abcnovels
Chapter 409
Chapter 409
Chapter 409
A message popped up in front of Siegfried’s eyes.
[Help a Righteous King]
[King Portmund displays the quality of a righteous king. Help him by supplying the vaccine and cure for the Curse of Decay!]
[Type: Investment Quest]
[Progress: 0% (0/2)]
[Reward: ?]
[Note: Completing this quest may reward you with great fortune in the future!]
The quest did not promise any rewards upon completion, but it did mention the possibility of a great fortune coming to him later.
Wooong...!
Regardless, Siegfried had confidence clearing this quest would reap him immense profit in the future, and his confidence was not baseless. The S-grade Graduate Gear, Luck Guy Earrings, on each of his ears resonated with the quest message.
‘Oh?’
He could immediately tell this was the precursor to something big about to happen, and this big thing was definitely an amazing fortune.
“Please, you do not have to go this far, King Portmund,” he said as he helped the pitiful king to his feet.
Blood was still flowing out from the gash on the pitiful king’s forehead.
“Geez... Look at all this blood... You really did not have to go this far,” Siegfried said as he took out a handkerchief and wiped the wound clean. Then, he took out a potion and applied it to the pitiful king’s forehead. “How can you hurt yourself like that? Think about the people in your kingdom you have to look after.”
King Portmund finally broke his short silence, “But... I felt I had to go this far to show how desperate and sincere I am, King Siegfried. What is so precious about this body of mine? I am willing to give an arm and a leg if it means I can protect my people! I am a king, and I have a duty to uphold to my people.”
The pitiful king was quite different from a certain hot-headed king who had been squeezing his people dry, lived in luxury, emptied his coffers only to end up getting scammed, and even threw a tantrum in the presence of other rulers. That hot-headed king's prestige plummeted, and he ended up getting thrown out of the conference.
That certain individual’s kingdom was going to bear the consequences of his actions today, and it was without a doubt going to come at great cost diplomatically.
On the other hand, King Portmund was a stark contrast to George the Third. It did not matter whether the man in front of him was the ruler of a weak and tiny kingdom; he was willing to abandon all pride and kneel in front of someone if it meant he could obtain the vaccine and cure to protect his people.
This was probably something George the Third could never even imagine doing for his people; perhaps it was the reason, but...
‘These are the kind of people that deserve help...’ Siegfried thought. King Portmund’s sincerity had moved him to the point where he was prepared to give the vaccine and cure for free even if a quest hadn't popped up and told him to help the former.
“King Portmund.”
“Yes, King Siegfried?”
“I will give you the vaccine and cure.”
Then, a message popped up in front of his eyes.
[Alert: You have cleared the Quest – Help a Righteous King!]
[Alert: You will be greatly rewarded in the future!]
Siegfried ignored the message and added, “You may be rest assured now.”
“R-Really?”
“Yes.”
“Oh my god! Thank you! I will make sure to pay you every month!”
“No,” Siegfried shook his head and said, “The vaccine and cure will be for free.”
“F-Free?!”
“I have earned plenty already. Also, I've already provided the vaccine and cure to the nations allied to my kingdom free of charge, so I will be doing the same and providing it free of charge to your kingdom.”
“...!”
“The only reason you had to make such a difficult request is because I sold the Curse of Decay to George the Third, right?”
He was technically correct. King Portmund wouldn't have had to beg on his knees if Siegfried hadn't auctioned the Essence of Decayed Blood and if George the Third hadn't ended up winning the bid.
“But there was no reason for you not to sell the essence to George the Third, more so because of him! We are complete strangers, and that was an unimaginably large sum.”
“Well, that is true,” Siegfried nodded in agreement but continued, “I can tell you are a righteous king, and that is all the more reason for me to help. In fact, I will not feel comfortable if a ruler like yourself is left in such a predicament.”
“No, I am not a righteous king. My kingdom needs an able king, not a righteous one... Someone that can end this territorial feud plaguing us for years...”
“Things will somehow work out, so please do not make yourself weary from worry. Please do not hesitate to take the vaccine and cure, and I hope it'll let you have much-needed peace of mind.”
“Thank you...! Thank you so much, King Siegfried! I will never forget what you have done for our kingdom until the day I die!” King Portmund exclaimed as emotions welled up inside of him.
Meanwhile, Siegfried was grinning ear to ear, albeit inwardly, at the thought of the great fortune coming his way in the future.
‘Yes, please don’t forget about it. Hehehe...’
He had no idea how King Portmund was going to repay him, but this no-risk investment was definitely going to end up a windfall for him. He already made a lot of money from the Ruler’s Auction so giving the vaccine and cure for free was not going to make a dent in his finances. Thus, thinking of this as an investment that would repay him once it matures was definitely the smart thing to do.
“Then, I will see you inside.”
“Thank you. I will definitely repay you one day.”
“I look forward to it.”
Needless to say, Siegfried did not tell King Portmund that he did not have to repay him, even out of formality’s sake.[1]
***
The Ruler’s Auction made rowdy by the ruckus that George the Third had kicked up finally ended, and the discussion for world peace finally started.
Siegfried participated in the discussion as well, but...
“ZzZzzZ...”
He fell asleep.
“Excuse me, King Siegfried.”
“Erm... Umnyaa...”
“King Siegfried.”
Siegfried was soundly sleeping in his seat, but King Portmund kept nudging him.
“Hmm? W-What is it?”
“Your body keeps fading like a fog.”
“R-Really?! Ah, I must have dozed off.”
“Everybody is looking at you...”
“What?!”
Siegfried looked around the venue.
“...”
Everyone was looking at him as if he was pathetic.
‘Damn it! This is so embarrassing!’ Siegfried’s face flushed red, and he quickly lowered it to hide from the judgmental gazes.
However, there was a reason he had fallen asleep. Each and every one of the rulers present at the conference had received education from a young age, so they were familiar with how to run a country.
On the other hand, Tae-Sung was neither studious nor majored in management, so there was nothing of substance he could contribute to the ongoing discussion.
In the end, the whole discussion felt foreign to him, and the words flying around the room slowly started to sound like a lullaby that lulled him to sleep.
“Siegfried van Proa.”
He was suddenly called by Emperor Stuttgart.
“Y-Yes! Your Imperial Majesty!” Siegfried exclaimed in response to the emperor’s call.
“Did you have a good sleep?”
“Ah, t-that is...”
“Go outside and stretch if you’re sleepy.”
“I am fine, sire.”
“You can sleep if you want, but try not to snore at least.”
“Haha... Hahaha...”
“Then, we shall resume the discussion.”
Emperor Stuttgart warned Siegfried before continuing the meeting. Surprisingly, the next agenda was related to the War Content, but what was even more surprising was...
“The next agenda is the Siegfried Law.”
A law with Siegfried’s name, called Siegfried Law, was mentioned.
***
The main agenda of the World Peace Conference was none other than Siegfried Law.
The law came to be after the world saw Siegfried’s misdeeds of jumping from one faction to another during the civil war of the Constantine Holy Empire and how he had stabbed both the pope and the emperor in their backs.
‘Aaaaah! That’s so embarrassing!’ Siegfried cried out inwardly as his face flushed red whenever his name was mentioned during the meeting.
The meeting lasted for slightly over ten hours, and the Siegfried Law was drafted.
~
1. Hiring Adventurers for war is allowed.
2. A nation was allowed to hire as many Adventurers as they wanted.
3. There is no restriction on how much reward could be given to the Adventurers.
4. However, an Adventurer was not allowed to change factions during a war.
5. An Adventurer who falls in battle during a war is prohibited from rejoining a war.
6. An Adventurer is to join the same faction as their guild, and it is mandatory for all guild members to join the same faction.
~
These were the main points of the Siegfried Law.
This law was drafted to prevent the Adventurers from switching sides like leeches, abusing their immortality to keep joining the war, and spying on other factions through their guild members.
‘I guess I was the asshole... Hahaha...’ Siegfried belatedly felt guilt after seeing an entire law was passed due to his actions.
Of course, he didn't jump ship like a rat because he wanted to, but rather, both the pope and the emperor were absolute scumbags, so he had no choice but to do what he had done.
“The voting shall now commence.”
The newly drafted Siegfried Law went to a vote, and a short while later...
“I hereby announce the Siegfried Law coming into full effect across the continent from here onward,” Emperor Stuttgart announced.
Ding!
Then, a message popped up in front of Siegfried’s eyes.
[Alert: You have obtained the Achievement: Historical Moment!]
[Alert: A new law for Adventurers has been passed due to your actions!]
[Alert: Your name will be recorded in history and passed down for generations!]
[Alert: Fame +5,000!]
[Alert: Everyone on the Nürberg Continent will know your name!]
[Alert: Congratulations! You have become a Named Adventurer!]
Siegfried ended up obtaining a ton of fame, and his name spread all over the continent thanks to the new law. He was now a celebrity in both the game and the real world!
***
The World Peace Conference continued even after that, and Siegfried was forced to sit and listen to the absurd nonsense some rulers came up with.
‘Ugh... I feel sick...’
He was getting a front-row seat to the greed and despicable attitude of these men and women in power.
Not everyone outwardly showed their greed, but it was clear as day that most were just putting up a front to look refined while they were plotting all sorts of schemes to secure their own interests.
These rulers wore extravagant clothes and used outlandish words that commoners wouldn't use, but they were no different from ordinary people.
‘I wanna go home...’ Siegfried grumbled and felt he was going to die from boredom.
An announcement caught Siegfried’s attention.
“We have prepared a Hunting Contest as a social activity among our distinguished guests!”
Hunting Contest.
This was an event that was better suited to Siegfried’s personality rather than the long, boring meetings and discussions.
“His Imperial Majesty, Emperor Stuttgart von Posteriore, has also prepared a special prize for the winner of this contest! We look forward to your participation!”
“Excuse me!” Siegfried raised his hand and shouted, “What is the prize His Imperial Majesty had prepared?!”
A few of the rulers glared at him, but he could not be bothered by them right now as he was more focused on the prize the emperor had prepared.
The host replied, “His Imperial Majesty has prepared...”
1. This bit might confuse some of you. I’m not sure about other parts of Asia, but places with heavy East Asian influence tend to have a culture where we would say, ‘Oh, you don’t have to worry about it!’ just for the sake of saying it. by the way... we expect you to pay us back even if we say it’s right. ?