Chương 98: Book 3; Chapter 97; Duty of a General is to do what they want

Old John looked very pleased with himself, and while he tried to play it that there was nothing unusual, his eyes could not stop laughing.

"You knew that this place would be familiar to me!" Anniet confronted him openly, leaving no room to escape.

"I must admit I did," he confirmed.

"But how?"

"That's a privilege of being a long-time traveller and knowing many places."

"No, I mean how it is possible? How such a place can be here in Capital."

"Oh, that. Well, that's the easy part. About three decades ago, the keeper of the tavern you knew handed it over to his successor before moving to Capital. But here he felt homesick, so eventually he opened this place. It became pretty successful, as, despite its simplicity, it is comfortable, and the meals are tasty. So it was left unchanged for years, despite the fact that its original owner is no longer with us."

Hearing that, Anniet felt some strange fear leaving and her eyes stopped examining the surrounding faces.

"Happy to stay?" John asked. And after seeing Anniet's smiling face, called over a waiter.

"I must be such a rabbit-hearted creature," Anniet laughed at her own behaviour.

"It is so nice to be here, in a familiar place. I don't even know what I was afraid of."

"It would be difficult to learn courage if facing only things that don't challenge you."

"So that is what Rainee wanted me to learn…"

"A little bit of bravery doesn't hurt anyone," John laughed.

"Also, sometimes I follow my own wishes, not only the wishes of others. But no, I didn't bring you here to learn some bravery. I brought you here so you could see that life is much simpler, and what might seem far away, in fact, is not. And also, I thought you would like it here."" And I do," Anniet thought to herself, but didn't say it aloud. The surroundings were familiar, the food was nice, and the atmosphere was friendly. Even the gazes that were piercing her back gradually faded.

Anniet chose a seat facing a window deliberately, so if anyone wanted to look at her, she would not know or be disturbed by it. But it didn't work. At least not from the beginning. Strangely, every time someone looked at her, she could physically feel this gaze on her back. She didn't know if that was just her imagination, and she chose not to think too deeply about it. If that was a part of her new life, then there was nothing she could do about it.

With time passing, the attention she was giving to what was going on behind her in the hall was slowly fading, and involuntarily, the conversation returned back to Blake. Just how much space was he taking up in her thoughts that she could not think about anything else… Oh well, never mind. Forbidding herself to do so didn't work anyway.

"So he doesn't like to be disturbed?"

"That's a tricky statement that opens many ways to be misled and basically none that lead to the truth behind the answer. Let me say it like this. None of us likes to be disturbed, and Blake is, let's say, less bothered by it than most of us."

"Even you?"

"I like your questions; they always make one stop and think inwardly. Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. No, I am not the best match for comparison. Didn't you yourself say not that long ago that I know nothing about myself. Being disturbed and learning more about others brightens my day. Blake doesn't suffer from this impediment, as he is very much involved in his own life to give it away to others. So no, not to that degree.

But still, he is much more open to others than most."

"He moved to live somewhere up next to the sky with not even stairs to reach him! How does it counts as being open and inviting to others? I don't understand how it could be a rest room before… One would have to be very tired to be brave enough to climb all these ladders only to have a rest. But wouldn't it be a little bit too dangerous to do so when you are so tired?"

"True, it would be a bit disturbing. But luckily, it wasn't the case. There used to be a wide and beautifully made staircase. But as it was not needed here any longer, it was dismantled and used in many different places."

"Why?"

"Because it is not good practice to waste good material and a piece of art somewhere where there is no need for it. Blake doesn't need stairs, nor do people who visit him sometimes while he is off duty. So he ordered these stairs to be dismantled, and it freed a lot of room and was useful in other places. For those who would still want to come to see him, he arranged these narrow stairs that you call ladders."

"He didn't make it easy to reach him."

"Why would he make it easy for those who wanted to come to tell him something he didn't want to hear? I think he did it only because he was young and naive at that time. If he were to do it now, he would not bother with it, nor would he encourage people to behave abusively. But at that time, he didn't fully understand what a general's duties are and thought that it was his duty to look after people and make sure that they were happy."

"Isn't that what generals do?"

"It might be what they do, but not because it is their duty."

"So what is the duty of a general?"

"To be honest? Their duty is to do what they want to do. And the better a general is at it, the stronger his position becomes, to the point that nothing can shake him from it, be it a cataclysm or the end of the world."

"So, in other words, they don't have any duties?"

"You can say so. But I can reassure you that no duty will ever bind you to your occupation as strongly as doing what you like and what you want."

"So what does Blake want?"

"To look after others."

"…… It doesn't feel that way. Well, yes, I know what you mean, and if I were to look at it from my point of view, from how he was treating me, then you are absolutely right. But he never showed any interest in looking after anyone else."

"But didn't he? Or maybe you think so only because you have a set of rules about what looking after others means? And any action that doesn't follow these rules will look to you like not caring at all. But that is the strength of a general. They don't follow rules set by others. In fact, they don't even follow their own rules, as any rule is binding and restricting. The more restrictions you place, the less movement you have. The less you can do of what you like and what you wish to do.

And also, I must say that it is difficult to look after someone when they don't want to be looked after. If you try to do so, then most likely the people you are looking after will feel very restricted. As Blake's point of view on life and freedom is very different from that of society, they get scared every time he wants to help them. And he refuses to waste his energy performing acts that help no one and only create the impression that something was done."

"It never felt restricted when he was looking after me," Anniet said with a fond smile on her face.

"And that's why he was able to do so. Now imagine how you would feel if he had not stepped aside at the time when you became afraid of him? Wouldn't it feel like something very oppressive instead of something nice? I am very glad that you met him now, when he is more mature. If it had happened at the time when he had just become general, he might have done just that. Or maybe not, who knows. But still, I am happy that we will never need to find it out."

"I don't really know which I would want more," Anniet smiled to herself, trying to imagine Blake behaving the same way as Anthony after being revealed as a general.

"And until the day you make a decision, you will have enough space for yourself to figure out what you want and where you stand. And what is more important to you, and what you want to do with it. Respecting others' wishes is a beautiful craft, and Blake mastered it very well by now."

"But he wasn't like this at the time when he was inaugurated?"

"No, not at all. He was already well advanced in many areas, but still, knowledge and strength deepen with practice and experience. He was very young then and had little experience."

"But he was already powerful enough to make such an entrance?"

"Oh yes, don't take it the wrong way. You are absolutely right, he was already very powerful. It is not a general's position that made him powerful. He got that position because of his strength."

"So what happened next in the story?"

"I thought we finished it? No?"

"Of course, we did not." Anniet strongly disagreed.

"All that you said was that everyone got scared because he got upset. And the same happened later in a meeting. What meeting was it? And why did Blake get upset again?"

"At those times, there used to be meetings after every inauguration. They would be held after the ceremony to establish positions and plans of action for the coming year. To arrange responsibilities and appoint divisions. Usually, these meetings used to be just briefings, as everything had already been planned and arranged in advance, prior to the inauguration, with very few adjustments needed. That year, however, was different.

Two people were unexpectedly promoted to generals from the very start of their careers, and all planning was ruined. Everyone expected Rainee to go high in rank, and there were even speculations that the King might promote her even to general, but not many supported these speculations, as even Prince Angus received his general status only in his third year after joining the King's Army. This time a promotion from the King was not even needed, as Rainee's position came naturally.

What to do with that bandit and usurper — that's how many were calling Blake at that moment — nobody knew. However, to the meeting they had come prepared to withstand anything that Blake would throw at them. And if he was not happy about the situation, it was he who had to leave, not them. The meeting was held to establish the structure of the organisation, and Blake was now a part of that organisation, no matter if he liked it or not. He could either comply with the rules or leave.

I can see you are eager to hear more, but I am not venturing down that path, as there is nothing that you could learn from hearing it, nor anything that would be of your interest if you already know what they spoke about. You will have to trust me on that, as I am going to be relentless," saying that, Old John put on a very strict and serious face that was so fake and didn't suit him at all, and made Anniet laugh.

"Why?" she asked.

"Plays of power while trying to impose yourself on others, or restrict others so you could have things your way, are never a good environment to learn. It teaches nothing, only how to weasel your way into and out of places you cannot reach otherwise. And as naturally you don't have any interest in it, I am not going to introduce it to you by unintentionally implying that you are missing something and have to educate yourself more in that way. Please don't. Later, it takes ages to get out of it."