Chapter 6: Fundraising

“People liked to say the government fucked us. All they had to do was create peace and find a way to diplomatically and fairly divide the resources of our dying planet. But the truth, as far as I’m concerned, is that humans fucked themselves. Fucked themselves as well as an adolescent boy discovering the joys of masturbation. So sure, maybe we didn’t need to start lobbing intercontinental ballistic missiles. But we just accelerated the process.”

“Chosen one, are you ok?” The new female voice coming from outside derails his train of thoughts

“Or maybe I didn’t get enough sleep?” Desmend wondered as he stared down at the last bit of paperwork. What was this thing about again? Oh, the budget and embezzlement.

“Those stupid, bald, shitty shithead!”

Looking at the stunning redhead, the dead tired young man spoke his mind.

“I’m going to die, right?” Desmend to his left asked, his voice cracking.

“Chosen One, it is unacceptable for a king to use such foul language. Besides, you’re just doing paperwork.”

“You know I’m going to quit this job after a few years and take down the four lords, right?” Desmend dryly and tiredly stated.

Aura, who doesn’t look at all tired, much to his annoyance and jealously really mellow out in the past how many hours they have been doing this. Well, that’s what his sleep-deprived brain thinks.

“Why is that Chosen One?”

“Because I only ever planned to work hard enough to earn the subsidies for the Empire so that those fuckers would leave this kingdom alone. Then I planned on taking the four morons to the grave for making do this shit. After that, I’ll do enough to get this country on the right track with Morden technology and those youtube video of primeval people, but after that... I’ll leave it to the people of this country to handle the rest. So you and your sisters don’t have to worry about me being tyrant king.”

Desmend gave a reassuring smile to Aura before sleeping on the spot. The dragon egg next glowed.

###

“You know I’m going to quit this job after a few years and take down the four lords, right?”

The dark-beauty bombshell eyes went wide after she heard Desmend say that.

“He makes it sound so simple. Does he not realise how difficult that would be?”

Even someone like herself, who had focused so much on magical matters and studies that her political knowledge was lacking, could see the situation the kingdom was in. The words “Shit” and “Checkmate” was the right words. Food, shortages, economic malaise, death of their parents, the influx of refugees, bandits, crime, the Empire and many more problems.

“Bloody hell”

Aura turned to her knight; who was still here? Harry is intelligent and considered to be one of the most capable agents within the Military Secret Intelligence Service. But he hates paperwork with a passion.

“That bloke just fixed the money problems and gave me a list of every single Royal that been suspected embezzling from the kingdom!?” The knight-captain laughed at seeing some names that he recognised. “He even got possible locations of where they are stashing their money.”

“Did he really do that?” Aura asked and looked at the papers in her friend’s hand. Eyes widened at the details, and how much extensive it was left her speechless.

“I’m not allowing him to abdicate the throne.” Aura vowed, Even supposing he somehow could, would the people allow a king who had accomplished such a great to retire so easily.

“So, my future can really think he can acquire subsides so easily?” Aura mused.

“By the looks of this document, he already secured the funds to send to the Empire a day after he started.”

The redhead whipped to her smiling friend in shock. “Huh”?

“Take a look, princess” Harry handed the documents detailing how much funds were sent to Empire and funds for Desmend reforms.

“How... He’s already secured the funds?! Only after a day!? The amount the Empire requested was so massive that it was equivalent to the national budget, from what Eliza said it was.”

“He gave up everything in the king’s vault,” Harry said while looking so blase about the thing he just said. “According to what the nobles told me. He said, and I really not trying to laugh at this: ‘As your king, it’s my duty to improve your lives. As a king always say, keep your friends rich, and your enemies rich, and then find out which is which’”

The knight kneels over and laughs hard. “Now he is going to steal every corrupt bastard money, and they can’t do a damn thing about it! I need to go on of those raids!”

“Harry, go fetch my sisters and send letters to Eliza, Miranda, Sera, Cassandra, and Josephine to return to the kingdom immediately! We need to make him stay. He even got a dragons egg!”

###

Desmend was woken in the middle of the night by a rough hand shaking his shoulder.

“Chosen One... please wake up. You have been sleeping for two days already.”

The South African young man turned his head toward the voice; he saw the face of a woman who looked to be in her early twenties or late teens, with her shining silver hair held up tightly with a hair clip so that her hair did not hide her beautiful face.

Of course, she was beautiful like the of girls in the world.

But not to compare to the girl next to her. Who looking anywhere but him.

"Hey, Blom van groot skoonheid?" Desmend asked concernedly, getting up from the bed and reaching out to Tangerine. “Are you not feeling well again? If you are, then I ca-”

“No!” Tangerine accidentally shouted, frantically shambling away from Desmend. “Sorry about that, but I’m fine! See? Healthy as can be, heh heh...” She subconsciously kept her distance from her Chosen One. “Please, don’t touch me.”

She mentally kicked herself. By the gods, why was she acting like this? Ever since her Chosen One spoke to her with a voice so sweet, the power priest had been reduced to a helpless kitten. How was she supposed to do her job when she couldn’t even talk to the man without stuttering or involuntarily shouting, much less be in the same space as he was.

“Why? Have I done something to offend you, Tangerine, Love?” He asked, his mood sunk a little. Making a girl sad will always do that.

The hurt tone in his voice stabbed at Tangerine’s heart and made her second giggle. Curse that Yulis and not helping her.

She didn’t purposely want to come off sounding cold or insensitive, but she just couldn’t stand the consent praise from him. It was too much; usually, people paid attention to her sisters instead of her.

“No, no. Not at all.” Tangerine spoke rapidly. “I just need my space.”

“Was this because Ignored you for the past weeks?” Desmend pressed. “I apologise if I took my work too seriously, I just could not contain my burning passion for fixing the mistakes and making this kingdom more Successful for you.” He confessed from the bottom of his heart. Tangerine blushed profusely again. “But as man, I will respect your wishes and give you your space. All I ask in return, you don’t ok Luv?”

Desmend rushes to catch Tangerine, who has fainted again. Does have the woman have low blood sugar or what? The silver-haired fox is always faint around him.

“Miss Tangerine has always been lightheaded around men. The only thing her father gave her was his eyes.” Yulis said smoothly

“You’re the head maid in her family; you can’t talk like that! You could be charged with disrespect!” Desmend glared at the woman who is was blushing for some reason.

“I have been in the service of the Aucrulethen family for ten years. If you want to eliminate me, a beautiful and capable person who now handles everything from household chores to political affairs, and make the Aucrulethen family unable to have its ambassador to the elves, go ahead.”

Yulis look up at the man with glowing eyes, and he’s staring down at her. He was quite tall, for a human, not to mention the broad shoulders he has.

Lost in thought, Yulis didn’t realise he had come slower until his hand was right in front of her face. Then, grabbing her chin, he forces it up.

“Don’t test me, elf...” Desmend said. Yulis felt like an elk in a predators gaze, held fast by his probing gaze. Colour was rising in her cheeks, she knew, and he was still holding her chin. “Understand” His demanding tone gave Yulis sivers. She nodded, and Desmend let go and placed her friend/princess on his bed.

Yulius watched him leave, admiring his board back, and to her own shock, his behind.

“No wonder the chambermaids refuse to be alone with him.”

Desmend walked the Skyhold Castle and decided to get some fresh air.

As he left the castle, Desmend took a look at his surroundings. The night sky was beautiful. The world he was summoned to wasn’t technologically advanced; they don’t have electricity; instead, they have magic tools, a kind of technology that didn’t exist in his previous world. It is going to be a pain the ass to figure how to make it work.

He already has an idea about the cleaning sigils and runs for pipes for the sewer system. So just like in Sims, he can build a sewage treatment plant. All he needs to do is just gather the resources, workforce, technology level, and also figure out where to put it.

One thing he is going to do is build a toilet. Those Primitive technologies videos are going to help significantly in that manner.

Floating next was the dragon egg glowing like always. Desmend is not sure if that is normal or not.

ITEM: Fertile Dragon Egg

LEVEL: 1/???

RACE: Dragon

STATUS: Unhatched

This world was really like a video game. He was finally done with all that paperwork, and tomorrow finally going to train in magic or Vespa. Games like Dungeon Fighter Online, Final Fantasy, World of Warcraft come to his head, or maybe it’s like anime instead. Desmend kinda hopes it is like Dragon Ball Z or perhaps even Hunter x Hunter. The latter is so broken as the former.

The Chosen One looked at his arms. Both of his arms were wrapped in bandages. After he has gotten the dragon egg, his arms keep burning, or what felt like lighting was running through them.

He unwrapped the bandage; his arm was coated with a dark red ointment. He wiped off the balm with the bandage; the painful-looking keloid ran from his shoulder to his upper arm, burnt by the lightning’s electric current. Both arms.

Except he was never struck by lighting in the first place.

“The scar of the lightning strike, it definitely a Lichtenberg pattern. I wonder how I got it?” Desmend wondered. “What kind of fundamental theory exists in this world? I have been too busy actually to question” He looked and saw the moon.

Five moons, to be exact, all different colours.

“I wonder if Clementine will enjoy bashing my face judging the fact I cut her military budget,” Desmend spoke with a grin on his face and teasing her will a snap.

[Congratulations, you got 2LP!]