The carriage trailed off into the bustling streets of Babylaind.
King 67 opened the curtain and looked out of the window. Even as a king, he still could not comprehend the city''s landscape. The architecture and planning were simply beyond his understanding. The bustling streets were filled with prosperity, as the civilians walked about, living their daily lives. It was so noisy, yet so tranquil. In the distance, King 67 could make out a large crowd of people standing around listening to a speech, and crying dramatically.
King 67 and Edward were travelling towards the castle, where the king resided on a carriage the king had sent from the palace. They had left Artorius in the hospital to recuperate, and despite Selene’s advice to Edward to stay in the hospital, Edward was insistent on travelling with King 67.
He still had many bandages around his body, and his wounds had not fully healed, but he was able to walk properly now. He wore no shirt, revealing his robust yet injured body. His bones were healing at an alarming rate, and at the rate he was healing, he would be fully recovered in a week.
“Edward, you did not tell me that your weakness was that you had to attack within the first few seconds of attaining your glitch.”
Edward smiled and replied, “Why would I tell someone whom I do not trust my greatest flaw?
“That is true. Even when you say that that is your greatest flaw, you may still be lying to get my guard down,” King 67 analysed.
“Possibly,” Edward neither confirmed nor denied his assumptions.
“Well, then, allow me to change the subject. Edward, how are you able to recuperate so fast? A normal Osworl would take at least two days to recover,” King 67 inquired.
“Ah, I understand your confusion,” Edward replied lightheartedly. “That is because I am of true Osworl blood.”
“True Osworl blood?”
“Most people do not know this, but the Osworl kingdom has a rich history. It is said that the very first Osworl king gave birth to thirteen sons. Such a beast!” Edward remarked. “The elder son managed to get the position of King, and from then on, his descendants had been chosen carefully. His descendants would be called those of true blood, and they are limited to royals and very high-ranking generals. Since I am the son of the king of Osworls, I have that blood. In addition, those of true blood are rumoured to have a very special attribute, which is that they have incredibly tough bodies.”
“Furthermore, I also have a glitch, which automatically makes my body tougher. Now, do you understand?”
You did not tell me that glitch makes people’s bodies tougher…
King 67 nodded.
He then rested his head against the soft cushioned wall and closed his eyes.
Is Edward hiding something from me? Just like the first time I met him when he stole my money, he never looked at me throughout the whole conversation.
Unable to act on his suspicions, King 67 sighed and relaxed his body.
“Remember to drink some water, hydrating yourself is important,” Edward reminded me as he pulled out his waterskin bottle.
“Sure…” King 67 responded as he pulled out his waterskin bottle.
Edward is such a peculiar person…
The carriage trailed off towards the beautiful castle.
------------------------------------------
The castle was a beautiful white, but its walls were adorned with gold. The well-trained guards saluted simultaneously as Edward and King 67 entered the castle.
An elderly man holding a wooden cane greeted them.
“Please follow me, honoured guests,” he invited.
King 67 and Edward followed him through a maze of pathways and halls. The castle was much bigger than King 67’s but he was a king of a small country, which could not compare to Babylaind, so it was to be expected.
Finally, they reached a large set of bronze doors. It was around three meters in height and a team of twenty guards were required to open it.
What an effective defence system.
King 67 and Edward walked through the doors into a large hall. This hall, however, was completely coated in gold. They walked across the gold-plated floor towards a long dining table. The elderly man with the wooden cane bowed deeply then exited the hall, and the door slammed shut, causing a gust of wind to blow towards King 67 and Edward. The wind travelled to a large man seated at the end of the dining table. He had the golden crown typical of a king, and he wore a golden coat and held a golden staff with a ruby diamond on top of it. He even had a bushy beard that he would stroke from time to time.
Every part of him screamed king.
Seeing him reminded King 67 of the life he had left behind. Where was his crown now? Probably in the Osworl’s collection of triumphs. The large man had two guards armed with spears and clad in silver armour.
King 67 suspected that the only reason why their armours were not made of gold was because it would be impractical.
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Meanwhile, Edward’s eyes gleamed with curiosity and excitement.
“Welcometh-” the large man’s voice boomed. “To mine own domain.”
--------------------------------------
The king of Babylaind stood before King 67 and Edward, welcoming them with open arms.
Without a moment of hesitation, King 67 and Edward immediately kneeled.
"Your Majesty, we are most grateful for your gracious welcome,” they said simultaneously.
“Hmm…” the king smiled.
“I heareth thou hast defeat''d the architect. Pray pardon me, how didst thou do so to me in detail?” he ordered.
Unable to decipher what he was saying, Edward remained silent. After all, he was speaking in a language only kings would use.
Seeing this, King 67, who understood the king’s orders, answered quickly, “Your Majesty, at first, we were utterly overwhelmed by the Architect. However, when defeat seemed inevitable, Edward—whom you see beside me—conveyed his plan through hand signs. He proposed that he would provoke the Architect to distract him, while I would stealthily approach from behind and strike. And, with that, we emerged victorious.”
“I seeth, hahaha… a valorous plan indeed. Edward, thou exploit''dst the Architect’s weakness—his pride—and emerged victorious. For that, I commend thee.” the king stroked his beard.
Edward, who vaguely understood that the king was praising him for his plan, answered as politely as possible, “Thank you for your praise, your Majesty.”
"Hmm, valorous, valorous. Tom, the fact that thou didst not falter in front of the architect is also extremely commendable." the king praised, looking at King 67.
"I am deeply honoured by your praise, Your Majesty." King 67 responded politely.
Seeing how fluently King 67 responded to the king, Edward could not help but stare at him.
“Edward,” the king continued, “I hath heard thee has''t a glitch?”
Edward understood that the king was asking about his glitch.
“Yes, your Majesty. My glitch is Sword of God. It increases my sword skills by two hundred percent.” Edward explained.
“I’m getting the hang of this,” he thought.
The king stroked his magnificent beard once again. “Int''resting. How wouldst thou liketh to work for me? I shall giveth thee a handsome pay. Tom, thou mayst join too.”
The king wants us to work for him? That is certainly a great deal, but Edward most probably would not take it. He probably does not understand that this is not a request, it is an order. I need to warn him somehow!
Just as King 67 was about to form the hand signs, Edward spoke up, “Your Majesty, I politely decline. There are many other matters I must attend to.”
Tsk.
…
“Hahaha… I seeth. The fact yond someone dares to refuseth me amuses me! V’ry well, I shalt alloweth thee wend on thy way.”
Shocked, King 67 looked up with widened eyes. The king had allowed Edward to decline his offer.
“I thank you very much, Your Majesty,” Edward thanked.
"Your Majesty, I would be honoured to accept that offer." King 67 quickly jumped at his chance.
Startled. Edward looked up.
“If I do not do something, Tom will not join me on my journey! After all, why would he need the money I have on me if he can get paid by the king himself?” Edward thought.
"No. If ''tis true Edward doth not join, I have nay need for thee. After all, the plan was formed for Edward, nay?" The king answered firmly.
Well, that makes sense. The plan was indeed not formed by me. In fact, I almost lost my sanity.
King 67 sighed.
“I understand, Your Majesty,”
Edward heaved a sigh of relief.
…
“I assume thee wilt beest curious about wherefore I have so much gold, right?” the king was eager to show off his wealth.
“Of course, your Majesty.” King 67 answered.
The king smiled. "Below our land doth lie a most wondrous goldmine. Howev''r, it was not discov''r''d until the architect came. That gent hath used his glitch to dig up the did grind, and therein was a great gold mine! Thou wouldst not believe the economy after that mine was discovered! The inflation did grow so lacking in valour that many did go bankrupt! The architect had to feed those folk each morn!"
Looks like the economy was really bad… yet he still smiles while talking about it.
"Now, I shall bid the Architect to mend thy ship, for he hath lost the duel. Also, see that thou stayest within his workshop. The citizens, having witnessed that duel, are likely to grow wroth. Some may even seek thee both out. That is all; thou mayst depart."
The citizens did indeed seem very angry… But how is the Architect supposed to fix it?
“Your Majesty, I regret to inform you that the Architect has lost his glitch, and as such, he may be unable to repair our ship.” King 67 spoke up.
“Is''t so? Fret not, he can surely fix it,” the king stroked his lush beard.
King 67 was surprised that the king did not have a strong reaction to the news of the Architect losing his glitch.
“Your Majesty, we are most grateful for the honour of meeting with you. We shall take our leave now.” Edward said politely. He was getting the hang of speaking with the king.
And with that, their audience with the king of Babylaind was over.
---------------------------------
“How will we move the transportation to the architect’s workshop?” King 67 asked as he walked towards the port with Edward.
“Fret not, thee will see.” Edward answered, smiling “Wait… or is it thee?”
It is thou…
They passed by the port, filled with people glaring at them and moved up a small hill.
“Hmm…this hill should be good enough…”
“Did we not pass by our ship?” King 67 inquired.
“Just wait and thou will see,” Edward repeated confidently, after realising that the correct word to use was thou. He waved towards the boat King 67 had boarded when he first met Edward.
…what?
The ship started to vibrate, then it was steered towards the hill. Suddenly, it started moving up the slope.
The civilians all stared at the sight with gaping mouths.
Come to think of it, who was steering the ship at that time? There had to be a ship captain, right?
Reaching the top of the hill, it stopped.
It blocked the orange glow from the setting sun, and a small girl-barely nine years old jumped off the entrance.
She had radiant golden hair, eyes like rubies, and lips tinged with green, yet her simple attire was stained with oil and grease. A green apron, which was even more dirty, adorned her as well.
“So you’ve finally returned,” she barked at Edward, crossing her arms.
“Yes I have, Melissa,” Edward smiled.
“Let me introduce to you Melissa,” Edward turned towards King 67. “She is the captain of our ship… and will help with its repair.”