I Became The Extra King With Seven Wives-Chapter 32: Lumiel’s Solution Against The Famine

"Well, my dear wife is entirely correct," I smiled, finally letting the easy banter fade. "Shall we discuss the pressing matters at hand?"

"At your command, Your Majesty," Gabriel chuckled.

"First of all, these three individuals are a lot intriguing me," I said, turning my gaze toward Eleanor. "Are they the specific people I requested you to find, Eleanor?"

Eleanor nodded gracefully.

"Your Majesty, please allow me to introduce the esteemed Scholar and Elder, Theron Vale," she began, gesturing first to the frail-looking old man.

"He certainly looks the part of a scholar."

In essence, a true ’Scholar’ was someone officially recognized by the Athenaeum of Light, a sanctuary where researchers, historians, and truth-seekers endlessly gathered to study the deepest, most profound secrets of existence.

The Athenaeum was grandly located in the very heart of the Luminar Empire’s capital: Claritas, the City of Eternal Dawn. Speaking of the Luminar Empire, that was exactly where the prestigious Elite Academy was situated.

It was perfectly logical that the supreme academy designed to teach and groom the future leaders of the world was safely nestled inside the great empire supposedly founded by Luminara, the Goddess of Light and Wisdom.

Incidentally, my own name, Lumiel, had been directly inspired by her. My dear mother was overly religious and loved all the Gods equally.

According to ancient myths, Luminara and Helios were said to be divine mother and son, though their relationship had started well as they were mother and son, it was said to have deteriorated after Helios turned against his own mother after imprisoning his sister, Lunara, the Goddess of the Moon. The very same could easily be said for the tense political relationship between the current Kingdom of Helios and the Luminar Empire.

The Light and the Sun despising one another was quite ironic, especially considering Luminara highly favored the Lunarian Empire, an empire that loathed Helios as well.

You could bet your life that nobody had rushed to aid Helios when it was inevitably destined to be overtaken by the Black Sun in the original plot. Those two massive, incredibly powerful empires should have been the first to intervene, yet they purposefully, if not calculatingly delayed their forces. Whether it was because they simply refused to waste their own blood and resources, or because they genuinely did not care about our downfall, did not really matter in the end.

What truly mattered was that abandoning Helios to the Black Sun, and thus surrendering control of the Sacred Flame of Helios was going to be a monumental mistake on their part. Unfortunately, I had never played past the academy arc, but the narrative had heavily implied that the Black Sun was already successfully weaponizing the captive Flame.

Well it was actually a matter of fact they did weaponize the Flame. The academy, the Protagonist and the Heroines would behold it eventually.

Anyway, back to the present.

This old man, Theron, was a recognized scholar from the Athenaeum, the greatest repository of knowledge in the entire world. More importantly, Eleanor had specifically introduced him as an Elder, which meant he was clearly no ordinary, random academic. That lofty title was bestowed only upon the finest minds within the sanctuary, granted directly by the high Council, which was comprised of the most brilliant intellects across the known world.

"Your Majesty, I am Theron Vale. It is my greatest honor to serve you and the Kingdom of Helios, and I shall perform to the very utmost of my capacity," he said, bowing his head.

An esteemed Scholar and Elder from the Athenaeum of Light was respectfully greeting me like a humble servant. That alone demonstrated exactly how much weight the sacred title of the ’Guardian of the Holy Flame of Helios’ carried in the eyes of the broader world, far surpassing mere kingly status.

"I am very much looking forward to it," I smiled at him in polite return.

Eleanor then turned her attention toward the lazy-looking man leaning against the wall.

"Your Majesty, this is Sigor Reus. He hails from a minor baronial house within Gardenia, and he possesses a highly developed Affinity in Spiritis," she explained.

I widened my eyes slightly in surprise.

"An Affinity in Spiritis. That is quite rare," I remarked.

Everyone in this world possessed an inherent magical Affinity, which were broadly categorized into several distinct domains. For example, the Pyris Affinity governed domains concerning fire, heat, and combustion. Similarly, Spiritis was a notoriously rare Affinity that granted the wielder control over the delicate domains of the mind and deep emotions.

It was a very sought-after Affinity because of how terrifying it could become if properly groomed and weaponized. Granted, this man was already approaching middle age, and there was no way to be entirely certain where the true depths of his talent lay. However, if Eleanor had personally brought him before me, it guaranteed he was indeed useful.

"And you said he is from Gardenia?" I asked, my gaze narrowing slightly.

"Because of certain unfortunate circumstances, I was forced to flee the capital several weeks ago, Your Majesty," Sigor spoke up, his tone perfectly casual yet formal.

"You were from the capital, hm? And you fled weeks ago? That timeline perfectly coincides with that foolish, bloody rebellion against their royal family," I observed sharply.

"As I said, Your Majesty. Circumstances," Sigor replied, offering me a cool, unbothered smile.

He certainly possessed a fair amount of guts, and I honestly appreciated that bold trait.

"And what about the last one, standing there wearing that rather disturbing mask?" I asked, cracking my neck slightly as I shifted my gaze toward the silent figure standing perfectly still, like a stone statue, wearing a featureless black mask that entirely obscured her face.

I mentally noted ’her’ because I could confidently deduce it was a woman beneath the dark clothes. I was, after all, quite an expert in such domains.

"Her name is Leilah, Your Majesty," Eleanor spoke up, offering a peculiar, knowing smile, accompanied by a distinct fondness in her tone that I did not miss as she looked at the masked woman. "You specifically asked me to find someone reliable, capable of both protecting and fighting. Leilah is more than capable of executing both, though she truly excels in the art of protection."

After Eleanor finished her introduction, Leilah respectfully bowed her head toward me in a short nod. "Your Majesty."

I stared at her for a long moment, perhaps lingering a bit too long, as I could clearly sense something unusual and dangerous radiating from her quiet presence.

"Your Majesty, I heard from my daughter that you summoned me concerning some rather urgent matters," Gabriel suddenly spoke up, seamlessly steering the conversation.

I snapped my attention back to him

"Yes, indeed. Those treacherous scumbags currently ruling Gardenia have placed a strict embargo on us. This is, naturally, because we ’stole’ both of their rightful Princesses and completely ruined their painfully obvious, highly predictable plans to forcefully marry off Diana to one of their pathetic puppet nobles," I sighed, leaning back comfortably against my plush seat. "My late father saw their pathetic scheme coming from miles away, so he brilliantly planned the immediate extraction of the King’s daughters before the situation devolved into a nightmare for his friend’s daughters."

"Your father was always a great man of profound heart and wisdom, Your Majesty," Gabriel agreed, offering a wistful smile.

"Indeed he was. And that is precisely the reason I will never hand over Diana, who is now my wife, besides nor her sister... what was her name again?" I asked, raising a brow.

"Princess Lavenda, Your Majesty," Eleanor said.

"Yes, nor Lavender. Therefore, we must quickly come up with a viable solution before the impending famine spreads too deeply into Helios," I said.

I needed to resolve this looming crisis and implement a permanent solution before I left Helios for the Luminar Empire. I mean, honestly, what kind of King would casually wander off to an entirely different empire while his own kingdom was slowly starving to death?

"They foolishly believe that by cutting off the trade roads and halting their vital grain shipments, our common people will riot, our towns will inevitably burn, and we will eventually crawl back to them, begging on our hands and knees for mercy."

I scoffed lightly.

"Gardenia may currently control the vast, fertile fields that once generously fed us, but they do not control the entire world’s harvest. Grain freely grows in a hundred other lands far beyond their pathetic borders, and countless ships cross open seas they could never hope to blockade."

I straightened my posture slightly, leaning forward.

"We will simply purchase what we need from elsewhere."

"That is indeed a sound solution, Your Majesty," Gabriel nodded in agreement.

"Yes. The powerful merchant guilds of this kingdom possess swift ships, massive warehouses, and deep contacts stretching all the way from the southern ports to the isolated island trade cities. They easily have the necessary means to move food far faster than any lumbering royal caravan. Am I wrong, Uncle?" I asked, looking directly at him.

"No, you are not, Your Majesty. Naturally, not all common merchants are truly capable of such incredibly swift movements or possess such vast logistical capabilities, but I know the men who are, and I can speak with them directly," he assured me.

As expected of the wealthiest merchant in all of Helios, his personal connections spanned throughout the entire known world.

"Preferably, secure deals with foreign merchants from entirely outside the Kingdom, Uncle," I added seriously. "I will personally grant your chosen guilds a royal charter, temporary authority to import grain from foreign markets under the full protection of the crown. Their ships will safely sail under my royal seal. Their caravans will move strictly under the armed military escort I will personally provide. Every single port and trade road within this kingdom will completely open to them."

"I will personally oversee it, Your Majesty," Gabriel nodded enthusiastically, clearly pleased with the robust plan.

"And, Uncle, they must be completely trustworthy," I warned him, my voice dropping to a deadly serious tone. "I know of plenty of rival kingdoms and treacherous individuals who might happily attempt to poison our newly imported grain before it ever reaches our borders."

Call me wildly paranoid, but I had to actively foresee every single possible disastrous outcome, fully knowing just how many vicious enemies Helios currently possessed. Following my father’s death, every rival kingdom would instinctively know this was the perfect moment to strike while we were weakened. If any of our enemies learned of our desperate plan to purchase foreign grain, they might easily attempt to maliciously poison the supply.

Could anyone even begin to imagine the unmitigated catastrophe that would result from that? Helios would never recover from such a devastating blow, and I would inevitably be remembered as the worst, most incompetent King in the entire bloody history of Helios, the idiot who accidentally poisoned his own people out of negligence.

Yeah, I was too proud to let that ever happen.

Gardenia had always been historically trustworthy, so we had always received our vital grain shipments in complete calmness, without a single shadow of fear. But now that we were abruptly changing our established methods and securing brand-new providers, I had to be much more careful.

Hearing my words, Gabriel instantly understood exactly what I meant, and his jovial expression hardened. "I will be personally vetting and carefully hand-picking every single one of them, Your Majesty."

"I know I can completely count on you, Uncle," I said, finally recovering my easy smile. "Just tell me exactly how many armed men you require, and I will dispatch them to you immediately."

"Of course, Your Majesty. I shall let you know," he chuckled warmly.

"I know this might become a very arduous task for you to manage alone, and it may severely hinder the schedule of someone like yourself, who is constantly meant to be moving across vast kingdoms and bustling cities," I said, genuinely thankful for his vital assistance.

I wouldn’t have asked such things to anyone else because there didn’t exist anyone else as trustworthy and capable as Gabriel by my side in that domain.

"There is no need for apologies, Lumiel," Gabriel smiled, raising a hand and offering me the exact same deeply kind, familiar smile he used to show me when I was just a boy. "Helios is also my beloved birth kingdom. You are the son of my greatest friend, and now, you are also my precious daughter’s husband. I will happily do anything required to help my kingdom. Furthermore, I will not be working alone; I always ensure I surround myself with only the most trustworthy companions. Please, be entirely relieved, Your Majesty," he added.

"I wish I could say the same. Unfortunately, my royal court is currently infested with treacherous, plotting rats," I sighed, finally standing up from the sofa.

The others immediately stood up as well, and we all respectfully filed out of the privy room.

"As it has always been, Your Majesty. Greedy men will always try to grasp for far more than they actually need. It will be entirely up to you to show them their proper place," Gabriel noted wisely as we walked into the corridor.

"Oh, I will definitely show them," I smiled coldly.