After the Elders' meeting, and with the Regions Union deciding to hold negotiations, the nine rulers of the realm began making their way to Horozon for the summit. Among these nine rulers, some agreed with Shousen’s stance, while others did not. In fact, some even saw the decision as selfish.
“That bastard Shousen… how the hell did he convince seven fools?” muttered Usillax, holding a glass of wine in one hand while groping the breasts of the whore mounted behind her with the other. His wet, long black hair, now drenched in wine, gave her a greasy appearance.
With a slight smile on his face, Daeve spoke: “Your Majesty, perhaps you too should send gifts to maintain good relations with the Elders, like King Shousen does.”
“Gifts? I already send them women every damn time. What more could they want? Are you saying they don’t like women, Daeve?” the king said with a laugh.
“No, Your Majesty, but—” Daeve began, but the king cut him off.
“Then are you saying those old geezers can’t get it up anymore?”
“That may be the case, Your Majesty… but I don’t think Lady Ieva and Lady Beren enjoy these kinds of gifts,” said Daeve. Emboldened by his king, he still managed to use the word “Lady” with respect.
The king burst into laughter. “A ‘Lady’ at 126 years old? If they weren’t Elders, even a brothel wouldn’t call them that!” He laughed so hard he nearly fell off his horse. The whore riding with him and Daeve laughed along.
Now thoroughly drunk, the king turned to Daeve and asked, “Hey Daeve, if you could fuck any noble in this land, who would you choose?”
Daeve looked slightly shocked but considered the king’s drunken state.
“Your Majesty, it’s not my place to say such things,” he replied.
“Your king commands you, speak up! Pick someone!” the king barked, downing his wine between each sentence.
“I’ve never really thought about it, but… the Princess of Yaqun Melissa is quite lovely,” Daeve said.
“Yaqun, huh? I swear to you, once I conquer that frozen land, I’ll take the queen as my wife and give you her daughter,” said the king, laughing heartily.
“You are most generous, Your Majesty. I will never forget such kindness,” Daeve replied, grinning.
They had just crossed the border into Horozon when the king’s laughter suddenly ceased upon seeing the statue of Giuna.
“Look at that statue, Daeve. Spotless, not even a bird dares shit on it. Oh Great Giuna… greater than all… is anyone greater than you?” he muttered, softly singing the anthem written for Giuna after the war. Then, snorting, he spat a large glob of phlegm at the statue.
“I command thousands of soldiers, own gold, land, women… and yet none of it compares to this respect and glory,” said Usillax. The drunkard from moments ago had vanished, replaced by a different man.
“Your Majesty, you too are respected across the lands,” Daeve replied, momentarily saddened by his king’s shift.
“Respect? In their eyes, I’m nothing more than a drunken, depraved king. They fear me Daeve, they don’t admire me,” said the king with a grim face. He threw the glass bottle in his hand at the statue as they rode past.
“We fought for days, spilled blood, left no part of my body unscarred… but of course, with Giuna around, who are we to deserve honor? That lowly snake gets more than anyone deserves, and it infuriates me,” the king said bitterly.
After a while, his rage subsided. turning to Daeve, he asked, “What do the children call me when they see me, Daeve?”
Daeve hesitated at first, but the king insisted.
“They call you the man-eating ogre… Your Majesty,” Daeve said.
A faint smirk returned to the king’s face. “I didn’t do anything different from Giuna back then. Hell, I was stronger in battle. But while one of us is hailed as a hero, the other is branded a monster,” he said. The two-meter-tall giant of a man looked almost slumped in his saddle.
A brief silence followed. Then, suddenly shouting behind him with a smile, he commanded:
“Enough of this silence, bring more wine! And a woman with a beautiful voice—quickly!”
And so, they continued on their way.
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