Led by the Scout Captain, Atlas, followed by the Baron, arrived at the manor’s foyer where an unkempt man with a soot-covered face waited for them. Hearing their footsteps and seeing the trio arrive, the man immediately turned around and nervously greeted them.

“L-L-Lord Baron!” he shrieked and hurriedly bowed his head. His eye then landed upon the golden-haired child beside the Baron. “T-t-that’s…your majesty!”

“Baron Helm, Your Hi’hness, this is the man I told you about,” Reudem introduced the soot-faced man. “Jason Porlicks.”

Atlas gazed at the Scout Captain with an appreciative glance. He inwardly praised his foresight in bringing along the discoverer of the coal deposit while coming to meet them.

Settling his gaze on the nervous-looking, soot-faced man, Atlas spoke, “Please don’t be so nervous, Mr. Porlicks.”

“J-J-Jason will do, my lord,” the man nervously answered, cowering further.

“Alright then,” Atlas showed a warm smile, “You don’t have to be so nervous, Jason. I’m not here to question you, but to reward you.”

The word ‘reward’ seemed to have gripped his attention as the discoverer raised his head and looked at the young prince. While a trace of nervousness still remained within his eyes, a greater part of it was replaced with desire and greed.

‘Excitement. Greed. Praise…a variety of emotions. Doubt and fear, however, are not part of them.’ Atlas internally evaluated as he ‘read’ the man. ‘This man isn’t lying about the coal deposit. He’s fully sure of both its existence and location.’

Reading was a skill that had been taught to Atlas (John) at a young age. Much like reading from a book to understand and learn its contents, Atlas ‘read’ a person to understand and learn their thoughts, motives, and emotions.

It was a difficult skill to learn and one that was much harder to master. Fortunately, Atlas had both the genius and the time to master and refine this ability.

“Tell me, Jason,” the young prince asked, “how much coal would you say remains in the deposit.”

“I-I can’t say the exact measure, your majesty,” Jason honestly confessed. “I’m unlearned and not good with numbers.”

“A rough estimate would do,” the Baron prompted.

“Hmm, I would say that it’s enough to fill three times the size of this house,” Jason replied after some thought. “There may be more if we were to dig deeper.”

‘Jackpot!’ Atlas exclaimed within his mind. While his heart brimmed with excitement, the prince was wise enough to not show it on his face.

During a negotiation, one must never show how much–and how badly–one needed something from the other party. Only then could one guarantee the best prices for their wares.

“Three times the size of his house, huh?” the young prince wore a thoughtful expression. Rubbing his chin, he continued, “It might be enough for a town but…difficult.”

Seeing the prince’s thoughtful expression dampened the excitement on the faces of the adults around him.

The Baron for one, deeply understood just how much smarter the prince was when compared to him. He then began to ponder this matter deeply, wanting to relieve the prince of the burden.

Reudem, on the other hand, was aware of how far-reaching the prince’s mind was and concluded that this matter wasn’t as simple as his poor mind thought it to be. Wanting to improve himself he also started to deeply ponder.

Jason, the discoverer of the coal deposit, grew increasingly worried as he saw the faces of the others turning grimmer. Having discovered the deposit first, he was hoping to exchange its location in return for some benefits for himself and his family.

At first, he believed the matter to be of some significant worth. While he wasn’t an advisor, treasurer, or even an educated sod, he vaguely understood the value of coal. His family and dozens of others used it every day after all.

Now, however, he wasn’t very sure of it.

“Do you have a family, Jason?” Atlas suddenly asked.

“Y-yes, your majesty.” He then took a deep breath and nervously replied, “A wife and a son.”

“I see.” The prince lowered his head and pondered for a few more seconds. “A wife…a son…coal…reward…house?”

Jason keenly heard the small child’s thoughtful mutters and quietly gulped. From what he heard, the young prince seemed to be deeply pondering about his rewards.

After what seemed like an eternity, Atlas exhaled a deep sigh and faced the soot-faced peasant nervously sweating buckets.

“Jason.” the young prince heavily voiced.

“Y-yes, your majesty,” the man nervously replied.

“It’s about your reward. I’ve thought deeply about this and I’m afraid…” He intentionally stalled for a dramatic pause while walking closer to the peasant.

“No amount of monetary wealth or food rations will accurately represent the sheer scale of your contribution. You haven’t simply discovered a deposit of coal, nay, you’ve saved this town, Jason.”

“Jason Porlicks. You are a hero.“

The prince declared with eyes full of solemn praise and appreciation.

Jason’s mind went white. He was unable to hear or process anything. Opening and closing his mouth a few times, he hoarsely asked, “...a hero?”

“A hero,” the prince repeated. “A champion of the people.”

“Your contributions to this town, by discovering this small deposit of coal, isn’t something that can be summed by mere ‘physical’ rewards. Nay, I refuse to sully your achievement by rewarding you with cheap trinkets.”

Atlas passionately began his speech.

“Your contributions are far more sacred. For where you see coal, I see the hopes and lives of two-hundred and forty-seven of our fellow citizens. You, Jason, are a model citizen and a paragon of virtue.”

“As such, I believe that a man of your character must be rewarded with something that mere money cannot buy. Fortunately, with my limited ability, I see a solution.”

Grabbing both of Jasons’ hands, Atlas looked the befuddled, frozen peasant in the eyes and spoke.

“Mr. Jason Prolicks, would you do this humble Prince the honor of accepting the ‘Foreman’ position and lead your fellow brethren in securing this town’s future?”

“I–I–” Jason helplessly stuttered as he stared at the large, watery eyes of the young prince. He looked and saw the unequaled trust and faith that the young prince showed him.

The young prince, a person favored by the Gods and a possessor of Royal Blood, looked at him, a mere peasant, with such trust and belief. Jason looked through his memories and tried to find another person who had looked at him with such a gaze.

His own parents called him a failure and a waste of air. His friends and workmates refused to socialize with him and called him a bother. His wife always looked at him with a disappointed gaze and frequently sighed at his presence.

Hell, even his son, his very own flesh and blood, refused to play with his father and was always out playing with the neighbors’ kids and ‘their’ fathers.

But here he was, showered with trust, sincerity, and faith by the Prince, a person who he considered the closest to the Almighty God.

Would he do the Prince the honor by accepting this reward of honor?

“MY LORD!” Jason immediately dropped to his knees and hugged the young prince’s legs. With tears streaming down his face, he yelled, “I DO NOT DESERVE SUCH HONOR!!”

“Nonsense.” Atlas immediately replied, “If you aren’t, then who is?”

Jason choked at the reply and then proceeded to loudly cry while hugging the young prince’s legs. His mouth moved to speak multiple times but the words which came out were entirely gibberish.

Reudem and Baron Helm looked at this heartwarming scene from the sides with tears in their eyes.

What was a true master-servant bond? This right here was a true master-servant bond! A servant doing his utmost in service to his master and the master justly rewarding his servant.

While the adults cried tears of joy at the young prince’s wisdom and generosity, Atlas inwardly shed tears of his own. Expect his tears were different and…ignoble.

‘Ah!~ I love this place! All the people are so easy and gullible and are… absolutely fu*king stupid! Holy shit! What a sucker!’

‘Ahh…how nostalgic this feeling is. I’ve missed doing this.’ Atlas stared at the crying Jason and continued. ‘One person down. Only two-hundred and forty-six to go.’

‘It’s time for me to reward my precious citizens with real work. That coal isn’t going to mine itself, you know. Hahahaha!’

An evil laugh played out.