My Kingdom Building Done Right!-Chapter 86: The Art of Bone Reading [Part 2]
"So I just toss them and listen, right?" Leone’s eyes gleamed with excitement as he scooped a handful of bones from the pouch Kael had handed him earlier.
Since their Great Chieftain was about to be taught by the strongest shaman in the Borderlands, Kael had personally taken. He ordered that all the bones from the slaughtered beasts be properly prepared. Then, he brought in craftsmen from his own tribe to polish each piece until it gleamed before handing them over to Leone.
"That vassal of yours, Kael... He is a very slippery eel," Gundar said before Leone could even start to toss the bones in his hand. "Are you not afraid he will try to manipulate you and take over your kingdom? I believe he is your advisor, yes?"
"Indeed." Leone nodded. "Kael is both my vassal and advisor. As for the topic of him trying to manipulate me... I can see that happening. However, it doesn’t matter. Kael is someone who will prioritize his standing, so he will not do anything to harm me."
"Are you not afraid that he will take over your position?" Gundar arched an eyebrow. "You may not be a gullible child, Leone, but you trust so easily. Even I, who have come with interior motives, can’t help but worry about you."
The young man chuckled, knowing the old shaman was right. However, it wasn’t true that Leone trusted just anybody. He had this peculiar sixth sense that allowed him to determine whether someone was trustworthy or not.
Kael was different from Ulric, who was a straightforward person. So was Gundar, for that matter.
Jason was different as well. The young man was smart, but the two elders had experience on their side. They had lived a long life and had seen many things that would have made anyone feel numb and jaded.
"Thank you for worrying about me, Great Uncle," Leone replied. "But I believe in Kael because I find him worthy to stand by my side. If he betrays me in the future, then that’s my fault for being stupid. I can’t blame anyone other than myself."
Before Gundar could even give a reply, someone else spoke. When they looked, someone had entered the small cavern they had occupied.
"As expected of my Liege," Kael said with a smile. "You truly know I will not betray you. I am very touched by your support and recognition. I promise to continue doing my best in serving you from now on."
"Thank you, Kael. But what are you doing here?" Leone asked.
"Oh! I just came to see my Lord’s first attempt at bone reading. You see, I also do bone reading from time to time," Kael answered. "The last time I tried, I saw a light shining in the east. That’s why I decided to seek refuge in the Grimjaw Mountains.
"Of course, that light must be none other than you, My Lord. The most handsome, refined, and charismatic King in the world."
"Um? You forgot to add benevolent," Leone commented.
Kael blinked once, then twice, before coughing lightly.
"My sincerest apologies, My Lord. How could I forget?" Kael placed a hand over his chest and bowed slightly. "The most benevolent, wise, magnanimous, peerless, unparalleled, incomparably brilliant, and eternally radiant King in the world."
Leone nodded in satisfaction. "Much better."
Gundar stared at the two in silence. His expression slowly turned into that of deep contemplation. He started pondering his life choices, especially his decision to come to the Grimjaw Mountain to meet Leone.
He felt that if he stayed here for too long, he might turn into a Kael, flattering the young man repeatedly like some kind of bootlicker!
"Leone, let’s focus on your lessons in bone reading," Gundar stated. "I only have a few days to teach you, so let’s make it count."
"Yes, Great Uncle!" Leone replied, and he finally tossed the bones on the ground.
When the bones fell, Gundar and Kael instinctively tried to read them using their own knowledge of bone reading.
But for some reason, they couldn’t perceive anything from the bones. Even the patterns didn’t give them any clue.
As for Leone, he looked at the bones calmly, trying to "listen" to the spirits.
But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t hear anything. Left with no choice, he decided to interpret the patterns as they were.
"Hmm... this set of bones over here looks like rain clouds," Leone said calmly. "So maybe it will rain soon? Ohh... this pattern here somewhat spells the word ’now’. Maybe this means it’s going to rain now?"
Gundar and Kael smirked at the same time. Leone’s bone reading was very different from the type of bone reading they often used in the Borderlands.
Just as Gundar was about to tell Leone to observe the bones more, Yuni entered the room.
"Leone, it started raining," Yuni said. "The kids are asking if you want to play with them in the rain?"
Gundar and Kael both blinked at the same time. They then stared at the bones on the ground with great concentration.
Their gazes were glued to the bones, trying to decipher some kind of hidden code it must’ve formed. Perhaps they had simply failed to discover it on their first attempt.
"Oh, tell them I’m busy right now," Leone replied. "Maybe next time?"
"Okay." Yuni nodded before leaving to tell the kids that Leone was busy.
After realizing that his earlier prediction was correct, Leone looked very smug.
"I guess bone reading is easier than I thought?" Leone said to the two old men, who were eyeing the bones on the ground with serious gazes.
""It’s not that easy!""
Gundar and Kael spoke at the same time, almost making the young man jump up in fright.
Unfortunately, Leone could only do bone reading once a day as per the norm for old shamans, so the two couldn’t confirm whether what happened was just a fluke or not.
The next day...
Gundar and Kael both sat on the ground with their arms crossed over their chest.
"Okay. Time for you to do bone reading again, Leone," Gundar said.
"Don’t worry, my Lord," Kael commented. "With your unparalleled talents, I’m sure you will succeed in deciphering the message the bones mean to relay!"
"Uhh... okay?" Leone blinked in confusion. The two old men seemed to be fired up for some reason.
But since they came to observe his bone reading, he didn’t hesitate to scoop a handful of bones from his pouch and tossed them to the ground.
Just like he did yesterday, Leone tried to listen if the bones were trying to tell him anything.
But just like yesterday, he didn’t hear a thing again. Because of this, he started to pay closer attention to their arrangement to see if there was some kind of pattern he could decipher.
"Oh... these pieces of bones look like two old people massaging their hips because it hurts," Leone muttered. "And... these bones look like a Kobold holding something in its hands. Maybe it’s some kind of precious ore?"
Just as Kael was about to say that Leone shouldn’t make such judgements so easily, the two old men, Darius and Swaine, walked past the small room, complaining about their hips.
"Getting old is annoying," Darius said. "I want to help more with the digging, but just a few minutes of swinging the pickaxe is enough to make my back ache."
"Tell me about it." Swaine sighed. "When I was younger, I could go several rounds with my wife. But now, my hips can’t take it anymore."
"If I were only ten years younger..."
"I know..."
Kael flinched, the words he wanted to say stuck inside his mouth. In order not to embarrass himself, he simply coughed lightly.
A moment later, Maximus entered the room looking incredibly happy.
It was holding something in its hands. The item was the size of a human head, and it looked like a silver ore.
"A-Aetherium?!" Gundar gasped after seeing the ore in the Kobold’s hands.
"Aetherium?" Leone blinked. "What’s that, Great Uncle?"
Gundar first did his best to calm down. It was a struggle, knowing the amount of Aetherium the Kobold was holding was enough to make at least four pieces of armor.
Aetherium was an ore that could add special attributes when mixed with other ores or metals.
It made them lighter but absurdly durable. In simple terms, people could wear heavy armor, and it would feel like they were merely wearing light-weight armor!
It could also be used to combine with weapons.
When combined with big weapons, for example War Hammers or Great Axes, which usually needed to be held with both hands to support their weight, it would become lighter. With this, their wielders can lift them with a single hand without compromising their destructive power.
"Leone..."
"Yes, Great Uncle." 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚
"Teach me how to do bone reading."
"Huh?!"
On that day, Gundar and Kael asked Leone to teach them how to do bone reading, which made the young man even more confused about whether bone reading was really easy or not.
