Chapter 61: The King’s Real Business (Magic Castle Bonus)

Chapter 61. The King’s Real Business (Magic Castle Bonus)

I stepped into the king’s study.

And immediately had to stop myself from looking around like an excited tourist.

This was my second time here.

Technically.

Evan Veyr had visited this room thousands of years later.

By then, the palace had become a protected historical site, and this study was one of the few rooms preserved remarkably well. I’d stood behind a velvet barrier while a guide explained which furniture was authentic, which pieces had been reconstructed, and why touching anything would result in security escorting my scholarly ass outside.

Now?

Everything was alive.

The enormous windows weren’t reinforced historical glass. Sunlight actually poured through them. The dark wooden shelves weren’t displaying reconstructed replicas, they were packed with books people currently used. The royal crest above the fireplace still gleamed with fresh gold.

Even the desk was different.

Not physically.

It simply wasn’t an artifact yet.

Damn.

I wanted to inspect everything.

I wanted to open the drawers.

Check the books.

Look behind the paintings.

Possibly leave a tiny message somewhere for future Evan to discover.

Wait.

That could cause a paradox.

No touching history unnecessarily.

I buried my excitement beneath Rey’s usual expression and walked forward.

King Aldric stood behind his desk.

I bowed. "Your Majesty."

"Rey." His expression softened immediately. "I’m glad you look better than the last time I saw you."

I nodded solemnly.

"Yes. I’m also glad for it. My health has improved lately, and I hope it will continue getting better."

The king nodded several times. "Good. Very good."

There was genuine relief in his voice.

He gestured.

Two royal assistants stepped forward.

One carried a tray containing a heavy money pouch.

The second, a collection of ores rested across black velvet.

King Aldric smiled. "Are these enough for you?"

I picked up one piece.

My research brain immediately woke up.

This wasn’t bad.

Not bad at all.

The ore was dark silver with faint violet veins running through it. I rotated it between my fingers, examining how ambient mana reacted to its surface.

Oh, damn.

This material didn’t even exist in my era.

Extinct.

Completely.

Modern researchers only knew about it from preserved fragments and ancient records.

And here I was holding a chunk large enough to make several magical components.

The others were impressive too.

Rare conductive ore.

A heat-resistant red mineral useful for fire enchantments.

A pale crystalline metal with exceptional mana retention.

One particularly ugly green lump that would look worthless to most people but could drastically improve formation stability if refined correctly.

My heartbreak over the A-tier monster core healed approximately twelve percent.

Maybe fifteen.

I still wanted the core.

Obviously.

But this?

This was good.

I carefully placed the ore back.

"It’s enough, Your Majesty."

"Then take them."

No hesitation needed.

I swept my hand over both trays.

The money pouch and every piece of ore disappeared into my Dimensional Storage Ring.

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

"Now sit."

The tone. I knew that tone. The rewards were finished. Now came the real business.

I sat opposite him.

King Aldric remained standing for a moment before waving toward the assistants. "Leave us."

Both bowed.

The door closed behind them.

Silence settled across the study.

The king’s expression changed.

Not dramatically.

But the warmth disappeared.

"What you said earlier was true, wasn’t it?"

I narrowed my eyes. "About what?"

"They tried to kill you."

I’d expected him to let the matter disappear.

Darius, Garr, Raven, and Elia possessed enormous influence.

I didn’t.

Not anymore.

"You believe me?"

"Believe?" Aldric sat down. "No." His gaze hardened. "I know."

I said nothing.

"But I cannot say that publicly."

I leaned back slightly.

I didn’t like it.

But I understood it.

He was a king.

His first responsibility was keeping his kingdom alive.

"I cannot openly turn hostile against them," Aldric continued. "Elia has the Light Temple behind her. Raven is tied directly to the Assassins Valley Guild. Darius has the Holy Knight Headquarters."

He paused.

"And Garr is backed by the Iron Vanguard Confederation."

The Iron Vanguard was a massive coalition of warrior clans, mercenary houses, martial academies, and border fortresses. They supplied experienced fighters to half the continent.

Openly accusing Garr meant offending thousands of warriors.

"Moving publicly against even one of them would create political instability," Aldric continued. "Moving against all four could drag this kingdom into another war."

I remained silent.

Reasonable.

Annoying.

But reasonable.

Aldric looked toward the window. "I thought the kingdom would finally know peace after the Dark Lord died." His voice became quieter. "Instead, victory created a different kind of chaos."

I knew.

History recorded it.

Once the common enemy disappeared, everyone suddenly remembered how much they hated each other.

"Corrupt nobles have become bolder," he said. "Military officers who contributed to the war now demand land and privileges beyond what they earned. Merchants exploit shortages. Some families claim territory simply because their soldiers passed through it during the war."

His fingers tightened against the desk.

"Everyone believes defeating the Dark Lord means they’re owed something."

Yeah.

That sounded painfully familiar.

Heroes killed the monster.

Humans immediately started fighting over the loot.

Classic.

"So?"

The king looked at me.

"What do you want me to do? You didn’t tell me all this for nothing."

His mouth curved.

A smirk.

There was something surprisingly dangerous behind that kindly king expression.

"Smart." He opened a drawer. "I want to reduce their influence."

Now he had my attention.

"I’ll begin redirecting certain important missions," he continued. "Assignments that would normally go to Darius, Garr, Raven, or Elia will instead be offered to you."

I raised an eyebrow. "That won’t make them happy."

"They already tried to kill you."

Fair point.

He reached inside the drawer.

Then placed a folded pamphlet on the desk.

I looked down.

A black figure stared back at me.

Long coat.

Featureless mask.

And beneath it...

THE GRIM REAPER

WANTED

DEAD OR ALIVE

I slowly lifted my eyes.

King Aldric stared directly at me. "I know it’s you."

My expression didn’t change.

Inside?

’Oh shit!’

The Grim Reaper.

An identity Rey had used to eliminate people the law couldn’t or wouldn’t touch.

Corrupt nobles.

Untouchable criminals.

Human traffickers protected by influential families.

People whose crimes conveniently disappeared whenever enough gold changed hands.

Rey had hunted them from the shadows.

I glanced at the pamphlet again.

Then at Aldric.

The kind king wasn’t merely kind.

He was sharp.

Dangerously sharp.

I picked up the pamphlet. "So you have missions for the Royal Magus..." My thumb brushed across the painted image. "And missions for the Grim Reaper?"

"Yes."

No denial.

No moral speech.

I leaned back. "That’s surprisingly shady for you, Your Majesty."

His lips twitched. "A king who survives by kindness alone doesn’t remain king for very long."

I liked that answer.

He folded his hands across the desk. "There are problems I can address publicly. Those belong to Rey Valen, Royal Magus and hero of the kingdom." His eyes dropped toward the Grim Reaper pamphlet. "And there are problems that cannot officially exist."

I understood.

Some enemies couldn’t be arrested without creating political fallout.

Some criminals had too much protection.

Some investigations required methods a royal insignia couldn’t touch.

The Royal Magus for daylight.

The Grim Reaper for everything beneath it.

Very, very interesting.

"There is more," Aldric said. "I will grant you permission to develop your own forces."

My fingers stopped against the pamphlet. "Soldiers?"

"Soldiers. Intelligence agents. Scouts. Whatever structure you believe necessary within reasonable limits."

Now that was significant.

Private military forces were heavily regulated.

Especially after the war.

"You’re giving me considerable freedom."

"I’m giving myself another option."

There was the king again.

Not charity.

Strategy.

"If Darius controls the Holy Knights, Garr has the Iron Vanguard, Raven has Assassins Valley, and Elia has the Light Temple, then you remaining isolated leaves the balance uneven."

He leaned forward.

"I don’t intend to let four heroes become more powerful than the Crown simply because the fifth hero refuses to build his own faction."

Damn.

He’d thought this through.

"And," Aldric added, "I believe your wife Seris would be particularly capable of developing the intelligence and military side."

I almost laughed. He even knew about that?

I looked down at the wanted pamphlet again.

Royal Magus.

Grim Reaper.

My own soldiers.

My own intelligence network.

Official missions to rebuild Rey’s reputation.

Unofficial missions to eliminate problems the king couldn’t touch.

And gradually, carefully, stripping influence away from the four people who wanted me dead.

A slow smile spread across my face.

King Aldric noticed. "So?"

I tapped the Grim Reaper pamphlet once against the desk.

"Deal." My smile sharpened. "But there’s one condition."

Aldric’s eyes narrowed slightly. "I’m listening."

"I still want my revenge on them." I leaned back, completely calm. "Maybe not anytime soon. But when the time comes, Darius, Raven, Garr, and Elia will answer for what they’ve done to me."

I held his gaze.

"When that day comes, Your Majesty, I hope you can turn a blind eye."

Silence stretched between us.

Aldric studied me for several long seconds.

Then, surprisingly, he didn’t ask what I intended to do.

Perhaps that was smarter.

Finally, he leaned back in his chair.

"Granted."

My smile returned.

Good.

Now that was a deal.