As Miyi approached the meeting room doors, the lively sounds of laughter and casual chattering filtered through from the other side. Taking a steady breath, he pushed the doors open. Instantly, the entire room fell completely silent.
Miyi scanned the room, watching as all four princesses immediately stood up from their seats and offered a slight, respectful bow to greet their monarch.
Gone was the lazy slacker who had been clinging to his pillow just hours before.
Now, Miyi wore a commanding blue-and-grey uniform accented with gleaming gold on his shoulders, giving him the unmistakable, dignified aura of an actual king.
Standing right behind Miyi, Commander Jold and the King's personal assistant also lowered their heads in a respectful bow.
Miyi marched directly to the towering, throne-like chair at the head of the long table and took his seat. Raising his right hand slightly, he gave a calm command.
"At ease. Let's discuss the matter."
With a nod, the two individuals who had accompanied him into the room quickly moved to occupy the remaining empty seats at the table.
Sitting directly opposite Commander Jold was Miyi's assistant, Miyu.
Miyu was a trusted assistant appointed by Miyi himself, having been highly recommended by the Queen, the King's beloved lover. In her role as royal advisor, Miyu helped the King make critical decisions for the state.
She also served as the Prime Minister and the leader of the King's Round Table, effectively making her the King's right hand.
Standing at roughly the same height as the King, the thirty-year-old advisor had sharp black hair tied into a ponytail, plain red eyes, and wore a crisp black formal dress.
Her intellect was legendary when it came to complex problem-solving, making her a perfect match for Jold's military expertise.
"Sliviy, send in your report," Miyi ordered, turning his sharp gaze toward his daughters. "And Takao, provide her with the device to present it."
"Yes, Your Majesty," Sliviy replied smoothly.
Takao offered her own confirmation, though she paused for a brief, awkward second due to her natural shyness.
She then handed a specialized device over to Sliviy, which projected a vivid, floating holographic display. Sliviy placed the device directly onto the center of the table, allowing the glowing details of the report to manifest for everyone to see.
For a few quiet moments, the room fell silent as everyone carefully read through the data.
"THE RUIN PLAINS?!" Rory suddenly gasped.
Unable to contain her excitement, Rory slammed both of her hands onto the polished table and stood up abruptly, leaning forward.
Her face lit up with absolute joy, thrilled by the prospect of discovering something entirely new.
"Sister Rory..." Sliviy sighed, rubbing her temples in exhaustion.
"Apologies, Father," Iris interjected, offering a polite smile to smooth over her sister's sudden outburst. Miyi merely waved his hand dismissively.
"Don't worry about it. It's only normal for her to get excited over something like this."
A brief, quiet chuckle rippled through the room, shared by everyone except Rory, who was too thrilled to notice, and Miyi, who remained professionally focused.
"So, what is your take on this, Jold?" Miyi asked, turning to his defense commander for an official opinion.
"Hmm," Jold hummed thoughtfully, leaning forward. "According to the records of the recon battalion, that specific area used to be a remote village located on the outskirts of the Loid Kingdom, situated very close to our border."
Long ago, the history of this world had been defined by three great kingdoms.
The first was the Sun Kingdom, whose citizens were primarily humans who worshipped the Sun God, Jumi. Rumors claimed that Jumi would grant divine blessings of immortality to the faithful.
The second was the Demon Kingdom, a nation comprised of various magical races who lived by a fierce code of racial superiority, completely trashing and looking down upon weaklings like humans.
They served the absolute authority of the Demon King, Asmon. History recorded a massive, brutal Holy War between the Sun and Demon kingdoms, with both sides committing everything to destroy the other, resulting in a continuous, deadlocked stalemate.
Both the Sun Kingdom and the Demon Kingdom had long since been reduced to ash and buried in ruins, entirely wiped from the map during the catastrophic Gaia War.
Only the Loid Kingdom survived, standing alone after Miyi successfully defeated the world-ending threat of Gaia war.
'I can still vividly remember the Sun Kingdom's king begging us for help during that war,' Miyi reminisced silently, a cold thought crossing his mind as he stared at the hologram.
'I rejected him without a second thought. Getting involved offered zero benefits, and I had no intention of endangering my own kingdom over their petty conflicts. How incredibly stupid they were, blinded entirely by their own massive egos.'