The Chief of the Krell Clan was standing at the entrance of the land that constituted his Clan with every single one of his Goblins standing behind him in a neat and orderly line.

  There was no grand feast or anything of the sort prepared because he knew that the Future King would only be passing through.

  If he did rest during his stop, it would only be for a few moments before he headed off to the Central Clan.

  But of course, that wouldn’t stop the entire Krell Clan from giving him a King’s Welcome. In fact, if the Chief of the Krell tried to stop it from happening, they might’ve rioted for the first time in Krell history.

  Anyway, Rick and the rest of the group could see them all lined up, and General Lago decidedly took a few steps back after that to allow Rick to be front and center.

  His nephew Loruk and the other members of the Royal Retrieval Team noticed and followed suit.

  Rick saw all of this happening but could only sigh internally as he didn’t slow his steps and continued his approach towards the Krell.

  Once he finally neared, the Chief dropped to one knee and the rest of his Clan followed.

  “I, Chief Kog, humbly greet the Future King of all Goblins! Where your feet walk, my axe would have already cleared a path! The Krell Clan will forever stand with you!”

  The Goblins behind him roared in agreement to match the enthusiasm of their Chief.

  POV Rick

  ‘These greetings are getting more and more over the top with each one. And the worst part is, there’s no one to tell me how I should be responding to them or anything.’

  [I’m sure they will only continue to be over the top, as you’ve called it. Just keep acknowledging them as you’ve always done, and it is likely you will be fine.]

  ‘Well… yeah, I guess so.’

  “Thank you for the warm welcome, Chief Kog, and the whole Krell Clan. Now please stand.”

  The Chief stood up, then the Goblins behind him slowly followed suit. After a bit of additional greetings, Rick found himself standing in Chief Kog’s office.

  “Please sit, Future King.”

  “Ah, this is your office, Chief Kog. I can stand for a bit.”

  ‘Why does he look so uncomfortable…’

  [You know why. Rick, we’ve talked about this. You’re a King. Not a General, not a Chief, not a rising star of some fledgling army. But a King. Didn’t Ra give you a whole speech on being selfish all those months ago?]

  This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

  ‘Yeah… he did, and I know. But I was just trying to show manners. Is it a crime for a King to have manners?’

  [Possibly.]

  ‘Sigh…’

  “On second thought, I’m more tired than I thought. Mind if I take that seat after all?”

  “Please do, Future King!”

  “Alright. Now, you mentioned you wanted to talk, Chief Kog? And no need to keep referring to me as Future King. You are one of my Chiefs. ‘Sir’ is enough for now.”

  [He looks uncomfortable again.]

  ‘I won’t budge on this too much though, I really can’t take the Future King thing.’

  “But only when we are alone like this, Chief Kog. Please go back to ‘Future King’ in public.”

  [Oh, he looks a lot less uncomfortable now.]

  ‘I’ll take that as a win then.’

  “I understand, Sir. And you are correct, Sir, I did want to speak to you a bit before we reached the Central Clan.

  “First of all, I would like to apologize for not sending any Goblins from my Clan to escort you here. We are a small Clan, and we do not currently have a Tier Five Goblin within our ranks, while the only Tier Four is my daughter and likely heir, whom you met earlier.

  “We simply didn’t have the resources to spare. Once again, I apologize.”

  “There’s no need for you to apologize, Chief Kog. I understand your circumstances, and I don’t blame you one bit for it.”

  “Thank you for your understanding, Sir, I appreciate it. Now Sir, before I continue, I need to verify something. General Rogu, who should have been the Captain of the team that was sent to retrieve you—

  “Is it safe to assume he will not be returning to us?”

  “…That is correct, Chief Kog.”

  “Sigh… I understand. He was a great General for the Raguur Clan. But the reason I bring this up, Sir, is because of his father. Chief Rogur. Do not worry, he will not be angry at you. In fact, he will be beyond proud that his son died in service to the Future King of Goblins.

  “…But depending on the circumstances of his death, he might try to go avenge him if left to his own devices. I beg of you, Sir. Do not allow this to happen.”

  “I understand, Chief Kog… I will personally speak to Rogu’s father. It is only right I do so, since he died in my stead.”

  “Thank you for your understanding once more, Sir. That is all I wanted to talk about. Take as long as you want in here, Sir. I’ll be heading to the Central Clan now to prepare for your arrival.”

  The door to the office closed softly as Chief Kog left respectfully.

  ‘Velora, it feels like my heart fell into a hole. Never to be seen again. I have to go and tell a father that his son isn’t coming home, and I wasn’t even able to recover his body.

  ‘Then to make matters worse, another Chief has asked me to ensure he didn’t run off on a suicide mission for revenge. Is this something I’m going to have to get used to doing, Velora? Telling people that their children died to protect me?’

  [Rick, you—]

  ‘I know, Velora! I know that I am a King. I know that this is what I asked for when I was nothing but an immature and na?ve little Goblin. I know. But it doesn’t make it any easier when you have to tell a man his son died just to buy a little more time for me to escape because some higher fate decided my life was worth more than his.

  ‘…I’m sorry. It’s just been a bit draining, that’s all. It’s fine. I’m fine. I will get through this. Let’s head to the Central Clan.’

  Rick then headed outside, where General Lago and the others were dutifully waiting.

  “Alright, General Lago, lead the way.”

  “As you command, Future King!”

  From there, the group set off once more on the final stretch to the Central Clan. A number of Chiefs had already reached the Clan, and a few others were only just getting messages before practically jumping with joy and darting off towards the Central Clan.

  This was shaping up to be quite a monumental event in the history of the 14 Goblin Clans in the Dark Lands of Mir.

  It would forevermore be known as the day the Goblin King Returned.

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