Things quickly advanced from the moment that Yuki announced himself the new King. The dispy he gave owerful enough that he had no one questioning his decration. In fact, because he used his power to broadcast his annouo the entire Capital it gave everyone further fidenbsp; They saerful he was and knew with Yuki that Atntis would finally be safe for decades to e.

  Once he made the annou, he got the cil to carry out the formalities in the ceremony. They already had everything prepared. So Yuki easily co-opted it as something they po reveal. The cilors had little maneuvering room and begrudgingly worked with him through the whole thing. While only for show, as the real Thro deep in the Pace, Yuki became King before all of Atntis.

  His fate was sealed. It was his choibsp; As his choice, he accepted it and he could move forward.

  Chapter 285 – Return to Peace

  After all of the excitement ehe cil summoned him before them. He insisted ing his friends with him along with all of those that they marked as criminals. Ohe door sealed, Dimitris leaned forward from behind their desk. “What do you think you’re doing?”

  “I thought that retty clear out there, cilor.” Yuki grinned, having pyed them all against their own game. He could see how frustrated they all were. Even though they were in the room privately, nothing they said could ge what happened. All of their pns died the moment Yuki moved. “You should be thanking me. Both the military and royal guard saved faow that it’s been revealed the rebels were stealing their identities to sow discord.”

  Dimitris gritted his teeth, ao have to deal with a teenager and a fner. “You think you’ll be King?”

  “You made me King. That’s what the public saw today. And given that even the nobility saw rebels had snuto your ranks. You don’t have the weight you used to anymore.”

  “You think you’ve won?”

  Yuki grinned knowingly. He saw them already making new pns. “Won, no. This is a long-term game we’re pying. This battle goes to me, but the war tinues.” The grin turned into a smirk quickly. “Just remember I mean to win the war as well. You old men have sat behind your traditions and fears ruling this try from the shadows.”

  He stepped forward out of his group of friends to the cil desk. “Let me make this clear. The secret war in this Pace you waged against the st King isn’t over. My promise to yhtened old men right here is that I will see things ged. You either work with me or I will see yed out before the mob outside of these gates.” A dark shadow fell over Yuki’s eyes to emphasize his resolve.

  The cilors all looked around at each other murmuring. He quickly came to a settlement. They were going to give up their current pns and fold to Yuki. However, it was a war as Yuki said. It wasn’t over. “What do you want?”

  “Fumiko and Haruo e with me. Thanks to my little show out there, everyohinks that they aren’t even rebels anymore, so you don’t have to expin anything.” Yuki walked back over to the others that came in. He made sure that they were with him as they were part of the deal. “I want Simonides reinstated into the military along with Athene and Nerine.”

  When Yuki walked over to Eudokia, the cilors couldn’t keep quiet. “Do you expect us to release her as well? Eudokia is the ohat mastermihe whole thing and killed tless people!”

  Yuki came to a stop in front of her. He faced her staring straight into her eyes. Their reversed positions actually had a bit of irony. He held the dominant role with everything dang around in his palm and she could only accept his whims.

  Yet despite the reversal, she maintaihe determined and unwavering stare. Nothing Yuki did to her would faze her. He khat well enough. But he still hoped to see even the slight of a flinch from her. The longer he stared the worse the tension in the room became. No one else liked that he did not give an answer.

  “What are you pnning?”

  Yuki spun back around to look at the cil. “Nothing like that. No, Eudokia vioted your ws and must be punished for it. She lied to all of us. All I want is for her to rot in a cell for the rest of her life.”

  “Traitors must be executed! Especially ones like her!”

  Quickly, he fshed a deathly gre at all of the cilors. It quickly put them all into their pd shut them up without a single word. In their silent acceptance, he had Demosthenes release everyone. “Good talk. We’ll be seeing more of each other.” Yuki walked out of the cil room with his friends following.

  They all finally had their freedom.

  Seiji rushed up to the left side of Yuki. Over on the right was Saki and Yumi. Uhe others, Seiji had been out of the loop ohing. “You pn to expin what happened, Yuki? How’d you do all that? Like the s with everyone and the assassins, everything!”

  While Yuki ughed, Saki shoved Yuki a little. “Yeah, you even maniputed me! Do you know how muning we already had in pce?!”

  “You had a good start to a pn, but there were still things that it didn’t resolve. This put everything into pce.”

  “What the hell is going on? Were you all in on this?!”

  Pointing his thumb over at Saki, Yuki started out with her. “Yeah, I realized that Saki and Yori were making pns with the Titans.” He saw the shocked look on Seiji’s fabsp; “Did you really think that Rheia was just chasing Saki for the fun of it?”

  “It started out that way,” ented Saki, shifting her eyes away.

  “Saki and Yori were in talks with Rheia to make a rescue attempt on Fumiko and Haruo. Their pn was to s out the real ones with created fakes so that everyohought that they were dead. Then we just leave this all behind.”

  “It would have worked!” insisted Saki.

  “Yes, the rescue would have, but the cil still viewed me as a threat and the nobility all saw us all as rebels. We just got special treatment from Demosthenes. So I had to fix that so that the only ohat still saw that was the cil. They’re now in a positiohey ’t make any open moves against me sino orusts them right now.”

  Seiji nodded as if he followed it all. Everyone doubted it. “So then you sed everyo, but what about the attack?”

  “I khe cil had assassins pced in the execution grounds. They actually po kill all of us and sweep it uhe rug as rebel work. So I had Saki and Rheia take out all of their assassins with Yori reying positions to them. The actual attack came from Rheia.”

  “Saki and Yori weren’t o me?!” Seiji started staring deeply at the two of them. He had a suspicious look in his eye wanting to be sure that they were real.

  Chiharu piped up, since Yuki was ughing too hard. “They were stand-ins by the Titans that were in on the pn with their ander.” The answer made Seiji back up and question himself as he never even noticed it.

  “And the rest was just information manipution.”

  “So what’s ?” Seiji asked, pointing to the most obvious question. It was the ohat everyoared at Yuki for. They all knew what his deeant for him. It wasn’t just the weight that he would bear either. There were further reag impacts.

  Pying it off like it was nothing, he smiled. “I’ll be King tomorrow.”

  “Yeah I know that, but—“

  “Don’t worry.”

  Yuki tinued on while the others just hovered around staring as he walked away. They didn’t know what he had pnned anymore. All they could see was a friend leaving them behind.

  The day came with surprising ease. The cil did nothing more to oppose Yuki. All of the guards and escorts disappeared. In fact, some of the guards even seemed to look favorably at them, thinking that they were part of Yuki’s team in taking down the rebellion. Everything seemed to be at peace, though they weren’t sure how long it would be. They all khe cil wouldn’t stay quiet forever. But they still didn’t have their own move yet.

  “All hail King Charampos Chryses!” decred the royal guard. The official process of being King ended and they presented Yuki before the entire nobility within the grand hall.

  Saki leaned over to Yuki whispering to him. “Charampos?” The rest of his friends stood around him, now only aowledged as the ohat fought t down the rebellion.

  “Yeah, I needed an Atntean name. Makes it easier for everyohan thinking some fner is sitting ohrone.” He leaned ba the rge throhat pletely swallowed him up. The guards already escorted their guests forward as he instructed earlier.

  Waiting until Simonides, Athene and Nerine approached, Yuki leaned forward a bit. He motioned off the guards giving a wide gesture to the gathered audienbsp; The three k down before their King. “To correct mistakes made during the rebellion, I returles and privileges stripped from you. Please rise, Captain Simonides, ahene and Sed Lieutenant Nerine.” They rose back up with Yuki returning their badges.

  Appuse broke out through the halls led by Yuki. He smiled down at them. However, he lifted his hand back up t order back to the chamber. Turning baosthenes, he retrieved an item and walked out to Simonides. “As is tradition, Captain Simonides I grant to you with this shield the honor of the hys.”

  K down before Yuki once more, Simonides accepted the personally crafted shield. Yuki pulled him back up to stand. “Rise, Captain Simoethys. tio be the shield that protects the i of Atntis.”

  “With every breath that I have.”

  Yuki then stepped up towards the throne. He stared out at the crowd once more to address them. “While it is not unusual to have someone as young as myself as your King, I’m still inexperienced ihing. I’m more used to behind the ses work than running a try. So I annouoday that I’m making General Demosthenes Alexander my Regent and Advisor until I mature enough for this throne behind me.”

  The decisio some shock through the crowd not expeg to be hearing suews. It was something that Yuki didn’t make known to anyone. But the natural question came quickly to everyone’s mind.

  Anticipating their question, Yuki prepared the annou. “With the General stepping down, I’m announg today that I’m promoting Captain Simoethys to General of the Army. His loyalty and respect for those that serve under him should be an inspiration to every leader.”

  Simonides bowed his head to Yuki once more. However, it was Athehat reacted in pce of Simonides. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Tears started to fall down her cheeks, ohat only Simonides seemed to uand. Though Yori smiled a little seeing Simonides giving her a little support.

  “As my act as King, I’m going to visit all of the vilges and towns in Atntis! The King is the leader of the people and for the people. I don’t pn to stay hiding in this Pace.”

  Thus, Yuki’s month-long trip around Atntis began. None of his friends knew what Yuki was going on to do. They just kept following him around to see if things really were to end. He never said goodbye to them, so they just waited around.

  The st stop he made was back to the vilge of Skoupa, which was affected by their arrival. Yuki helped out with the repairs and smoothed out the retions. Even before he arrived, they heard word of what happened. His ation spread to all ers. The excitement of a new King and a long term of stability bolstered everyone. Even more so seeing their King all the way out on the border.

  It was early m. They woke up early in Skoupa to a grand m feast to send off their King. After everything ended, Yuki led everyo and back to the South Gate. Along with him orip were Simonides ahenes.

  Yuki stared at the rge and building of the vast plex. He already had Abeiron appointed as the netain and though things were a little chaotic for the netain, the troops were in high spirits. Even more so to see their old Captain.

  “We’re back at the beginning,” Yuki said, everyohered around him.

  Saki and the others stared at him with the sense of things finally reag their end. “Yuki…”

  He turned around to face all of them. “Everyone…I know that this was ly what we pnned when ing here. But things don’t work out perfectly.” Yuki turo look at Athene ing up, having taken care of her orders. He turned back around to Demosthenes and Simonides. “This is where we part ways for now.”

  “Yuki, what are you…” questioned Seiji, jumping in first. Though everyone else leaned in quickly behind him trying to be sure they were hearing him right.

  Looking back at them fused, Yuki grinned. “What you thought I was leaving you guys behind?”

  “But what about Atntis and Throne?” Saki reminded.

  “Demosthenes will be in charge during my abse’s why I made him Regent. And my father was able to go hopping around the world, so I figured I should be able to as well. I still got things to settle ba Japan before I truly bee the King.” Everyohered around Yuki grabbing onto him gd to still have their friend with them.

  Yuki walked up to Simonides, shaking his hand. “Keep up the good work. I’ve heard a lot about what you’ve done here. It’s not going to be easy, but I pn to see ges made.”

  “It’ll be my honor, Yhness!”

  Staring over at Demosthenes, Yuki approached him. “This is your punishment, old man. It’s your job to live and live long enough to see everything that the cil’s done under my father’s rule undone. I won’t allow you to die until then, uand?”

  “Yes, Your Majesty.” Demosthenes handed over a package to Yuki before he turned away. “Good luck.”

  Yuki looked back at his friends. He threw his fist up into the air iement. “Let’s return home, everyone!”