Outside Arrangements
Outside Arrangements
The oppressive system of nobility had most of the common people see themselves as lesser. It didn't help that most of the union workforce was at most C-class adventurers if not D-class adventurers, which displayed their lack of talent.
The preparations for the king were nothing fancy, which implied there wasn't work to be done. But that itself was the root of the problem. They didn't have anything fancy with which to welcome this surprise guest!
"Leave it" But the one Samuel put in charge during his absence, Jasmine, decided this much was enough. She was someone that learned from nobility since young. Actually, she worked for Samuel's family.
When Samuel left the Oakley family to become an adventurer, the love-struck Jasmine followed after him. Her skills were not on par with Samuel's potential, but she stuck by through his entire journey all the same.
Thinking about that was actually quite depressing because somehow, in spite of her persistence, somebody else caught the fish she was going for.
Under the guidance of Jasmine, the anxious workers calmed down and no longer worried about what they didn't have. They focused on what they did and on how to tidy it further.
All of this hard work did pay off when the king of Bosque, Brennan Bosque, finally stepped into the freedom union. His attire this time was much more regal than what he previously wore. Which was a given since he was out of the dungeon.
Brennan now looked clean and, although still very skinny, his skin was not pale. Some could even describe it as rosy, perhaps a result of Bloody and W coursing through his body. Brennan appeared to be the perfect case in point for a patient undergoing successful and rapid improvement.
"""Your majesty!!!""" The workers all greeted the king the moment he entered. They knelt or bowed deeply to show their sincere respect for his stature.
"Hm" Brennan nodded acknowledging their efforts. The freedom union had even been emptied just to welcome him.
Soon after his esteemed figure crossed the door, Jasmine approached with great formality. Her manners and poise attested to her occupation as a young maid in a noble manor.
Though her etiquette could not compare to that of the royal family's own staff, Brennan felt both welcome and impressed. While he wasn't classist like some of his ancestors, he did have his bias.
Holding a radiant smile the whole time, Jasmine led the king to a private room with comfortable couches and staff with a number of beverages and snacks the king could choose from.
"I am honored to be in your presence, your majesty" Some staff members even knew how to flatter him. If it weren't for the fact that Brennan had better things to do, he wouldn't have minded fooling around and making idle talk for a short while.
"Your name is?" Brennan asked the woman that led him there.
"Jasmine, your majesty" She responded perfunctorily.
"Jasmine then, I am going to need you to help me" Brennan commanded nicely.
"It'd be my pleasure your majesty" Jasmine replied.
'Hm… We should have her provide some manpower to reclaim the throne' W suggested having carefully analyzed the situation.
In the inn, they were able to hear all the important and latest gossip in Bosque. The sources were the workers themselves when handed a handsome tip, or just passerby and their loose tongues.
While the stuff regarding the rebellion wasn't secret by any bounds, they were certainly not something to carelessly talk about in the presence of nobility, never mind royalty. It was a good thing that Brennan received all information through the filter that was the knights.
"I don't think so…" Brennan muttered inaudibly. Jasmine was puzzled by his silent whispering. Was it possible that the king thought better by first voicing his thoughts? That seemed reasonable and it wasn't her place to judge. Jasmine waited patiently for the king's request.
"I plan to leave for the capital very soon and I am in need of manpower, the adventurers will do. I'll make sure to pay them bountifully." Brennan told Jasmine, who maintained a stoic expression. This wasn't a hard request.
'That's what I said to do' W transmitted, feeling annoyed.
"No it wasn't" Brennan rebuked silently, his pride preventing him from being outdone by a monster. Jasmine's stoic face faltered.
"Ahem, pardon me, your Majesty, will there be any class requirements?" But she regained her poise and continued the conversation going seamlessly.
Brennan and Jasmine talked deeply about his requirements. Ultimately, the king of Bosque would not settle for anything under peak C-class. These people also had to have a minimum of a year of experience.
Outside that, there was also a minimum participant requirement of 100 people. Unless this number was met, the king would not be able to return to the capital. That was crazy.
The number was enough to temporarily cripple the rapidly growing Arbor town. Sure, the numbers would sort themselves out in a month, but there would be a week or two of emptiness.
It was worth noting though that while the numbers might recover, the quality of these new adventurers was not guaranteed to be great. He was taking away all the current B-class adventurers as opposed to just anyone. That was all the competent adventurers of the town, and Samuel was not even present to even the odds!
What was crazier however was how low this number was. There were entire armies of people surrounding the capital, but the king expected to make his way back to the throne with just 100 hundred Peak C-class or B-class adventurers?
His chances of making it into the capital were not slim, but his chances of making it back to the throne were practically zilch.
Yet, making it into the capital would require at least half of this force he randomly picked up to perish. Who would pick up the task knowing that?
It suddenly made sense why he didn't dare ask for more than 100. If Brennan dared ask for more, he would stay at Arbor town for the months to come, all the way until someone took his rightful throne.
Whatever the turn-out, the request would be handled quickly by the union.
'You should have asked for some books' W transmitted to Brennan who rolled his eyes. Negotiating the terms took quite a lot of added effort thanks to the suggestions of W.
"There is no point in reading the rubbish here" But Brennan was insistent on procuring only the highest quality books for W to read.
'But I want to read that rubbish…' W thought to himself regretfully. He didn't know if the king was trying to be legitimately helpful or if he simply didn't want to waste his own time with what he considered to be inferior books. Brennan would have to be present for W's studies after all
The trio of mob and royalty left the freedom union immediately after settling the quest. They went back to the best inn of Arbor town. Thanks to the influx of people, some new high-end inns had been built by opportunistic businessmen.
This meant the king was staying at not just the best inn available in Arbor town, but also a clean and new one. Plus, the inn owner definitely had it in his interest to pamper the king during his stay.
An inn a king would visit. Wouldn't that be great publicity? The best part was word of mouth would do most of the actual advertising.
"Leave me alone" Brennan told the knights and staff as he entered the largest room in the inn. He wanted to take a shower, but not before Bloody decisively escaped out of Brennan's body.
The king was taken aback by the sudden movement and winced painfully.
"You-" He was angered by the disregard of the mob. How could it leave so brazenly?
'Chill, it's just my second half' W transmitted to Brennan who nodded after putting his emotions in check.
The toxic blood clot bloody started to explore the new territory that was the room. It even liked to try and check under the boarded floor. Bloody had taken quite a liking to it.
But Brennan could only feel a headache. The slime mob acted like a baby running around full of innocent curiosity. It baffled Brennan that the mob's second half would be so stupid.
Brennan only managed to make sense of it after considering that most skills needed some sort of drawback.
Only after Bloody grew tired of the bedroom did Brennan have a chance to shower his body. He just had to take Bloody to join him for the shower.
"Don't-" But Bloody didn't like to play nice and started to wreak havoc in the bathroom as well. It would try to scale up walls and spread its toxicity thanks to the water that wetted the bathroom floor.
'You should have gotten my books' W transmitted to Brennan who couldn't help but stop in his tracks. Was this really all because of the books? Was the mob playing an elaborate trap on it?
The answer was no. Bloody did its own thing. But that also didn't mean W condemned the actions of Bloody, if W condemned them, Bloody would have no choice but to stop. This was revenge!
"Hahahaaha!!!" Hearing the response, Brennan broke into laughter which echoed out into the hall where a couple of knights stood with stiff expressions. The crazed laughter of the king made them curious about how much fun the man could possibly be having by himself.