A week had passed since they began their flight to Frieza Planet #314, with the planet now in sight.
Tundra sighed as he looked at the planet, grey from all the buildings covering its surface, thinking that Frieza Planet #314 was a horrible name for a world.
Tundra snapped his fingers for Cherry, who quickly scurried over. "Yes, my lord?"
"Tell Shitaki to come to me."
Tundra had grown used to the amount of reports he had to look over as emperor, meaning Shitaki no longer needed to handle them on his behalf — though he could review them while Tundra was away.
Cherry scurried off to find Shitaki, leaving Tundra alone on his throne, weighing the usefulness of teaching others to sense ki — not that he even knew how to properly teach it.
Teaching ki sensing would make his subordinates more efficient, but it would also allow them to hide far more from him, they could even conceal rebellions. That would be annoying.
He decided against trying to teach anyone to sense ki.
Not long later, Shitaki ran in, books and notes in hand, stopping in front of the throne. "Yes, sire?"
Tundra narrowed his eyes at him. "I don't remember saying what I wanted you for."
Shitaki lowered his head in embarrassment. "Well, you wouldn't need me for anything else right now, would you?" They were bold, but true words.
Tundra nodded before glancing at what Shitaki held. "Good point, but this is not an open-book exam. Set those down."
He pointed at Shitaki's hands.
Shitaki smiled quickly, eager and confident, setting the notes and books aside. "Yes, sire!"
Tundra nodded, appreciating his eagerness, and spoke once Shitaki straightened up.
"First situation: a world under our influence is experiencing a never-before-seen drought and asks for our help. What is your response?"
Shitaki thought for a moment. "Is it an important planet?" he asked hesitantly, unsure whether he was allowed to ask questions.
Tundra smiled. "Good question. Let's just say it's a world currently being terraformed."
Shitaki considered his answer. He wanted to help the struggling race, but his instincts told him that was the wrong response.
"I… uh… I ignore it?" he answered uncertainly.
Tundra nodded. "Correct. A world like that won't provide value, and we are not known for helping with such issues. Now, what would you do if I said they offered 100 billion pol?"
Shitaki knew that 100 billion pol was a significant amount — enough to buy a good planet. He wanted to accept for that price, but he remembered why Tundra had executed Sorbet and ordered the hunt for an innocent family.
"I… I would still ignore it."
Tundra's smile disappeared, and he looked almost disappointed. "And why is that?"
Shitaki immediately realized he was wrong but had to answer nonetheless. "I– I thought you would dislike such… greed, since you killed the previous advisor, Sorbet, because he was greedy."
Tundra nodded. "Hmm… I see why you'd think that. But Sorbet was limiting our technology and reducing the reliability of our equipment. In this case, it would be a simple transaction. Nothing more."
Shitaki nodded slowly. He had mistaken Tundra's hatred of pure greed for a hatred of making money itself.
"I… thank you for clarifying, my lord."
Tundra nodded and held up one finger. "You have one correct out of two. You need the majority out of eight. I do hope you succeed."
Shitaki nodded, preparing himself and internalizing what Tundra wanted from his answers more carefully this time. "I'm ready."
Tundra nodded again. "Good. Third situation: what would you do if someone harmed a high-traffic world — something important — and escaped successfully?"
Shitaki barely needed to think. "I would attempt to locate and capture them."
He looked to Tundra for confirmation, sighing quietly in relief when he saw him nod.
"Good, that was obvious. But how would you pursue and track the criminal?"
Shitaki thought for several minutes, the only sound in the room being Tundra's rhythmic tapping on the armrest. Eventually, Tundra called Cherry for a glass of water.
At last, Shitaki spoke. "I would gather footage from every scouter in the area and attempt to identify them through that, along with logs of ships that departed the planet to determine which vessel they used. Would that be the correct approach?"
Tundra extended his hand as Cherry arrived with a glass of water on a metal tray. He took it, sipping briefly before answering.
"That would be the correct approach, yes."
The questioning continued for some time, with Shitaki answering the remaining scenarios correctly, satisfying Tundra.
Shitaki waited for Tundra to speak after completing the examination with only one incorrect answer.
Tundra tapped the armrest for a moment before stopping.
"What do you think of me? And don't lie. I hate lies. I'm sure I don't need to spell out what will happen if you do."
Shitaki nodded frantically, trying to craft a truthful but respectful answer.
"I… believe you to be a strong leader, fit to be emperor. Your policies are admirable. But if I may… I found your decision to kill Sir Sorbet somewhat rash."
Tundra nodded along, not entirely pleased with the sugarcoating but allowing it.
"Oh? While I agree it may have been rash, I want to hear your reasoning."
Shitaki nodded. "Well, sir, Sorbet would have followed whatever plans you put forward—"
Tundra cut him off. "He lied to me. I do not value liars highly. If they lie once, they will lie again. Continue."
Shitaki gulped. "Well… you could have killed him after extracting all usefulness from him, am I correct?"
"Perhaps. But an advisor like that loses usefulness the moment they lie to the one person they are meant to advise."
Tundra had considered this reasoning the moment he killed Sorbet. His answer came easily.
Shitaki nodded slowly. What kind of advisor lies to their lord?
Tundra pointed at him. "You will handle affairs when I am away. Return to your station."
Shitaki's face lit up with a wide smile. Nearly bouncing with joy, he gathered his books and notes and hurried back to his quarters.
What an upgrade, he thought.