Chapter 106 Human Nature.

The discussion continued for hours. Their goal had changed from eliminating the threat to preventing the people from believing in evil powers. Although the goal had been set, new problems had come to the surface. They realized it would be wrong to control people's lives and took away their freedom to choose. They couldn't prevent people from choosing what they believed in. They were frustrated by it and knew that conflicts were inevitable. "The moment we try to control their freedom, we will become the enemy of the people," Lenin muttered as she crossed her arms. "But if we don't control them, evil will spread like a fire..." She pointed out. Not all the members of the council agreed with the passive-aggressive way to handle the situation, especially all the members from East Neva. They didn't want their people to become demon worshipers and cause problems, especially with the current situation in East Neva. The concern that the members from East Neva were having was that they weren't as united as the rest of Neva. The majority of its people weren't believers or religious because they believed in shamanism because of their cultures. East Neva would be the easiest target for a new religion to spread. Conflicts would rise and result in wars because of differences. They couldn't let that happen and they would rather eliminate the threat in their own way because they didn't want to risk the peace that they had achieved from blood and sweat and had kept it for years. Conflicts rose at the table when their opinions were against each other's ideologies. They were the members of the council, the ones who served, protected, and kept the peace of the people of the world. At that moment, everyone's true colors began to reach the surface. Novia watched the whole thing from the side and she didn't know what to do or what to feel. She didn't find everyone's reasoning for handling the situation to be wrong or incorrect. She agreed with everyone because they had their circumstances to keep and protect. "If only Rasmus was here..." Lenin muttered as she closed her eyes. Novia who heard Lenin's mutter slowly turned her head to look at her master. "Why him? He won't do any better than these people. He's a heartless man who doesn't care about the world," Novia asked quietly and stared into Lenin's eyes, in disbelief at what she had just heard. "Maybe, but he's the only one who can give a solution that ignores what's right or wrong," Lenin answered. "It's about what's necessary..." she added. Lenin thought about what she had just said and thought of a way to stop the conflicts at the table. She slowly approached the table as she cleared her throat, gaining everyone's attention. The hall became silent and their eyes were pointed at her. "May I?" Lenin asked as she looked at everyone at the table. "Please, Great Sage," Astrea nodded. She looked desperate to prevent unnecessary conflicts between council members. "We shouldn't try to make everyone here believe that a single answer will solve the problem," Lenin said and put her hands on the table. "There's someone who told his students about reality. It's about what you see isn't the same as what the other sees." Everyone wondered what Lenin was trying to say and where it was going with it. They stayed quiet and waited for her to finish her speech. "Saint Moriganne and Saint Astrea managed to find a solution for the problem because they both see the world similarly. They could put an idea into the believers and prevent them from becoming worshipers of demons," Lenin looked at Moriganne and Astrea. "But for the rest of us, we judge the world by how we were raised and from where we looked at it. There's no right or wrong, it's about what's necessary. With that being said, we should understand each other and let them handle this problem in their own way because they know what's best for their people," Lenin explained and looked at the rest of the council members. Everyone looked at each other and realized they had been arguing for nothing. They had forgotten the simplest thing that not everyone saw the world like how they saw it. "That teacher has such a profound understanding of human nature, Great Sage," Lazarus said with a gentle voice and a faint smile on his face. "We had forgotten the simplest thing that sometimes is the answer we are looking for," he chuckled softly. Lenin smiled as she nodded in agreement. She didn't expect that thinking about Rasmus and trying to think like him would give her the solution to the problem. "Shall we begin? How to deal with this issue from each representative of Neva?" Lenin asked with a gentle smile. "We should respect and understand their reasoning behind their plan to deal with the issue. But we still have to give feedback on that plan so we won't harm or risk the peace of the people," she added. Everyone nodded in agreement and began to choose who would speak their mind first about the issue with Ermaine and the demons. Lenin walked back and let the council members discuss the matter. She noticed Novia had been staring at her, the stare she always gave when she disapproved of something. "Master, I have known you for more than a decade. This is the first time you suggest something that contradicts what you have taught me," Novia whispered and her eyes never left Lenin's. "You should be the overseer of this council, but your suggestion encourages ambiguity." "I know, and I understand that," Lenin nodded as she listened to the discussion. "As I said, at this moment, right or wrong isn't what we need, it's what's necessary. What I did just now is to prevent more conflicts between these powerful figures." "We are in a situation where we need an immediate response to the issue. Your concern about the method won't help anyone and the one you should be concerned about is Ermaine and the powerful being behind her," Lenin said firmly. "Your master is still human, we are all, Novia," she changed her tone into a gentle one as she looked at Novia. Novia looked down and hid her expression after she heard Lenin's explanation. She was still disappointed, but she admitted that she was being naive and didn't contribute anything to the meeting. "I encouraged ambiguity at them..." Lenin whispered as she closed the distance between her and Novia. "I knew this would raise some conflicts in the future. I know that everyone over there knows that as well, but we take the risk," she added as she looked at the members of the council. "We are putting that aside because of the danger we are facing. But it will backfire at us once this is over, or worse, it will backfire before we can solve the danger..." Novia lifted her head and looked at Lenin's worried expression. She knew that and that was the reason she was disappointed with Lenin. But again, she was powerless and she couldn't give anything in this meeting. "I'll be by your side, Master. We will handle it, all of it, together..." Novia assured, hoping that Lenin would understand that she wasn't alone. "Thank you, my disciple..." Lenin smiled gently at Novia and stroked her hair gently. After what felt like an eternity, the meeting had finally reached a conclusion and agreement. Everyone stayed quiet as Lenin began to summarize the plans that each region would use to prevent Ermaine and her religion from spreading. The Central Neva representatives had decided to use the Angelis family to deal with the issue, using her religion and believers to fight blasphemy. It was the best and the easiest way since almost everyone from Central Neva was a believer. All the nations would do anything to support her. North Neva already knew how to deal with it and planned to do the same thing since it was Moriganne's idea to begin with. But the difference was they would do it more subtly because the North was the closest to danger because of the Corrupted beyond the Blackcliffs. For the West Neva representatives, they decided to join hands with the South Neva representatives. Since West Neva was well-known for producing a lot of demonic beasts, they didn't have enough power to deal with demonic beasts and demons. South Neva decided to help and in exchange for asking for help from them when the time came. The joint hand concerned the other representative because both South Neva and West Neva had been growing in power both in politics and economy. If those two continents decided to become allies more than they should be, the other continent might feel in danger of their status and position in Neva. Lastly, the East Neva representatives would use their cultures to prevent the new religion from spreading, isolating them. They would also try to eliminate them when the time came from behind the scenes. One final conclusion was to spread the awareness of Ermaine and the powerful being behind her to all the rulers of each nation. They wanted them to know but kept it a secret from the people to avoid fear and panic. They wanted all nations to have their own ways of dealing with it but at the same time, council members would support them if needed. "Is there anything else that anyone to add?" Lenin looked at everyone. Everyone shook their heads and believed it would be enough. Sёarch* The Nôvel(F)ire.nёt website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. "Since everyone has nothing else to say, the meeting is over," Lenin nodded.