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Unliving
Chapter 670 - An Easy-Going King

Chapter 670 - An Easy-Going King

“Those who surrounded themselves with luxury and opulence tended to be people who were compensating for their or their nation’s lackings. Instead, one should be wary of those who did not bother with such displays and freely showed themselves as they were.” - Gargamelle Waldenbruch, former diplomat for Knallzog.

The interior of the large mansion was decorated in the dwarven style, that was, mostly with arms and armor being the display pieces. There were a few tapestries and murals that depicted scenes of forging or battle. Some even seemed to depict scenes from Igunacio’s Wrath, probably as a reminder not to succumb to hubris for the future generations.

All in all, not unexpected for a dwarven king’s home decoration.

Once they entered the mansion, most of the Royal Guards left them, leaving only two who ushered them towards a large room with comfortable furniture where they bade the group to wait. A few dwarves in the liveries akin to butlers served them various snacks and refreshments with practiced politeness while the group waited.

Not ten minutes after their arrival, a dwarf clearly dressed in a ceremonial outfit walked in from another door and attracted their attention by rapping his decorated cane on the stone floor.

“Presenting! His Royal Highness, Orvald Stahlfaust, the second of his name, Sovereign and Monarch of the Kingdom of Knallzog, King and Protector of the weak,” heralded the dwarf as another dwarf clad in fine silks entered the room, escorted by a couple of Royal Guards. The dwarf in question had the archetypical ebony-like dark skin and the light blonde hair of the Knallzog Royal family, leaving no doubt as to his identity.

He was also quite young, probably only in his second century, maybe early third at most. Unlike most nations, it was very rare for a dwarven ruler to rule for their entire life, or to their death, barring those who passed away prematurely from illnesses or violence. Instead, a dwarven ruler would typically hold the throne for two to three centuries while grooming their heirs, and abdicate when they felt that their heir was prepared to assume the throne.

King Orvald Stahlfaust the IInd was a similar case. When Aideen came to Knallzog two hundred years ago, the King was still Oliver the IVth, Ginnie’s nephew. When she left a century or so ago, the man was still king. He must have abdicated in favor of the present king sometime in the last century, the current king being son to the previous.

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Even that was not a guarantee, as should a dwarven king find that none of their own children was satisfactory to serve as heir, it was common for them to choose a cousin or nephew or other relative instead to act as their heir. The crown remained in the family, but the branch that held it shifted from time to time. Unlike shorter-lived human monarchs, dwarven monarchs typically had a distant enough outlook that allowed them to prioritize the good of the Kingdom over their own direct family.

“An honor to meet the very Silver Maiden from the stories,” stated the dwarven king openly as he seated himself across from Aideen’s group. The man had a smile on his face, and a friendly demeanor, but to have been made King he must also possess a strong political acumen and the ability to rule the nation, so Aideen chose not to underestimate him.

“The honor is ours to be in your presence, Your Highness,” she replied politely with a slight bow as was customary. The bow was not one of subservience, but one to show respect from one nation to another, as Aideen was presently serving as an ambassador of sorts on behalf of the Lichdom as well. “May your reign be long and prosperous.”

“We thank you for the kind words,” replied the dwarven king with a smile. One of the butlers from earlier brought the king a large metal mug, then set a second identical mug before Aideen. From the smell, the mug likely contained some sort of strong dwarven mead. “Come, have a drink with us. It is only proper to talk business after having some refreshments.”

“To your health,” said Aideen as she welcomed the toast. She touched mugs with the dwarven king then chugged down the mead inside in a single, long gulp. It was a bit of old dwarven etiquette she learned in the Caliphate. It was a show of respect and capability to drink down the contents of the mug – which was always some sort of strong liquor – in one go.

The mead kicked like a mule, but also had a very pleasant honeyed sweetness to balance it out. The alcohol content was likely enough to give a human being poisoning just from the content of the mug alone, but fortunately for unliving like Aideen she could regulate how much the alcohol would affect her. She just kept it at a pleasant bit of tipsiness even as she drank the whole mug down.

It must have been a good liter and a half or so of mead inside, so it took some effort to empty the mug in one go. The dwarven king looked at her with surprise and not a little bit of admiration as she plonked down the empty mug at the table right after he did the same, and the smile on his face grew wider, to the point that it was easily noticeable despite how his thick beard and mustache covered it.

“Remarkable! We had no idea that you are familiar with our customs, much less old ones like these,” said the dwarven king with a pleased tone. “Lloyd had informed us of your intent in his letter. It is a matter that is easy enough to arrange, and we would be honored to have you as a neighbor. As for Bærengant, Graf Harscape is scheduled to visit Knallgant in a week, so if you like you can wait for him here and get his permit as well.”

“Many thanks for the help, Your Highness,” said Aideen with another slight bow. The dwarven king’s words meant that her obtaining the permits were pretty much a done deal. It was also easier to wait a bit for the last permit she needed rather than to gallivant around to look for the dwarven noble without any assurance that he would be present when they came looking for him.