After defeating the royal army, there was no one left in the kingdom to face the Jamani, and that allowed the Jamani to take over and do whatever they wanted! Makin knew this, and yet he went ahead with his plan because he was blinded by his anger! Makin hated his brother more than he cared about his kingdom, and by deciding to bring the Jamani here, Makin had pushed his kingdom into this situation.
Jason drummed his hand on the throne armrest and spoke calmly:
"I cannot blame you fully for what happened here. No one is immune to making bad choices when they are overwhelmed by their emotions, but tell me this, Makin: what will you do now? Your brother has opened an official complaint regarding your actions, claiming that you usurped his throne. And according to the Primordial Treaty, he has every right to punish you for what you’ve done."
Makin grit his teeth angrily! The thought of being punished by that bastard Vanix only fueled the anger inside of him even more, and Makin could feel the hatred from earlier coming back all over again! But Makin had to let out a breath to calm himself as he spoke.
"I will stay and face whatever punishment you decide to give me, my lord. My hatred for my brother is still as great as it will ever be. He treated me like his enemy even though I have only shown him brotherly love. But I do not wish to see my people suffer anymore because of a personal feud between us two siblings. Too many lives have been lost, and too much damage has been done to this kingdom. I offer you my surrender."
Jason hummed, and he went silent for a few long seconds. This was honestly one of the most difficult decisions Jason would ever have to make. It was true that Vanix was a twisted bastard who didn’t deserve the life that he had, but it was also true that matters like that were outside of Jason’s jurisdiction. Jason wasn’t a therapist responsible for fixing family issues, and the only reason Jason came here was because Makin had called in the Jamani mercenaries to help him! Jason knew that this decision would be so much easier if Vanix was actually a bad king. But the truth of the matter was that Vanix wasn’t a bad king at all!
’But neither is Makin. I looked at the financial and economic data during the months when Makin was in charge, and he didn’t do a bad job at all. Even with the Jamani stealing from him, he was still able to make progress with the kingdom. Both brothers were taught how to run the kingdom very well.’
Jason let out a calm breath, and he finally made a choice at that moment.
"Very well then. I accept your surrender, and I’ve decided on a punishment for you. For your involvement with the Jamani mercenaries, you will pay a total of two million gold coins into my treasury, and you are prohibited from leaving this world for the next ten years."
Makin had already closed his eyes when he heard Jason say that he had decided on a punishment for him, but when Makin heard what the punishment was, Makin opened his eyes wide in surprise.
"That’s it?"
Makin quickly put a hand over his mouth when he said this! Makin had been so shocked by what he heard that he didn’t know when he said his thoughts out loud! Jason laughed internally at Makin’s comment, and Jason stood from the throne and spoke up.
"Yes, that is it. I think the amount of damage done to your world is already significant enough, and you will need all the money you can spare to bring yourselves back to your former glory. Once you make the payment, you will be considered a free man, and so long as you do not leave this world for the next ten years, there will be no issues."
Makin felt a strange surge of gratefulness swelling from deep in his heart, and he bowed his head to Jason thankfully! Makin had been suffering for a very long time by this point! Not only did he suffer at the hands of his brother, but the woman he loved was also taken from him, and the Jamani also threatened his life! So the fact that Jason was finally giving him his first break almost made him tear up!
Jason waved Makin’s thanks away calmly and told him that it was alright, and just before Jason left, he spoke up in a low voice.
"I’ll be bringing your brother back later today along with his wife, and I’ll be very busy for the next few days with the Northern Alliance Academy. If in that time your brother were to come upon some unfortunate accident that ends his life due to all the carnage going on around the kingdom, I suppose there would be nothing I can do."
Jason looked into Makin’s eyes with a calm gaze, and Makin felt his heart rate pick up as he got the hidden message in Jason’s words! Jason had spoken so smoothly in that moment that no one would ever be able to say that Jason had just advised Makin to kill his own brother, and Makin felt a renewed surge of respect and fear rising from deep inside him! What sort of man could talk about death in such a nonchalant manner!? Just how many people had the overlord killed for him to be like this!?
But along with those emotions came an intense surge of determination in Makin’s heart! Makin had already prepared himself to do anything necessary to get his revenge, and now that he had his chance, he was not going to waste it! Makin nodded to Jason once, and Jason smiled calmly before he turned and left the room.
’You’d make a terrifying villain, young Jason. I don’t know if I should be grateful that you never decided to walk on the dark side or sad that I might never see how far you would’ve gone if you were willing to commit any form of evil for the sake of power.’
Esdath’s voice echoed in Jason’s head as Jason walked out of the throne room, and Jason clicked his tongue and told Esdath to shut up! Jason didn’t want to hear something like that from this bastard! Jason turned away from the conversation, and he thought back to the decision he had made. Jason hadn’t given Makin his support back there just because he was trying to be a good person. It was true that Vanix was a monster and he needed to be eradicated to make sure there was peace in this world, but it was also true that Vanix was a very difficult person!
Vanix had a sharp tongue and a strongheadedness that prevented him from following any of Jason’s instructions without pushing back, and after staying here for so long and realising the importance of the Northern Alliance Academy on this world, Jason realised that he needed someone agreeable to be able to make his Academy dream into a reality.
Unlike Vanix, Makin was someone who was more willing to follow Jason’s instructions, and Jason decided he would rather have a king he could control on the throne!
’Your cunning nature never fails to amaze me.’
’Didn’t I tell you to shut up? Ragnar!’
Jason suddenly called on Ragnar, and Esdath screamed as the massive dragon landed on him and began licking his face with its wet and hot tongue! Jason ignored Esdath’s cries and turned to go back to the Academy.