After Aria's message, Ren was inside a royal family carriage heading to the castle. As the situation also involved Ren, even if indirectly, it was decided that he would also attend the meeting at Aria's request. Obviously, the academy was also informed of Ren's absence for the next few days, although the reason for such absence was not specified. While riding in the carriage, several thoughts were going through Ren's head, leaving him distracted. Without even realizing it, the carriage stopped, and the coachman opened the door for Ren, who was still distracted.
"Mister Ren, we have arrived"
Said the coachman, bringing him back to reality.
"Okay, thank you"
I replied with a smile on my face. After that, he got out of the carriage and started walking into the castle. At the entrance, there were two knights, as usual. He could tell from under their armor that they were both a little tense. As soon as he approached, they both bowed their heads slightly and let him pass.
(I guess they had already been warned that I was coming)
Ren thought as he moved into the castle. As soon as he entered the inside of the castle, there were two maids who seemed to be there to welcome him. As soon as they noticed him, they both bowed slightly.
"Mister Ren, please follow us. His majesty is waiting for you"
Said one of the maids in a respectful tone. After that, Ren followed the maids, who guided him through the vast expanse of the castle.
(No matter how many times I come here, I think I would still get lost)
He thought as he looked at all the corridors leading to some part of the castle. After walking for a while, they came to a large door where there were two more guards at the entrance and two guards on the other side against the wall. This place seemed more heavily fortified than the rest of the castle. As soon as the two maids and Ren approached the door, one of the guards seemed to ask the maid something to which she simply agreed. With that, the large door was opened, allowing Ren to enter.
"Please come in, Mr. Ren"
Said the maid. He just nodded and walked towards the room. As soon as he entered the room, he felt a tense feeling hovering in the air. There was a long table with several people sitting at it; some were people with a bit of age, and there were also others with younger age. Among them was a person he had met before, sporting silver-white hair with beautiful blue eyes. The crown prince was also present, looking at him with a tired smile on his face. He seemed to have been at this meeting for quite some time.
(I had heard that the meeting had started more than four hours ago. I wondered if he had been here that long)
Putting my thoughts aside, I walked to a vacant seat that was located at the back. As soon as I sat down, the king resumed the meeting.
"Now that everyone is present, let's begin the important part of the meeting"
The king said.
"Please wait a second, your majesty. Do you really want to talk about military matters with someone who is neither a noble nor a member of the royal family?"
Said one of the men, while gesturing to me. Hearing the man's response, the king simply sighed at the man's attitude.
"First of all, let everyone know that Ren is a person I trust immensely. Besides saving the queen, he has also managed to create a cure for almost all snake venoms that were deadly before. In addition, he is constantly creating new inventions that benefit the kingdom immensely"
Said the king as he looked at the nobles. They all cringed at the king's words. The reason he says that I have created several inventions is simply that almost all the nobles in the kingdom know that I am X, not least because it would be very difficult to do business if I didn't appear in person. Seeing that everyone was quiet, the king began to speak what he had in mind.
"As you all should know by now, in about two days, Storne's army is arriving at the borders of the Solaris kingdom"
Said the king, making the room tense again.
"The Storne army is known to have the largest military force in the entire continent of Marben"
Said the king, making everyone even more tense. Hearing the king's words, I raised my hand to ask him something. The king just nodded, saying I could speak what I had in mind.
"Sorry if this sounds disrespectful, but... what is the number of Storne's army, and what is the number of our army?"
Hearing my question, I soon got my answer, but instead of making me reassured, it made me even more worried about our current situation.
"The Storne army consists of about 180,000 soldiers, while the Solaris army consists of about 40,000 soldiers"
as soon as I heard the king's words, I instinctively knew.
(If we go to war like this, we are sure to lose)
This thought was running through my mind every time I thought about our situation.
"We could probably drive them off using traps, but our losses would be catastrophic"
The one who said that was not the king but the crown prince.
"Besides... I don't want to send our soldiers into a losing battle. They all have families to take care of, and I refuse to see children crying because they lost some family member"
Said the crown prince, sounding sure of his words. The prince and I were more or less thinking the same thing, but talking is different from doing. Although I have knowledge about weapons, I don't think now is the right time to bring the weapons from my world into this world, at least not now.
"Isn't there some way we can win this war without having too many losses?"
Said the king as he sighed, and it was at that moment that something clicked in my mind.
"Actually... there is"
I said, getting everyone's attention.