Inside the room, a circular table stood at the center.
Seated calmly at the table was Precious, his eyes open, expression composed.
Meanwhile, Takumi and Rental were struggling under the overwhelming pressure of Precious's aura.
Gesha, Bit, and the others stood frozen in shock, watching the two powerhouses struggle.
Palakh spoke in a trembling voice—
"W… what?! He killed the Primordial Demon Black…?!"
Her entire body shook in disbelief.
Ashi, equally shaken, stuttered—
"A-at the age of… 10…?!"
Gesha silently nodded.
Rental, struggling under the pressure, thought—
I… I'm sorry, Lord Precious…! Ahn…! I'm sorry…!
Before he could even gather himself—
Precious spoke.
His voice was calm… yet sharp and dominating—
"Have you two forgotten… you are in the middle of a meeting?"
Takumi groaned—
"Agh…!"
Both Takumi and Rental continued to struggle.
Precious continued—
"This is not the place for your fight. This is an alliance meeting."
Takumi clenched his teeth internally—
Damn…! What a heavy pressure…! It's far greater than my master's…!
Finally, both Takumi and Rental, trembling with fear, spoke together—
"We… we are sorry for our mistake…"
Precious gave a slight nod—
—and his aura disappeared instantly.
The pressure vanished.
Takumi let out a breath—
Uff… now I feel better…
Both of them, who were previously bent over the table, trembling, now straightened themselves and sat properly on their chairs.
Precious said calmly—
"So… let's continue our meeting."
Everyone slowly returned to their seats.
Bit, still shaken, thought—
What in the world did my brother and sister-in-law create…?! How do they have such a terrifying child…?!
Precious continued—
"So… your fight was about leadership… who will lead this alliance."
He paused briefly, then spoke clearly—
"As King Rental said… the strong rule, and the weak obey."
A faint smile formed.
"So here I am—the strongest one."
"That's why… Shin Kingdom will lead this alliance."
He looked around—
"Does anyone have a problem?"
"If you do… say it."
Silence.
Then everyone responded—
"No…"
Precious nodded slightly.
"Let me make one thing clear."
"I am someone who knows how to rule…"
"…but not through fear."
"…through love."
"If you are not my enemy, then you are my ally."
"You don't need to fear me."
Rental bowed slightly—
"Yes…"
Precious—
"Good. Then let's continue the meeting."
[Narration]
The meeting continued for another 1–2 hours before finally ending.
That same night—
A grand party was organized inside King Udera's palace.
All kings and queens of the alliance attended.
The scene was lively—
Nobles, tycoons, and royalty filled the hall.
Almost everyone held a glass of wine.
Some were talking, others were dancing.
[Meanwhile — Inside a Private Room]
Palakh sat alone.
In her hand was an artifact, through which she was speaking to Deku.
Deku's voice came—
"So… what happened in the meeting?"
Palakh replied, still shocked—
"Do you know… that brat Precious killed Primordial Demon Black?!"
"And that too when he was only 10 years old!! I can't believe it!"
Deku answered calmly—
"It's true."
"It was even in the news."
Palakh snapped—
"What?! Then why didn't you tell me if you already knew?!"
Deku replied casually—
"It was public news. I assumed you already knew."
"That's not my fault if you didn't see it."
Palakh clicked her tongue—
"Tch… whatever."
She continued—
"So how do you plan to use that brat?"
"If he's that powerful, capturing him and extracting his aura necromancy will be extremely difficult."
Deku chuckled softly—
"Don't worry."
"I already have a plan."
"You could say… Precious himself gave me this opportunity."
Palakh narrowed her eyes—
"Oh? And what opportunity is that?"
Deku—
"I won't tell you."
"Just wait and watch."
Palakh—
"Hm…"
Deku asked—
"What else?"
Palakh replied—
"In the meeting, Precious overpowered both Takumi and Rental."
"They were struggling under his aura pressure."
Deku—
"I see… so he can defeat two powerhouses alone…"
"…without even using skills or weapons."
Palakh nodded—
"Yes."
"And after that, he declared Shin Kingdom as the leader of the alliance."
"Then he discussed treaties—he clearly refused to share weapons and material arts…"
Deku interrupted—
"Wait, wait."
"I don't care about alliance treaties."
"Tell me—did you find out who the lord of Secret Sky City is?"
"That person Rental mentioned… is he real or not?"
Palakh sighed—
"Sorry… I couldn't ask."
"After everything that happened, I didn't have the courage to question anything."
Deku—
"Damn… fine."
"Don't worry about it."
Palakh added—
"But I observed everyone carefully."
"And I noticed something…"
"Everyone is hiding something."
"Emperor Takumi is hiding his family identity."
"King Bit is hiding his nephew's past."
"King Rental is hiding the secrets of Secret Sky City…"
"And others too…"
Deku—
"Good."
"Now that you mention it… I realize…"
"Almost no one knows Takumi's family name."
"Even I don't."
He paused—
"Anyway… keep observing."
Palakh—
"Got it. Bye, dear."
The call ended.
She hid the artifact under the table.
[Back at the Party]
Bit, R. Kizu, and Precious stood together.
A short distance away, Gesha was talking to Queen Ashi.
Precious said casually—
"Go talk to Ms. Gesha, Uncle Bit."
Bit hesitated, embarrassed—
"But… everyone is here…"
"What if she rejects me again…?"
Precious sighed—
"R. Kizu, please explain it to him…"
R. Kizu shrugged—
"What should I explain?"
"I've been telling him the same thing for so long, but he never listens."
Bit defended himself—
"It's not that I don't listen…"
"I'm just… a bit shy."
At that moment—
Gesha walked out onto the balcony.
Precious smiled slightly—
"Perfect."
"She's alone now."
"This is your chance."
"Go."
Bit took a deep breath—
"…Okay!"
And walked toward her.
[Meanwhile]
Rental and Grass approached.
Rental spoke softly—
"Lord Precious…"
Precious turned—
"Oh, King Rental."
Rental hesitated—
"I'm confused about something."
Precious—
"Go on."
Rental—
"You said… if someone asks about our lord, we should consider them an enemy."
"But no one asked."
"Does that mean… there's no enemy or spy in the alliance?"
R. Kizu suddenly said—
"Wait… there is a spy."
Grass—
"Maybe… not confirmed."
R. Kizu—
"But still, we should stay cautious."
Precious chuckled lightly—
"Hehe… you all still have much to learn."
Rental frowned—
"I don't understand…"
Precious explained—
"Yes, I said—whoever asks about the lord is suspicious."
"But…"
"No one asked."
Grass nodded—
"Yeah… so no enemy, right?"
Precious shook his head—
"Wrong."
"No one asked…"
"…but someone observed."
"And very carefully."
"They wanted to ask…"
"But couldn't, because of what happened in the meeting."
A pause.
"There is an enemy in this alliance."
Everyone froze.
R. Kizu asked, tense—
"T-then… who is it?!"
Precious answered calmly—
"The one who spoke the least…"
"…is the spy."
"Observers don't talk much."
"They watch."
"And only one person did that…"
He looked ahead—
"Queen Palakh of Zinau Kingdom."
Silence.
Rental, Grass, and R. Kizu turned their gaze toward Palakh.
Grass asked—
"So she's the enemy… what should we do?"
Precious smiled slightly—
"Nothing."
"She is not our enemy."
They looked confused.
Precious continued—
"She is the spy of our enemy."
"If we want to reach the real culprit…"
"…we use her."
A faint grin appeared—
"And the funniest part?"
"We know she's a spy…"
"But neither she nor her master knows that we know."
R. Kizu raised a question—
"Why are you sure she's a spy?"
Grass added—
"She could be an enemy too."
Precious explained calmly—
"If she were an enemy…"
"She would have opposed my decisions in the meeting."
"But she didn't."
"She agreed too easily."
"That means she was under orders—to join the alliance at any cost."
"If she were an enemy…"
"She would have at least opposed certain things—tax, trade, or treaties."
"But she didn't."
Rental nodded—
"Right… she was following orders."
R. Kizu added—
"That means she's only gathering information…"
"And passing it on."
"That's exactly what a spy does."
Grass smiled slightly—
"As expected of Lord Precious…"