Trouble Maker part 3Translated & Edited by Tianic
Characters in this chapter:
Cohen Kheda: The main character.
Climos Summers: King of the Swabia Empire.
Luhrmann: The Prime Minister, a Holy Temple a.s.signed official to Swabia.
Visual Kheda: Cohen’s father, Duke of the Swabia Empire.
Jack, Moya, Marfa, Wilder: Homeless boys, Cohen’s childhood friends till then.
Maiza: Visual’s head guard.
The crowd went silent for a second, then clashed with argument once again. Everybody knew they were in trouble, hanged or skinned to be less. His Majesty was disturbed, and he seemed upset about it.
“Are you part of this?” An officer started to question.
“No, I was not!” The soldier was not a stupid.
“You? Come clean!” The officer was annoyed and decided to be tough.
“Sir! My name is Cow! I was not!” This one was a professional on acting dumb.
“Then what’s wrong with your d.a.m.n face!” He asked.
“Sir! It’s dark, I fell!” Infantry Soldier A said.
“What about your forehead?” Another officer asked.
“Sir! It’s dark. I knocked on the wall!” Infantry Soldier B said.
“What about you holding your junk?” Another officer asked.
“Sir! It’s dark, I’m holding it!” Infantry Soldier C said.
“What’s with the dark!!?”
At last, by a show of hands, they have decided to take me and my guards as well as any unarmed soldiers.
“How impressive, our troopers and n.o.bles got this far in a fistfight.” His Majesty, Climos Summers paced ever slowly on the palace square, with a smile, to our surprise, “You fought in the gate and had the guts to get the whole city busy. How extraordinary are you to wind up like this!”
Twenty of my men, either black and blue or with bared teeth, stood on the right. On the left were all the infantry troopers who lost their armors. Three, four hundreds of them, half stood, half lying on the ground. The squad leader, who was still in a coma, undoubtedly was here. A random white sheet covered his body, making the poor him resembled a girl raped by a hundred guys.
The king’s men muted themselves for fear of getting involved in this mess. I noticed my father was among them, looked as healthy as usual, without any expressions.
“Ahem.” King Summers put away his smiling face, “Viceroy Cohen Kheda, what’s your story?”
“Evening, Your Majesty. Here it goes.” I spoke with a tiny twisted tongue for being punched in the face several times, “I was humbly ready to report the new site for my Dark City. We’ve traveled for days and finally arrived in DC ahead of schedule. However, the guard wouldn’t let us in!”
“Continue.”
“Yes, sir. We have argued on grounds, but the guards required five dimes in tips by our number of heads to let us pa.s.s!” My previous life had trained me well in lying with an average breath and heartbeat, “I rejected, and the argument turned into a fight! Then they rang the alarm.”
All courtiers people gazed at each other in dismay as I finished talking. A least infantry squad leader dare to extort a viceroy! Then and there was someone suggested a beheading.
“Is that so?” King Summers remained unfl.u.s.tered and questioned the DOD men, “What’s your story then?”
“Your Majesty!” The DOD officer on duty said, “I rushed over as soon as I can, seeing only Viceroy Kheda slashing a naked guardsman hanged on the gate. I’ve unaware of Viceroy Kheda’s accusation; however I have tried to stop him, then Mr. Kheda hurt me as well.
“Liar! We did not! We’ve only prevented them from getting in after the closing time!”
“Your Majesty! Our guardsmen would never do that!”
“Why wouldn’t they! They’ve even attacked a n.o.bleman!”
“They have a point, Viceroy Kheda.” The Prime Minister who’s been silent all the way, said, “As far as you presented, why did you end up messing up with the DOD officers?”
“Your honorable minister.” I asked with the most serious att.i.tude, “Am I a man of insanity?”
“Ah?” He was confused by me and blankly shook his head.
“Since I’m not a crazy person.” I continued, “If I could let this go in peace, why would I fight against hundred men? Truth be told, did I need a little after-dinner exercise? They started it first!”
“Viceroy Kheda!” A man in the crowd asked, “You don’t have any evidence on they extorting you.”
“Prove?” I touched my chin and pretended to be angry, “I am a n.o.bility and a viceroy. If you don’t believe what I said, then that! I don’t have proof!”
“Viceroy Kheda.” The kind said, “Calm down.”
“Your Majesty, it is what it is, we were forced to do it.” I was playing innocent and weak and gentle and lovely, “They want evidence, how could I have any? It’s their men outnumbered mine. It"s their words against mine.
“Shouldn’t you be worried.” The king corporately comforted, “It will come clean.”
His eyes then landed on the cavalry general who merely arrived, “What’s your words on this?”
“Your Majesty!” The general straightened and said, “I have no idea what happened beforehand! What I saw was hundreds of infantrymen fighting twenty men in the gate channel!”
“Anything else?”
“No further!”
“Eh…” The king said to his men, “What’s your opinions on this?”
“Your Majesty!” He who spoke the first, the Minister, “I should point out that the gate guards will never extort n.o.bilities.”
“I don’t think so.” My father finally broke his silence, “Your Majesty, let me suppose the infantry did not ask for money, then why did Cohen choose to fight several hundred men with only a twenty in hand? More to that, later on, the presence of a DOD officer made things worse rather than cleaning the mess. If they have not extorted anything from Cohen, at least, it had proven on one fact that the men in defendant department are useless! An ineffective leader commands broken soldiers. I can’t believe a lowly sum of twenty people would cause the alarm and a later panic of the whole city. And those hundred men lost to only twenty, useless!”
I kept my blank face, but a secret excitement thrilled my body. My father was marvelous. I stood joyfully wishing this could be over soon though my legs were killing me.
“Your Majesty.” An insider soldier stepped up front, “We pulled the alarm because they’ve pa.s.sed the gate. We lose because the s.p.a.ce in the entrance limited us to fight with only a couple of men.”
“Pa.s.s the gate?!” I yelled, “You all people saw us in the tunnel! Spare your words!”
“I don’t care if they’ve pa.s.sed the gate. You’ve lost, and how about I order an extension of the gate and let you fight again to see who wins this time?” The king’s played the ruby on his ring with a little finger, “No one has realized any faults! Take this man and give him thirty!”
“Your Majesty!” Tense the Minister looked, “This matter is a small case; please be mercy.”
“SMALL CASE?” The king scolded loudly, “Once the alarm alarms, everyone is alarmed! Have you been getting too old to know this?”
“All things are clear, more or less!” The king prevented anyone who intended to speak, “When did the DOD become such incapable? Have they been training properly? Ringing the alarm for such a small incident and two hundred men lost to a less twenty. What if this was the case of an enemy attack? I don’t expect my Divine City to be guarded by such soldiers.”
“Considering their incompetence, all DOD senior officers will suspend their duty, effective immediately. All responsibility will be taken over by the imperial guards. Twenty slashes for all infantry and sub-lieutenants involved in this incident and dispatch out of DC in all! Viceroy Cohen Kheda, pack your impulse. Considering your status, fistfighting is not an appropriate move? I now give you self-detention for three days and cut in salary for a half year!” Watched over all of us, the king continued, “Now get out. Visual, you stay here with me!”
“Three day’s detention and half year’s salary.” My father grinned, “What an itchy punishment. The Minister must be furious now!”
“My salary! Dad!” I said, “That is a lot!”
“Don’t worry.” He said, “His Majesty was pleased that you gave him an excuse to shift all DOD personnel. He has authorized a total of five hundred grand for your Dark City project as a reward and encouragement.
“WHAT! I’m rich! I was expecting around twenty, thirty.”
“Hey!” He had a paper in hand, “Look at this, that’s the approval! You can get the money immediately from the treasurer!”
“Jack!” I grabbed the paper and yelled.
“Boss! What?”
“You, now, with Maiza, go and get my money!”
“Roger!”
“Hold on, Jack!” Father followed, “Let me show you how to transfer!”
I lied on the bed feeling wild with joy. With the money and help from my friends, I was able to play big!
“Boss!” Jack rushed in, “Geez!”
“Geez my a.s.s!” I said, “Where’s my money?”
“Boss!” Jack was sweaty all over followed with Maiza who looked furious, “Our money is taken!”