Gideon seemed to have handed Zhao Si the authority to choose the team, but in reality, he had tossed him a hot potato. The fellow had even stopped chairing the meeting and slipped straight into his study.
As far as he was concerned, providing his colleagues with intelligence and explaining the situation already counted as doing plenty. In fact, Gideon ranked first in intelligence analysis at Roundtable Hold, but judging by his behavior, he clearly wanted no part in this.
The Two Fingers had offered no reason for getting involved in a criminal case like this, either. To Gideon, this was simply meddling out of sheer idleness. Leaving Rykard to deal with the headache was the right answer. What business did the Two Fingers have sticking his nose in?
Zhao Si found himself in a bind. He looked around, feeling that none of them was a suitable choice. Ability was one consideration; another was that Zhao Si himself lacked the standing to lead these people.
As the saying went, his merits did not match the position. Blaidd?, the White Wolf War-Witch, had long since made a name for himself, and his fighting strength was indeed off the charts. During the battle at Castle Morne, he had used a single Twinblade to carve out an empty zone before him, keeping the Demi-Humans from daring to approach.
What did it mean to command respect? That was what it meant.
Humans were animals, too. When they encountered someone stronger than themselves, admiration could naturally arise. The people at Roundtable Hold were like a wolf pack: they revered the strong and were willing to follow someone stronger than themselves. Even the noisy Alberich was no exception. Put simply, they admired strength. Of course, such feelings could also breed jealousy toward the strong, or fear