Rui's words stunned all of them squarely. Even Lord Narsimha, who was in favor of an aggressive expansion, turned towards him with a surprised expression.
"S-Sir, I don't mean to be rude, but that is, frankly…" he hesitated.
"'Delusional,'" Rui read his mind.
"I didn't say that, Your Majesty!"
"You were thinking it. Tell me why you think this is impossible?"
The man hesitated once more, unwilling to explain why the most powerful man was completely delusional. "Sir, there are ten thousand or so stars within a hundred light-years of Sol. Conquering or colonizing them would take far more resources than we produce, unless we severely downgrade the definition of 'conquer.'"
"By conquer, I mean establish a colonial establishment, a resource extraction apparatus, and a military stronghold that can enforce our control over a star or solar system against military forces lower than a Type-Two Civilization," Rui clarified.
