Movements In The Lumoria Kingdom

“Lord Fels, may I have a moment?”

As I was signing documents in the office, I heard a knock and a man’s voice from the door.

“Kiriku? Come in.”

When I replied, Kiriku opened the door and entered.

Since he wasn’t holding any paperwork, it didn’t seem like he was here to bring more documents… though lately I’ve been thinking: doesn’t being Overlord involve an absurd amount of paperwork?

It feels like I need to personally approve everything… well, of course I do.

I’m the highest authority, so naturally they come to me for permission on anything and everything… and the result is this mountain of documents…

Right—improving that would be a future task. For now, Kiriku.

“Did something happen?”

“Yes. We just received word from Karmos. A duke of the Lumoria Kingdom wishes to request an audience.”

“Oh? I thought they’d move sooner. It took them longer than expected.”

It had already been over a month since the last war.

Our subversion efforts were progressing reasonably well, and there had even been a few small clashes with newly risen nobles.

Even though we’d intentionally left the royal capital direction alone, their response still felt slow.

“It seems they were delayed by purging the newly risen noble faction in the royal capital.”

“The old nobility didn’t seem overly fixated on power, but… I suppose they weren’t going to let upstarts do whatever they wanted with the royal capital.”

As I continued speaking—though it was rather late to say this, since the king had already been a puppet—I set down my pen, interlaced my fingers, and leaned back in my chair.

“How do you think the duke will act?”

“According to our diplomats’ investigation, the duke himself, like the other old nobles, seems to have little interest in power. Honestly, I’m curious what kind of upbringing produces someone who can be that detached, but…”

“Hm? Kiriku, are you interested in power?”

“No, not at all. If all worldly authority rests fully under Lord Fels, then all is as it should be. It is a mistake for the rabble to reach for it in the first place.”

Kiriku declared it without hesitation, but… I’m not planning to centralize things to that degree, you know?

“…Sorry. I cut you off. Continue.”

“Yes. As I said, the duke himself lacks ambition and will likely welcome joining under Einheria. However, I believe he will absolutely confirm the concern Eltrise raised earlier.”

“…The dragon and the goblins.”

“Most likely… The duke himself should not care about the goblins if we demonstrate we can defeat the dragon.”

I considered the meaning behind Kiriku’s words.

“If we show enough strength to slay the dragon, then any problems caused by taking in goblins can be dealt with?”

“Yes. In the end, the goblin issue is not that goblins themselves are a threat—rather, it is the pressure from surrounding nations. If we possess sufficient military power to repel that pressure, then what remains is the issue of explaining it to the populace, and that is Einheria’s responsibility. For the duke, it likely won’t matter much.”

As Kiriku said, the problem of prejudice would remain, but that was an issue Einheria would inherit, not the Lumoria Kingdom.

What mattered to the duke was whether we had the strength to avoid being bullied by neighboring countries.

“From what we’ve gathered, the Ground Dragon said to reside in Dragon’s Roost is regarded by the people here as a threat far greater than any single nation. I do think they are being dramatic over something as trivial as a dragon, but…”

“I also thought Karmos and the others were overly frightened, but… it’s possible the Ground Dragon said to exist here is in a completely different league from the dragons we know.”

“Do you think so? Judging by the damage attributed to the Ground Dragon in reports… and by the strength of the Lumoria Kingdom’s troops… I believe that dragon would be no real threat to us.”

As Kiriku spoke with a hand to his chin, I smiled.

Good… Kiriku thought the same way I did.

“Mm. I largely agree. Though I have no intention of letting my guard down.”

“And that is why you have Kamila standing by at the castle. With Kamila, any opponent can be handled easily.”

I nodded to Kiriku, then let out a small sigh.

“If only we could find the dragon soon, this would be simpler…”

“If our diplomats cannot locate it, then the Ground Dragon is likely not in this region at present… Shall we pursue reports of a dragon flying in the sky?”

“That might be worth doing. But at the very least, it’s probably not nearby… and even if we find one, it would be hard to prove it’s the one from Dragon’s Roost.”

If we could prove we defeated the Ground Dragon, that might be enough… but if it’s flying and roaming, its range would be enormous.

If there were other roosts, those places should also be forbidden lands, yet Karmos said no such places existed in neighboring countries.

Which meant the dragon would be traveling distances far beyond a few hundred kilometers… and even with our people who could move at absurd speeds, finding it would still take considerable time.

“I’m also interested in dragon materials… I’d like it to come back soon.”

Do dragons simply live long lives, with a sense of time different from humans?

Leaving your roost empty for months feels a bit too bold, doesn’t it…?

Or does it migrate with the seasons like birds?

No—if that were the case, Karmos and the others should have information like which season is dangerous. Even without stepping into Dragon’s Roost, you’d still be able to see one flying.

…Honestly, we’ve been talking about it this much, so it could show its face any time now. What an inconsiderate dragon…

“I’d like a clear demonstration of strength, but we can’t keep waiting for a dragon that refuses to appear. Have you heard what kind of person the duke is from Karmos and the others?”

“They say he is an earnest man who governed the royal demesne well in place of the puppet king.”

“Hm? Wouldn’t the royal family govern the royal demesne?”

“He managed it in an acting capacity. The duke apparently has his own lands, but because of his royal bloodline, he was entrusted with administration starting in the previous king’s reign. Due to that position, his relationship with the current king was quite poor.”

“…I see. He managed the royal demesne in addition to his own territory. Setting aside the nobles’ power struggles, I’ve heard the various territories in the Lumoria Kingdom are stable—does that include the duke’s lands and the royal demesne?”

“Yes. Tax revenue and population are mostly flat… There aren’t standout achievements, but even during famine or disasters, he responded without major population losses.”

“…He sounds quite capable.”

Keeping things running smoothly in peacetime and responding properly in disasters—he was an excellent asset. I’d love to have someone like that as an administrator.

But even if my rank was higher… I still had to meet a high-ranking official who was actually competent…

Depressing.

Even just talking in a way that satisfies Kiriku and the others was exhausting… and negotiations on top of that…

Ugh… I want to go back to my room and bury my face in Lumina…

Lately, after bathing Lumina and feeding her properly, her fur had become glossy and luxuriant—she was insanely fluffy.

And she’d started rolling over and offering her belly like she wanted to be petted, so her cuteness had reached truly dangerous levels. So dangerous my vocabulary degraded into something unfit for an Overlord.

When I tried to work in my room, Lumina would wander around my feet like she wanted attention, and my eyes kept drifting to her—nothing on the documents would stick in my head. That was why I was forced to work in the office.

Right… what was I saying… the duke.

“As for how we handle the duke, do you have any requests from Kiriku and the others?”

“No. Thanks to the rumors we’ve spread that the Lumoria Kingdom’s army was annihilated, subversion among the lords—old and new—is proceeding smoothly. With the duke himself offering submission, that will accelerate even further. In any case, the duke has likely already made up his mind, and aside from the dragon matter, nothing should go wrong.”

“I see.”

“The reason the duke is acting now is not only that he has finished consolidating power. He is also anxious that we have shown no movement toward the royal capital… and, given how widely the rumor of the army’s defeat is spreading, he fears the movements of neighboring countries.”

At present, the Lumoria Kingdom was essentially a nation in name only.

If another country invaded across the border, local lords might mobilize their own troops to defend, but with nearly half of the national army destroyed, the state itself could hardly send reinforcements.

And an invasion would never resemble the “clean war” we had been waging.

Looting, arson, rape, plunder… The suffering of noncombatants would be beyond description. For the old nobility, who claimed to prioritize their people above all else, that would be utterly unacceptable.

That was why Einheria—my rule—had become the only option: we occupied without brutality, governed well, and expanded control through subversion as much as possible.

“…So by making the duke—currently the highest authority in the Lumoria Kingdom—come in person and declare submission, we publicly mark the end of the Lumoria Kingdom… and make Einheria known both inside and outside.”

“Exactly. Therefore, Lord Fels, act as you please. There is no need to conceal anything regarding the dragon or the goblins.”

“Agreed. Then until the day comes, we gather more information on the duke and the other royal territories, and ensure we give them no openings.”

Kiriku bowed deeply at my words, then left the office.

A duke of the Lumoria Kingdom…

It probably wouldn’t turn into anything strange, but I still couldn’t let my guard down.

If I got pressured into some inconvenient promise, it would be a pain.