Rick entered the room, and the situation that happened with Chief Galgo repeated itself once more. This time, Rick didn’t react all that much as Velora predicted it.

  Of course, like the first time Rick stepped into the conference room, all the Chiefs stood up and waited for Rick to take his seat.

  And…

  “Ah, please sit.”

  All of the Chiefs finally sat, and then the second Chief Council with Rick present began again in earnest.

  Only this time he wasn’t the future King anymore.

  He was their King.

  Chief Galgo got right into things.

  “My King—”

  “Sir is still fine, Chief Galgo. In this private meeting of ours at least.”

  “…I understand, Sir. Well, Sir, we discussed a few things while you were resting and would like to take this time to present them to you.”

  “Sounds good to me.”

  “First thing’s first is your Royal Guard, Sir. Based on the situation of the Clans, we have put together a preliminary team of 1 Tier Five Goblin, 10 Tier Four Goblins, and 50 Tier Threes to make up your Royal Guard.

  “Of course, every single Goblin in Mir would leap to fight alongside you, and there isn’t a single one of us who wouldn’t carry out an order you have given, but the Royal Guard will have no other focus than to be your direct shield, your sword, your hands, and your feet.”

  ‘I probably can’t avoid this, huh Velora.’

  [No, you likely cannot avoid being given some form of guard. Geedi once did the same.]

  ‘Yeah… Geedi did do this before… I wonder how far she would’ve grown had she been born here instead…

  Alright, if they’re going to give me a Royal Guard, then I’ll be a bit selfish about it.’

  “That works with me, though I wonder if Ra, Loruk, and the other members of the Royal Retrieval Team can be a part of the group? Of course, I don’t mean to force any of them, but if they would be willing to join, then I would be glad to have them.”

  Chief Galgo had to hold back a smile at the mention of his son’s name. And it wasn’t just him— all the Chiefs who had living members of the Royal Retrieval Team wanted to smile with pride.

  “Ah, also, I would like to have every Clan be represented in this Royal Guard of mine. Does that work for everyone?”

  A chorus of Yes Sirs resounded in the room.

  “Good, looking forward to meeting all of them. What’s next?”

  Instead of Chief Galgo, it was Chiefess Menga this time.

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  “Your future home, Sir! All Clans will participate in the process, but my Pogra Clan and the Hessel Clan will be the primary force behind its construction. Don’t worry, Sir, with the entire Clan behind this, we will have something fit for a King up and running very quickly!”

  Chief Menga wasn’t usually a particularly boisterous TinkGoblin, but she was rather determined and excited to be the one responsible for building the house of the King.

  Of course, others would be involved in the process, but she didn’t doubt for a second that she would be putting her touches and tastes all over the build.

  Rick, though… well, he was still being Rick.

  “Thank you, but guys, do we have the resources and the effort to do that? I don’t mind staying in a room somewhere.”

  Slam!

  Chief Hugala—another TinkGoblin who was known for her inability to tolerate nonsense—slammed her fist on the table.

  Not only did she surprise Rick and the other Chiefs, but she also even surprised herself.

  “…Forgive me, Sir… I acted out of turn…”

  ‘Velora, what the hell, did I make her mad or something?’

  [She’s probably tired of your not-a-King antics.]

  ‘My… I’m ignoring you.’

  “It’s alright… Chiefess Ha…”

  “Chiefess Hugala, Sir.”

  “Thank you… and yeah, it’s alright, Chiefess Hugala. Please, explain what’s wrong.”

  Chiefess Hugala took a few moments to collect herself before responding.

  “Permission to speak openly, Sir?”

  “Ah, sure. You don’t need my permission though, please speak freely.”

  “That’s the problem, Sir. I do need permission. And I should also face consequences for allowing my emotions to come over me and disrupt your council. You are our King, and if you aren’t treated with the appropriate level of respect, then it would be all for nothing.

  “In fact, no other force would truly respect us if our King wasn’t given the respect he deserved.

  “Spending time, effort, and resources to build you a proper abode is the bare minimum for the 14 Goblin Clans of Mir. In fact, I feel ashamed that it wasn’t already in progress when we learned of your birth.

  “This type of behavior is the norm, Sir. It is not lost on me or any of the other Chiefs here that you clearly care for us and see yourself as one of us.

  “But Sir… you are not simply one of us. You are our King. And you will allow us to treat you as such. That is all, Sir. Thank you.”

  Silence took hold in the conference room for a few moments before Rick cleared his throat and reintroduced noise to the room.

  “Then Chiefess Hugala. You seem like just the Goblin I can ask my next question to. As you just explained, I clearly have some shortcomings when it comes to acting like a King. You seem fairly knowledgeable about it—mind being my teacher for a bit?”

  Chiefess Hugala stood and bowed.

  “It would be my pleasure, my King.”

  “Good. In the meantime, please bear with my actions for a little longer. Now I’m supposed to be getting a house, right? Let’s go back to that. I think I might have a few wishes, if you don’t mind.”

  Menga whipped out paper and writing tools immediately.

  “I’m ready, Sir.”

  After that, Rick spent the next few minutes listing anything he could think of for this new home of his.

  He decided right then and there, that if he was going to be getting a home, then there was no reason not to take advantage of it. Plus, it seemed like Menga was excited about it all, so he didn’t see a reason to give in.

  …

  “That should be everything. Please feel free to do whatever else you want— I’ll be trusting you.”

  “Your trust will not be misplaced, Sir.”

  “I know. Actually… let’s go back to the Royal Guard. This force should be elite, right? Protecting the King of Goblins and all that, right? Then I want the other members to prove they belong. Anyone else apart from the members of the Royal Retrieval Team needs to go through rigorous training and competition to earn a spot as a member of my Royal Guard.

  “All of them need to earn a spot, even the Tier Five. I don’t care how you all figure it out, but I will leave this task in your hands, my Chiefs. The best of the best for my Royal Guard.

  “And it’s one Tier Five, 10 Tier Fours, and 50 Tier Threes, right? Then the Tier Five will be the lone commander of the Royal Guard. They will have the ability to command the entire group.

  “The 10 Tier Fours will be Captains under the Commander, and the 50 Tier Three Goblins will be divided amongst them—5 Tier Three Goblins per Captain.

  “Can I trust you all on this?”

  “Yes, Sir!”

  Chiefess Hugala smiled as she witnessed the shift in Rick. She could quite easily tell this sort of bravado wasn’t necessarily his norm, but this was a good start, and she would work diligently to correct everything else.

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