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Chapter 132: Everything Starts with a Rough Departure
“Hey, can I ask you something? Are you really okay?”
“Shut up. Who… Whoa! Isn’t that Eril?! Long time no see…”
“So, you’re the king of Juka Kingdom… You really went all out! What do you plan to do?”
“Well, even if you ask what I plan to do, there’s nothing I can do about the situation I ended up in. I have no choice but to do it. Oh, by the way, milady.”
“What?”
“When you appeared in my dream the other day, I couldn’t hear your voice, but you were pointing towards the forest, right? What was that about?”
“I was showing you the direction where the Inugami is. What? Didn’t you notice?” (T/N: Inugami = dog god)
“I have no idea about that.”
“You said you wanted a child, so I was trying to lead you there, but you didn’t show any intention of going. And now you’re becoming the king of Juka! I really don’t understand!”
“I don’t understand either. But thank you. So you were telling me the location of the Inugami. I’m happy about that. But I recall it takes about half a year to reach where the Inugami is, right?”
“That’s on foot. If you ride a horse at full speed, you can get there in two months!”
…That’s too far.
“So, what are you going to do now?”
“First of all, I will ensure that the people have enough to eat. Matters of formality and etiquette can come later. They say that when you have food, clothing, and shelter, then you can learn about courtesy. I’ll focus all my efforts on securing food, clothing, and shelter.”
“That’s good. You should convey that to the people yourself.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes, I’m sure of it!”
“I understand, I’ll give it a try.”
“Linos…”
What is it?
“…I guess there’s no helping it. From now on, I’ll protect you. Don’t worry.”
What does it mean to “not worry”? Huh? Where are you going? Whoa, you’re fast. Where are you going, Eril? Hey, Eril!
When I woke up, it was still late at night. Tomorrow would be the day I go to Juka for the first time as the king. Maybe I was feeling excited. I looked around and saw Rico quietly breathing in her sleep. Rico’s sleeping face truly soothes me. If things don’t go well, I’ll rely on Rico to comfort me again. Thinking that made me feel a little relieved. And so, I got back into bed.
The grand square in front of the Western Gate in the royal capital of Juka Kingdom. Thousands of people had gathered here. Nobles, soldiers, citizens, merchants… When was the last time this many people had gathered? Perhaps it was during Commander Kargi’s rebellion when the people of the capital were in chaos, trying to escape. And in front of the city gate, a few adventurers and knights holding helmets in their arms were lined up.
From among them, a man confidently climbed the stairs and ascended to the top of the gate. Then, right at the middle of the gate, the man unleashed something like a magical effect that spread throughout the entire square.
“…Ah-ah-ah. Check, check. One-two, one-two. Can you hear me? Today, I’ve set up a barrier so that my voice can be heard here. Well, you guys probably know me, but I’m Linos, the new king of this country. Nice to meet you. I gathered you all here today because I wanted to share my thoughts on the future of this country. By the way, I’m open to opposing opinions, so feel free to voice them.”
The man cleared his throat and began speaking again.
“First, what I want to ask everyone is that I want to rebuild this country. I don’t intend to return to the previous Juka Kingdom. If we do it, we’ll do it thoroughly… I intend to create a country where everyone can live comfortably. So, um… yes, as for those details, we’ll decide on them gradually. But from me, I want to establish two things, or rather, set two requests for everyone.”
A wave of tension spread among the people.
“It’s nothing difficult. It’s something that should be natural for every person. The first is not to cause trouble for others. Whether it’s your parents, children, wife, lover, or friends. Well, it can’t be helped if children or the elderly cause trouble. However, I want everyone to strive to live without causing trouble to others. And the second is to help others. It can be anything. Please lend a hand to others in some way. I want these two to be the guiding principles of our country.”
The crowd looked stunned.
“Oh, and if I fail to uphold these principles, don’t hesitate to point it out. First and foremost, I want to rebuild this country. I want everyone to have clothes to wear, a place to live, and food to eat. As for the finer details of governing the country, we’ll decide after ensuring those basic needs are met. First and foremost, let’s work together to revive this country. I count on your support.”
The man let out a sigh and continued speaking.
“Now, I have something to discuss. I’m thinking of changing the name of the country. Isn’t ‘Juka’ a bit… suggestive of a great demon king? I feel like it could have various implications in the future. So, I’m considering changing the country’s name to Agarta. What do you think? If you have any other suggestions, let me know. I’ll give it a week. The deadline will be at 12 o’clock in a week from now. Thank you.”
With that, the man swiftly descended from the city gate and left.
…I believe I have conveyed my message to the people. I don’t know what will happen from now on, but I have vowed in my heart to rebuild this country. Rico is already preparing for the establishment of the country’s system, and Gon and Mei are conducting research on soil conditions and local products. My immediate concern is to make money. It’s crucial for the nation. It may sound cunning, but I intend to focus on that for now.
“Agarta?”
The hand signing the documents paused. As the man raised his head, the fat on his cheeks jiggled. He stood up pompously, turned on his heels, and stared out the window.
Madlin, the Prime Minister of the Laramon Empire, wore an unpleasant expression as she gazed at the stormy sea reflected in the window of her office in the royal palace.
“Also… a letter has arrived from the Hideita Empire regarding prisoners of war.”
“Prisoners of war? What are they talking about?”
“…They want to discuss a prisoner release agreement.”
After a moment of silence, Prime Minister Madlin turned abruptly, muttering disdainfully.
“Ignore it. We don’t have time to discuss prisoners in our empire.”
“Understood.”
The man bowed respectfully and left the room. Prime Minister Madlin let out a sigh and sat back at his desk, reading through the documents. He scanned the numbers written on them. Hee had to sign them, but his hand holding the pen was trembling.
At that moment, a knocking sound was heard at the door. With a stern look, the Prime Minister grumbled impatiently, “Come in.”
Entering the room was General Calius.
“Oh, General, what brings you here all of a sudden?”
“I just came from the presence of Her Majesty, the Empress.”
“Empress? And what did Her Majesty say?”
“She ordered us to attack Hideita.”
The Prime Minister looked up at the ceiling.
“That would be impossible… Hideita probably withdrew its forces almost unscathed, right? Attacking Hideita now would be suicidal. Besides, the logistics…”
“I mentioned that as well. However, Her Majesty seemed quite upset.”
“Well, perhaps she hasn’t heard about the complete annihilation of the Matokal Unit. I believe I informed her that we were forced to retreat when the large army from Hideita attacked?”
“Yes. Her Majesty believes that if that is the case, Hideita must be vulnerable now. It’s a perfect opportunity to capture their imperial capital, the main stronghold of Hideita.”
“If that were possible, we would have done it by now. I have repeatedly told you, as the Prime Minister, that we don’t have enough food to sustain our troops. Why can’t you understand that?”
“Her Majesty believes there is enough food.”
“Hmm, that’s news to me.”
“She suggested taking a mountain route to Hideita’s capital. There should be edible wild vegetables in the mountains. If we encounter edible monsters, we can sustain ourselves by eating tree roots and leaves,” the general explained.
“…That’s just like Her Majesty’s way of thinking.”
General Calius and Prime Minister Madlin exchanged wry smiles.
“For Her Majesty, high mountains and wide rivers are of no concern at all. She just looks at maps and orders without any consideration for the hardships of climbing mountains in heavy armor, the time it takes, the heat and cold. I wish I could be like that. How easy it must be to plan operations without any worries. From Her Majesty’s perspective, the imperial capital and Hideita seem close on the map. It’s not unreasonable to believe that we can capture the capital by attacking immediately.”
“Well, well, General, you have it tough as well.”
“More importantly, Prime Minister, how is this year’s harvest?”
“Not good. If things continue like this, the people will starve.”
“Indeed, perhaps it would have been better to take all of Juka’s crops back… Especially since it’s a wheat-producing region. We could have eliminated the people of Juka and replaced them with our own citizens for the harvest… Now that plan has completely failed, what should we do?”
General Calius murmured, staring into the distance. Prime Minister Madlin let out a sigh and said, “When it comes to agricultural products, it’s our responsibility. We have no choice but to do what we can. General, try to devise a strategy to obtain Agarta’s crops.”
At that moment, there was a knock on the door, and a chamberlain entered the room.
“Prime Minister, Her Majesty is calling for you. She requests an urgent meeting.”
“Understood, please inform her that I will be there shortly.”
The chamberlain respectfully bowed and left.
“…Is Her Majesty referring to the Emperor, or…?”
“General, let’s not discuss such vulgar matters.”
General Calius chuckled wryly.
“By the way, Prime Minister.”
“What is it?”
“There’s been something bothering me for a while now.”
“Something bothering you?”
“You’ve been mentioning Agarta. What exactly are you referring to?”
The dry laughter of Prime Minister Madlin echoed in the room.