System Change

Two days later, Derek was walking through the commoner district on his way to pay the City Lord a visit. He had let Alanah know what was happening and that he still planned on keeping his promise from before. He couldn’t promise that he would be too civil, but he would do his best not to kill anybody. In reality, it all depended on how the City Lord and his people acted.

He preferred it this way as well. A little intimidation could go a long way. He was still a bit wary about making a mortal enemy out of one of the King’s advisors, even with the knowledge that Alanah could deal with the situation if he did.

Right now, he considered his relationship with Alanah to be even. Actually, considering how valuable she thought the information he gave her was, she may still feel like she owed him. Either way, Derek didn’t want to put any unnecessary burdens on her shoulders.

As Derek hadn’t done anything to hide in the past few days, it didn’t take long for the City Lord’s men to find where he was staying and keep watch of his activities. When he left the inn and began his slow trek towards the noble district, he didn’t fail to notice the eyes that were on him.

Some ran ahead, obviously to inform someone that he was heading deeper into the city. The same thing happened the previous day, but Derek ended up stopping at the Crown for lunch and to check in on Silvi before he went back to the inn.

He was sure that the second he entered the noble district, the City Lord and his people made preparations to ‘welcome’ him. He laughed as he thought about the City Lord’s face when Derek turned around and went back.

Today, however, would not be like yesterday. Today, he would see how the man prepared to greet him.

Before long, Derek was standing before the gate to the City Lord’s manor. The central house in front of him put Walter’s house to shame. The ‘manor’ looked more like a castle. Derek was in a good mood today. I think I’m going to go with eccentric Derek today. It’s more fun than dark and broody Derek or angry Derek...

“Welcome, Mr. Hunt.” A gate guard greeted. “The City Lord has been expecting you. Please, follow me.”

The guard heard him, but did not say anything.

As they made their way up to the manor, Derek took in his surroundings. Other than what may have been guest manors and courtyards, there wasn’t much else out of the normal. The one thing that did happen to catch his attention was the training grounds in the distance.

Obviously, the guards that were training were not cream of the crop. They must be new recruits. Derek thought. One guard, however, seemed familiar. Derek watched as the man picked up a discarded piece of gear and placed it back on a rack. The man then went to a bench and began cleaning a sword with a rag.

It took Derek a moment to place the man before he realized who it was. His name was… Bradley… I think. Why is he off doing grunt work? He was literally the only competent guard that the brat had with him. Derek shrugged and put the man out of his mind. It did not concern him.

“Wow, those guards could probably battle an entire company, no… two companies… no, an entire battalion of squirrels if they fought under the right conditions.” Derek muttered in surprise.

A smug smile began to form on his escort’s face as Derek spoke, but his face soon turned ugly and his eyelid twitched when Derek mentioned the squirrels.

“What, don’t underestimate a battalion of squirrels. That’s how you lose your nuts.” Derek casually mentioned.

Soon, the guard led Derek into the manor. As Derek looked around, he could only come to the conclusion that for some reason, probably him, the manor was oddly empty. There were no servants running around, no butlers greeting him, and no guards stationed anywhere. Derek couldn’t help but chuckle, causing the guard in front of him to tense.

“Calm down.” Derek said. “I was just thinking about the welcome they have prepared for me. Come on, let’s go see. Aren’t you excited, too?”

The guard continued leading Derek. Eventually, they arrived at a giant double door with two guards standing in front. Both guards were unidentifiable to Derek, but that didn’t mean anything.

“Phew....” Derek mocked wiping his forehead off with the back of his hand. “For a second there, I thought this was going to be a haunted house. I was just waiting for all the ghosts to appear and attack. You don’t know how happy I am to see others.”

The three guards didn’t know what to say. They could only stare at Derek in confusion.

“Well, come on.” Derek said. “I’m sure your master is waiting on pins and needles for me. We wouldn’t want to be rude and keep him waiting, would we?”

“No… Sir…” Derek’s escort said, then nodded to the other two guards.

Both guards reached out and pushed their respective door, causing a loud creek to sound as the doors slowly swung open.

Derek winced. “You really need to lube up those hinges… Hey, you.” Derek pointed at one of the guards that opened the door. “Do you have a Grease Mage or anything? One could work miracles here.”

The guards stared at Derek, not uttering a word.

Derek clicked his tongue and looked ahead of him at the long room packed full of people. He smiled before he walked in.

Files of guards stood on both sides of the room. An overly colorful long carpet ran through the center of the room up towards a dais which held an exquisite chair that one could mistake for an actual throne. A man that was the spitting image of the young noble that Derek had let live occupied the chair.

On the man’s left was another, much less decorated seat that was occupied by the young noble. And standing on the man’s right side was a clean shaven, middle-aged man with short brown hair and a scar running down his left cheek.

All of the guards were wearing their standard leathers, but the man standing on the dais was different. A dark grey, studded leather armor covered the black tunic on the man’s torso, down past his waist. He wore matching bracers and gloves, with his black breeches tucked neatly into his dark grey boots. A shortsword was sheathed on his left hip.

He’s definitely the strongest person in the room. Derek could already tell that the man was a veteran fighter. He gave off a much fiercer vibe than the City Lord or any of the other guards.

Derek had used his Identify skill on everyone in the room. Most of the guards were under level 100 and identifiable, with a few exceptions. Of course, he was unable to Identify either the City Lord or the man with the scar, but that was to be expected. He was also sure that with his skill level, and the Award he had received, nobody would be able to successfully use the skill on him.

Derek walked forward, swinging his head around in mock awe of the room’s decorations. When he was halfway to the dais, he let out an impressed whistle. “Wow! If I didn’t know any better, I would think this was a throne room.” He said loud enough for everybody in the room to hear. “Is that it?”

He looked directly into the City Lord’s eyes. “Do you think yourself a King?” Derek gasped and covered his mouth to hide his shock. “That must be it! You’re not the City Lord, you’re the King in disguise!”

“Everyone!” Derek hurriedly motioned everyone down. “Hurry, bow to his highness.” He turned back to see the now red face of the City Lord before giving an exaggerated bow of his own.

“Blasphemy!” The City Lord rushed to his feet. “How dare you… you…” The man muttered.

Derek cocked his head to the side, as if confused. “Are you not the King?” Derek shook his head. “No… Only the King would have enough gall to create a throne room inside a mini castle. Surely you are the King and this is just your… vacation home.”

While the City Lord was clearly fuming and everyone else in the room was flabbergasted, Derek noticed that the scar-faced man was standing calm, as if nothing was of his concern. That man may be tricky. Derek thought to himself.

“I… I am the City Lord!” The red-faced man half screamed.

“Well, why didn’t you say so?” Derek clicked his tongue. “Causing all of this confusion.” He shook his head. “I think you owe everybody here an apology.”

The City Lord just stared at Derek, not speaking. Before long, he fell back into his chair and let out an exasperated sigh.

If Derek hadn’t been paying close attention, he would have missed the slight tug at the corner of the warrior’s lips, but he was paying attention. Oh? It looks like that man is finding this whole situation entertaining.

“Anyway, if you aren’t the King, then you must be Malcolm. I’ve heard a lot… no… I’ve heard a little about you.” Derek said, trying to bring the City Lord back from whatever reality he had retreated to. “My name is Derek, but you can call me Mr. Hunt… or Sir… or Lord, if you want. I would prefer Mr. Hunt, but really, it’s your choice.”

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