The Divine Elements

“Calron, you have something to say?”

Resir turned around with a sly grin.

“Uh… ”

Calron was stumped for words as the previous shout had come by reflex, and he did not know a proper answer for Resir’s proposal.

“Your Majesty, this is what I’m talking about. We cannot put the fate of so many people in the hands of this… boy. We need to put them under the command of nobles who were born to lead the commoners, and will work for the glory of the kingdom.”

Resir addressed the King, his back now facing Calron.

“You are forgetting one thing, Lord Resir. These people are not slaves any longer and do not have to be under the command of any noble. You cannot enslave free men.”

The Patriarch stepped forward, his deep voice rumbling inside the throne room.

Pull yourself together, Calron. Politics is not like a battlefield where you simply bash the enemy in front of you. You need to use words, logic and your intelligence to overcome your enemies here.

Calron heard the Patriarch’s voice inside his mind.

“Then, how would you tackle this issue?”

The King asked the Patriarch, his eyes shining with interest. For weeks, the King had been harassed by various nobles about dealing with the ex-slaves and the abolishment of slavery, that he was open to any solution that would appease both sides.

The old man remained silent as he furiously thought about a solution besides just letting the slaves join the Raizel clan. On the other side, Resir smirked with satisfaction as he knew that his proposal was the best one yet and in the end, the King will have no choice but to go along with it.

“It’s simple.”

While everyone was waiting for the Patriarch to speak, Calron stepped up beside the old man and spoke in a calm voice.

The Patriarch glanced at Calron’s face, and seeing the expression on the child’s face, he closed his eyes and smiled.

“Oh?”

The King switched his focus to Calron.

“Why not let the freed slaves decide where or whom they want to go to?”

Calron stated evenly.

“Impossible! How can you let a bunch of slaves make their own decision? They won’t even know what to do with their lives, so it’s better for the nobles to guide them.”

Resir interrupted Calron, his voice getting louder.

“Slaves? You seem to keep forgetting this part, Lord Resir, but they are not slaves anymore. You are not their owner and neither do you have any power over them. Your Majesty, do you agree?”

Calron pushed forward, taking advantage of his momentum.

This was the ideal solution not only to the Raizel clan, but also to the King. With the decision put in the hands of the ex-slaves, the nobles will not be able to pressure the King anymore. For the Raizel clan, all the ex-slaves know that it was because of Calron’s request that they were freed, so most of them will be favorable to join them instead of any other clan.

This young man is learning quickly.

The King pondered as he gazed into Calron’s eyes. He knew that the young man was a genius when it came to combat and martial arts, but using that intelligence in politics was a whole new game. He was curious to see how Calron would handle this issue.

“That is a good idea, Calron. However, don’t you think this solution would be unfair to the other nobles? All the slaves know it was because of you that they were freed, so they will take your side instead of the nobles they hardly know.”

The king refuted Calron’s proposal and gave his objections.

“Correct. Then we should t-“

Letting out a relieved breath, Resir began to talk but was quickly stopped by Calron.

“Then we make it fair. All the nobles who want to recruit the ex-slaves will give a speech in front of them so they would get to know the nobles and what they offer. This way, even the nobles cannot say that you never gave them a fair shot.”

Calron flashed a grin, knowing he dealt the final blow.

This bastard…

Resir fumed with fury, but could not think of a rebuttal against that idea. If he simply rejected Calron’s every statement without basis, then he would lose his credibility and appear like a fool.

“I like it. I assume the other Lords are alright trying the solution proposed by our young friend over here?”

The King got up from his throne and looked at Resir’s group. Without even asking, he knew what their answer would be.

“It’s fair, your Majesty.”

Resir gritted through his teeth and turned around after giving a quick bow while his minions hurried behind him. The Tower Lord glared at Calron and the Patriarch as he passed by them towards the door.

*THUD*

The doors shut violently, showing Resir’s anger with today’s situation.

“He’ll come after you, Calron. Be careful.”

The King said with a slight smile once everyone had left besides his guards, Calron and the old man.

“He can try, but he’ll fail.”

The Patriarch chuckled with confidence.

“Will you be making your speech to the slaves as well?”

The King inquired, walking down the stairs to stand in front of them.

“Of course. Now, please excuse me, your Majesty as I have some task I must attend to.”

Calron smiled and prepared to leave. It was not that he did not like the King, but he simply felt uncomfortable around nobles.

“Then I’ll not keep you waiting.”

The King wished him goodbye as well, leaving only him and the Patriarch in the throne room once Calron left.

“I don’t want to come here again.”

Calron sighed once he was outside the throne room, and felt the fresh air drift past his face.

“Do you hate the Royalty that much?”

A teasing voice sounded out in front of Calron, as a young girl curtsied before him.

……………………

Big brother, you need to come here quick!

Roran frowned as he saw the group of cultivators silently enter the Azure Pavilion. From the expression on their faces to their auras, Roran knew that trouble was about to erupt soon.

The group of seven cultivators were all at the Saint stage!

The customers in the shop all froze when they saw the emblem on the seven cultivators’ black robes and scurried to leave the shop. Even Avor had a worried look on his usually stoic face.

“I think we should call Master… ”

Ellie whispered to herself, having a feeling that they definitely came to see Calron.