Chapter 256 - Honorus and pride
Ryan’s right arm itched.
It felt like a warning sign, or maybe it was his class falling apart forever, or maybe… There was anticipation here that he could not explain. Something like a plot he was walking down but he couldn’t yet see the board nor the intentions of the other party.
Theskar or Agrinth, or maybe the Manager. He could not tell.
But his current ire was directed at another target, on someone that was supposed to have existed as a convenient tool to be used and nothing else.
Some random nobody called Honorus. Ryan hadn’t even really checked up on the guy’s full name. Ryan had simply seen how the man acted publicly and assigned the right traits.
A greedy, self-righteous man that only believed in the money in his coffers. One that was vain and grew up from privilege but still knew how to play the game of politics.
Yet for some reason this man had decided to do a suicidal move against an ascendant. Sure, Ryan wasn’t actually an ascendant, but most people didn’t know that. Councilmember Honorus surely didn’t. So, the only reason why this man could have done so was either because
Agrinth had told him of their bet and had manipulated this exact moment. Possible.
Or
The man was an idiot and was gambling on surviving and getting votes.
Which was it?
Ryan slammed open the door to Honorus’ office, fhe Councilmember had said he would be here to take on Artigan’s anger. The portly man sat there in his fancy royal white and gold robes, waiting for him, alone. His normal entourage had been sent away because he knew Ryan would be coming.
[Aura Detection: Fear] was going off hard. The man was afraid but there was a look in his eyes that made Ryan falter. It was the look of a man who knew what would happen and made their choice anyway, someone that had embraced their death.
It wasn’t what Ryan had expected.
Councilmember Honorus spoke first, his voice shaking slightly
“I only request that you kill me and don’t take it out on the populace.”
Ryan paused. The diamond ranker was outside, watching it all. Though, they were watching from far enough that Ryan was certain he could kill Honorus before they could save him.
“Tell me. Did Agrinth tell you what to do?”
Honorus looked confused at the sudden question.
“No?”
The Councilmember looked and sounded genuine, but Ryan was no [Witch], he could not say for sure. Not after he had completely misread the man twice.
Honorus suddenly looked alarmed. His fear suddenly spiked.
“Please, he had nothing to do with my decision.”
Ryan frowned at that. He was getting better at detecting fear from others and this was different from the standard mortal fear, it was more…
“You’re afraid for Agrinth.”
“He had nothing to do with this. I swear upon it as my position as a councilmember, our Son of Valmere has done nothing since you’ve arrived.”
Honorus was worried Ryan would go and kill Agrinth for all of this. Was that why they thought Agrinth was being silent? Because they thought Artigan was stronger?
Even so… the fear. The fear Honorus had for Agrinth was greater than his own life.
Hero worship. But not?
For all of the flaws of the Kingdom, of its seemingly cultish servant-like culture, Ryan had not once truly considered the benefits of it. He had compared their people and their politicians to his own and thought he could assign familiar labels and it would work out the same way.
It had not.
Ryan took a seat and considered the politician—no, Councilmember in front of him, then he looked around.
“Any recording devices around?”
“No. That was… in hindsight a rash decision.”
Ryan nodded his head, almost accepting the answer.
“Why did you do that? I thought you might have been done what you did because you were hoping for votes but that’s not the case is it? You’re not that stupid.”
Honorus gulped.
“If I may be direct. I would request that you kill me now instead of humoring me.”
Ryan raised an eyebrow
“I’m not making fun of you. I just want to know why you made your decision. I’ve messed up somewhere and I’m trying to understand what’s going on.”
Ryan’s arm tingled, something was here but he didn’t understand it.
“Give me the truth and I’ll let you live—no, give me an answer and I will leave your Kingdom alone.”
Honorus froze at that. An offer like that was too tempting, even if it might have been a lie.
“I was angry.”
“What?”
Some of Honorus’ anger returned as Ryan was not comprehending his answer.
“You came here, you say that you are the cause of our Kingdom’s creation and culture and made assumptions of us. You might have helped start it—I know your visit with King Theskar started all of our advancements—but you weren’t there for the rest. You weren’t here.”
The Councilmember’s voice was shaking.
“When the Kingdom was breaking apart at its seams from being too large, too disjointed. When Fae’lun golems descended and sieged my family’s fief, when our Great Hero held the line against a tide of golems with nothing but his team. When our Son of Valmere returned with only the corpses of his team and a broken horn, you weren’t there.”
Honorus’ talked about a different time. A history Ryan had only imagined, one he had skimmed over in his analysis.
He had not thought at any time what the very real events of a disaster might do to a young Honorus when he saw a heroic Agrinth holding the line, bleeding to protect a rebelling fief.
When the Councilmember’s hands had been shaking yesterday, it had been because of anger, not fear.
He shouted at Ryan.
“So what if we are servants?! So what if we serve those that are more noble than us? You do not know us, you do not know them. Our heroes will sacrifice themselves and perish before they let harm come to us. Does that not deserve all of the support we can give?”
Pride.
pride for his nation. Pride for his people, pride for his heroes. A fundamentalist, a traditionalist, but a true one. One that acted that way because he loved his country and its culture and rejected the arguments that Ryan had thrown in his face. Not because of logic or reasoning, but because this was their way of life.
And for the first time, Ryan could not help but respect it.
“You know, if you said that in public, you’d probably get all the votes from everyone, right?”
Honorus flushed, both at being so openly passionate and because Ryan tried to deescalate everything with a joke.
“Does my honest answer satisfy you, ascendant?”
Ryan sighed and then stared at his hands.
“Almost… I think.”
“Then I will excuse myself… I have a protest to participate in.”
And Councilmember Honorus walked hurriedly out of his own office. Leaving Ryan behind, deep in thought.
——
A few hours later.
“Can’t underestimate anyone. I guess that’s my fault.”
Ryan muttered this as he sat on top of the palace. With the leak of their discussion, an entire city—no, an entire Kingdom was united against nothing else but him.
They had signs with his face on it. Signs that had his face crossed out. He saw a sign with words that the Trial System translated to something like ‘Artigan Shartigan’. Now that one almost made him laugh.
Almost because their determination was no laughing matter.
The protestors knew they could die, yet they still massed together. From clerks to royalty, from Councilmembers to janitors, even adventurers stood amongst the crowd, though some flew, overlooking the people and making sure that nobody was getting hurt.
A united force, standing cheek to jowl.
Protesting not their flawed nation, but him.
A cynical part of Ryan told him that this was not the solution he was looking for. That this was equivalent of what happened in another nation on Earth, when they protested against their prime minister and made her resign without dealing with the root cause.
But still… this was greater, because the people here knew that Ryan could kill them all if he truly wished.
The entirety of a city stared up at the monstrous elf sitting on top of one of the palace’s spires. His aura had reached the peak and dyed the sky red.
That was the thing, they were afraid, oh they truly were afraid. Even the two diamond rankers—eighth to ninth realms that were flying high above started to have flickers of fear coming off them. They had orders to not interfere in any way… but now they were wondering if they truly could stop him if he decided to rampage.
Ryan was mighty at this moment, more powerful than he had been in the city of Defiance. The capital of Valmere was a bigger city, and with greater fears. They did not have the Witch Tyrant hovering over them giving them a sense of safety.
Valmere’s Great Hero had stayed silent this entire time, making people believe that Artigan was not someone that their hero could chase off without mass casualties.
They knew all of this, but they still stood. Civilians and adventurers together, rejecting him.
Ryan took it all in.
And then something clicked.
And he laughed.
Ryan’s booming laughter shook the entire city, boosted by his aura and the emotions he barely understood himself.
Obsession, self-deprecation, relief, hope and oh so, so much more.
He saw the intelligent design of the city, of the Kingdom and the invisible hand that had shaped it. The [Saboteur] saw the plots and realized that this was how it was always going to end.
One final lesson from King Theskar to Ryan. One a hundred years in the making, to teach a stubborn pupil that had rejected the answer the first time.
Ryan jumped off the spire as the adventurers tensed. But it was not an aggressive action, he simply let gravity take him down to the bottom.
Of course, that is not what the regular citizens saw. People screamed, some turned to run, their bravery breaking at that moment until they turned, hit the neighbor next to them and realized they had no place to run. Then, some of them looked up and saw that not all of them had run. These people stared up into the pale faces and clammy hands of the people that still stared death in the face and they too turned back.
Peer pressure at its finest if you wanted to be cynical.
But they still stood in the end, and wasn’t that what really mattered?
Ryan himself landed gently on top of the palace steps. His shoulders held high as he looked at the crowd beneath him.
Barriers went up from the adventurers, as useless as they would be if a real conflict occurred.
Ryan laughed and spread his arms. A genuinely kind, almost regal smile.
“Congratulations, oh great Kingdom of Valmere. Congratulations on passing the test of culture.”
Silence.
Then someone shouted out a ‘boo!’ It started as a lone voice that hesitantly died down as they were alone.
Then another voice did the same, then the booing came down like a tidal wave. The entire kingdom shook as the entire populace booed the lying [Saboteur].
Ryan just bowed, a stage performer’s bow, of course. Someone threw a sandwich that splatted on the barrier meant to protect the protestors, a few more tried to throw whatever they had on hand, some demanding the barriers be taken down so they could hit the elf even if they would die.
Ryan opened his mouth to speak but his voice was instantly drowned out by the mass, and… well, maybe he could have shouted over all of them and made them be silent to hear the rest of what he had to say but… well, the moment was lost.
You had to know when not to ruin a good scene anyway.
He kicked off the ground and hopped back up the palace spire, then jumped from roof to roof as the citizens chased him out.
Ryan’s voice was heard throughout the city.
“Now this is classic adventuring.”
After all, were you really an adventurer if you didn’t get an angry mob chasing you out of a city at least once in your life?
——
The next day, in a hamlet far, far from the city an ordinary human appeared in a large estate. His face was one of humility even if his aura was one of arrogance and war. He knocked twice on the door and waitde. Ten seconds later, an aged woman opened the door. Her realm grade hadn’t been high and it had been nearly a century.
Though her royal countenance was as recognizable as ever.
Ex-Queen Perinete gave the young man a smile. Not completely warm and welcoming, but one that was a bit admonishing. Possibly because he had caused chaos for her entire Kingdom.
“I was wondering when you might show up.”
Ryan held the porcelain-like mask of Artigan to his chest and bowed respectfully to her.
“It’s been a while, Queen Perinete.”
“I’m no longer a Queen. Why don’t you tell me what you’ve come here for? I’m afraid I’m too old to beat around the bush.”
Her eyes twinkled as the young man shifted nervously.
“Is King Theskar around? I know he’s… well, I’d like to say thank you to him directly. If it’s not too much trouble.”