Unorthodox Farming 3: Chapter 11 (Patreon)

Chapter 11

A Father's Pride

I thought the prospect of execution was terrifying, but sitting in a windowless apartment knowing that your king will literally go to war to protect the life of any innocent man was somehow more terrifying. It was the fact that we weren't the exception, but the rule that terrified me so much. He had a line he would not cross, and in his position, that could be disastrous.

This was still bothering me days later when Jeric opened the apartment door and invited his father, Eric, in. I'd met the man on several occasions, but we weren't friends. It was hard to get close to someone who had to keep you at arm's length.

Eric was noble with the scholar subclass, which specialised in the royal class. This made him a member of the king's inner circle, an advisor and trusted confidant, capable of making decisions on the king's behalf. In any other kingdom, he would be the head of one of the wealthiest and most powerful noble families, but here in Radian, those in his position could take no wife or husband and raise no children.

The king wanted no conflicts of interest.

Eric had willingly taken the oath, and unlike others, he had not given up his position when Jeric was born. Despite this attitude, he had freely given his son a surprising amount of aid over the past few years, suggesting that he did care for him.

Eric smiled as he sat on the couch opposite me. Jeric began knocking on bedroom doors and telling the others to come out as his father leaned forward and offered me a book.

There was a sixty-year age difference between Eric and Jeric, but they did not look like father and son. With all the attributes Jeric had gained over the past few years, they no longer looked like twins either. They looked more like brothers.

I took the book and glanced at the blank cover. "What's this?"

"The king has recognised you as a crown's champion. This means that tomorrow, you will have to undergo your champion assessment. The test is a formality. You don't qualify to assist Radian's champions. You likely never will."

"I assume it's because I gained the mark too soon."

Eric's gaze snapped to Torvac as he took a seat beside me on the couch.

Torvac folded his arms. "Torvac say nothing. Torvac trustworthy."

"He didn't have to say anything," I said. "The mana and stamina I lost from acquiring abilities came back when I gained my mark. If that's true for everyone, then I assume acquiring as many abilities as you safely can before becoming a champion is how this is usually done."

Eric relaxed. "You're correct. High-level adventurers, warriors, and nobles usually have a vast array of abilities and limited stamina and mana pools with which to employ them before becoming champions. Regaining what they lost makes them significantly more powerful, even without the mark's additional benefits. However, only high-level adventurers, nobles, wizards, and warriors are supposed to be aware of this fact."

I found that surprising. "Why?"

"Centuries ago, it was public knowledge, but it led to so many deaths because of foolish decisions that it was naturally suppressed."

I glanced at Torvac for a better explanation.

"No one pass on knowledge that is death sentence."

Redcliff took a seat beside Eric, stifling a yawn. He'd been taking his regular afternoon nap and was wearing a nightgown. Jeric took a seat in the armchair to my right while Misk made his way to the one to my left.

Eric ignored them and pointed at the book I was holding. "You'll likely never be able to help other champions, but you're still a crown's champion, which means you have certain powers that others don't. In return for those powers, you have a code of conduct that you must live by. That guidebook will explain both. The codes inside are unique to you, so once you finish reading it tonight, burn it."

I put the book on the armrest beside me and nodded.

Eric nodded back and then looked around and smiled. "Gentleman, I have good news. The king has investigated your actions and found you innocent of any crime punishable by Radian law or treaty."

Redcliff began to smile and then frowned. "Even my desecration of dwarven remains?"

"You were let off on a technicality. The dwarves weren't dead when you made the hunters' orbs, so it is not technically desecration of a dead body. They also did not object to Arnold taking the pieces of their bodies that were cut off by Chief Durg'un until they thought Arnold was eating them. Those pieces they objected to were kept as backups from what you have told us and what the investigators found in your home, so while morbid, no crime was technically committed."

Redcliff sighed with relief.

"What happens now?" Jeric asked.

That was something we all wanted to know. Being stuck inside a windowless apartment for ten days made us all want our freedom.

"Now, we wait to see how the dwarven kings respond."

"You don't seem concerned," I said.

"I'm not. The likelihood of them declaring war over your actions has been shrinking by the day. However, the dwarves are not known for their quick decisions, only their explosive actions once those decisions are made. For your own safety, I recommend that you stay here or further south in a city with a teleportation circle until this matter is completely resolved. If they declare war, we expect them to immediately send a dwarven hammer after each of you. You're a threat to everyone around you if that happens, so you need to be somewhere that can allow you to come here very quickly."

A dwarven hammer was like an orc warband or a human raid party. They were made up of sixty high-level warriors and were usually used to take down threats like dragons. There was little they could not kill.

Torvac leaned forward, looking concerned. "Torvac requests secondary investigation over Torvac's actions."

Eric blinked, clearly surprised. "Our investigation into your actions has been extensive. You acted within the law while protecting the citizens of Blackwood. You have nothing to be concerned about. Your reputation and the respect people have for you have only grown."

Torvac winced.

Misk cackled with amusement. "My friend is concerned about the method you used to deescalate the situation with the dwarven kings and the trouble he will be in when he returns home."

"Orlana has small body, but big temper. Tell Torvac not become champion. Torvac not become champion. Tell Torvac not to cause trouble. Torvac concerned trouble has been caused."

Eric stared at the imposing giant. "You want us to investigate your actions again, just so your friends can find out how upset your wife is with you before you go home."

Torvac slapped his armrest excitedly. "Torvac would like this very much."

Eric glared back. "Do you know how expensive these investigations are?"

"Torvac will sponsor level 100 swordsman for army in return for assistance."

Misk raised his hand, and it began to glow. Torvac's bedroom door flew open. A moment later, a full-sized, grey experience crystal shot out of the room. Misk caught the crystal and passed it to Torvac.

Torvac put the crystal on the table in front of Eric. The crystal was worth thousands of crowns, more money than most people saw in their lifetimes. I'd heard a lot of stories about how terrifying his wife Orlana, was since meeting Torvac. Until this moment, I'd thought he was joking. But no one would spend this much money on a joke.

Was Torvac actually afraid of her?

Eric reached out, took the experience crystal, and gave a grim nod. "The crown is willing to look into this matter again for you. We will have the results in three days."

Torvac sighed with relief and then clapped me on the shoulder. "Torvac introduce Friend Arnold to love of Torvac's life in three days."

Misk mouthed the words. "He's using you as a shield. Run."

I scratched the back of my head, trying to think of a way to politely turn down his offer. If Torvac was this concerned to give away a fortune for three days' grace, then I didn't want to be front and centre at their reunion. Especially if he planned to use me as a human shield.

"I think I have to be assessed as a champion on that day," I replied.

Torvac shook his head. "Champion assessment only take day. Two days if very skilled. Friend Arnold, be available."

I couldn't think of any other reason to turn him down without being a bad friend. "Sure."

Torvac clapped me on the shoulder again, giving me a shaky grin. There was a bead of sweat on his forehead, and his eyes looked desperate.

I'd seen Torvac make jokes while taking on hundreds of high-level monsters alone. They hadn't shaken him in the slightest, but what I saw in his eyes now could only be described as fear.

Jeric cleared his throat. "How has the situation deescalated so quickly? The quest suggested our action would lead to war."

Eric sighed. "I can't tell you everything, but what I can tell you is that the king made the dwarven kings fully aware of what you and your companions did to protect Blackwood before you finished writing your accounts. The three most opposed to our kingdom's existence immediately demanded your executions, but the king refused their request on the grounds that you came forward willingly and our laws will not permit an execution under these circumstances until he finishes an investigation. Doing so would have affected several classes' experience, so the king felt that it wouldn't escalate the situation while buying him time to react to what you did."

Instead of feeling relief, I felt concerned.

"We believe the dwarven kings were privately debating how they wished to respond to the king's rejection until three days ago. This was when their traders returned with news of what the five of you did."

Jeric immediately understood what his father wasn't saying. "You gave our notes to the bards."

The bard class wasn't just for musicians. Some bards became writers and storytellers, earning money from the system if people enjoyed what they read or heard. This meant that anyone who wrote articles for local newspapers was either a bard or someone willing to pay money to complain to an audience.

Eric nodded. "Yes. It was the best way to deescalate the situation, so you're on the front page of every newspaper in Radian."

"Did you include my name?" I asked, concerned.

"We had to."

I sighed, unhappy with the news. "Considering I now need to be even more concerned about being kidnapped or murdered for my champion's mark, may I know why you want everyone to know what we did?"

"The dwarves are not like us. They do not go to war if their king commands. They go to war only if they believe they should, so their kings must convince them that their cause is just. A third of the dwarves do not see us as walking bags of experience. These dwarves will refrain from joining the war once they understand what has happened, so we had to make sure they understood what the five of you did. However, the king cannot send this information to them directly, only to our people, which is why he gave your notes to the bards. This also has the benefit of letting our citizens know that the dwarven kings declaring war is unjust, which should boost morale if they do so."

I couldn't fault that logic. It seemed like a brilliant move. But Eric wasn't done.

"While a third see us as more than experience, over half of those who do see us as nothing more than experience will look at their people's deaths as the consequences of their own actions. They will treat their deaths the same way they would treat them if they were killed by monsters. This is important because when their kings call them to war, they will refuse. The reports you've written and questions you have answered over the past ten days have done more for the survival of Radian than you can imagine. We estimate that only a fifth of their kingdoms will respond to their call to war, because of this act alone."

While I'd been writing reports, answering questions, and worrying about what the king might do, the king had been waging a propaganda war, dividing his enemy to reduce their forces, so that he could meet them in battle with a chance of winning. He might have been the noblest man I'd ever met, but he didn't appear to be a righteous fool. I'd met many competent people over the years, but he was on another level.

The concerns that had been plaguing me about his temperament suddenly vanished. He might always do the right thing, but his actions would never be foolish if this were a standard indication of how he operated.

"Can we win that war?"

"No, but most of the dwarven kings do not want a war any more than we do. They know that we will not be able to meet them on the battlefield, so we will have to connect their tunnels to the rivers and lakes. The death toll will be unimaginable even though they will win. Because of this, they are stalling for time, holding up the declaration of war to figure a way out of this mess with their dignity intact. Three of the dwarven kings have already publicly denounced the dwarves who intended to attack Blackwood, so they won't take any action against us. The king is targeting the rest of the kings individually, using methods to sway their opinions that I can't share. We will know within half a year whether he's successful. Now, that is all I can say on the matter."

I thought his last statement was just a turn of phrase, but Eric slapped his thighs and rose to his feet.

The rest of us stood up with him.

One by one, Eric went to each of us, looked us in the eye, and firmly shook our hands. He didn't say a word, but there was an intensity to his gaze that told us we had his respect for what we had done. That he wanted us to know that he thought we had done the right thing. That he couldn't voice this because of his position, but he needed us to understand what he felt.

His handshake with his son lasted a longer than ours. And it was obvious to every man who stood there that we were witnessing a father telling his son, without words, that he was proud of him. That he approved of the man he'd become in every way. It was a fleeting moment, a short moment, a moment many men waits their entire lives for and yes some never experience.

As Eric let go of his son's hand and headed for the door, a silent tear rolled down Jeric's cheek.