The rewards of History Quests were on a whole different level than other more common quests, and this was even greater in Kaizen's current case, considering that the entire quest trail he completed directly involved the Spelloyal Family, who rule the Tretidian Kingdom, one of the largest Human Kingdoms in all of Midgard. Furthermore, the very fate of this kingdom has changed dramatically thanks to Kaizen's interference, and if not for him, a perhaps devastating fate awaited these lands.
King Steveren Spelloyal knew that he could not let something great like this pass without an equally great thank you, both for having been saved by Kaizen, and also for all that the Psyker had done for his family.
When Kaizen arrived in the throne room, which surprisingly was being restored very quickly by some mages, he felt anxious. Being called by the King after completing a mission was cliché, but the fact that he did not know what the rewards would be made him uneasy.
Steveren was sitting on the throne and next to him were two tripods with IV bags that connected to the veins in his arms. Still, the King smiled healthily, asked if Kaizen was feeling well, formally thanked him once again for all the help, and when he heard the Psyker's brief reply, once again he nodded with a smile. Then Steveren snapped his fingers, and Petril Wyvernjack entered the throne room dragging the great doors.
Accompanying Petril, many other soldiers entered, and they all carried wooden chests.
Although he was confused, Kaizen said nothing, even as the soldiers left the chests near where he stood.
"Haha! I see from your face that you don't quite understand why I asked my servants to bring so many chests here. Petril, open one of them so Kaizen can see the contents." The King snapped his fingers and said.
"As you wish, Your Majesty."
Then the butler took one of the chests, placed it before Kaizen and opened it, revealing its shiny, golden contents that made the Psyker's eyes burn. Inside the chest were thousands of gold coins, rings, jewelry and other valuables, which instantly made Kaizen's pupils turn into gold coins and his tongue a hundred dollar bill.
Then the King spoke:
"A few minutes ago I was chatting with my daughters, to kill their homesickness and you know... understand more what was going on here, because I went a few months without getting much news. So when I told Ravastine that it was risky for her to go in with Private Davster and Captain Arthas, she didn't even get angry like she normally did when I showed my concern for her safety."
Steveren looked at the ceiling of the room, where there were many cracks and also very old paintings that Psyker didn't even realize were there while he was fighting the Desert Lions.
"My little girl has matured so much.... Instead of her getting angry, she cheerfully told me more about how you made her stronger, saved her several times and also showed me the sword you made for her. The moment she drew that sword, I couldn't believe my own eyes. At the beginning of the blade, near the hilt, was the mark of the legendary Ironstones dwarf-warriors."
Kaizen raised his eyebrows. "Do you know them too?"
"Of course I do. Since I was destined to be King of Tretidian, I thought I should know as much as I could about the history of this kingdom when I was still just a boy. Besides, it hasn't been long since those legendary dwarves wandered these lands."
"Yes, I also know the history of the Ironstones. If I remember correctly, it was your family that practically decreed their demise."
Steveren nodded slowly. "That is one of the parts I am most ashamed of my family, but I am not impressed. Three generations ago, it was common for members of the same family to kill each other to inherit the power position of a noble house or even the post as King. Luckily, I was the first and only son of my parents, so I thought I had cut off this cycle of royal family betrayals, but who could have predicted that my own wife would do what she did, right? Anyway, I'm not here to grieve with you, as a thank you for giving such a powerful weapon to my youngest daughter, I ask that you treasure this reward."
When the King pointed to the chest full of riches, Kaizen almost celebrated aloud, only he restrained himself.
"I humbly accept the reward, Your Majesty." Kaizen placed his right hand on his chest and bowed slightly.
"However, I think that is still not enough for all the work you have done," Steveren stated.
Kaizen raised his head, surprised. However, he did not open his mouth, because he surely would not deny more rewards.
"Petril told me that you have a weapon store, a blacksmith store so to speak. And I want to offer you something..."
"Something?"
"A contract, as a thank you for what you have done for my family and as an apology for what my family has done to the Ironstones in the past. I do not know what your connection is with them and I do not wish to know more about it either. From when I was just a boy, I learned that 'A weapon made by an Ironstone blacksmith is a weapon unequaled by any other' and when I saw the Ravastine sword with my own eyes, I finally understood how true these words were. If you accept, Kaizen, I want you to be the official blacksmith of the Tretidian army starting today."
Psyker heard the proposal and did not react for a few moments, until he asked:
"What would be the benefits of that?"
"Um... You won't be in charge of all armor manufacturing, as that would overburden you, but you will have a very generous monthly salary and all the materials needed to complete the equipment demands we need will be provided by us. I have also secured a nice starting bonus of 210,000 gold coins, because we have an urgent demand for new armor for the Kingsguard that will once again be led by Arthas." Then King Spelloyal stood up from his throne using the tripod as a support to stand, looked Kaizen in the eye and said, "I'm serious, I want you as my blacksmith." He then bowed his head, as if it were a sincere request.
Doing the quick conversion of the total value of the more than 200,000 gold coins to dollars, Kaizen's knees almost gave way. This amount was completely surreal to reality, far beyond his expectations, and so he was completely still for a few seconds. He was too speechless to form any sentence that made any sense, and too voiceless to make any kind of sound. His heart was beating euphorically, and his mind was a whirlwind.
Steveren then said, "You can think for a few minutes, Kaizen. If you like, think until aman..."
"I accept!" Kaizen promptly replied with a quivering mouth.
Those two hundred thousand gold coins were the equivalent of over two million dollars. This was, simply, speechless for Psyker, because Kaizen, or rather Klaus finally managed to achieve his first goal.
...
Edited by: DrHitsuji
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