NOVEL WEB Chapter 7: King Gaia
Chapter 7: King Gaia
“So, how about it? Can I meet King Gaia now?”
Seeing that the examiner seemed to have finished the call, Aelgiss also inquired about the result. If all went well, she should be able to see King Gaia directly.
“Hmm. You can meet Lord Gaia. But please be cautious; you’re in the presence of the king, so it’s best not to say anything rude.”
“Alright, alright, I get it, so can I go now?”
Aelgiss, as usual, was impatient to leave the place, which irritated the examiner even more.
“Fine, fine, you can go. Just head down the corridor on your right; you can meet Lord Gaia from there.”
The examiner pointed out the way for Aelgiss to meet the king. He then began calling in the next person, preparing for the password.
[Yake. This is how you answer the password. Make sure you remember it.]
On her way to meet Lord Gaia, Aelgiss didn’t forget to use the contract to inform Yake of the password.
[Okay. I’ve remembered it. Thanks, Aelgiss.]
Yake easily remembered the password. With Aelgiss’s help, he smoothly passed the checkpoint and headed to meet King Gaia alongside her.
“So this is the Royal Palace of Panimir? The decor is really dreamy, isn’t it?”
Aelgiss surveyed the palace’s style; unlike the palace of her Blood Clan, this one featured a color palette of white and blue, which made her feel a bit chilly just looking at it. She couldn’t quite grasp why the palace was decorated this way.
“Is it you? The little girl who passed the password test. I am the Sage of the Royal Palace, Ouxs. Welcome, visitor! Please state your name.”
Ouxs came forward to welcome Aelgiss. Though he looked down on the little girl, at least she had successfully passed the password test, so a basic level of respect was still warranted.
“Oh, my name is Aelgiss, Aelgiss Platin. By the way, where is King Gaia? Where is he?”
Aelgiss introduced herself and immediately inquired about King Gaia’s location. She was here to find King Gaia and had no time to waste on such minor characters.
“Lord Gaia was injured in the previous battle and is currently recuperating in his room. It’s not convenient for him to meet you right now.”
Ouxs honestly communicated the current situation of Gaia. Lord Gaia’s condition was such that even getting out of bed was difficult, let alone meeting with the little girl.
“Well, I thought I could meet him right away.”
Aelgiss wore a disappointed expression. She had expected to meet the so-called king immediately, but after passing the test, she now had to wait for his recovery.
“Oh. This gadget is quite convenient; I made it here so quickly. Huh? Aier, why are you still here? Aren’t you supposed to go meet King Gaia?”
Soon, Yake, who had been behind her, arrived inside the palace through the teleportation device. Seeing the little princess still dawdling around, he felt a bit puzzled—was she waiting for him?
“No. It’s just that this sage said the king is currently injured and resting, so it’s temporarily impossible for us to meet.”
“Ah? Isn’t that a bit of a hassle? We used the teleportation device to hurry here from Pield, and now we have to wait a while before we can meet King Gaia. Seriously, had I known it would be like this, we might as well have stayed in Pield for a few more days and then come.”
Yake had a regretful expression on his face. If he had known they’d have to wait days to meet Gaia, they could’ve enjoyed themselves more in Pield first.
“Alright, alright, it’s already done; it’s pointless to discuss it now. Sage Ouxs, if it’s not too much trouble, could you please relay a message to King Gaia?”
Aelgiss first calmed Yake down before turning to Ouxs, asking for his help to convey a message to the king.
“What message? Speak up, and I’ll pass it along to Lord Gaia.”
“Um. Let me think about what to say.”
Aelgiss hadn’t yet decided what message to send. She needed to think of a way to let the king know she was here to help rescue Princess Ailin.
“By the way, can’t we just go directly to Lord Gaia’s room? We have some urgent matters we want to discuss with him face-to-face.”
Yake asked Ouxs, since both he and the little princess had successfully passed the passwords, shouldn’t they be allowed to see the king directly now?
“About that, I can’t make the decision. Whether to meet you two needs to be up to Lord Gaia’s wishes.”
Ouxs replied honestly, stating that he indeed couldn’t make that decision. Even though they had passed the password, he still couldn’t fully trust the pair. Letting them meet the injured king posed too great a risk. After all, Lord Gaia was bedridden; if these two were assassins sent by another country, it would be disastrous.
“Then you should go ask Lord Gaia first and see if he’s willing to meet us. We genuinely have very urgent matters to discuss with him; it’s about the Ice Dragon that was kidnapped.”
Aelgiss casually mentioned something that caught Ouxs’s attention.
“How do you know about this? Has this news reached Pield?”
Ouxs looked at them suspiciously. As the Sage, his intuition told him these two were no ordinary folks. There must be some hidden motives behind their visit.
“Come on! Everyone in Panimir is discussing this, okay? Yake, remember? When we came here, didn’t a guy say that Lord Gaia is recruiting companions who can rescue his Ice Dragon wife? If they succeed, there’s a hefty reward!”
Aelgiss said, glancing pointedly at Yake.
“Yeah. This matter is being discussed everywhere here; it’s not surprising for us to know about it.”
Yake quickly caught onto the little princess’s intentions and echoed her words.
“I see, so you heard it from others. Tsk, people talk too much. Such a matter shouldn’t be spread around. Well, it is a fact; indeed, a few days ago, Lord Gaia’s wife, Lady Ailin, was taken down and abducted by some mysterious man, which left Lord Gaia severely injured and bedridden.”
Ouxs relayed the events that occurred to them.
“Ouxs, I heard two people successfully passed the password test and arrived here. Are those you two?”
Right after Ouxs finished explaining the situation, they heard Lord Gaia’s voice from behind.
“Lord Gaia! What are you doing here? You should be resting in bed!”
Seeing Gaia walking around when he hadn’t fully recovered, Ouxs was both surprised and delighted.
“I’m fine; I know my condition. I can handle walking around. By the way, are these two the ones I’ve been waiting for—the true companions?”
“Yes. They are the ones you’ve been waiting for.”
“Is that so… Anyway, this isn’t the place to talk. Let’s go somewhere else to chat properly. Ouxs, come help support me.”
“Of course! I’m coming right now. You two, follow along, but the lord will take you to a place where we can speak freely.”
Ouxs helped support Gaia’s arm as they headed in another direction. Aelgiss and Yake said nothing and quietly followed behind them.