Deadmeat Saga

Chapter 105 – Pruning for snakes. I choose him.

Shortly after, a group of seven individuals came. There were six humans(At least that is what they thought) and one demihuman.

When the four S-rank powerhouses looked at them, they felt a powerful air radiating from them. Without any detection means, they could tell that everyone in that group was more powerful than them.

"There is no doubt about it. Those are S-rank powerhouses. And the man in the middle is undoubtedly an SS-rank." They thought.

"Gerhart the- Er- Deadmeat and his retinue have entered." A servant announced with a peculiar expression.

Everyone had peculiar expressions, while the few powerhouses had amused looks in their eyes as their tension eased.

"Quite the jokester. He should be easy to talk to." They thought.

As powerhouses, they knew their titles meant nothing. Some like exaggerating things, but it is false bravado to move the masses. Gerhart treating his title like this meant he didn't have a prideful or arrogant view of things, which made speaking to him more relaxed for people of lower strength.

The first queen didn't react, glancing sideways at a bespectacled scholarly woman. The woman looked at Gerhart's group before nodding to the queen. She was one of the rare individuals with Analyse Status, and she saw through Gerhart's status, confirming he was an SS-rank Heavy Warrior and Berserker. Everyone else was also more formidable than the S-rank powerhouses here.

After seeing the confirmation, the queen greeted them. "Heroes from afar, we are currently in the process of selecting a new king. What brings you here?"

"We came here wanting to heal the King, but sadly, we were late. I hear he was- Assassinated?" Gerhart said with a hint of displeasure while looking at a well-dressed man.

The Prime Minister suddenly flinched, feeling Gerhart's piercing gaze. "N-No, he didn't see through me, right?"

"Sadly, yes. Our King was assassinated in cold blood two days ago. We only know he was poisoned and have yet to find the true culprit." The queen replied.

"I see. Mind if we play detective first and hunt the culprits?" Gerhart asked as he looked at several other courtiers.

Several courtiers and servants flinched, while many in the court noticed the underlying meaning.

"Culprits? Is he insinuating there is more than one among us?" The queens, princes, and courtiers thought.

The four S-rank powerhouses had more thoughtful looks. "What is this man relying on?"

"Sir Gerhart, we would be glad if you could find the culprits, but how will you do it? Does it have to be now?" The first queen frowned.

Stopping the selection process of the new monarch was rude. If he were any weaker, they would criticize him and even throw him out of the room, but his overwhelming strength was the perfect deterrent.

"Don't worry. We have a sure-proof method." Gerhart said and pointed at the people courtiers. "All these courtiers and servants should be lined up and separately taken to another room. We will do an initial pruning then. Also, we need two separate halls to place those who passed and those who are suspicious."

"This is preposterous!" The prime minister immediately shouted.

"Yes, why should we do this now of all times?!" Another tainted courtier shouted.

"How can we trust them?!" An untainted courtier was moved by their words and accused.

"Why not give it a try? We would probably not find anyone ourselves." A courtier who knew he was innocent said.

"Yes, I think we should give it a try. Sir Gerhart is a great powerhouse, after all." Another courtier said.

"I also agree. I don't want venomous snakes in the court." A third courtier said.

The Hall entered a heated debate.

"Silence!" The second queen shouted.

The court quieted down.

"Sir Gerhart, how long would it take?" The first queen asked.

"Not long. Before the day ends, we will find the masterminds." Gerhart promised.

"Good! We will take your word for it and make the arrangements!" The first queen finally smiled and gave the order. "Royal order! Gather ALL the palace servants, courtiers, knights, and princelings. Everyone must show up. If anyone dares avoid the investigation- We will assume he is a culprit!" The first queen ordered with an authoritative air of a queen.

"Yes, your majesty the first queen!" The court and princes bowed.

While temporary, she was still the first queen, and her words were iron-clad law. At least, when it came to investigating the King's death, she and the other queens had close to full authority.

Soon, the court prepared a room and two halls. Outside the room, everyone formed a long line where servants did a headcount for everyone present or missing. Everyone, including the princes, courtiers, knights, servants, and even some nobles in the city lined up. Only the S-rank powerhouses and the queens were exempt.

Every minute, one person would enter the room, some people's hearts pounding, while others were confident and relaxed.

"They couldn't possibly find out. Even the Truth Sayers, Evil Seekers, and Analysers can't see through my disguise as long as I don't activate the divine powers." The Prime Minister tried calming himself down as his turn arrived.

When he entered the room, he saw one of Gerhart's escorts, a beautiful and seductive woman with an approachable air, look at him with indifferent eyes.

"Nya, take him to the first Hall," To-Meri said without a change in expression.

"Yes, miss To-Meri." The Lizard Kin butler respectfully said and turned to the Prime Minister. "Sir, please follow me."

"Okay..." The Prime Minister nodded and followed the butler.

He and everyone else didn't know which Hall was for suspects or not, so he could only follow the knight.

But when he entered the first Hall, his expression finally changed. Few people were in the large second Hall, less than three dozen. However, most were Gerhart's group, the queens, several royal knights, and the S-rank powerhouses. Several courtiers, knights, nobles, and servants were passed out and tied on the floor. Everyone else coldly looked at him.

"FUCK!" The Prime Minister cried out as he activated his divine gift, his mind quickly falling into insanity as power filled him.

But the next moment-

THUD*

The Prime Minister felt a sharp pain in his neck as he lost consciousness.

"I handled him, master." Bertrand calmly said, retracting his hand.

"Good! Tie him up with the rest." Gerhart said.

"Men! Tie this scoundrel!" The third queen yelled to the royal knights.

"Yes, Your Majesty!" The royal knights saluted and tied up the Prime Minister with Magic Restraining shackles.

"To think my flesh and blood brother would be a Corrupted. He shamed our family." The second queen winced.

"Don't blame yourself. None of us knew." The fourth queen comforted.

"Thank you, Sir Gerhart. Without you, we wouldn't have found this den of snakes in our midst." The first queen lowered her head.

"Yes. Entering a needless civil war because of a few snakes would make us a laughingstock in the history books." Duke Fitzgerald said.

"I must admit, I never thought the situation was this bad." Fire Magus Detaz frowned as he looked at the over dozen servants on the floor.

"But really, you have a good thinking. Pretending there are two halls when everyone needs to enter the first Hall first. The pressure makes them think they got caught, so they violently react." Leo the Silver Hawk praised.

"Yes, this method is pretty good and efficient. But it wouldn't always work." Anaya the Giant Crusher said.

"It is because it wasn't used that I used it," Gerhart said, not revealing that there was an added trick.

Some of the Corrupted kept their calm at first, but Qold used Mind Magic to irritate their mind, causing them to lash out.

After several Corrupted got tied on the floor, however, they didn't need to do anything. The Corrupted revealed themselves one by one.

Of course, if it wasn't for putting on a show, he could have arrested them on the spot.

Creak*

Another servant entered the room. When he saw the bodies on the floor and the mighty people staring at him, he almost pissed himself!

"W-Wha?! P-Please! I didn't do anything!" The elderly servant pleaded.

"It's fine. This man is probably clean." Hope spoke.

"Take him to the second hall." The first queen ordered.

"Th-Thank you, my lords, thank you!" The servant thanked and got taken through another door.

And so, they continued the selection process.

By evening, the selection was over. The court was horrified to discover over twenty Corrupted in their midst, including the Prime Minister!

The 2nd Princess took a devastating blow since most affected were the conservatives, including the Prime Minister, her uncle.

In the evening, there was a great feast.

"We thank you for your help, Sir Gerhart! You have done us a great merit today!" The 1st prince toasted. He suffered a bit but was relatively unaffected.

"Thank you for the help, Sir Gerhart. You have cleaned this shame from my maternal family." The 2nd princess was saddened but toasted.

"Sir Gerhart and his men are truly wise! Our kingdom owes you a great debt!" The 5th prince was the happiest since none of the Corrupted were among his supporters.

To them, Gerhart was essentially a miracle doctor who did a precision surgery on the court, extracting a cancerous tumor with minimal damage. Not only that, but he repaired the relations between the siblings, stopping a civil war.

However, there was still a matter left unsettled.

"Who should be king?" 

Their initial enthusiasm was doused by cold reality. They realized that being the King was riskier than they thought. Even if one of them took the throne in the end, the snakes in the den would assassinate or manipulate them, plunging the kingdom into chaos.

Although they had different views, the three siblings were intelligent, talented, and most importantly, loyal to their kingdom. They didn't want to fight each other, especially after what happened. But there can only be one King.

"Sir Gerhart, we don't wish to burden you further, but who do you think should be king among the heirs?" The first queen asked. 

While she had a slight bias toward her son, she still knew her priorities. And her fellow queens held about as much power as she did. Asking for Gerhart's opinion was the best choice to keep relations stable between everyone.

"Can't you have the temples sort it out?" Gerhart frowned.

"The temples rarely intervene, and when they do, there is a complete overhaul, changing the ruling family. As you should know, when a king is selected, he receives the divine baptism from the gods before ascending to the throne, and only one King can receive it at a time." The first queen said. 

"Yes, I know." Gerhart nodded. The right of a king to rule was given by the gods, literally.

At least, that was how kingdoms worked.

Of course, Gerhart also knew that this was a way for the temples to control a kingdom. Since they controlled the ruler, they indirectly controlled the kingdom. That was the foundation of the monarchal system.

Usually, having a strong and wise king was good, but it made succession rights blurry. Problems such as a succession war were one of the risks involved. But the temples also intentionally placed this mechanism to prevent humanity's edge from going blunt. Of course, some forces, such as the Echos, use this loophole almost extensively.

"I will be honest. I don't know what would be the best for you." Gerhart shook his head.

He wasn't a politician, and even if he was, hastily picking any side was stupid at best. While he had a slight inclination to pick Carten since he boned his aunt(Of course, he didn't say it), that didn't mean that Carten was the correct ruler. His other siblings were also likely not the best choices.

"At times like this, I wish they just had some council of elders or senate or something." Gerhart thought, remembering the ruling systems from the other continent.

Unlike the more uniform kingdoms under the temples, the other continent had diverse ruling systems according to each race. The dwarves had the Elder Council, and the elves had the Highborn Senate. Orcs ruled by the bigger fist, gnomes had democracy, Tinkerers had an Elitist rulership via who was smarter, and Oni had co-rulership.

Humans, on the other hand, were almost exhaustively rigged and busy with kingdoms, dynasties, theocracies, and coalitions of powerful mages or merchants.

Of course, every ruling system has its good and bad sides. But Gerhart couldn't just change a nation's ruling system overnight. And he wasn't planning to do it, either. He could convert one of them and put them as a puppet king, but to ask him if he knew what was best for the kingdom was not something he could answer.

"Then what do you suggest we do, Sir Gerhart?" The fourth queen asked.

"Hm. I have a companion who is good with divination, having Claircognizance. Perhaps ask her?" Gerhart said and turned to Hope.

"Divination? Like a soothsayer?" The second queen's expression turned odd.

"We can't reach a consensus, so why not?" The fourth queen shrugged. Either way, none of her children would be selected, so she didn't care.

"But leaving it to divination is a bit- bizarre." The third queen frowned.

"At this point, I tire of these squabbles." The first queen shook her head.

Her husband parted, and now they were arguing about his next successor. She just wanted to get it over with.

The other three queens shared the same sentiment.

"Okay. Please let Miss Hope divine it. I am interested." The second queen said.

"Fine, then I shall divine it for you," Hope said and stood up.

"Everyone! Miss Hope shall divine who is the best candidate as King." The first queen spoke.

Suddenly, the Hall focused on Hope. The princes, courtiers, and nobles watched her curiously and nervously.

Hope calmly walked to the table where the princes sat, her eyes closed as she gently brushed against every one of the princes. Doing one round, then a second, and then a third. After seven rounds, she frowned before walking to the crowd of courtiers.

"Hah?"

"What is she doing?"

The crowd was confused as Hope's hand gently touched them, but they didn't dare to move. Before long, Hope stopped, her hand grabbing a handsome young courtier in his mid-twenties.

"This is the best king for this kingdom." Hope calmly said.

"Eh?" The young man blinked in confusion.

The other courtiers were dumbfounded!

The princes were shocked!

The S-rank powerhouses and Gerhart's group had weird expressions!

BAM*

"WHAT?!" Princess Elodie slammed her table and pointed. "That is not a prince, he is a courtier born to a maidservant, adopted into the palace!"

"Miss Hope, did you make a mistake in your divination?" Prince Zacharias frowned.

"Yes, Miss Hope. Only Antoine's flesh and blood can inherit the throne." Prince Carten also frowned.

At this point, they questioned Hope's divination ability. However, Gerhart and his group knew better. Hope was the real deal.

"I made no mistake. This man is King Antoine's flesh and blood, his firstborn son, and the most suitable candidate for the throne." Hope said with utmost certainty.

"E-Eh?!" The young man exclaimed as he understood what she insinuated.

He was Antoine's bastard. One fateful day, he and his mother had an illicit romantic rendezvous. However, his mother died after a difficult childbirth, so he was adopted into the palace as a courtier.

The young man recalled how close he was to Antoine and how good Antoine treated him. He even gave him good tutors to teach him and allowed him access to the library. Things started clicking.

Those who knew him also started muttering.

"Now that I think about it, Antoine did treat Hugh well."

"Yes. I only thought it was because of how hardworking Hugh was."

"Hugh studied harder than anyone."

"Hugh always got well with the servants and royal tutors alike."

"Hugh is also decent at fighting. I wanted to make him a royal knight but he refused."

"I always saw Antoine's image in him. I thought I imagined things."

The consensus was that this young man named Hugh was accepted by everyone as a diligent, intelligent, and honest man with good talent.

The princes, who heard this, had dark expressions. However, just then-

Clap* Clap* Clap* Clap*

The first queen clapped her hands, a bright look on her face. Yes, she was not angry, but happy!

"You proved yourself, Miss Hope! You indeed have superb divination abilities. Yes, Hugh is indeed Antoine's firstborn son." The first queen smiled.

"Antoine always regretted that maid's death, so he adopted him into the castle and had him taught as a courtier. He wanted to groom him as an advisor." The second queen nodded.

"We kept it secret to prevent backlash and bullying." The third queen added.

"We never thought about making him the next King, but when you mention it, he is indeed the best fit and has the highest potential. We intentionally had the Analyzers lie about his potential." The fourth queen explained.

"Y-You mean..." Hugh widened his eyes in disbelief.

"Yes, you are eligible to be the next king." The first queen nodded.

"B-But I am just a bastard! I am undeserving of it!" Hugh retorted.

"There are no laws against a bastard becoming King. You only must be part of the King's blood." The third queen said.

"You were already taught everything you need to know, raised to become a royal advisor. I believe you can be a great king." The second queen smiled.

"I..." Hugh shook. He didn't know what to say. Suddenly, they wanted him to be King.

Hugh couldn't help but look at Gerhart. He wasn't stupid. Without Gerhart, he would never be even considered, let alone chosen. But with Gerhart as a backer, no one would oppose.

"I owe him." Hugh thought.

Gerhart, who sat on a chair, looked back at the young man, recalling the talents he saw.

Hugh's Talents: Elite Manager(Evolvable), Elite Minister(Evolvable), Merchant(Evolvable), Knight(Evolvable), Born advisor(Evolvable).

"Yep, that's the best one." Gerhart thought.

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