Administrator

Sir Branwell marched me through the large doors and threw me to the ground. He then knelt, lowering his head and placing a hand on his chest.

I tried to sit up, but Sir Branwell grabbed my head and slammed it back to the ground. I stared up at the king. He was a middle-aged man with medium-length brown hair and a beard. His haunting golden eyes felt like daggers.

“My Lord. I have brought you the accursed Captain Lark and bring urgent news.”

“Speak, Sir Branwell,” the king's voice boomed across the room.

“Yes, my lord, I have come to report that the dragon Valgroth is on the move and heading in this direction.”

The king tilted his head, resting it against his hand as if bored.

“Is Valgroth going to be a threat to the kingdom?”

“We hope not, but it remains a possibility.”

The king raised his hand and dismissively waved.

“Resolve this issue, Sir Branwell.”

“Yes, my lord.”

A silence fell, and the tension in the air was palpable.

“Did I perhaps misspeak, Sir Branwell?”

The coldness in the king's voice was suffocating.

“No, my lord, if there is any mistake, it is on my end.” Sir Branwell’s voice was almost trembling.

“Then why are you still here, Sir Branwell? Has the Dragon issue been resolved? Are you disobeying my orders? Why are you still here?” His glare was piercing.

“No, my lord,” Sir Branwell nervously responded. “I was uncertain what you wanted to do with the pirate.”

The king leaned back on his throne.

“I wish to have a word alone with him.”

“My apologies, my lord, I shall take my leave and resolve the issue concerning Valgroth.”

“See that you do.”

Without any hesitation, Sir Branwell rose to his feet, bowed and left.

“Now, should we get down to our discussion?” The king barked.

“To what do I owe the pleasure of meeting such a highly esteemed figure as yourself?”

I thought this would elicit a reaction from him, but he remained eerily calm.

“Once I heard someone had managed to take control of the Accursed Ravager, I became curious.”

“If you are after sea cruises, I must warn you, I charge a steep price.”

A slow, cold smile crept across his face.

“So, it was a sharp-tongued brat who inherited X’s creation. I just had to see it up close again. What happened to that immortal man?”

All the jokes I had saved up vanished in an instant.

“So you know about the former Administrator X. I guess we should cut straight to the point then. How do you know about him, and what else do you know?”

The king stood up and began to step towards me slowly.

“Now, why would I tell you all that? I doubt X would part with his dear Accursed Gem so easily. You would have had to take it from his cold, dead hands.” He turned, and the light shining from behind the throne cast him as a silhouette, but the golden eyes and twisted smile were still completely visible. “I take it that the immortal has finally died.”

I didn't say anything, just sat up and crossed my legs.

“Your silence speaks volumes.” He took some steps forward. “I have not forgotten about your question before. What do I know? I know a lot of things. Like, for instance, you are an error from another world. An irregularity within this world and something the System wants gone.”

He took several steps to tower over me.

“Oh, is that right? And how do you know all this?”

He froze and turned his head with a piercing gaze.

“Do I even need to say? Why do you think I know these things?” His smile never dipped.

“Well then Adminis…” I was cut off by the door to the throne room bursting open.

“Duke Wiscard, the king said not to allow anyone in,” a voice called.

Both the king and I turned to see a gaudy man storm in. His golden blonde hair, regal purple eyes and lavish blue suit with golden tassels suggested a degree of wealth.

A beautiful woman with hazel eyes trailed closely behind, her dark brown hair flowing over the expensive-looking white dress she wore. Unlike the man, her expression suggested she was being dragged along, not here by choice. An older man in a black tailed waistcoat and golden eyes followed closely behind them. He looked frantic as he tried to get the blonde-haired man’s attention.

“Who do you think I am?” the lavishly dressed man snapped at the man in the tailcoat.

The guards outside looked frightened and bowed at the sight of the king. The waistcoat man likewise bowed, although unlike the others he appeared more at ease.

“I am sorry, my liege. I tried to explain to Duke Wiscard and Princess Haruka that you had an important meeting and should refrain from entering.”

The king wandered back to his throne, gently seating himself with a smile.

“Need not worry, I did not intend for my instructions to carry over to my dear daughter or son-in-law.”

“Yes, my liege,” the waistcoat man bowed once more, and turned to leave.

“Reginald!”

The waistcoat man paused and turned back.

“Yes, my liege?”

“I wish for you to stay.”

“As you wish, my liege.”

“Papa, I was hoping to have…” The princess began to speak, but stopped the moment the king raised his hand. She shifted her gaze aside and shuffled about but said nothing more.

“Now, where were we?”

Before this talk could continue, there was another knock on the door.

The king sighed.

“What is it?”

The plain-armoured guard from before peered inside and bowed to the king.

“My lord, I’m terribly sorry to interrupt, but the Otherworlders have confronted Valgroth and are having some difficulties in dealing with him.”

“Any casualties?”

“None as of yet.”

The king sighed and gripped his forehead.

“Very well, I will sort this matter now, my talk with the pirate is complete anyway. Reginald, take this pirate and throw him in the darkest, most unpleasant prison cell we have. Schedule his execution for as soon as possible.”

“Yes, my liege. We can have it arranged for tomorrow.”

“Excellent.”

The waistcoat man, Reginald, clicked his fingers, and the red and blue guards that were stationed outside the room came marching in. They hoisted me up and began to escort me out of the room.

“I hope you plan the execution well because, unless you send me to the depths of hell, I will crawl back from my grave and come for you.”

Reginald and the guards led me to the dungeons below the castle. As they slowly opened the door, the sounds of screams filled the air. There were cracks of whips and further screams, presumably from those on the receiving end.

Masked men in red hoods were administering various forms of physical punishment towards the prisoners. They led me past unsavoury individuals, then down more stone steps to a single jail cell in the depths of the dungeon.

The only light was the faint glow that spilled down from the stairs above. Otherwise, there was nothing but darkness. One of the red hooded men unlocked the door at the very end of the corridor. Only the click of the lock and our breathing could be heard.

The two guards shoved me onto the stone floor and pulled the door shut.

Without a word, they left, leaving me alone in the pitch-black room.

▪──── X ────▪

End of chapter 37