Astartes of the Bear School

Chapter 1831, Section 1803: The Qualification to Become a King
Is he qualified to become king?

【Wise Beast】?
Standing at a distance, Lan En, who should not normally be able to hear the whispers between the two people, suddenly glanced sideways at Qilin and Rongbuqiu.

The plush ball tilted its head, its big, watery eyes blinking. Hmm, very cute. Of course, the Palico is very intelligent, no problem.

But the Qilin...

Lan En watched as the Qilin secretly poked its head out and rubbed the sharp horns on the wooden pillar of the stable.

Seeing that the wooden pillar had been dented by the sharp corner, the New World Ancient Dragon immediately turned its head and let its hooves paw at the ground as if it hadn't done anything.

Is this thing considered "wise"?

And is the 'king' here determined by a wise beast?

However, regardless of Lan En's own opinion on the Qilin, the people of the border region have their own established standards of recognition.

“It’s precisely because he possesses the qualities to become king that he’s so powerful!” Torisha remained remarkably relaxed in the face of Dolores’s fierce questioning. “A wise beast is drawn to heroes and kings!”

Torisha recounted the legends that the people of the borderlands had established and acknowledged since ancient times.

"There are people in your Round Table Hall who possess the potential to become kings."

"【Dragonlance】Vic, that's Lord Lance Sanks' favorite knight, that's the approval of an ancient dragon! And ancient dragons are the wisest of all beasts!"

"【Beast Gathering】Benaar, he must be surrounded by quite a few wise beasts, right?"

"Those gathered in the round table hall were originally powerful knights and heroes who had followed King Gofrey in his conquests. It's not surprising that they were recognized by the wise beasts."

Dolores opened her mouth, seemingly wanting to say something, but out of some concern, she didn't say it to her friend.

Things are different now than they used to be; how can they be the same?!
So what if King Gefulei had a few heroes around him who were recognized by the wise beasts and had the potential to become king?
The beast that acknowledges the First King is called Cerrosh, and is thus known as the [Beast Chancellor] and [Beast King]!
Lord Cerrosh's charisma is just like King Gofury's, enough to suppress and lead all the heroes!

However, when Queen Marika withdrew her blessing and banished her first husband, King Gofrey, she accepted her current husband, Radagan, as her husband.

Although the people of the borderlands respectfully refer to Radagan as "King of Elden" in terms of rank, the more commonly used title "King's Consort" reveals just how much weight this second king holds in their hearts.

Ultimately, they still believed that Radagan was merely 'the husband of the Eternal Queen,' not on the same level as King Gofure, who conquered the entire borderlands and established the Golden Dynasty.

Furthermore, [King Fu] Radagan only has a pack of red wolves by his side, which is not on the same level as King Gofulei's [Beast Prime Minister].

This further intensifies the contrast between the two Kings of Elden, shaking public sentiment.

Heroes with the potential to become kings could have lived with ease during the Govrei era. But now, because the Red Wolves of Rdagan are not of high enough rank, their situation has become awkward.

However, since the faded ones in the Round Table Hall had already sworn allegiance to the new king when they remained at the border, this awkward situation could be considered resolved.

But the appearance of Lan En, who possesses proof of his potential to become a king, in a situation where the previously unseen Faded One is somewhat...

This matter is neither a big deal nor a small one.

After all, we are now in the Golden Age of the Golden Law, and the so-called 'qualification to become a king' is just a customary tradition in the ancient borderlands when various races and factions were in chaos and no dominant force had emerged.

It's just that this tradition is truly effective and has been passed down for a long time, and it remains a consensus among people to this day.

Compared to the Golden Age, that was an ancient and barbaric past.

When individuals in society live for too long, this problem arises: it becomes difficult for traditions that are no longer suitable for the times to evolve and improve naturally through generational changes in the population.

“He only has a horse and a cat,” Torisia said casually behind her veil.

"This isn't a big deal, is it? Besides, putting aside the King's Consort, Prince Godwin of the Golden Clan is the heir. He's Lord Fulsanx's close friend. This is also the Ancient Dragon's approval, so he wouldn't care about a horse and a cat."

Seeing that Dolores was still struggling with the decision, Torisha simply added fuel to the fire.

"If all else fails, why not just send him to see [Two-Finger]? Lord Two-Finger at the round table surely knows the best course of action."

Upon hearing Torisia's words, the woman in men's clothing, who had been in a difficult situation, suddenly calmed down and looked at the perfumer, who was wrapped up tightly, with suspicion.

"And then, as the one who brought him here, you'll also take the opportunity to explain the whole story to Twofinger?" Dolores crossed her arms, clicking her tongue in astonishment. "Tsk tsk, Torisia, after all this time, I think you're the one who wants to go on a pilgrimage to Lord Twofinger!"

The perfumer didn't deny it: "Hehe, Lord Two Fingers in the Round Table Hall... Which of the Golden People wouldn't want to pay him a visit in person? Besides, we can help him out along the way."

Dolores knew that Torissa was kind and warm-hearted, which was why the two of them got along well. The possibility of helping others and then having an audience with Twofinger was an immense attraction for anyone who believed in the Golden Law.

Torisha's actions were perfectly justified.

But as a friend, Dolores shook his head at this matter that should have been perfectly straightforward.

“No, Torisha.” The woman in men’s clothing became serious. “Recently, Lord Two Fingers probably hasn’t had time to deal with such trivial matters. He seems to have some… bad premonitions. That’s why the Round Table Hall has been running around checking for potential problems lately, and has become so busy.”

"A bad feeling?" Torisia didn't seem to understand these words.

The perfumer looked up, and even within the fortified hall of the round table, gazing at the narrow sky squeezed by the walls, he could glimpse the lush and magnificent branches of the golden tree. With the golden tree standing firm and the golden law steadfast and powerful, what evil could possibly occur?
What can happen even if it does?

Dolores shook her head. She had almost forgotten that Torisia was born in the later stages of King Griffith's conquest, when the Golden Dynasty had largely pacified the border regions.

Throughout the entire war of the Golden Dynasty's conquest of the borderlands, she neither experienced the two battles of Lienia nor personally witnessed the battle of the ancient dragons advancing on the royal city of Rodel.

Since her birth, the Golden Law has already swept away many enemies. She naturally doesn't know what a 'bad premonition' is. After all, under the Golden Law, everything is always eternal and beautiful.

They were naturally different from warriors like myself who had fought under King Gefuli.

"Even Lord Twofinger is so busy?" Torisia didn't seem too bothered by her failed pilgrimage. Instead, she asked with concern, "Wouldn't it be perfect to have him come and help now?"

"In any case, there's no doubt that he's a faded one."

Dolores was a little conflicted, but also somewhat tempted.

After all, no matter what, every single one of the faded ones on the border should be a former warrior under King Gofulei, a warrior of the Golden Law.

The other party's potential to become a king is indeed awkward at this moment, but with manpower scarce, having such a faded talent might be of great help.

Those who have faded are undoubtedly professional and skilled warriors.

Meanwhile, at a distance, Lan En listened carefully to the conversation between Torisha and Dolores, and when the woman in men's clothing finally fell silent, he realized that Torisha had probably convinced her.

Sure enough, Dolores adjusted his men's hunting hat and came to stand in front of Lann.

Torisha, meanwhile, shook her thick perfumer's cloak, waved to Lann, and walked towards the outside of the city walls of the Round Table Hall. It seemed she had 'handed things over'.

"Let's get to know each other formally first." The woman dressed as a man nodded to Lan En, as well as the Qilin and the velvet ball beside him. "I am Dolores, the Faded One who serves in the Hall of the Round Table."

"Please don't blame Tolissa. She didn't want to leave without saying goodbye. She's really one of the busiest perfumers out there. It was all to fulfill her somewhat unrealistic good intentions."

"No, that's not what I meant. Torisia has already helped me a lot. If I may, I should be the one thanking her."

Lan En first dispelled the other party's doubts before nodding in response.

"Just call me Lan En. Also, to be honest, I don't know what 'Faded One' means."

Mr. Lan reiterated his stance of "neither refusing nor admitting".

Dolores didn't care about this; in fact, she was a little curious.

"Your spirit was really badly damaged! Are you finally stable now?" She tilted her head curiously to look at Lan En. "I'm sorry, the Faded Ones in the Round Table Hall were all saved by Lord Two-Fingers after their blessings were stripped away, which is why they were able to stay in the border area. There was only one ship full of them."

"I only remember feeling a void and a sense of distortion when I was stripped of my blessing, but thankfully, it didn't take long before Lord Two Fingers soothed our pain. You've been wandering like this for hundreds of years..."

At this point, Dolores looked on with admiration.

"But since you've made it to the Hall of the Round Table, it must be thanks to the Golden Tree! We old warriors can still fight for the Golden Law!"

Lann could only remain calm in the face of this. But Dolores interpreted this calmness as bewilderment.

“You can settle down in the Round Table Hall, Lann.”

As he spoke, Dolores waved to a servant in the distance, presumably to have someone help Lan En settle in.

"But as soldiers, we must also be prepared at any time. The Round Table needs our strength."

She nodded to Lan En and then turned around, presumably to go to work according to her original schedule.

(End of this chapter)