Ball of Nothing

Chapter 489 - Be A Good King

After Truen received Zero’s reply about King Brice’s request, Truen decided to give the king a formal reply in person.

It was the dead of night when Truen left the hideout, the temperature was chilly but it didn’t bother Truen. In fact, the archer preferred it this way. Fewer people would be prowling about at such hours and it made things easier for him.

The palace’s security was a joke. If there was a highly secured place in this kingdom, it wasn’t the palace where the king slept but a duke who had control over the magicians from U.N.U. How ludicrous!

With a small illusion spell, Truen waltz past the guards on duty and into the palace. Unlike Mitchnew who was a regular here, he had only been here a handful of times. The palace was needlessly huge and Truen didn’t know all the secret passages that existed. He only knew where the king’s chamber was and that was exactly where he was headed.

King Brice was sleeping with difficulty. Outside, the guards stood watch and yawned occasionally. It was a peaceful night and if they could, they would rather be home snuggly tucked in bed until morning. It was a stark contrast to how King Brice was doing inside the room. Unable to sleep out of worry and piled with anxieties of the uncertain future, the powerless king tossed and turned with his eyes shut.

The window was left open for the chilly night breeze to come in and Truen thought that it was extremely convenient for an assassin to slip in without anyone knowing better. How foolish. Still, he took advantage of the flaw in their security detail and invited himself into the room.

As expected of the king’s chamber, it was huge. However, rather than giving off a lavish vibe, it was horribly barren on the inside with just a small sitting area for guests and a four-poster bed at the end. The walls were empty and there was nothing else around for display. Truen wondered how it could be so different. When they were in the royal palace in Rocket Mountain, the wealth that the dwarves displayed represented their dwarven pride and power. In comparison, King Brice was truly pitiful. There was no doubting that his title of a king was merely in name. This child who had just become a man held absolutely no power even though he had been on the throne for six years. Duke Connie, his older brother, must have taken over the control of the servants within the palace. Why else would the king be mistreated? It was laughable how the dukes had more wealth and power than their sovereign but that’s not something Truen should concern himself with. He came here tonight for only one job.

King Brice didn’t realise that there was an intruder in his room until Truen deliberately walked in front of the bed to cover the moonlight filtering in from the window with his body. His footsteps were so silent that King Brice didn’t feel anything amiss and continued tossing in bed with his eyes closed until he felt that something was off.

Slowly, like a prey who understood death was near, King Brice opened his eyes and looked up.

Standing by his bed, was an unfamiliar elven archer. He’d never seen this person before and was about to scream for help when Truen cast a chantless spell, silencing the king at once. Even a fool could tell that this man was dangerous and King Brice was wide awake as Truen came closer.

"I came with Zero’s reply," the elf said and King Brice froze. His struggling ceased at once and the panic in his eyes turned hopeful and pleading.

"We will look for Misana."

Truen waited for King Brice to stop showing signs of a struggle to release his silencing spell. King Brice quickly got off from his bed and knelt down in gratitude, startling Truen. A king should never bow or kneel but this man had already done both.

"Thank you! I will do everything within my power to return this favour even if I’m just a powerless king. Please help me find Misana and bring her back to me. Even if she is dead, I need to confirm her body with my own eyes..."

Truen sighed inwardly and helped the king from the floor, even going so far to dust his knees. He looked at the twenty-year-old king in the eyes and held him by the shoulders.

"You are a king, behave like one. When Zero, our leader, returns, we will look for her. It would also help if you can give us a picture or some descriptions of Misana so that we can start the search. If Misana has gone missing only recently, it shouldn’t be hard to find her. Your lover should still be within Smargdas."

King Brice spluttered and turned red, denying vehemently while looking away from Truen’s eyes. The archer deadpanned. Really, did King Brice take him for a fool? What kind of king would go so far for a vessel. Just because Misana was his closest childhood friend and favourite servant didn’t mean that she was worth kneeling and crying over. Zero might have overlooked this because he was inexperienced but did this king really think he could fool both him and Mitchnew?

"Fear not, who your lover is doesn’t concern me. We will do our best but you need to keep your word about the price. Zero has stated his conditions and you can only accept them if you want our help."

"What does Zero want?"

Truen took out a contract that he drafted with Coux’s help. It was signed by both Zero and Zenobia with the only missing signature from King Brice at the bottom.

"This is an alliance treaty and that is a trade treaty. Zero wants you to become Endow Hill’s friend. For the longest time, other nations have used you as a buffer state against the monsters from Endow Hill. Now, these monsters are offering you their protection. What will you choose? Of course, apart from monsters, we will be having demons to the addition and I hope that you can open your borders completely to invite them as well as those who need refuge. This is the first condition."

King Brice looked through the lengthy terms and signed at the bottom of both scrolls that disintegrated automatically. Was this the rumoured magic contract? Truen gave the King a copy of the terms and conditions of both scrolls for his keeping.

"The next condition," Truen told King Brice who was led to the small sitting area. "We need to become envoys."

"Zero has some errands on Earth that he needs to complete and he needs an audience with some important people. I can tell you two rather troublesome individuals we must see. Sylvia the Silver Witch and Alex the Spriggan of Weeping Willow in Altear."

Indeed, it was difficult to see Sylvia the Silver Witch. Even though she was the dean of the greatest magician school in U.N.U., she was always hiding away in her lab running chimaera experiments. The only way to get a response out of her was to attack her school or be someone of political importance.

"That can be arranged," King Brice smiled. "When do you want it done?"

"As soon as possible before we leave Smargdas."

"I shall arrange it by tomorrow," he told Truen who thanked the king for his prompt actions.

Finally, Truen smiled. "The last condition Zero told me to tell you might be the most difficult of all. Opening your trade borders and signing an alliance treaty in a magic contract might be far easier than this but I’m afraid you would still have to do your best."

King Brice looked serious and sat upright. "Please tell me, I will do what I can."

Truen smiled. This lad wasn’t detestable at all. "Be a good king."

The silence stretched and King Brice lowered his head in silence. Truen didn’t stay for much longer now that his job was done. He would simply wait for the envoy appointment to reach them. Mitchnew should also be following up on King Brice’s formal search request with Misana’s information.