Second World

"Good to know," Jack said.

He then announced, "Okay. Everyone can go back to rest now. Thank you for the time you've spent helping me."

"It's our pleasure, Your Majesty," Isabelle said. "We will take our leave, then."

Alfredo and Thaergood also said goodbye. After they left, Jack heaved a long sigh.

"You are probably the only king that sulks about his position," John said after seeing Jack's expression.

"Man, what fun is there in being one? Don't you see what we did today? We just sat here all day working with these screens," Jack said.

"In the past when there is no VR, hardcore gamers play games by sitting the whole day staring at computer screens," John said.

"But we are not exactly in a game now, are we? If I just sit here all the time, how can I get stronger?"

"That monarch system doesn't exactly require you to sit here all day. Officers Overview only needs attending if you want to promote or demote someone, otherwise, you can just leave them. Agents' commands are weekly. The drafting and training are monthly. The ones that don't have a fixed time are research, affairs, and buildings, but they all at least take a few days. So, you have a few days of free time in between to do other things."

"Right. If you are worried about your level, you can always use our guilds' training caves and dungeons," Jeanny added.

"I heard the training cave facility in this kingdom is better. As a king, you should be able to use them freely, shouldn't you?" John said.

"I don't know, man. It's still different...," Jack muttered.

"You just want to go on an adventure like you usually do, right?" John said. "If you find it so hard to bear, just give me the crown."

"So, you can be an evil king? No way. You will just force me to come and dethrone you after a while."

"Hah! Like you can do it. If I am king, I will crush everyone under my feet!"

Jeanny shook her head. It's late already. This two still have the energy to joke around.

"Actually, only the officers, city, military, research, and foreign overviews require you to sit on this throne to operate them," Peniel said. "Affair and Royal Guards overviews can be accessed anywhere from your status window."

"Really?" Jack jumped out of the throne and then opened his status window.

"Oh! There are truly two new pages here in my status window. The Affair and Royal Guard Overviews," Jack uttered.

"Additionally, the royal advisor has access to city, military, and research overview," Peniel added. "Only officer and foreign overviews are the ones that are privy only to the king and can only be operated by sitting on the throne."

"Really?" It was John who said the word now. He went to the throne and tried sitting on it. Only to have a sudden shockwave throw him across the room.

Despite the force, he managed to control his balance and performed a roll when he hit the floor. Even if he wasn't fond of Domon's martial art training, he still followed the program. His movement didn't lose to a decent martial artist.

"The heck was that?" He asked after standing back up.

"Only the king is allowed to sit on the throne," Peniel said.

"Haha!" Jack laughed.

"So, how do I operate the city, military, and research overviews if I am not allowed to sit on the throne?" John asked.

"Stand beside the throne without Jack sitting on it. You will receive a prompt whether you want to activate the monarch system," Peniel said.

John immediately went into position. Jack stayed away to see if it worked.

Soon, John indeed received the prompt. He interfaced with it and the monarch system's screens appeared again. Jack could see it as well. Only Jeanny was still oblivious to the screens.

"Oh, it is truly working," John said. He switched around the screens. Only the three overviews mentioned by Peniel were available for him.

"That's great!" Jack exclaimed. "There is not much to do for the officer and foreign overviews. I can deal with them monthly. As for the Affair and royal guard, I can operate them while on the move. The rest I can leave to you. This means I only need to return here once a month. Yes!"

"Now, aren't you glad you appoint me as your royal advisor?" John chuckled.

"Just don't overspend our coffer," Jack said.

"Who do you think you are talking to? I said before that this country sim is my favorite game. I can do a much better job than you in managing this country. Just leave it to me. You will see a more prosperous and stronger country every time you return."

"So, you will be going away again?" Jeanny asked.

"I will stay for a few more days and see how things go first. I don't think it's good to immediately bolt right after the coronation," Jack said. "Plus, we still have to deal with the special classes and that affairs thingy."

"Right. I still have many things to prepare in Heavenly Citadel tonight," Jeanny said. He turned to John and said, "You come with me. I will need help."

"Oh? Do I have to? I still want to check out some things on these screens," John said.

"You can play with it tomorrow. Help me first tonight!"

"Ugh. Yes, boss."

John followed Jeanny out of the throne room. After they left, Jack was alone in the throne room with Peniel.

"So, what do you think?" Peniel asked.

"Unbelievable," Jack answered. "I still can't believe this kingdom belongs to me now... But with ownership also comes responsibility. I hope I don't let everyone down."

"You won't," Peniel encouraged.

"Thank you for your support, Peniel," Jack said.

Peniel felt weird getting such sincere thanks from Jack. She didn't show her usual pride when Jack praised her. Instead, she tried changing the subject, "So, what's your plan? Since John can cover for you, you said you want to go out. Where to?"

"I'm not certain yet. I think the most important thing now is to settle this problem we have with Verremor. I think I might need to visit that country."

"How? They will chase any human away if they see one in their country. Not to mention you are Themisphere's king. If they spotted you, they would be coming at you with pitchforks."

"That's why I have my third disguise using the orc race, remember?" Jack said. "Anyway, I still don't know what I can do there, though. Let me think about it for a few more days first."