Chapter 503 The Candidate
Astaroth brought his attention back to the discussion in front of him, as Grit Herman was finishing his spiel of commercial equality between the two future sibling kingdoms. The Half-Orc was a good salesperson at heart, and it impressed Nalafein.
It was rare for Orcish descent people to go in other branches than fighting. It was citizens of other races that had handled the trade in their countries, usually, that either descended from freed slaves or migrants.
But Mr. Herman put a lot of them to shame, selling his plan to Nalafein like there was no better option. Grit had played a lot on the fact that their king was giving him the resources necessary for him to start his takeover, and the possibility of even having a beachfront from which to launch said takeover.
Of course, Nalafein was well aware of this point. But Mr. Herman did not once take advantage of his powerlessness. The deals were fair, if slightly slanted, in favour of Stellar Woodlands.
Once this was agreed to, and Brienne had noted it, Phoenix took charge of the political aspect of the discussion, largely aided by Elwin, to reassure Nalafein that they would attest to his right to the throne, should other kingdoms decide to butt in after the takeover.
It wasn't an uncommon occurrence for other kingdoms to try to disprove a new ruler's right to the throne, in hopes of usurping their lands, to expand their own kingdoms. So having a bigger kingdom back him politically, at least, gave him a certain level of security.
And this was only possible since Astaroth was from there, to begin with. Otherwise, their words would only be viewed as words by the other rulers, and most likely dismissed.
As this discussion neared its end, a guard walked up to Astaroth's side, whispering in his ear.
"My king. Your guest has arrived and is waiting outside the room."
Astaroth nodded, replying, "Tell him it'll only be a few minutes. I will have someone inside announce his entry when we are ready for him."
The guard nodded before going back out of the room.
As Astaroth had said, it was only a couple of minutes before they closed the political aspect of their discussion. Now, the only thing that was left was for the guest to come in, and Astaroth to finally reveal what he had for Prince Nalafein, that could allow all this to begin with.
He would also use this to negotiate with his candidate as a massive bargaining chip.
Nodding his head to a guard next to the door, the guard did a short bow before clearing his throat. The guest had already specified how he wanted to be addressed and presented, so the guard only had to repeat those words.
"Ahem! The court welcomes in the leader of a rising guild on the continent, the guild of Abnormals 'Knights of the Sun', Guild Leader Killi!"
As he finished saying this, the massive main doors to the room ground open, with a low rumble, until three people came inside, with at their head, Killi.
He strode inside with a confident gait, recognizing many of the people present since he had fought against them not so long ago. But many others he didn't recognize either.
Most of them were Natives, and he stayed polite by not scanning all of them on the spot. Most players were learning, either by word or by fist, that scanning every individual they crossed was bad manners and could result in injury when targeting the wrong people.
Killi had been told so by his officers after a group of their players had been arrested for scanning a noble in one of the minor kingdoms of the continent. So he stuck to etiquette, waiting on each one of them to present themselves, if the opportunity arose.
Killi stopped at the tip of the table, next to a young man sitting in a chair, and the old man in white mage robes standing next to him. He offered them the most political smile he could, before bowing slightly to everyone in the room.
"It is a pleasure to meet all of you formally. I am Killi, guild leader to the Knights of the Sun. I was told a golden opportunity was awaiting me here, so here I am."
Phoenix looked at Astaroth, dumbfounded. She had thought of getting Killi here, since his guild was the largest, and would greatly benefit the three parties in this situation. But she had thought getting here would require a lot more than just saying, 'a golden opportunity is here for you.'
Only Astaroth could offer such pitiful words and still attract people. Most players were already calling the man a golden finger on the internet, saying luck followed him everywhere he went.
Astaroth clapped his hands together, a wide smile on his face.
"Ahh, yes! Welcome to my humble abode, Killi. I hope the trip wasn't too eventful."
Turning his head to the side, Astaroth looked at a servant standing next to the wall.
"Please bring the man a chair, and set him up next to Prince Nalafein. We have much to discuss."
The servant he looked at nodded and bowed, before leaving the room in a rushed step. The gnome man came back soon after, with a wooden chair in his arms that looked larger than him.
He brought the chair next to Prince Nalafein, the apparent size of the chair not bothering him in the least, before setting it down. He then turned to Astaroth, bowed again, and walked back to his spot near the wall.
Killi watched all this happen and envied the other player a bit. Who wouldn't want to be suddenly treated like royalty?
And that was coming from a man who grew up in an estate with many servants, tending to his daily needs. But he wasn't there just to gawk.
After taking a seat, Killi saluted the Prince to his right, wondering why he was being seated next to such a prominent figure.
Next to him, Prince Nalafein was eyeing him with a curious gaze, wondering what type of man this was, that Astaroth trusted him enough to bring him into this transaction. He would soon find out, he guessed.
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