CHAPTER 87: AFTER THE COMA

Arthur walked through the castle corridors toward the main hall, but his expression was one of annoyance. He shook his head and sighed deeply, then stopped in place. He turned and looked back at the group of guards following him, among them Otieno with his usual strange expression.

He examined their faces for a moment and scolded them:

"Will you keep following me like this all the time? Go attend to your duties."

Otieno stepped forward and replied anxiously:

"My lord, our duty is to escort you wherever you go, to ensure that nothing happens to you."

Arthur frowned and asked,

"And who gave you that order?"

Otieno replied respectfully,

"It was Lady Octavia, she proposed it to the temporary leadership council during your absence."

’A leadership council? What were these bastards up to while I was unconscious? Hopefully they’re not planning a rebellion.’

He smirked to himself, then turned and continued walking, thinking:

’In any case, being unconscious for nine full days wasn’t part of the plan. I’ll have to accept the consequences, whatever they are.’

After about two minutes, he reached the main hall. It was empty. He sat on his simple throne and waited in silence for the important figures to arrive. One by one, they began to show up.

Octavia stood beside him as the attendees glanced his way with strange expressions ones that showed relief and joy. It felt odd. They usually looked at him with tense, fearful stares.

But he didn’t pay it much attention and calmly asked:

"I heard you formed a temporary leadership council. Whose idea was that?"

No one replied. Instead, everyone looked at Octavia.

Awkwardly, Octavia said:

"It was me, my lord. I knew you’d be upset if the workers slacked off, so I changed the command structure to maintain order."

’Since when did Octavia get this clever?’

Arthur couldn’t help but admire the smart decision, though he didn’t show it. He simply nodded in understanding:

"Good. I now declare that council dissolved. While I’m awake, no one is to take orders from anyone but me unless I say otherwise."

Octavia sighed in relief, feeling like a great weight had been lifted from her chest. However, she still gave him a slightly annoyed and disappointed look she’d hoped for some praise. Internally, she grumbled:

’My lord, you’re so emotionally dense.’

Not much had happened during his coma; things had remained fairly stable. The only issue bothering the barony’s residents was the harvest season. All the farmers had started harvesting their crops, but sadly, the yield was very poor, leaving many disheartened.

Arthur was aware of this, but he truly couldn’t do much about it. After receiving the statistical data earlier, he had a clear vision of the barony’s nature. The population was around 4,750 an amount that required considerable resources to sustain. Unfortunately, the number of fertile farmlands was limited.

As for livestock, most residents raised goats, which could eat almost anything and suited the barony’s thorn-covered terrain. Ducks were kept near the river, while cows, sheep, and poultry existed in much smaller numbers.

Arthur had a plan to boost production: improving soil quality using naturally magical-enhanced fertilizers. But he couldn’t implement that until the next planting season.

He also considered creating cooperative livestock farms, gathering most of the barony’s animals and caring for them using techniques from his world. This would improve production and offer better job opportunities. But sadly, such an idea required public cooperation something he hadn’t fully earned yet.

These thoughts flashed through his mind as he heard the harvest issue, but he quickly moved on.

As expected, the soap workshop had halted operations and closed its doors, while the paper workshop construction was completed. A batch of raw materials had been prepared to begin production, but they hadn’t made anything yet Arthur had yet to show them how to make paper.

After the reports concluded, everyone in the hall awaited Arthur’s new orders.

But he said nothing and simply sat, thinking. This made them anxious.

Seeing their usual worried faces, Arthur sighed in slight relief:

’These looks are better.’

Then he straightened in his seat and commanded sternly:

"Golda, gather all the soap and other items we’ve made recently and load them onto transport carts.

Chadwick, gather some strong and trustworthy soldiers and prepare for a trip to Colored Sand Barony."

His orders were very strange, and most present didn’t understand the reason except for a select few who knew what was special about Colored Sand Barony.

Chadwick replied hesitantly,

"As you command, my lord."

That barony was a bit far, so the trip would take several days maybe weeks.

Arthur continued, unfazed by their reactions:

"Golda, Selene, and you too, Isolda prepare to travel with them."

Then he turned to Thorne:

"You, take all the new recruits and lead a training campaign in the forest. They need to face real monsters to gain experience. Take Novarian with you too but only let him step in during emergencies. We need to toughen the recruits a little."

He then issued a few smaller commands such as bringing more white sand for glass production, asking about the progress of constructing the second fort, and checking on how the Droblin were adjusting to life in the barony.

Once everything was sorted, Arthur dismissed the attendees. Everyone left except for Chadwick, who remained in place. When the crowd was gone, Chadwick bowed respectfully and said:

"My lord, this humble knight begs you to grant him a small favor."

Arthur looked at him curiously and calmly motioned:

"Stand up straight. Tell me what you want."

Chadwick hesitated for a moment, then said:

"My lord, about my son... I humbly ask that you release him."

Arthur showed a strange expression he had forgotten about the imprisoned recruits. Then he casually replied:

"Fine. You may go."

"Thank you, my lord."

Chadwick quickly left, a relaxed smile on his face.

"Will you actually release them, my lord?" Octavia suddenly asked.

"I’ll speak to them first and decide after. They’ve seen things they shouldn’t have."

Octavia didn’t understand what he meant, but replied briefly:

"Understood."

Arthur rose slowly from his throne and ordered Octavia to leave. He also dismissed her orders, ensuring that no soldiers would accompany him it was getting irritating.

He then headed to the castle dungeons where Willard and the others were being held. Despite being imprisoned for days, they were in excellent physical condition it was clear they were being fed properly.

Arthur instantly realized Chadwick had been caring for them behind his back. That annoyed him. In his view, prison was for punishment and discipline not comfort and rest.

When Willard and the others saw him, they looked remorseful and genuinely apologized:

"My lord, we’re sorry for what we did. Please forgive us we swear we won’t disobey again."

’Looks like they prepared this little act for me. Did Chadwick tell them I was coming?’

Arthur sighed deeply again. He scanned their faces and noted how they tried to look pitiful especially Willard’s tough face, which didn’t suit that kind of expression. It made the whole thing rather amusing.

Calmly, he asked:

"What did you see that day?"

They were confused by the question, but Carlos immediately understood and replied:

"Nothing, my lord. Just a few rats."

Willard quickly nodded,

"Yes, my lord. We didn’t see anything."

Because she’d been held separately, Aveline was the last to speak:

"Yes, my lord. We didn’t see or hear anything."

Arthur replied coldly,

"Very good. But that’s not enough. If you tell anyone what happened, know that spending a few days in prison will feel like heaven compared to the punishment you’ll receive."

They all nodded frantically:

"Yes, yes, my lord. Understood completely."

"Good. I hope I don’t see any more mistakes from you."

In truth, Arthur wasn’t worried about them. Even if they revealed that Thalia was a werewolf, it wouldn’t change anything. Now that the Droblin had joined their ranks, adding another beastkin race wouldn’t be surprising.

The only thing that might worry him was if people discovered that the real Arvan was being held prisoner. But thankfully, these three didn’t know that, since they couldn’t access his cell.

He calmly opened the cell doors and said:

"Go on, leave. Return to your barracks and train hard. You’ve missed many important things in recent days."

"Yes, my lord."

They ran off quickly without looking back once.

The way they bolted made Arthur chuckle quietly, but he quickly returned to seriousness. He summoned his system window and looked at the information for one of his new skills:

[Awakening the Magical Core: An advanced skill that allows you to bypass the world’s rules and awaken the magical core of beastkin and magical beasts once again. This will enhance their magical and physical potential. Can be used once. Success is not guaranteed.]

The skill’s effects were more than he expected and incredibly exciting. He wanted to try it immediately. So, he set off at once to find the Droblin, ready to use them as test subjects.