Chapter 193: Vegan Sausage Fest, And The Proposal

Rael used to like the color green. It resembled money in a way.

However, as he gazed upon the round table, covered in salads, radishes, and a whole lot of non-meat bullshit, he wanted to vomit.

“W-Wow… this is just delicious…” Nyzzara remarked, causing every single one of the rulers present to give her the side-eye.

Idiot. Rael sighed. You’ve not had a green in the last century. This tastes like shit.

But at least King Arthur was enjoying it as he feasted on each of the salads present, even devouring the salads of the other rulers.

No one really minded, and because of that, Rael decided to improvise.

•—Premium Shop—•

Category: Food/Not a fucking salad

•—Balance: 797,172,583 Trell—•

• Sirloin Steak [Medium Rare] (Common): 500 Trell

Rael gulped in anticipation and bought it. Immediately, three steaks appeared in front of him.

He tossed away the salad onto the ground and replaced it with a sirloin steak. He did the same for Zafira, who cheerfully accepted and began digging in.

And of course, out of sheer pity, he took Nyzzara’s plate, tossed out the greens, and gave her some meat as well.

“Thank you?” Nyzzara expressed, puzzled. “I thought—”

“No, we’re not good.” Rael cut her off and sent her a text.

She swiftly read it, and with a reluctant nod, went back to eating.

Yet as he returned to his seat, he was met with the envious gazes of all the rulers present, with the exception of King Arthur.

Halemire seemed to want a steak too as he began tapping on the table, almost as if calling for it. But Rael merely glanced at Aria and shrugged.

Deal with it, miss painter.

With that, he returned to his food, and after a few pleasant minutes, finished eating.

The other rulers did too, and finally, King Arthur stood up again.

“I hope some of you enjoyed the healthy feast that the Church of Light prepared for us,” King Arthur said with a smile. “But now, let’s get to the real topic at hand…”

He trailed off, glancing at Rael and Zafira.

“You two. What’s going on? You’ve blatantly interfered in our business,” King Arthur stated in his playful yet ominous voice. “Yrgon and the Holy Kingdom had a good thing going. A mutual relationship—”

“No, we didn’t.” Halemire cut him off coldly. “You were extorting us every winter. Now? We have a better deal. And I’m sure we’ve already discussed this in private.”

“We did.” King Arthur nodded and brought his gaze back onto Rael and Zafira. “But I’m asking them. Not you.”

“Hmm…?” Rael tilted his head, wiping his mouth with a napkin. “I interfered with that business because I could.”

The table fell silent for a few moments, and Zafira began tugging at his shirt.

However, he continued.

“It’s not that I don’t respect you, King Arthur. You know, I’ve always admired your sense of timing, King Arthur. You really know when to say the right thing.”

As innocent as that sounded, it was actually a veiled threat.

The casual, I know you’re lying, and I want you to know I know, Rael snickered, watching as King Arthur’s smile slightly cracked.

Yet he regained his composure soon enough.

“I suppose it’s time to address the main problem then.” King Arthur cleared his throat and placed his hands on the table. “We’d like to merge Celestara with the Holy Kingdom.”

“Pass.” Rael and Zafira replied in unison.

“Of course.” King Arthur nodded. “I understand your position, but consider this: We’d let you act as the lords of Celestara, so nothing much would change. In fact, with the resources we’d provide you, Celestara would flourish.”

“A lot of ‘what-if’ situations, King Arthur.” Rael scoffed. “In reality, the only certainty you can promise us is the fact that Celestara would no longer be Celestara.”

Rael tapped his fork on his plate and glanced straight into King Arthur’s eyes.

“What will happen after you perish? Will the new rulers of the Holy Kingdom be so generous to a small city such as Celestara?” Rael asked in a cold voice, and to everyone’s surprise, stabbed the fork straight through the plate, shattering it.

Zafira sighed and tapped Rael on the back before turning her gaze to King Arthur as well.

“We are not interested in merging. That is final,” she stated, narrowing her eyes. “However, I’ve also got something to offer you.”

She took her hand off Rael’s back, and he finally leaned back, ready to enjoy the show.

Her plan was pretty simple, but it was also effective.

Though, when it comes to politics, she’s the polar opposite of me.

“An offer? Let’s hear it,” King Arthur urged.

Zafira smirked. “I’m sure you know that in the forests of Celestara, there are a lot of mountains. In those mountains, there are valuable minerals which could be of use to your kingdom. Mana-conducting crystals… you get the gist of it.”

She tilted her head innocently. “And all we want in exchange is a direct supply chain to the artifacts you create using our minerals.”

“Aha…” King Arthur slowly nodded. “So you wish for an equal exchange then? We get your minerals, and you get our artifacts.”

“Mhm.” Zafira affirmed with a hum. “I believe it’s a fair offer, considering minerals are what you lack most right now. And we’d appreciate some cultivation or excavation artifacts. I’m sure you can understand why.”

Rael slumped further in his seat as he listened to Zafira.

She knew Rael could just buy these artifacts, but that wasn’t why she made this offer.

Zafira wanted to establish some sort of connection between the Holy Kingdom and Celestara. This connection didn’t cost Celestara much—only a few ores they didn’t even need since they had so many.

“Very well… I’ll have someone draft up the agreement right away,” King Arthur replied, and just as he was about to call over a servant, Zafira interjected.

“There’s one more thing I’d like to propose, if you wouldn’t mind…” she trailed off, shooting Rael a sly smile.

King Arthur tilted his head. “What is it?”

Zafira took a deep breath, and to everyone’s surprise, dropped a bombshell.

“Celestara would like to regain control of Sylvaran.”

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