Gunmage-Chapter 301: Empty confidence

"How then, are you supposed to spread such an idea, when you yourself don’t believe it?"

Lugh’s question shot out like a bullet.

"Huh? They don’t believe it? What are you even talking about?"

Cassius frowned, his confusion apparent.

"Explain."

Lugh gladly did so. His voice was calm and patient.

"If I’m to take a guess, not just you, but everyone in House D’Aramitz refused to take the selection. At least this time around."

The frown still hadn’t left Cassius’s face. He remained silent for a few moments, his mind turning, trying to uncover some hidden message beneath Lugh’s words.

But after a brief pause, having found nothing, he finally responded.

"But that’s natural though. We may have the ability to control metal, sure, but we’re not particularly strong mages.

Our expertise lies in tech development. It’s obvious we wouldn’t send our people to die in a selection that favors magic aptitude—especially when there’s still a war raging."

Lugh nodded slowly.

"That’s right. Your line of thought would be—normally—correct."

"Would be?"

Cassius narrowed his eyes slightly. He couldn’t make out what Lugh was trying to say.

Lugh clarified, the corners of his mouth not quite smiling.

"Yes. It would be..."

He began again, deliberately emphasizing the final word.

"...if you guys hadn’t made confident claims about the strength and potential of modern weapons."

It was Mirelle who spoke this time, brow furrowed.

"Lugh, you’re confusing me."

Unlike Sela, who was sitting quietly, brooding and trying to work through his words in her own mind, Mirelle was the sort to ask outright.

There was no clean way for Lugh to explain it without risking the meaning being lost—so he started slow.

He spoke again.

"According to you... according to your family... guns can threaten magic."

"Yes,"

Cassius replied, instantly.

Lugh continued. freewēbnoveℓ.com

"Now, with a magic competition approaching—a perfect stage to prove your theory—what do you guys do?"

"Hold on, hold on."

Cassius raised a hand and cut in sharply.

"Are you trying to tell us to use firearms in the selection?"

"Why not?"

Lugh responded simply.

Cassius let out a deep sigh, heavy with exasperation.

"While that might be a novel idea to you, you’re a strong mage. An Awakened, even. If you run into any serious danger, you can fall back on your abilities.

Our people can’t. Listening to your advice would just be putting them in unnecessary danger."

But Lugh had already expected that response.

"Hence my first statement,"

He said.

"Your first statement?"

Cassius’s brow creased as he searched his memory. Then his face froze. He remembered.

Mirelle and Sela looked at him in confusion, not understanding the sudden shift. So Lugh clarified, not for Cassius this time, but for them.

"This is what I meant when I said—you can’t expect people to buy into your ideas when you yourself don’t believe in them."

"I’m sorry, I’m lost,"

Mirelle admitted, her voice tinged with frustration.

"Could you clarify?"

Lugh did.

"If they claim that guns are on par with magic, then why are they so scared of a magic contest—even when they possess the best firearms available?"

He looked at Cassius directly now, gaze flat and cold.

"If you’re confident that firearms can rival magic, then why worry about your safety in a contest of magic when you possess top-of-the-line equipment?"

Cassius was clearly thrown off balance. He opened his mouth to counter, but the words stopped in his throat.

Every thought that came felt shallow. Cowardly. Nothing but excuses.

Lugh pressed on.

"I don’t know about the inner workings of your family... or any political tensions you might be dealing with. What I do know is this: for you to advocate an idea, you need conviction. Absolute trust in what you’re saying.

If you don’t have that, then your argument is hollow. Empty. Because even you aren’t convinced."

There was a weight to his tone now. Then he added,

"It doesn’t even have to be the selection. The idea remains the same. Accomplish something that should be impossible for you—and make sure firearms are instrumental to your success. If you’d done that a long time ago, then your words would naturally carry weight."

Cassius didn’t respond immediately. He stood there, eyes low, as if weighing something. Then, hurriedly, he spoke.

"I have to tell my father this."

Lugh tilted his head slightly.

"Is your father the leader of House D’Aramitz?"

Cassius shook his head.

"No, that’s my uncle."

That took Lugh off guard. He blinked.

"You mean... Lord Vaire?"

He turned briefly to glance at Mirelle and Sela, but both girls shrugged, clearly as lost as he was.

Cassius answered.

"No. Not him. His brother."

"Oh... okay."

There was a pause. Then Cassius nodded stiffly.

"It’s been a pleasure, but I’ll be taking my leave first."

His tone was formal, abrupt. He turned on his heel and began walking away, disappearing slowly into the growing gloom.

They watched his figure vanish, silence settling in. Then Sela finally spoke.

"Attempting to pass the selection without magic capabilities is a death sentence. If anyone in House D’Aramitz knows what they’re doing, they’d reject your idea in a heartbeat."

Lugh replied.

"Don’t be so sure."

She was about to say something, but Mirelle, who had already stood up and was dusting off her clothes, cut her off.

"It’s already late and we haven’t done anything. I don’t have the patience for another argument. Let’s go."

Lugh and Sela exchanged glances. With a shared nod, they silently agreed.

"But how are we going to get to the bar though?"

Sela asked after a moment.

"Lugh doesn’t have proper control of wind magic."

Mirelle pursed her lips.

"That’s true."

Then she turned to Lugh.

"Hey, you said you consume the souls of your enemies and take their experiences, right?"

Lugh responded with a hint of discomfort in his voice.

"That’s right."

"Then,"

Mirelle said, tapping her chin,

"can’t you just take the experience—without, you know, doing any soul consuming? It’d be best if you could narrow it down to a specific experience... say for instance, my expertise on wind magic."

Lugh frowned.

He hadn’t even considered the possibility. But if there was anything he’d learned from what Xhi had done—was doing—it was that he couldn’t trust his own judgment.

If what she suggested could be done, if it was truly achievable... then things would fundamentally change. He could save himself a lot of nightmares.

He looked at Mirelle’s eager, expectant expression.

His own face slowly began to shift.

Read 𝓁at𝙚st chapters at (f)re𝒆we(b)novel.com Only