Chapter 172: A New King

Chapter 172: Chapter 172: A New King

"Actually, legally, you’re already next in line. As long as you’re alive and don’t screw up badly, the throne is yours. Our real problem right now is the queen’s faction and the nobles supporting her. It might look like a huge mess that’ll take forever to sort out, but honestly? Once we put the king’s authority behind you and expose what these nobles have been doing, most of their scheming won’t matter much," Jack said.

"Jack, just tell me what to do. I really don’t understand any of this," Kalen admitted, clearly overwhelmed by everything that had been thrown at him.

"Hey, are you the king here, or am I? I’ll help you get this far, but after this, you’d better learn how to actually be a wise and decent ruler," Jack said, already getting to work.

Jack started by gathering evidence against the nobles opposing Kalen. Some were involved in corruption, while others had secretly supported the queen’s attempts to eliminate Kalen. A few had simply been waiting to see which side would come out on top.

Using the king’s authority and the evidence he’d gathered, Jack approached the more reasonable nobles first. He didn’t need to threaten most of them. Once they understood that the king had officially recognized Kalen as his son and rightful heir, and saw the evidence against the queen’s faction, they quickly agreed to support him.

The remaining nobles were a different matter.

Jack didn’t reveal his true identity or mention that he was from Earth. As far as everyone in the royal court knew, he was simply a powerful Zehoberei who had stolen the spaceship and was a close friend of Kalen.

And that alone was enough to make most of them think twice before opposing him.

The massive ship remained nearby, quietly hovering over the capital. Its presence was a constant reminder of the power Jack now possessed.

Eventually, the queen herself was summoned before the king, who was lying weakly in his bed. With most of her political support already gone, she had little power left to resist.

"You have no right to do this!" the queen protested, anger still burning in her eyes. "I am still the queen!"

Jack stood nearby with Kalen, while several of the kingdom’s highest-ranking nobles remained in the room to witness the confrontation.

Kalen looked at his stepmother coldly.

"You knew exactly who I was. The nobles knew too. You all knew I was kings son long before he did."

The queen’s expression tightened.

"Then you should also know why I did what I did," she replied. "Your existence threatened my daughters’ future. If you became the recognized heir, they would lose their chance at the throne."

Kalen clenched his fists.

"So you decided to have me killed?"

The queen fell silent for a moment.

"I did what I believed I had to do."

Kalen’s anger toward his father had faded considerably after learning the truth. His father had never abandoned him—he hadn’t even known he existed. But that didn’t erase the years Kalen had spent without him, or the fact that his mother had suffered and died alone.

He glanced toward the king, who remained silent in his bed, too weak to involve himself in the confrontation.

Kalen then turned back toward the queen.

"Whatever your reasons were, you still tried to kill me."

The queen looked away, unable to answer.

Before Kalen could respond, his three half-sisters stepped forward.

"We don’t want the throne that badly," the eldest said.

The queen stared at them.

"You don’t understand what you’re saying."

"We do," the second daughter replied. "He’s our brother."

The youngest nodded.

"Father has chosen him. We won’t stand against him."

The queen fell silent.

For a moment, Kalen simply looked at his half-sisters. He had expected the royal family to see him as an enemy, yet they were standing beside him instead.

Jack then stepped forward and placed the evidence he’d gathered before the officials.

"The king has already made his decision. Kalen is his son, and the evidence against the people who tried to kill him is clear. There’s no reason for this to turn into a civil war."

The nobles remained silent.

No one wanted to be the first person to challenge him.

After everything they had seen—the spaceship, Jack’s abilities, and the evidence against the queen’s faction—the remaining opposition quickly collapsed.

The queen was stripped of her political authority and placed under house arrest while the king’s officials investigated the crimes committed under her orders. The nobles who had supported her were removed from their positions if they were directly involved, while those who had simply followed her were allowed to keep their titles after swearing loyalty to Kalen.

It wasn’t a bloody coup.

It didn’t need to be.

"The king’s authority, Kalen’s legitimate claim, the evidence Jack had uncovered, and the sheer power of the spaceship had been enough to settle the matter."

Within just two days, word had spread throughout the royal city: there was a prince, and he was about to become king.

At first, most people dismissed it as another rumor or hoax. But once the palace officially confirmed Kalen’s identity, the situation changed completely. His coronation was scheduled for the following week.

"Can’t you two at least wait a week and actually attend my coronation before you leave?" Kalen asked after Jack and Gwen mentioned that they’d be heading out soon.

"Yeah, after everything you’ve done to help us, the least you can do is stick around for one day," Lisa added, looking between them.

"Fine. We’ll stay until after the ceremony," Jack agreed, seeing no real reason to refuse.

He didn’t waste the week, though. Most of the time Jack used his Upgrade and Grey Matter forms to work on the spaceship, improving its defenses, strengthening its weapons, and integrating Redqueen more deeply into its systems. He wanted the ship ready for anything once they left the planet.

During their free time, he and Gwen also spent their days playing hero around Zen-Whoberi, helping people wherever they could and picking up whatever Heroic Points they earned along the way. Most of the rewards were small, but Jack didn’t mind. Every point counted.

By the time the week was over, they’d already left their mark across Zen-Whoberi.

On the day of the coronation, the entire royal city was swept up in celebration. Green banners bearing the royal crest hung from buildings throughout the capital, while crowds filled the streets around the palace.

Kalen stood before the gathered people in formal royal clothing, looking almost completely out of place despite the crown waiting above him.

Just a week ago, he’d been a boy from the slums who didn’t even know his father was the king.

Now, in front of the entire kingdom and according to ancient Zehoberei tradition, Kalen was officially crowned king.

The crowd erupted into thunderous applause.

Ding.

Hm? Hearing the notification chime, Jack immediately pulled up the system.

[Host has successfully altered the fate of an important individual.]

[Kalen’s destiny has been fundamentally changed.]

[The future of Zen-Whoberi has been altered.]

[Reward: 3,000 Heroic Points.]

Three thousand?! Jack stared at the number in surprise. Saving Kalen only gave me a thousand. But once he became king, his fate changed completely, and that was enough to alter the future of an entire planet. Apparently, that’s worth three times as much.

I remember Thanos telling Gamora that he saved her planet from being destroyed by overpopulation and a food crisis. I don’t know how much truth there was in his story, but it probably wasn’t a complete lie. I should warn Kalen about it and tell him to start taking precautions now that he’s king.

Still... 3,000 points for changing the future of an entire planet? That’s not much in the grand scheme of things.

Which means the planet isn’t completely safe yet. Whatever problems were originally waiting for it could still happen.

How many points would I get if I actually managed to save it completely?

The thought alone made Jack’s heart race.

There are entire civilizations out there that get wiped out by natural disasters, stronger species conquering weaker ones, or madmen like Thanos deciding who lives and who dies.

What if I could save even a fraction of them? On a planet-wide scale, how many Heroic Points would that add up to?

For the first time, Jack felt like he’d finally figured out a real way to grow his Heroic Points.

So that’s it. That’s why I ended up building something like the Plumbers in the first place. Now I understand everything.

It wasn’t because I had some grand ambition, and it wasn’t just to make the lie I’d told about having a Plumber organization a reality. It was simply the most practical way to earn more Heroic Points, help people, and grow stronger at the same time.

Setting up a prototype Plumber organization here on this planet... doesn’t sound like a bad idea at all.

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