Chapter 49

ALEXANDER'S POV

I can't remember the last time I slept. The project was going along smoothly but my sleep was sacrificed.

Slowly I'm losing the last bits of strength I have in me to keep going. Tea and alcohol have kept me going for the last twelve hours, but if I drink anymore, I might faint.

The script that I was writing slowly turned into a blur. My eyes felt heavy and I knew I couldn't stay awake any longer. My vision goes blank for a minute and comes back, only to be a blur.

"Alexander, you need to prepare for tomorrow's trip to the capital have you packed up?"

A knock followed by that sentence came through my door, giving me the strength to keep going for another quarter of an hour.

As I get up from my chair, my legs wobble and my right foot goes numb. It was the first time I stood after countless hours of sitting. Bottles of wine litter my room as I navigate over and around them.

"Not yet… I was about to." I replied softly. "Get on with it. Also, I know you haven't slept in three days. Go to sleep."

My eyes widen as I become flabbergasted. "W-what!? No, I wasn't. I slept well!" I exclaimed the lies.

Father chuckled out loud hearing me panic. "Sure, just go to sleep. You need it."

He opens the door and enters my room. I stood with my posture hunched and bags under my eyes.

"Okay…" I say in a hushed voice, trying to conserve my energy.

"What did you say about sleeping properly again?" He told me with a teasing smile. "That I was sleeping well."

He looked past my wrecked self and looked at the desk where I was writing a report. "What are you writing?"

"A script, a report to Queen Iris."

"Hm~ A really important report then."

"I need to finish it in two hours. I'll sleep by then."

He walks toward me and looks at me with a stoic face. "I'll be here while you finish it."

Knowing that he would not listen to my protests to leave the room, I sigh and turn around to finish my work.

Father takes a seat on my bed as I take my seat on the chair. He stares at me as I continue to write the last part of my report while keeping myself awake.

So far only ten kilometres of rails were placed. It's estimated to be over 300 miles from beginning to end, starting at the capital of the Triveni kingdom and going all the way to the capital of the Faunus kingdom.

The report mentioned everything that happened from the beginning to the end. She asked me personally to deliver a report every two weeks so she could know everything happening to the project. If all goes well and we can get across the border, she will invest in our project.

"How long have you not slept for?" My father asked as I desperately wrote my report. "Three days, a bit more or a bit less."

"How many bottles of wine did you have?"

"Count them on the floor."

"That's six bottles."

"Two in a day then."

"Artorius' influence has rubbed off on you, hasn't it?"

I slowly nod my head as he starts talking about Artorius again. He thinks of him as a bad influence because of his alcoholism. But one thing I learnt from him other than alcoholism is hard work.

Fighting a war, taming dragons, talking to deities and even striking deals with supreme kings. What has he not done in the past three weeks? While I'm stuck writing and overseeing his projects, he's going on exciting adventures and making thrilling stories for himself.

As I think of how frustrating it is being his pawn, I finally finish writing the report. With whatever energy I had left, I put my family's stamp on it and rolled it up, tying it with a string and finally getting the break I so desperately needed.

"Done?" Father asked as he saw me wrap up my things. "Yep, just need to give it to Idris."

"You take some rest, I'll go deliver it to Idris." He said as he stood up from the end of my bed. As he carefully walked over to my desk I lay back on my chair, rubbing my face with my hands as I took in the moment of peace.

Father takes the report and walks away from my table. "You have till tomorrow morning to take a rest and fix up your luggage for however long you will leave. Just tell me a proper time for your return."

"Six days at most," I told him as he opened the door. He didn't say another word and just left me in my room, sleep-deprived and partially drunk.

At least now I can take a break.

I slowly limped over to my bed, crashing down as soon as I was within range. No words could come out of my mouth as I just grumble and grunt while slowly crawling to my pillows.

Nothing has felt this comfortable before. This is the first time I've felt such comfort in an activity I took for granted.

I would've fallen asleep in an instant if it weren't for a throbbing headache and my train of thoughts running wild. All I could think of was how jealous I was slowly becoming of Artorius as days went on.

Always having exciting things to do daily. Being the strongest in the world and having charisma. Not only that his knowledge is extraordinary and his willpower to push himself is admirable.

"What a swashbuckling life."

ARTORIUS' POV

None of these books are any good…

As I rummaged through the entire library in search of the perfect book, I came to the realization that most of these books are really mediocre. I can't tell if it's just this library or if this is constant all across the world, but it's getting on my nerves.

I've already ransacked the entire left side of the library while looking for a book and I've cleared half of the right side of the library. I'm out of luck if I can't find a book here.

Amelia jumps off from my shoulder and tells me about the books on the bottom row of the shelves. Even she was having a hard time finding one that had valuable information or had a good story.

"This one seems good." She suddenly told me through telepathy.

I squat down and she points at the book she was talking about. It was about an alternative world where everything is futuristic and modernized. It was similar to science fiction from my past world as well. This sounded interesting for sure!

"What a find! The quick synopsis really intrigued me. The book also seems to be in fine condition, only a few months old or at most, a year."

Amelia giggles as I praise her for finding a book in this vast ocean of mediocre or downright bad books.

"Let's take it and go. I need to meet with Wilkins."

Within a heartbeat, I walked away with Amelia trailing behind me. I made it to the front desk to pay for the book and take a quick leave.

The man that always sat at the desk was there and saw me with the book. He took out his logbook and a pen, ready to write down the purchase.

"Oh~ this book. I was going to recommend this. The author is slowly gaining popularity with young adults." The man said as he saw the book.

"I see! Well. how much is it?"

"About twenty gold."

"Here."

I already took out my coin pouch and counted out some coins beforehand. It was a quick transaction and he wrote down my name, the book's name and the amount paid.

"Come again!" The man gave his farewell as I took my leave from the library. "Definitely will."

As I took a step outside into the blistering hot weather, I realised how much nicer it is to stay in a building with temperature-regulating artifacts.

It was slightly past noon by now and the streets had reached peak crowds by now. I made my way through the thick crowds, not being recognized most of the way because of how busy everyone has become.

Amelia climbed onto my shoulder and curled around my throat, making it even warmer for me since her fur makes for good insulation during winter. I had no other option, other than carrying her in my arms.

"Damn, why do I feel so hot all the time?" I mumbled out, cursing this weather condition.

"Maybe you're just not made for such weather. How were the weather conditions in your past life?" Amelia asked me in telepathy.

It made sense now.

"Well, pretty cold. We would have a few months of spring and summer like this but mostly it would be rainy or just cold."

"See? You're more used to cold temperatures than such tropical ones where not even a single cloud can be seen for miles."

"Yeah, I can see that."

After a long walk of traversing the busy market district of the city, I finally made it to Wilkins' pub which was as busy as ever.

"Finally! Time to do some business."

I pat my pocket just to make sure the ring is still in my pocket, luckily it was and I can continue inside.

As soon as I entered the pub, it erupted into a cheer. A welcoming and joyful greeting.

"Alright~ calm down everyone. What's with the cheering?" I asked them as I motioned my hands telling them to sit down.

They took a seat and one spoke out from the back of the busy pub.

"Because you're the best!"

How flattering.

"I know that already. Hope you all are having fun at this pub."

I slowly walked through the walkway to the bar where a group of men were sitting. One of them gave up his seat to me but I refused it because I had other work.

"M-majesty, please take a seat here." The man said, trying to be nice

"It's fine. I just need to ask for something." I told the man as I pushed the seat aside. "Good afternoon, where's Wilkins?"

The one attending the bar was the same one from a few days ago. She pointed towards the backroom as usual and I gave her a nod before making my way to the doorway.

"Seems like your authority makes everyone quiet. Before entering it was loud and everyone made a commotion, as soon as you entered everyone cheered and went silent." Amelia said out of the blue.

"Huh, strange."

Though I am a cheerful and easygoing person, people tend to keep respect and not fool around much in my presence, even during peak hours in a pub.

"Oh~ Wilkins!" I exclaimed as I walked through the doorway.

I looked to my left and saw him sitting in the same place as Felix. He waves at me with an exaggerated smile on his face.

"Ah~ Good afternoon, your majesty! I've been waiting for you!" He responds in an excited tone.

"So, what was the report you sent me? I didn't have time to see it so give me a quick rundown."

Wilkins leans back on his chair and clears his throat before speaking. "Nothing much. I just gave an account of the spending so far. Thought you'd like to know."

I raised an eyebrow at his thoughtfulness. "How considerate. Well, anything interesting?"

"Not really. The ageing process has begun and I've bought some land a few miles away from here. There I can make a winery and a distillery. The first ones of this new business!"

Soft chuckles break out from both mine and Felix's mouths. His enthusiasm as a new business owner is adorable.

"Great! How many acres did you buy anyways?"

"About four acres. Two acres for each of the buildings.

"Ambitious! Well, do you have any plans to live in a more… simple environment?" I asked him my curiosity.

"As in?"

"Maybe outside the city, like near the winery perhaps?"

He scratched his head from my question and thought for a few seconds.

"Not yet, I'm just living five minutes away from this pub. It would be nice to have this pub be run by somebody else while I focus on other business ventures."

I scratched my chin as I thought more about what he said. A person that can run his pub… Someone that can run his pub.

An Idea comes into my mind and my eyes widen. Wilkins notices and he leans forward to hear me better.

"Vincent."

"Yes."

We both shared the same idea and came to the same conclusion.

"Vincent can be your manager at this pub. Every week he can give you a report and recount the spendings in this pub while you go find yourself some more business."

"You truly are a genius! On the battlefield and in business!"

Not sure if the compliments are deserving but it feeds my ego well.

We shake hands on the idea and I give a wink to Felix. He looks at me with uncertainty but does not oppose the idea. It's a perfect idea nonetheless.

Vincent works for us in multiple ways. He takes no payment in gold but in other ways, which is keeping him and his family sheltered and fed. As an extra perk for working under me, I gave his children free education which gets rid of all payments other than housing him and feeding him.

This work can easily be given to him and he won't complain. Since all he does nowadays is spend time with his family, he is free to do any work.

"I'll talk to him then, though I suggest keeping a paid manager since Vincent might go on trips with me. Speaking of which…"

"You're going to Prince Amadeus' birthday, right?"

"Mhm. He's coming with me, not on my accord but Queen Alyssa's requests."

Wilkins' eyes sparkled as he heard more information. "I see! Must be the perfect place to make some rich business partners."

"Only if you have a high title. Which in my case is king."

He laughs out loud in a satirical manner. "Hah! Well then, I'll see you in…?"

"Six days. I'll send Vincent back as soon as possible."

"Deal."

I stood up to take my leave. Amelia jumps up from my lap and onto my shoulder while I grab the book off the table. Felix hands me the bag that weighed more than I expected and just chuckles.

"There's a lot in this."

Wilkins seemed curious about the contents of the bag but didn't want to ask any questions. I bid him farewell and walked outside the backroom.

As I took a step outside the room, it went silent once more. It felt eerie and I was getting really uncomfortable.

"Why is everyone so dead quiet? Did someone die?" I said out loud which the entire pub heard.

"..."

"There's no need to be worried in my presence. Continue with your lounging and relaxation at the pub."

That's when the rest of the pub finally became alive again. It was quite comical that I had to tell the pub how to act. Nevertheless, the sounds of a full pub with the bard singing and playing his instrument were like music to my ears.

The music that was in my ears lasted only a few seconds before I exited the pub, back outside to the busy streets. Felix for some reason handed me the bag even though it's his job to carry it.

"Carry the bag! Why hand it to me?" I asked him. He just gives me a smile and giggles. "I was just testing something. You just take whatever you are handed."

"Because you handed it to me. Now take it back!"

He takes the bag and just bursts out laughing. I was left in confusion as to why he was laughing his head off and just continued walking away.

"Why is he laughing?" Amelia asked me. "As if I have any clue.'

Felix follows behind me with the bag and we both head toward the palace. I had more work back at home and was more excited about that.

"Felix, have you ever thought about a new military group?"

He stayed silent for a minute, rethinking my question. "Not really… I don't understand what you mean."

"Have you ever thought about troops that can do more than just fight with a single weapon or simple magic?"

"There was once a plan for something like that. King Theo planned to make a special group of soldiers that were skilled in such ways."

My eyes lit up with curiosity and more ideas came to my mind. If my father had already planned something like this, I could take over and polished his ideas to make it perfect!

"Are there any documents about this?" I asked him, hoping for a positive answer.

He sighs in disappointment and shakes his head. "Not anymore. He requested the papers to be burnt so that no one has an idea of it. Only Sir Zenith knows of this."

"Sir Zenith?"

"He was your father's agent. He knew of King Theo's secrets. Sadly as a result of this, he took his own life to protect his secrets. Such is the life of a King's agent."

What was my father hiding? To have an agent that would kill himself to treasure his secrets? There must be more.

"I see. Well then, I'll just make my own form of whatever he was making."

"You both seem to have a similar idea. I'm excited to see where this goes."

Felix's words gave me the motivation to continue this idea. I had more ideas but this is just a stepping stone to them. If this is a success, the next one will be guaranteed success.

As we walked up the sloped road towards the palace, I could see the carts packing up and also leaving from the front of the palace.

"Seems like the foundation finished serving. The next servings are next week."

"Hmm, I'm quite curious about this foundation."

Felix looked at me with a curious look. "Since when?"

"Since today."

A long pause and a blank stare followed.

"What?" I asked him to break the silence.

"You were always distasteful of the foundation. Always saying that it was a waste of our capital and such."

Seems like Artorius was quite selfish. Cannot blame him.

"New me."

Felix scoffs and continues to walk inside the palace. It seems that I'm slowly straying off the old Artorius' behaviours. I cannot tell if this change will make the others happy or not, as long as they don't suspect anything about rebirth or transmigration I shouldn't be worried.