Faced with Joy Boy's repeated demands, Monkey fell utterly silent.
He offered no excuses, no rebuttals. He simply stood there quietly, his gaze calm yet utterly cold.
Only after a long while did he speak softly, his voice carrying a trace of sorrowful clarity.
"Boss, Lord Imu was right. You really are too naive."
Before Joy Boy could argue again, Imu's cold voice rang out once more, every word cutting deep.
"Monkey, you yearn for freedom."
"You want everyone in the world to be equal and free, with no more oppression, no more slavery."
"But that is merely your preference, your ideal."
"These brothers of yours may not want that kind of intangible freedom."
"They've fought for their lives all these years, losing family and comrades."
"Countless people died with nothing left. If all that earns them in the end is more wandering, wouldn't every sacrifice they made have been wasted? Wouldn't they all have died for nothing?"
"Monkey, you don't understand people's hearts, much less their desires."
"All people are selfish. All people are greedy."
"Not everyone in your Knights has ever been like you."
"And I am the one who can replace you and satisfy their desires."
"Besides, you're nothing but a monkey!"
Those words were cold, realistic, and piercingly accurate, ruthlessly laying bare the cruelest truths of human nature.
Conflicting emotions crossed Joy Boy's face. Shaken to his core, he murmured in bewilderment and disbelief.
"You mean, they...?"
Imu smiled faintly, eyes indifferent as though looking down upon ants, and slowly delivered the final straw that would break Joy Boy.
"That's right."
"Did you really think Monkey was the only one I turned?"
"Quite a few people died in this war. It did cost me some of the pawns I planted."
"But take a guess..."
"Among the