Chen Yu steered the conversation back to business. "Speaking of which, how is the search for the Crown of Ignis progressing?"
"The Crown?"
Count Brand’s eyes lit up. He slapped his head with a wing. "CAW! I almost forgot there was such a great accomplishment waiting for me to claim."
He puffed out his chest and began to boast smugly. "With my eloquence and wisdom, of course I was able to persuade those Chaos Believers from the Blades of Vengeance. Belli sent word this very morning that she has successfully retrieved the Crown and is just waiting for me to return and collect it!"
"Now that the meeting is over, I must hurry back and retrieve the Crown for you."
But then he seemed to recall something, and his tone grew cautious. "It’s just... Belli mentioned that the Crown has a... minor imperfection. I hope Your Majesty won’t mind."
Chen Yu was rather surprised.
He had originally thought that entrusting the internal affairs of the White Horse Kingdom to an unreliable crow like Count Brand would almost certainly end in disaster.
He never expected the crow to actually succeed in negotiating for the Crown.
"As expected of Minister Blanc, your work truly puts my mind at ease," Chen Yu praised insincerely.
Upon hearing this, Count Brand was ecstatic. He flapped his wings excitedly and flew in circles around the room. "CAW HA HA! Your Majesty is too kind! It is merely my duty."
With that, he landed on the table, sidled up to Chen Yu, and asked quietly, "So... Your Majesty, about the matter of my fief..."
Chen Yu made a magnanimous wave with his small Gel hand, if you could even call it a hand.
"The Dark Land is vast. When you bring back the Crown, I will personally designate a large and excellent fief for you."
"It has to have shiny Gemstones and plump, juicy worms!" Count Brand’s eyes lit up as he quickly added his conditions.
"No problem," Chen Yu agreed without a second thought. Then, he asked curiously, "But what, exactly, is this ’minor imperfection’ Belli mentioned?"
"Ahem..."
Count Brand’s bravado instantly vanished. He scratched his head sheepishly with a wingtip. "Well... it’s not a huge problem. It’s just that... it’s cracked."
"Cracked?"
Chen Yu thought, ’That’s not so bad. It can be repaired.’
"It’s... shattered... into several pieces..." Count Brand confessed, his voice growing fainter as he covered his beady eyes with a wing.
Uh...
Chen Yu was speechless. ’How can that be called a minor imperfection?’
Listening from the side, Alice couldn’t help but frown. She spoke thoughtfully, "According to legend, the Crown of Ignis was forged from the core of an extinguished sun and is protected by Solar Divine Power. Its durability is said to be unparalleled. How could it shatter so easily?"
Count Brand lowered his wings and retorted, "Belli said it seemed to crack on its own. Could it be that it’s just too old and has deteriorated?"
Chen Yu hopped. "Forget it. Shattered is shattered. It’s not completely useless."
Even a single fragment, let alone the entire shattered Crown, should be enough to serve as one of the two sacred treasures I need to complete my Foundation Establishment.
It was a journey of at least several days for Count Brand to fly at full speed from Shield River City to the swamp.
If he hurried, he might be able to deliver the fragments of the Crown to him before the summer demon tide breaks out.
Unfortunately, without the complete Crown, the "trial of a king"—which sounded so impressive—was likely off the table now.
’Then again, on the bright side, obtaining the Crown was only one of the conditions for the trial. He had no idea what the other conditions were.’
’The lore of this ancient trial was lost to the long river of time. Then again, the Great Demon occupying Golden Glow Valley might know some inside details...’
’I can’t just send a letter and expect the Great Demon to obediently hand over the trial’s secrets.’
’Perhaps this trial of a king was never meant for me from the very beginning.’
Seeing that Chen Yu didn’t blame him, Count Brand secretly let out a sigh of relief and immediately perked up again.
He urged Alice to open the window, ready to depart for Shield River City at once to fetch the shattered Crown.
After watching Count Brand’s dark figure fly out the window and vanish into the drizzling rain, Chen Yu bid Alice a simple farewell, and his consciousness returned to his fortress at the outpost.
...
Perhaps because the summer demon tide was approaching, the weather over the outpost fortress was perpetually dreary and wet.
Even after the entire morning, the sky showed no signs of clearing. Instead, it grew even gloomier. Fat raindrops began to fall with a PATTER, the downpour now heavier than before.
The Slime Guards were untroubled by the rain. In fact, their Gel bodies felt pleased and comfortable in the moisturizing downpour.
They continued to patrol the fortress’s streets and walls faithfully, their round, bobbing figures flickering in and out of view through the curtain of rain.
In contrast, the captured human Adventurers and Mercenaries had mostly retreated indoors, huddling around warm fires to talk in low voices and wait for the rain to stop.
「Inside the Slime Hall.」
The flames in the hearth burned quietly, chasing away the damp chill.
Chen Yu was cultivating on his oak throne while several Slime Scholars hopped about with a SQUELCH SQUELCH, busily sorting through mountainous piles of intelligence Scrolls and maps.
Peggy and Xiaoka were sprawled lazily on the soft rug by the hearth, purring softly, seemingly fast asleep.
Just then, the hall’s wooden doors were pushed open from the outside. A figure holding an umbrella entered with elegant strides.
The visitor was none other than Casimir.
Perched on his shoulder sat a Slime Scholar, engaged in what seemed to be a very pleasant conversation with him.