27.

Silence. Cyclone had been standing behind the king for over ten minutes.

It wasn’t like the king didn’t know he was there. He’d greeted Cyclone right at the start.

What Cyclone didn’t get was: why had it been nothing but silence since then?

Say something. If you’ve got words, spit them out. If you’ve got gas, let it out. Why just sit here in silence?

He really wanted to hurry back and play with his two wives. But if the king didn’t speak, there wasn’t even a topic to start, let alone finish.

“If this were a week ago, the people of Allen City would’ve already turned off their lights and gone to bed.”

Finally, the king spoke.

“You make yourself small. You do your best not to draw anyone’s attention. Only then will the Grand Chancellor’s claws never reach you.”

“Oh, oh.”

Cyclone tried to respond, even though he didn’t really feel anything toward the king’s sudden sighing.

“Look there. Those buildings are throwing a party at night again. That’s the seventh day in a row.”

He couldn’t see where the king was pointing, so Cyclone had to step forward a bit.

It didn’t help. As long as he stayed inside the room, there was no way he could see the night view beyond the balcony.

“And there. And there, and there… Even though it’s already late, everyone’s still excited for tomorrow.”

“Oh, oh.”

At last, the king turned around. Instead of sitting facing out on the edge of the balcony, he turned to look at Cyclone inside the room.

“All of this started because you killed the Grand Chancellor.”

To be honest, even now, Cyclone still didn’t feel like killing the Grand Chancellor was some heroic deed.

In that moment, to Cyclone, he’d just been a pervert.

A regular man whose head, once blown open, would die. Even after hearing Sonja talk about the Grand Chancellor, even with someone like Eileen, who liked Cyclone for that and had even offered him her body, Cyclone had never felt a trace of fear toward the Grand Chancellor.

But the facts were right in front of him. Whether Cyclone feared him or not didn’t matter. Now, everyone who had ever felt fear because of the Grand Chancellor was cheering for Cyclone.

“Your arrival, you could call it fate~ I, once again… have a chance to dream…”

“…A dream… huh?”

It wasn’t just polite echoing.

In that instant, Cyclone himself didn’t know why that specific word hooked his interest.

On the other side, the king showed a hint of surprise. He wasn’t an idiot. Cyclone’s half‑assed responses, the king had seen through them long ago. But this serious question now made even the king feel a bit of expectation for some reason.

“Yeah. I’ve always wanted… to reorder this world.”

At first, Cyclone didn’t get what the king meant, and the only reason was that he didn’t recognize the word “reorder.”

“Look. Look at Allen City now. I want to personally build a happy world.”

“…”

It sounded noble, something far out of his reach.

When it came to the king’s so‑called dream, all Cyclone could connect to was the “want” part of the word.

“The whole world, huh… I’ve never thought about something like that. As long as I’m happy, isn’t that enough?”

That was Cyclone’s first reaction, and also the way this boy thought.

“True…”

Cyclone wasn’t wrong. If anything, it was the king’s dream that was unrealistic. Knowing that all too well, the king didn’t argue with him.

They just looked at each other. Some time passed, and neither of them spoke.

The king’s dream was incredibly grand; Cyclone could feel its unreality. Unlike his own. Fulfilling this little shrimp’s dream would be hundreds or even tens of thousands of times harder than fulfilling Cyclone’s.

Anyway, the king had pretty much already helped fulfill Cyclone’s own dream. Might as well help this tiny King of Royania a little.

That thought popped up out of nowhere. Cyclone himself didn’t even notice it.

“If it’s fighting, I’m not up to it anymore. Hmm…”

Right in front of the king, he actually referred to himself as “laozi,” and Cyclone still didn’t notice.

“But if you’re talking strategy and schemes… bullshit. You might as well just kill me now~”

The king didn’t speak. Faced with Cyclone suddenly throwing out these crude words, he simply listened in silence.

“Oh!?”

All of a sudden, Cyclone found his answer.

The king already had a grasp on this boy’s abilities. Even though Cyclone had acted beyond his expectations several times, that was actually just dumb luck. So the king had never imagined he’d give this kind of answer.

“For someone like me~ there’s only one thing I can do for Your Majesty.”

With the boy’s face full of confidence, the king couldn’t help feeling a bit curious.

“My strongest ability… is spectating!! That’s right~ I’m a pro!‑le‑vel! spect‑a‑tor!”

“…Ha… hahaha…”

The king suddenly laughed. It was the first time he’d laughed out loud in front of someone else.

“Hahahahahaha—”

“Don’t laugh~ You said you want to build a happy world, right? Then I’ll watch. I’ll use these eyes to witness the day your dream comes true.”

“Is that so?”

In that moment, the king understood why he’d wanted to test this boy.

Under the moonlight, with no one else knowing, the king decided on the first step toward realizing his dream.

“In that case, I have a mission for you now, Lord Allen’s Diplomat~”

“Oh, oh~ is it a good job?”

Smiling, the king spoke to Cyclone.

“Yeah. For you, it’s an easy, laid‑back job.”

Attersass Calendar — Year 501, Autumn.

Before the future King Allen who would one day unify the continent, the ordinary boy Cyclone bore witness as this tiny king of Royania made his very first move toward conquering the world.

“You’ll represent me and make a trip to Sunset City!”