By that time, Tim had gained near-total control of Fal"Herim.Among the blocs of power of the Desert Kingdom, the religious traditionalists suddenly became fanatically devoted to making Tim king not just of the Underground, but all of Fal"Herim. The reason for that was that they"d spotted him riding Khar"al-dras and speaking to the Great Dragon in a friendly manner on the way back from the Spectre War. Therefore the faction which previously supported the Queen Mother quickly turned their support toward him.
The economists, the Bankers Circle, the Alchemists Guild, the Mercenaries Union and all four Clans very quickly agreed that Tim was one of the most important business leaders in Fal"Herim, seeing how well his Industrial District was doing these days.
Even Asda"s faction liked the way Tim freed slaves and offered them fair wages in his employ. Not only that, when an ex-slave was first starting out, Tim made sure to see to all their basic needs, including housing and food, before even discussing employment. Several known cases occurred where older slaves and younger children were simply unsuited to employment, and were cared for nonetheless. In three famous cases, Tim deliberately went out of his way to customize jobs for the elderly in order to properly employ and support them. Those too young even went to school.
This left Asda more or less just a figurehead spending her days whittling down her family"s acc.u.mulated wealth while doing little or nothing to or for Fal"Herim itself. At least half her edicts and orders went completely unheeded, and the other half only received token response.
Her greatest claim to fame was the one time she"d asked a newly hired maid. "Who is the most powerful man in Fal"Herim?"
"Are you seeking a husband, your majesty? I believe Tim the Emanc.i.p.ator would be a good match for you. He is near your age, you know!"
"Tim? It"s him?" Asda blinked. "But how powerful is he, exactly, compared to me? Mathematically speaking?"
"Mathematically?" the new maid considered. "Compared to you… over a hundred times more powerful."
That maid was sentenced to death. Oddly enough, the sentence was never actually carried out and she found herself with a new job in the Industrial District that very day.
Not that Asda cared. She never asked about that maid, ever.
But one fine day, she asked about Tim. On top of that, she made her way to his office in the Industrial District.
"Your majesty?" Tim blinked, half-rising in startlement more than respect. "What can I do for you?"
"Tim. I hear you"re the most powerful man in Fal"Herim." Asda said with an emotionless face.
"Err… I wouldn"t say that of myself, but I do seem to be able to get things done." Tim hesitated.
"I would have you do something for me. Nay, I… I ask it of you. Please, do me this favor." Asda bit her lips.
"A favor? What exactly do you want me to do?" Tim stared.
"I want you to get something for me." Asda said slowly.
"And that is…?" Tim asked, tense.
"That is…" Asda drew a deep breath, and whispered. "Cheese."
"C-cheese?!" Tim"s jaw dropped.
"It"s impossible!" Asda suddenly burst into a wail. "No matter how hard I try, what guards I hire, how much I try to buy… it"s impossible! It"s completely IMPOSSIBLE to get cheese in Fal"Herim! I haven"t had cheese in eight months!!"
Sitting on his desk, Mika exchanged bewildered glances with Tim. Looking into the lynxmouse"s eyes, Tim could see sympathy.
How low had the Desert Queen fallen at this point, that even mice would pity her?
Mika, by the way, was getting incredibly fat. He could have all the cheese he wanted, ate cheese every day, and often did so several times a day. To hear that Asda hadn"t had cheese in eight months… he truly felt sorry for her, and even a little bit guilty. Just a little.
"If it"s so hard to get here, why don"t you leave? Take a trip to Ashdale or someplace and buy cheese there?" Tim had to ask.
"I can"t!" Asda gasped. "It"s too dangerous! They don"t know it, but I can sense them! They"re after me!"
"Who?" Tim blinked.
"I don"t know! I don"t know who they are! But I can sense them! They"re everywhere, watching me, following me… just waiting for a chance to… to…" Asda buried her face in her hands. "It"s too dangerous! I can"t leave!"
"Uh…" Now even Tim had a guilty look on his face. "Um… I think if it"s cheese… I could maybe help you out there. But I want something in return, all right?"
"Name it!" Asda exclaimed.
"I want to run the military." Tim said. "You know. Because of the Paleres Raiders and all."
"Deal!" Asda jumped at it.
Tim watched her go, completely speechless. He glanced at Mika.
"Did I just buy control over the whole country"s armed forces for the sake of cheese?"
Mika slowly nodded to him gravely.
***
Thinking back, it wasn"t that odd. Tim already had ma.s.sive influence among the armed forces of Fal"Herim and his own forces were a significant part of that number.
Actually taking over formally however, was something he never thought of seriously. The way of the Underground King was to influence situations from the dark, using bribery if outright control was needed, but never showing himself on scene…
Honestly, he thought Asda would refuse and drop the whole cheese request. Never in his life did he think she would agree!
What was she thinking, really? Tim had no idea.
Neither did anyone else in Fal"Herim, but the next day, the edict was issued and amazingly, this time, the entire authority structure of Fal"Herim accepted and implemented it on the spot.
"General!" by evening, everyone Tim met on the streets saluted him as such.
"Are they serious…?" Tim blinked at Mika.
Mika slowly nodded to him gravely.
***
Soon enough Tim began to realize that his new job was a difficult one that not many people actually envied.
The reason for this was that the vast majority of Fal"Herim"s military might was already lost. Magic weaponry, airships, and formations were rendered practically useless without mana. Most of their mana was already spent. All their vaunted vehicles and gear were little more than sc.r.a.p at this point. All that was left was a little bit of mana dust fuel.
"Sell everything." Tim shook his head in disgust. "Build ballistae and catapults. And send half our military engineers to KarGoth to learn about steam power. I want a railroad built to KarGoth in two months! What"s our funding like?"
That, too, wasn"t doing too well. Asda had cut military funding to a tenth of what it was, most of what they received came from "private contributions" from people wanting favors, or outright extorted from shopkeepers and such.
"This is ridiculous. We"re supposed to be protecting the people of Fal"Herim, not threatening them!" Tim was furious. "Stop it immediately, or I"m going to have them all court-martialed!"
"What"s court-martial?" the colonel of the ground forces asked.
"You"re about to find out!"
Just like that Fal"Herim found itself starting a new military court. More importantly, however, Tim decided to have the military secure its own source of funding… from Paleres.
"If Paleres can raid us whenever they like, we can raid them too!"
***
That night, Asda"s dreams came true.
"CHEESE! Tim, thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!"
She threw her arms around him then grabbed the cheese and ran away nibbling it.
This left Tim frozen and staring blankly in her palace corridors.
Mika grinned at him cheekily. [You know, when she smiles, she"s actually quite pretty.]
[Shut up.]