The meeting was initially supposed to include the Minister of Defense, the Minister of Finance of Oberon, and Tyril, who was the de facto exclusive supplier of leviathan products from Noah. However, at some point, King Oberon had opted to join in, and had requested that Noah do so as well. As much as he did want to decline, Noah couldn't deny that there were things he wanted to ask the major monarchs, and that he stood much more to gain than he did to lose from the meeting. King Oberon clearly felt the same, for he would not have made the request otherwise. The request King Oberon made also highlighted to Noah how sloppy his attempt to hide the fact that he had slain the leviathan was, since Noah had expected such information to stay under wraps to external factions at least for a few years.
‘Well, I guess an SSS-rank beast suddenly showing up on the market certainly would prompt a thorough investigation. Besides, with the kind of impact the leviathan dying made, I suppose it's no surprise that people found out so quickly. Now that I think about it, revealing this feat of mine to only Haldor's people but expecting to be able to keep it hush-hush from everyone outside the nation is a ridiculous notion in the first place. Huh. That’s a few sleepless nights of effort I didn't have to spend down the drain. Also, why am I thinking about these things when I'm surrounded by elite guards? Maybe that leviathan armor reminded me of it. Hehe, should I test their strength?’
Noah released a burst of mana, watching the elite guards who were pointing their spears towards him and Tyril flinch in reaction. Amused, he transformed his throat and let out a brief whistle. At this, the guards trembled for a moment, then immediately fell to their knees in prostration.
“Wh-What?”
Tyril could not believe the sight before his eyes. The Elite Guards of the Ebonreach Kingdom were supposed to be a force that children in the Kingdom practically worshipped, and Tyril, having grown up in the Ebonreach Kingdom, had childhood memories of roleplaying as a member of the Elite Guard, saving a princess from foul demons with his friends. Parents of knights in the Elite Guard would earn bragging rights for the rest of their lives. They were closest to the royals in strength and were each S-rank powerhouses in their own regard, but here they were, on their knees at a whistle from Noah?
“Hey, don’t blame them too much for it. It's a compounded Siren whistle. I’m sure it hits pretty hard. Matter of fact, if I hadn’t excluded you, same thing would have happened to you. You could try, if you wanted.”
“I-I will politely decline.”
‘Haha, alright. Guard friends, can you bring me to the king?”
Tyril was once again utterly perplexed. This was all it took. Just twenty-four hours ago, he was laughing and chatting with his sister, and now, here he was, looking at one of the most elusive and renowned figures on the continent in his study. Tyril and King Oberon had similar flabbergasted expressions on their faces.
‘And the ones that led him here…’
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‘...Were my own men?’
Along with the same thought.
"Alright, guard guys, please leave now. Thanks, yep, bye. Except one of you. The rest leave.”
Tyril, Noah, and King Oberon watched as the elite guards, except one, left after casually allowing intruders straight to their king.
‘And he had the audacity to even wave!’
Tyril chose not to voice out this thought of his and just silently watched Noah take charge.
"Alright, guard guy, I’m sure you’ve got a fair bit of authority, so please use that to lead Tyril to wherever the ministers of defence and finance are. I have a chat I’d like to have with my dear friend here in the meantime. Uh, the two can't be too far, probably somewhere nearby, considering that they’re big figures, so they've gotta be in the Upper Ring, I think? That’s how the capital of this country works, right, Tyril? A Lower and Middle Ring for commoners and nobles, respectively, then an Upper Ring for the big shots?”
“U-uh yes, sir, that is indeed true…”
“Alright, bye then, hey guard guy, keep my boy Tyril safe, alright?”
“W-we’re the same age-”
“'My boy' is an endearing expression, age doesn't make a difference! Oh, the guard guy’s already walking, don’t lose him.”
“A-ah, I will see you later, then, sir!”
“Yeah, bye man!”
Noah then turned and casually strolled into King Oberon’s study, a large, spacious room with light green walls accented with aquamarine and sapphire stones, and plopped down onto the chair diagonally behind King Oberon, who was on another chair in front of a simple desk colored in the same theme as the rest of the room.
“Man, that Tyril really gets way too nervous at everything. He’s a bear in the boardroom, though, really goes merchant mode; you wouldn't believe the transformation. So, what did you want to talk about? Was it to finally get rid of me like you wanted four months ago after the Demon Lord encounter?”
King Oberon, unwilling to get swept up in Noah's pace, allowed a few moments of silence to pass before he spoke.
“...Before we talk business, let us move to a more appropriate location, and after I have dressed more appropriately. This study or these robes will not do.”
“Why, so you can be well dressed when you try to kill me? Do those light green, frankly too luxurious to be casual robes of yours make it hard to fight?”
King Oberon, who had risen from his seat, slowly closed his eyes in exasperation.
“...I would appreciate it if you would stop your harping of these bygone events. I’m sure you understand that the situation then called for such behavior. Additionally, you have barged into my study. My non-action to your lack of etiquette is the courtesy I have chosen to show you, who has suffered at the hands of us major monarchs. However, I will tolerate no more. We will be leaving this place.”
Without waiting for Noah’s response, King Oberon began to walk. Noah began to speak as King Oberon neared the door, prompting him to pause.
“Sorry, what? I don’t think I quite caught that. Tolerate no more? Stop my harping? Real big talk, buddy.”
Noah rose from the chair and approached King Oberon’s back.
“Turn around. Say that again, fuckface. I dare you. I double-dare you. One of the demon’s top brass had to pull up for you to stop your shit back then. The demons! And you’re really trying to silence me with a ‘stop yapping’? The audacity.”
Noah came to a stop, and King Oberon, slightly taller than Noah, turned around. They were now mere inches away from each other and staring each other down. Neither looked away, not willing to back down. The tension in the room was palpable at this point and continued to rapidly rise. On one side, the monarch of the greatest marine power on the Calysta continent stood rooted with the authority befitting of his grand legacy, and on the other was one whose demeanor radiated the primal indiscriminate and rampant nature of almost every monster on the Calysta continent combined.