Against the World II: Transgression
Chapter 21: The Flow of Wind, Part 3
...—Royal Palace, Avarecia, Kazarsia Kingdom—...
Krasia tapped on the edge of the table with her index finger to hear the fierce discussion between the six ministers. They had been busy arguing more than half an hour ago, but until now it had still not reached an agreement. Each of the ministers has a solid argument. However, only one solution is needed. The six ministers considered each of their ideas to be the best, argument after argument they presented to chlorify their ideas.
Hearing them try to break each other's arguments sucks, especially the time spent can not be said a little. However, Krassia could not just tell them to shut up and get rid of themselves. The first reason, he was the one who called the six of them to ask for an opinion. The second reason, the six of them are good friends of Krassia—one of them said they had become her in-laws exactly a week ago. Because of that, Krasia just tapped his fingers on the table with eyes looking bored.
Which is the topic of the sixth minister's debate? It was about the new city to be built and what the city was used for.
Compared to all the members of the Small Kingdom Alliance (which now no longer exists), Kazarsia Kingdom was arguably the largest kingdom in terms of territory and number of cities. However, their population was not enough to raise their status. For Kazarsia Kingdom to bring their status out of the appellation “small kingdom”, at least they should double the population.
To this end, a new city needs to be established. And, in order to support the agenda of population increase, a number of rules were made.
A 25-year-old man must have at least three wives (if the man is poor, the kingdom will bear the living expenses of his marriage and find him a job). Each birth will be rewarded with 250 gold pieces. If any woman refuses to marry without any justifiable reason, she will be fined or jailed. If any woman refuses her husband to have more than one wife, she will also be fined or jailed.
The new rules will be implemented in early September. Along with the implementation of the rule, information about the establishment of a new city will be disseminated. Therefore, the results of the discussions of his ministers are very important. The sooner they can formulate the city they want to build, the sooner the city can be established. The sooner the city stands, the sooner Krassia can sit still and let Clown occupy the throne—which will then be passed down to her grandson, son of Clown with daughter Krassia.
“Sorry to interrupt, Your Highness.”
The crassia whose massive index finger actively tapped on the edge of the table spontaneously stopped as a single sentence invaded his sense of hearing. A woman in her early thirties had been standing beside him by thrusting out a letter amlop that had the Vermillion Empire symbol on it.
“This letter has just arrived as early as an hour ago. Do I need to read it, Your Majesty?”
“Continue your discussion,” Krassia's word to the six ministers who suddenly fell silent, then nodded at the woman. “Tracking slowly,” he added.
The woman nodded, opened the envelope, and read out the contents of the letter at a slow volume. Krasia heard it carefully.
In essence, the emperor's taskmaster, Kanna el Vermillion, said that he would come to visit Avarecia. The main purpose of his arrival was to open cooperation between the empire and Kazarsia in the field of economics. There was also the princess to allude to the incident of the invasion of Aliansia of the Little Kingdom first against the empire. And, the latter is a question of Kazarsia Kingdom's neutrality to the great conflict of Emiliel Holy Kingdom-Vermillion Empire-New World Order.
“Make sure guesthouse is at its best,” Krassia command. He made no further comment, his views already anchored to his six ministers.
...* * *...
He wanted to leave the village early, but as he went around the village, he heard that there was a group of merchants going back to the capital. Utilizing that information, Xavier included himself in the group of traders. They made their way to Avarecia on a large wagon drawn by three horses.
“By the way, Young Man, I don't remember ever seeing you in that village.” A burly man whose face looked to be in his thirties asked, his sharp eyes looking at Xavier full of probing. “Are you new to the village? Or, you never leave the house?”
“I'm new in the village, Uncle,” Xavier's response as friendly as he can. Here he hitchhiked with them. He will also use them to smooth out his actions. “I am from the north, not far from the border between this kingdom and the Dwarf Kingdom. I went to the village to see my brother, but he said they had moved to the capital.”
“Oh, what a pity. Maybe if you came sooner, you'd meet them before they left. So, that's your reason for the capital?”
Xavier nodded. “That's, Uncle. Anyway, I have to meet them. There's a message from our late family that I have to tell them.”
“Ah...message from deceased family member...” The old man seemed to dissolve in his mind, probably remembering his family who was also gone. “Uncle understands that very well,” he said moments later. “Such messages are very important, must be delivered in any case.”
“True, Uncle.” Xavier raised his face with narrowed eyes. “I have to convey.”
“By the way,” continued the man while patting slowly Xavier's shoulder. “See you have a strong body, and your nature is like someone who fights. Do you have any intention of joining the Royal Army? General Clown would be very helpful if a child like you would devote himself to the kingdom.”
“Ah, General Clown! I've heard of the mighty General Clown, Uncle!” Xavier showed his enthusiasm. “I heard he could finish off an adult dragon easily, turning it to ashes with just a glance. Are the rumors true, Uncle?”
“Ho-ho-ho, you like him, eh?”
“Of course, Uncle! Any child who has heard of General Clown will be amazed. For someone to be matched with Fie Axellibra, he must be very strong. General Clown came from among the common people, he became strong without anyone's help. If I say I don't want to be like him, it's definitely a lie, Uncle.”
“Hahahaha. You're an impressive young man.” The old man whose name Xavier still didn't know was back patting Xavier on the shoulder. “Anyone who insists on how great and amazing General Clown must be great. And you are still young, greatness must be at an incredible level.”
“Ha-ha-ha, this Uncle is too much.” Xavier patted the old man on the shoulder, before his expression became serious again. “So, are the rumors true? General Clown can turn an adult dragon into ashes with just a glance?”
“That rumor is not wrong, Young Man.” The old man folded both hands on his chest. “General Clown can do that. He can defeat his enemies just by looking at them. That's not all. There is much more to General Clown. The brilliance of his mind was not even realized. General Clown is very wise. He can plan a long-term plan. No matter how clever his opponent was in making plans, General Clown would always be a few steps ahead. There are also those who say...”.
The old man continued to monologue, chlorinating the general whose name had echoed throughout the kingdom, and more.