After the ceremonies...
The noble families, one by one, presented themselves before the royal family, each of them bringing gifts of their own, perhaps seeking favor from the King. Some of them brought rare jewels, some brought clothes from professional designers, while others brought toys for the prince.
Yet, none among them showed sincerity in those gifts. Even Aslan, who had just been reborn, knew that the faces they showed were nothing more than faces begging for favor; genuine gestures were absent in those gifts.
Nevertheless, there were some who showed no sign of seeking a favor and truly meant the gesture they had shown.
And then came the turn for each of the ministers. The first was the Minister of Defense. He walked toward the throne slowly, holding a wrapped gift. Faintly, the shape of a sword could be seen because of how poorly the gift was wrapped.
He wore a splendid outfit with embroidery; you could see his physique through the attire, showing strength worthy of his title. He looked as young as the Emperor. I wonder if... Aslan thought before getting cut off by the minister's voice.
"I bring you something that will be useful to you, Your Highness," he said while smiling proudly.
"Dare you give my son a sword? He has just been born!" said the Emperor.
"No need to thank me, Darius, I know how perfect my gift is," spoke the minister, still proud of his gift.
"Battle-crazed brute, how is this supposed to be a gift befitting a newborn, Sir Galerion Boldhelm?" asked the Emperor while facepalming.
"The prince will need one eventually, and also, who knows, maybe I will teach him swordsmanship one day. After all, I'm the greatest swordsman the empire has, aren't I?" added the minister, proudly praising himself.
He must have been the Emperor's friend; I can sense the same thought wavelength between them, Aslan thought. The Emperor truly had really strange friends.
"Greatest? Didn't you lose like 120 times against me already?" the Emperor replied.
"You cheat by genetics; you are part dragon, so that doesn't count," the minister replied.
"You two…can you move your bickering to another day?" the Empress stepped in, her face showing a bit of anger.
Thus, both of them quit their bickering, but not before exchanging an unsatisfactory glance.
The Empress is like a mother educating children.
"Anyway, would it not be wise to open it first?" said the Empress.
"Oh yes, I had forgotten that!" the minister replied with a slightly embarrassed face.
Lo and behold, the sword was so beautiful. The hilt was made from silver while having a motif of a dragon's head. The blade protruded out of the dragon's mouth. The blade itself was made with a strange material, different from steel; it was as black as night, but the shine was as bright as a star.
The nobles in the ballroom gasped, some of them beginning to whisper while witnessing it.
"Isn't that voidsteel!" one of the nobles said.
"Voidsteel? Isn't that only obtainable in the forgotten lands?" added another noble.
"Is it that rare?" asked one of them, not understanding the commotion.
"That rare! You idiot, the steel itself is so rare that up to this point, only 8 swords have been made out of it!" said one of them.
"So this must be the 9th sword then. Isn't it too much to give to a newborn? What a waste!" added another.
"SILENCE!" The King raised his voice, a strong aura pouring out toward the crowd. Instantly, the crowd turned to silence, afraid of the King.
"Indeed, this is too much for the prince; nonetheless, we accept it with grace. I will see to it that the sword is kept away until the prince can use it," the Empress said, quickly calming the crowd.
Next would be the Minister of Treasury, and there he was. The Minister of Treasury walked up to the throne; his clothes were neat, and they shone beautifully through the fabric. The outfit was neat and modest. Had he walked in public, people would certainly mistake him for a normal person, but isn't it great that the money isn't used for himself? If not, he would wear something that looked more expensive, Aslan concluded.
"Sigh, you and Darius would always try to fight when you met; honestly, I pity the Empress having to babysit two of you," he said.
"Yeah, yeah, quit talking about that. What did you bring for the prince today?" asked the Emperor.
"I bring something that will help His Highness the most today. Today, I bring the prince's trust fund!" the minister said.
"Have you become senile finally, Luther, my friend?" the Emperor asked.
"Certainly not! Your Majesty, the trust fund is money I put into a savings account for His Majesty. It keeps increasing each year. Should His Majesty need it in the future, he can use the money inside it," he explained.
"Hrmm, I feel as if the longer time you spend with Her Majesty, the stranger the plans you come up with, like that one time you used the money of the imperial treasury to set up this thing called a loan," the Emperor added.
"I must say the Empress changed me for the better. I had never been this efficient, had I?" he asked back.
"Well, it's true," answered the Empress, taking some credit for the achievement.
Did I hear things right? The Empress created a loan system? thought Aslan in disbelief. So even in another world you can't escape capitalism, thought Aslan still in disbelief.
But that begs the question: how could the Empress come up with the idea? Wouldn't the chances of people in this world having the same idea as someone in the modern world be low? Or perhaps the world between them is not even so different after all.
After that came the turn for the great mage himself.
The empress father turn! Aslan thought in anticipation. If it the great mage then it must have been something so different then the others what could it be? Aslan couldn't help but to wonder.
"Your Majesty, I have come with..."