The one standing beyond the hidden door was Alpha, making me take a large step back reflexively before placing both hands to protect my jewels. After all, for some reason, she seemed to have a profound hostility toward it.
“What? Want me to truly crush your balls or something?”
Irritated by my sudden defensive pose, she crossed her arms before her nonexistent chest and frowned.
“…”
Oops, her frown deepened! I forgot the fact that she could read my thoughts!
“Come on, Alpha. We have something to discuss with Will, right?”
From behind her, I finally noticed another person present. God Zeshion. He was empty-handed, not even with a weapon in hand, with a carefree expression on his face.
“Will, mind talking with us for a while? I have some important business with you.”
“Is it another enemy?”
I quickly straightened up, turning serious. Zeshion was surprised by my sudden change of gears but shook his head gently.
“No. It’s something with regards to this kingdom itself.”
Before he continued, he pointed to the meeting table right outside of my office. Apparently, it’s gonna be a long talk, given that he wanted us to take a seat.
As soon as we were seated, Zeshion didn’t bother beating around the bush and began.
“As you know, the current Royal Family, or rather, the entirety of Nobles staying in the Royal Capital, were decimated. Nobody among them was left alive.” .
I nodded my head, recalling the zombie-like welcome committee that they gave us. Vermeil burned them all to ashes, so I’m not sure if Noir or Vermeil was to blame for that. Well, probably Noir, yep.
“With the absence of a governing body, the kingdom is at its lowest point in history right now. It’s to the point that the other kingdoms are starting to eye our lands.”
I heard about that from the girls during our short shopping date yesterday. I still couldn’t believe it, but now that even Zeshion was saying so, I had no choice but to acknowledge it.
“So the other kingdoms are planning to attack us, take over, or something? What’s that got to do with me then?”
Zeshion smiled creepily, muttering, “We’ll get to that point; listen first.”
“With other kingdoms watching over us like vultures, we had no choice but to instate a new king. However, the problem starts there. Two candidates volunteered without hesitation.”
“Isn’t that great? Then why don’t you choose one from them?”
If someone’s already volunteering, then that’s for the best, right? As I thought, Zeshion once again shook his head.
“One was planning on turning the kingdom into a militaristic one and would embark on annexing every other kingdom. The other wants to turn us into a trading hub, losing all dignity as the most powerful kingdom in history.”
“That… I understand not wanting the first one, but what about the second? Staying alive is what we want and need, after all. What’s with dignity and all that?”
At my question, Alpha snorted as if listening to an idiot.
“That’s because if we turned into a trading hub, the kingdom would crumble in a few months and would end up being annexed by the richest kingdom close by.”
“…”
Then both choices were no-gos.
“And that’s where you come in!”
Zeshion’s upbeat tone made my skin crawl. He does look cool, but a large, bulky man winking while pointing at you made my skin crawl.
“Stop it, old man. Don’t push your age.”
I quickly reprimanded his little act. As I did, his words slowly entered my brain and were processed as information.
“Wait, what do you mean by that?”
Zeshion’s smile widened as if asking that specific question was what he waited for.
“It’s as I said. Will, I want you to be the next king of this kingdom!”
“Nuh-uh, no way, never. Why don’t one of you four…”
Just as I was about to suggest that one of the god tamers simply take the rein, I recalled the content of the note from my future self. If one of the god tamers ended up ruling the country, then its ruin would be set in stone.
“Right, one of us god tamers can’t be the king.”
Zeshion answered as if reading what I wanted to say before and completing it.
“After all, that post is too troublesome. Once king, the time we spend defending the borders would greatly lessen.”
“…”
I couldn’t help but sigh. There were only four of them, but they were acting as the pillars of defense for this kingdom. If any one of them lessened their time on the frontlines, then that point would end up becoming a vulnerability.
“If only we could have more God tamers…”
If that happened, then all problems would be solved. However, it’s not like producing god tamers is as easy as finding mushrooms in a damp forest. For one, there’s only a limited amount of specializations with an open god position. And of those, roughly 25 were already “in use.”
Forging your own unique path isn’t easy, after all. Among my girls, Ember is the closest to having a unique path, the path of creation. Still, her current power was far from enough to reach God level.
“I think you’ll reach this realm in five years or so.”
Zeshion added, nodding his head. However, that would be too late for our current plight.
“Alright, I’ll gun for becoming the new king.”
It was mostly a forced choice, so I didn’t feel too good about it.
“But rather than forcing the matter, I suggest having a democratic way of settling the matter—an election!”
“Oh? Please elaborate.”
If I were backed by the four God tamers, even just one, then I’m sure it would be easy to gain the position. However, it would also raise doubt in the hearts of the populace about having a king that they know almost nothing about, coming from who knows where.
“It’s simple. Those two and me, along with a few more [candidates], would vie for the position. The winner would be decided by a majority vote. How does that sound?”
Zeshion thought for a moment, placing his fingers against his chin.
“Then… since the two who volunteered are part of ancient families, let’s make it so that all the ancient families are to participate.”
In an instant, the roster was completed.
First, there’s me, representing the Seimei family. .
Hailing from the Luo family, Luo Ying Yue.
From the Virgil family, Maximillian Virgil.
Karran Helios of the Helios family was the one who wanted to turn the kingdom into a militaristic one.
And lastly, the one who suggested becoming a trading hub, Millinda Quartz of the Quartz family.
𝑖𝘦.𝑐𝘰𝘮