Transmigrated as a Ghost

As a matter of pride, King Amlodd wanted to refuse Marcus' offer. There was no doubt that he had been disrespected multiple times by his party, and that their actions had cost him greatly.

A large area of the most valuable land and structures within the former capital were now left in ruins, and there was no telling what had been plundered from the area.

Everything within the city should have by right, belonged to Houten. It was unthinkable for Amlodd to allow a band of miscreant adventurers to steal from his kingdom.

Yet could he truly accept the risk of antagonizing them?

He had already known that they were powerful, hence why he had gathered the best combatants his kingdom had to offer. .net

However, only a single member of Marcus' party had held off his knights and guards with relative ease. Perhaps they really were as strong as they boasted.

'After finally taking back the former capital, I won't go down in history as the foolish king that brought ruin to Houten.'

Amlodd made his decision after only a minute of contemplation.

He accepted Marcus' offer and promised that he would no further bother Marcus' party once he received the lost magic tool that would give him the status of a true ruler.

"Then it sounds like we have ourselves a deal." Marcus said, a victorious smile on his face.

There were several murmurs from discontents knights and higher ups, but no one outright spoke against the king. If they had grievances to air, they would have to do so in a more private and informal setting. Doing so now could be seen as treasonous.

Holding his hands up to show that he meant no harm, Marcus opened up his item box and slowly retrieved the tablet shaped magic tool used for managing nations and awarding titles.

Several pairs of greedy eyes locked onto the device when they saw it. To become king of Houten, all they needed to do was seize it.

Of course, no one actually made an attempt to rip it from Marcus' hands. This would be tantamount to suicide. Not only would Amlodd's loyal personal strike them down, but Marcus would likely kill anyone that tried to interfere with his deal.

"What are you waiting for?! Bring it to me!" Amlodd said, his impatience clear in his tone and body language.

"No, I don't take orders from you." Marcus said, wearing an expression of disinterest. "If you want it, you can come and get it yourself."

It may have been a bit petty, but after what he had just been put through, he wanted to humiliate Amlodd a bit. Had the man been more sincere, Marcus would have happily handed over the magic tool without a fuss.

Grinding his teeth in frustration, Amlodd got out of his seat and approached Marcus. Normally as a monarch he would never do something like this as it was beneath him, but in this situation, there was nothing else he could do. He could not let anyone else touch this magic tool, and if Marcus would not bring it to him, his only option was to fetch it himself.

Once it was in his hands, he had to restrain himself from rushing back to his seat. He had already damaged his dignity enough by essentially giving into all of Marcus' demands.

'It's real!'

Amlodd quickly activated the magic tool and registered himself as its owner.

Thankfully the process went smoothly as he was a direct descendant of Arriba who was the last to own the magic tool, and the majority of the people of Houten recognized him as king.

A soft blue light enveloped Amlodd and his title that had previously been duke, was upgraded to king.

It took nearly all of Amlodd's willpower to not make any outward show of excitement. Still, he needed to appear dignified and kept his emotions under control.

"Well, I believe that our business is now concluded. My party and I will be leaving now." Marcus said, getting up from his chair.

Mrazivý and Miguel followed behind him, and the three of them headed towards the exit.

The guards in front of the door looked to Amlodd for direction on what to do. Some of them could not believe that their ruler would simply let these three disrespectful adventurers leave unpunished.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you. It really won't end well." Mrazivý said, turning around and glaring at Amlodd.

For a moment he had considered using the new magics available to him as a true king. With his power he could punish those that were within his domain.

Naturally, Marcus and Miguel had also noticed Amlodd's hostility, but Mrazivý was the first to respond. She understood that they had strongarmed the man, and that he wanted to teach them a lesson.

Nevertheless, in her opinion, they had assisted Houten far more than they were obligated to. Not only had their party eliminated the strongest undead monsters in the city, but they had also foiled a demonic cult's plan. Without their intervention, Mara would have seen this operation a failure, with hundreds of thousands of deaths.

"You should honestly be down on your hands and knees thanking us. Yes, we caused a vast amount of destruction to some of the city. However, without us, you would never have received that magic tool. Be grateful that the cost was only some buildings and long forgotten treasures. If not for us, you would have lost the majority of your forces and gained nothing."

Mrazivý's biting words and intense hostility shook Amlodd to his core. The nerve he had been building up vanished in an instant, and he allowed Marcus, Mrazivý, and Miguel to leave without further incident.

"That was pretty scary, Mraz. I thought he was about to have a heart attack." Marcus said, his words of concern not matching the smile on his face.

"Ha, that was hardly anything. I think you should commend me for restraining myself. I kept my Draconic Intimation down to a minimum level. If that really had been enough to make him keel over, he would not be cut out to be a monarch."

The two of them continued to converse leisurely without regard to where they were as they walked back to where their other companions were.

After quite a few trials and tribulation, their goals in Houten had all been accomplished.