"Why did you want to meet me, Chancelor?" a man with white hair asked.
The man looked stalwart and seemed to be relatively young, but that didn't say a lot.
Almost everyone looked relatively young when they were Protectors.
Samar, who was already pretty old by this point, looked at the man in front of her with an evaluating gaze.
The man felt a bit nervous when the Chancelor looked at him this way.
Meetings with the Chancelor were rare, and most of the time, having a meeting with the Chancelor was not good news.
"Let me get right to the point," Samar said.
"Do you want to be the new Chancelor?" she asked.
The man's eyes widened.
He had not expected that.
"Is that a joke?" he asked.
"I am not joking," Samar answered.
The man took a deep breath.
"You are still relatively young, and the other Protectors trust your judgment. You only lead one squad, but the other squad leaders have nothing but good to say about you. You seem to be the right choice."
The man looked with uncertainty at Samar.
Sure, he was a squad leader, but that was it.
He was subservient to a captain, who was subservient to the general.
There were much better options.
"I'm… not sure," the man said.
"Giovanni, I'm not making this decision lightly," Samar said. "I've watched you for a long time, and I believe you are the right candidate."
"You know that I don't have much time left. At most, 20 years. I need to find a successor, and you are my first candidate."
Giovanni looked at the table with uncertainty.
Becoming the Chancelor was a lot of responsibility.
He wasn't sure if he could do it.
"It's not like I'm going to throw you into the cold water," Samar said. "You will be watching me for the next couple of years, and I will teach you all that is necessary."
Giovanni took a deep breath.
"I think there are better options. I'm still too inexperienced," he answered.
"There are no better options," Samar said evenly. "That's why I asked for you."
Giovanni felt uncomfortable.
Sure, he wanted to become a captain, but he hadn't even thought about becoming a Chancelor.
That was so much responsibility!
"I don't feel cut out for the job," Giovanni said. "It's such a big jump."
Samar took a deep breath in annoyance.
As always, Nick had been right.
Nick said that Giovanni would refuse.
He was confident in his power and in his capabilities to lead a team, but he had never led more than a team.
Because of that, he lacked confidence when it came to running an entire city.
He wanted to gain experience slowly, and with experience came confidence.
"You have been chosen," Samar said.
Giovanni just looked at Samar.
That was a weird way of phrasing it.
"Not by me," Samar said. "You were one of my candidates, but you wouldn't have been my first candidate."
"I don't follow," Giovanni said.
The next moment, the door opened, and a tall, blonde man entered.
Giovanni could feel unending power coming from this man, but he didn't recognize him.
Giovanni knew almost all of the Protectors, and he could recognize every single one of them.
But he had never seen this person before.
"You've been chosen by him," Samar said as she stood up from her chair.
The blonde man walked past Samar without saying a word and sat down in Samar's chair.
The symbolism was clear.
The man was in charge, not Samar.
Giovanni just looked with confusion and shock at the man.
"Nice to meet you, Giovanni," the blonde man said with a friendly smile. "You may call me the Guardian."
"Guardian?" Giovanni asked.
"He is the true ruler of the city," Samar said.
Giovanni looked at Samar in shock.
"He built our world. He is the one who brings all the Specters. He is the one who fills the Archive with new knowledge," Samar explained.
Giovanni's mind almost stopped working.
"He is the only one who is allowed to leave our city and enter the outside world,and that won't change," Samar said.
Giovanni just looked with shock and confusion at the blonde man.
"I want you to be the new Chancelor," Nick, the blonde man, said.
Giovanni couldn't answer yet.
This was just too much to take in.
Nobody knew where all of the Specters or the information in the Archive came from.
But now, these secrets had been unveiled to him.
"I…" Giovanni said. "I'm not ready."
"You are," Nick answered. "I know you are."
"I…" Giovanni said again, not finishing his sentence.
"This is not a permanent choice," Nick said. "I believe you are the right person, and I think you should give it a try."
"If you fail to live up to my expectations, I will simply choose another candidate."
"You won't be able to ruin the city with a wrong call. Samar and I are still here. Even if you make a mistake, we will tell you why it was a mistake, and I'm sure you will learn."
"Failing is part of life, and every failure teaches us something."
"Even if you turn out to not be cut out for the position, this will still be a learning opportunity for you. Don't you agree?"
Giovanni looked at Nick.
A lot of the pressure had been taken off his shoulders.
Right, he didn't need to be perfect.
He still had people he could ask for advice.
He still had people who would tell him if they believed he was about to make a mistake.
As long as these people still existed, he couldn't cause too much damage with a wrong call.
"I need some time to think about it," Giovanni said. "Can I go?"
"Sure," Nick said, "but please, keep my existence secret."
"Of course!" Giovanni answered.
Then, he quickly exited the room.
Nick's peaceful aura vanished after Giovanni left, replaced with an emotionless expression.
"Do you think he will accept?" Samar asked.
"He already has accepted," Nick answered evenly.
"He just hasn't realized it yet."
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