How to be a King and build a Kingdom (I)

While Arthur was starting his search for a hotel in the dark, the lights in one of the G&S Pawnshop were still brightly lit.

In the manager's office, Furusawa Shizu yawned and leaned back in her office chair, causing it to creak.

Not long after Arthur left the G&S Pawnshop, she faxed a document to the government with information and photos of the gold coin to find out if it was stolen or not.

"How long does it take to check if its stolen?" Furusawa Shizu rubbed her forehead weakly. Just as she was thinking they forgot about her and went home, her fax machine lit up.

"Yes! It's finally here!" Furusawa Shizu rose from her chair with delight.

When the machine stopped printing and became silent, she swiftly picked up the paper inside and read it. The paper didn't have many words on it, but it was enough to cause countless waves in Furusawa Shizu's mind.

After considering it for a second, Furusawa Shizu went back to her desk, picked up her landline and dialed a number that only general managers can have.

"Hello?" a deep male voice came from the phone, sounding half-awake.

"Hello, Mr. Yokota." Furusawa Shizu sat down in her chair and reported. "Its Furusawa Shizu, the general manager of the Kawagoe branch."

"What did you call me at such a late hour for, Furusawa Shizu?" Mr. Yokota questioned, sounding more awake.

Furusawa Shizu fully explained everything that happened with 'Mr. Hyoudou' and that she faxed the government to see if it was stolen or not.

"What did the government say?" Mr. Yokota asked with interest, knowing Furusawa Shizu wouldn't call him if it was nothing significant.

"Nothing." Furusawa Shizu's eyes flashed with brilliance.

"Nothing?" Mr. Yokota asked with confusion.

"Yes, nothing." Furusawa Shizu glanced at the paper in her hand with bright eyes. "They said they have no history of this coin ever appearing."

The phone became silent for an entire minute before Mr. Yokota gave a reasonable solution. "Was it recently cast?"

Furusawa Shizu considered and shook her head. "Even if it was, there has been no big gold thefts in the last hundred years."

"You sound like you believe him." Mr. Yokota stated in disbelief.

Furusawa Shizu stood up and glanced out the window at the dark world outside. "I dont know why but I have a good feeling about him."

"Are you sure about this?" Mr. Yokota asked in an increasingly heavy tone.

Furusawa Shizu grit her teeth and stated. "I'm willing to bet my job that he's not lying."

"Alright. Ill take the first flight to Kawagoe in the morning." Mr. Yokota sighed and ended the call.

Furusawa Shizu fell into her chair with a sigh. "You better be telling the truth, Hyoudou Issei."

While Furusawa Shizu is concerned about her future as a general manager, Arthur was facing a similar problem about his future.

…

Moonlight shone down through the skylight of the throne room in the [Dragon Palace], while unusual yellow stones on the wall glowed brightly, illuminating the dark room. A man-sized [Demonic Gate] appeared in the center of the room. The [Demonic Gate] lit up and Arthur, wearing a black robe, came out holding grocery bags in both hands. The [Demonic Gate] dimmed and vanished quietly.

"After all that, I want a shower." Arthur whispered and made his way towards the bathroom with a yawn and dropped the grocery bags. Bag-sized [Demonic Gate] appeared below the grocery bags and transferred them to the kitchen counter.

An hour later. The door leading to the kitchen opened with a soft squeak and Arthur, wearing a plain dark-gray shirt and black shorts with cyan-blue socks that match his eyes, strolled in.

"No wonder the kitchen that I saw in my mind looked small…" Arthur sighed at his bare kitchen. The kitchen, if it can be called that, only had a long counter. No stove, fridge, oven, not even kitchen cabinets.

[I guess Korva just built this room for fun and forgot to add all the appliances.] Arthur shook his head and took a bento out of one of the grocery bags. [Luckily I bought this just in case.] He popped the lid open and awkwardly used the prepared chopsticks. After finishing his small, but delicious bento dinner. Arthur took a bottle of iced tea and made his way towards the library.

Although it's called a library, there are only a few books inside with a couch to sit on while you read. Arthur scanned through the line of books on the shelf and paused on one that caught his eye. [How to be a King and build a Kingdom.]

Since Arthur was a kid, his Mother always told him stories about King Arthur and the knights of the round table. This led to him always having the dream that one day he could be a King himself. Of course, reality came along as he got older and understood that it was impossible. But now, his reality has changed and what seemed impossible before has now become possible.

Unable to suppress his excitement, Arthur drew the book from the shelf and opened to the first page. The first page was essentially blank, with only a line of gray words in the center written in a strange language not of earth. Not wanting to give up, Arthur studied the words carefully. As he was studying the words, something magical happened. The words glowed blood-red.

[Warning: Once the next page is opened, you will not leave until the book is finished.] A calm, almost mechanical female voice emerged in his mind.

[Magic?] Arthur sat on the couch with lifted eyebrows. [The book only has a couple of pages, at this point can it even be called a book?] He shook his head and turned to the next page. Once the page was fully turned, the entire book flashed blood-red, like a bloodstained sun. Arthur naturally raised his hands to block his eyes, dropping the book.