren turned his gaze towards the city ruins under the moonlight, humming lowly.
His words momentarily caused the atmosphere on the terrace to quiet down.
If nothing unexpected occurred, they would, after graduating, receive a city and the surrounding areas under their family’s reign as their own territory.
Afterwards, they would proceed with training and arranging marriages with males or females from other families according to family plans, until they either advanced to the Ninth Rank or remained stuck at the Eighth Rank for life.
"Fine, I have no objections. What do you think, Lord Anvis?"
Hillin’s silver eyes turned toward Anvis.
All three of them had been enrolled for many years, with a strength that had reached the Fourth Rank or higher. Anvis, however, had only been enrolled for just over a year, with a strength at the middle stage of the Third Rank, likely viewing things differently from the other three.
"I have no objections either, but could Lord Keren please start?"
Smiling and shaking his head, Anvis kicked the ball back to Keren.
"In my view, Mechanisms are quite dangerous and could likely bring more profound impacts on the Empire’s rule over the next fifty years."
With a sharp glance at Anvis, Keren nodded and began to speak first.
"The appearance of these mechanisms makes it incredibly easy for restless Professionals in the common populace to obtain Strength.
The most important thing is, this Beast Tide has made most Professionals who were previously unaware of the concept of mechanisms now realize the benefits of Magic-guided Mechanical, making future control more difficult."
"I don’t see it that way. As long as the Empire maintains its current strict control, even if the common populace introduced a large number of two new types of Combat Mechanisms during the special period of the Dark Beast Tide, it would be futile."
Hearing this, Rasul shook his head, not quite agreeing with Keren’s view.
"Now that the Beast Tide has ended, next, our families will gradually retrieve the Mechanisms that have dispersed into the provinces, and strictly control the influx of other combat Mechanisms."
"Perhaps there will be some turmoil in the short term, but within a few years, the Empire will regain its peace."
"Keren, the Royal Family and our family are likewise researching combat Mechanicals, which may not be comparable to the Council and Federation’s level of technology, but their power far surpasses that of those currently in circulation among the public."
"In this respect, our soldiers are not at a disadvantage. Rather, it is the artifacts in this relic that are more likely to have a greater impact on us."
"According to the feedback from the Net of Destiny, the secrets of the relics have yet to be deciphered, and that is the reason we have come here now."
"From my perspective, the key is not with us, but whether our family’s Ninth Rank experts can master the secrets of the relics before external enemies."
Listening to the three’s discussion, Anvis blinked.
Indeed, from their point of view, such a conclusion seemed without fault.
"The three of you, if at this time, there are external enemies secretly supporting our domestic Resistance Organizations, such as those from the Yiter Federation or the Saint Messia Empire, wouldn’t we be in trouble?"
After Anvis spoke, the other three glanced sideways, somewhat surprised by Anvis’s focus.
"Supporting the Resistance Organizations in the Empire, what good does that do them?"
Rasul shook his head.
"Unless they want a full-scale war, but at this special moment, whoever takes the first action would suffer greatly, potentially giving other nations an advantage."
While Anvis and the others discussed, in the academy’s Floating Ship, Fiona encountered a peculiar interlude.
Lying on her bed in her room, Fiona was idly flipping through "Ma Locke’s Super Magical Rules," with faint glimmers of magic flashing occasionally in her pale palms as she tried the techniques recorded in the book.
This was a hefty volume filled with dense Magic Text, which she would not have touched if not for a prior arrangement with Anvis.
Indeed, the girl had already procrastinated for a whole day, and if she didn’t read now, the day would pass.
Thanks to her exceptional talent, though feeling bored, Fiona’s learning pace was still very fast. A single reading was all it took for her to grasp the basics of the knowledge contained in the book.
However, no one could guarantee how long the girl’s enthusiasm would last.
Kate and Feiya floated beside her, chasing each other playfully.
"Whew~~ a Magic Time has passed!"
Glancing at the nearby Magic Hourglass that had run out, the girl stretched in a tempting pose and tucked the thick book back into her ring.
The ring was specially prepared by Anvis for the girl, filled with various kinds of magic knowledge that Anvis could think of, which the girl might need in the future, including low, medium, and high ranks.
Hearing about Anvis’s purpose for borrowing books, Duke Carrot agreed without a second thought, and had all the books sent over the same day, hence the start of the girl’s nightmare.
"I really wish I had Big Brother’s ability to keep reading any book..."
The girl muttered softly, and picked up a blue-gray little kitten beside her, preparing to go out for a walk.
Just then, there was a sudden knock on her door.