Book 2: Chapter 44 (1/2)

“Your Gloriousness, I’ve come with a report.” A well-dressed dwarf with a monocle walked into a small room with a throne. Beside the throne, on one side, there was a shelf filled with food. On the other, there was a shelf filled with bottles of water. The throne was a reclining one, and the dwarf lying down on it had his eyes closed. “Your Gloriousness?”

A long, drawn-out sigh escaped from the dwarf king’s, E’s, lips. His eyes remained closed as he asked, “Is it important? On a scale of ‘I can leave this for another decade or two’ to ‘this requires me to sit up’ where does it lie?”

The reporting dwarf furrowed his brow and hummed. “Somewhere in between ‘there’s a mosquito in the room and I’m trying to sleep’ and ‘I have to pee, but the bed is really warm.’”

Another sigh escaped from E’s lips. His eyes opened, and he rubbed them with the backs of his hands. “What is it? I’m listening.”

“The Gemstone Merchants Clan have refused to pay tribute.”

“The Gemstone Merchants Clan…”

“The clan whose tributes make up 37% of our income.”

“Ah. Right. Those guys. And?”

“And?” the dwarf reporter asked, his brow wrinkling. “Isn’t that a big enough problem by itself?”

“So you’re saying there’s no other issue?” E asked. His eyes closed again as he exhaled out a long breath. He reached over with his right hand and fumbled around before grabbing onto a bottle of water.

“Your Gloriousness, this is 37% of our annual income we’re talking about.” The dwarf fidgeted as E swallowed his water in slow gulps. “It really isn’t a small amount.”

“But is it worth the hassle?” E tossed the empty water bottle to the side and rested his hand on his stomach. “The amount of manpower and time and effort to collect tribute if they really want to fight us…, it’s a lot. I don’t want to do it.”

“Your Gloriousness…,” the dwarf said, his eye twitching. “What happened to you? You used to be ambitious, hardworking! Everyone admired your work ethic. You clawed your way from the bottom to the top. You can’t rest on your laurels! Now…, now you’re just, just—”

“Zappy.”

The dwarf froze mid-sentence. “Sorry, Your Gloriousness. I got a bit carried away.”

“Do you know why I worked so hard when I was younger?” E asked. He continued before Zappy could respond. “It was to become king. Do you know why I wanted to become king? The only reason why I wanted to was to do nothing for the rest of my life. As king, I can do that and live comfortably. No one can tell me what to do; I can order people around. I haven’t even moved from this spot for over a week, and no one will criticize me. You say I shouldn’t rest on my laurels? Well, maybe, they shouldn’t have been so damn comfortable.”

“Your Gloriousness…”

“Go tell Mooney to deal with the problem. I’m busy resting.” E rolled over and picked up a pillow that was lying beside the throne before placing it under his head.

“I went to Mooney first,” Zappy said, his face stiffening. “He’s been hospitalized.”