章 82: The Clover King
As he watched the rising cries of the clover kingdom citizens praise his name, Grim could only think 'well that was easy.'
Who knew getting public opinion on his side would pose no difficulty.
While Grim was basking in the praises of the crowd, Nozel's face had scrunched up into an unpleasant looking expression as it took everything he had not to attack Grim there and then. After the humiliating insults directed at him and his siblings during the previous ceremony, he had wanted to use any excuse to teach this brat a lesson.
The wizard king on the other hand was looking at Grim with a complicated expression. While he had been informed of the attacks on the magical knights squads and had recently ordered an investigation, never in his wildest dreams had he imagined that the perpetrator was this boy in front of him.
Looking at the boy smiling and waving to members of the audience, for the first time in his life, the wizard kingdom couldn't see a person's future.
[A/n: Not literal future for you guys who take things too literal.]
In his speech, Grim had stated that he had only wanted to test the limits of the current magic knights. Combined with the fact that no one was hurt and that the public was on his side, the wizard king and the captains saw that it was becoming increasingly harder to punish Grim for his actions. If news got out that they had harshly punished an upcoming magic knight because he beat several senior knights who had years of experience on him, the magic knight captains and the wizard king would be seen as bullying and suppressing the weak. Added to the fact that Grim was a commoner like the rest of them, punishing him could incite a revolution against the current monarchy as the wizard king and many captains were nobility.
"Ha! That bastard Yami's really picked up someone interesting!" Jack laughed while indirectly praising Grim for his actions.
"Hmm... So that's the guy who attacked my base." Rill mumbled to himself while giving Grim a curious look. "I wonder what kind of art I could produce by talking to him?"
"Heh, with a guy like that around no wonder the black bulls have come second this year." Mereoleona chuckled while staring intensely at Grim.
'This guy attacked magic knight squads by himself?' Yuno thought to himself.
Seeing that it wasn't the right time to talk to Grim about what had happened, the wizard king coughed loudly and informed everyone of the rest of the squad rankings.
1st place - Golden Dawn
2nd place - Black Bulls
3rd place - Silver Eagles
4th place - Blue Rose
5th place - Crimson Lions
6th place - Green Mantis
7th place - Coral Peacocks
8th place - Purple Orcas
9th place - Azure Deer
Listening to the Wizard announce the rankings, Grin found himself grinning the entire time. Not only had he gotten away with attacking 3 magic knight squads, he'd also made so that the wizard king and the others couldn't punish him without inciting public outrage. He'd probably get a stern talking to at most.
'Ahh, humans are so easy to manipulate.'
"LONG LIVE THE MAGIC KNIGHTS!!" The crowd cheered.
"LONG LIVE THE WIZARD KING!!"
---
Once the crowd had settled down, the Wizard king continued speaking.
"Now that the rankings have been announced, here's the moment you've all been waiting for!! His highness the king of the Clover kingdom Augustus Kira Clover Xlll has graced us with his presence!"
'Clover kingdom king?... I forgot we had one of those.'
In all fairness, Grim didn't take an interest in those he didn't consider strong, and from the rumors he'd heard about their king, he was incredibly weak and spineless.
Walking through an archway connected to the stage, a middle aged man with a pedophilic mustache dressed in some expensive looking clothes carrying a scepter appeared on the stage and walked up next right next to the wizard king.
"Don't stand next to me." He said arrogantly while shooing Julius away.
"Ah yes." Julius nodded before distancing himself.
"G-Give it up for our king." Julius said to the audience.
Looking at Julius and then the king, the crowd cheered with little to no enthusiasm. "Long live the uh, king or whatever..."
"Yeah..."
'Was that it?' Grim wondered. 'I guess the king's even more unpopular than I thought.'
"...WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT!!" The king snapped. "PRAISE ME MORE YOU PEASANTS!!"
"I AM YOUR KING!! I AM THE MOST IMPORTANT PERSON IN THIS COUNTRY!! REVERE ME!!"
'Is this guy for real?'
"HOW DARE YOU NOT CHEER FOR ME!!"
This went on for quite a while.
"I AM BETTER THAN ALL OF YO-
"Oi, are you done yet?" A voice interrupted.
"Huh?" Everyone turned to look in the direction the voice came from.
Sighing loudly, Grim put his hands in his pockets and gave the king an arrogant look.
"If you're here to show off you might as well give up now."
"WHAT!!" The king's eyes went wide as he couldn't believe that there was someone capable of speaking up against him.
"I mean you've got a lot of magic power and all, but you kind of give of a weak aura y'know."
'He's talking back to the king!' The crowd gasped.
Placing his hand on his chin, Grim gave the king a quick look up and down.
"And looking at the way you carry yourself, I can tell that your combat prowess is even lower than most of the citizen's standing here." He said while nodding to himself.
"H-HOW DARE Y-
"Oh! And I can't forget that incorrect statement you said earlier."
Listening to the conversation between the king and Grim, the wizard king really didn't know how to interrupt.
"You said that the king is the most important person in the country and that we should revere you right?"
"Of course!!" The king stuck his chest out proudly.
"But if you suddenly vanished... Wouldn't someone else just become the king?"
"Huh?" The king said looking confused.
"I mean, there's definitely someone next in line for the throne right?"
"I- well-
"And even if there wasn't, we could always just elect a new king right? Doesn't that mean that you're essentially replaceable?"
"W-What!!" The king shook. "R-Replaceable..."
"And considering the fact that you haven't done anything impressive since becoming king, I'm not even sure we would realize you disappeared unless someone announced it."
"No one would realize..." The king repeated with a blank look.
'Oh no.' The wizard king said seeing the look of realization dawning on the King's face.
[A/n: Grim's most dangerous weapon: His ability to speak.]
"And even if we realized it... Would the kingdom really stop functioning? Like if the Wizard king suddenly vanished, that'd put a dent in our country's fighting force and could open us to invasions from the other neighboring countries. Same thing for magic knight squads. But if you vanished... what would change?"
*BOOM!!*
"Our military might would stay the same."
*BOOM!!*
"Our economy wouldn't be hurt."
*BOOM!!*
"Our citizens wouldn't suffer."
*BOOM!!*
"At the end of the day, doesn't this prove that you're INSIGNIFICANT?"
*BOOM!!* *BOOM!!* *BOOM!!*
As if a series of explosions went off in his heart, the king gripped his chest as his face turned deathly white.
"Ahahahahahaha, this kid's hilarious!!" Jack laughed.
"How crass." Nozel said closing his eyes.
"AHEM!" Julius coughed loudly.
[A/n: He's been coughing a lot lately.]
"Actually, the reason the king's here today is because he has some important news to announce."
Hit hard by Grim's words, the king was no longer in the mood to speak to his citizens as he threw Julius a tired look and simply left the way he came while everyone watched.
"..."
"..."
"..."
"I guess I'll do it then..." The Wizard King said to himself.
クリエイターの想い 
Arada
Arada Grim was honestly just spitting facts. Don't know why the king got so depressed lol.
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