Chapter 39: The King’s Reward

“Hey, what do you think you’re doing right now?”

Despite the warning, Levan’s reckless continuation of his words caused the King of the Bloodthirsty Lions to radiate a murderous aura far beyond what had been seen before.

It was a killing intent so suffocating it made one’s breath catch.

Yet at that moment, the one who spared Levan’s life was none other than Evergran.

“Listen.”

“Your Majesty!”

“Calm down, Sir Leon. There is a way, isn’t there?”

Truly a king.

At a single command from the king, Leon immediately withdrew his murderous intent.

Thanks to that, Levan gained the floor and gathered more courage to speak boldly.

“To be honest, I know why Your Majesty has been unable to properly punish Ratel.”

“And what do you think that reason is?”

“Because Ratel is the Queen’s man.”

“You insolent fool!”

Leon finally exploded with anger at Levan’s explanation.

However, just before Leon’s fist could strike, the king raised his hand and issued a final warning.

“Enough. If you dare to harm this man again without my permission, I will not hold back next time, Sir Leon.”

“Huu… Y-Yes, Your Majesty.”

Who wouldn’t be enraged when their lord was insulted to his face?

Leon’s anger was justified.

But Evergran was curious about Levan’s words.

Levan continued.

“Mongus said he has solid evidence to prove Ratel’s crime. But given the current situation, even if there is clear proof, since Ratel is the Queen’s man, whether he will be properly punished remains uncertain.

The matter is very old, and the person already accused is dead, after all.

However, if Ratel commits a grave crime beyond the Queen’s control, then that sin could be used as grounds to impose aggravated punishment, adding the past mistakes on top of it.”

“That makes sense. But how do you know when Ratel will commit such a grave crime, and why bring that method to me now?”

“There is a way. Your Majesty, have you ever heard of the War Mage?”

“War Mage?”

Levan revealed his trump card.

It was none other than exploiting his own identity as a War Mage, affiliated with the Central Mage Tower, and Ratel’s status as well.

Before explaining the plan, Levan gave an overview of his identity as a War Mage, the destiny of War Mages, and their relationship with the Central Mage Tower.

“…So, you mean you have made enemies of all the mages affiliated with the Central Mage Tower, and they hate you enough to want to kill you?”

“Exactly. And Ratel is also a dispatched mage sent from the Central Mage Tower. If we use that well, we can accuse Ratel of a grave crime.

For example, if despite being someone Your Majesty values dearly, Ratel harms me for personal reasons, wouldn’t that be an act of defying Your Majesty’s authority?”

“Ah…!”

“Moreover, there is sufficient justification. I am the one who found the Book of Wisdom that Your Majesty lost.

Everyone in the royal family knows the Book of Wisdom has gone missing, so it’s no surprise Your Majesty cherishes me.”

“Indeed…!”

Evergran’s eyes sparkled at Levan’s plan.

Glancing over, even Leon looked as if he’d just been slapped on the back of the head.

‘Those guys seem pretty shocked.’

This plan had come to Levan’s mind while searching offline for data.

To be honest, he hoped this plan would never have to be used.

But without playing this card, it seemed impossible to clear the quest.

As proof,

[Leon Kalager’s affection towards you has greatly increased.]
[Evergran Finriver’s affection towards you has greatly increased.]

Both their affections skyrocketed wildly.

‘Whoa, look at those affection points.’

In an instant, the affection surpassed 70%.

Levan expected some increase if the plan was accepted, but honestly, he didn’t expect it to be this high.

Thanks to that,

[You have completed the quest, ‘Make Friends with the King’.]
[Quest rewards have been granted.]
[Experience points acquired.]
[Level up.]
[Level up.]

He had completed the epic quest he had aimed for from the start.

‘Good, good.’

Levan was satisfied. Though from now on, things would get a bit troublesome.

Evergran spoke.

“A clever strategy indeed. Then, according to your plan, we must grant you an appropriate title.”

“Huh?”

“Don’t be surprised. It’s the title I was going to bestow on whoever retrieved the book anyway.

But for the sake of this plan, you’ll need a higher rank. Sir Leon?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

At the king’s nod, Leon immediately drew a decorative sword hanging on the wall and handed it to the king.

Taking the sword, Evergran said,

“I hereby confer a title upon you.”

At the word ‘conferring a title,’ Levan involuntarily assumed the posture knights take in movies.

That is, kneeling on one knee with an arm resting on the other knee in reverence.

The sword’s tip lightly brushed over Levan’s head and shoulders alternately.

“I bestow upon you the title of Honorary Count of the Passna Kingdom.”

[Achievement Unlocked: Honorary Count of the Passna Kingdom.]
[Passna Kingdom Merit Points increased by 500,000.]

“?!”

A simple ceremony.

But compared to the simplicity of the process, the merit points gained were by no means trivial.

Levan said, dumbfounded,

“Th-Thank you, Your Majesty.”

Thus, Levan inadvertently became Honorary Count of the Passna Kingdom.

After the ceremony, Leon said,

“Then from now on, my job will be to spread rumors about Sir Levan within the palace.”

“Could you take care of that?”

“Is there any doubt? I will spread it secretly, so no one will know.”

“Thank you for your help. Oh, and from now on, shouldn’t we assign a guard to Sir Levan? We don’t know what that Ratel might do to him.”

“Ah, no! There’s no need for that.”

“Why not?”

“The Mage Tower desires not my assassination but my defeat in a fair duel. They want an honorable victory.

So unless I lose at least once, they won’t attempt to kill me or harm me secretly.”

“Hmm, can I really not worry? You know, your safety is the key to this plan.”

“Don’t worry. No matter what happens, I will survive to be living proof to punish Ratel.”

“Thank you for saying that.”

Levan blocked all possibilities in advance to prevent the king from assigning a guard.

Still, Evergran seemed concerned for Levan and said to Leon,

“In that case, the only thing I can provide is material support. Sir Leon, can you take care of it for me?”

“Yes, I will handle it.”

Keur.

Levan barely held back an outburst of cheers at Evergran’s order.

Material support directly from the king.

How amazing could it be?

Levan soon arrived at a lavish villa following Leon.

Leon said,

“This is the secret vault Your Majesty uses.”

A house used as a secret vault!

Just hearing it was thrilling.

Levan tried to keep his expression neutral as Leon opened the villa door.

And the moment the door opened…!

“…Huh?”

“What’s wrong?”

“Oh, it’s nothing.”

The moment the villa door opened, Levan doubted his own eyes.

From outside, it looked like a huge and magnificent villa, but inside, the entire contents consisted of one large chest.

Seeing Levan’s bewildered expression, Leon said,

“What? You want to say it’s shabby?”

“Oh, no! Not shabby, just… how should I say it… a bit, well…”

“It is shabby. Because this place was made from the allowance the king received when he was crown prince.”

“Allowance… you say?”

“Yes. His Majesty has always pursued frugality since childhood.

So even now, as king of Passna, he refuses any luxury, just like the previous king, setting a monthly allowance for himself and carefully saving it.

Though most of it goes to helping others, so not much remains.”

What nonsense was this?

A king receiving an allowance?

Does Evergran think the king is something like a president?

‘Why would a king need a salary or allowance?’

Levan was somewhat dumbfounded by Leon’s explanation.

After all, the king is the owner of the kingdom and has the right to possess everything in it.

Yet he stubbornly insists on an allowance for frugality?

From Levan’s point of view, it was utterly incomprehensible.

‘Is this what they call poverty by theft?’

Levan’s twisted thoughts made his fists tremble as if he’d been deceived.

But he didn’t want to fail at maintaining his expression and end up in jail, so he forced himself to keep a straight face and gave a mechanical reply.

“…Your Majesty is truly wise and frugal.”

“That’s right. Sometimes I find it a bit frustrating too, but His Majesty always says the king must be uncomfortable for the people to be comfortable.

Even I, a mere knight, follow that policy without complaint.”

Was Leon proud of his lord’s frugality? He smiled faintly, then opened the small box inside the villa.

And then—

Blazing light!

“…!”

The opened box emitted a dazzling golden glow that almost blinded Levan.

“I wish I could provide equipment made by the royal family, but if Ratel recognized it, it would ruin the plan. So I’ll give gold coins instead.”

Leon said this calmly.

But to Levan, Leon’s words no longer registered.

‘How much is all this?’

The chest was relatively small compared to the villa, but the chest itself was quite large.

And inside were an uncountable number of gold coins.

Seeing Levan’s dumbfounded face, Leon said,

“Curious about how much is inside?”

“Huh? No, I could never…”

“The last time I counted, it was about 3 billion gold.”

“Ah, 3 billion… Yes? 3 billion?”

“Compared to other nations’ kings, it’s a modest sum. So, how much do you need?”

Crazy.

3 billion gold.

That’s roughly 300 million in Korean won.

Levan was overwhelmed by the massive number but soon realized the amount wasn’t that large.

‘Well, for a king’s allowance saved over years, 3 billion is definitely low. My own symbiotic gear alone costs about 1 billion.’

Everything is relative after all.

Coming back to reality, Levan cleared his throat a couple of times and replied politely.

“I could never decide the amount. Captain, please just give me what you deem appropriate.”

“Alright, understood.”

[You have obtained 30,000,000 gold.]

‘…Wow.’

30 million gold.

Quite generous.

Levan received 30 million gold, equivalent to about 3 million won, as material support through Leon.

“Is it not enough?”

“No, this is more than sufficient.”

While 30 million gold isn’t a small amount, considering the reward for finding the long-sought Book of Wisdom, it felt a little cheap.

But Levan decided not to be greedy.

Any greed now would only damage his image.

‘You can’t cut open the golden goose for some petty cash. I’ll get something bigger later. Yeah, definitely.’

After collecting the reward, Levan finally left the royal palace.

Stretching lazily outside the palace, he muttered,

“Ugh…! I thought I’d die from all the stiffness. Formality just doesn’t suit me.”

It was the first time he’d ever had an audience with a king.

So unknowingly, he had been tense the whole time.

But now, he was relieved he wouldn’t have to meet the king for a while.

At last, Levan took out the new epic cube he had received for completing the quest to prepare for the next quest.

And then.

Ding!

[You have received a message from BusanCouple.]
[Do you want to check the message?]

…A reply had come from BusanCouple.