“Welcome to History class!” Griscent said.

She scratched the blackboard with chalk. Showing her arched back to Slade, her short skirt exposed everything underneath.

Slade absently stared at her.

Why was I even mad at Griscent? he wondered.

His initial angry reaction was a bit exaggerated. He was glad that she didn’t walk away, as she was the only one who could fix Violet’s seals.

She would have helped Violet, no matter my decision. Sovereign powers were too valuable to give up. But by being rude, I nearly lost her support without gaining anything in return.

It seemed that time inside the prison of illusion passed differently from reality. And it was a nice break from the stress of dealing with Violet’s state.

Now I feel sorry. I should be thankful that she’s taking the time to express her opinions.

Carrying the title of mediator felt ironic, since he didn’t want to hear Griscent’s disagreement.

The teacher cosplayer finished scratching the board.

“Rule number one! Never get emotionally attached to a sovereign!”

She slapped the board when she wrote it as the title of the lesson.

“Why? They have incredible powers, don’t they?” Slade asked.

“Of course, let’s start with the advantages of kowtowing to them!”

She listed them on the blackboard. But Slade had enough of simply sitting, so he sneakily walked to her behind.

“If they like you, you will be granted personal pawns. With these, you can compete against other heroes, assert your power over civilians, build your harem… Hey!”

Slade caught her and pressed his waist against hers. His erect penis slipped between her thighs.

“It’s your fault for wearing something like that~”

She stroked his head, peeking out from her side.

“Did you listen to what I just said?”

“Huh, sovereigns provide pawns?”

“Alright naughty boy, here’s your reward-”

She leaned forward and spread her buttocks and anus.

Slade’s penis slipped inside her.

Illusions sure are convenient, Slade thought.

He humped her against the blackboard while she resumed her explanation.

“Sovereigns rely on native populations to generate the resources required to summon artificial slaves, the pawns.”

She breathed loudly between her sentences.

“Happy citizens are more productive, resulting in greater pawn armies- hmm,” she said, kissing him.

She carried on her explanation with occasional moans.

“Sovereigns hold all the military thanks to pawns and can maintain dictatorship. So, they are held accountable for everything their subjects do. That’s why they end up with the worst fate upon defeat.”

He buried his nose into her nape, smelling her sweet perfume while he fucked her.

“Native populations play a precious role. Even if their ruler is toppled, they can freely change sides. Wars rarely hurt them because all sovereigns actively avoid civilian casualties.”

“What about the gnolls? Weren’t they mistreated despite being civilians?”

“I don’t know the details of their story. Civilians can bully each other. The sovereigns only act for the overall pr-productivityyy-!”

She slurred as Slade dug deeper into her ass. Her glasses almost fell off from an unexpected thrust.

“Civilians only care about their living standards, not about who’s at the top. By changing rulers, they go on with their lives as if nothing had changed. Nobody holds a villager accountable for contributing to the sovereign’s war.”

“But the gnolls were attacked during their migration,” Slade said.

“That depends on faction policies. Some reject foreign races, but they all universally accept humans. Indeed, we never mess with them because they might be blood related to a sovereign…”

Slade was surprised. It broke his misconception that being human would suck in Hekalys.

“They are sheep, powerless but shielded against external dangers. They are valuable merely by existin- Ah~”

Her chalk drew erratic lines as she came. Slade pinned her head against the blackboard as he changed holes.

“Heroes are sheepdogs. Unlike mindless pawns, 'Rooks' are sentient servants from Atlanoth and are automatically Heroes. They have the best of both worlds. They aren’t powerless because they are blessed by a level system. Yet they have little risk of being punished or dying.”

“But we risked our lives to conquer the ore mine,” Slade said.

“That was your foolish choice to enter the mine yourselves while lacking the pawns. I am no longer a sovereign’s hero, so I have no reason to let them surrender or retreat.”

“We went to complete our sovereign’s mission, so we couldn’t really retreat,” Slade said.

“That’s wrong. Failure is accepted if your life is at risk. You could have just gone back home, no matter her orders.”

She said smugly, mocking his ignorance. It only prompted Slade to hump her harder.

“What happens if we’re pursued by enemy rooks?”

“Rooks never kill each other. First, they are all from Atlanoth, sharing the same circumstances. Second, killings between rooks are recorded. This can become a problem for both the killing Rook and its sovereign. As a result, conventional rules allow army commanders to surrender with their army by paying the price, or retreat while leaving their pawns behind.”

“Wow! I can’t believe we have so many entitlements!” Slade exclaimed.

“Rooks aren’t allowed to call the shots, though. They have to serve under a native human.”

“That’s a strange restriction…”

“The sovereigns strip their citizens of their agency, thus becoming the scapegoat for everything. So they are subjected to the worst treatment once defeated. Pawns don’t count since they are mindless...”

Since citizens and rooks are scot-free… All the hate is redirected to sovereigns, huh?

“Now then, let’s move on to the next lesson: What happens to defeated sovereigns and their loyal dogs.”

The whiteboard with a presentation switched to the next slide.

All kinds of torture devices and gory pictures of humans were displayed alongside with monster heads stabbed on picks. Some loyal rooks still stuck with their sovereign to the bitter end.

“It’s simply too unfair for you to decide on your loyalty without knowing what to expect, isn’t it?” Griscent asked.

Slade sweated. Was he walking into a honey trap if he served Violet?