Chapter 58

Jullian and I walk inside the palace, with Benne leading us into one of the rooms. When she opened the room, I could see not the king but his right-hand man, Duke Arthur Keegan Verqur, the rumored person who ran the country.

"Ah, Heir Gwyndolin. Take a seat."

I nod and take a seat not too far away from him while Jullian stands behind me. I can see that Benne did not get inside the room, leaving us alone. Well, not the three of us. I can feel an aura coming from the ceiling above me.

"Five… No… Seven."

Seven people are hiding in this room, and by the smile on the duke's face, he knows about them.

"You notice them, huh? Even your guard cannot notice them, but you can. Your title of the Defender of Luzia Kingdom is well-earned. They are my guardians, and I hope you don't mind them. They will not do anything to you as long as you do not do anything suspicious."

"Of course."

Jullian looks annoyed at the unseen threat but holds himself back.

"So! Let's talk business!"

"Of course, Duke Verqur."

He nods and leans forward.

"As a new Grandmaster, you have a little leeway in how you want to sell your product. The only one who can order you is the king. Even then, he cannot do it regularly."

"What do you want to say? Can you get to the point already?"

"A little bit rude, don't you think? I have not finished talking."

"So? We are the barbarian here. We don't know anything about social etiquette."

I give him a small smirk and see him thinking. After a few seconds, he sighs.

"Very well. I want you to open up one of your Apothecaries in the capital."

"Oh? Are you sure? Some of the northern nobles will make a problem, you know? Healing is their expertise, and with the Alcott family falling, two noble families want to start their monopoly over healing service."

"Yes."

"Hmph. You want us to take the blame, and you grab the profit. You did not offer protection or anything that ensured our store stayed intact from all the hired robbers, and you never said anything about making sure the northern nobles did not do anything stupid. If you did not give me a good offer, I could walk out of the palace, you know? This is wasting both of our time."

"Even when I threaten you with your life?"

After he says that, seven people fall from the ceiling, but before they can do anything, I already cast a spell.

"[Evening Dusk]"

A mist appears around us, and the seven people fall to the ground, unconscious. [Evening Dusk] causes [Sleep] debuff, and it has a 100% chance of success for anyone below my level. This is a level 175 spell making it a good spell for farming.

"What threat?"

I lean forward and give him a big grin. For some reason, I can see him sweating at my grin. I decided to push it a little bit further and release a small bit of my mana. I stop when the room door opens, and I can see the king and Princess Benne walk inside.

"Please stop it, Heir Gwyndolin."

"Of course, your highness."

I nod and lean over the chair and wait for them to sit. The king takes over Duke Verqur's chair and stands behind him with the princess.

"I'm sorry for the test, Heir Gwyn."

"Hmmm… thirty… forty-seven."

I can feel many people getting inside the room alongside the king. They have the same aura as the people on the ground but are more powerful, just slightly more powerful. However, there is one person who is very powerful among them; it is the guard that came alongside the princess the other day.

"You can even feel them, huh? You are one terrifying young man."

"Thank you. I will take that as a compliment."

"And it is. Anyway, let's talk about the real proposal."

Oh? He looks different. If before, he looked like someone who was easily manipulated, this time; he looked like someone who could manipulate people. Not only that, but his bearing also changed. Now he looks like a king instead of a puppet king.

"Oh? Tell me."

"We want you to build an apothecary in the capital. We will ensure your store will not be trashed, robbed, or cheated by the other nobles or royal family. I will even make an edict to make sure the others know that I'm serious about this."

"And in return?"

"I want you to make sure to supply your potion at your normal price to a few nobles of my choice. That also includes the royal family, but only I can request the potion at a normal price from you. If anyone from my family orders you to give them free potions, reject them. I will take care of it."

"Even your children?"

"Especially my children."

Interesting. He did not trust his son and daughter with this, huh? Are they that bad? Princess Benne is not that bad.

"Also, normal price, huh?"

"I know you will make the price higher than your usual in the south, and I don't care. That is a logical decision. The logistics alone are enough to raise the price, let alone the guard you must also send to accompany the convoy."

I nod and say.

"Is there anything else?"

"What, you are not satisfied with that? Very well. I will also give you an annual gold for your potion ingredient. In return, I want one favor. You can decline it, but I want you to consider it. I will not ask for an outrageous favor."

"That's it? One favor?"

"Yup."

I look at him for a few seconds, searching for any deceit. Seeing none, I nod and say.

"I cannot accept your proposal as I'm still an heir and not a lord. I need to ask my father first before I can accept it."

"Of course. I will send your father a letter with the proposal. Don't worry. I will make sure what is written on that letter will be the same as the one I told you before."

"Good. Is there anything else?"

Before he can say something, the door to this room opens, and I can see a young man running inside, panting.

"What is the meaning of this?! I hope you have a good reason to disturb this meeting!"

The young man looks up and shouts.

"Emergency letter, your highness! An emergency letter from the South! The Gokuya Kingdom has moved its army north! They are invading!"