Naomi laughed. "He is absolutely perfect."
Zinia sat in a wooden chair pulled close to the TV. The strong earth mage crossed her muscular arms. "Princess Iris is going to have a headache dealing with those kings alone."
Laxmi grinned. She tossed a popcorn kernel into her mouth. "Iris can handle herself. She is tough."
On the screen, the King of Zenith stood up from his chair. He wore a massive, bright gold crown. He wore a long coat made of expensive red silk. He slammed both of his hands onto the wooden table. The loud smack echoed across the marble walls.
The room finally went quiet.
"We have debated this tragedy for an entire hour," the King of Zenith declared. His voice was sharp and accusing. "You claim a rogue faction fired the Solurious weapon. You claim corrupt scientists built the bomb. You claim you had absolutely no idea this was happening."
The Emperor did not blink. "I claim the absolute truth. The criminals acted in total secrecy."
The King of Zenith sneered. "I do not believe you. My spies visited the ruins of the Bluemoon capital. They found traces of a massive, unprecedented magical aura. The aura was incredibly cold. It felt like an absolute void. My scholars recognize that specific signature. It belongs to only one entity on this entire planet."
Sayma pushed her glasses up. She leaned toward the TV. "He is going to accuse Lancelot."
"He is absolutely going to accuse Lancelot," Ira confirmed in her flat voice. "The logical progression of his argument leads to exactly one conclusion."
On the screen, the King of Zenith glared at the Emperor. He raised his voice to sound very dramatic.
"We strongly suspect Lancelot is responsible for the destruction of the Bluemoon Kingdom!" the King of Zenith shouted loudly.
Laxmi jumped to her feet. She pointed at the television. "There it is! I knew it! I knew he was going to say that!"
Naomi frowned deeply. Her grip tightened on her teacup. "That is completely ridiculous. Lancelot saved the Bluemoon Kingdom. He fought the Black Magicians."
Zinia grabbed Laxmi by the sleeve. She pulled her back down to the rug. "Sit down, Laxmi. You are blocking the TV."
The clone let out a low whistle. It slouched deeper into the sofa. "Oh man. Here it comes. This is the false accusation arc. The writers always blame the cool, mysterious character. It is a very basic plot device."
The Emperor of Belmontia sat perfectly still on his golden throne. He stared at the angry King of Zenith. He did not look shocked. He did not look defensive.
Instead, a slow, deep chuckle escaped the Emperor's lips.
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The chuckle grew louder. The Emperor threw his head back. He let out a massive, booming laugh. The sound echoed wildly across the pristine marble chamber.
Luna sat up on her armchair. She rubbed her sleepy eyes. "Did the Emperor just laugh at a murder accusation?"
"Absolutely," Sayma said. A small smile crossed her face. "And it is brilliant."
The King of Zenith turned bright red. "Why are you laughing?! I am making a formal accusation of mass murder!"
The Emperor stopped laughing. He wiped a tear of pure amusement from his eye. He leaned forward and stared directly into the King of Zenith's eyes.
"I am laughing because your accusation is utterly absurd," the Emperor stated coldly. "Tell me, King of Zenith. Have you completely lost your mind? Have you finally become entirely senile in your old age?"
The living room erupted with laughter.
Laxmi slapped her knee. "The Emperor is a savage! He just called the king senile on live television!"
Naomi covered her mouth. She tried very hard not to laugh. "This is the best political broadcast I have ever watched."
On the screen, the Emperor continued his verbal assault. "You claim Lancelot used a toxic radiation bomb to wipe out a nation. You clearly do not understand the nature of the masked entity."
The Emperor stood up. His presence dominated the entire room. "Lancelot does not use covert weapons. He does not hide behind secret missile silos. He does not use toxic radiation to melt buildings. He does not need tools."
The Emperor pointed a finger at the King of Zenith.
"If Lancelot truly decided to destroy the Bluemoon Kingdom, he would not use a bomb. He would just walk into the center of their capital city. He would raise his hand. He would completely erase the entire nation directly with his own magic. He would do it flawlessly. He would do it instantly. He would not leave a single trace of radiation behind."
The room went totally silent. The foreign politicians swallowed hard.
Sayma clicked her pen. She wrote a quick note. "The Emperor's logic is perfectly sound. A being of Lancelot's caliber would find mechanical weapons entirely redundant."
The clone nodded in agreement from the sofa. "Exactly. Using a bomb is way too much extra work. You have to build the bomb. You have to launch it. You have to aim it. Just using a cool magic spell is much faster. The Emperor totally gets it."
The King of Zenith looked incredibly foolish. He slowly sat back down in his chair. He crossed his arms tightly. He refused to look at anyone.
Naomi smiled. "The Emperor completely dismantled him. That was beautiful."
But the political argument was far from over. The King of Zulfara was ready to join the fight.
---
Naomi leaned forward. Her green eyes narrowed at the television screen. "The King of Zulfara is standing up. This is not going to be good."
On the screen, the King of Zulfara stood up abruptly from his chair. The wooden legs scraped loudly against the marble floor. He wore dark, jagged iron armor. His face was covered in old, pale scars. His eyes were incredibly cold and full of bitter hatred. He slammed his fists down onto the round table.
"Do not mock us with your arrogant speeches!" the King of Zulfara roared. "Zenith might be wrong about the bomb. But his suspicion is entirely justified! Lancelot is a massive threat to global security!"
Laxmi crunched on her popcorn. She pointed at the TV. "Here comes the spiky armor guy again. I still want to punch him."
Zinia shook her head. "Get in line, Laxmi."
On the screen, the King of Zulfara paced back and forth behind his chair. His iron boots clanked sharply against the marble floor.
"He uses the hunt for Black Magicians as a convenient excuse," the angry king accused fiercely. "He claims he is eradicating evil. But he is just doing whatever he pleases. He crosses international borders without asking permission. He destroys entire criminal organizations overnight. He ignores all diplomatic laws. He is a rogue entity of absolute destruction!"
Ira stared blankly at the television. "The King of Zulfara's argument contains a fundamental contradiction. He fears Lancelot's power but refuses to acknowledge that Lancelot uses that power to eliminate threats that the kings themselves are too weak to face."
Sayma nodded. "Ira is correct. The King of Zulfara is not arguing from logic. He is arguing from fear. Fear makes people say irrational things."
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