Insistent Assistant 11 (Patreon)

Insistent Assistant

Chapter 11

-VB-

Simply existing within the palace was enough for Jack and me to become involved in the politics of the Ilisia Kingdom. Everything happened at a low key but accumulated to make us look like something that we weren’t.

Every selection for a new elite training candidate was political. Every compliment was political. Every smile, every frown, every interaction, and every action was political in the eyes of the power-mongering nobles.

The episode that had us jailed was one such event.

Though Jack’s intent had been to get rid of an asshole constantly bothering the soldiers and me, the result was a clear alignment of ourselves with the royal faction despite the fact that that was neither Jack’s intent nor my opinion.

I was here to do a job and would leave soon afterward.

Even those within the royal faction approached me for advise and the like regarding politics.

Eventually, it reached a point where neither I nor the king could ignore it.

As such, I asked for a private audience with the king and got it.

The king sat in front of me while I knelt on one knee in a smaller meeting room and not the throne room.

“... It wasn’t supposed to get this complicated, Mr. Marris,” he began. “I apologize on behalf of the kingdom.”

“It is not your action so there is nothing for you to apologize for, Your Majesty,” I replied with a bow.

“But both of us know.”

“Yes. Jack and I cannot stay,” I said as I raised my head back up. I have already trained some three dozen people over the last six months and determined them to be … adequate. Each of them would not be able to defeat Thorkell. No way. However, if a dozen of them worked perfectly, then they might have a slim chance.

They were strong and able enough to be given a passing grade.

This also meant that I was now “available” for removal.

The king looked stricken, and I supposed that I didn’t feel great about the situation either, despite my current irritation at the power-jocking nobles and the subsequent desire to leave it all behind. Despite his inability to herd his cat-like nobles, the king was a good man who did good things for his people and me. If I had to describe him…

Ah!

He was that uncle who tried to do his best with his nieces and nephews but his wife, the aunt, was an asshole of the highest degree who would take candies from them because it might cause some drama.

Damn, now I pitied him.

The king closed his eyes and seemed to come to a decision.

“Very well. For the sake of the kingdom, I will do what I must do.” He whistled, and the nobles and guards outside came into the room. A few of them sneered at me, but most of the others in the room were from the Royal Faction and thus on my side.

Oh well, here it came…

“Alan Marris, hear me! I am the King of Ilisia Kingdom, Johaken Ilisia!” he boomed. “You have worked tirelessly for the sake of our majestic kingdom, and it would behoove me to not reward your work! I award you one hundred thousand berris from our coffers, the right to dock and trade at any port of our majestic kingdom! Though it saddens us to see that you have decided to leave our fair lands to adventure out at the dangerous seas, we applaud you for your courage and grant you this: you, my savior, now possess the title of privateer of Ilisia Kingdom as long as you continue to profit our kingdom even marginally! Now, be gone for I am saddened to see you go! Don’t forget to pick up the letter of marque on your way out.”

Oh.

Damn.

The few nobles in the room who didn’t like me immediately snapped to the king with shock, who stood up and left without a word.

See, what just happened was that he did kick me out by declaring that I had said that I would leave. I can’t contradict him without making him look bad in front of all of these people. This was, in essence, a banishment without actual declaration. However, he also gave me the right to come back and trade as much as I wanted and then gave me the right to act in the kingdom’s name as a privateer.

This was … actually very important. If I had been a privateer from some island with mercantile power, the Marines would still fuck me over because they didn’t have to recognize the legality of it. However, I just received - or will receive - a letter of marque. It meant that as long as I was not attacking the Marines or other kingdoms of the World Government, then I could literally be a pirate and be paid for it legally.

This was an extension of trust I wasn’t sure I deserved.

But …

Of course, I would use it. There were pirates out there who were working with corrupt marines. There was no way I would skip fighting them now that I had a good excuse to stare at those corrupt marines in the face and smile.

I stood up and left not too long afterward, ignoring the burning glares of the haters and the proud gleams of my acquaintances.

When I finally left the palace, Jack was there waiting for me.

He looked up and down at me before grinning. “Well, I sense something great has happened!”

“Yes,” I replied with a drawl. “The king gave us a letter of marque and told us to leave.”

He paused and then looked at me before letting out a bark of laughter.

“Then adventure awaits us!”

Yes. Yes, it did.