Gathering Allies

Hearing this sudden bomb from Ryold, Minos wasn't quite sure how to react, after all the contest wasn't over yet.

"Naturally, otherwise I wouldn't have joined this inheritance battle, but there's still one battle left." Minos answered after only a slight pause.

"Forget the inheritance battle, the Nine-Tailed Emperor already chose you, no other means of selection could be superior."

"Still, this wouldn't be fair for the others." Minos replied.

"Fair? Life has never been fair, not to mention now that you've fused with the Cat-Eyed Gem you can no longer say no. It has marked you as the Nine-Tailed Emperor's own heir."

"Regardless, the inheritance battle should be a fair chance for all those involved, so I can't accept, at least not yet." Minos answered firmly.

"The more you speak, the more I understand why he chose you… Very well then, we'll do things your way, but I hope you know that no one else can be king except you."

"More reason for me to win." Minos smiled.

"Hahaha, good man! Then I wish you the best. Anyways, let's head back now, the votes should be in."

…

Arriving back at the statue, Ryold set Minos back down, promptly flying back off to commune with the Forbidden Soldiers and confirm the results.

As Minos touched back down, everyone's eyes couldn't help but be glued towards him once more, a feeling he wasn't quite used to.

Smiling somewhat awkwardly, Minos just made his way back towards the others, but they looked at him the same way.

Princess Asumi, who used to always have something to say, was just staring at him at this moment.

The others who were also previously friendly to him were also looking in silence, as if an invisible gap had been created between them.

Somewhat unexpectedly, the first one to break this awkward silence was Orino, who seemed the least affected.

"Congratulations, from today's results, I think I can say quite confidently that you've already won." He said smiling, not minding his loss at all.

"Not yet, we've still got one battle to go."

"I appreciate the humble attitude, but no one here is stupid. What you just did has never happened before, and will never happen again. Victory is already yours." Orino said with a shake of his head.

"Who knows? If I perform poorly in the third battle, someone else may win instead."

"You'd have to perform pretty horrifically for that to happen, and quite frankly, I don't think that's possible."

"Then I guess I've won." Minos laughed, not bothering to argue anymore.

"See, now that's the attitude a king should take! But you should know a king also needs wealth, lots of it."

"I assume that's where you come in?"

"Hahaha, you know me well! Then let me cut straight to the point, I hope when you become king, you can continue to enlist me and my family. I assure you you won't find any group of people more competent than us in matters like these."

"I trust as much, of course the extent of our partnership is ultimately dependent on you and your family."

"Don't worry about that, we've been in this business for a long time. Money is second nature to us."

"Then I guess we have a deal. To a long and prosperous partnership." Minos said, extending his hand.

"Hahaha, the sentiment is shared." Orino said, laughing joyously as he returned the handshake.

Meanwhile, Orino's words had seemingly woken up the rest of the onlookers, everyone suddenly realizing this was a once in a lifetime opportunity.

Almost instantly, the rest of them began flooding around Minos, enlisting their services in the same way Orino had.

Compared to Orino, Minos wasn't so quick to agree to others, instead maintaining a wait-and-see attitude.

After all, while he didn't know Orino all that well, the few interactions he had had with the man were all good, and Minos's could tell via his Heart Path that he was genuine in his words.

Not to mention his family already had incredible influence within the kingdom regardless, so even if Minos didn't agree with him, he'd still be forced to work with his family on account of how powerful they were.

All things considered, Minos didn't need to think much, however the same couldn't be said about the others, who had neither the power nor personal qualities that Orino had.

Of course Orino wasn't exactly a special case, and Minos had the same attitude with the Eighth and Ninth Prince, as well as the three other men that he had previously partnered up with.

He already knew these five men well, and they were quite loyal to him due to the events of the first battle, hence they would make for reliable partners.

There were also the prince's more specifically the Fourth Prince, Sixth Prince, and Seventh Prince.

For the Fourth Prince, Minos didn't have much to say, not to mention the man didn't seem to ask for much, just congratulating Minos before disappearing back into the crowd.

As for the Sixth Prince, he was extremely direct in his desires, stating quite clearly that he hoped Minos would make him a general.

Of course such a title wasn't something that could be handed off so casually, which Minos made clear.

Fortunately the Sixth Prince wasn't actually that much of a brute, understanding Minos's reasoning and vowing to prove he was the best choice for such a role.

After the Sixth Prince came the Seventh Prince, who was similar to the Fourth in that he didn't make any demands, just chatting with Minos mundanely, as if the two were old friends.

Compared to the Fourth Prince, who Minos could tell was putting on a show, the Seventh Prince was truly unpredictable in his thoughts.

Even by the time he left, Minos wasn't exactly sure what exactly his goals were, but he didn't mind.

He wasn't afraid of competence, quite the opposite, he pursued it, and the Seventh Prince was a highly competent man.

Of course if he had evil intentions, he would soon learn how foolish going against Minos was, but if not, Minos was more than happy to use him.

As soon as the Seventh Prince left, the First Princess came as well, not wanting to miss out on her piece of the pie.

Compared to the others, Minos was least fond of the First Princess, but it didn't show on his face, and he still treated her cordially.

Fortunately the conversation between the two of them was short, likely because the First Princess didn't want to come on too strong so early.

Finally done dealing with everyone, Minos couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief, however at this moment he suddenly remembered Princess Asumi.

Compared to the others, she was the only one who had yet to talk to him, just watching everyone else from a distance.

Minos understood she was likely still angry with him, and wasn't quite sure how to interact with him after the previous events.

But given that she had a Sky-Grade Physique, not to mention her other qualities, Minos knew he couldn't be enemies with her, she was just too valuable to not be a friend.

Hence, after clearing the crowd, he made his way towards her, about to speak but getting cut off before he could.

"What do you want?" Princess Asumi asked somewhat coldly.

"I want to understand why you're treating me this way."

"Don't act stupid, you know full well!"

"I apologize for what happened in the previous game, but let's not act like we were best friends or something. Just like how I betrayed your trust, so did you betray mine."

"How? I did everything you asked of me!"

"Then why did you send out Anda to spread the news about me?" Minos asked, his words like a bomb in Princess Asumi's heart.

"H-h-how did you know about that…?" She asked with shock.

As far as she could recall, only she and Anda himself were aware of that secret, and even if Anda betrayed her, he wouldn't have been able to inform Minos so soon.

"I know a lot of things, some I just choose not to say." He answered, his blue and green eyes filling her heart with a chill she had never experienced before.

"Fine, I betrayed you, but so what? That's how the game is meant to be played!"

"I agree, but if you can understand as much, why do you still see me as an enemy?"

"..."

"Don't answer that, I'm just here to say that I hope that battle is the last time we betray one another. From now on I want to trust you, and I want you to trust me, after all, this kingdom is all of ours to inherit."

Hearing his words, Princess Asumi wasn't quite sure how to answer, but as she stared deeply into his genuine eyes, she felt another jolt in her heart.