I remember class meetings being a pain. I think most meetings are a pain. But if you are having a meeting with your friends, it's still a pain, but mostly fun.

***

Cold

The air around this huge room is cold despite the number of people attending the meeting. It's not because of magic or the temperature of the night, but because of the people giving me a fearful and cold look.

Every one of them are looking at me like I'm the only person here.

I admit that what I did before was something everyone would get afraid of, but I think their treatment is too much.

Currently, I'm sitting on a designated position for the Berigious City. There are also four more in a semi-circle and one on the center. Every designated area for the representatives has Emblems of the place they're representing. Hammer with fire and lightning for Berigious, Anchor with Sea and hooks for Elshazen Kingdom, Mountain and Swords for Phalzoram Empire, Wings and Arrow for Sellenza Kingdom, and the last one is quite confusing because I can't tell if it's Sun's ray of light or Pillars. Anyway, it's the emblem of Thulwerthera Kingdom.

Each of them have at least one person with them, but there's no one on the Thulwerthera side. Maybe the rumors about the Kingdom falling were true.

Anyhow, I like this seat actually. It comes with a free bottle of excellent champagne and a wine glass. I've been secretly drinking it for the last thirty minutes so there's only half of it left. The thought of the possibility of it being mixed with poison came up late. But since I'm not dead yet, it's just a baseless fear.

Elshazen Kingdom's side has Porfus so the person with him must be Marquis Vellant. He looks stiff though.

I was told beforehand to bring someone with me, but I didn't know that it means to bring at least one bodyguard. I ended up bringing Lapis with me, dressed to impress no less.

Now I look like someone who boasts about not needing protection. Well it's kind of true, but I'm not boasting it.

Since the meeting hasn't started yet, I'm playing thumb wars with Lapis to kill time. It's childish, but it's a classic. And surprisingly, Lapis has more wins than me. She's too good, or I'm just drunk.

All of a sudden, I could hear footsteps from the room's entrance. Our attention immediately shifts to the source of the sound.

And one the front of us, there stood the King with his Knight that's armed to the teeth. According to my magic, those are magic armor and magic swords. Is he being weary of me?

“Good evening, gentlemen. I thank you all for coming here despite the trouble it caused.”

After his greeting, we all stood up and bowed our heads. It's an annoying custom when you're already sitting to be honest.

“Since the Dwarven King has finally decided to elect a representative, let's all welcome Sir Chardelier.”

While saying so, the king and the rest of the representatives raise a glass of champagne to me proposing a toast. So THAT's the purpose of the champagne! This is so embarrassing!

Well anyhow, I also raise my glass to them. After that, they finally put down the glass.

“It may be too sudden, but it'll not be a problem of me sitting on this position. It will be my pleasure to work with everyone here.”

Of course, I give out a little speech. I'm a bit drunk so I can't think of anything more formal than this.

“Hmp! You're too full of yourself young man. You're just a Chevalier, know your place!”

All of a sudden, I get scowled at from the Phalzoram's side. That's surprised me.

“Earl Werra, please calm down! You just arrived yesterday, so please don't anger Sir Chardelier. You don't know what he's capable of.”

And even more surprising, Marquis Vellant is defending me. But rather than defense, I think he's making me look like a bad guy.

“This is a rare sight. Why are you defending this man, Marquis?”

“We haven't even started yet and you two would start fighting first again.”

Before it could even start, the king cuts down their talk with his loud voice.

“Not that I'm taking sides, but just like Marquis Vellant had said, it's not a good thing to be on Sir Chardelier, the Celestial Magus' bad side. You wouldn't like a moon above your house, would you?”

So they're going to use it us a joke huh…

“I don't really understand. But if the king says so…”

He sits back on his seat and acting cool like nothing happened. It doesn't fit with his thin look.

“I have gathered everyone here to clear up a rumor about Thulwerthera Kingdom. About it's fall, it is true. I have received confirmation from the 23rd Knight Order about this and they are currently investigating further about the matter.”

Everyone except me gasped in surprise. Since I don't really understand the feeling of the situation, I feel a bit left out.

“T-that's impossible! Thulwerthera has the strongest army in the whole Fulsheri Alliance. There's got to be a mistake here!”

“It's not, Elqarin. Yes, their fall is a fact already, but ‘how' is the current mystery. That is why I dispatched the 23rd Knight Order. Our current suspects are the Fel Gurda.”

“Fel Gurda? Those Gladius fanatics?”

“You may not know about this yet, but there have been incidents within and outside the Royal Capital and even outside the territory, about the incurable Magic Intoxication. I feel like these two are somehow related since Thulwerthera Kingdom experienced an epidemic before falling against the enemy.”

Magic Intoxication, I remember that. But incurable huh, that's probably something worse than the little girl from before. What was her name again? She's Wiz kid's little sister….

Anyhow, let's keep listening.

“Your Majesty, I also heard the same thing from Emperor Reilshi Phalzoram. There have been multiple deaths in his knight order after getting infected with the same disease. Do you think this originated from the same source?”

“I have already had my Arcana Alchemists do their research on the source, and the results were unexpected. It came from the Magic Potions that came from the northern kingdom. The possibility of it being poisoned was confirmed.”

The moment he said that, everyone except me gasps in shock again.

Out of curiosity, I raise my hand to get the king's attention.

“Your Majesty, do you have a sample of the said poisoned potion?”

That said, he looks and nods to his Knight. After that, the knight goes running out the room.

“By asking that question, does this mean you have a solution for this?”

The king asks me with a serious tone. Not only that, everyone is looking at me with a serious gaze.

“When I first visited the Royal Capital, I was able to cure a child that was experiencing Magic Intoxication. Though magic intoxication is normal for kids that awakened early, her case was odd. It may be possible for it to be the same thing that's killing off the knights and magicians.”

Like it was timed perfectly, the knight comes back with a fancy looking bottle with red liquid inside. Since I could feel some slight magic from it, it's without a doubt a magic potion.

However, there's something different from it.

“You may not see it clearly from that distance, but this potion has been mixed with an unknown compound that turns it into a poison.”

I immediately teleported myself in front of the knight that's holding the Bottle, and since I did it without warning, it surprised him which made him pull out his sword.

I'm too tipsy to dodge or think about a barrier, so I use > and made the sword go right through me. Everyone's jaw dropped when they saw the blade went pass me.

“Give me the bottle, I want to see it up close.”

I ignore the frozen Knight and take the bottle from his hand.

If you're wondering why I'm unhurt despite the sword being magical, it's because it doesn't have > or the sort as enchant, but > and > instead. Both are physical types so it can't damage me in my >.

I analyze the Magic Potion with my magic. There's no response on >, so there's probably no magic involved in this.

“My apologies, Celestial Magus! I didn't mean to raise my sword against—”

“Yeah, yeah, cut the crap. I'm not killing you.”

I ignore the knight that bowed to me and walked to the king.

“According to what I currently see, there's no magic spell involved in this. But the chances of it being rigged are high. What I'm going to do next will determine if it's curable or not. My advice, don't do the same thing.”

I cut the tip of my left index with magic. When it started bleeding, I dip it inside the bottle while letting it mix with the potion.

“Yep, it's a positive. Something bit me.”

I pull out my finger from the bottle. However, it was not the same as before.

“Wha-what is that?!”

“I don't know, but it sure looks nasty.”

On my finger, there's a black creature with hairy body. Using its hair-thingies, it warps around my finger and it seems to be trying to enter my body through the wound.

“Wait, I think I've seen that thing before.”

All of a sudden, Earl Elqarin makes a surprising remark.

“Where have you seen it?”

“Inside the Labyrinth City dungeon, your highness. Back in my adventuring days, I remember it being called as Mana Leech. However, that thing on his hand is still on its maggot form. They're not dangerous enough to be called a monster, but if it gets into wounds if you're careless, it will be the end of you.”

So that's why it gets killed with > huh. It's a mana dependent creature, if it looses mana, it dies instantly.

Everyone then looks at me. No, my hand to be exact.

“Then how did you cure the said child? But before that, can we see a proof of her being alive?”

“Well, we could arrange that. Princess Thema is close with this child so she knows the truth.”

“And how will you fix your……”

Without letting Earl Werra finish his words, I burn the Mana Leech away with >. I made sure that not a trace of it is left by burning my hand from the inside. It doesn't hurt since my mana was undamaged.

“You were saying?”

“My apologies.”

Hmm? He seems rather, respectful now. Oh, right! He probably got overwhelmed when he saw the sword passing through me. And I've been doing everything chantlessly for some time now. They probably noticed that too.

“Removing these things from the potion is impossible for my current abilities. What do you suggest we do your highness?”

While asking him that, I return to my seat beside Lapis. Since she looks a bit sleepy, I let her lean on my shoulder.

The King thinks about the matter deeply. After quite some time, he gives out his opinion.

“Throwing away the contaminated potions means turning gold to dust, but they're also indispensable for the soldiers in the war….”

“How about replacing them with new ones?”

Marquis Vellant suggests something new. However, the King makes a complicated expression.

“I've also have the same thought, but the prices of the potions would increase due to demand. I already did statistic analysis on that part. Increasing the tax would ease up this problem, but the citizens wouldn’t be pleased with that and could cause a rebellion.”

Wow! I didn't expect for the King to foresee everything to that extent. And just like Sora said, he is a good king. He's still thinking about his people despite the dilemma he's in.

However, this isn't the time to be in awe. I should also help them.

“Your highness, are you familiar with the Goldenbloom household?”

The king looks at me when I asked him that.

“The head of the Goldenbloom household is someone I'm acquainted with since his daughter is my fiancée. Their line of business Is making magic potions. We could get a fresh supply of potions from them since they're trustworthy people.”

“Wait, wait! So you're acquainted with the White Knight?”

The way he says it makes it sound like a big deal.

“Yes, it's a long story. Though he has a very bad impression of me, we're acquaintances.”

“That's impossible! The head of the Goldenbloom household and the rest of their family are infamous of being hard to please. And if you're saying that you're a fiancée of one of his children, you should have a proof of the Golden Soul Union.”

“Well, unfortunately, I have the tattoo on my finger. The Helius Saint was hard to please, but we have a good relationship now.”

While saying that, I show them my left hand that has the tattoo which shut them up.

“Returning back to the main topic, we can contact the Goldenbloom household for the potion supply.”

“But didn't I say it just now? Replacing the contaminated potions would require a great sum of money. According to my statistics, it would require at least 500,000 gold coins. Even increasing our taxes by three times wouldn't even solve this problem within 5 months.”

“If it's about money, I will handle it.”

When I said that, everyone in the room froze. Not just frozen in place, but also fell quiet like there's no one in the room.

It seemed that no one would speak, only until the king himself broke the silence.

“Celestial Magus, that's quite the suggestion, but where would you get that much money?”

“From my own pocket. I have riches far more than you can imagine. Though I said that I would handle the money, it's actually letting you loan from me. 500,000 gold coins isn't a joke, so we'll need a contract for that.”

It seems that everyone in the room couldn't absorb that fact so much that their gulping sound echoes in the room.

“I-Impossible! There's no way for a Chevalier to have such asset! If he does, it's something that needs to be questioned!”

“Calm down, Earl Werra. You've already seen enough, haven't you? It's not a surprising fact if he does have that much money. We didn't offend you, right?”

The king switches his attention to me with a worried expression. I'm offended to be honest, but if I show it on my face then I'll make unnecessary enemies again. Also, his personality reminds me of someone from Berigious.

“Don't worry, your highness. His reaction is understandable. Still, I'm telling the truth. There's also no reason for me to lie in the first place.”

The king decides go sit and give some time for himself to think.

“Are you sure about lending your money to the kingdom?”

He asks me with a stern expression. He seems that he really wants to know if I'm lying or not.

“I am sure and serious about it. However, in one condition—”

Everyone falls silent and listens to me carefully. They look somewhat, nervous.

“There's a place between Berigious and Valeshtyre that's said to be home of many dangerous monsters and beasts. It's a mountain called Behemoth's Horn which is also surrounded by a thick sea of trees. And what I want is to receive a full recognition of it being my territory.”

“What?!”

The King stands up surprised while slamming his desk. His voice echoes in the room that it actually woke Lapis who fell asleep. But she then sleeps back again like nothing happened.

“Asking recognition… Are you trying to say that you've already lorded over that part of the buffer zone?”

“That is without question.”

“Then what is it that you're not telling us?”

Oh, he's sharp. He must be asking how I was able to do it, and why I want to have it.

“The mountain is actually a monster dungeon. It is a home of many strong monsters that even a group of 20 adventurers can't defeat, but I was able to conquer it. It goes without saying, what I really want is the dungeon itself. The Dwarves have already recognized my lordship over that territory, all that's left is for you to also recognize it as the King of Valeshtyre Kingdom for it to be legal.”

The King’s eyebrows linked from thinking about it. I'm not expecting an immediate answer, but doing it fast would be appreciated.

“Why do you want that place?”

All of a sudden, he asked me while sitting down.

Since I felt like it, I pour liquor on my wine glass.

“If you're thinking about me trying to be someone really powerful, you have the wrong idea, your highness. I only want to create a place where I could protect my family altogether. My family is big, so I have to make sure that everyone of them is under my protection because there will be a time that swords will be turned towards them instead of me. I want to make sure that it doesn't happen.”

I don't know if I'm speaking from my heart, or I'm just drunk. But in all seriousness, this is me being honest. Not one word there is a lie.

It seems that the king understood what I was trying to say. He closes his eyes while nodding for some reason. Ah, he's also drinking.

“It's rare to see honest men these days, and from what you said just now, anyone can tell that you really are a good man. After all, there's no way a girl could lean on a man that isn't trust-worthy.”

He looks at Lapis who's sleeping soundlessly while leaning on me.

She looks like she's about to fall to the back so I put my arm over her shoulder. In response, she hugs me body while burying her face on my chest. As always, she's like a cat.

“I'll arrange a meeting between my councilors to see if they would agree to your request.”

Then after that, he finishes the whole bottle in one go which shocked everyone including me. It was so unexpected that we we're rendered speechless.

“Ahh! That hit the spotlucks! Since the meeting has come to an end, I would like to thank you all for gathering. I trust you all to spread the news to your side and do the same to us.”

“Yes, your highness.”

Everyone including me acknowledged the king's words, but only I was sitting since Lapis is using me as a body pillow.

“Also, please remain, Celestial Magus. I have something personal to talk about with you.”

“O-okay.”

Good thing he called me out. I was about to teleport back to the ship.

After everyone has left aside from Me, Lapis, and the King, he started asking about me and Princess Thema.

“I really want to thank you for making my daughter be able to walk. For her, I'd do everything what I can to give you what I want. I can't show this to the others, but this is how I want to express my gratitude.”

He stands up from his seat and then puts down his crown. After that, he drops on one knee. Because of that, I got taken aback.

“Please don't lower your head to me, your highness.”

“I'm am showing my gratitude, not as King, but as a father.”

So that's why he dropped the crown.

Still, lowering his head like this, I can't feel anything except guilt. After all, what I did for his daughter is something I did on a whim.

“I think that's enough. I understand what you feel so there's no need to lower your head for the rest of the evening.”

“Thank you.”

After he gets up, he puts the crown on his head again.

“I'm curious. How and why are you and my daughter so close? As her father, I'm very concerned about my daughter's relations to other people especially to men.”

“I just got acquainted with her because we have the same aim for the Children at the Orphanage. But what do you mean about that question though?”

Before starting to talk, he pours a glass of liquor again and drinks it.

“My daughter is very picky in choosing her friends, and when it comes to men, it's impossible to make her talk to them if it's not an official arrangement by me. But when we're talking about you, she's a bit….. different.”

“Huh..?”

“Well she just rants how you treat her and about the job she has, but the fact that she keeps talking about you is…..”

“What are you trying to say?”

The King draws a smile on his bearded face while looking very happy. And since I have a bad premonition of what he wants, chills went down my spine.

“I want you, to take my daughter's hand. Thema, I mean.”

“Hahahaha, no.”

I immediately shoot down his suggestion before it can take root. It's not like I hate Thema or anything, it's just it's too forced.

“Why not?”

“Because you're not taking her feelings into account. I am also a father, and what I want is for my daughter to only get what she like. Your daughter doesn't like me, and forcing her on me will make her hate us both. So my answer is No.”

After listening to my reasoning, his face became perplexed and then confused.

“Wait a minute, you have a daughter?”

Hah…. This is going to take a while.

-End of Chapter-