With the vast majority of the kingdom's strength in his own pocket, his position was extremely solidified. Not to mention the secret work the Nine-Tailed Emperor had been doing behind the scenes to maintain the army's loyalty.
Of course Minos had yet to meet the traditional army, but he had no worries he wouldn't be able to control them, after all, with his Soul Vision, there was no such thing as traitors.
While listening closely and making note of everyone's position, he also made use of his Soul Vision to scan everyone's memories.
Once again he created a list of those he could trust, those he could use, and those who should be discarded.
Fortunately most people here were ultimately loyal to the king, so there were only a few characters he had to deal with, making his job much easier.
And the timing was good as well, after all he needed to install his own people, so this would kill two birds with one stone.
Of course Minos could remove and install whoever he wanted, but that would leave a bad impression and decrease general loyalty, so instead it was better to target those who he had legitimate concerns towards.
Not to mention this would also act as a warning, letting everyone know that he wasn't easy to deal with, which in turn would increase their loyalty, or at least their fear.
While Minos was busy doing all that, he was completely unaware that the news had already spread below the kingdom, in the place where they kept all their worst prisoners.
…
"Have you heard? The competition's over, a new king's been declared." One prisoner mumbled, the darkness of the underground making every sound, no matter how quiet, akin to a scream.
"Heh, what does it matter to us? We're just the scum of the scum, the ongoings of the upper-world are no longer ours to care about." Another prisoner responded.
"Not necessarily, after all things are different this time…"
"Different?"
"This king, it looks like he wants to destroy the hierarchy."
"Hahahaha, you can't seriously believe that, can you? The hierarchy only benefits those bastards, why would they ever destroy it?"
"I thought that as well as first, but the more I look into this new king, the more I think maybe he means what he says."
"Oh? But even if that was true, what does it have to do with us? Our destinies were cemented the moment we were imprisoned in this place…"
"Nothing is forever, not even destiny, for all things die, and death is the ultimate renewer…"
"So poetic, if only words meant anyth-"
"Screeeech"
Hearing the sound of the heavy prison door screeching open, the man quickly stopped talking, fully aware of what would happen if one of those guards noticed him speaking out of turn.
"Rise and shine boys, it's a lucky day for all you scum. A new king has been anointed, and to celebrate, you'll all get an extra serving of gruel. What do you say?" The head guard announced loudly.
"Praise the king…" The prisoners all said in unison, causing all the guards to laugh evilly, clearly taking joy in this humiliation ritual.
"Alright, go ahead and distribute the food, and make sure to give extra!"
"Yessir!"
Grabbing the trays off the large food cart, the soldiers quickly began handing out the portions cell by cell.
Looking down at the disgusting gray substance handed over to him through the slit of the door, the first prisoner who had spoken earlier had no reaction.
Instead he just scooped up the food with his hand, eating at it slowly while trying his best to ignore the foul taste.
Occasionally he'd find something hard or foreign within the food, like a strand of hair, a clipped nail, or even worse , but he'd just dig it out of his mouth before continuing his 'feast.'
Reaching out for another handful of muck, he scooped it into his mouth like he usually did, but again, he felt something foreign within the food.
Already used to this, he immediately started digging through his mouth with his tongue, soon pulling out a small tightly rolled piece of paper.
At first he just assumed it was some stray paper that had made its way into the meal, but he soon noticed the small flap on the end.
Scratching at it with his sharp nails, he managed to separate the paper, causing the small scroll to quickly unfurl.
Focusing, his pupils rapidly expanded into full circles, allowing him to make maximum use of the little light within this underground prison.
Thanks to that, he was just barely able to make out the words on the paper, his hands slightly shaking as he read more and more.
'I knew this would come eventually, but I never expected it to happen so soon…' He said, furling the small scroll back up before swallowing it in a single gulp.
He wasn't sure whether this was an opportunity or a death sentence, but he was already too involved with that shadowy figure to refuse, not to mention refusal would just lead to an even quicker death.
With no options, he could only wait in silence, his eyes shut and his mind quiet, enjoying these last few moments of peace.
…
The next few days passed in relative peace, Minos having used this time to slowly understand his role and power.
The more he learnt, the more surprised he was, because in a way, the king was truly all-powerful.
He didn't need to answer to anyone, which is probably why the Cat Kingdom had been on a downward trend for so long.
A king with so much power would be a good thing if he was a righteous king, but it would be a disaster otherwise.
And as he looked through the records of past kings, he could easily see that the second case was much more common then the first.
With so many incompetent kings wielding such tremendous power, it was only a miracle the kingdom had lasted this long, further proving to Minos that this system needed to be changed immediately.
Shaking his head, Minos focused back on problems at hand, which manifested itself as a large pile of folders on his desk.
Each folder was filled with complaints, requests, problems, etc, which all culminated in a folder-tower that had originally nearly reached his ceiling.
Fortunately with his abilities, he had made rapid work of it, and by now, he only had a few more to get to.
Just as he was about to pick up another file, a knock came at his door, forcing him to put it back down.
"Come in." Minos said.
As he spoke, a beautiful young woman entered his room, quickly taking a bow before speaking.
"Your Majesty, the second prince has come to see you."
"Oh, Suki? Bring him in."
"Right away!"
Not long after leaving, the young woman came back with a beautiful looking man at her side, a somewhat awkward smile on his face as he entered the room.
"Ahh, Minos, I just wanted to remin-"
"No need, I already figured what you're here for, but as you can see…" Minos said, gesturing towards the large pile on his desk.
"I understand that, but can't you just hand that off to someone else?" Suki said, his patience slowly running dry.
"How can I trust someone else with my work? Besides, every single one of these files is a step closer towards a brighter kingdom, so I take them all seriously." Minos replied, causing his assistants eyes to glow with reverence.
Seeing her face, Suki couldn't help but get annoyed a little bit internally. It seemed by now everyone had been thoroughly brainwashed by Minos's oration skills.
"I respect your commitment towards the job, but you know my sickness isn't getting any better…" Suki said, letting out a few coughs as he did so.
Minos knew he was trying to use pity to his advantage, but he naturally wouldn't mention it.
"Come back tonight, by then I should be done with this." Minos promised.
"Great! Then tonight, no more delays!" Suki replied with glowing eyes before limping off, Minos reminding his assistant to help him out.
With his room once again empty, he got back to the files, but before he could even get through one, a knock once again came.
"What is this time?"
"Your Majesty, a young human by the name of Tylia is here. Should I dismiss her?"
"No, let her in." Minos sighed, rubbing his sore forehead as he waited for her to arrive.