So it is done: The same... (Patreon)

Strictly speaking, Jonathan did not have working hours, there was no timetable on the door leading to his office. The benefits of Kingship, perhaps.

It was believed that Jonathan performed his duties exactly at the time that was most convenient, or at least at the time that he himself found fit. Such were the duties of the heads of state.

In other words, they were never off-duty.

The head of state however was not also always the head of government. In a distant, already seemingly past life, Jonathan could recall this same fact in his native country, the queen was the head of state, and the prime minister was the person with the highest government powers. As it was in the Kingdom of Glenn.

Was.

Jonathan Goodman has always been the first citizen, the head of state, its official monarch and ruler, but Aisa was the head of government. It was convenient that way. While Jonathan represented the state in negotiations internationally, the face that flashed on television, Aisa took most of the burden of responsibility and authority, she also did the most work.

Jonathan enjoyed such an arrangement immensely, politics after all cannot be threatened with meteors to come to heel.

But, for all his power, some things remained beyond his ability. Aisa was dying, luckily, she knew it as well, and had made peace with it.

Aisa had begun preparing for such an eventuality a couple of years ago, slowly bringing Jonathan into the fold. He never really understood the gravity of what he was doing, for Jonathan it seemed like he was just learning. Something like studying at school, or maybe at the institute, without a clear realisation of what he was actually studying for.

But now, Aisa was in the hospital, and Jonathan was at a crossroads.

In a week, maybe two, Aisa will be discharged and will return to duty, but this was the first wake-up call that could not be ignored. Aisa simply didn't have time anymore to find someone new to replace Jonathan, not that she realistically had a chance in the first place, there is no one else like Jonathan.

And not just because he’s a Mage.

Now, whether he likes it or not, Jonathan must be prepared to be both the head of the state and the government. He would have absolute power…

A Monarch in the fullest sense of the word.

And therefore, even on that Saturday morning in November, with its quickly deteriorating weather outside the window, consisting of rare quickly melting snow mixed with rain, urging any person to stay in the bed, he sat in his office. His desk was full of reports, and strewn with office minutiae, pens, papers, and a computer, its screen flickering a holographic image.

Page by page, he continued to review all the reports sent to his desk. Army readiness reports, summaries on spending, amounts, expenses, deliveries, and even more reports… All the things that Aisa used to handle.

In Remnant, standing armies had to be large and ready at all times. The Grimm never sleeps, something that no human was capable of. There weren't enough Hunters to fully cover the defense needs of Remnant. Even Vale, the city with the highest number of Hunters per capita, couldn’t, never mind Glenn, which lacked its own Hunter academy entirely.

And so the defense of Glenn was undertaken almost solely by its army. An army who, in addition to being constantly ready to defend the city, carried out periodic operations to clear the surrounding area of Grimm. Such operations resembled entire invasions in their scale and scope, which is apropos.

Each sortie outside the walls was indeed like marching on enemy lands. Behind every blade of grass, a Grimm.

Therefore, even in a city-state of only three million, Glenn, an army of two and a half hundred thousand people was maintained. An almost catastrophic burden for such a small state to bear.

But Jonathan was not interested in reports on the cost of maintaining such an army, but a different subject entirely.

A Super-horde in Vacuo…

Ozpin always kept in touch with Jonathan, even with him refusing to directly fight against Salem, at least on things of such magnitude. And so, Ozpin didn't need to convince Jonathan to do anything, it was enough just to tell him about the Super-horde in Vacuo and wait. As a head of state he needs a response, what happened in Glenn after all was a comedy of errors, Super-Hordes are an existential terror that all states must respond to. The Grimm was an enemy of all mankind, after all.

And worst of all, Jonathan was forced to admit it wasn't the worst tactic.

Jonathan saw the Grimm, not only from a distance as an enemy at the gates, but up close, studied them and even did some experiments. His conclusions were disappointing, but at the same time, they were expected.

He had found that the Grimm were what he expected them to be, these were the lesser spirits of the Nephandi. Those who were always the target for all magicians, their sacred enemy, those that forced even Tradition and Technocracy to rally in those rare moments when there was an open battle between them.

But Jonathan… No, in fact, he even wanted to fight them, a hero who saves the world from true evil, the plot for a heroic book and a moral guideline that Jonathan aspired to all his life. But…

Does he have to do it now?

In the future, when he’s fully comfortable in his position, when he learns to handle a couple more of his abilities, when Glenn becomes stronger, when his Hunter academy opens, when his daughters grow up…

Somewhere in that distant future, where nothing will pose a danger to him, and he can finally be that very hero who destroys evil.

Don’t fool yourself, Jonathan. In that same future, you’ll think of more reasons not to pick a side.

But for all his vaunted Magic, time waits for no man… yet. Sadly, Jonathan has to live in the present, and he has a choice to make.

What if he doesn’t help? Most likely, both the forces of Vacuo and Atlas, and even more so, Ozpin, would succeed in defeating the super-horde. It was not their first rodeo with such an event, after all, especially for Ozpin. But a question still remained.

What sacrifices would they have to make for this victory?

What would happen if Jonathan instead helped? Well, Jonathan could practically destroy the entire super-horde without even leaving his office.

But what would happen then?

It would be foolish for him to think that he was not in Salem's crosshair already, but as he had not yet directly attacked Salem’s interests, he’s not yet fully her enemy. And while there’s no way he would work with somebody who has the Nephandi of all things as subordinates, Salem doesn’t know that.

But, if he were to show himself as a direct threat to her? Being the enemy of someone who has achieved True Immortality is not a great prospect.

Ozpin told him about all of his attempts to destroy Salem, and of how they all fail in the end. Jonathan didn’t doubt that Ozpin had tried everything to kill Salem off for good, only to have them fail in the end, even things that Jonathan himself might balk at.

He’s not so full of himself that, even with his meager capabilities, he would be able to solve that problem anytime soon.

He simply needed more time to come into his powers before he attempted to solve the Salem problem. Or at the very least to survive the aftermath of a failed attempt.

He was sure that the immortal could be very creative to get her pound of flesh.

But on the other hand, if Jonathan refused to demonstrate to Salem the full depth of his power by erasing the entire super-horde advancing into Vacuo, how many people would die for the sake of his false sense of security?

After all, he was already, one way or another, a target for Salem, maybe not one of a high priority, but he still was. Finding any consolation in the fact that he would become a lesser target because he could not destroy a Super-Horde once again was stupid.

Never mind the scrutiny he would accrue for not destroying the Super-Horde, especially if the damage to Vacuo was extensive. After all, he had destroyed one before, why couldn’t he do it again? Nobody would care what costs it might have, only that he didn’t. If nothing else, it would damage Glenn’s standing in Remnant.

While blaming someone for not doing something would be foolish, humans have always been creatures overly prone to stupidity.

In addition to the absolute evil that is the Grimm, there were other kinds of evils in the world, politics being one of them. Other things on his plate that he needs to deal with other than the literal forces of darkness.

Mantle, or more specifically, Atlas, being one of them.

Atlas was currently under civil war, and Jonathan was partly responsible for it. Jonathan was the one who provided weapons, food, medical supplies, pretty much everything, to the Mantle rebels.

Partly purely for idealistic reasons, supporting the unfortunate workers who were oppressed by a tyrannical government was a no-brainer to him. And partly because he knows that through the rebels he could put pressure on Atlas, hindering their attempt to break into the Glenn market and putting pressure on Menagerie, an ally of Glenn.

In the event that the revolution succeeds, he would have received a reliable ally instead of a global adversary. And if he fails… well at least he has weakened that global adversary tremendously.

That’s why he could not allow Atlas to have a major role in saving Vacuo. He could not allow Atlas to gain an upper hand in the international stage, he needs them to be as isolated as possible, lest the rebels he’s supporting find themselves fighting on two fronts or worse.

But he also could not send an army to Vacuo just like that…

Should he personally intervene? Should he send an army? Or should he abstain from sending help to Vacuo entirely, sacrificing countless lives and strengthening the international position of Atlas?

What a hard choice, what a lot of thought, O King…

There was a low beep and Jonathan was snapped out of his thoughts, looking at the blinking red button on his desk, signifying that his secretary was using the intercom. "Mr. Goodman, Cinder Fall and Nora Valkyrie here for you.”

It seems that his secretary has at last got used to calling him something else than ‘Your Majesty’. Small victories.

“Send them in,” Jonathan sighed, before remembering something. “Coffee and two cocoa with marshmallows please.”

"Of course,” Came the voice of his secretary from the other end of the line, as Jonathan glanced at the door, now half-opened. Barely before he could greet them, Cinder instantly barged through the door, with the diminutive Nora, whose height barely reached the armpits of the tall girl, following close behind her.

"I knew you'd be here today." Cinder smiled at Jonathan, her eyes drawn to Jonathan’s desk, where he was hurriedly gathering the scattered papers into his drawer.

“Good morning, Your Majesty,” Nora greeted soon after, much more reservedly, trying and failing a polite and ceremonial bow, but due to her age, looking rather comical, like a child imitating adults. Well, she was literally doing that, so it was comically appropriate.

“Please, do come in.” Jonathan, said with a small drawl, amused by how free his daughter was treating his station. Closing the desk drawer, he began walking to the table in his office, cane in hand.

As he reached her, Jonathan hugged Cinder, who returned the gesture, hugging Jonathan tightly and only pulling away after a couple tens of seconds. As he passed by the nervous Nora, Jonathan ran a hand through her hair, smiling softly. Done, Jonathan finally took a seat the other two close behind him, Cinder, of course, sat herself next to him. "I thought your ‘Order of Hermes’ was having a meeting”

Cinder did not need to be a social savant to notice the quote marks evident in Jonathan’s voice, the small mocking pause after the name of her organization was pronounced, but Jonathan continued to speak as if nothing had happened. Not that Cinder cared, she does know what the name meant to Jonathan, she just has to make her organization greater until Jonathan can approve of it.

"It’s this afternoon," Cinder said before turning her gaze to the clock hanging on the wall, "Three and a half hour from now."

"Good, being tardy or worse, absent from your commitments sends a bad sign to your subordinate." Jonathan advised, then glanced at Nora, who still hadn't taken a seat. It took a while, but it seems that Nora has decided that potentially being rude by sitting on the same table with her King was lesser in scope than having Jonathan’s attention, taking her seat left of Cinder.

It didn’t take long for Jonathan’s secretary after that to bring in the three mugs of beverage that Jonathan had asked for. Like an experienced waitress, the secretary distributed the drinks, the black strong coffee without sugar was for Cinder.

As his daughter began sipping on her drink, Jonathan began focusing his attention on Nora.

It was almost like an act of fate, who would have thought that yesterday's tramp would climb into the highest offices today, simply for being in favor with his daughter.

The Nora today did not at all resemble her former self, having grown her hair to a decent length, so that it already went down below her shoulder blades, clearly imitating Cinder’s style, who preferred having long hair. Then her outfit, imitating Jonathan, gave the impression of a school uniform crossed with something an offspring of a noble family, seen in the company of the Schnee heiress would wear. Completing the ensemble was Nora trying to act confident and even aloof, not ideal, but more than commendable for a child. She failed miserably on the last part, looking more like a child trying to play adult, though that was perhaps more out of nervousness than anything else,

Cinder seriously took up her duty and upbringing of Nora, and Jonathan… he couldn’t even say anything bad about it. Probably

Despite some of Cinder’s… eccentricities, she had demonstrated sufficient maturity in her judgments, becoming for Nora something between a mother, an older sister and a strict teacher. On a couple of occasions, of course, he had to take Cinder aside about the rigor of her teachings. But in the end, she was not only able to teach Nora what was expected of her at her age, but also beyond that.

Nora, of course, did not demonstrate the same amazing appetite for knowledge as Cinder did, and, to be honest, she was not as outstanding a student as Cinder was. But Nora studied with all her might, and Cinder, in turn, taught Nora with all her might.

The only question in the future was how Cinder was obviously preparing Nora as her possible future deputy, or at least a protégé, but there was nothing to comment on this either… Probably.

Finally, when the secretary had left, and Nora didn't look as if she was one bad surprise away from a heart attack, Jonathan began speaking. "Cinder, do you want anything?"

It wasn't that Jonathan believed Cinder wouldn’t visit him unless for asking something, she in fact visited him more often than her personal ‘Order’ project. But her visits usually didn't happen when Jonathan himself was busy dealing with matters of national importance, the exception being when Jonathan stayed very late in his office till the evenings.

"Besides seeing you, of course." Cinder smiled a little. "Yes, I'd like to get permission for you to single out a few rats for a couple of weeks."

Jonathan sighed a little, not that he didn't realize that with the abbreviation RATS, no one would ever guess about such a name, and he himself had heard about how the operatives themselves sometimes called themselves that, but such a name still seemed quite insulting to him. Though he suspects, perhaps, it seemed so only to him,

“It depends. It's not that I don't trust you, but you yourself understand…”

“There are suspicions that someone tried to introduce a ‘mole’ into the order.” Cinder answered Jonathan's question with such nonchalance, as if she did not see anything unusual in the fact that someone was trying to get to her through her personal society.

“The evidence is circumstantial, but still there.” Jonathan could only sigh at these words, taking another sip and looking at Nora, who might not understand what was said due to her age, but might just get used to it.

Surveillance without a trial nor a court order…

Jonathan did not understand what was more surprising to him, that everything had come to the point that his adopted daughter wanted to establish surveillance of a person on suspicion of something; that this was not the first time, and all previous times she was not mistaken; or that he was seriously leaning towards simply going along with Cinder's request without asking her further questions.

Of course, there were already a few RATS assigned to Cinder all the time for her protection detail, three to be exact. But it wasn't their job to get background checks on the kids and teenagers who tried to get in touch with Cinder.

Of course, her school was constantly checked and rechecked again and again, but this was not a cure all for potential infiltrators at all.

No one is stopping us from fulfilling her request once again. You are the most powerful man of Glenn, aren't you?

Hah, he still finds it surprising that he’s running a real Secret Service, one that he had absolute control over. He could not just give orders, he could also remove directors or give out new ranks, cut and increase funding, though the last one also requires the heads of the ministers responsible for this.

Not that he couldn’t bypass them easily, of course.

"Are you sure?" Jonathan took another sip before setting his empty mug aside, looking at Cinder for any sign of hesitation. He found none as a matter of course.

"For the most part, but not entirely," Cinder repeated Jonathan's gesture, also looking at him for any signs of hesitance, he doesn’t doubt that Cinder would retract her request at the mere signs of one.

“That's why I'm asking for agents. They don't have to listen to me, I'm not trying to put on a general's epaulettes, I'm just asking for a few people to be looked at more closely.”

She really will be an excellent replacement for Aisa. Whatever the reason, she knows the right words to choose, doesn't she?

Jonathan thought for a few more seconds before sighing, "All right, I'll give the order. Describe the situation to them in detail.”

"Okay," Cinder nodded, then glanced at Nora, who had finished her mug of cocoa, and was now trying to pretend to be interested in the conversation, but was clearly dead bored.

“Nora, please write this down in my diary.” Nora nodded at Cinder’s words before getting up and walking out the door, to get Cinder’s diary, consequently removing her from the sensitive discussion.

It was strange for Jonathan to see such a relationship, as if a child could play the role of a secretary for Cinder, but at the same time he had already come to terms with this fact. Even with the fact that Cinder actually raised Nora as a secretary, she didn't force Nora to do it, and Cinder still allowed Nora her childhood, but at the same time… It was still a little creepy to see the byplay.

But still, seeing her daughter wholeheartedly acting out what Aisa wanted her to be, was not something he enjoyed. It was on purpose that Cinder had dismissed Nora, seeing that Nora could really write down everything she said now in her diary. Were there any more of these passphrases?

Seeing for the first time that, in fact, Cinder had already made the child a likeness of her second in command or right hand, Jonathan…

He felt fear, I guess.

What now?

Now Jonathan…

Didn't know how to react to it.

No, not really. He knew how to react to it. He didn't know why he reacted differently to it.

However he feels about it, Nora has disappeared through the door, leaving Jonathan and Cinder alone.

Cinder, a moment later, rose from the table, then skirted around Jonathan, who was still sitting, standing behind him. A moment later, Jonathan felt a strong grip on his back, as Cinder began massaging his shoulders. “Why are you so tense? You shouldn’t be overworking yourself.”

“It's difficult, both the work and putting the responsibility away.” With every movement, Cinder, who, thanks to practice and theory, has become an experienced masseuse, relieves the weight of responsibility that seems to be pressing on him, Jonathan exhaled, closing his eyes. “Government work is not easy.”

"Vacuo?" Jonathan wasn’t surprised that Cinder knew what was bothering him, he didn't hide anything from Cinder or from Neo. He had already explained to them, as far as possible, everything he could, about Salem, and about magic, and even about himself, about his journey through the worlds.

From Neo, it sparked an initial urge to learn magic, something that was usually almost antithetical to her nature at normal times, but it quickly faded when she realized it wasn't nearly as easy and fun as she'd hoped. And then Neo showed no desire to learn about anything more. Jonathan informed her about some important points, as soon as he knew them, but she did not bother herself with something superfluous, preferring an ordinary life, consistent with her current situation, shopping, going to restaurants and gatherings with her friends.

But, of course, such a thing did not happen with Cinder.

Cinder listened carefully to all Jonathan would tell, not afraid to ask more questions.

In any other situation? Probably, seeing the spark of ambition to learn in Cinder’s eyes would have amused him, and maybe perhaps even would have frightened him a bit.

In another meeting, in another world, in another life.

But here, it was just the way it is, a feature of his life, something ordinary and to be expected.

"Yes, Vacuo," Jonathan sighed, even Cinder's massage couldn't take the weight off his shoulders fully. "I… I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do with Vacuo."

Cinder didn't say much more after that, concentrating on Jonathan's shoulders.

Send an army? Destroy personally? To forget about Vacuo, hoping that the situation would solve itself?

Of course, Jonathan, it has worked so well on all previous occasions! After all, there is always someone who can solve your problems for you, right?

No, just like in Atlas, in Glenn, among the hordes of Grimm, even with the attack of Marcus Black, it was he who had to make the decisions. And now he had to choose again.

Inaction is also a kind of choice.

After finishing her massage, Cinder paused, looking at Jonathan’s slouched shoulder before sitting down beside him. "Whatever the decision, you will be supported."

“Of course,” Jonathan chuckled mirthlessly, “They have no choice.”

The media were not entirely under his control, but that meant little in practice.

He was the monarch of Glenn, he was the symbol of Glenn, he was Glenn himself.

I am the State, hmm?

He will be supported, no matter what decision he makes, because whatever decision he made, it would be the right one. They cannot do otherwise.

As long as he is who he is, as long as he is their savior, as long as they remember the attack on Glenn, they will support him, no matter what action he takes.

Even unleashing the hands of the police and special services.

Jonathan sighed and looked at Cinder. "Sometimes I wish you were the one in charge and not me."

"I can say the same thing, the weight of power seems to weigh very heavily on you, Jonathan.” Cinder sighed, even as she spoke, something that could be taken as a mortal threat to Jonathan, but he didn’t care. What Jonathan thought Glenn thought of him, Cinder was even more devoted to him.

Cinder didn't want power or to remove Jonathan, but Cinder saw better than anyone how difficult it was for him to be in power and how he hesitated before making difficult decisions.

He hesitated, and yet accepted the responsibility again and again.

What did he value more? What was more important? A blow to Atlas' positions or his personal peace of mind? The lives of innocent people or his imaginary safety?

Even if he decides to intervene, how was he supposed to implement it?

By sending an Army? Evacuating the populace? Or by personally destroying the Grimm?

Contrary to his need for a moment to think, Jonathan felt his scroll vibrate, pulling it out of his pocket without sending Cinder away. She sat down next to him, watching with interest his every action.

Judging by the blinking icon on the screen, Raven was the one calling him, only a simple message came from her. ‘The Horde is already moving, at least level eight, maybe up to ten.’

Jonathan sucked in air through clenched teeth.

Although he had received information from Ozpin, or more like he allowed the information to leak to Jonathan, he had previously no information about the size and danger of the horde. Until now, that is. And the situation is dire.

An Eight class Super-Horde… Glenn was attacked by a ninth class horde, which rose to a Tenth class at the time the dragon appeared, and…

Let's not play feigned modesty here, let's be honest. Without you, they would all be dead.

Exactly. Without Jonathan's intervention, no more than a few hundred of the entire population of Glenn would have survived, if at all, maybe miraculously managing to escape through the underground pass to Vale.

What would become of Vacuo in such conditions? There was a whole set of points that influenced the outcome of such a thought experiment. Glenn’s situation was… unique to say the least; the decision to withdraw most of the army from defensive outposts in order to overthrow the government, the underground passage of Dr. Merlot's company leading into the city, and Glenn's forces were, back then, significantly smaller than Vacuo's.

Even so, in just eight and a half hours, Glenn had lost a quarter of its population, over half a million people. Damage that would have spelled the end of Glenn, if not for the help of Menagerie.

How many will die in Vacuo?

‘Are they trying to reduce the horde now?’ Jonathan messaged out to Raven, who immediately replied. Sadly, the reply was anything but reassuring.

‘Vacuo hasn’t announced its appearance yet.’

Jonathan clenched his hands so hard that the scroll's holographic screen lit up.

Same mistakes, from the same kind of people.

Why? Did they not know? Were they not sure? Didn't want to scare people?

Is there a difference?

Jonathan didn't know, and wasn't sure of why Vacuo’s council decided that secrecy was the order of the day. What difference would it make if he knew why Vacuo wasn't trying to destroy the horde right now? To at least weaken it until the moment of approach, the best they could.

‘Distance to Vacuo?’ He typed out swiftly, the time to decide was quickly running out.

‘Two hundred or two hundred and fifty kilometers.’

Jonathan sighed, his worst fears seemingly confirmed. That distance was almost negligible for combat aircraft, Vacuo had every chance to start bombing. Save five or ten more lives with each bomb. Even if a hundred bombs were required to save one life, wouldn't that only benefit Vacuo? Shouldn't that benefit them all?

‘Heading?’

‘Slowly moving towards Vacuo. In three or four days they should be visible from the city. After that? The negativity would draw them like a moth to fire.’

Jonathan thought for a second before typing again with a heavy heart.

‘The amount of death?’

There was no response to this message from Raven for almost a minute. Jonathan ordered another mug of cocoa and exchanged glances with Cinder, who silently sipped her coffee, looking at Jonathan before the message came again.

‘50% = up to 1 million; 35% = 1-2 million; 10% = 2-3 million; 5% = everyone.’

Another moment later, the message came again. ‘Even if Atlas intervenes.’

A lump froze in Jonathan's throat.

Millions of losses… WITH THE HELP OF ATLAS!?

What's wrong, Jonathan? That’s a very realistic forecast.

Realistic?

Exactly. Nobody said reality would be rosy, did they?

‘And, without Atlas?’

The answer came instantly.

‘+1 million to losses; 10% chance of everyone dying’

Well, that is, the chance of their complete death is also not high. There’s no pressing need to do anything.

What?!

Jonathan rose from the table, looking out the window, which reflected his silhouette.

Haven't you also tried to calculate the options? Determine if Vacuo will survive without you, and you have your answer. Nine chances out of ten, or maybe even nineteen out of twenty, they will survive. You can do nothing.

That does not mean that the deaths don't matter!

What did you mean then?

His reflection smiled at him, after which Jonathan felt Cinder touch him on the shoulder, dispelling his inner debate. “Yes?”

"Something wrong?" Cinder already knew the answer to that question, both the correct one and the one Jonathan would answer.

"No, everything’s okay," Jonathan smiled tightly and sat back in his seat.

So what's next? Are we sending an army? Do we do nothing?

Jonathan froze for a second.

Which of these would be better for Vacuo, Jonathan? Better for you?

Jonathan was frozen in indecision.

After all, if you save them now, you will get nothing but problems. Salem will take a closer look at you, and the saved people will not even know that you saved them. No temples, no honors, no gifts.

It does not matter!

It doesn’t?

The scroll in Jonathan's hand continued to flicker with the last message from Raven.

Well then, kill the whole horde. Five or six hours max, and we will not leave even a mention of it. Just one ritual, and it's as if the Super-Horde never existed.

Yes, it would be so easy to do.

But you don't like this option. You don't want to give up your happiness and security and comfort and your family for some random bout of heroism, for some random people, do you, Jonathan? And couldn’t it be argued that Vacuo deserved this? One cannot save those that don't want to be saved after all.

Jonathan looked away at the small mirror on his desk, staring deeply into his grinning reflection.

So tell me, Jonathan. Are you talking, doing, or bargaining?

Jonathan felt something stir inside him at the thought.

And could Jonathan Goodman ever ask himself this question?