Quest: Book 2

9

  The knife is bottom-up, pulls up from right to left. It cuts across Ricard's thigh, the lower abdomen, and the right chest, then it strikes away his sword.

  The wound is not that deep, but very wide, the blood sheds out from the broken armor, it links into a line on his body. Ricard looks at me, his callous vision becomes to grey gradually, his both hands cover over the wound tightly. He gets back step by step, he sits down on the ground with the sound "poof".

  This is "Bottom-up".

  No matter in what country, the martial arts all have this style. The names maybe are not the same, but the action or the movement is the same, it is a all upward prick, it's very sinister and diabolical.

  I'm still not malicious enough when I hit him, the right way should be pulling up the knife between his legs to break him into two equal parts. But this is the Palace, it is a competition between the nobles, if I really did so, maybe they will call me "seriously breach the least grace and accomplishment as a noble". I also do not want to take the title which I just have in hand as a joke.

  The fast action does not let the blade stained with blood, I put the knife back into the sheath.

  "The competition is over!" the guard captain shouts loudly, "Kone Cada wins!"

  The disorderly footsteps mix up into the ears, the Palace sorcerers run over to treat Ricard...

  "I announce that ," Your Majesty stands up and says, "the two territories are all conferred upon to today's winner, Kone Cada, as his fiefdom!"

  The hit away sword falls down, it sticks in the place not far from the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister people all have the pale faces.

  "Your Majesty, I have a proposal." my father says, "there are still certain distance between these two fiefdoms. It's not so good for the management!"

  "Viceroy Vassel Cada!" the Prime Minister talks loudly, "if he has the ability to get these two pieces of lands, he must have the ability to manage them!"

  "Your Prime Minister," it looks like that my father is in a good mood, "Should we give the young man who just come into the politics the first time some conveniences? Is this what Your Prime Minister always advocate for?"

  "You don't have to say it any more." Your Majesty says, "I have already thought it well."

  "Your Majesty! Would you please be careful!" the Prime Minister is in the urgent.

  "There is a distance between these two lands, according to the situation like this," Your Majesty tells the decision slowly, "I decide to make the two pieces of lands and the middle area together, it will become a new city. The name, well, with the name of Dark Forest, is called the Darkness city. Kone Cada will be appointed as the viceroy of it!"*1

  "Your Majesty! Can't do that!"

  "No need to say any more! I know what you're thinking!" Your Majesty has a little unhappiness on his face, "since you begin to agree these two young men to compete with the fiefdoms as the bet, you should accept this result now! This is my decision!"

  "Yes..." the Prime Minister is in crumbling, "comply ... your command."

  "Kone Cada," Your Majesty says to me.

  "Ah, Yes!"

  "From now on, you're the viceroy of the Darkness city." Your Majesty says, "I'll give you three years to rectify the public security and put the place back to order. Three years later, the Royal will begin to tax on there. No one can control how you manage the place specifically, but if you blow it... You think about it yourself!"

  "Yes... Your command!" My goodness... Let me to manage the whole city, shouldn't it be more convenient to chop my head off???

  ............

  "What?" Feshert taps on my shoulder, "you're a viceroy now! Can you show a little bit of happiness?"

  "Yes!" Kelly says, "he is like this way once he comes back, I thought that he lost the fight at first."

  "Mmm, well, boss!" Marf gets his nose stick in to here too, "you're the viceroy now, should you give something like... Hey hey."

  "Hey hey..." I smile too, "hey your head, what about I give you this viceroy position?!"

  "Kone," my father says, "don't be worry, well, it's a good thing."

  "Papa!" I complain, "I thought that I would just have the fiefdom only, how could I know that Your Majesty will let me to do the viceroy of it!"

  "Isn't it a good thing?" Feshert says, "there are two viceroy in one single family, it's rare to be seen in the whole Empire!"

  "Dude! It's how casually to do whatever I like in my own fiefdom," I give Feshert an earful complain, but the viceroy is to work!"

  "Hey! Shouldn't you have a little bit self-conscious?" Feshert points on my forehead with his finger, "don't you have a lot of ideals? You told me so much about it!"

  "I just say say so." I push his hand away, "you have already believed in that?"

  "Alright, alright, don’t you still have three more years? You can make it slowly." my father says, "to be honest, I also have never thought that Your Majesty would confer upon you the viceroy. It should be said that nobody has ever thought about it, it happens so fast for everything today. The Prime Minister that side has no prepare for it at all. Your Majesty is very great for his this hand!"

  "Oh? Papa, what is that you are talking about?"

  "Of course you don't understand, let me explain to you to listen to." my father says, "because it has some troubles for the piece of land which you have right now, so it's never been in the organizational system of the Empire, and the Empire just considers it as an enclave, in addition to beyond it, basically the Empire is under the jurisdiction of the viceroy in all other places. For now, the viceroys are divided into two factions, one is our Royal faction, another one is leaded by the Prime Minister, the Deity Temple faction."

  "Oh? And it has factions too? What is the Prime Minister counted for?" I ask, "if Your Majesty is not satisfied with him, shouldn't it be great that he just cut his head off with one knife?"

  "That's the problem on the Prime Minister himself." my father is very serious, "the Prime Minister is the official sent to the Empire by the Deity Temple!"

  "Sent by... The Deity Temple? What is that for?"

  "To place officials in the important countries, this is the tradition of the Deity Temple." my father says, "they can have better control on the subordinate empires in this way."

  "So it's like this?"

  "And the Prime Minister is an ambitious guy." my father drops his voice down, "he sets up his own forces over the years, it has the danger that it's getting out of control! If this time we let him to get control of your land, we will be very passive. which Your Majesty did so is weakening and limiting the influence of the Prime Minister.”

  "You look!" my father opens a map, uses his finger to point on it, "your fiefdom is almost as big as the Dark Moon city's now, and it has a very long coastline. Here is the inhabitation place for the home of the alien races, it is sparsely populated. And here, it's a business center originally, it's a town developed as the center by doing business with the aliens and the ocean transportation..."

  "Papa, why hasn't the Empire sent a viceroy in here long time ago?"

  "First, the aliens problem is not solved. Second, everyone wants it." my father smiles and says, "every time we'll fight for it when somebody gets conferred, but none of both sides can dispute it down! This time thanks to that Ricard, the Prime Minister must thinks that he has the ability to win, thus, he promises to consent this land out on the table."

  "I understand now!" I say with a loud voice, "in fact, you have been managing the land secretly, right?"

  "This is what you say, I can't admit it!" my father laughs, "Your Majesty finally found a good chance this time!"

  "Then still let you to manage this place!" I say, "I'm not going to do it! That's because I know nothing about managing a place!"

  "No way!" my father says, "I have more things to deal with, this place will be handed over to you. I can give you some helps,"

  "Then what shall I do?"

  "You can appoint the junior officials, you can form the army to
maintain the public security and fight against the bandits!" my father says, "you're the man for the daily affairs, it should be alright to have some tax after three years."

  "It sounds like that it is simple!"

  "Anyway, you have the good relationship with the alien races, it shouldn't be that difficult for you." my father says, "the difficulty is this business town called Wanpu. This town is composed by businessmen and labors, your future tax mainly comes from here. But there are a lot of native nobles in the businessmen, plus the interference by the Prime Minister, it will bring you some troubles."

  "Oh... Headache!" I say.

  "Don't pretend to do that!" my father gives my head a knuckle, "prepare well for yourself! Depart tomorrow!"

  "We don't need to be in a rush, right?" I say.

  "Why not be in a rush?" my father says, "where is your Darkness city right now?"

  "Ah, oh?"

  "Smelly boy! You have to go to pick the location to set up your own Darkness city!"

  "To say so," my mind is getting mess up, "I start my own city from scratch?"

  "You got the right answer, my son!"

  (note1: The nobles generally don't take their participations in the daily management directly for their fiefdoms, it is the viceroy or other officials to manage the daily affairs. Beside the pay to the Royal family and the maintenance cost for the daily officials, the rest of the output of the fiefdom all belongs to the noble. The pariahs and the slaves in the fiefdom also belong to the noble.)