CHAPTER 283: THE HOPE OF THE KINGDOM

"Lord Gilgamess, that was amazing!" King Aurelian said with a smile. "I think I can finally have a good sleep after seeing those nobles squirm under your gaze. I wish I could do that too."

Lord Gilgamess then crouched down, then gently rested his hand on the young King’s shoulder. More accurately, Chuck was the one doing it.

By the time the potion’s effect had reached the end of its time, the old man reached his limit, so he passed control over his body to the young man.

"Listen, kid. I’m sure you can do the same," Chuck replied in a serious tone.

"K-Kid?!" King Aurelian looked at his Prime Minister in shock.

"I’m sorry, Your Majesty, I stuttered," Chuck lightly patted his forehead. "I’m getting old now, and I’m starting to forget a lot of things. But like I mentioned earlier—what I did, you can do better."

"Really?" King Aurelian looked at the older man with a serious expression. "I can be just as cool and awesome as you?"

"Yes," Chuck answered. "Definitely. How about you try to be a little braver tomorrow?"

King Aurelian clenched his fists together before nodding in understanding.

"I’ll do my best, Lord Gilgamess."

"That’s the spirit!"

———

The next day...

The King and his Prime Minister were having breakfast together.

They had ordered the servants to leave so they could talk in private.

After grabbing the King’s glass, Chuck poured the other party a drink. Unbeknownst to the young royal, the Conqueror’s Heart Potion that Chuck and Lord Gilgamess created was secretly mixed into it.

Chuck’s plan was to dilute a small dosage of the potion into King Aurelian’s drink. That way, it wouldn’t be noticeable, and the effects would be subtle enough to ensure that the young King wouldn’t end up dependent on it in the future.

The young King was different from him and Lord Gilgamess, who understood that they were timid by nature.

Confidence was something that could be attained gradually, and the process of that was to give the young king a little push in the right direction.

Sure, giving him the potion as it is would definitely make him confident, and he’d be able to face the nobles like a lion facing a herd of sheep.

But that would start the doom of him relying on the potion.

It would be bad for the King’s growth if he ended up with the mindset that he wouldn’t be able to do anything if it weren’t for the Conqueror’s Potion.

Lord Gilgamess shared this thought and agreed with Chuck’s decision.

The teenage boy and the Prime Minister were stuck in one body.

Unlike Alex and Latifa, who were mostly in control of their senses and had been using their original bodies in the trial, Chuck was just a consciousness inside the body of an old man.

He was like a second personality that Lord Gilgamess had materialized out of stress from not being able to do his job properly as the Prime Minister.

"This juice has a unique flavor," King Aurelian said. "But it tastes nice."

"Good." Chuck nodded. "Shall we now head to the Throne Room, Your Majesty?"

"Okay!" Prince Aurelian said with a smile, his face becoming a little more rosy as if he were drunk.

Chuck also poured himself a drink containing the potion and drank it until the last drop.

A few minutes later, the two entered the throne room.

The moment they appeared, all the nobles stopped talking and sat properly.

King Aurelian walked confidently towards the throne and sat on it like he always did.

But the nobles sensed that there was something different with their Little King, whose gaze seemed to be sharper and full of life.

"Today’s court session will now begin," Chuck declared. "Do you have anything to say before we start, Your Majesty?"

"Proceed," King Aurelian replied.

Chuck nodded before glancing at one of the Nobles who were responsible for starting the discussion for today.

"Speak," Chuck ordered.

"Y-Your Majesty, the Merchant Ships that sail the Sea of Zahar are being attacked by Pirates as of late," the noble reported. "We have deployed our navy to find them, but whenever we mobilize, the pirates are nowhere to be found. I believe they have at least one informat from the pier tipping them off."

Chuck remained silent and allowed King Aurelian to handle this matter.

The young King was smart. In fact, he was a genius when it came to politics. Unfortunately, he was too timid to voice ‌his thoughts.

But now, his voice spread inside the throne room, making the other nobles, who were looking at the Prime Minister, shift their gaze in his direction.

They thought Lord Gilgamess would end up handling the matter, so they were very surprised when their young, pitiful king spoke out loud.

"I’ll give you exactly four days to find the spy and annihilate the Pirates," King Aurelian replied. "I don’t care what methods you use, but if this problem is not solved by then, I will order you to be chopped up and fed to the fishes."

"Your Majesty, I don’t think I can do it within four days!" The face of the noble who ruled the Port City of Zahar turned pale after hearing the King’s declaration.

"You can’t do it?" King Aurelian rested his head on the palm of his right hand and crossed his legs together. "Well then, how about I give a Royal Decree. If anyone can solve this pirate problem within four days, I will make them the new Baron who will oversee the City of Zahar.

"In fact, if there’s anyone here who could solve this problem, I will delegate them as the new Lord of the Port City."

As soon as he made this declaration, all the nobles inside the throne room became excited and started making pledges.

"Rest assured, Your Majesty!" a skinny noble, who looked like a villain in a novel, stood up straight. "I, your faithful servant, Baron Pinoco, will solve this problem within four days!"

"I will also solve this problem, Your Majesty," a countess replied. "It just so happens that I have also created an anti-pirate fleet. I will not fail this mission and protect our people from those pirates!"

"Very well," Prince Aurelian replied. "I will leave these tasks to all of you. May the best noble win."

A faint smile appeared on the King’s face, as if amused by the current situation.

Knowing that the time was right, Chuck called out the second noble, who had something to report.

"Your Majesty, bandits are currently plaguing the small villages around Donner Mountain," the Noble stated. "I wish to ask for your aid in subjugating them."

"Um?" Prince Aurelian arched an eyebrow. "Lord Gilgamess, are there more rooms in the dungeon today? Marquess Benedict seems to want to change residence."

Marques Benedict, coughed lightly before giving his reply. "Understood, Your Majesty. I will drive them off myself using my private army."

"You should," King Aurelian said icily. "What’s the point of your thousand-strong army if you don’t put them to good use?

"You haven’t been paying the right taxes as of late, and your reason was that you need to build an army to fix the rampant banditry in your area. Marquess, am I a joke to you?"

"No, You’re Majesty!" Marquess Benedict replied. "I will handle this properly!"

"You have four days," King Aurelian answered. "If not, I will send the army to your domain and ask them to eliminate the real bandit. Guess who? It’s the one talking to me right now."

"H-Hiiiiiic!" Marquess Benedict flinched after seeing King Aurelian’s glare.

Chuck chuckled internally and gave the young King a thumbs up in his heart.

The session continued, and the longer it went, the less his Majesty needed to speak to handle the problems that plagued the Kingdom.

"Your Majesty, the funding for the dam we are building is insufficient. Can I ask for more budget from the treasury?"

"Um?"

"Oh, goodness me! There was a mistake on my part. The funds are enough. It seems that I haven’t been getting any proper sleep as of late. My apologies, Your Majesty!"

Chuck then snapped his fingers, and a few guards grabbed the noble who was pocketing the kingdom’s funds to fill up his own treasury.

Another noble nervously voiced his thoughts and spoke in a polite tone.

"Your Majesty, the irrigation channels in the eastern farmlands are collapsing due to the recent floods. We request the crown to send engineers..."

King Aurelian clicked his tongue and glared at the noble, making the latter’s body stiffen.

Beads of sweat formed on his forehead, and for a brief moment, the noble thought he saw Lord Gilgamess make a slitting motion on his throat.

"A-Ah... on second thought, I will... naturally... pay for the reconstruction myself. I will also send my personal engineers. The Crown should not be bothered by such a trivial matter!"

Another noble stepped forward. "Your Majesty, the mines in Grey Hollow have stopped production due to equipment shortages. If you could provide—"

King Aurelian slowly drummed his fingers on the armrest, his gaze drifting to the noble without saying a word.

"I—I mean," the noble stammered, "We... will simply import new equipment at our own expense! Yes! We will have the mines operating within a week, Your Majesty. I swear on my family’s honor."

Chuck fought to keep the smirk off his face.

"Your Majesty, there is a shortage of guards in the western border fortresses, and—"

King Aurelian tilted his head slightly, eyes narrowing.

The noble swallowed hard. "O-Of course, my men and I will personally train and fund recruits... at no cost to the kingdom! Naturally."

By now, every noble in the room had picked up on the pattern.

The King hadn’t even raised his voice. A click of his tongue, a drum of his fingers, a narrowing of the eyes—these tiny gestures were more terrifying than an army.

When the last noble brought up the "critical" shortage of grain in his province, King Aurelian simply leaned forward slightly, resting his chin on his palm.

"I’ll... buy it. Myself. Personally," the noble muttered before anyone could say a word, his knees trembling.

By the time the court was dismissed, not a single coin had left the royal treasury. Yet half the kingdom’s issues were already being "voluntarily" resolved.

Chuck leaned toward the young king after they arrived in the King’s personal chambers.

"Well done, Your Majesty," Chuck praised. "You didn’t just solve this Kingdom’s problems. You made them solve it themselves."

King Aurelian gave the faintest of smiles. "It was easier than I thought. To think that I was scared of those buffoons all these years. Lord Gilgamess, it was all because of you that I managed to take that one step."

"And you will continue to take that step, Your Majesty," Chuck replied, kneeling in front of the young King, and resting his hand on the boy’s shoulder. "For you are the hope of this Kingdom. You shall have nothing to fear, for I will support you."

"Okay!" King Aurelian nodded happily.

Chuck had stayed in the trial until Lord Gilgamess’ body deteriorated and could no longer walk anymore.

Even so, he watched with pride as Prince Aurelian III made the Kingdom prosper under his rule, entering a golden age.

On his deathbed, the King knelt while holding the hand of his most trusted advisor until he drew his last breath.

Finally, Chuck awoke from his sleep.

"Where?" Chuck felt a little disoriented after finding himself inside the laboratory room instead of his luxurious residence inside the palace.

A moment later, he felt something touch the side of his face.

Dim Dim, who was holding a handkerchief, was wiping the tears on Chuck’s cheeks.

"Dim Dim?" Chuck looked at the little bun, who smiled back at him.

Dim Dim nodded. "Dim."

"What are you doing here?" Chuck asked.

"Dim Dim." Dim Dim replied before pointing at the clock on the wall.

After seeing that it was almost seven o’clock, the teenage boy’s sleepiness disappeared completely.

"I’m late!" Chuck stood up in a hurry and ran toward their dormitory to change into his uniform.

Dim Dim blinked once then twice before jumping toward the table to look at the four bottles of Conqueror’s Potion that Chuck had left behind.

After a minute of hesitation, Dim Dim stored the potions inside its dimensional storage and jumped out of the window, quickly trying to catch up to Chuck.

Today was the Fire Mage’s ‌joint magical training day.

Dim Dim had a feeling that Chuck might need the potion to face those who treated him like dirt.