The General entered his office and sat down in his chair with a sigh of relief. Speaking at the assembly for so long hadn't been easy. He removed his glasses and placed them carefully on the table.
The room was quiet. The kind of quiet that only came after noise—after a hundred students standing at attention, after his own voice filling a hall that wasn't built for comfort. He exhaled slowly and leaned back, letting the chair take his weight. The leather was warm from the afternoon light cutting through the window. Outside, the grounds were already returning to their usual rhythm. Students drifting toward the training blocks. Masters calling out drills. The tournament announcement had stirred something in the air—he could feel it even now, sealed behind glass.
He reached for his phone.
Just as he was about to switch on his phone, there was a knock.
He didn't move immediately. One breath. Then he set the phone back down and looked at the door.
"Come in."
"Olmo stepped in."
