Negotiations

For the first time, I was finally seeing the outside world of Asnar.

It possessed an eerily similarity to Earth with the villages, but I guess that's what happens when a person from Earth writes a novel about another world.

Was I truly inside of a novel now? Does this mean that I am part of the novel, or is this novel a different world itself? 

It was useless to ponder upon those thoughts for now. I only planned to live a peaceful and leisurely life and enjoy whatever I could. I could even work as a farmer if I had to. The advanced knowledge that I had attained from Earth would allow me to earn money in some form or another.

From the looks of it, life here seemed to be enjoyable.

At the very least, more enjoyable than my life on Earth.

I was also wearing Asnarian clothes for the first time, which were honestly 

The clothes I was wearing were also pretty comfortable, unlike my imagination.

Sure it wasn't comparable to what I had on Earth, but beggars can't be choosers. 

Since it would be too dangerous to roam around, Solis had decided to take me to a stable on the edge of the town so that we could leave immediately. 

After all, it was unknown when my mana would cause me to spontaneously combust.

A horrifying thought if one were to dwell on it, but at this point, there was nothing that could be done.

If I died, then so be it.

On the way to the stable, I couldn't help but marvel at the beautiful city that I was leaving without savoring.

Around me was the beauty of medieval-style architecture of cobblestone houses and roads, along with people busy in chatter while walking.

Amongst the crowd of voices, I could faintly make out some people talking about worldly matters such as politics and the state of the empire. However, some voices stood out from the rest.

"So much for bringing 'great change'. All that man's changed is the amount of gold he had stuffed in his pockets! He hasn't made any significant progress for our empire at all!"

"I know right? It's a shame that nothing can be done about that greedy and self-centered 'king'. I heard even the queen is sick and tired of him!"

"I couldn't imagine living with such a human being. I wouldn't be surprised if the empire was to collapse because of him."

A group of people had started gathering to badmouth the king. It seemed like he was a horrible person if so many people hated him.

"What's going on with the king?"

"I don't really wanna go in-depth right now, but the short version is that the new king is a selfish and greedy person who has made the kingdom worse than it was."

"So why can't they just remove him? Is there no system in place for that?"

"It's not that easy. There is. in fact, a system of changing kings, however, it is currently useless."

"Why so?"

"I don't know how it works for you, but here, the main criteria to be selected as a king is power."

"Wait, what about the other qualities? Like wisdom, intelligence, loyalty, honor?"

"For the sake of survival, those qualities do not have a major effect on the selection criteria, for a king needs to protect his kingdom."

"Is that not the responsibility of the knights?"

"You misunderstand me. A king is not just a title, it is also a level of strength. One who possesses a king's power is not being referred to as a king, but a powerful being who has attained that level of overwhelming strength. For it is this system that has kept peace between the kingdoms for thousands of years."

"So why is the system useless?"

"The system is useless as most of the time, there is nobody with power to oppose the king. The amount of people with kingly power on this entire planet can be counted on two hands as far as it is publicly available. if we were to 'lawfully' remove the king via some voting process, the king may wreak havoc."

"Are there not knights that are close in power to the king? Or is the king just overwhelmingly powerful?"

"Let me make it simple for you. If the king were to attack the entire Carian Empire alone... he'd most likely win. As of now, there doesn't seem to be any person in this Empire, or most empires, that are close in power to their kings. Ah, seems we're already here."

Without even realizing it, I had already arrived at the stables during my discussion with Solis.

"We'll take one horse."

"One horse?"

"You're riding with me. If I'd let you ride a different horse we'd be slowed down by a significant amount."

"Why are we in such a hurry anyway?"

"It'll take us two days to reach there at best."

"Hey-"

"We'll be moving at top speed for the entire two days."

Just by Solis's tone, it had become obvious that something was off.

"We're being followed?"

"Don't do anything suspicious. It seems that they are only keeping eyes on us for now, but we need to be prepared."

"But how? It's only been an hour since we left the inn!"

"...I was too complacent. I should've realized that with an anomaly like you, there were bound to be people attracted to such an anomaly."

"Then it's best we hurry."

Though it was my first time being on a horse, it didn't feel that awkward as I wasn't the one riding it.

If there was one complaint that I had, it was that the horse was fast.

Way too fast.

"Could you not latch onto me that tightly?"

"Hey, it's not like I can suddenly make myself not afraid of falling off!"

*********

"My Liege, it seems that they're heading due North, towards the Ashwalker's residence."

"Hmmm.... if they're going 'there' of all places... then it seems that my old friend has a visitor."

A figure stood in the darkness, walking towards the moonlight with but a glass in his hand.

"It took Asnar long enough to find a successor. But can it guarantee his safety?"