Unimaginable Wealth
"Understood, but your Majesty, about the looters?"
"Just send a couple guards out to record their appearance, once we capture that Rovo bastard, they'll have no place to escape."
"On it, your Majesty."
Breathing deeply, Loyfin unclenched his hands, his mind operating rapidly as he tried thinking from Rovo's perspective, having never had a challenge like this ever since that foolish brother of his had escaped.
…
Deep under the earth, Minos was guiding his family through the labyrinth-like maze he had spent years building beneath the city.
These tunnels were built completely with puppetry, so despite the vastness, not a single soul beside Minos knew about them.
Of course considering the Emperor was now after him, it was only a matter of time before they were revealed, which is exactly why Minos made them so confusing.
Even if other people found their way inside, I'd be akin to walking in the dark, losing all sense of direction.
Walking through the seemingly endless tunnels, Minos took a few different tunnels before finally arriving at a tunnel that led upwards.
"Is this the exit?" Tinka asked curiously, having felt that hadn't nearly walked long enough to have left the massive city.
"Not yet, but I have to make a quick pit stop before we leave." Minos smiled, walking a bit further before coming face to face with a large puppet carrying a heavy chest.
"What's that!?" Rinka squealed, jumping in fear as the humanoid puppet appeared out of the darkness, catching her off guard.
"Don't worry, it's one of my own." Minos responded, taking the chest from the puppet's hands before delicately laying it on the floor.
As the chest's top was flipped open, the glimmer of thousands upon thousands of silver rings filled the group's eyes, the rings filling the large chest completely.
"Rings?" Tinka asked, wondering why her husband was storing them for.
"Not just any rings, spatial rings." Minos smirked, tossing one towards his wife.
Catching the ring, Tinka gave it a quick inspection, shocked to find it filled to the brim with Nux Stones, easily tens, if not hundreds of thousands.
"My heaven's, this chest must have billions of Nux Stones in it!" Tinka said with both shock and horror, having no idea that her husband's wealth had reached such an extreme.
It was suddenly making sense why the Emperor suddenly turned on him, after all, this amount of wealth had likely already surpassed the royal family itself.
Money is ultimately power, so while Minos's physical power might be completely outclassed by the empire, it was only a matter of time until he caught up with such reserves.
Of course whether Minos was actually such a person or not was irrelevant, after all, with Loyfin's character, he'd rather kill a thousand innocents than let one guilty go.
While Minos had little interactions with Loyfin himself, he did have a chat with the Nine Sword Divinity himself, so he knew the man on the level even he himself was unaware of.
Knowing such a future was inevitable, Minos had long since stored a special puppet in a secret place within his main bank.
The puppet had been in stasis for years, but once it received Minos's signal, it did the one job it had, which was to store and bring the wealth to a predetermined area.
"Really, billions?!" Rinka echoed with amazement, also unaware of the true extent of her dad's riches.
"Yes, billions, and this is only a part of it, there's still more to gather." Minos laughed, loading the rings into a large bag before tossing it over his shoulder.
As the family continued to travel through the tunnels, a low-ring sound suddenly went off from within Minos's pocket.
Pulling it out, Minos put the Rovo to his ear before listening in, a smile forming on his face as he received the news.
"What happened?" Tinka asked.
"It's that emperor of ours, it seems like he's decided to send the entire army after us." Minos replied, putting his Rovo away as he did so.
"How do you know that, did you manage to turn one of his own to your side?" Tinka kept asking.
"No, after all, why only turn one person when I can turn the entire system?"
"What do you mean?"
Smiling, Minos didn't directly answer his wife's question, instead just tapping his pocket where his Rovo was.
"The Rovo! It's listening in!" Tinka said with amazement.
"Bingo, and it isn't just the Rovo, I've got ears all over the empire, in places one couldn't even imagine."
"Amazing! So all his plans and secrets were already known to you before he did anything, no wonder you seem so prepared!" Tinka said, always surprised by her husband's ingenuity.
"So the Rovo's been listening in on everything I've said?!" Rinka said, not as amazed as her mother, but rather horrified.
"Don't worry, I'm not so free that I listen in to any conversation, this is only reserved for those worth listening to." Minos smiled as he looked towards his daughter with a raised brow, causing her to look down in shame.
"Why, who have you been talking to?" Tinka asked, looking at her daughter with suspicious eyes.
"Uhh, no one, I promise!" Rinka exclaimed.
"Hmph, once we escape you better tell me everything." Tinka said, deciding to put this matter aside for the time being.
Smiling, Minos kept walking, but his footsteps came to a pause as a large explosion sounded off from the distance.
Grabbing his wife and daughter, Minos helped them tide through the vibrational wave that traveled through the earth, nearly tossing the whole family across the tunnel.
"What in heaven's was that!"
"Sounds like it came from the estate, meaning the Emperor likely got frustrated from the slow search and decided to brute force it." Minos explained.
"So the tunnels, they've been exposed?"
"Most likely, but I've already expected such a thing, so don't worry too much." Minos said, though his steps got even faster, making it clear he didn't plan on taking any risks.
With the increased speed, the family quickly gathered what was left of Minos's wealth before rapidly racing through the maze-like tunnels, heading directly towards the exit this time.
…
"What's going on, tell me everything!" Lilia shouted, looking towards her son's unconscious body on the large bed.
"Your Highness, there's no need to worry, I've already checked and your son is completely healthy. He should wake up soon." The royal doctor explained.
"Good, but still, that Rovo bastard dared touch my son, he deserves to die a thousand times!" Lilia shouted with flame-like eyes.
"Naturally!" The royal doctor quickly said, knowing now was no time to argue with the princess.
"Prepare my carriage, I want to find that monster myself!" Lilia suddenly said, catching her personal maid off-guard.
"No, I can't allow such a thing your Highness, it's dangerous out there right now!" The maid said, quickly declining the idea.
"Who's in-charge here, me or you?" Lilia said, her eyes staring daggers at the maid in question.
Sweating bullets, the maid wasn't sure how to respond, knowing that either decision would end badly for her.
Fortunately, before she could speak her mind, a soft grunt came from the bed, immediately catching Lilia's attention.
"Son! Son, are you okay?" She said, pushing the maid aside before quickly running to check in on her boy.
"Ahum.. I'm fine Mother, just a little thirsty." Little Minos smiled, pulling himself into a seated position on the bed.
"You heard him, didn't you? Get my son something to drink, right this second!" Lilia shouted.
"Relax Mother, no need to direct your ire towards the uninvolved." Little Minos said, thanking the maid as she quickly ran back with a glass of water.
"Forget about that, what happened between you and Rovo? Did he hurt you?" Lilia questioned.
"No Mother, the truth is-" Little Minos said before pausing, remembering what his father told him to do before knocking him unconscious.
"Yes, the truth is…?" Lilia prodded, causing little Minos to make up from his reverie, his decision made.
"The truth is, I attacked Rovo, hoping I could incapacitate him with a single move, unfortunately I severely underestimated his strength, but fortunately he didn't have the time nor the desire to kill me." Little Minos 'explained.'