1157  Council of Runera

December 7th, 2042.

Runera had its first immigrant knocking on its gates. In a shocking scene, it was not someone using the teleportation station. A young woman carried her little sister across the wilderness surrounding Runera until reaching its gates.

Arthur visited them in person, looking at the malnourished child and the injured woman recovering slowly. He listened to their story, although he could already hear their souls crying of injustice. These two were the slaves of a noble in the Yalveran Union who made their escape toward Runera.

Runera was in the wilderness between the Ilios Empire, the Yalveran Union, and Janea. This made it easier for people to travel on foot rather than take ships or carriages. However, the sheer size of the continent made it theoretically impossible for someone to travel it in just three days.

Arthur was interested because the first immigrant turned out to come on foot. It turns out that this woman was already on the loose from the noble who tried to lay his hands on her younger sister. While pursued, she heard the announcement and came running to Runera.

"Please don't send me back to him," said the woman with bruises on her face and shaking arms. "I would be killed, and my sister would meet a worse fate. Please…"

"The moment you stepped through my gate, you became a citizen of Runera," said Arthur with a smile. "I designed the gates so that any evildoer would be sent straight to a prison I created, while good people can pass without a problem."

"Does that mean I can live here?" she asked with trembling lips as she stared at her sister, who was still asleep. "Can I create a better life for her?"

"You will receive temporary house and food until you get better. After that, you will get a job that makes you happy and dignified."

"I never trust a stranger with such promises."

"I have everything that I need from this life, so why would I exploit you?" asked Arthur with a smile as he rose. "Rest for now. My men will give you the house once you can walk on your own."

Arthur then walked toward the hospital's ward exit, when the woman called out from behind him. As he turned, she was bowing on the ground with tears mottling the white marble. Through bitten lips, the woman voiced out her gratitude.

"Thank you for this kindness, my lord."

"You are welcome," said Arthur with a smile before walking out. The person waiting for him outside was the Witch of Hearts, Aurora. Arthur walked past her, and she began following him.

"I told you that there is no kinder king," said the witch with a smile as she followed after him. Whoever walked past them would bow to Arthur and the witch. "Everyone here respects you from the bottom of their heart. No one sees you as an outsider, even."

"If not for Julia, I would have been their worst nightmare," said Arthur as he walked out of the hospital. "Although the Red Tower was a difficult experience, I managed to grow as a person."

"I know that better than anyone."

"You need to stop peeking into my heart."

Everyone stood from their seats as soon as Arthur entered the well-illuminated room. He walked through the middle toward the central seats, where Aurora sat behind him. On his right was Julia, and on his left was Seraphine.

"Please have a seat."

"Is that a threat?" asked Arthur as he tilted his head. The woman paled and so did the two men. Before they could answer him, he continued. "How would the three families contribute to the peace of my city by being wealthy?"

10:57

Arthur commanded as he gestured with his hand after taking a seat himself. Although he used to abhor such traditions, he realized that he needed to be a proper king now. The council members sat down, looking at him to continue.

"I want a summary from the different departments. Julia will be the one navigating this meeting," said Arthur as he leaned back in his chair. Julia rose with a stack of papers in her hands before picking a file from the stack.

"We need to make sure that the necessities are here. At the moment, the people are finding it hard to adjust to our new style of governance. How is that going, Velos?"

The meeting then began, as each of them rose according to their corresponding tasks. In turn, they explained how the progress on different projects was going.

Arthur was bored.

It was not his nature to sit through meetings where people spoke of every minute detail. However, he understood that as a king, he needed to be present.

Julia, on the other hand, thrived in these meetings. She was organized and concise, while working on the fine details and the bigger picture. Arthur felt blessed to have her, but worried that she was pushing herself past her limits.

As he watched her close files and open others, he realized that it has been two weeks since her father died. However, she refused to rest or take a vacation to recover from such a trauma. In fact, the trauma was the reason she was drowning herself in work.

After the briefing was done, Julia turned toward the three family heads who advanced in response. These were the sons of the deceased family heads that Yuvan has controlled and killed. In order to maintain order, they rose to the occasion of becoming lords themselves.

"The three family heads greet their lord," said a petite woman among the crowd. "We are here to implore you to keep our families and their assets as they are without a change, because it might threaten the peace in Runera."

"Is that a threat?" asked Arthur as he tilted his head. The woman paled and so did the two men. Before they could answer him, he continued. "How would the three families contribute to the peace of my city by being wealthy?"

"Our wealth is one aspect, but our knowledge is another," said the woman as she composed herself. "Runera needs our knowledge to create its artifacts. We are valuable as we are, not divided."

"Creation of artifacts?" asked Arthur with a smirk. Julia sighed as he rose from his chair, scaring the three enough for them to shake in fear. "Are you better than me?"

Arthur raised his hand before their eyes as golden mana of creation leaked from his hand. The mana began turning to steel, which turned to a weapon. Arthur raised his other hand, summoning a rune that shone brighter than any light.

"How laughable it is for you to flaunt your runic knowledge before the creator himself?"