“Madam?” someone called out to me. Her sweet, raspy voice got me out of my deep trance almost immediately and got my full attention.

“What?” I asked.

“You’ve still got plenty of work. As a candidate running in the elections, you’ll need to keep your focus sharp at all times. Especially since you’re up against that shade, Terebnis Gloomus Darkius.”

“But what about that other candidate? We don’t know a single thing about that guy!” I groaned with a loud voice and frustration buried inside the tone.

“That man? Erm… Boss, was it? An Archlich? What does that even mean? A lich that resurrects archs?”

I growled softly and gritted my sharp teeth. While Terebnis was an opponent I had known for decades, this wild card had completely eluded us. I was trying to piece together who or what his intentions were.

“We need to send more people to figure out his identity.”

“Madam, our resources are up to the limit. Do we really have to spend so much time and effort on him? What about Terebnis Gloomus Darkius?”

“Forget about him! Terebnis wasn't the one that got the Commissioners and the Enforcers to support him! Nobody has had the support of those walking museum artifacts for almost fifty years!” I exclaimed as my fist slammed against the table. “Not only that, the underworld is stirring... and it's probably because of Boss.”

“What?”

I passed a folder across the table towards her, but it fell off the table instead. In frustration, I groaned and stroked my hair.

“You’re too stressed out about Boss. Look, you’re starting to pull your hair again! You know how hard it was to stitch your long, brittle hair back into your skull...”

“If you checked what’s inside the folder, you would be stressed too,” I replied.

She picked the folder off the floor and carefully looked over the files. Slowly, her eyes went wide with shock. The papers were flipped faster and faster until there was nothing left. “T-This…”

“The evidence is inconclusive, and the information we have is not exactly trustworthy. But all signs point to the Skeleton Gang helping this… Boss person,” I explained.

“How could this be?”

“It’s possible Boss and his supporters helped the Skeleton Godfather overthrow the Abomination Gang. Just like that. Years of terrorizing the goodfolk… gone.”

“Boss is a tougher opponent than we thought,” she concluded.

“You thought. I thought otherwise,” I corrected.

“Hmph. As your closest advisor, I am ashamed that I didn’t know this. I must leave and prepare for the fight against Boss. Don’t worry, madam. It doesn’t matter who steps up on the podium, it’s you who is going to be President of the Republic of Gravia.”

I gave her a smile, baring my long teeth unintentionally. “Thanks. You’re the best.”

“You know it.”

With my advisor gone, I was left with my screaming and trembling inner thoughts again. There was danger afoot, but from where? I looked up to my pinboard and saw many notices, papers, and reports. But at the center of it all was none other than a sketching of Boss.

I clutched my chest as my breathing got harder, as if steel weights were dropped onto my shoulders. I could almost feel a large presence behind me, but I was too afraid to look back.

Who are you?

Why are you here?

Do you work for the demons?

What sort of malign plan do you have in mind?

*

*

*

“WAKE UP, LAZY BONES!” Kendra shouted as she snagged my blanket off me.

“Give that blanket back. It’s cold, you know?” I responded as I curled up on the couch in my office.

“You’re an undead for Goddess’ sake, you can’t feel the cold!”

“I feel pseudo-cold.”

“You can’t just put pseudo in front of every word and expect me to believe it!” Kendra retorted. She placed a pile of paper onto my table then stamped her finger on it. “You’ve got plenty of work to do! You won’t be elected on your own, you know!”

“Bah! Election smelections. Five more minutes,” I grumbled before rolling over to my side. Kendra marched towards me and tried to pull me away from my haven... in vain. “Bwahaha! Even though I’m just a literal pile of bones, your puny body still can’t do anything against me!”

“D-Damn my diminutive body!” Kendra cursed.

“Now, leave me be. I’ve got naps some nap and- WOW WOW WOW! PUT ME DOWN! USING MAGIC IS CHEATING!”

“If you say so, Master.”

And just like that, I was tossed onto the ground like a pile of garbage. I got up instantly and sat back down. “You shall rue the day you ruin my good sleep! Just because I taught you the true meaning of reality, you went ahead and broke through most of the passive magical defenses…”

“Alright, alright. Save it for later. To get you started with your work, you should start off by writing a speech,” Kendra instructed while handing me a piece of paper and a quill.

I got up and scratched my skull. “I felt like I’ve been sleeping for five whole months.”

“It’s only been five minutes.”

“Five minutes?!” I screamed. “I NEED TO GET BACK TO SLEEP RIGHT THIS INSTANCE!”

“No. You’ll need to make this speech,” Kendra said as she shook me up with a spell.

“A speech?”

“For the people. It’s an electoral speech.”

“I’ll just have my workers do it.” I shrugged and was about to toss the paper away but Kendra stopped me.

“Your minions said that they don’t want to do it.”

“What?! They did?!”

Kendra rolled her eyes and huffed, “Well, some said that it would be most appropriate if you did it yourself, others said they have other things to do, among other things. To sum it up, they don’t want to do it.”

“Tsk. What am I paying them for?!”

“You don’t pay them,” Kendra sighed.

“I don’t? This is going to be hard...”

The little girl tapped onto the paper and said, “It’s just writing a speech. It should be easy.”

“I-... I don’t know how to write a speech!” I declared.

“What a bunch of bull! Aren’t you a thousand year old Archlich?!”

“It’s Archli-...Wait, you got it right.” I rubbed my chin and explained, “A thousand years doesn’t really prepare me for the idea that some day the peasants would vote and elect one of their own as a leader, just saying.”

“Ugh,” Kendra commented with a facepalm.

With a snap of my finger, an idea flickered into my genius mind. “What if I threatened the plebs?”

“NO! You can’t just threaten them to vote for you! That’s not how it works!”

“It doesn’t? Both of the city’s enforcement departments support me so can’t I just use them to flex my power?”

Kendra clapped her hands then sighed. “How about we start with why you want to run as president.”

“To get the blood of the last Vampire Matriarch.”

“Wait, what?”

I used my thumb to point at Ellysa who was stalking me from behind a bookcase. “I want to turn that thing into the leader of the vampires in the entire continent. She only needs to drink the blood of the last Vampire Matriarch.”

“What does that have to do with the election?”

“The elected candidate will have to swear on the blood of the last Vampire Matriarch in order to become the president. That’s when we snatch the blood.”

Kendra went silent and had a blank look on her face. “Er… I don’t ever remember this part of the trip.”

“I asked if you wanted to go to Gravia, and you agreed with no questions asked, other than how we can get to Gravia,” I explained.

“Right, but you still need to win the election. That means…” Kendra pointed at the blank paper and continued, “you’ll need to make a speech.”

I hummed for a moment then asked, “How does one make a speech for the unwashed peasantry?”

“Firstly, stop calling the people ‘peasants’ or any other derivatives. Secondly, you’re seriously asking me? I’m like a thousandth of your age, Master.”

“Most mortals are…” I added.

Kendra stopped then looked at the ceiling as if she was trying to remember something. “Ah! That’s it! Master, one of your rivals is going to give a speech tomorrow on another corner of the city. How about we attend it to get some ideas?”

“Infiltration? That sounds right up my alley,” I mumbled.

“We can just go there normally. It’s a public event.”

“I must prepare our disguises,” I declared and ran out of the room.

“WAIT! IT’S A PUBLIC EVENT!”