"So let me get this straight..." Zafira grabbed her head, as though she had a headache. "You negotiated a deal with the king of Yrgon... And you also brought over a person who is an expert at information gathering?"
"Yep." Rael nodded, sipping on some tea.
Currently, only the two of them were here, as after a bit of chatter, Linlin had accompanied Aria around town to protect her, and Zareth went back to recruiting shadows.
Nonetheless, he had explained the general situation, and while he did have his secrets, these events all needed Zafira's say in the end.
After all, she was the actual ruler, and he was just a lazy, greedy person.
"Okay... great. Pass me the agreement, I'll look through it," Zafira said with a sigh.
A grin appeared on Rael's face when, all of a sudden, a heavy document appeared on the table in front of him, cleanly breaking it in two.
"Here you go. I haven't read it yet, but I'm sure it's a fun read."
"That old bastard..." Zafira muttered, her hands trembling. "Last time I made a deal with him... I sold him 100 pieces of armor, and he wrote something similar. Why can't he just write up agreements like a normal person?"
"Well, if I were old and had a lot of time, I'd probably want to piss off the young people as well." Rael snickered. "Anyways, Zafira, you'll find a clause in there for an embassy. I want you to assign Zareth as the leader."
"Rael..." Zafira trailed off, looking him straight in the eyes. "I'll consider it... but please, for future reference, don't hide these types of things from me."
"I can't promise anything." Rael shrugged before turning serious. "Zafira, I don't want you to think I'm an enemy, and while I get my role was supposed to be the fake king, I'll help out whenever I can."
He approached closer, grabbing her hand. "I care about you."
"I see..." Zafira muttered, and he could feel her hand growing sweaty.
However, she merely used his hand to stand up, before hugging him again.
"Where's this coming from?" he asked, but didn't deny the hug—returning it in kind.
"I just felt like it," Zafira said as she tightened her embrace, then buried her face in his chest. "Thank you."
She's been acting strange ever since I came back... Rael thought, and as he glanced down, he saw her ears, which were slightly red.
Oh... Rael hugged her tighter, as he began patting her head. She's embarrassed...
Zafira seemed satisfied, and they stayed like that for a few minutes.
However, the sound of the throne room's doors opening startled the two of them.
"Your Majesty, I—" the guard stopped himself, noticing the awkward atmosphere. "Should I leave?"
"N-No." Zafira cleared her throat. "What is it?"
"There was a commotion at the boutique His Majesty owns... a fight broke out between the travelers," the guard stated.
As he finished, the entire room turned cold as Rael slowly began walking up to the guard.
"Do you perchance have those fuckers in custody?" Rael asked calmly.
The guard nodded, noticing the unusual pressure which made it hard to breathe.
"Y-Yes sir... there are five of them in the palace's dungeons, I believe—"
Rael raised a finger to shush the guard.
"There's going to be a blue crystal rover with a katana that will arrive in a few hours. When it does, I want you to escort it into the dungeons, right where the travelers are being held."
"A rover with a katana...?" the guard muttered, but as his gaze met Rael's, he immediately bowed. "Yes, Your Majesty!"
With that, he stormed out of the room, leaving Rael and Zafira alone.
But of course, the awkwardness from earlier was still there.
"I'm going on a little trip. Not sure when I'll be back, but expect me to be gone for a week at the very least," Rael stated, making Zafira flinch.
"You're not going inside a dangerous dungeon again, are you?"
"It's a bit different..." He shook his head, before flashing her a warm smile. "What do you say to having a drink or two after I get back?"
"I'd like that," Zafira replied with an equally warm smile, then sent him a small wave. "Good luck with whatever you're going to be doing, Rael."
Rael nodded at her, and finally left the throne room, heading straight for his boutique.
Chop-E... If you fucking hear me, get back to Celestara. There are people I want you to teach a lesson to.
He just had to hope it would work.
Nonetheless, after a couple of minutes' walk and a change of clothes, he arrived in front of his boutique.
Obviously, it wasn't as crowded as before, but despite that, he saw a broken window, and one of his cleaning constructs missing a limb.
These pieces of shit... I'm adding a tax to the next gacha boxes I sell. Rael thought with furrowed brows, as he pushed the players aside and grabbed the broken construct.
[MP -100,000 1,859,600/1,959,600 (x1 Crystal Genesis)]
Immediately, Dust Trooper's crystal limb regenerated, and its slightly beat-up appearance returned to normal.
"Oi!" Rael yelled, gathering the attention of the players present.
"Because of what happened today, the store will be closed for 10 days. On the 11th, I'm going to be selling limited edition sets which are much better than the ones you bought previously."
—But the beta test ends in 11 days!
—Fuck it, I'm staying in line for the next 10 days, you guys are going to die when I buy his overpowered gear!
All according to plan, Rael hummed as he slammed the door in their faces.
"Dirt Vader, Dust Trooper, can you clean the glass off the floor? I'm going to fix the window in a moment."
The two constructs nodded and got to work.
In the meantime, Rael's gaze landed on the receptionist construct, who was fine, along with two almost lifeless individuals lying on the ground, foaming from their mouths.
Nonetheless, he left them be as he approached the receptionist construct, Xavier, who stretched out its arm.