Tristan leaned back as he stared at the eleven empty chairs. The prime minister, the six ministers, and the four generals had left the room five minutes ago.
Tristan's gaze was fixed on the transparent blue window floating in front of him. He had delayed going to Carlos Madigan's palace because he wanted to know the reward he had received from the system.
[Here is the reward you get: Sharp Smell.]
[The sharp smell skill and the Sharp Hearing skill cannot be activated at the same time.]
Tristan frowned. He was a little disappointed. He didn't understand why the system gave him such a skill.
The sharp hearing skill was helpful to him, but he couldn't use it for too long because it would disturb his concentration, and he couldn't bear to hear all the sounds around him echoing in his head.
Tristan would find out why the system gave him such a skill.
[You activated the sharp smell skill.]
Tristan covered his nose when he detected a fragrant aroma combined with a horrible stink. His nose furrowed, and he realized he wouldn't be able to use his sharp smell skill for long.
Tristan stared at the ceiling as if he was looking at God or the system. He wanted to protest and ask the system to give him a more helpful reward.
"Why do I smell a foul odor?" Tristan stood up, looking around for dead animals or rotten fruit or food in the room.
"Do you smell a foul odor, Your Majesty?" asked Knight Aiden to make sure his ears had not misheard his king's words.
"Yes." Tristan nodded.
"We will search this room, Your Majesty," said Knight Aiden. Then, the two knights looked for the foul odor that had made their king uncomfortable in the room even though they did not smell any foul odor.
Tristan wanted to prove whether the stench that stung his nose came from this room or another room.
He was like a dog if his sharp sense of smell could allow him to smell a dead animal far away.
"I found a dead lizard surrounded by ants," said Knight Ajax, pointing to a dead lizard under a table. The ants were trying to carry the lizard to their nest.
Tristan was flabbergasted. So, the stench came from a dead lizard?
"I didn't find anything, Your Majesty. Maybe the lizard just died. There's no way the servants wouldn't have seen it," said knight Aiden, worried that his king would fire the servant who cleaned the room.
Tristan nodded in agreement. "Okay. Forget it. Let the ants take the lizard to their nest. Good luck."
Tristan and his two knights left the room. They walked towards Carlos Madigan's palace, which was not too far away.
***
Tristan looked at the bright sun. Summer temperatures in this world are not too hot on the skin. Surprisingly, it poured several times on Madigan.
Tristan couldn't wait for winter. Suddenly, a question popped into his head. When would he die, and would he live long in this world?
If he died, would Tristan Madigan's soul return to his body?
Then where did Tristan Madigan's soul go while Tristan was in his body?
All of the questions made his head dizzy. He didn't have the capacity or time to think about it all. He'd better clear his mind because he's meeting Carlos Madigan.
"Nice to meet you, Dad. It's been a long time since I've seen you." Tristan bowed respectfully to Carlos Madigan, who was lying on the bed.
Leonardo and Laureen immediately stood up to give their older brother space to hug their father, who couldn't move.
Tristan tried to relax before hugging Carlos Madigan. He, who didn't hug his biological father, felt strange about the habit of hugging their parents. Luckily, Tristan Madigan's mother had passed away.
"How are you, Dad?" Tristan looked at Carlos Madigan, who looked the same as the last time they met. The man had a reasonably fat body. Yeah, it was natural; he couldn't move his body.
"I'm fine. You can see my condition." Carlos Madigan could only move his eyes. He really wanted to rub his bloated stomach. "I think I've gained weight. Next month is my weigh-in."
"You have to maintain your weight." Tristan patted the back of his father's hand.
"You're right. I don't want to be obese." Carlos Madigan laughed. Actually, he wanted to shake his head.
Tristan secretly glanced at Leonardo and Laureen. He wanted to know if he looked awkward or if he looked different from the Tristan Madigan they knew.
Tristan dug into Tristan Madigan's memory, and he found Tristan Madigan's interaction with his father. The man was awkward and couldn't relax in front of his father because he respected him so much. So Tristan did the right thing, right?
"I heard you fell off your horse because you were sleepy and hit your head on a rock. How are you now? Is your head still dizzy?" Carlos Madigan showed his concern for his son.
"My head is no longer dizzy. I'm fine." Tristan touched the back of his head, which hit the rock. He was no longer wearing a bandage because there was no blood flowing out.
"You have to be careful," Carlos Madigan gave his son a gentle look. "Why are you not sleeping? Can't you get an hour or two of sleep? Are you overly concerned about your people being infected by the plague?"
Tristan was puzzled. Carlos Madigan was asking him a lot of questions. "I've got a lot on my mind, Dad. I won't repeat them because not sleeping is a hazardous thing."
"Right. Don't miss sleep anymore. Your brain needs rest," Carlos Madigan said. "If you're tired and you want to sleep, but you have somewhere to go, you can ask the palace to send a horse-drawn carriage. I know you want to get to your destination quickly, but your safety is priority number one."
Tristan nodded. "I understand, Dad. I will remember what you said."
Tristan stiffened as Carlos Madigan's gaze turned serious. He knew what the old man wanted to discuss. He had prepared himself.
"I am angry with you because you have lent one of our kingdom's hills to King Dazen, but since the prime minister, the ministers and the generals have agreed with your unilateral decision, I can't do anything," Carlos Madigan said with a disappointed face.
"I can only pray that the Halu Kingdom will win the war and that Mount Silonga will be theirs, and most importantly, that the Pireakan Kingdom will never know that you lent one of the kingdom's hills to King Dazen," Carlos Madigan said. He took a deep breath since anger was not good for his health.
"Our soldiers have prepared themselves for attacks from the Pireakan Kingdom and other kingdoms," Tristan said. His heart was racing since he would be commanding the war and planning the war strategy!
Tristan secretly hoped that no war would break out during his rule. He was responsible for maintaining peace in the Madigan Kingdom.
However, the Gods obviously did not wish to hear Tristan's prayers because he quickly received urgent news from a palace soldier stating,
"Your Majesty, King Oberon of the Widomar Kingdom and a hundred of his soldiers have broken into the country. They injured dozens of soldiers who attempted to stop them."