Chương 146: Reborn as the Dragon — Chapter 146 - Compensation

"Haruta-kun, please stop crying!"

"I will get you out of this misery, I swear!" Orihime-chan flung herself into Haruta Motono's arms and nearly stopped his heart. In her mind, she had always been a petite, delicate girl. Throwing herself at the person she liked was the most natural thing in the world. Haruta Motono did not share this view. Get him out of his misery? If she'd just stop spitting in his mouth, he'd light a whole temple's worth of incense in gratitude.

Inoue Orihime saw Haruta Motono's chubby face turn beet red and assumed he was touched. She kept going.

"Haruta-kun, just hold on a little longer. I've already reached my senior brother. He's a powerful swordsman, he'll get us both out of here!"

"Kill..." Haruta Motono's voice was barely a breath.

"Haruta-kun? What did you say?"

"I said — right now, while the monsters aren't looking — hurry up and kill me. Break my neck. Do it." His lips were trembling. He wanted to throttle her.

"No! Haruta-kun, how could I ever kill you? Nobody is killing you! I will save you, just wait!" Inoue Orihime gazed at him with eyes so full of tender devotion they looked ready to melt. Wait for you, my ass. Haruta Motono choked on his own fury, let out a strangled "gah," and passed out.... At the same time. Anlius Royal Palace.

"Your Majesty, the envoy from the Aililan Empire has arrived." The knight walked up to the King of Anlius, whose face was a map of misery, gave a low bow, and delivered his report. His eyes carefully watched the king's expression from the corners. In just over a week, this man had aged ten years. The black that used to thread through his white hair was gone. It was all grey now.

"An envoy? What does he want?" The King of Anlius surfaced from his daze. The blood drained from his face.

"He's here to retrieve Archmage Mesent." The knight took two practiced steps backward. Sure enough. The next instant, two ceramic plates hit the floor with a sharp crack.

"Where am I supposed to find Archmage Mesent for them? It's been a week since our army came back, a week!" The King of Anlius was red from his face to his neck.

"Yes, Your Majesty. Our scouts found a number of bodies near the Silvermoon Forest, all our men. They didn't dare go any deeper."

"However, one thing does seem certain: the soldiers we sent out and Archmage Mesent have all perished in the dragon's maw." The knight returned to exactly where he'd been standing, gave a slight bow, and dumped every piece of bad news without ceremony or mercy. He showed no concern whatsoever for the king's feelings.

"Your Majesty, what are your orders?" If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

"How should I know?" The King of Anlius paced the throne room in agitated circles, his expression darkening with every pass.

"I paid a fortune in gold lions to bring Mesent here. He's dead now, they can't seriously expect me to compensate them on top of that!"

"And I lost an entire army. Do they know how many soldiers Anlius even has?" The knight said nothing. He stood quietly at the king's side and listened to the complaints with a neutral face. Pitiful, really. The queen had controlled the palace for years. The old king was a figurehead propped up for appearances, and he didn't even know it. The King of Anlius turned the problem over and over and came up with nothing. But the Aililan envoy could not be turned away.

Refuse an audience, and this king might turn up dead in a palace corridor within the week, for no apparent reason. He let out a hollow sigh. Then, slumped with defeat, he dressed himself in the appropriate royal attire and walked with the knight to the main hall. A man was waiting there, middle-aged, with a goatee and flaxen curls, leaning against a load-bearing pillar with all the ease of someone who owned the place. His eyes moved freely over the palace maids. He was a hand's reach from crossing a line.

"Envoy from Aililan." The King of Anlius took his seat on the throne and sat straight.

"I am the King of Anlius." There was no arrogance in his face. No regal presence. The weakness of his kingdom had ground both out of him. He was left with a fawning smile.

"Greetings, Your Majesty." The goateed envoy smiled pleasantly enough, strolled over to a leather chair, and settled into it with his legs crossed, like a man in his own sitting room.

"I'm here today about Archmage Mesent. As you know, he serves as Lord Caxiun's right-hand man on the frontier. He's been away far too long now. The fortress needs him back." No preamble. Straight to business. His sharp eyes glittered with amusement and something uglier beneath it. The King of Anlius nearly choked. Right-hand man? The Aililan Empire had dozens of third-tier archmages. Mesent was the most forgettable of the lot.

The old man chased gold and women in equal measure, his magical talent was thoroughly unremarkable, and the only spell he could reliably pull off was Flameburst. That was apparently because he worshipped some ancient legendary mage who'd built his whole career on Flameburst alone. Mesent had spent decades trying to follow in those footsteps. He'd ended up thoroughly mediocre. Sky-high ambitions. Nothing to show for them. This worthless old reprobate was Caxiun's right-hand man?

The King of Anlius was a cuckold who didn't know it, but he wasn't stupid. He understood immediately: this envoy had no interest in bringing Mesent back. He probably already knew Mesent was dead. Caxiun knew too. They were here to collect.

"I'm very sorry, Envoy. Archmage Mesent departed three days ago."

"I'm afraid I don't know his current whereabouts."

"It's possible he's already returned to Aililan, isn't it?" A desperate situation, but the king still reached for the thinnest thread of hope.

"Departed?" The goateed envoy let out a cold laugh.

"Your Majesty, Mesent is dead, everyone knows it. The whole of Anlius is talking about the dragon-hunting army's collapse. Walk into any tavern and the bards alone will give you a dozen different versions."

"And now you're telling me he left? Who exactly do you think you're fooling?" No matter what else he was, the King of Anlius was still a king. He had never been spoken to like this in his life. He wanted to rage. But the corner of his eye caught a figure in the shadows near the wall, his queen, standing quietly, shaking her head once. She was the only person in all of Anlius who could still stop him. To the King of Anlius, his queen was the most intelligent and most beautiful woman in the world.

He swallowed it down. Do not fall out with the Aililan envoy.

"Ah... Envoy." He measured his words carefully and kept smiling.

"The dragon-hunting campaign did fail, that's true. But Archmage Mesent isn't necessarily dead."

"I have people searching for him now. Perhaps you'd be willing to stay a few days while we, ""If we truly can't locate him, we'll discuss compensation in gol—""Ahem." The Queen of Anlius stepped forward before he could finish. Two soft, perfectly timed coughs. She smiled, warm, luminous, and addressed the envoy in a gentle voice, her eyes doing quiet, careful work.

"If Mesent truly cannot be found, we can discuss whatever compensation Lord Caxiun requires when that time comes. Does that seem reasonable?" She walked toward the envoy at an unhurried pace, her smile gracious and kind. Inside, she was absolutely furious. She had mentally cursed the king's ancestors to the eighteenth generation no fewer than ten times in the last five minutes. Pay compensation? Every coin in this palace was hers. Compensation, my ass. You want my money, I'll have you in the ground.

She let none of it reach her face.

"Besides," she added, her voice as warm as the summer air outside, "it's terribly hot today, and I'm afraid we have little to offer our distinguished guest..."

"I do make rather good shaved ice, as it happens. Won't you come to my chambers and try some, Envoy?" Her back was to her husband. She turned to the Aililan envoy and let her eyes go soft, a single slow, deliberate look. The tip of her tongue touched her lower lip, just barely, just long enough. The envoy's jaw stopped working.

"W-well," he managed, grinning with an expression no court diplomat should wear.

"That can certainly be... arranged, arranged indeed~""I'll stay on a few extra days then, see how things develop... and since the queen herself is inviting me, it would hardly be polite to refuse." ➤ Next: The Hero Darabengba