You and me under the world tree

Hearing this, Hodder couldn't help but raise his eyebrows.

This kind of information efficiency is okay.

It's only been half an hour since Hodder confirmed that he'd leaked his whereabouts, and he's already fully confirmed where he will be.

It seems that Siegfried does have full control over his city.

At least those people under his command don't eat for nothing.

"So you looked anxious before?"

"Yes, His Majesty is waiting for you in the courtyard now, you..."

"Go ahead, I'll go find him."

"Uh."

After hearing Hodder's extremely happy response, Hagen was a little surprised.

"I think you should know that something happened recently..."

"I know what happened. It's been rumored among the people. That's the only thing that can make this kid Siegfried distressed."

Chapter 20: Integrity and Interest

There is almost nothing in this world that can bother Siegfried.

At least from the perspective of ordinary people, this is indeed the case.

Leaving aside the natural gap at the racial level, anyway, mortals and gods, even those powerful frost giants, are definitely incomparable.

However, at least looking at the entire atrium world, even compared with dwarves and elves, Siegfried's combat effectiveness can be called 'excellent', even top-notch.

He is a top-notch powerhouse in the world and the king of the Netherlands. He is at the top level in terms of fame and wealth.

Looking at it from a human perspective, he has already obtained what everyone dreams of.

Theoretically speaking, he should have nothing to care about, and there should be nothing that can make him feel distressed. At least the daily necessities that ordinary people worry about have nothing to do with him.

But if you think about it carefully, nothing is perfect in this world.

In fact, for Siegfried, the so-called power itself is a kind of bondage.

Because he is not the kind of king who acts recklessly, and he will not use any power to do excessive things, but if he wants to use that huge power for his own use and make it a booster for his ideals, then he is bound to be involved In the whirlpool of the palace.

And there are too many things contained in this vortex, what it tests is no longer pure individual strength, but the wisdom of survival.

Many people wanted to use him, his age, and his status. At this moment, his gender and identity became the best points of attack in the eyes of nobles or kings of other countries.

"I think there should be many courtiers and nobles in the court who want to introduce their daughters or younger sisters to him?" Huo De said.

At this moment, he was walking along the corridors of the palace with Hagen.

As the Prime Minister of the Palace, he has many things to do, so it is naturally impossible for him to accompany Huode back to meet His Majesty the King who is resting.

However, there is still some distance between the vestibule of the palace and the beautiful inner courtyard after all, so they are destined to go the same way.

"Indeed, Your Excellency."

After hearing Hodder's words, Hagen couldn't help showing a touch of helplessness on his face.

"Although His Majesty did not show any impatience on the surface, he has complained many times in private."

Speaking of this, the palace minister couldn't help but sighed.

At the same time, his thoughts could not help but start to diverge, and memories of scenes from the past gradually emerged in his mind.

And those are bits and pieces.

Even in Hagen's view, these bits and pieces couldn't be put directly on the table.

"I probably know what happened to him. These things will always be the constant melody in the palace."

Just when Hagen fell into an inexplicable entanglement over there, Hodder's words came from his ears.

After hearing these words, he was stunned for a while at first, and then showed a slightly helpless and distressed smile.

After all, this man is not a young man, even because of his blood and other reasons, his face has not become very old.

But he is the oldest person in the entire Netherlands, and he is also one of the founders of the Volsung family.

What kind of wind and waves have not seen ah.

After realizing this, Hagen suddenly felt extremely small.

Recently, because of his high position, he has seen a lot of things as the palace minister of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which he could not see as the illegitimate son of the former king of Burgundy.

And with his efforts, he could see the national power of the entire Netherlands rising at an astonishing speed, and the appearance of galloping all the way was enough to make people in any neighboring country look sideways or even worry.

And such things made him extremely proud.

Although he deeply understands that the Netherlands can achieve such results, it is inseparable from the treasures controlled by Siegfried.

Even, it is precisely because of the existence of those treasures that the entire kingdom can maintain stability and develop rapidly.

What Hagen needs to consider is to convert the money on hand into actual benefits that can promote the progress of the kingdom, that is, crazy investment.

As far as work in this area is concerned, he is much more nourished than those lords and nobles who are struggling with cash, or even the king's staff.

After all, Siegfried told him personally that the entire Netherlands is not short of money, and it doesn't matter even if the kingdom's finances maintain a deficit for a period of time.

But no matter what, it is impossible to say that there is no sense of accomplishment in my heart.

He didn't even need to go out, just standing on the steps of the palace and looking into the distance could feel the satisfaction and pride from the bottom of his heart.

Because he is the palace minister, the stability and prosperity of the Netherlands, and even the strength of foreign affairs are inseparable from his efforts.

But now, unintentionally, his pride was completely shattered by the man walking in front.

Although this is nothing more than a trivial matter, he has not been in the court for a while, and those things were completely deduced by him through folk rumors.

And more importantly, his reaction was not only quick, but also very flat, as if everything was under control.

In front of that man, Hagen felt that his so-called achievements seemed to be useless.

After all, what he is doing now, the man named Huo De has already done it once.

For the trading seaport on the northern peninsula, and for the abandoned city in the hinterland of the Atrium Continent, all of these are his handwriting.

More importantly, he was never proud of them.

"I still know that kid Siegfried."

At this moment, Hodder certainly didn't know the thoughts in Hagen's heart, he was just talking about this matter casually.

"Although he has calmed down now, he was very sunny before. More importantly, he can't sit still and likes to make friends, so when those courtiers invite him, he will most likely agree."

If it's just a pure party, or even a private banquet, it's nothing, Siegfried likes these things like his father and brother.

He likes this lively atmosphere...

"But it's a pity that most of the courtiers or other royal families have their own ideas, so the topic will turn to women."

"Yes."

At this moment, Hagen couldn't help but nodded.

"Your Majesty, he has a sweetheart, so he hates this kind of thing, because he can't make it public, so he has been very anxious."

"Actually, that's just one of the reasons, Hagen."

"Ok?"

"Although that kid Siegfried sometimes seems reckless and straightforward, his intuition is quite keen. He likes to make friends, so he likes to treat people with a sincere heart, but this sincere heart can smell the rotten desire, and he Hate that, that's a reason to be annoyed, to complain."

"Your Majesty he..."

"For him, the throne is essential because he wants to realize his ideals, but he doesn't like the dark whirlpools inside the palace, let alone conflicts of interest."

Finally, Hodder stopped his steps, turned around, and then reached out and patted Hagen on the shoulder.

"Perhaps this is the Volsung family. His father is also like this. As a king, they are destined not to have any precious and pure friendship, and what he can cherish is only his former comrades-in-arms. I will trouble you in this regard. Take it easy."

"Yes! I will! This is my duty!"

Facing the sage's gaze, Hagen nodded seriously.

Chapter 21: Expectations

At this moment, Hagen, who was completely immersed in the words that Hodder said, didn't notice that the sage he called respectfully was looking at him with a slightly complicated gaze at this moment.

And for no other reason than just because his name was Hagen.

Hagen from Tronpage...

As for why he feels complicated about his performance, it is also because Hodder is familiar with mythological stories.

This kind of mood is unimaginable for normal people. After all, who would believe that a man who assassinated a hero in the legends and records would devote himself to him now?

On the other hand, Hagen probably wouldn't have thought that although the previous words could be regarded as the sage's true feelings, the encouragement was undeniably utilitarian.

He is doing his best to maintain the relationship between their monarchs and ministers.

Not just at the level of interests, because pure interests can only guarantee that they will not be emotional when they have the same position, but what if conflicts and conflicts occur?

If the interests cannot be tied, then it can only be maintained through friendship.

Thinking of this, Hodder couldn't help pondering for a moment.

"It's not a 'responsibility' thing."

He considered his words carefully.

"Actually, I'm not giving an order. After all, I don't have any official position in the palace. I'm just an idler wandering outside..."

"No one would think so!"

Before Hodder finished speaking, Hagen raised his head to refute this.

He looked serious, as if Hodder's words just touched the bottom line of his heart.

"It is you who have nurtured an excellent king like His Majesty, and you who have laid a solid foundation for the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Without you, the Netherlands may be in a difficult situation now."

This is not a joke, nor is it a flattery that Hagen said on purpose.

The so-called flattery is nothing more than fabricated lies, but now, Hagen is sure that every word he says comes from the heart.

Not because of anything else, because he is the palace of the Netherlands.

Perhaps in the past, most of his respect for Hodder came from his admiration for this elder.

The distance of this kind of worship is actually quite far away, because what he cares about is not the 'Hod' standing in front of him, but the distant sage of the Volsung family who stood with the former God of War.

But not now.

In the position of palace minister, he has come into contact with those things that he could not touch before.

As far as he was concerned, the more he looked at the situation in the Netherlands from a high place, the more he could understand how terrifying this man was, because he had already considered everything at the beginning.

"The seaport you once ordered to build still plays an important commercial role, and the newly built Rhineland city you ordered to build has become a second line of defense."

"The abandoned city is nothing more than a home for the homeless."

"Yes, I understand."

He didn't refute what Hodder said, and Hagen just nodded at the moment.

He felt that he still understood some words.

What is the state of the ruined city of the Rhine? Only those in high positions know.

Although they were one of Siegfried's fortunes, and in return for their assistance, there was an abandoned city for them to live in.

However, these are things from the beginning.

Perhaps Siegfried, as a king with a sincere heart, didn't think there was any problem with this, but Hagen, who was a palace minister, could perceive something deeper.

Hidden danger...

Today, those residents of the abandoned city still uphold a terrible unity, and this unity creates an atmosphere of exclusion.

Even though Hagen tried to squeeze a lot of people in, the residents, even the businessmen, couldn't get into the local atmosphere.

They know that the current king is Siegfried, and theoretically they also uphold a certain degree of loyalty, but this loyalty has prerequisites.