Chapter 675: About Dreams, I Am Serious

"Teacher, I believe my expectations for my future are very practical."

While the two siblings on the other end were hastily riding in a carriage toward the battlefield, the two siblings here had already taken their completed forms and gone ahead to find the homeroom teacher in charge of the parent-teacher meeting.

After placing the "Continental Unified War Draft Outline" on the desk, William, standing beside it with his hands behind his back, frowned seriously at the teacher, who was smiling faintly, and said:

"Unlike my sister's foolish idler dream, my dream has a very high chance of being realized."

"Of course, if you summon my older brother and sister over, I might be forced to deny the feasibility of this plan to avoid getting beaten senselessly—but since the idea itself is correct, I won't truly yield."

"And if you, my teacher, resort to force to suppress me, you won't just lose my sincere respect—you'll also lose the position of Minister of Homework in my future new kingdom, who would otherwise handle all my assignments. So I urge you to think carefully before reporting me."

"…"

This is… damn it…

Watching William, who stood before him like a miniature adult, speaking with solemn seriousness, the homeroom teacher of Class One, Grade One at Shipbridge Academy couldn't help but twitch his lips twice, utterly at a loss for words.

If you say this kid is dumb, he's only six or seven years old and already knows how to negotiate with his teacher—even how to dangle the promise of a "Minister of Homework" to win favor. He's a pure little genius.

But if you say he's smart, the dream he proposes is astonishingly absurd: he plans to overthrow the royal family and even boasts of conquering all twelve kingdoms. Frankly, I really want to meet his parents and see what kind of family could raise such a bizarre child—both foolish and brilliant at once…

"Teacher, I know you don't believe me, and you think I'm childish."

After waiting a moment without the teacher speaking, William thought for a moment and took the initiative:

"I admit my original plan on the form was rushed, so it seemed unfeasible to you. But over the past two days, I've reorganized my thoughts and written a new version of the 'Continental Unification Plan'—guaranteed to satisfy you!"

Amid the teacher's near-collapse expression, William opened his notebook… his "Continental Unification Plan" proposal, pointed to the world map cut out from his geography textbook, and said with solemn seriousness:

"After I overthrow the royal family and unify the kingdom, I plan to cultivate ties with the great nobles of the coal-rich regions of the Blackwood Kingdom, then cut off their coal shipments to the Northern Kingdom during winter, depriving them of heating and forcing them into a hasty southern invasion—where I'll launch a premeditated ambush."

Pulling out a charcoal pencil he'd picked up from Lyon's bedside, William drew a thick, black X over the region of Lyne County on the map, then continued in a voice tinged with childish lilt, full of seductive charm:

"Just imagine the situation then! If we can crush the Northern Kingdom and avenge the War of National Defense six years ago, I'll solidify my throne beyond challenge—and all future military campaigns will receive full support!"

"After that, we'll use the war reparations from the Northern Kingdom to buy vast quantities of seafood from the Saio Kingdom, forge an alliance with Saio—the so-called Kingdom of a Thousand Sails—and follow the core strategy of 'befriending distant powers while attacking nearby ones, coordinating sea and land forces' to launch a swift surprise attack and seize the mineral districts of the Storm Kingdom's Vandashton. Then, we'll trade massive quantities of energy minerals with the Mechanical Capital of Korok for technology and weapons."

"After ten to fifteen years of effort, once we've accumulated sufficient military strength, we'll control key ports and major land transport routes to force the Morna Kingdom, which relies utterly on commerce, into submission—and bind it to our war chariot."

"Then, with a pincer movement, we'll annihilate the Oleson Kingdom in a single battle—it's half its territory sandwiched between us—and seize its most vital grain-producing regions to solve our kingdom's chronic southern food shortages, completing our final weakness, and finally begin our true quest for dominance!"

"…"

Looking at the series of plans scribbled in crooked, childish handwriting, William's homeroom teacher finally snapped. Her lips trembled as she asked:

"You… you've always loved my geography class… just because you were plotting all this?"

"Not just your geography class, but also Logan's history class."

William said with serious expression:

"To carry out my plan, I must master both subjects. Though I scored only five points in math, I've self-studied geography and history up to fourth-grade level, and I've read every relevant book in the library meant for children under ten—I now have the foundational knowledge to begin implementing my plan."

"…"

So you really did study hard just for that dream of unifying the world!!!

Looking at the "Unification Plan" on the desk—though written in childish script, it was surprisingly well-structured, with diagrams added where needed to clarify, and no glaring flaws—William's homeroom teacher swallowed hard and forced herself to advise:

"Look… the hardest part of any endeavor is the beginning. Your plan assumes you've already overthrown… uh… already become king. That starting point is too high."

"As the saying goes, 'A merchant finds it harder to earn his first copper coin than his ten-thousandth gold coin.' So instead of aiming to unify the entire world, why not be more realistic? Start with something closer—like… uh… scoring twenty points on your next math test?"

"Hmm…"

After listening carefully to his homeroom teacher's advice, William frowned in thought, then nodded with clear admiration:

"No wonder I respect you as a teacher. Others fixate on distant horizons, but you alone focus on the path beneath my feet, warning me not to trip over this little stone called the royal family. It seems the position of Minister of Homework is a waste of your talent."

"Anyway, thank you for the reminder. I'll go find Professor Logan now and ask him for historical records of past coups—so I can figure out how to overthrow the royal family and become the new king!"

?!!!

Wait! That's not what I meant! Come back! Come back here!

Watching William grab his notebook and cheerfully dash off toward the history department's office, the homeroom teacher jumped up to chase him—but whether from sitting too long or from the shock she'd just endured, she felt the room spin and collapsed back into her chair.

"Teacher? Are you alright?"

"I'm… fine. Thank you."

After catching her breath in the chair, seeing Melanie leaning forward with concern, the slightly overweight homeroom teacher couldn't help but plead:

"Melanie, when you go back, please try to convince your brother to give up that dream! Even if you can't talk him out of it, don't let him say another word about rebellion, alright?"

"Alright… I guess?"

Hearing the teacher's request, Melanie's big eyes darted around, then she grinned and said:

"But if I help you, won't you help me too? Like… just approve the form I filled out and stop making me revise it again and again, okay?"

"That… that really won't work…"

Looking at Melanie, whose form wasn't as absurd as William's but still just as troublesome, the slightly overweight homeroom teacher took a deep breath and sighed helplessly:

"Melanie, it's not that I'm forcing you to change it—but think: if you do nothing and let your brother and brother support you, what will others think of you?"

"They'll probably envy me."

"…"

"Haha, Teacher, I was just joking!"

Seeing the teacher's lips tremble again, Melanie shook the little braid Anna had tied for her and grinned:

"I'm not as foolish as William—I know being an idler makes people laugh."

"Then why do you still…"

"Because my life is mine—not meant to please others."

Melanie lifted her small face, expression serious:

"Teacher, people who care too much about others' opinions live exhausting lives. All you need is to know what you truly want, then strive for it. Are other people's gossip really that important?"

"…"

"If it really won't work… Teacher, I revised the form again. Please look at this version."

Amid the slightly overweight homeroom teacher's bewildered expression, Melanie handed in the form and said seriously:

"Like William, I've given serious thought to how to realize my dream over the past two days."

"First, William is unreliable. Even though he'll give me the best life, if he has to support me, he'll definitely bully me. Anna won't work either—she'll hate me and force me to work. So the best choice is my older brother."

"He never forces people, and he never scolds or hits me or William. So if I can find a very rich woman he likes, and somehow marry him off to her, I'll never have to worry about the rest of my life!"

"Oh, Teacher, when we filled out the form, you said it's just for collecting information and won't be sent to our parents… you didn't lie to us, right?"

(End of Chapter)