Smarter Than Average

"What is this, Trevor?"

Trevor looked at what was in front of Jun and said in horror, "This is an unexpected situation."

"My Lord, these are the finest donkeys in the entire kingdom. They are fast and can bear your weight. The King said that since you enjoy traveling by donkey, he procured the best in the realm for you," said a maid who seemed genuinely pleased.

Before Jun stood six donkeys, all of them appearing well cared for, with no visible imperfections.

Jun glanced at Trevor, and both struggled to contain their laughter. But after a while, they couldn't hold it back any longer: "Ha ha ha, this is truly an unexpected event."

"I'm dying here."

Trevor couldn't believe the king thought they had traveled to war because Jun liked donkeys. It made sense that this was a response to the tantrum Jun had thrown after being sent to war.

"We already have horses, but maybe we should ride donkeys to the royal capital. What do you think, Trevor?" Jun eyed the black donkey, which wouldn't stop braying as soon as he approached.

"I think the two of you have formed a mutual bond. You should consider keeping it and outfitting it with horse armor tailored for a donkey so it can move even better." Trevor kept up the donkey joke, but after a while, he felt the humor was wearing thin.

Jun felt the same and said, "Take these donkeys to the stable. I'll thank His Majesty, the King, in person for this gift."

"Yes, my Lord." The maid looked relieved to have survived this initial exchange with the new lord of the city.

…

In the finest barracks of the city of Wei, an old man dressed in tattered robes sat with his eyes closed as Rugal, the frontier general, reported that the noble lord of this city had arrived.

"Are you afraid of losing the privileges you've gained during the absence of the city's ruler?" asked the old man, who seemed to have the answer to every question.

Rugal didn't know what to say. He had no choice but to hope that now, with the ruler present, he could handle the problems surrounding the city.

"Have you gone mute?"

"Seer, you know I haven't touched that money for my own desires. I've spent it all on the slave children I've slowly been able to buy, and now they work in the fields," Rugal said. He couldn't defeat the mafia controlling the city from the shadows.

"Then go to him, present yourself as the general in his service, who has protected this city under the mandate of the previous lord, and swear the loyalty you once pledged to your former master."

Rugal's face twisted unnaturally. He had never sworn loyalty to any man other than the lord who had bought him as a child.

"He's just a boy."

"Have you ever met a boy like him? Jun Asura, a famous Black Moon, known only to the shadows and whispers... I too was once a Black Moon, but I made poor choices and lost my way home."

Rugal nodded, withdrew, and ordered all the city's guards to prepare to swear an oath of loyalty.

…

At the mansion of the city's lord, Jun looked at an enormous man with more hair on his body than a chimpanzee and asked, "You want to swear loyalty to me?"

"Please understand, this city is being controlled from the shadows by an organization operating casinos and selling slaves," Rugal explained, unsure of how Jun would react to his request.

Jun furrowed his brow, looked at the sun, and murmured, "Do you see this, Trevor? The King has once again placed me in a city I don't want to be in."

"Did you call the shadows?"

"I want information from them about this city. For now, let's visit a casino," Jun said, glancing at his donkey, which was busy eating a watermelon.