Chapter 144 (2/2)

King Leon shrugged and stretched out his hands in a gesture of helplessness in response to Herrera’s protest.

“I’m afraid the other pieces of land are already owned by someone else,” said the king. “And the rest is either too small or is under too much dispute. So what do you think, Link? If you’re unwilling to accept this reward, I can give you gold coins instead. Maybe I can give you ten thousand gold coins and award you the title of Baron, how about that?”

This was his original intention, of course. Link was just too young and his position in society was still unestablished. Though he did make some great contributions to the kingdom, if he was to be rewarded with a piece of land that many coveted, it might elicit hatred and jealousy among his courtiers and bring unnecessary troubles to Link as well.

The king had only offered the land to show him that there was the possibility of being handsomely rewarded if he continued to help the kingdom.

In fact, his real idea was to offer Link a barren land that nobody wanted so he would reject it, and then he would reward him with gold coins instead. This was the plan that the king had in mind, and it was one that he had employed many times before.

Link was amused at how this reward from the king had turned into something that sounded more like a bargain in the market. He had to hold in his laugh, though.

As for the Ferde Wilderness, he knew from the game that it was indeed barren and lifeless. It was, after all, called one of the three worst places in Firuman. Players who were rewarded with this piece of land after their service in the army were all so frustrated that many of them even deleted their accounts because of it.

That was until one player accidentally discovered that the black clay in this territory developed an exceptional anti-magic property when baked into bricks. This player then sold the bricks and made a vast fortune from it. He even made it into the list of top thirty richest players in the gaming system, with the nickname of ‘the King of Bricks’.

Furthermore, the area of the land awarded to that player didn’t exceed 10 square miles anyway. But now the king was offering a piece of land that was hundreds of miles wide to him – it was simply a deal he couldn’t refuse!

Once he’d made enough money from the bricks, he would then use magic spells to change the squally climate of the Ferde Wilderness to make it more temperate. Who knew, maybe in ten years he could turn the Ferde Wilderness into the Ferde Farm!

However, even though Link was eager to accept the reward, he concealed the excitement and carefully chose the right words to ask the king another question.

“Your Majesty,” he said, “may I ask what status I will have as the owner of this land?”

King Leon was stunned upon hearing this question. He didn’t think that Link would accept this worthless piece of land. He gave it some considerations and finally came to a decision. Since he wanted this desert-like wasteland so much, then he would grant the young Magician’s wish and give it to him.

“You’re a cunning young man,” said the king, laughing. “You wouldn’t own the land as a commoner, of course. How would you like it if I make you a Baron?”

“I would be honored, Your Majesty,” said Link. “May I ask if the land and title would be hereditary?”

What a greedy young man, thought King Leon, his eyes widened. While it was true that Link had indeed made a great contribution, but it was far from enough to be worth such a big reward. He’d only offered the title and the land to show his generosity and to encourage the young man to keep up his good work. He never thought that Link would turn out to be so greedy. Who would’ve thought that land and title would not be good enough for him, and that he would be so bold as to demand them to be hereditary?

Still, things had come to the point where King Leon had no choice but to concede to the demand. No one wanted the wasteland that was the Ferde Wilderness, anyway. Plus, there was no way to create any income or value out of the land. So even if there was honor in the title of Baron, the rewards were little more than a sham once everything was considered.

“Yes, of course,” said the king. “Your land and title will be hereditary, so you can pass it on to your future son and he will pass it on to your grandson and so on. Are you satisfied now?”

Link was about to answer the king when Herrera tugged on his sleeve to stop him.

“Link,” she whispered, “don’t you think it’s better to choose the gold coins over the title? That piece of land would only be a burden to you. No amount of magic could transform it into anything close to profitable!”

She was only trying to help Link make the best decision for his own good. No matter how she considered it, it seemed to her that Link was choosing the less favorable option here.

Still, Link’s reply to her well-meant advice was a gentle shake of his head.

“Gold coins don’t last very long,” he whispered. “I’d much prefer a land of my own.”

“Your Majesty,” said Link enthusiastically as he stood up, “thank you very much for your rewards. I am very pleased and honored to be the recipient of your generosity.”

“I’m glad you like it,” said King Leon, laughing. At that moment Link was only a naive young nobleman who hadn’t seen much of the world in the king’s eyes. He might be exceptionally gifted in the area of magic, but he seemed to have very limited knowledge of practical matters—one could even say that he came off as slightly ignorant in worldly affairs.

Of course, owning land was a good thing, but it also depended on the kind of land you owned and its location too. With a place like the Ferde Wilderness in your possession, you might as well have owned nothing.

But this wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, either. King Leon liked to have such a talented and capable Magician who was so easy to control under his wing. One never knew how they might come in handy one day.

“It’s all settled, then,” said the king. “You should return to the academy for now. I will send the letter of declaration and title deed to you soon. As for the awarding ceremony, I’ll let you know when I’ve found a good auspicious day for it.”

Since Link was only awarded the title of Baron, there wouldn’t be much involved and only the two people present here right now were enough to make the awarding ceremony valid.

“Your Majesty,” said Link as he raised to his feet, “I am forever indebted to your generosity.”

“It is only my way of encouraging you, young man,” replied the King as he nodded gently. “I hope that one day you will be the pride of the kingdom.”

These were general words of encouragement that King Leon had said to every young man he’d seen some potential in. In fact, he’d said it so many times before that they were almost a mechanical reflex instead of heartfelt. Nevertheless, whenever he looked back on this precise moment in the future when the Norton Kingdom’s safety was in jeopardy, his heart was filled with gratitude.

He thanked his past self for making such a wise investment.