The room fell silent.

A kingdom. Did he really just say that? They wondered. Both the first prince and the king had words, but they found them stuck in their throats.

Finally, the prince stammered, "I-I need to ask."

"Hm?"

"Are you not with the Alchemist Association?"

Haru snorted and spat. "Hah, those crooks? Please! All they do is fumble around, making useless variations of existing remedies and jacking up prices for basic treatments. I wouldn't be caught dead using their name."

"Cro-oks…" Cael muttered in disbelief. Few dared to spit at the name of the Alchemist Association, one of the three most respected organizations across all settled lands, alongside the Adventurer's Guild and the Merchant Union. Each held such sway that even the seven human kingdoms wouldn't easily offend them.

Cael thought deeply for a moment. The whole point of their initial theatrics was because they believed Haru was part of the Alchemist Association. After all, who but them could create a cure for a plague never before seen in Kladin? The members of that association were known to be haughty, arrogant, and a bit vain—not without reason.

Those alchemists were all geniuses, scooped up young and put to work the moment they were accepted. The structure of the association ensured that any new formulas discovered would heavily reward not just the creator, but also the association as a whole. They weren’t shy about selling their formulas for as much as they could get. Times of great devastation often brought about great business opportunities. In Haru's eyes, they were unscrupulous and would sink to depths not known to normal people if it meant covering their bottom line. Money made the world go round, not feelings.

The Alchemist Association was an organization the Kingdom of Cranch couldn't offend, especially now. Their sway over the populous wasn't something to sneeze at. A mayor of a major city had once offended someone of the upper echelon within the Alchemist Association. The details weren't clear but the mayor ignored all opportunities to apologize. The city of several hundred thousand would quickly dwindle as tourist stopped coming followed by the merchants who had often brought supplies from other cities. Inexplicable disease appeared and people got sick. Medicine stopped coming in and those who once practiced medicine were forced to leave, otherwise they would lose their licenses which could only be issued by the Alchemist Association.

The once thriving city eventually collapsed and the mayor who started it all was found hanging from the ceiling of his manor.

The power of these organizations were not to be trifled with. However, if the person in front of them wasn't associated with the association, what fear did they have of Haru? Even if they threatened and stole the formula from him, would there be any repercussions? In the end, saving their kingdom justified the means. Yet, though the thought of simply taking the formula surfaced momentarily, Cael took a deep breath and questioned Haru further.

"Mr. Rex, if we're to take your words at face value, we need to understand what you're after. What exactly do you mean by you want to 'make a kingdom'? " The king had taken a back seat, allowing his son to lead the conversation.

"It's exactly as I said. I'm going to build a kingdom. Is there another meaning to it?" Haru asked.

"Humans are already limited and evenly split between the seven kingdoms," Cael said sternly, his tone reflecting both the absurdity of Haru's proposition and a desire to gauge his reaction. Haru remained calm, allowing Cael to continue. "Other lands suitable for settlement are controlled by other races. The land to the east is held by Freehaven, which will not permit the formation of a new kingdom near them. The only areas that could possibly support the population required for a kingdom are either Death Valley Ridge, which separates Freehaven and the seven kingdoms—an impossible option—or the Great Wilderness, where you risk encounters with dangerous monsters or demons." Cael paused, watching Haru closely before adding, "Furthermore, even if we sold everything within the kingdom of Cranch, it wouldn't be enough to start a new kingdom. The amount you're asking for would barely suffice to start a mid-sized town. Even before the plague hit us, we wouldn't have had the power to help you build a new kingdom, even if we wanted to. That's why... your request is too suspicious. Without truly understanding what you're after, I'm afraid accepting your proposition would end up hurting the kingdom of Cranch more than helping it."

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Haru chuckled and murmured to himself, "I can see how Cranch managed to survive for so long."

"What?"

"Nothing. You don't have to worry. I have no plans to take more than what I asked. I think our relationship should be built on honesty, so I'll lay out my cards. My real name is Haru Rex, and I'm one of the hundred summoned by the kingdom of Crown Almighty."

"One of the summoned?!" the king repeated in shock.

Elric looked up to his father and asked, "What are the summoned?"

Cael would answer, "They are otherworlders summoned within the kingdom of Crown Almighty. It was meant to help drive away the demons, so most of the kingdoms helped fund the resources needed to summon them. However, with the plague currently affecting Cranch and Crown Almighty reneging on their end of the deal with the other kingdoms, we haven't heard an update since." Cael looked straight at Haru for answers. " The summoned are said to have unique skills to help defeat the demons. I'm surprised they allowed you to go free."

"We've had an understanding."

"But even so—"

"It's not important. What matters now is your current predicament. Let me ask you, since the start of the plague, Cranch has been reaching out to ally kingdoms, right? Normally, neighboring kingdoms maintain only surface-level alliances, always looking out for their own interests first. However, with the current threat from demons and non-humans, the seven kingdoms were supposed to form a united front. Yet, when the plague struck Cranch, what did they do?"

Cael bit his lip, the unspoken truth weighing heavily on him. Before he could gather his words, his younger brother, Elric, chimed in, his voice clear yet tinged with childish indignation.

"The other kingdoms are bullies!" Elric exclaimed, his small hands clenched into fists. "Mom was always dealing with their unreasonable demands. It's their fault she got sick. It's their fault she died!"

A hush fell over the room. Cael glanced at his father, who remained silent but visibly struggling to hold back his emotions. Elric's face reddened as tears flowed down his cheeks. The king knelt down to embrace him.

"It's been tough holding it in. Your mother would be proud of how much you've grown."

Cael shuddered and began to explain. "Our mother, the queen, dealt with a lot of stress once the plague hit. You're right, we reached out to the other kingdoms, but they all turned their backs on us. They extorted us for essentials, and we couldn't even say no because they were working together to squeeze as much money out of us as possible." Cael tightened his fist. "The stress, in addition to the disease… she carried the kingdom on her back, but even she couldn't handle it all."

The king chimed in, looking despondent. "It's because of me. I was so useless I couldn't help lessen the burden on her. It caused the disease to spread faster."

Haru, of course, already understood all this. If things were to play out as they did in the past, then the kingdom of Cranach was already headed to destruction. He had brought it up merely to play to their sense of responsibility. Now, it was time to reel them in to his side.

"You shouldn't blame yourselves too much. After all, your mother, the queen… Queen Lisandra is some one who I admire and someone who was constantly being plotted against."

Cael turned to Haru in shock. "You know of our mother?"

"Even for someone like me who recently arrived, it didn't take long to hear about the queen who outlawed the purchase and sale of slaves within her kingdom. Slaves are like common currency in this world; the more slaves a kingdom has, the stronger it will be overall, whether economically, militarily, or even politically. It's the lifeblood of all human kingdoms except this one." Haru paused, letting the weight of his words sink in. "I'm sure the other kings and queens called her a fool, and she likely faced a lot of pushback even from her own people. I've done my research. The use of slaves can be traced back to the golden age of human civilization when humans became the top race of Kladin. Neither the Yxliers, Dwarves, Elves, nor those with quasi-intelligence could overthrow the humans. The humans were on top, and they weren't ashamed to show it. Yet, despite generations of precedent, one ruler decided to do something different. Against all odds, she chose to end something no one else dared to. If nothing else, she has my absolute admiration for that."