"Why did you send the letters the way you did?"

"Stays on the recipient's mind more."

"Why now?"

"I only heard of you after you killed some Kens, then retroactively looked you up. Not bad, by the way."

"What should I expect?"

"A lot."

If this guy is telling the truth, that explains why the system refers to me as a noble, among other things. Duchess, who has been silently lying on my shoulders, speaks to my mind.

[Thisss one would take the opportunity regardless of the consequences, tribulations, or enemies that might arrive from it.]

'Why'

[If the lawman confirms the son of a thief's claims, then it would be your rightful place to sit on a throne over every human that dwells within your ancestor's lands.]

'I'm just worried about this being an elaborate scheme.'

[Thisss one will wait for the confirmation. Thisss one will note, however, that if you become the king of the humans, you will have the right to declare a manifest destiny to reclaim the planet for humanity.]

'I see. You want land, don't you.'

[Thisss one wants the jungle thisss one was hatched in.]

'I'll keep that in mind.'

"I'll have to go. It's safe to call me, but if I don't answer, I'm sneaking around somewhere. Here's my number." Percy entered his number into my phone without me realizing that he pickpocket my phone.

He tosses the phone at me and casually walks into the bathroom. I asked one of the few employees here to check on him, and she reported that no one was in there.

"..."

"..."

"...I'm going to go file paperwork. Let me know if you need anything."

"...okay."

Free Chains heads out before I do, so I took this time to eat my one meal of the day before leaving. What do I have to do today? I think overseeing some hiring processes... Nah, someone else will handle it.

"I have a teaching title now. Do you think it would help you with learning magic?"

[Do you know anything about magic?]

"I see. Never mind. So, what's next?"

[Get stronger. Become someone fit for the position of king.]

"Which way should I go about it? There are so many avenues of strength, and I dipped my toe in too many."

[What's easiest? What's Hardest? Create a list and set a milestone that would check off each item.]

From what I understand about my attuned energies, they allow me to augment skills/magic with that specific energy. Without them fully active, which happens at level 200, leveling up my 'journeyman' skills isn't worth it.

And using them under pressure is the best bet. I need a new fracture to conquer... I actually want four more fractures. Four seemingly limitless fractures for each of my beasts to do with what they want. It should fill out my [Crossroads] also, and it would empower my guild.

How to get fractures... I could stumble across one randomly and claim it or find someone willing to sell... I might be able to leverage my 'relationship' with Department Head Mahogany of the FIB. Don't I fucking work for the FIB?

I could absorb smaller guilds to gain their fractures, but then I'll have to deal with the legacy hires, which would be a pain. For now, I'll exercise for a few hours to keep my body in optimal condition.

~~

I use my [Court of Allegiance] skill, and everyone accepts… I then immediately kick Dylan from the skill. Here are all the people in my court.

Dylan Silvervein - Cultivated Tamer of The Cult of Ebony Death

Rain Wang - Alchemist and Artificer of the Wang Family.

Free Chains - Lawspeaker of the Master

Duchess - Tamed Beast of the Master

Charlie Greenback - Archon of Coinage

Val Caddel - Archer Representing Humanity.

I silently send barrels of my blood to Rain while Free Chains starts talking. Their ghostly apparitions are all busy doing other things.

Rain is in her workshop while Val seems to be practicing with her bow. Duchess continued her research while Charlie was behind a desk, and Free Chains seemed to be running somewhere.

"Since Ellis hasn't booted everyone but one person from the call, this must be for the news we have." Free Chains huffs and puffs between words, finally reaching his destination.

"Oh my gods! Are you guys pregnant? Congratulations!"

I mute Rain and look at Free Chains. "Did you confirm what that Percy fellow claimed?"

Free Chains sits down at what I assume to be his desk while flipping through some miscellaneous paperwork.

"I have just got word back from the arbiter of that deal in paper form. Let me preface this by saying that a mysterious person claiming to be the child of one of the First Party members approached Ellis and me in a café."

That's not the entire truth, but okay. Everyone in the meeting stops and listens intently to Free Chain's following words.

Rain and Charlie put down their flask and pen, respectively, while Val pauses from shooting more arrows. Duchess smugly watches on.

Duchess hasn't revealed that she's smarter than she appears to anybody yet. It's her decision whether she volunteers that information. However, I know she doesn't like being looked down upon like she's a common beast.

"He claimed that he saw a particular document arbitrated by one of the angels of the god of law. That document might change everything and cause a rippling effect across all known civilizations."

"Get on with it," Val said before I could.

"Ellis has claims to the Prime Territories. If the proper conditions are met, he could become the sole ruler of humanity. At least the Prime Territories."

It goes deathly silent. Rain doesn't notice that I unmuted her during the conversation. Val is the first one to break the silence.

"...are you shitting me? Ellis doesn't pull pranks on people. Are you fucking with him?"

"I assure you, Ms. Caddel, no shits or fucks, this is all legitimate paperwork. I can't show a copy due to some… stipulations. But if we get our hands on the original, we could pass it around the proverbial table."

Charlie's face drains with blood. "Wouldn't the current party in power want to kill Ellis then? To keep themselves at the top?"

"They don't know that we know. I'm off to study this entire set of documents and inform Ellis about this when I have all the facts clear. It's obvious, but no one should say anything to anyone."

"Ellis, you've been quiet. How are you feeling about this?"

"...Should I feel something? It's not like I'm king right now. Everything in my life is the exact same except that I learned something new about myself."

"..."

"Do you not want to be king?"

"If it's my rightful place, my feelings in the matter should be inconsequential. The only thing I need is some kingly ambitions. And a crown. My first 'ambition' as king is to become one without everyone I know getting assassinated."

"..."

"I'm going to wait for Free Chains to finish his report. I'm ending the call unless someone needs something."

"Does anyone know a good hiring agency?"

I left the skill, allowing my court to talk amongst themselves. I leave my mansion and call Percy. He picks up instantly.

"So, you've confirmed it."

"Can I make some assumptions?

"Sure. Why not."

"The only people who can successfully frame a member of the First Party are other members or equivalently strong people. You want me to leverage my authority as king rather than having yourself or someone else get strong enough to solve the problem themselves."

"The authority thing, yes, but strength can only get you so far. Regardless, the first step is to join the Firstborns under false pretenses, so let-"

"Hold on. I'm a transactional person. What will I get for helping you?"

"You'll be king? I don't understand if there could be anything more?"

"I deserve to be king. Thank you for telling me about this, but I want something rather than my predisposed God-given right."

"What."

"Besides your support navigating the tricky landscape of whatever I'm going to get myself into, I want a few fractures."

"...Stealing fractures is easier said than done… assuming you're asking me to steal them, that is. If it's the guilds or the FIB, it's a losing situation in the long run."

"Alright… how would you steal a fracture then, without 'poking the bear.'"

"...Hmm, probably steal the rights of a brand new fracture since that's more of a gray area, or stealing from illegal operating guilds. It's not like they can report us, and in the worst case scenario, those criminals will have to die so they don't seek revenge IF they find out who nicked them."

"I'm willing to work with you on this if you are willing to work for me. I'd like you to help me with getting fractures for my guild or for personal use."

"Hey, I'm not looking for a day job, and I'm more of an information thief than a burglar. Espionage, not pillage."

…Did he rhyme pillage with espionage? That's not how you pronounce pillage.

"Okay."

"...but there is a non-stealing non-buying way to get fractures. Find someone with an ego and challenge them for their fracture using your own as collateral. Best them in whatever game or duel and come home a richer man."

"I see. By the way, you saw the contract, right? Do you know the specific clauses or anything?"

"...I know enough for us to get our hands on the original, legitimately. Beyond that, who knows?"

"How comforting."

"You sidetracked the conversation before we could even start it. Alright. The first thing to do is to join the Firstborns without an invitation, so you aren't auto-enrolled in any of the organizations."

"Should we talk about this in person?"

"Nah. You can do this in a couple ways. The Firstborns like to keep their namesake accurate. You have to connect to the First Party in some way. However, they are open to 'marriages of convenience' or 'adult adoptions.' Bind yourself to one of the families, one way or another. Some can go 'solo,' but they need to be a master - insert something here - like a master martial artist, etc. That doesn't apply to you since you are already blood-related to a member of the First Party."

"Okay." He didn't say the few ways to join yet.

"They don't let people over level 300 join this way. If you got that far without any help, and they haven't detected you beforehand, then it's more likely you're a spy or something lying about your lack of help."

"I'm not there yet."

"Since you're top of your class, you can join after graduation... although I prefer to take a quicker approach since you're the representative and who knows how long until you leave and return from the Elvish lands. Are you okay with joining the military?"

"No. Is that quicker?"

"Could be. What about the underground scene? If you crack enough heads in some fighting arenas illegally held, the legal ones have too many rules, someone will notice."

"Yeah, the enforcers. I'm famous, and they know me."

"Then there are two more ways. Work for the FIB until they want to poach you, or you can be a published genius relating to the arcane."

"Then what. Am In?"

"They'll slot you in for some initiation test they have every few months. It changes depending on what they want you for, not including some baseline tests. Then you're in with access to their hub and various facilities."

"Why can't I just take the test?"

"How are you going to know where the test is?"

"You'll get me a spot. You'll steal me one. We'll skip all this recognition shit because I already have done enough. Do I need to go to another great family and beat them up? It hasn't even been a year, and I've done so much already."

"..."

"What, are you not in a position to do it?"

"Ehem. I'll see what I can do. Do one of the five things in the meantime since it wouldn't hurt."

"Hey. By the way, what organization did you join?"

"Uh, a small one. Not one of the big four. It's technically under the Cabal, and I do intelligence work. I'm on probation while being investigated to see if I was 'involved' with what they are framing my father for."

"So our phone lines are completely safe?"

"Yeah. Anyone peeking in can't tell who the incoming or outgoing callers are. Plus, the transmissions are encrypted. It sounds like someone calling customer service just to be transferred to a new agent and then put on the waiting list again."

"Cool. Bye. I guess I'm leaving my unpaid leave."

"What?"

I hang up.