“You’re insane,” Gordon snapped. He would have continued to berate the older man but the door was thrown open.

Three men entered the room. Two of them were strangers but he recognized the third as another member of the Tome family. Lou’s father, Luke Tome. Like his brother, he had changed in the intervening months since their last meeting. The physical changes were minor, the wrinkles by his eyes seemingly less pronounced and an upgrade to the quality of his clothes, but his presence was entirely different. Gone were the slouched shoulders and pensive frown. Luke Tome was a man with pride and purpose.

He frowned as his eyes took in Gordon’s untouched food and the state of his brother, namely the uncomfortable woman seated on his lap. “Forgive him, Gordon,” he said evenly. “Having the son of his great enemy here has apparently made my brother stupid. I told him the act was unnecessary but I suppose he couldn’t resist being the terrifying villain for once.”

“Quiet, Luke.” With a huff, Jackal shoved the maid off his lap and she hurriedly left the room. “I’m your older brother. Not to mention the head of this family.”

“Long live the Tome patriarch, yes, but I am in charge of this project.”

“The project to summon a creature that would destroy the world given half the chance,” Gordon snapped. “Have you all gone crazy? A fucking drakkon is never the answer.”

Luke swore, outright glaring at his brother. “Jackal shouldn’t have spoken on matters that aren’t his concern. He knows nothing.”

Gordon got to his feet. “Well, I know enough about those creatures to get as far away from you people as possible.” He contemplated whether to tell the crown about their meeting if he managed to survive. It would only give them more fuel with which to burn the summoning community but it was better than the whole of Harvest burning.

“Sit down.”

Luke’s order was accompanied by Gordon’s body becoming painfully heavy. He had no choice but to sit as his knees would have buckled if he tried to remain standing a moment longer.

The two strangers pulled back their hoods, revealing identical faces. Both were young men, not older than his own twenty-one years by Gordon’s estimate, with dark brown hair and narrow black eyes. They were the same in every way except that one had a thin scar over the brow of his left eye.

The scarred twin put a hand to his chest. “I apologize for the use of force, Lord Mason. We had hoped that this would be a peaceful conversation but we cannot have you walking off holding dangerous misconceptions.”

“Peaceful conversation? Is that why you drugged the food?”

[Easy, pet.]

Luke, who had pulled out the chair across from Gordon, started. His gaze snapped to his brother. “What did you do?”

Jackal sneered. “A little precaution. When has a Grimoire ever put aside their agenda to do the right thing? You would have let the boy walk out the front door carrying our secrets.”

“What secrets? Somehow, the king is already aware of what we’re planning, or at least enough of it. Besides, we’re not looking for a pawn. We need a partner, someone who willfully cooperates with us. I would think after enduring being suppressed for decades, you would come to detest those methods.”

“Bah! What do you know? Just stick to your summoning circles and leave the—"

“Everett has placed me in charge,” Luke said, a hint of anger entering his voice. At his words, the twins moved closer to the table, a quiet menace. “If you cannot bring yourself to respect me, you will respect his decision or you will leave.”

[Oh~ As expected of Lou’s father. Such pure ambition. No desire for gold, no delusions of grandeur, no lust for women, well, not much. Just a determined will to prove himself. Mm, what an excellent piece.]

What are you so impressed by? He’s a loser.

[The less desires a man has, the harder it is to distract him. Someone like him, with a purity of purpose, is the absolute best. If you turn that purpose to your own agenda, nothing will shake him. I am less impressed with the Tome patriarch. Ah ah, what a shame. It seems greatness doesn’t run through the blood.]

The less impressive Jackal grit his teeth as he stared at his brother hatefully. His hands balled into fists as he leaned back in his chair, slumping in tense silence. What is his problem?

[He is suffering critical damage to his ego, is all. He thought he would play a much larger role in the summoners’ revolution because of his position. Understandably, this Everett decided to give more power to the actual summoner of the family.]

Luke cleared his throat. “Enough dramatics. Gordon, we asked you here—"

“Because you want to band together in the face of the king’s denouncement of summoners,” Gordon finished for him. “And I’m not interested in mutual destruction just to make a point. If you were serious, then I’ll be leaving now.”

“Wait, let me speak for a moment. We aren’t a bunch of children throwing a tantrum. We have real ambition. Before these decrees, our group was discussing the possibility of creating a new town, one that focuses on summoners and their families, giving them space and funding to nurture the art.”

“Laudable,” Gordon said dryly. “How did you go from settlers to drakkons?”

Luke sighed and rubbed his brows. “Our plan begins with a settlement but some of our more ambitious members spoke of claiming a piece of the continent for ourselves. Mind, this was only spoken as a hypothetical and foreseen decades into the future at that. However, it is a popular thing to discuss. Particularly how we would maintain sovereignty when the crown inevitably took offense.” He hesitated. “Of course, the use of certain elementals entered the discussion. Drakkons were included as a possibility.”

“That’s where you lose me.” Gordon shook his head. “Drakkons are never a possibility. They don’t protect, they subjugate.”

Luke frowned. “I am well aware of their nature. Remember, we spoke of it as a hypothetical. Along with two dozen other strategies that had an equally abysmal chance of being realized. However, somehow, the crown was made to believe that we are planning to usurp the throne or some other nonsense and are striking first.”

He sighed. “Unfortunately, that leaves us in a predicament. We’ve reached the point where no one is going to believe us if we say, ‘haha, sorry, it was just a joke’. The crown thinks there’s a drakkon, whether there is one or not. After a round of discussion, we decided it would be best to give them what they expect and obscure our real plans.”

“…alright. You sound less crazy now.”

“Good. Jackal? Do you think you could have the poor girl from earlier bring us something to drink without ripping her dress off?”

The older man sneered. “Mary!” The door opened a moment after his bellow, the maid from earlier stepping just inside and bowing her head. “Bring us that Herbanacle and a few glasses.” He raised his nose as the maid left. “You may not know it, but Herbanacle is exclusively served by the Golden Feathers hotels. The Guiness family doesn’t sell it in their stores. Several bottles were delivered as a gift.”

What is this old bastard bragging about? It was obvious he wanted to show off his connection to the wealthy merchants but everyone knew the connection wasn’t his to claim. Marquis Guiness wanted Lou and her wife. If he had any consideration for the rest of the Tome family, it was an afterthought.

[Poor Jackal~ Long has he wanted to wield the true power of a noble, to be recognized. Yet everyone is recognized over him. His niece who he belittled. His younger brother who he always underestimated. Even you, who managed to retain your power despite your father’s perceived treason. You should be a little nicer to him, pet~ If someone isn’t, I’m afraid he won’t last long.]

“One of the only gifts my daughter has given me that I appreciate. Probably the only gift she’s given me. Little brat.”Luke’s lips briefly turned up in a smile before pressing down in his usual frown. “She still hasn’t responded?”

Jackal scoffed. “Not a word. Too busy spending the Guiness gold to care about her family.”

“…you have always looked down on me, brother. Something that may not be undeserved.” Luke shook his head. “In the end, all my efforts didn’t amount to much. However, I warn you not to make the same mistake with my daughter. She takes after her mother more than me. I bet she sensed trouble and decided to cut us off.”

“Whatever her reasons, she abandoned us.”

The maid returned with the bottle of Herbanacle, a pitcher of water, and five glasses. She poured for the table, the twins waving off the alcohol, before Jackal waved for her to leave. Gordon sipped his drink, marveling how a taste he could best describe as woody was somehow pleasant and how the drink warmed his body from head to toe. “So, tell how this plan of yours isn’t going to get a lot of people, including us, killed,” Gordon demanded.

Luke downed the rest of his glass and set it aside. “Our plan is to split up. The main group will continue with our original plan and relocate to form a village of summoners where we can dedicate ourselves to the art. A small group will remain in the capital as decoys. They will summon the drakkon before fleeing.”

“How the hell do you expect them to get away?”

“I can’t give away the details yet.”

“Fine. Then tell me how you plan to handle the rampaging drakkon. Do you know how many people that thing will kill?”

“I think you may be overestimating their ability. Sure, they are powerful. However, most of their strength comes from their size and durability. Their magical gifts are marginal compared to their coefficients. The royal knights are more than capable of driving it off before it can do too much damage. We originally planned to stop it by slaying its summoner if it proved too destructive. However, your cooperation allows for a different strategy.”

Gordon’s eyes narrowed as Fen’s laughter filled his mind. [Incredible! I love it!]

“As you know, a large coefficient provides a natural defense against spells that utilize mana intrusion. For that reason, it is difficult for a mental caster to affect anyone stronger than them. No human caster could hope to control a drakkon but…a succubus might. Or perhaps, multiple succubi working together.”

“You…want to summon a drakkon and use thralls to control it?”

“A virtue supported by thralls, more realistically.” Luke leaned forward. “I’ve read some of your family’s summoning records. Succubi are incredibly efficient with their spells and have successfully subjugated stronger opponents. Also, they can work together in ways human casters cannot. Mental casters are incredibly wary of one another but there is no such caution amongst succubi, as they readily submit to those stronger than them. I’ve concluded that they are the best chance of controlling a drakkon. And that is only the beginning.”

If enslaving a creature capable of leveling the capital was the beginning, Gordon didn’t want to see the next step. He opened his mouth to refuse but an invisible force took hold of his jaw. Then his mouth moved on its own, Fen speaking through him. “Interesting. If we were to do this, my family would have control of the drakkon. Aren’t you afraid of what I can do with that power?”

“We will retain control of the summoner. Should you attempt to misuse your power, we will slit their throat. An arrangement the prospective summoner has already agreed to.”

“…impressive.”

“We are quite serious, Gordon. This is a historical endeavor and it will be happening with or without you. You need to decide if you want to be a part of the change or forgotten the same as our ancestors. What will it be?”