She stepped forward, addressing the room rather than just Rothmann. "And you want to throw away the majority of humanity because they don't have mana cores? Citizens are the foundation of everything we do. They build our equipment. They grow our food. They maintain the infrastructure that lets us operate as hunters. More than that—protecting people is our fundamental duty. It's why hunter guilds exist in the first place."
"Noble sentiments," Rothmann replied coldly. "But nobility doesn't win wars. Resources do. And we have limited resources facing an enemy that's an entire evolutionary stage ahead of us."
"Then we find more resources instead of abandoning millions to die," Margot shot back.
Graves raised his hand, his voice cutting through the argument before it could escalate further. "That's enough. Both of you sit down."
Neither moved immediately, but after a long moment they both returned to their seats. The tension in the room remained thick enough to cut.
