"Woah, that was refreshing my king," said the old man Lupus while stretching his arms. I ordered to bring him a chair after the guards had tickled him, for his legs won't be able to support the weight of his whole body for long. "I feel like I am ten years younger."

"There is not much difference between an 85-year-old and a 75-year-old Lupus," I replied. "They will both die very soon."

One should not bother to talk formally to a man of this kind. This is why I switched to more casual words.

"True," The old man replied. "But I will get to see my grand grandchildren if I am ten years younger. It is priceless."

"Sure," I admitted. "And you will also get to see the grandchildren of Vin Chaldoon."

"Oh, I never want to see the grandkids of this little bastard," Lupus replied while swinging his brown stick left and right. "If I ever got to see them, I will encourage them to kill their grandfather."

I knew he was joking, so I ignored it.

"Alright," I said, ignoring his complaints. "So tell me what started the issue of Chaldoon's late payments."

"It sparked because of Vin Chaldoon's past my king," said Lupus with a serious gaze. "Five years ago, Vin Chaldoon was so fat that his two arses were clapping each other whenever he walked."

I gave Lupus eyes of boredom. "And how is this related to him delaying his payments?"

"This is what made him delay his payments," Lupus replied while trying to hold his laughter. "Your Majesty, when he ran his arse sounded like war drums. I still remember the grins of those who walked behind him. I mean who would not laugh? Anyway, six months ago I said it to Vin Chaldoon, and he went mad and spat at me."

"Well, this is becoming childish," I said. "And until this very day, he is delaying his payments for this very reason?"

"Yup," Lupus replied. "He said that he would pay on time till I beg his pardon with my whole family in public. Like hell I am going to do that for a clappy arse."

Yesterday was a day akin to a nightmare. It made me think that kingship is no different from hell. But now, I am babysitting a stubborn old kid talking about another rich kid who cannot handle jokes.

"Lupus," I said while covering my tired eyes with my right hand. "How about you go apologize to him? Not receiving payments is not a joke to the other suppliers, and you are the one at fault here. You began insulting him."

I do not get it; Lupus came all the way to my palace to tell me, his king, that he insulted a person? This old man is not functioning properly...

"I will do it," said the old man Lupus. "But before that, I want you to say to Chaldoon right at his face that he got a clappy arse. Man, I cannot wait to see his angry face."

"No," I replied.

If I did it, I would forever be called the clown king.

"Do not be shy my king," said Lupus. "It will be fun I promise."

I ignored Lupus and turned my head to Vold, who is still standing to my right, "Had Chaldoon arrived?"

"Yes, Your Majesty," said Vizier Vold of Commerce. "He is waiting for your presence outside this hall."

"Great, bring him here," I said.

"Right away Your Majesty," replied Vold with a bow and walked toward the guards to let Chaldoon enter.

"But my king," said Lupus. "Will you tell him that he got clappy stuff?"

"You will see what I will do to both of you and Chaldoon," I replied.

Perhaps my father had not disciplined his people very well. They do not mind harming other people over the most primitive matters. I will have to fix that and make sure that it never occurs again.

"It is a great pleasure to meet Your Highest Eminence," said Vin Chaldoon after he entered my hall while rubbing the fur of his big white cat on his arm.

The silky clothes he wore were professional and a tight fit to his slim body. The ten rings he wore at his ten fingers were each of a different gem color. The white cat on his arm was busy licking one of the gems at a time.

At least this more of a natural response for a millionaire. Unlike the way this toothless man entered my palace, who is now looking at Chaldoon with such joy.

"It would have also been my pleasure to meet you Chaldoon had it not been for the recent acts you were doing," I replied. "You have gotten all worked up over a childish insult and delayed all your payments to your timber and iron suppliers. Then you proceeded to even scar my Vizier Vold for the same childish reason. This had become a very severe matter, in which I have to make sure you never repeat it."

Vin Chaldoon chuckled in response to my words.

But soon Lupus interfered, shouting, "Clappy! Clappy!" with a few claps toward Chaldoon. This old bastard is enjoying it.

Chaldoon knew what the old man meant behind his words and claps that his face had taken the color of rage.

"Just listen to him Your Majesty," said Chaldoon with a heated voice. "Every time I meet him as one of my key business partners he keeps shaming me with my dark past. I have all the rights to punish him with the late payments."

"Not that I care much about your cheap gold," said Lupus with indifference. "I will die soon anyway."

"Lupus, If I ever hear you talking again without my permission I will cut your tongue," I said. "Now then Chaldoon, I understand your logic behind stopping your payments to Chaldoon. But why would you stop it to the other suppliers and further scar my vizier?"

"Initially, I only stopped my payments to Lupus company," said Chaldoon. "But all the other suppliers met me to convince me to return paying Lupus company's normally once again. They had ignored all his insults to me, so they deserve it. Anyone who sides with Lupus evil acts deserves a harsh treatment."

"Fine," I said. "And what about scarring my Vizier's arm?"

"He pressured me so much to release the late payments to my suppliers," Chaldoon said. "He left me no choice but to stop him with a little bit of pain."

"Oh really?" I said. "Then I will also have to teach you not to repeat these childish acts anymore, with a lot more pain."

Chaldoon chuckled again. "But Your Highest Eminence. You surely know how much influence I have in the kingdom. The economy of the whole kingdom is in my hands. It is doing much better now in production, imports, and exports after I have come up with new ideas like the credit guarantees. It would be very damaging to your economy if I decided to remove my support and move my money outside the kingdom."

Credit guarantee assures that the seller will receive his money from the bank if the buyer went bankrupt and did not pay the seller for his purchase. It requires a small fee before the sale occurs. But this guarantee reduced the rates of bankruptcy ten times in the kingdom which is impressive. Other banks and countries tried to imitate the model, but they were not successful like Chaldoon in implementing it.

"So you are threatening me that you will ruin the economy of my kingdom if I harmed you?" I asked.

"Oh, not a threat at all Your Highest Eminence," said Chaldoon. "Just a simple warning. I could do a lot more than stopping the bank guarantees, but the decision is totally up to you."

I would have backed off and thought of an alternative had it not been for what I had experienced yesterday from Salamander.

Then suddenly, the door to the hall was flung open. The Vizier of War Kaljar looked tense and exhausted. He did not arrange an appointment to meet me... Did something happen?

"Your Majesty, grim news," said Vizier Kaljar as he was catching his breath. "The Lorope Empire had declared war on us."