The Man Who Accidentally Won a War Meeting
The Royal War Pavilion was not built for comfort.
It was built for shouting.
Generals stood around a massive carved table depicting the Kingdom's borders. Markers shaped like wolves, serpents, and horned beasts were positioned along every frontier.
Sam stood near the back wall.
Very still.
Very quiet.
Very much hoping no one would look at him.
Everyone looked at him.
Captain Mira pointed at the eastern front.
"Monster forces have adopted rotating siege towers. They are coordinating supply chains."
A general slammed his fist down.
"Monsters do not manage supply chains!"
"They do now," Mira replied flatly.
All eyes drifted toward Sam.
He stared at the ceiling.
One elderly strategist cleared his throat.
"Great Senior… what are your thoughts?"
"I think," Sam said carefully, "you should eat before long meetings."
Silence.
"That is… tactical advice?" the strategist asked cautiously.
"No. You look hungry."
Darius coughed into his sleeve.
Lyra turned her face to hide a smile.
Borin openly grinned.
Mira pinched the bridge of her nose.
A scout burst into the hall.
"Emergency! The western defensive line has collapsed! Three commanders sighted!"
The generals erupted into panic.
Sam exhaled, "I was trying to avoid that."
Mira pointed directly at him, "Move."
"I am not enlisted."
"You are breathing."
"That seems unrelated."
She grabbed his sleeve and dragged him toward the exit, the war table trembled slightly as Sam passed.
Several carved mountains shifted position.
No one commented on it.
***
Western Front
The battlefield was a storm of steel and roars.
Three commanders stood at the center of a triangular formation, violet light pulsing between them in visible arcs.
Energy flowed.
Shared.
Calculated.
Lyra whispered, "They're networking."
Borin's lion flattened its ears.
Darius tightened his grip on his spear.
Sam felt it clearly now.
The Sovereign presence was closer.
Not physically.
Attentively.
Watching how he responded.
The three commanders turned in perfect unison.
"Anomaly present," they intoned together.
"That's new," Sam muttered.
The commanders raised their hands.
The battlefield shifted.
Illusions layered over reality. Soldiers began striking empty air. Monster ranks appeared where none stood.
"Cognitive disruption," Mira breathed.
Sam blinked.
The illusions shattered like glass.
Not dispelled.
Corrected.
The commanders recoiled slightly.
"Interference unacceptable."
"Yes," Sam agreed. "Very."
They attacked together.
One launched condensed violet beams.
One accelerated to blinding speed.
One generated spatial distortions around its claws.
Darius braced—
—and found himself untouched.
The beams bent away.
The speed commander slipped on nothing.
The spatial distortions inverted and snapped closed on empty air.
Lyra stared at Sam.
"You're not countering them."
"No."
"Then what are you doing?"
"Allowing things to be reasonable."
Borin burst out laughing mid-swing.
"I like that!"
The commanders converged on Sam directly. Sam sighed.
"Please stop escalating."
He raised his hand slightly.
Not dramatically.
Just slightly.
The triangular formation collapsed.
Not physically.
Conceptually.
The connection between them unraveled.
The violet arcs snapped.
The commanders froze mid-motion—
—and then disassembled into drifting motes of inert energy.
The entire battlefield went silent.
Soldiers slowly lowered their weapons.
Mira stared at Sam.
"…You ended a three-point command array."
"I dislike triangles," Sam replied.
***
Back in the distant mountains, something shifted sharply.
Adjustment.
Acceleration.
Testing phase complete.
***
That evening, as cheers echoed through the camp, Sam tried to leave quietly.
He made it five steps before a trumpet fanfare erupted behind him.
He froze.
A herald unrolled a scroll.
"By decree of the Crown—"
Sam turned around very slowly.
"No."
The herald faltered.
"…No?"
"I decline."
"You haven't heard it yet."
"I decline preemptively."
The soldiers began whispering.
Mira stepped forward, "It's an honorary title."
"No."
"It comes with land."
"No."
"Tax exemptions."
Sam paused, "…Irrelevant."
Darius leaned over.
"You hesitated."
"I did not."
"You absolutely did."
Lyra grinned.
"Congratulations, War Hero."
Sam stared into the middle distance.
"This is getting out of hand."
Behind the mountains, the Sovereign presence pulsed once.
In response.