Part 3

The Royal Kitchen…

Reiko Mamiya slumped on the stool and leant forward to rest her head on the large table with an arm cushioning the side of her head. The cook glanced her way, concern etched in her weathered face. She put her hand on Reiko's back, "What's wrong?"

Reiko immediately conveyed her concerns to the cook, whom she regarded as a mother figure about the king's special aide. The young bishounen nobleman from the Tsubaki clan who was also her master and savior had instructed his clansmen who came with him to send his adopted daughter back to the clan. She would be well taken cared for there then here and could start her training as a ward of the prime heir.

The cook nodded as she listened and patted the young woman's shoulder, "I know you're close to Yu-chan. But it's best that she went to the Tsubaki clan household where she could be groomed as a good ward for His Excellency. Besides, she'd come to accept the truthful reasons he'd given her. A young girl in a company of a bachelor wouldn't look good since they're not blood kin."

"But she'd just recovered…" Reiko protested.

"All the more reason for her to be with the womenfolk of the Tsubaki clan," The cook informed her gently, "It is one of the stoic rules of old families. His Excellency's thinking about her welfare and if she's here with him, he wouldn't be able to give his all to his job."

Reiko nodded slightly still a little depressed, "Even when Yu-chan was around, it didn't deter him from giving his all and with her gone now he'll become worse than a terror."

He was a hardworking official, bordering on being a workaholic. He was a terror to those deserving his wrath, but a superb leader, master and a doting father. When not on a mission outside the royal palace, he would have his meals in his office while working diligently at his large, highly polished desk. Reiko noticed that he would skip meals or forgot to eat when he was engrossed in his paperwork or reviewing reports.

At times when he did forget to eat she would bring light meals and forced him to eat in front of her. He complied begrudgingly but he always thanked her with a smile later. Sometimes, he'd doze off with an arm supporting the side of his face. He looked composed and determined even in his sleep yet there were faint dark circles round his tired eyes. She wondered what manner of person was so driven to finish everything in a hurry.

The cook clasped her hand to her ample bosom. "Yes, that's what I heard from the others. Aya, the chambermaid told me he hadn't slept in his bed for four nights and had made camp in his study instead. That can't be a healthy thing for a virile man."

Reiko smiled widely at the word virile. "Oba-san, I haven't seen or heard of him going to anyone for pleasure or anyone coming to him for it."

"That doesn't mean he's celibate." Pouted the cook, the she continued, "Anyway, the other day, Chiie told me she'd never before had a lord who's as neat as Lord Haruka. He'd have his dirty clothes in the basket, rubbish in another. Other lords would just dump them in a messy heap or scattering them everywhere on the floor." Her eyes then wandered at the freshly steamed lotus buns, while her mind working on the menu list for tea. "You're his personal maid, what do you think of him personally?"

Reiko looked thoughtful, "When I first met him, he was frightful. He didn't blink in hesitation and his actions were like lightning. Now, I see a different person. He doesn't care much for himself. He puts everyone else's needs before his. He's so tired. But, he continues on added reserve. I don't know where he gets such energy. I fear if he doesn't take care, he'll fall sick." Her face contorted in worry for her boss.

"Not only you have this concern, all of us do." The cook replied, than looked dreamily, "He's such a wonderful person. Yu-chan's a lucky girl. I heard from Kizaki, the gardener that both father and daughter would spend their time in the evenings at least twice a week in the garden. He would teach her the meaning of each flower there, even Kizaki didn't know of some until he came."

"Yu-chan doesn't call him father. She calls him 'Haru-nii-sama." Reiko clarified.

"As should be," The cook agreed, "He's too young to be called father."

"That man's a mystery and a source of dreamy reflections for women." A raspy voice came from an old man named Wakeru. He's a retired stable steward whom Lord Haruka requested to stay on to supervise the young stable hands. But, his voice held a fondness for the new lord. "He treats his hired hands and horses with equal care. You can't find that sort of inner quality around anymore. I hope he marries well and breeds well too."

"Why do you always have to compare horses and people?" The cook huffed in slight annoyance at Wakeru's crazy reasoning.

Wakeru snorted, "Animals have feelings too you know. They know when they're despised, when they're in pain because the master treats them badly and they know and would do anything for a master that loves them. That's why! I don't think it's wrong to say he'll breed good sons and daughters. As it is he's already got a daughter without much fuss. Only a man of good breeding would be granted by the Gods such honour. That's why!"

Reiko patted the old man's gnarly hand. "Calm down. Don't get your hackles up."

But, the old man rankled on inaudibly as he walked out of the kitchen. She could only catch two words, 'bad king.' She looked at the cook who was also looking at her. They were thinking the same thing about the 'bad king.' The 'bad king' wasn't the current king that the old man was cursing but the former king. The former king was the shadow king's second brother who was known as the demon king. He was indeed a terror for his cruel, inattentive and insensitive ways that had the nation suffering in despair while his officials did so many atrocities that went unpunished.

He didn't find it was worth his time to build his nation unlike the current king, but wanted the nation to work needlessly for him and squandered the treasury for his insatiable sinful appetites. Over the course of five years since he took reign from his eldest brother who'd died of a rare, incurable disease and ascended the throne, there wasn't an iota of nation building. His method of reign was to oppress and suppress. The more you opposed the more oppressive the royal officials became and the more depressive you were the easier for them to suppress your will.

The brave ones died in the dungeons, broken of spirit, mind and body. Their bloated, mangled bodies were put on display for those having aspirations of opposing the demon king. The families of the dead were harassed, beaten and slaughtered on sight. There was no such thing as exile in the demon king's dictionary. The people were leaving in fear and felt the growing hatred towards the king. Many opted to leave the kingdom in the middle of the night and in silence for there were no such things as leaving the kingdom.

Those captured would be tortured and burned alive. Now, they all felt relieved that the demon king was dead, assassinated by an unforeseen enigma. Since the current king came to power, everyone knew that he would bring prosperity to the kingdom. He was such a man and many had wanted him to be king instead of the second brother. But it was an old tradition that there would be a contest for the successor to the throne. The winner would succeed and lead the nation.

The contest was decided by the counsel elders. They'd chosen hand-to-hand combat in which he'd lost to his second brother. Although he was much better at governing the nation yet luck was against him. But when he ascended the throne, he'd decided to appoint a 'special aide' to investigate his brother's assassination and at the same time reconstruct his nation for progress. The servants networking services were splendid as usual. Information was accurate but Reiko hadn't a doubt that the investigation would lead to nowhere.

People were joyous that he was killed. People would help in any way to bury even cold evidences. That was how much the people despised the late king. However, she was sure that he'd find ways and means to bring it to light. Though, Lord Haruka's time in the kingdom was limited, he'd done so many amazing things for the betterment of the people. Many people thought, the shadow king was right to appoint him as his 'special aide.'

But, Reiko knew that Lord Haruka wasn't the type to stick around. He'd a job to complete and when he was done he'd be on his way back to his clan on Mount Shiraku. When he did, she'd follow him. She'd no one else. All her family members were slain by the demon king. A loud clatter brought her out of her reverie. An empty silver platter was on the floor. She quickly excused herself and went about her next chore.

In the Records Department…

"Weihhh…! I can't stand this anymore!" Hizaki Junta groaned, collapsing in a chair and wiping the sweat from his forehead. "He even requested for all the prison wardens' logbooks from two years ago and prisoner records from the prisoner outpost camps."

The amount of paperwork was piling up high. The backlogs for two years just finished, now the paperwork for one month was as much as the backlogs for two years! The king's troubleshooter had set standards to be followed by all the departments. Junta was the royal scribe and archive keeper. His job was to record and update all policies, amendments, acts, and everything written (you name it and they were all here in this department).

"Come on! Don't be such a baby." Miyake Asano, Junta's senior glanced up from his pile of paperwork, sorting them by dates and importance. He glared at his junior for his immaturity. "This should be the way. The backlogs were supposed to finish last year but because there weren't any documents to be recorded or archived so we took our time to finish it."

"But, in a space of a month! It's shouldn't be this much. It's like an avalanche of paperwork," Junta pointed at the stacks of paperwork on the floor. "See!"

"It goes to show, our officers weren't doing their jobs." Asano snorted in disgust, "Serves them right to be under the watchful eyes of the troubleshooter." He smiled widely, "But, we can be thankful to Lord Haruka, not only he's a genius, he's also very generous."

Both royal scribers nodded in agreement, gulping as they eyed the food on the table that was sent and served to them every day from Lord Haruka Ran. It was the troubleshooter's way of saying, "Thank you for your hard work."

Somewhere in a newly formed department – Operations Department…

"I don't believe this!" Shouji Komada, the royal treasury secretary of the kingdom raising his fists to the air. "How can I come up with the estimation of penalties for back taxes, misappropriation of employee salary distribution, illegal goods, expiration of license, license suspended, license revoked, unhygienic establishment, pest infestation, for Doumu Docks by tomorrow?"

The cooperation between three main departments formed under the tight supervision of the king's troubleshooter, consisting of Treasury, Enforcement and Civil Affairs. The main purpose was to verify problems, sort problems by situations, ensuing efficient and effective solutions, execute solutions to various problematic hotspots, and ensure solutions were supported with counter-measure solutions and future expansion of nation building plan programmes for each sector in the kingdom.

Vice Chamberlain Sashimaru Daizen suggested, "Ask Junta for the Doumu Docks records. I'm sure they've done a thorough write-up about the findings there from Capt. Murasaki of the Royal Enforcement department." Daizen was an excellent assistant head for civil affairs section, but considered quite a wimp when it came to situational conflicts.

Komada showed him his fist. "If you hadn't fainted like a woman in that disgusting tavern, I needn't ask that snot-nosed smarty pants for anything." He bent to retrieve his prized peacock quill that had fallen to the floor. "Maybe I'll just ask Capt. Murasaki for it. It'll be easier for me."

"He's not here. He's gone to the military outpost in Rikaku Desert. He has business to attend to there." Daizen's face was red with embarrassment and anger. He was shaking now with accumulated anger at the secretary's gibe.

He rose and walked straight at a wide-eyed, surprised Komada, "There's nothing easy in this world. You've got no idea what's out there. Have you seen depravity? Have you seen cruelty amongst commoners? Have you seen impoverishment or malnourished children or starving adults? Have you seen hopelessness and haplessness? Have you seen death up close and personal? I have. I may not be an expert, but if we let this go on, we won't survive!"

He wasn't that wimpy to begin with. He just couldn't take the terrible smell and pest infestation in that beyond help tavern. He had known the state of commercial sectors were bad, but hadn't known that they were deplorable. There were worst cases than the Doumu Docks from his investigations with his team after three stints and stings with the fearsome troubleshooter.

His stints with the troubleshooter was one of the best times of his life and scariest too. Yet from the stints he had gained the needed exposure to perform his job well. Even now he shuddered at the thought of the way Lord Haruka handled any given crisis thrown at him. He would think and take action on the spot. It was a fascinating and inspiring thing to experience from his viewpoint.

Everything that the troubleshooter did was spontaneous and brilliant. It was a rare thing to witness a high official to do that. Most would either think but don't do or do but don't think. Those that try to do both would be hampered in their attempts to make the nation a better place if it were the old regime under the demon king. The demon king wasn't one to lift a finger but one that made things hard even for good and clean officials to do their jobs properly.

Also, backstabbing was common in the royal court and out of it in places like official departments. He was one such victim. He nearly got thrown out of the ministry. But, his mentor when he first was an apprentice vouched for him and he was transferred to his mentor's department. Let's just say it was all down to bureaucracy red tapes. That was why the governance was in a huge mess.

Komada shrank back in his seat looking disconcerted and sheepishly asked Daizen a question that was in his mind since the troubleshooter would always request Daizen's input on certain civil matters. "What's Lord Haruka like?"

Daizen smiled wickedly at his colleague, "I knew you'd ask me that. Actually, he was looking for an expert on palatial expenditure, and guess what, I recommended you!"

"Ehhhhh??" Komada's eyes grew wide in horror, and his eyebrows arched high in alarm.

Elsewhere in the Rikaku Desert – Military outpost…

Capt. Murasaki and two of his subordinates dismounted from their horses and handed the reins to the privates' in-charge. One of the two was limping on a wooden foot, his composure lank. When he saw Murasaki, his posture changed, suddenly becoming ramrod still. His face contorted in fear and shame. He was one of the men in the tavern a month ago and had the misfortune to cross his fate with the king's troubleshooter. Murasaki caught the bewildered man's eyes but he looked ahead and walked toward the garrison's office.

Rikaku Desert was a no man's land. A place filled with abundant barrenness. All a person could see was miles and miles of sand, sand hills, with frequent sandstorms, quicksand and sand slides. It's a terrible place to be in. There were all sorts of monstrous creatures hiding beneath the sands. Murasaki and team were at constant vigilance, during their journey to the outpost.

An incident happened two days ago when one of the horses carrying Harran's subordinate was pulled in by what they thought was a quicksand but it turned out to be a 'rattletula'. It was a cross between a tarantula and a rattlesnake. It was horrendously gigantic with venomous fangs and spike-like rattler. The spike-like rattler pierced through the horse's hind leg and pulled it into the ground. Another subordinate rescued him before he met with a horrific end.

But, as dangerous as it was, this place was an open territory. Enemies could infiltrate by thousands if they were strong-willed and have good survival and fighting skills. It could pose a problem for this kingdom. That was why Lord Haruka came up with a plan that could save this kingdom from being conquered. He had developed an astounding stratagem that made the kingdom's generals looked incredibly insignificant in comparison to his plans for this outpost.

Thinking about the troubleshooter, Murasaki was surprised at his cool and calculating manner when dealing with those who had made a mess of justice. As the king's special enforcer he was given absolute authority to be judge, jury and executioner. Thus, his decision was based on the situation presented. Although, he was of slight built and beautiful, there was nothing to suggest him being effeminate. His unorthodox ways was both refreshing and frightening to witness.

Murasaki would often compare the king to him in his mind of their methods in dealing problems at hand. Their primary method was similar, which was to rule and conquer. Their secondary method differed. The king was inflexible and inconsiderate at times toward the nation's needs. The troubleshooter was adaptable and perceptive of the predicament plaguing the nation. As a military man and royal enforcer, he was bound to protect and serve the shadow king but given a chance he would give his life for a person who truly did his best and gave his all for the betterment of the nation.

Capt. Daisuke Hirota, a grim, battle hardened veteran of three major wars greeted Capt. Iruka Murasaki with a firm handshake and both bowed. Their meeting for the structured strategy for the desert outpost commenced.

TO BE CONTINUED…

A/N: It's best for the readers to know of the other characters POVs on Lord Haru and Shadow King before proceeding further. Next chapter would be the POVs from the two Tsubaki clansmen (Hiitachin twins) and the two Mount Shiraku guardians (Mori and Hani) as they interact with Lord Haru and the Shadow King. Why? Simple, it's fun to switch their roles from being rich princes to being ranking retainers. Tamaki… well his character comes in later chapters as the story deepens. As usual, I prefer OOCness.