The Jace family's main hall was quiet.
Not because it was empty.
But because every sound was naturally suppressed.
A long table stretched across the center of the hall.
The lighting was steady.
There was no deliberate display of luxury.
True weight required no decoration.
Anyone who could sit here already represented a form of resource.
People from different fields arrived one after another.
Military industry.
Transportation.
Energy.
Finance.
Intelligence.
Medical.
Behind every name was a segment of the real world.
And now, those segments were placed on the same table.
The meeting had no unnecessary procedures.
Once the head arrived, it began naturally.
Victor Jace sat at the head of the table.
There was no obvious display of pressure.
Yet the rhythm of the entire hall naturally converged toward him.
This was the result of time.
Not something deliberately established.
But something accepted by default.
Reports proceeded one after another.
No wasted words.
Everyone spoke only the essentials.
A transportation line in a certain region was shifting.
A border conflict in a certain country was escalating.
Energy prices would fluctuate in the next quarter.
Some nations were expanding their budgets for ability-user regulation.
All information was quickly organized.
Some recorded.
Some analyzed.
But more simply listened.
Because most decisions here would not be made at the table.
This place only confirmed direction.
Lucian sat toward the back.
He did not speak.
Nor did he try to make his presence known.
Fifteen years old.
In this setting, he still belonged to the category of "young."
Even though he had already entered the core field of vision,
in many people's eyes, he was still only intelligent.
Nothing more.
A clear-headed child.
Capable of anticipating trends.
Capable of organizing information.
But still far from truly participating in the world.
At least, that was what most believed.
The man seated on the left turned a page of his documents.
His movements were steady.
Unhurried.
That was Richard Jace.
The head of the Jesse family's aviation sector.
And one of its core figures.
His presence differed from the military faction.
There was no sharp edge.
He leaned more toward a long-term operator.
Flexible thinking.
Accustomed to viewing problems through movement.
Routes.
Regions.
Borders.
Transport permissions.
He understood better than most—
the true way the world connected was not politics.
But movement.
Richard had looked at Lucian several times.
No hostility.
No closeness.
Only observation.
He did not deny Lucian's talent.
But fifteen years of age still limited many judgments.
At that age, people were easily driven by ideals.
And reality did not change because of ideals.
So he maintained his stance.
The meeting continued.
Reports gradually came to an end.
The hall returned to silence.
Victor leaned back in his chair.
His gaze slowly swept across the room.
Finally, it stopped on Lucian.
No buildup.
He spoke directly.
"What do you plan to do this year?"
The hall fell silent for a moment.
Many gazes naturally shifted.
Some looked casually.
Others began to pay real attention.
Because this was a question from the head.
Lucian did not pause.
Nor did he deliberately organize his words.
As if the answer had already been confirmed.
"The world will become peaceful."
His voice was not loud.
But it was steady.
Several people at the table lifted their eyes slightly.
Someone frowned.
Not in disagreement.
But because the judgment came too early.
The current situation was still filled with conflict.
Border wars.
Ability-user experiments.
Resource competition.
There was no sign of stability.
Lucian continued.
"In the next few years, there will be a turning point.
Old wars will gradually end.
Nations will begin prioritizing internal control rather than expansion.
The issue of ability users will replace traditional warfare."
No one interrupted.
Because this was not fantasy.
It was a possibility.
Victor watched him.
Without interrupting.
Lucian's voice remained steady.
"So I will use the final phase of war
to make contact with more nations
and turn them into future allies of the Jesse family."
The air fell silent for a moment.
Someone gently set down a cup.
Someone's gaze shifted.
This answer did not sound like it came from a fifteen-year-old.
Because he was not talking about "winning."
But about what came after war.
For the first time, Richard truly raised his eyes.
Not because of the content.
But because of the perspective.
Most young people thought about expansion.
About taking.
But Lucian's focus was not on war.
It was on the order after war.
That meant his vision had already moved beyond the current stage.
Victor did not comment immediately.
"Reason?"
Lucian did not avoid the question.
"Relationships formed during war are the most stable.
After peace, contact becomes mere exchange of interests.
But support given during war changes its nature.
They will remember."
The hall remained quiet.
Some were now truly listening.
"The future world will not lack powerful nations.
What it will lack—
are people who can connect them."
"If the issue of ability users continues to expand,
trust between traditional nations will become increasingly difficult."
"At that point,
the network built in advance
will become the foundation of a new order."
Richard's finger lightly tapped the table.
Very lightly.
He began to realize—
Lucian was not talking about diplomacy.
He was constructing a long-term structure.
Different from ordinary family expansion.
More like a preemptive layout.
Victor continued watching him.
"You believe peace will definitely come?"
"Yes."
Lucian answered without hesitation.
"Because the efficiency of war is already declining.
Continuing it will cost more than it yields.
And ability users will make that imbalance even more obvious."
"Nations will begin to fear internal collapse.
Compared to external war,
they will prioritize domestic control."
Someone in the hall frowned slightly.
Because this judgment was already very close to future trends.
Richard said nothing.
He simply observed.
Lucian continued.
"So these last few years are critical.
The old order has not fully ended.
The new order has not yet been established."
"This is the only phase
where one can still freely enter the networks between nations."
He paused briefly.
Then added the final line.
"Once peace stabilizes,
it will be too late."
Silence returned to the hall.
No one immediately rejected it.
Because the logic held.
And yet—
coming from a fifteen-year-old,
it still felt unreal.
Victor leaned back.
His gaze unchanged.
After a moment,
he nodded lightly.
No praise.
No denial.
Only acknowledgment.
"Approved."
After that,
the meeting continued.
But the attention of many had already shifted.
Richard reopened his documents.
His movements remained steady.
But this time,
he no longer saw Lucian as merely a "smart child."
Because the most dangerous part of that speech
was not the prediction.
It was the direction.
Lucian had already begun to see the world
as something that could be connected—
not divided nations.
Once that perspective matured,
it would not remain confined to the family.
Richard glanced out the window for a moment.
Airports.
Routes.
Transport permissions.
Things that had once been purely commercial
might one day become something else.
The meeting continued.
The lighting remained steady.
No one knew—
from this moment on,
Lucian was truly preparing to leave the "inside of the family"
and step into the world.