Riku arrived at a location inhabited by the king of the Arzotoc village. The reason for coming here was to persuade King Luke to let him collect some information about this world and find a way to get back to his true world.
One hundred fifty meters was the exact distance before he got closer to the king. Aside from that, there were four meters a statue between every two pillars.
The statue was unusual to his eyes because it had a different appearance. 'Hmm... What is the significance of these statues? Are those the Gods of the villagers? Or it's just perfectly made, so they just make it for decoration.' He thought to himself as he began to walk slowly.
He noticed Arisu standing beside the king, who was wearing a golden crown with crystals, a red cape, long white hair, and you could tell by looking at him that the king was in his seventies or eighties.
Oni kneeled to the surface to show respect as soon as they got a much closer distance. "King Luke, I brought here the outsider as Lady Arisu requested," he said politely, slightly bowing his head.
Riku hurriedly did the same thing, knowing that if he didn't, the king would think he was an arrogant outsider.
"My name is Riku Hirota..." He paused after introducing himself as nobody would believe her if she said he came from another world.
In front of him was a twenty-one-step platform with the king's golden throne visible.
"My name is Luke Hanz, and I'm the king of the Arzotoc village," Luke introduced himself and added. "Are you the outsider tortured by my guards?"
He slowly nodded his head, his gaze fixed on the red carpet. As if staring into the king's eyes was a violation of this in this world. "You're right, King Luke."
Luke was gradually stroking his white beard when he cast a serious look at the woman standing next to him. "Arisu, why do you want to bring this stranger to me?"
She moved towards him and said. "We would like to propose something to you that could help our village to grow. Our population is increasing every year so I think it's better if someone invents something new and expand the size of this village. "
"Invent? Why don't give that kind of job to our researchers-" Luke stopped as he knew his daughter would never for something that could not benefit to this village. "Do you find something interesting with this outsider?" He asked him in a deep tone.
"Yes, father, to know more about it let Riku explain everything." Arisu said, then pointed her index finger at him.
"Stand up, Riku; I'd like to know what kind of suggestion piqued my daughter's interest," Luke said.
He slowly pushed himself to a standing position, noticing that King Luke was guarded by one hundred guards wielding various weapons. "Yes, King Luke, I suggest to lady Arisu help me build something that can minimize their daily work as a villager while also turning your village into the main attraction to this world," Riku said politely while standing straight.
"How could you possibly do that?" Luke, too, was perplexed by this outsider garb. Nonetheless, he persisted in questioning him.
"With the knowledge provided to me, I'm confident that I can build an item that will exceed your expectations." He put on a poker face, but the truth was that he was under pressure.
"Hmm... You're quite certain I can see that," King said, narrowly looking at him. "Say you succeed with your inventions and help this village grow quickly; what kind of exchange do you want?"
King Luke didn't appear to be the type of guy who didn't want to waste their time. As he immediately inquired about this man's ulterior motives.
Gulp!
He sucked his saliva. "I'm fine with the rewards you can give me, but the most important thing I want is to be able to enter with your library," Riku suggested, showing his desired eyes to complete this task.
And then the entire place fell silent, giving him the impression that the library was special for them.
Before answering, Luke approached the man standing next to him and clearly disagreed with the outsider's suggestions. Cuifer was a man with light green hair that was long under his ears, blue eyes, and sharp ears.
"We can't let him, King Luke, because we don't know if that man is a spy from the other kingdom, and we don't need him because the research team has a lot more knowledge than him. On top of that, that outsider didn't know how to speak a common language, so lady Arisu just asked Elder Cynthia to put spell magic. So the outsider can easily learn it," Cuifer said, maliciously smiling at Arisu.
In just like that, all the things that happened to Riku in this village were easily reported to this man.
A man who couldn't communicate in a common language? And something occurred to him. "Perhaps you're from the southern kingdom, Riku."
Riku was concerned when he noticed King Luke was thinking about something. So if he lied to him, there must have been a casualty because he didn't know if the Arzotoc village was battling with the southern kingdom. To put it simply, he could not claim that he had come from there. Furthermore, if he said the truth, the King will not grant him permission to enter the library. He was certain that he would think Riku was just a hopeless man looking for a place to stay.
He shook his head. 'No, I should tell him the truth,' he said to himself, answering the King's question. "I'm sorry to disappoint you, King Luke, but I can't remember my place right now; all I have in my head is my name and the knowledge to create a new invention."
Yes. Cuifer could use it to persuade the king that this man is not credible. Since who would believe that a person who had lost his memories could invent something useful? Even Riku was well savvy of this, he continued. Why? Even though it was only for a short time, this was the only way to stay in this village.
Then, unexpectedly, lady Arisu made gestures that indicated she was leaving everything to her. Riku smiled at her, knowing that this woman had a plan for how she was going to persuade his father.
'I'll leave it all up to you, lady Arisu.'
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It took twenty minutes for Arisu to finish what Riku had said to her about technology and how his village was more advanced than theirs. And by looking at King Luke, you can tell he was impressed since no one else, including his researchers, could think about this. Why? Because they were preoccupied with how they were going to fortify their defenses and create new armor for their guards.
"Really? He can do that?" King Luke exclaimed emphatically.
"Yes, father, the only way to accomplish this is to allow him to enter the library," Arisu replied politely.
Cuifer, on the other hand, was still opposed to the plan. It was all talk, which was impossible, especially for an outsider like him. "King Luke, we must not agree with their plan because we don't know if that man is waiting for the right time to collect our information and spread it to his country," he persisted in persuading him.
"Cuifer, this man could not easily escape in this village without taking the entrance; isn't that the second reason we built a 25-foot wall to protect us from the monster's attack and the spy?" he explained.
Cuifer clenched his teeth, convinced that the outsider had succeeded in manipulating Lady Arisu and King Luke. "B-But—we don't want any casualties—" He came to a halt as the king raised his hand.
"Enough, Cuifer, I've already heard everything I want to hear, and this is a great opportunity for our village to grow."
Riku couldn't stop smiling at this point, but it quickly faded when the King announced the condition.
"I'll let you into the library if you accept my two conditions," he said solemnly.
"What are the conditions, King Luke?" Riku inquired, his tone befuddled.
"First and foremost, six guards will be watching you every time you enter, so we can get an idea of what kind of information you require."
In Riku's mind, they were only doing this to limit the number of books he could read. "I agree with the first condition; how about the second?"
"The second one is that you must show us any invention within a month, so we can see if you really can build something or if you're just messing with us."
Riku agreed to the terms because one month was sufficient time to create a simple invention from the being. "Yes, King Luke, I will not let you be dissatisfied with my work-" He paused as the explosion erupted outside the building.