Settling down in a small meeting room on the opposite side of the official one, but not unlike it, Declan smiled his ghastly smile at Astaroth through his helmet openings.
"I see you bring back people from your little adventure. Are these all of them?"
Astaroth sat down in front of him around the large table, while most of the refugees took to the sofas at the sides, taking a moment to rest their tired feet, breathing in the luxury of the room.
If any of them had doubted Astaroth's words before about being connected to the palace, those doubts were gone now. The mass salute in the plaza had blown them away.
Most of the villagers now had no idea how they should address Astaroth anymore.
"This is all of those that wanted to follow me. The rest of them stayed back, but they are safe now."
Declan nodded in acknowledgement, taking a brief moment to look at each of them. He didn't scan them, but he didn't need to.
His time in the military had made him an excellent judge of strength, and he could discern these were all civilians, aside from one old man. The old man seemed innocuous, at first glance, but a sense of dread washed over Declan every time they locked eyes.
'He's more powerful than he lets on,' Declan thought, taking mental note of the old man.
Aberon could feel the inquisitive gaze of the Undead man and only smirked.
'Astaroth has a few capable people surrounding him now. Good,' Aberon thought.
Astaroth quickly brought the conversation back on track.
"Is Phoenix busy at the moment? I think she should know of this matter."
Declan shook his head.
"She's in a meeting with other members of the council regarding the adventurers' guild. She won't be available until later today. For now, I will take care of whatever it is you need."
Astaroth nodded his head.
"Okay. Then these people need to be tended to. They need lodgings, as well as funds for retirement if they wish so, or help to find a job if they wish to keep working. These people have been through enough in the last decade. They deserve to rest."
Declan raised his hand, and a manservant walked in from a side door that had previously been unseen.
The tall Lizardman slinked next to Declan, bowing slightly.
"Chele. Please make sure all these people are taken care of properly. Anything they need should be furnished to them. The funds can come from the treasury."
"Asss you wisssssh, Counssssilman," the Lizardman named Chele replied.
With a snap of his scaly fingers, a throng of maids and servants walked into the room, taking the refugees by their hands and elbows, and bringing them away. Once the last one had been pulled away, Chele bowed again and exited through the door he had come in through.
The only one that hadn't left was Aberon. The servants had tried taking him away, but he practically low-growled at them, saying, "Hands off."
Astaroth was impressed with the efficiency level the palace had gone up to in the time he was away. He sure as hell didn't remember ever having servants.
Nonetheless, this wasn't the only matter to settle. Looking back toward Declan, he smiled.
"Man, I'm glad everything seems to be going well now. But I still have a few things to discuss, this time with everyone present."
Declan looked unsure of who everyone was.
"Everyone? What does that entail?"
"Whatever structure of power in place here, and also all the officers of Paragon. Oh, and also, the prince and his pocket wizard."
Aberon chuckled at the nickname Astaroth gave Gelum'vire.
Declan nodded his head slowly. If Astaroth needed the presence of so many people, this would be a big decision.
"I will start contacting everyone right away. Since Phoenix is currently in a meeting, when do you wish to have this meeting?"
Astaroth scratched his chin a bit, getting a whiff of how his clothes and person smelled, and his nose wrinkled. He hadn't noticed until now, since he had been in an almost constant state of battle-readiness.
"Schedule it for this afternoon, if you can. I need to go change my clothes, wash up, and rest a bit."
Declan laughed at his self-consciousness.
"Battlefields get messy, don't they?" he asked his guild leader, knowingly.
"Urgh. I haven't taken a proper bath in this body for days. And my clothes reek of monster innards and dry blood. I doubt presenting myself like this to the council would make me look like a king."
Declan laughed again, waving his hand once more, Chele re-entered the room.
"Chele, can you bring the king to his chambers? He needs a makeover and some rest."
The Lizardman nodded his head before bowing to Astaroth.
"Ssssovereign, if you follow me?"
Astaroth rose from his chair, giving a brief salute to Declan, before following the dignified Lizardman manservant out of the meeting room.
As he followed him upstairs to a room that had been renovated to suit Phoenix's tastes, Astaroth asked the retainer a question that had been on his mind since he saw him.
"Chele. If you don't mind my asking, does your kind have an established kingdom or some such thing?"
The manservant turned his head slightly, keeping one eye on his direction, and putting the other on Astaroth.
"Of courssssse, Sssssire. We have a kingdom down sssssoouth, in the marchlandsssss. Why do you assssssk?"
"Out of simple curiosity. I rarely saw anyone of your kind since now," Astaroth responded, a smile on his face.
Of course, he wasn't going to tell him he slaughtered a bunch of them in a dungeon before the update. That would only put him in an awkward position.
He had nothing against the race, after all. But the quest that Qwon had given him still lingered in his mind, as well as his promise to find Kela'ra's remains and give them a proper burial.
He now had a clue for the first of these lingering requests.
"Perhaps you could point it out to me on a map. I would love to have allies in your brethren. I heard your kingdom was home to some of the strongest warriors on this continent."
ραΠdαsΝοvel.cοm The retainer's scales became a shade lighter of green as he responded.
"You honour my kind with your wordssss, Sssssire. It would be my pleassssure to ssssshow you where it isssssss and form a bridge between our nationsssss."
'Bullseye,' Astaroth thought to himself.
Flattery was always a good way to get information out of someone. And now, he had a way into an unknown part of this world he wished to explore so much.
The fact he had so much to do, and so little time to do it, only dampened his mood. Exploration would come second to his goals.
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