Netori SSS-Emperor: All Queens Shall Be Mine!-Chapter 56: Tests For A King

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Guiding Wolf through the darkness, Astoria explained the reason behind what he'd just seen. The throne was known to make the kings hallucinate, but for the most part, it was a way for him to listen to the woes of his people. When the concerns of the masses align, the blur of voices merges into one coherent complaint, but when everyone had a different problem–something they could solve themselves–their voices turned into a cacophony that couldn't be explained.

"William's father often saw his dead wives while sitting on that throne." Astoria's eyes lingered on the darkness in front, almost as if she was reminded of something tragic by her own words. Lifting her head, she reached forward to the doorknob of yet another iron door. But before pushing it in, she turned her head to face Wolf. "They died from the poisonous fumes and chalky precipitates left on the king's body. Thanks to his experiments, he often worked with dangerous items. I was mostly immune by bloodline, so it didn't affect me. But perhaps had he not been such a slob and taken baths regularly, the other queens would've still been alive."

A chilling quiet hung between the two. Neither had a past that was too fond to look at, but even if they wished to discuss it further, right now wasn't the time to do it. Realizing that, Astoria pushed the door open and led Wolf into the room made of pure glassy minerals. At first, the shimmering felt almost blinding to Wolf, but as his eyes adjusted to the light, he looked around and found an oval desk with many chairs made of the same minerals as the walls.

"What is this place?" He asked, walking towards the table to touch it.

Already pulling herself a chair, Astoria looked at him sideways before responding to him.

"The meeting room. Nobody can hear us here. Not even our goddess," a bit surprised by the last part, Wolf's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Why would the goddess allow the king of her land to have conversations with others in secrecy? It didn't make sense to him, but then Astoria explained further. "I know, I was confused about this room at first too. However, it's not just her who can't listen in, but the other gods as well."

"So she wanted to isolate this place from the reach of other gods?" Nodding back, Astoria decided to clarify something.

"A byproduct, a negative one on her part, but if you've made it in, already you've been entrusted with her will, and I doubt any of the kings would attempt to betray her regardless." While her explanation made sense, there was still a flicker of uncertainty in Wolf's heart. He was certain that there would probably come a time when a king would use this room to plot against Akramadia.

Pulling himself a chair as well, Wolf looked to Astoria–still visibly uncertain about everything that was happening. And although she noticed the troubled expression, the queen decided to move towards a cure that would help him gain confidence and also prove to her that he was ready to be an effective king.

"How about I give you your first lesson in official policy? In the form of a test, one of the many you'll have to go through before I relinquish all control of the kingdom down to you," she asked, a deceptively gentle smile resting on her lips.

Realizing something odd about Astoria, Wolf decided to nod but remained cautious about what she had in mind. Then, reaching under the table, the queen pulled on a drawer and took out from it a map of Aestonia's territories. Setting it on the table, she circled her index finger around the number twenty-seven written next to the words 'Repossessed islands'. The word repossessed was obviously used loosely, as Aestonia used to be nothing more than a small village until the kings decided to expand further and annex more territories.

"We have seized twenty-six islands, most of them housing beastmen. No match for our Krakanhoists." Dragging her finger to a cluster of smaller islands, she circled her finger around them and then brought it to tap on the number three with the words, 'current fronts'. "We've been scuffling with a hoard of dragonkin backed monsters in this region, and your first test would be to somehow break the shackles of their alliance without leaving the king's seat."

"Wait..." Grabbing his ear, Wolf gave it a tug in disbelief of what he was hearing. "Am I not even allowed to go out and scout the islands?"

Astoria shook her head to confirm his suspicion.

"You're a king, spying is what spies are for." Holding her hand to her side, Astoria let a glitter of golden light fall from under her hands. Revealed beyond it were a total of five torsos, each a different shape and size, and almost none appeared to be human. "The whisperers, they'll listen to your command from this day onwards. There are five of them. Zoro–I think you've met him, the man who cut your throat when you were trying to get to my window in the coliseum."

The flood of information was coming too fast, and although Wolf was keeping up, before he could say a word, Astoria continued to introduce the others.

"Then there's Zosa, Luna, Formonde, Ledues. They've taken an oath that keeps them invisible so you won't ever see them, and that's why you'll learn to sense their presence." Letting her hand down, she closed her eyes for a moment and then looked at her new husband again. "Gathering information is their task, carrying out your decree the task of the other three militia's. You do know what they are, right?"

Barely keeping up with the pace she was moving, Wolf quickly recited their names before he confused himself somehow.

"Mermadia-Guard or Krakanhoist, they're the naval fleets. Media-guard or just Militia are the regular soldiers on Aesthonian soil, and then there's the shufflers, our more seasoned soldiers stationed on other islands."

A proud smile took over Astoria's lips. She already expected him to know their names, but to actually hear them set a lot of her worries to a rest.

"Good~ This should make the mundane stuff go a lot easier..." The voice of a whisperer whispering in both of their ears at the same time cut their conversation short.

"Kayla, the general has arrived on castle grounds. Should we bring her to the meeting hall?" They asked, and for a moment, Wolf looked at Astoria, waiting for her to answer. But then, as she returned his gaze, he realized that it was no longer her decision to make.

"Bring her," he responded, and despite not knowing who it was, Wolf knew that if the general of the naval fleet was here, she couldn't be made to wait for god knows what kind of trouble their ships were in.