I walked into Zerith’s office, and just like a few hours ago, he was sitting at his desk, this time in a more reserved position, leaning forward in his chair.

This time, though, he was...frowning.

[So, you can hear me, right?]

I walked to him, raising my eyebrow in confusion before quickly hiding the expression.

[Hmm, I’ll take that as a yes.]

I sighed. Aww shit.

Zerith closed his eyes, grunting in disapproval. [Just as Blue said, she can read minds.] He shook his head, then said, “You know, for both of our sakes, I think it would be best if we were completely open with each other. Why didn’t you tell me?”

I paused. It wasn’t a question I was expecting. He didn’t sound suspicious of me even though he learned I’d hidden my mind-reading from him. Actually, he sounded angry...no, just frustrated. Personally, I hadn’t had too much reason to keep it a secret, but...the reason why I wanted it to be...

“I...don’t want people to know,” I said, explaining myself.

“Wow, you don’t say,” he said sarcastically, “I thought it just never happened to come up in conversation!” [But I guess saying the obvious works just as well as an excuse.]

“I mean...It’s...a personal reason,” I said, holding my arm as guilty anxiety made my heart beat quicker. “I don’t know if I feel comfortable talking about it.”

He clicked his tongue dismissively. “Yeah, whatever.” [I’ve got better things to do than press her right now...] “Well, we need to get going, but before we do...” Zerith slid a badge to the edge of his desk. “Take that.”

The badge was blank and in the form of a shield, like all the other badges I had seen. As I scooped it into my hand, engravings formed in it, carving themselves into the metal until there was an illustration. It was...confetti.

Zerith tapped his own badge with his forefinger, which illustrated a sword conducting lightning. “All officials in The Bastion are expected to use one of these badges. It will identify who you are to any guard, so keep it close. I don’t want to hassle the Badgemaker with yet another order.”

I nodded, clipping it onto my shirt. “Alright...” Zerith cared a lot more about that business than addressing my mind reading. Most people would gush about how weird or devious it was. He just treated it like a thing.

I really appreciated that.

“Let’s go.” He said suddenly before standing from his desk and walking past me. After a moment, I followed.

As he led me through The Bastion, he asked, “So, how does it work?” [The Mind Reading.]

“I just read whoever I’m focusing on.”

“Just thoughts?”

I nodded. “The stuff on the surface. I might be able to read more, but I’ve never tried to figure out how.”

“Hmm...That could be helpful, but we’ll discuss uses some other time.” [I’m leading you to the conference room. The Monster King’s forces are mobilizing, likley due to your appearance.] He thought.

“S-sorry,” I said.

[You had no choice in the matter, and we can only roll with the punches. Do you know how you provoked him?]

I shook my head. “No. That...he could hardly be called human. I couldn’t possibly understand his motives.”

[I think she’s just overthinking things. I guess it doesn’t matter now, anyway.]

People tended to randomly flip-flop their speaking patterns once they learned about my mind-reading; swapping between speaking and thinking to themselves and me. I’d gotten used to it by now, though I preferred when people spoke to me...until someone did it to spite me, as if I wanted to read their crumby minds.

We approached a set of large iron doors after not too long.

[Now, before we enter the room, I want you to understand your position. You’re a foreigner, and one just like the king. Try to act knowledgeable, ok?]

“Why?” I asked as he placed his hands on the doors.

[Because this might be our last stand. The king has mobilized his troops two other times. Once, when he took over a large portion of land then proceeded into monster territory, taking over the area, and twice, when he attacked the human nations.] He said, repeating something I had read in his book. He turned to stare me in the eye. “This next wave could be the end for us all. Everybody’s hopes will rest on you and me. If you walk in there acting like an insecure baboon...well, their hopes will rest on an insecure baboon.” [You triggered all of this, so now you need to take the responsibility.]

I put a hand to my chest. He was scathing, and...and being blamed for something like that...

“I’m opening the doors now. Look presentable.”

He pushed them open, and I quickly scrambled to follow his order, wiping my wet eyes and straightening my skirt as I straightened.

At least I didn’t go commando this time...what was I thinking with that...

Inside was a large circular room with walls and pillars made of marble. In the center were seven stone chairs surrounding a long, reddish-brown table. Only four of the six side chairs were occupied.

Zerith strutted in with purpose, then pulled the head chair out and sat down. “I see Taali is once more not available,” he noted. [She is beginning to annoy me.]

A woman near the end of the table said, “Taali insisted she was too busy with her research to attend. She also sends her sincere apologies, if that helps.” [Well, she said sorry to me, but I won’t fret over that.] She wore red robes that drooped to the floor and a pair of shoulder guards adorned with beautiful red and purple flowers, which made her look larger than she was. Her badge depicted a flower blossom.

“Hmm...” Zerith clicked his tongue. [Understandable, but aggravating...And Psychi, that is Mariss. She is the Representative of Red and handles the Internal Logistics and Construction Corps.] He looked down at a paper crammed with information, which had been set in front of his seat. [Small uses of Code: Yellow provides an arcane pulse that affects minds to be more structured...] “She did provide decent research this time, but I feel that Taali has been slacking off.”

Mariss shrugged. “I wouldn’t hold it against her. Please understand that Taali has never been a sociable or punctual person.” She suddenly glared at Zerith. “...nor is it her job to be.”

“That’s not true,” Zerith calmly responded. “It may not be her primary purpose, but she has obligations as a Rainbow Representative. Next time you meet her, make certain to inform her that I expect her to visit conferences unless it is an absolute emergency.”

“Fine, whatever you say, Zerith,” the woman said, dismissively leaning back in her chair. [Not that a thickly veiled threat would make Taali change.]

“Now,” Zerith began, glancing at me. [Show off, if you can.]

I nodded and telekinetically shut the doors behind us.

“I’m sure you all have wondered who I invited to the conference today,” Zerith began.

I could say for sure that the four ‘Rainbow Representitives’ most certainly had wondered.

“I don’t like wasting time any more than the rest of you, so without any more stalling, I would like to introduce each of you to Psychi, the...psychic.” [Is her name meant to be so simi...whatever.]

“Like the Monster King?” one of them asked. He wore a yellow robe with bands of silver encircling each section of it and had a badge depicting what I thought was a simple rendition of the Sun. “Does that mean what I think it means?” [Have they actually sent reinforcements now that a Hero has appeared?]

“Yes,” Zerith said, nodding before glancing at me. [And that is Targon, the Representative of Yellow. He oversees laws, homeland protection, and the general structure of society. Now stop looking so tense and tell them you’re here to help.]

I had been standing with my back straight, trying to look respectful, so he confused me for a moment, but I quickly noticed how much I stood out among the representatives. They all had confident yet laid-back postures, folding their legs atop each other or leaning back. The one wearing orange robes(and a beret) actually looked like she was about to fall asleep, resting her chin on crossed arms.

What sort of culture was this?

I stretched, then fell into a more relaxed posture as I said, “I am here to help you all. That...that’s my thing!” It came out a bit awkwardly because inside, I was still a nervous wreck, not really sure what I was doing.

The woman dressed in orange robes raised to eyes up to me and said, “And why is that? Are you just here to pick up your world’s garbage?” [It will be more complicated than that...]

So all of them knew about Psychics? I shrugged, trying to play it cool. “S-sorry, that’s not exactly it...” I said. “I mean, I was summoned here to help, so I’ll do just that. The same thing happened to the Monster King, but...well, he didn’t really want to help.”

“Right,” she said, looking at me with a puzzlingly blank expression, “Then do you know how to stop him? Could you stop him on your own?” [Let’s see what she has to say...]

“I...” I began before trailing off, not knowing what to say. The girl looked like a deadbeat, but the way she talked and acted put a deceiving amount of pressure on me.

Zerith briefly glanced at me, attracting my focus. [Confidence,] he thought, speaking strangely gently. [She is only probing you.]

I suddenly got the pleasant feeling that Zerith had my back, invigorating me. He could be scathing, but I really felt like he was on my side. I shook my head with newfound confidence in what I was saying. “Sorry, I just can’t beat him on my own, but I can match him in strength,” I said, trying to sound determined. “I also know a lot about psychic powers, and I can counter him.”

“Didn’t his psychic powers get dissolved, though?” the last person asked. He was an oldish man in a long-sleeved violet shirt with a frilly, circular accessory draped over his shoulders and baggy shorts. It actually made him the only one not wearing robes of some kind. “From my understanding, his powers were sealed away by the gods.”

Zerith glanced at me. [That’s Vaazha. Obviously, he’s the Representative of Violet. He oversees the Transportation, Farming, and Supporting Corps.]

Targon spoke before I could answer, “No, Yellow has spoken to me. Apparently, he unsealed his powers recently. He didn’t tell me why, but I presume it was because of her appearance.”

“That does not seem wise,” the violet-shirted one said. “In fact, it sounds like a horrible choice. Even Zerith could not defeat the king in his prime.”

I shook my head. “I can at least match him in fights.”

Zerith sighed. “No need to oversell yourself. I saw your whole fight with him. You hardly lasted ten minutes.” [And that’s just not long enough to change history.]

Dude, really?! Grah! Why did Zerith need to be like this?!

“Ten minutes?” Targon suddenly said, startling me as he slammed his hands onto the counter and stood. “Zerith, I understand you have high expectations, but even you should consider that impressive! Last I checked, you hardly lasted five against him and ended the fight with a hole in your stomach. Imagine if you two work together!”

“Slow down, Targon,” Vazzha said. “We don’t understand much about these ‘psychics’, nor the circumstances of this fight Zerith mentioned.”

“But,” Mariss continued, “putting her to use in that way may not be practical.”

I averted my eyes, halfway to scoffing. Come on, people, I’m not some weapon. It was one thing to hear that sort of talk in a person’s mind, and a whole nother’ feeling to be ignored while they discussed me like I was an item.

The pointless debate continued for a while. Meanwhile, Zerith put his hand on his fist, listening with a drooping expression.

“Umm...Zerith?” I asked, leaning in to whisper to him, hiding my mouth behind a hand. “I’m really confused. What are these ‘corps’ and the ‘representatives?’”

His eyes moved away from the argument. [‘Corps’ is short for corporations, or a section of our workforce. We each oversee at least one, either partially or wholly. For example, the Medical Corporation, which Zvanah, The representative of Orange over there, oversees.] He glanced at the girl with the orange beret. “As for us as Representatives...Are they seriously not done? I’ll explain it later.]

He sighed. “Enough! Vaazha, Mariss, Targon, now is not the instant to debate this!” he yelled, hardly moving. “We have business to discuss, do we not?”

“Yes, Zerith,” the red-robed woman said. “However, this-”

“I literally could not give less shits, Mariss,” Zerith growled. [Can she ever just shut up about things that don’t concern her?]

Mariss leaned back, resting her hands in her lap and sitting straighter. “I...understand, sir.” [I should have known he wouldn’t compromise...]

I stared wide-eyed at Zerith. He was leaning forward in his chair, still holding up his head with a fist as he scowled. He had acted relatively tolerant in our conversations earlier, but ever since we had entered the chamber, he had been as dead-serious and dangerous as I would expect from someone called ‘The Hero’. Not just that, but he absolutely commanded the council’s respect. Yes, they would talk over him on occasion, but that seemed more like something unique to their culture than a sign of disrespect...his ridiculous bursts of bluntness seemed to get on everyone’s nerves, though.

He addressed the whole table. “The less we wait to put our resources to use, the more lives we save and the more prepared we are for the king’s next move. I will take personal command and responsibility for Psychi.” He looked at me. “Take a seat in the chair to my right.”

I nodded, then finally sat down.

And the representatives’ minds burst into confusion as I did?

“Wait, do you mean she will account for the Representative of Green?” the orange-clothed woman asked, voicing all of their concerns while raising her head in curiosity.

“Yes,” Zerith responded. “She is one of the only foreigners to our world we know of and the second strongest. If she does not take the spot, nobody else will.”

W-wait, what?

“But what about the requirement? Musn’t she have a direct contact with The Man in Green to fill the role?”

“I don’t know the details, but if she would like to explain how she fills that requirement, we can get a move-on with this meeting.” Zerith looked at me. [At least if Blue is to be believed.]

So he learned about that, too? And it was that ‘Blue’ who told him all of that!

I nodded. Looking back, I probably should have realized sooner what Zerith was planning... “Yes. I mean...I can speak to ‘The Man in Green’ directly through my thoughts.”

“Well, there you have it. Do we have any more questions?” Zerith asked, glaring at each person around the table with a challenging expression. [Good, we can actually settle down and get to business.]

Nobody objected.

“Then, a raise of hands. Who will accept Psychi as a Representative of Green?” [Just sit tight while we quickly get this done with.]

S-so I was becoming the Representative of Green? This was fast?!

Mariss, the red-robed woman, rolled her eyes, then raised her hand. [Alright, whatever.]

The orange-robed girl shrugged. [I wonder what Zerith’s thinking with this...] She then raised her hand.

Targon, the yellow-robed man, who was sitting to my right, leaned over towards me and stared at me. I stared him in the eyes, leaning away nervously from the much bigger person. [Just how much does she really care?] He thought. After a moment, my eyes tried to wander anywhere but near his. He then leaned back and slouched in his chair. [Not someone worth keeping around.] He crossed his arms decisively.

As I looked to the next person, Vaazha, the violet-shirted representative, I briefly heard Zerith think, to my left, [I wouldn’t expect any less of him.]

Vaazha looked about the room, judging everyone’s choices. [Mariss probably just doesn’t care, Zvanah...like I know what she’s thinking, Targon...I trust his judgment, but I trust Zerith’s judgment more. And my take...we’ve had an empty sixth seat for a century, so why not invite some new blood. Maybe she will have some insight to help management, as an outsider.] “I’m with Zerith,” Vaazha said, raising his hand.

Everyone’s eyes naturally drifted to the empty seat beside Vaazha.

“Alright,” Zerith said, “I don’t feel like using Sending to get her opinion, so can we just assume she’d vote with Mariss like she always does?” [If she wants to be part of our decisions, she needs to actually show up.]

The rest of the table collectively shrugged, looking to Targon. He rolled his eyes. “I don’t mind. What are you all looking at me for?” [I doubt she’s who we need as a leader of any kind, but I’m sure Zerith has something planned. I have better things to do than be an obstacle to my friend.]

Damn, he really did command respect.

Zerith nodded as the table relaxed again. “Then it’s affirmed. In a five-to-one decision, Psychi Purdue has been voted as the new Representative of Green.”

So...did I just become a political figure? If so, that was one...interesting election.

Zerith continued. “Now, with all of that out of the way, we can discuss the reason we came here. It is time to prepare for an all-out war. Since the Monster King’s power returned, he has begun to mobilize his monster soldiers. I just got word of it today from Kaynad. As always, we can expect a sudden attack on one of the settlements. I’m sure each of you knows your role in the upcoming days, so I’ll only give you all the brief, both for our newcomer and clarity.”

Zerith pointed to Zvanah and then to Vaazha. “Zvanah, Vaazha: you two will be working to prepare evacuation measures for the settlements, starting with the most populated. I trust the medical and transport companies can mobilize in a reasonable timeframe?”

Their names were easy enough to memorize: Vaazha was Violet, Zvanah was Orange, Mariss was Red, and Targon was Yellow. Presumably, ‘Taali’ was Indigo.

Zvanah nodded. “The Medical Corps is more than capable of that.” [Of course.]

Vaazha crossed his arms. “Same here.”

Zerith then pointed to Mariss. “And you can prepare the artillery you’ve been flaunting for the past few conferences, Mariss?”

She laughed. “As if! Those are far too heavy to just carry across continents, and your military keeps stealing all the spellcasters who can cast Greater Levitate! The Construction Company can only do so much on our own.” [If this hadn’t been thrown on us so suddenly, maybe I wouldn’t need to say this.]

Zerith scratched his stubble. “Hmm...then we need to find a better way to move the artillery continents in a matter of days.” [Quite difficult, but we will find a way.]

The rest of the representatives seemed to think it was impossible, though.

“You know,” I said, “I could do it.”

“How would you go about that, though? This is quite the tall task,” Mariss said, disbelieving. “Three massive cannons will need to be transported to wherever they’re needed, even over oceans.”

I shook my head. “You could say that moving things is something psychics like me are particularly adept at. I’m not sure what sort of magic you use to carry things, but I can make it look like child’s play, probably.”

“And, I, for two, could teleport smaller portions of the artillery if I utilize the Transport Company,” Vaazha said. “If I and Psychi combined our efforts, moving artillery long distances could at least be possible.”

“Well, I suppose you’ll just have to see them for yourself,” Mariss said almost as if she were proud of how difficult to move they were.

Zerith nodded to me. [Good, initiative.] “Next, I will need Targon and Psychi to fight on the frontlines. I’ve invited the other two of us Four Generals to join us in preparations, but...one of them seems disinterested.”

“Jherroni?” Vaazha asked immediately. “I don’t understand what he has to gain from not providing us assistance. His forces are surely imperative to our success.”

“As the leader of the only army whose operations are entirely secret,” Targon said, “He wants to remain untraceable. Knowing how frugal he is, Jherroni will only rise to the occasion at the single most opportune time.”

Vaazha shrugged, not convinced. [But still, humanity needs to fight on the same front to win this war. I don’t understand these generals...]

While the two argued amongst each other, Zerith had pulled a map from a drawer in front of his seat and rolled it across the table.

“Now, onto tactics. As most of you haven’t noticed, I have been planning in anticipation of this event. Targon and I have located and labeled the ‘priority points’ in which we will establish the military.” He pointed to a blue dot south of the continent’s center. “This is The Bastion, where we are, and where the bulk of our military force is, a the moment. As soon as my father died, I began building this place in anticipation of a war -a mobility and stealth war.”

“A mobility and stealth war?” Mariss said. “If that’s the case, where does my stationary artillery come into play?”

“I’m getting to that.” He pointed to three other blue dots scattered across the map. “Each blue point I have labeled is one of the ‘priority points’. My plan has been to station the GP squads at each of them, and I’ve even established hidden encampments in those locations.”

“What’s a GP squad?” I asked.

Targon responded, “The GP, or Greatest Power squads are the strongest defense forces at our disposal. They are those who have the best Communication-Reaction-Flight responses, or CRF responses, and are also stronger and more capable in combat than any other force.”

Ahh...military jargon from another world...not my area of expertise.

“Exactly,” Zerith said. “Military reaction time is an important attribute to have in this war, and we plan accordingly.”

“Right...” I said. It made enough sense to me, but I was missing quite a few important details on the nature of magic in combat. “What makes this a ‘mobility and stealth war’, though?” I asked.

“Because we don’t know where the king will attack first, we must assume that he could attack anywhere at any time.” He pointed to two triangles surrounding each of the priority points, one larger than the other. “Take what I have labeled the ‘Eastern Front’ for instance. This region provides an enormous amount of food to the other settlements and also has the largest population, making it a prime target for the king to attack. If he were to attack, however, he would aim for the villages, as they provide food, and afterward, he could lead a siege against the city, where our defenses are strongest.”

“So...we need to protect all four villages simultaneously, is the issue?” I asked.

He nodded. “Yes. We don’t know which one he will attack first. Thus, mobility is most important. These triangles represent the different forces we can distribute. The outermost triangle is the force who knows ‘Fly’, the inner triangle is the force who knows ‘Super Fly’ and the innermost dot -the priority point- is the GP-Squad, who at least have access to ‘Hyper Fly’. There will also be forces stationed in the cities themselves to function as relays and use their signature magics to keep civilians safe. Ideally, the outer force will move slower than the inner force, and the inner force will move slower than the GP-squad, allowing all of them to overlap into one sudden counterattack, no matter where the king strikes from.”

“Interesting,” I said, looking down at the map.“So, where will I be?”

“I want you to accompany me to the southern front, on the southern continent.”

“And what about my army?” Targon asked.

“You ought to defend the northern front. General Kaachis will be at the eastern front.”

“Then The Bastion’s defense?”

“If worst comes to worst, and The Bastion is somehow attacked, it will be up to Vaazha to teleport forces to The Bastion while the automated defenses keep monsters at bay.”

“Seems risky,” Tagon noted. “I, for one, don’t like it.”

“And that’s because?” Zerith asked, clearly respecting the man’s opinion.

“It feels like we are prioritizing the civilian states too much.”

Zerith nodded. “I understand, but that’s where we can agree to disagree. I believe food is the most important resource right now. We can’t even make enough food as is.”

“Perhaps...” [Though this could backfire spectacularly if we lose all military presence, and thus our ability to defend those states...]

Zerith began addressing each of the representatives one by one. “Back from the top: Regarding the preparations, our next most important asset is definitely your camp’s expertise, Vaazha. I expect your company to be able to transport themselves to the settlements on their own?”

The violet-robed man nodded. “Of course.” [Transportation is our job, after all.]

“And Mariss, do you have any other weapons I should know about?”

She nodded. “Taali ordered the shells of some new weapon, but she hasn’t explained what it’s for, for now. Otherwise, the production of the Civilian Cast Stems has progressed smoothly, and I’ve got plenty in storage. They won’t be very effective against stronger monsters, but they should help in the large sieges.”

“Good, they had a significant impact on a few of the monster’s recent raids, so I hope you will work with Vaazha to transport them to the civilians.”

“Of course.”

“Same with you, Zvanah. I know you two haven’t seen eye to eye, but your Medical Company should be working with Vaazha’s company to ensure cities and settlements have adequate healers.”

“What about you?” I asked. “What’s your role? Are you just the general?”

Zerith shrugged. “My job as the Representative of Blue is to handle security affairs, but I’m also The Hero, so people also expect me to also handle the strategy, logistics, politics, and concerns of the military state...and internal affairs.” Poor guy. “Now...” he looked around the room, standing up. “Figure out how you can help the other representatives. In the meantime, I need to mobilize the army, do the security checkup on our anti-clairvoyance wards and procedures, and give the guards a seminar on security. Then, I’ll need to continue handling my army’s logistics. I might not be available for a while, but if any of you need something...you know how to contact me. If that is all, then the conference is dismissed.” After a moment of silence, Zerith left the conference room, leaving me with the representatives.