"Princess Olivia has already left? That was fast! I understand, you may leave now," Roland exclaimed in surprise.
As the host, he thought that the princess of Grand Wyvern Kingdom would have at least informed him out of courtesy before leaving the city, but it seemed like that was not the case.
He could not help but feel disappointed at that.
"Yes, Your Majesty!" the guard swiftly exited Roland's study room.
As the guard closed the door behind him upon leaving the room, Roland's gaze reluctantly returned to the stacks of paper lying on his desk.
116.
That was the number of matters left over after he suavely decided to end his first meeting five days ago.
And that was also the number of matters that were penned down in great detail and left neatly arranged on his desk right now, awaiting his perusal.
Thankfully, the Chancellor seemed to have gone through every issue, and have penned down possible solutions along with the pros and cons.
But even if all he had to do was to read through everything and decide which approach to adopt, Roland dared not take these decisions lightly at all.
Some of these decisions had the potential to change the life of thousands of people!
One example was the issue of rising crime rates, specifically when it came to theft cases committed by young children.
The Chancellor's list of solutions covered a huge spectrum, varying from heavily increasing the punishment for such young children, to pardoning most of these children in view of their young age.
One would act as a stern deterrence to potential young criminals, while the other would play to their emotions.
One would quarantine offenders in isolation homes and prevent them from reoffending, while the other would alleviate financial burden on the kingdom by reducing costs of meting out punishment.
Which was the better option? Where was the point of balance?
How was he supposed to know?!
Did he really have to start studying all those books in the library that were about governance and politics?
Roland truly felt like pulling out the hair on his head in frustration!
But Rose's presence in the room meant that he would have to act the part of a dignified king, so he took care not to let his true feelings show, merely appearing to be calmly reading on.
Thinking about how he managed to easily resolve the fish shortage issue previously, Roland felt a warm sensation in his heart as a smile started to spread across his face.
I cannot allow this situation to continue! I need to learn more about how to handle things! Maybe I will try spending an hour a day in the library starting from tomorrow…No, that might be too ambitious. Perhaps half an hour would be a good start?
In that case, I would have to make sure no one else is in the library at that time. Otherwise, what would people think of a king who was reading up on the fundamentals of governance?
Then should I really start reading about governance first? Or should I touch on something like economics? But it seems I already solved our greatest problem in terms of economics anyway, so maybe something else?
His attention had long drifted from the papers in front of him and into a separate world, but a sudden knock on the door sharply brought him back to his senses.
"Your Majesty, the Chancellor of State is requesting an audience!" the guard stationed outside the room shouted.
"Let him in!" Roland answered.
The door promptly opened, and the guard escorted Duke Ivan into the room. The Chancellor of State was as well dressed as ever, but Roland could clearly see that there was a look of worry hanging on his face even as he entered.
"Greetings, Your Majesty!" Duke Ivan dropped to his knees as he came before Roland.
"Rise."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
"Speak, what is this about?" after what happened at the first meeting, Roland would no longer make the beginner's mistake of waiting for the other party to speak without cue.
"Reporting to Your Majesty, this is regarding the reports of sporadic goblin attacks that have been occurring in the East. A report has just come in from one of the scouts who were sent there to investigate the matter."
"Carry on," Roland had now focused completely.
At the first meeting, Duke Ivan had reported that there had been news of sporadic goblin attacks on villages in the East. Moreover, the goblins had acted in an organised manner, completely unheard of for beings known for having low intelligence.
This was something that puzzled Roland as well.
He was relatively well informed about other races since that would help him greatly if he were to face one in combat one day, but this time the goblins were acting completely out of character.
Or perhaps what humans understood of goblins was wrong from the start?
If that were the case, didn't it mean that there was a chance that everything else he knew, even the information about races other than the goblins, could be wrong as well?
That would be the worst case scenario!
"It was just as we suspected, there is more to this than meets the eye," Duke Ivan hesitated for a moment before continuing.
"Our scouts have informed us that an unnaturally high concentration of goblins have been spotted, believed to be acting as an organised army. Probing further, they have found hints that seemed to suggest the birth of a Goblin King!"
"A Goblin King?" Roland frowned.
Goblins were known to be low in intelligence, making them not as dangerous despite their large numbers.
However, among the goblins, there were rare births of extremely terrifying existences called Goblin Kings.
A Goblin King was not strong in itself. However, it was able to unite the scattered and disorganised goblins, acting as a general that took them all in under its banner.
It might not be as terrifyingly smart as the world's top geniuses, but it was not stupid either.
Armed with a large army of goblins willing to obey its every command, a Goblin King would become an entity that could threaten the very foundations of a kingdom if left unchecked!
Knowing this, how could Roland not frown in worry?
"The goblins have gathered in the eastern valleys in an excessively large number, breaking off into small groups that attacked the nearby villages instead of fighting among themselves for territory. That and other factors led us to think this way."
"Just from that? How sure are your scouts? How sure are you?" Roland questioned.
"It is still just a possibility, but the sensing from the scouts showed that they are almost 90% certain of it! Regardless, they will continue to probe further and will report if there are any updates."
"All right then, let's just hope that they were wrong!" Roland let out a sigh. "Have you informed Princess Erin about this matter as well?"
"No, Your Majesty. Your humble servant did not dare delay to inform Your Majesty upon receiving the news!"
"Is that so? Let us discuss further after convening with Erin then!"
"Shall I go inform Her Highness to come over?" Rose inquired.
"No, let us go to her instead. That would at least save us some time," Roland promptly stood up from his seat, resisting the urge to stretch his tired body as Rose lightly adjusted his clothes that were messed up from sitting for prolonged hours.
It was fortunate that Erin also happened to be in her own study room, making it much easier for Roland to locate her.
"Greetings, Your Majesty," Erin and Lily bowed as Roland entered the room with Rose and Duke Ivan in tow.
"Rise," Roland gave a quick wave of his hands before sitting in one of the guest chairs. "Erin, there is something important that you need to hear."
"Something important…?" Erin took a glance at Duke Ivan.
"Repeat what you said to me just now," Roland instructed, and Duke Ivan held nothing back as he recounted everything.
"A Goblin King…" Erin was at a loss for words after hearing the report.
Seeing that even his capable younger sister seemed to be stumped, Roland let out a deep sigh.
Looks like the issue this time is even beyond the greatest mind in the royal family…the birth of a Goblin King is truly a tricky situation to handle.
"What are your thoughts on the matter, Erin?"
Despite the look on her face being more than obvious that she did not have answers, Roland still wanted to hear her opinions regarding the issue.
"The goblins must still be subjugated, but the Goblin King might have made things a lot more complicated," Erin seemed to be thinking hard about it.
"Indeed," Roland nodded before turning to Duke Ivan. "What is the nearest city to the goblins' settlements?"
"Your Majesty, that will be Waterfall City, a fief of Count Bastion," Duke Ivan answered at once, seemingly having the information at his fingertips.
"Send Count Bastion a message then, inform him to fortify the defences of the surrounding villages in case of any more goblin attacks. Send a message to Alexander as well, inform him to prepare for travel to Waterfall City. I will be personally leading an expedition to Waterfall City!" Roland decided.
"Yes, Your Majesty!" Duke Ivan dared not refuse.
"Your Majesty, shall I go instead? After all, Your Majesty has already tasked me with the handling of the goblin attacks during the meeting, and I have already made ample preparations according to Your Majesty's plan. It should be all right even considering the unexpected appearance of the Goblin King!" Erin hastily cut in.
Roland looked at her for a moment, unsure of what to say.
Ample preparations? According to my plan?
Those were the words that had struck him hard, causing him to be at a loss for words.
What sort of nonsense was his younger sister talking about?
Since when did he even have a plan?
Why didn't he himself know about it?
He was filled with worry at the moment. His sister might be smart and intelligent, but this time they were going to be battling the goblins!
Seeing how she was still spouting such nonsense, it was obvious that she did not really understand the severity of the situation!
"It is not safe for you to go. This might not truly be considered war, but it is still a battle against the goblins. Lives will be lost!" Roland shook his head.
"Y-Yes, Your Majesty. But what about the plan…" it was obvious that Erin's tone was filled with reluctance.
"Erin, you need to learn to act within your means. You are an intelligent person, far more intelligent than anyone else in this palace. I am sure you know what you should be doing and what you should not be doing," Roland sighed upon seeing the unwillingness reflected in his sister's eyes.
Who knew that upon hearing what he said, a bright light would immediately return to Erin's eyes as her face lit up.
"Your Majesty, I do not deserve such overwhelming praise. But I think I understand now. I shall proceed to do what is required of me instead! Do I have the permission to have Timothy follow?" Erin's tone was filled with excitement, completely unlike how she was a moment ago.
"Timothy? Indeed, it is about time for him to learn more as well. You have my permission as long as he is fine with it," Roland nodded.
While Timothy was still relatively young, he was part of the royal family, and had to start familiarising himself with the workings of the realm. Since Erin was willing to show him the ropes, then Roland obviously would not object to it.
As for Erin's sudden change from reluctance to excitement, Roland was already starting to get used to her sudden mood swings, so he thought little of it.
Rather than that, Roland was already busy imagining himself returning to Windfall City in glory after getting rid of the goblin threat, once again providing the solution to a problem that nobody else could resolve!