"Hmmm?" The King blinked, batting his thick eyelashes. He had refused to give this fellow any sort of help as far as he could remember.
But he was standing in front of him now and declaring that he had successfully chased out not only the dark elves but also the demons who had invaded their lands?
Wait, since when did so many demons step foot inside the Gresh Kingdom? Why did he not know anything about this?
The young King frowned, making the two dimples on his cheeks more prominent.
He gazed at Liam, eyeing him from top to bottom, trying to discern everything about him.
However, Liam silently stood with a polite smile, waiting for the King to do whatever he wanted and respond whichever way he wanted.
Only Mia was breaking into a cold sweat because Liam was not just taking credit for the dark elves, he was also taking credit for the demons!
Wasn't he the one who brought the demons here in the first place? What would happen if that secret was revealed?
Mia was not dumb, and she knew that the King of a big Kingdom like Gresh also couldn't be dumb.
Liam was basically playing a double agent, reaping both the rewards from the side of the humans and the side of the demons.
What would happen if this was found out?
Knowing the tough penalties in this game, he would probably be captured and imprisoned or swiftly sentenced to death!
Yet the guy was cooly lying through his teeth!
With her hands crossed behind her back, she crossed her fingers, silently hoping that everything would work out.
Meanwhile, Liam and the young King were still locked in a staring contest with each other.
They kept looking at each other silently, neither side saying anything more.
Liam did not bother talking because he wanted to make the fat sheep sweat.
The King did not bother talking because he couldn't say what he really wanted to say as the Chancellor was also present at the moment.
As he had newly ascended to the throne, he couldn't jeopardize his position like that, which was also why he couldn't give more units to support Liam in the matter of the dark elves.
In the end, somehow, everything had been settled smoothly.
However… there was still something unsettling about the whole matter that made the King suspicious and uneasy.
How could a newly appointed Duke accomplish something so significant without adequate backing?
He rapped his fingers on the chair, having a million questions in his mind.
If the man in front of him was indeed so powerful, then that was all the more reason he had to be wary of him!
Gritting his teeth and swallowing what he originally intended to say, the King finally replied back.
"Good. Good. You have contributed greatly to our Kingdom. As a reward, I-"
However, Liam interrupted the man promptly. "Please, your highness. No reward is necessary."
He humbly shook his head and bowed once before flashing a polite smile again.
Though his action of interrupting the King was rude, no one could question him after these gestures.
"Then? What is it that you are here for? Speak?" The King gnashed his teeth.
"Yes, your highness, I am here for that same purpose." Liam shamelessly continued.
"Though we have somehow eradicated the intruders from our territory, the lands and forests have been destroyed."
"They are no longer inhabitable. Only poison rots in the ground."
"Hmmm…" The King listened to him, his gaze coldly lingering on Liam, wondering where he was going with this.
"Those lands are within the borders of the Kingdom. They can be dealt with after the threat of the demons is neutralized."
"Your highness-" Liam started speaking, but the King shook his head and cut him off.
"It would be for the best if everyone only focussed on that for now."
Liam's eyes twitched, but he did not give up. "I completely agree with you, your highness."
"These lands are not our priority!"
"Yes." The King nodded.
"These lands are probably ruined beyond help. They are worthless and our Kingdom's efforts would be wasted on trying to recover those."
"Yes, indeed."
"These lands don't have any value anymore. They are just an eyesore, a pimple, a black mark on our Kingdom's beautiful terrain."
"Mmm. Yes."
"So, why don't I take these lands myself and hide them?"
"Yes." The King answered casually, only blinking afterward in confusion. What just happened?
He made a mistake and answered too fast without thinking!
"What? Hide? What are you trying to say?"
Liam sneered inwardly, seeing the young guy fumbling. He knew that he almost had this in the bag.
"I mean your highness, I desperately need a piece of land to set up our base. It would help our guild operations if we had a residence."
"We would be able to fight with the demons better and contribute to the Kingdom's welfare to the best of our abilities."
"If you would kindly allow me to set up my estate on these lands, then I can put these wastelands to good use."
"They would no longer be an eyesore. I could also slowly try to recover them in time."
"So please allow this humble servant to take this burden off the esteemed Chancellor."
"Say what?" The Chancellor, who had been listening quietly all this time suddenly stiffened up on hearing his name.
He had a strange expression on his face as he opened and closed his mouth speechlessly.
However, Liam did not give him an opportunity to speak. He just kept continuing onward.
"Please permit me to serve your highness and the Kingdom. Long live the King! Long live the Kingdom!"
Liam bent down on one knee and bowed in front of the man.
Taking his action as the cue, Derek also did the same, and Mia soon followed.
All three of them were bowing to the King with the utmost respect with a wildly burning fighting spirit in their eyes.
Such a sight even made the King speechless for a second. Moreover, the Chancellor and the guards were also around.
But just for this, how could he possibly give away such a vast extent of land. He cleared his throat loudly and waved his hand.
"Rise! I understand that your intentions are good, but I am afraid I can't release these lands to you." The man resolutely shook his head.
"In recognition of your contribution, I will award you 1000 gold coins, as well as another 20 acres of your choice."
"According to your status, I am afraid this is the limit."
"Your intentions might be good, but there will be other administrative issues so it's best to focus on important matters for now."
It was King's turn to smile. He now understood why this man had run over to him, boasting about his achievement.
He had tactfully grabbed this troublesome issue and nipped it in the bud. He felt quite satisfied with this outcome.
But the thing that was bugging him was… the newly appointed Duke did not look dispirited at all even though he was just now blatantly rejected.
"Thank you, your highness. I am extremely grateful for this reward. I will gladly accept it."
Liam smiled and bowed, and the respective notification also appeared in front of him. He did not hesitate and quickly accepted it by clicking 'Yes'.
This did not come as a surprise to the King and he sneered, waving his hand. "You all may leave now."
"Your highness, please forgive me. There is one other matter that I need to discuss with you in private."
Mia looked at Liam, wondering what he was talking about now. Their haul was already quite good, maybe they shouldn't push their luck too much?
The King also looked equally surprised.
Coincidentally, the expression he had on his face was almost the same one Mia had, both of them looking incredibly beautiful and elegant in their way.
"Hmmm? Speak?" The King said.
"Your highness…" Liam hesitantly looked at the Chancellor, who was still standing beside them.
"That is quite alright. You may speak!"
"I understand, your highness." Liam bowed and continued. "I am afraid that I have some bad news."
"My men had apprehended a few people recently claiming that your highness had purposefully let the villages in the south rot."
"I was en route bringing those culprits to you when a group of demons apprehended us."
"We managed to successfully take care of the demons. However, we lost the men in the process."
"I am afraid, these people are still at large, spreading gossip and rumors about our Kingdom's weakness."
"They somehow knew about the dark elves too. They are claiming that the Kingdom is crumbling slowly."
"If we let things continue like this…" Liam sighed. Everyone else looked as if they were in deep thought. Where was he going with this new story?
And the next second…
"I am afraid this was the main reason why I brought the topic of the wastelands."
If your highness would allow me to control them temporarily, I can make sure that the land is well taken care of, and these rumors would be squashed before they spread." Liam spoke solemnly.
Hearing this, everyone else standing around was utterly stunned.
This guy was still talking about those lands! He really did not plan on letting those go today!
A similar thought was running in the King's mind also as he rubbed his temples.
Already he had too much on his plate with the demons, and now this newly appointed Duke was starting another headache.
And if one read between the lines, there was also a finely veiled threat in his words.
The King was now angry. This guy was like a pest who just wouldn't stop bothering him.
"It seems like Lord Duke is really insistent on helping me with this matter." He snorted coldly.
"Ok, I will agree to your request. You may temporarily control those lands and set up your base of operations in the area."
"However, I need you to do two things in return for that."
[Ding. New Kingdom Quest available]
[Ding. Successfully capture a space rift and clear the demons inside the rift]
[Ding. Quest Rewards: Lease of the southern wastelands]
[Ding. Do you wish to accept? Y/N]
[Ding. New Kingdom Quest available]
[Ding. Recover the southern wastelands and make them habitable again]
[Ding. Quest Rewards: The King's gratitude and trust]
[Ding. Quest Failure Penalty: Confistication of the rights to lease the southern wastelands]
[Ding. Do you wish to accept? Y/N]
JACKPOT! Liam grinned, quickly accepting both the quests.
He then did not continue lingering in front of the King any longer. He knew that he was already on thin ice.
He readily bowed and paid his respects, taking leave without saying even a single extra word.
Mia and Derek as well followed him obediently. Mia especially had a lot of questions for him but now was not the time for that.
The three of them were almost literally running away from the royal palace.
The King rubbed his temples watching this ridiculous sight, and the Chancellor dumbly stared.
From the beginning to the end, the Chancellor did not even get a chance to open his mouth.
He had just been standing there simply. He couldn't help but wonder why was he even invited in the first place?
