The Golden King

Chapter 42 The Golden King

The phrase "Golden King" might refer to the largest denomination of currency outside the palace, but inside the palace, it aptly describes the ruler of the Kingdom of Saint Valois himself.

Charles XVI inherited his family's stature; he was short and stout and lacked imposing presence. However, his court attire and elaborate clothing, predominantly white and gold, easily demonstrated that he was the most illustrious man in the Holy Kingdom.

He was now chatting with the chief of the palace guards in his study, while indulging in his personal hobby: fiddling with a clock.

"Your Majesty," the previous conversation had revolved around interesting events in Valuvana, and the chief guard, observing that King Charles was in a good mood, hesitated before speaking again: "A few days ago, a fire broke out in the city center."

Charlie carefully placed the uninstalled balance wheel on the velvet cloth, his expression turning serious: "Sir, have my people been injured or killed?"

"I don't know how to bring this up, God! It's Your Majesty's Chamber of Commerce, the Lowe Chamber of Commerce building. I'm so sorry, this is my dereliction of duty." The guards present would have been astonished: they never knew their commander could look so sorrowful.

"Why take the blame upon yourself? Isn't this the responsibility of the Chamber of Commerce and the security force? Just because the captain is your old buddy?"

"Your Majesty, I am utterly ashamed of myself for saying that!"

Charlie grew somewhat bored with the chief guard's exaggerated performance; he used to enjoy such over-the-top reactions. "Alright, alright," he said, "investigate what happened, and report back on the damage."

"His Holiness the Bishop requests an audience!" came the announcement from the guard in the foyer.

"Enter." "His Majesty grants permission to see you!"

Before the message was even finished, a clicking sound came from the marble floor. His Majesty silently put the clock and small tools into the desk drawer.

Here, "Bishop" refers to the only man whom the Chief of the Guard and most of the nobles dislike: Deplesi. He dragged his crippled right leg in with a cane, a leg that could have been healed given his status and the divine grace he received, but for some reason, he stubbornly kept his right leg disabled, a fact that annoyed everyone else as well.

"Your Majesty, preliminary statistics show that grain production has decreased this year!" Although he was dressed in a red priest's robe, he looked like a harbinger of doom.

The chief guard composed himself: "Your Majesty, I will certainly complete the task you have assigned me." With that, he walked past the bishop and left the king's study without glancing at him.

Charlie knew the bishop's words had a follow-up, and sure enough: "You should restrain those tax farmers and tell them to curb their greedy teeth and lips, and leave a way for His Majesty's people to live."

"Lord Deplesie, our tax farmers are all selected, virtuous men. Besides, the truly greedy ones are those bankers, and I have to pay them 37 million gold coins by the end of this year."

"Your Majesty, I fear that our tax revenue this year is only 80 million gold. If nearly half of that is used merely to pay the interest, it will be a disaster for the kingdom!"

"If we can't fill those vultures' bellies with the interest, they won't lend us any more money! They'll even threaten to make us repay the principal!" Perhaps the farmers from other provinces can't imagine that the wealthy men of the Holy Kingdom are also the biggest debtors in the Holy Kingdom, but this is an open secret among the nobles and bankers.

The cardinal spoke for a long time, but the conversation was far less pleasant than with the chief of the guard. Before leaving, the cardinal said with concern, "Your Majesty, I have no right to interfere in the kingdom's military affairs, but I must remind you that recent intelligence indicates that the empire's troop movements are unusually frequent."

"Yes, yes, may the god of light and order bless us!"

As the kingdom's most authoritative representative of God, the archbishop did not respond: "Farewell."

The foyer was closed, and only the ticking of hundreds of clocks, all of varying sizes, remained in the study. Only the clock in the Holy Kingdom remained untouched; he had tried to repair it for over twenty years, but it still wouldn't keep perfect time.

Even during his rest time, he had to be at the research lab in the morning to clock in. Luo Xia happened to be asking two people about clothing stores. There were certainly clothing stores on Country Street, but the prices there were too high, not something Luo Xia could afford.

"No! I need to catch up on my sleep." Pascal refused decisively and resolutely.

"Let me see," Paulina took the map Rorschach had gotten from the Magic Guild and marked it with circles and dots. "Let me mark some shops for you. This one has some good food. There are a few clothing stores here, and the prices are reasonable. The merchant guild here sells the experimental alchemy drugs and other materials we need."

Rorschach noticed that one street was marked with the most circles: "Dupont Street?"

"There are many clothing stores on Dupont Street, and the prices are much better. The tailors there have a keen sense of smell, like dogs. As soon as a new style comes out on Country Street, you can find the same thing in a Dupont store for less than a third of the price."

Is this the Huaqiangbei of the ready-to-wear industry? Luo Xia thanked his senior sister.

"By the way, now that you mention it, I feel like I need to buy some winter clothes too. Pascal, are you really not going?"

Pascal had already settled into the leather chair closest to the fireplace, finding a comfortable position: "I'm not going!"

"What a pity." Paulina, pulling Luo Xia's arm, slowly made her way to the door, saying, "It's rare that Instructor Kano agreed to lend me a carriage; only my junior brother gets to enjoy such a perk."

"Why didn't you say so sooner about this amazing opportunity?" Pascal sprang out of the cabin like he'd been pricked in the butt. "I'm suddenly not sleepy anymore. Ugh, it's so cold. Let's go buy some clothes."

Rorschach was immediately released, and Paulina grabbed Pascal and dragged him away without saying a word, as if afraid he would change his mind.

Looking at the marked map, Luo Xia thought, "I could collect information on the shops and make maps like this to sell at the city gate. They should be quite popular with people from other provinces, right?"

"Not just people from the provinces, but also those idle Valuwanans will buy it." Pascal, who was being dragged along, suddenly perked up, pulled out a small notebook, and started writing and muttering to himself:

"We can also collect customer reviews to rate the store. If we gain popularity, we'll charge the store to improve its score, so we can profit from both ends."

Pascal has so much experience running an internet platform? Who is the time traveler? Rorschach silently put away the map.

When they finally arrived at the research building's stable, the three discovered that their beloved Master Carnot's car had been borrowed, and the driver was also on leave! None of the three knew how to drive!

"Shall we call a horse-drawn carriage?" That was Rorschach's original plan, and it didn't really matter now.

"It's getting harder and harder to find a horse-drawn carriage these days."

"I knew that old Master Cano wouldn't let us get away with this! Let's just forget about it." Pascal turned to go back, but suddenly received a cold look from someone and shivered.

"I'll think of something."

After a while, Pascal led a horse draped in thick velvet out of the building. Mr. Snow followed behind: "A masterpiece of the Alchemy Department! It only requires input of ether to operate; tell it the location and it will take you there. Its intelligence is no less than that of the Tower Spirit!"

Snow stroked the alchemy masterpiece with affection: "Don't bump or knock this treasure. Tell me how you feel about using it when you get back."

(End of this chapter)