The moment those words came out...
The hospital room instantly fell dead silent.
"What?!"
Fana cried out in shock, clapping both hands over her mouth, her face full of disbelief.
Rhya's eyes also went wide, and even his usual laziness slipped. "Hey, hey, hey, you're not kidding, are you?"
"Join the military?"
"That's a place where you have to answer to others and obey military discipline!"
"We elves love freedom by nature, and with your unruly personality on top of that, how could you possibly stand it?"
Patry, who had remained expressionless the whole time, now showed quite a bit of surprise as well.
His golden eyes fixed tightly on Vetto.
He was trying to see through to what Vetto was truly thinking.
Meeting the three of their gazes, Vetto continued without backing down in the slightest. "I'm not joking."
"But this isn't only so I can become stronger."
"It's also so we can have enough say and status within the World Government!"
As he spoke, he clenched his fist, his knuckles cracking with crisp crack-crack sounds.
"I'm going to seize power in the Army Headquarters and strive to become a General!"
"I'll make sure our Black Grass Elf Race can live on Sea Star with dignity, heads held high!"
Hearing the iron firmness in Vetto's voice, Patry fell silent for a moment, then finally nodded.
"I understand."
Patry said calmly, "Since you've already made your decision, we'll support you."
"But you need to understand that the waters inside the World Government's military run unimaginably deep."
"There are definitely more powerful fighters there than in the Top 100 Tournament, and they're stronger too."
"With that personality of yours, once you go in, you'd better be prepared to suffer plenty."
Hearing Patry's warning, Vetto showed not the slightest fear.
Instead, he