Kapitel 16: Divine Tea
Chapter 16: Divine tea
The golden white tea that was pouring out of the teapot was constantly emitting light and steam. It flowed so smoothly down into the cup that you wouldn't realize the cup was full until someone said so. You would be too distracted by its beauty.
I quickly stopped pouring lest I spilled such divine tea onto the table. I feared if I did, I would be punished for ruining such expensive tea. I watched Samantha sip the tea and I could hear startled gasp as she drunk from it.
"She actually drank it." A young noble said.
"As expected of Lady Samantha."
I didn't understand the big deal at first but something tells me this tea is not for human consumption.
Samantha put her hand over her mouth and tried swallowing with much effort. After she swallowed the first thing she said was, "Wine is good."
You were forcing yourself the whole time?! If you can't handle it, don't drink it. One of the other kids came over with a cup and poured her a cup of wine. The first thing she did was down in it in an instant.
I wanted to offer her more wine personally but just then the doors in the back opened up and the first person to come out was the king and a few maids. The king was dressed in his usual attire this time. He looked around confused, wondering why everyone looked so shell shocked.
He looked over to his daughter seeing the tea in front of her and clearly understood the reason, "Sam, you look like shit."
She was covering her face when she just looked up and realized just now that her father was in the room, whether she heard him or not is questionable.
"Well, let's get to the meeting."
Everyone had at least a few pieces of paperwork in front of them as they all made their reports of everything on the island. One man was about to speak up before the king interrupted first and said, "Before that, my tea."
I looked over at the king, realizing he was talking to me and all eyes gathered on me. I walked over with the cart and poured him some tea. Unlike with Samantha, nobody was as nervous over the outcome. I watched him drink the tea, and nothing happened this time, "Please continue."
I was a bit shocked over his indifference but I guess that's to be expected. Everyone else looked at this only briefly while some didn't even care.
"Yes, Your Majesty, some parties are keen on joining forces after our deal with the U.D.E, but their intentions aren't clear. I suggest politely declining their offer, while keeping their proposal in mind without rushing in. This way, we show we're considering their offer seriously."
Are they talking about 'that' deal? They already know about it?
"What rationale led us to consider negotiating with individuals who lack the necessary competence? Perhaps offering them a simple distraction could help bring closure to the situation."
"Such as?" This entire conversation sounds way out of my league. I have no idea where we're going with this.
"What if we provide them with an item that, while seemingly appealing, could pose inherent risks? This way, we can caution them beforehand, ensuring we're not held accountable for any consequences."
It almost sounds like they are willing to go to war while looking like the good guys.
The old man nodded his head in agreement, "I know something like that. I've heard news of an artificially made dungeon, the dungeon core has been stolen from… someone… And I would like to retrieve it for experiments. If we could get our hands on an artificial dungeon, this would put the island on the map. That is, if it works like a real one"
"Yes, Your Majesty. I will send them a letter informing them of the news. Should I also charge them for this information?"
"Only the part about its existence. While you are at it, put a unanimous bounty on the dungeon core."
"Of course, Your Majesty." Are these people enemies? Why get so many people to fight against each other for a dungeon core? Unless the core isn't the target.
While everyone is busy talking I look around and see Samantha wave me over. I walk over with the cart and ask if she needs any more tea but she leans over and whispers into my ear instead, "Are you paying attention?"
I look back at her, shocked that she recognized me. I guess this is what a mothers intuition looks like. "Yes ma'am, it's a bit confusing but I'm trying to learn."
"Good. Let me know later if you have any questions."
"I will." I thank her for the kindness and I walk back to the king.
I poured him another cup when I heard something dreadful, it was the old man talking to me. "What do you think? What should we do in this type of situation?"
Crap, I was so distracted by Samantha that I completely missed the current conversation.
"Hmm? So you agree, we should murder the entire Swanni kingdom and salt their lands so they can never grow anything for the next 50 years. That's hardcore kid, but if you say so…"
What?! I didn't say that, I know he's just messing with me but he needs to be more professional in these types of environments. This is embarrassing.
"I was mostly saying that as a joke but if you really don't have anything to say then we might have to do it. Remember kid, those deaths are on your hands."
"Your Majesty, that's not funny." Seriously, I felt like I was going to have a heart attack. This is embarrassing, why doesn't he just give me a break.
"Hahaha! Kidding, kidding. Actually I was just talking about sending my son some of this tea you've made me. Nothing so serious." Everyone was just laughing along with the king now. I've found another reason to hit this guy in the face.
"What do you need me to do, Your Majesty?" I looked back at him and addressed him with respect, "Ah you're no fun, I was hoping you would cry."
I could feel the veins pop out of my forehead. I was so close to actually hitting this guy. "Lady Elizah. Please grab a container for me."
The king looked at the head maid and asked her a question before she took off to grab a metal jar that almost looked like a thermos, but I was a bit surprised when he called her a Lady though. Is she a noble?
"Ahem? The tea." Ah crap I got distracted, I need to pour this into the thermos don't I? I grab the thermos and pour the tea in, filling it as far as it can go. When I was done the old man asked me to pour some for him as well.
I had the strongest urge to drop it on his lap on 'accident' but I chose to avoid the risk of getting yelled at. For some reason this tea seems like a big deal to everyone.
"Hold on to that." I put it on the cart, and watched as the meeting resumed in full. Everyone took turns about many things including the environmental impact of overfishing to hunting beasts out on the mountain side. I've been out of the palace walls and I'm still shocked everytime I realize how advanced this world is. At least this part of the world anyway.
After the last report somebody spoke up, "Oh, I forgot to mention—we found signs of goblins on the northern coast. A few fishermen passing by noticed this, but we can't be sure about it. I've sent some scouts but I fear they might have some issue getting to them on time. Goblins are known for thriving in the jungle."
For a second I saw the old man actually look annoyed over one of his reports. "Do we have any settlements in the direction of the reports?"
"Yes, Your Majesty. There are two villages that have just settled there last month. We have sent a few work contracts to request drilling operations into the mountain to build a tunnel and road directly through it."
"Cancel it."
"Your Majesty? We'll still have to pay them for taking the job."
Everyone looked surprised over this but some of the older members understood the problem. One person in particular was already raring to go, "I know what you want to say my King, I volunteer to wipe out those disgusting vermin. Swear on your name and the name of Dredan."
Some people were confused over the heated exchange but the king knew the issue here. All of the older members of this council knew. Goblins are a plague, they spread like wildfire and they never truly die out. Once they breed, it's almost impossible to kill them all.
"It's fortunate they landed on the northern coast. The mountain traps anything that lands there, but that's not what I'm afraid of. It seems a bit peculiar that these creatures would decide to land in a place that would normally be impossible to get to without my portal… Elizah, what was my original plan for this month?"
The head maid was shocked at the sudden question, but answered swiftly anyway. "Yes Master, today you canceled your plans to attend this meeting to… help your grandson…" The maid wasn't sure if she should talk about that but continued anyway, "After that you were supposed to meet with the Gobo empire to talk to them about increasing their contributions…"
"That's enough… Gobo, I knew I should've just wiped them out completely. So technically I was supposed to be gone for a month and those settlements were… James remind me, who were these fishermen?"
"They… were part of the settlement…" The one named James was hesitant to say but knew he had no choice. Another noble spoke up, "Wait who decided to make two settlements anyway? Who signed off on this?"
"That should've been Lord Stacy." After hearing her name being called out she was about to complain, but the king stopped everyone.
"Quite."
The whole room calmed down before the place became a shouting match, and it was Samantha who spoke up after, "It was my idea to create a settlement over there. I believed we needed more eyes on the sea and somewhere for our contractors to settle while they were there."
The king sighed at the confusing scenario but he had to clarify something, "I'm not punishing anyone. If anything it's a blessing there was someone to discover this before it became a problem. The northern coast is bountiful and it's certainly a liability."
Samantha spoke up first, "So do you want me to take care of this issue? Goblins are one thing but high goblins are another. It's best to snuff them out before they become a problem."
"Yes, but before that. Lunch."
Things were finally starting to get serious too. While all of this was going on I stood over at the side just waiting for something to happen. That's when I noticed the king's eyes were on me.
Wöchentlicher Energiestatus
-- Power-
Rangliste 
-- Power-
Stein