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A long red carpet ran over the polished marble floor to a stunningly beautiful throne. Bizarrely, a truly colossal hammer—larger than any adult man—loomed behind the throne. It was the mighty hammer of Wilhelm, the first king of Reinhardt, favored by the god Naga.
“Will he come?” the man on the throne rumbled. People lined both sides of the carpet with bowed heads, but this man sat with his head held high.
His name was Ryan Geiger, the reigning king of Reinhardt. As one of the Twelve Superhumans, he was known as the “Lion King,” a name that suited him well.
“Hoho
” The Lion King laughed softly. He could feel a powerful energy approaching from the other side of the closed doors. It was clear to Geiger that whoever wielded that power had no intention of hiding it at all. “So you want to act bossy instead of like a king?” he muttered as he rose to his feet. “That’s not going to work in a place like Reinhardt
”
That person was just outside the door. Soon, it would open, revealing the throne’s new owner: the youngest king in Reinhardt’s history, Master Joshua Sanders.
The door quietly creaked open, allowing a man to slowly enter. Glossy, dark blue hair, and eyes deeper than the ocean—the Lion King, in all his years, had never seen anyone as handsome as this. He’d have preferred that the Prince won, as opposed to an Imperial, but what could he do? The new king brought him such happiness.
“I’ll pay you back for all the fun we had, Joshua Sanders,” the Lion King whispered to himself.
Out loud, he exclaimed: “Welcome, new king of Reinhardt.”
“My King.”
“My King.”
The rest of the hall simultaneously dropped to their knees, leaving Joshua an unobstructed view of the Lion King.
“Hoh.” The Lion King let out a low breath. I knew this would happen, but seeing it in person—he’s like a work of art, isn’t he? When’s the last time I’ve felt like this? It’s not the same as when we ran into each other at the colosseum.
“Raise your heads. Shouldn’t you see the face of the man you will serve?” Geiger donned a pleasant smile. “I can promise you that his rule will be very strong.”
Reinhardt’s servants slowly rose to their feet. As the succession ceremony had yet to occur, the Lion King still remained the rightful lord of the castle.
“I’m kind of busy.”
“What?” Geiger cocked his head.
“Let’s skip to the important bits.”
The hall fell dead silent, but Joshua carried on like nothing had happened.
“The Mercenary King will be here in Reinhardt in a month if he accepts my challenge. The match will happen later, but it will still be in less than two months, even if we take our time. In the meantime, I might have to leave Reinhardt on pressing business.”
“Ah, that’s
” The Lion King clenched his jaw thoughtfully and then looked at Joshua. “Is it important?”
“Yes.”
Geiger nodded. “Well, there’s nothing I can do if the Avalon Empire is calling for you.” He chuckled, assuming that the Emperor of Avalon was calling for Joshua.
“Get started with the formalities and make sure it’s done by today.1”
The servants gave Joshua a wide-eyed look.
“No, you can’t.”
“What?”
Kingaitu, a young man with green hair and frog-like cheeks, stepped forward. He was a confidant of the King of Reinhardt both because of his knowledge and because of his genuine concern. He was also in charge of Reinhardt’s budget.
“The continent recognizes you as king in name only—and you want to wave away one of the most important succession ceremonies like this? Is this a joke to you?”
The Lion King smiled sadly. Kingaitu despised when people disparaged the King of Reinhardt’s title. Kingaitu was a smart man, so there was no way he didn’t know what was going on.
He’s trying to put a leash on the new king, using the current king to protect him. Geiger’s head bobbed. If he’s going to push this strongly, there’s nothing else I can do
 This old knight had lost his teeth; it was time for the Lion King to flee this battlefield and enjoy his win. Joshua was responsible for leading these people now.
“Your other skills don’t make you a good king. You need a good eye and a just hand to handle the city’s affairs. If you try to brute force the citizens, you will only make them angrier.”
Geiger looked up, his interest piqued.
“He’s as good as the rumors say he is, but he still has to show his subjects—people easily twice as old as him—how good of a king he is, which is going to be difficult.” The Lion King smiled and rubbed his chin. “Hey, Joshua Sanders. Look: what will you do about those who refuse to change?”
The entire hall was watching Joshua intently as he opened his mouth.
“What does Reinhardt care for the opinions of the rest of the continent?”
“What?” Kingaitu asked blankly.
“A king is a king if his skill proves him worthy, no matter where his blood comes from. Isn’t that the belief and will of Naga?”
“It’s—”
“What a shame. You claw your way past people whose names are renowned across the continent. But then you spend all of your time worrying about the outside, even little things like this
” Joshua’s voice dripped with disappointment. Somehow, the young man’s voice made Kingaitu’s heart race. “
If you’d told me that was how I would end up, I would have turned you down.”
The audience’s eyes bulged. You don’t want the throne? You’re saying you want to leave this seat, where just sitting in it entitles you to all the comforts of the world?
“Are you saying
 You want to give up the throne?” Kingaitu asked.
“I can do nothing by myself,” Joshua immediately replied. “I don’t have the confidence to lead you if you don’t want to change. Even if everyone on the continent thinks as you do, I will not.”
Joshua’s words resonated deeply with the spirit of the people of Reinhardt. His background only added weight to his statement.
“I will go.” Joshua turned around without a second thought.
“Well, look—!” Kingaitu unconsciously took an anxious step forward.
The Lion King watched Kingaitu and chuckled to himself. That wasn’t art; it was a one-of-a-kind masterpiece. Even Geiger wanted to cheer for Joshua. He’d never seen anyone else who could capture hearts and minds with a few words.2 That, too, was a skill, one that Joshua Sanders had perfected like all of his other skills.
Joshua walked away, undeterred by Kingaitu’s protest. As he passed, the servants’ faces crumbled. A great champion of the ideals of Reinhardt had appeared, and what had they shown him?
Kingaitu finally gave. “I—I was wrong!” he shouted.
The ominous fall of Joshua’s heels finally ceased.
“I
 I made a mistake. I apologize. Help Reinhardt change, please.”
“I, too, would like to change,” a different man added.
“We are at fault, my king!”
Joshua stood silently for a moment.
“Don’t let your ego get in the way,” he finally said.
“I won’t let it hold me down,” the servants replied.
“Don’t look at people with bad intentions.”
“I won’t even open my eyes.”
“Hold fast to what you believe in.”
“I will stand by you. I will serve the new king.”
Joshua looked each man in the eye and spoke with solemn gravity.
“I, Joshua Sanders, am your new king.”
The vassals’ hearts quivered. How trustworthy! How kingly! They had found their king, and he would be their guiding light.
One by one, they fell to their knees and bowed to their king. It was different from when the Lion King ordered them—this time, it seemed to come from the heart.
“All hail the king!”
“All hail the king!”
Their shouting shook the castle to its foundations.
TLN: Demanding   ↩
EDN: really? Seemed like you never heard of politicians before ↩