Ripening

News of the war came one week after the day called the Great Battle.

“That’s incredible… The Demon King’s disappearance is one thing, but most of the Masters lost their power, and even the great mages were struck by demonic energy so badly that they won’t be able to use magic for several years… What happens to Masters who lose their power?”

“They say if they find and take the Mandrake Elixir, they can sift out the demonic energy that has infiltrated them. So apparently they’re urgently spreading people all over the continent to procure it.”

“That’s something… But what happened to the Demon King?”

“No one knows the exact reason, right?”

Just in case, I looked at the temporarily named “Mia” as she took a walk nearby with an innocent face.

Since it was difficult to identify her name, I simply named and called her “Mia,” using the word’s meaning as it was, and she seemed to like it herself.

In any case, she said she remembered only some parts from when she had been on Earth, but even those parts seemed scattered in fragments, so I did not ask any further.

“They say it was a great victory, even though some of the Demonic Tribe escaped… Does it make sense to call it a great victory when two million humans died?”

“…Because they think they have brought down one corner of the Demon God. Humans have simple sides, don’t they?”

“…That’s a remark belittling humans, you know?”

Hare only smiled awkwardly. In any case, just as she said, humans did have a somewhat simple side. I thought the real problem was that they believed there was no issue with any process as long as the result was good.

“One corner of the Demon God, huh… Even so, wouldn’t it end once he appoints someone else…?”

The war history between the Demon God and humanity that I had learned had always been like this. In the case of the Demonic Tribe who came to sit in the position of Demon King, they received power from the Demon God and were newly enthroned with strength befitting that position.

Even now, someone might have been preparing to become a Demon King.

If not that, the Demon King who had disappeared could return and go, ta-da.

Whatever it was, it meant the situation was not over. My head was complicated, but in any case, it was also the first refreshing piece of news I had received in a long while.

How nervous had I been, thinking the Demon King was coming to us?

Furthermore, it was unexpected that our territory had once again been mentioned in the praise for this battle’s achievements.

“That fellow Duke Asilbar must really like us. Right?”

“Does Your Highness tend to be popular with men?”

“…I’ll pass. Anyway, since we can say our domain’s fame has risen…”

“Your Highness, you should say it is a nation, not a domain.”

“Are you really doing this…?”

Hare was acting like a teacher. Recently, I had been suffering under a storm of nagging, and Hare had declared that it would only grow worse as time went on, not lessen.

Thanks to that, my stress has been quite high lately.

“Even if you make it very obvious that you don’t want to do it, there is nothing to be done. All that remains is for ‘Your Highness’ to become aware that you have already become a ‘king.’”

“It’s frustrating. That I somehow ended up that way.”

“That’s not all. I did not say it, but… they are also preparing a coronation ceremony in Ing City.”

“…It is an event I know nothing about, so who is being crowned?”

“Your Highness is.”

“So whose decision was that?”

“Hmm… the vassals’ decision?”

That was when I was grumbling and muttering about how wonderfully the country was being run.

“Your Highness! Why do you have that expression?”

At Mia’s question as she approached, I let out a sigh and said,

“They say they are preparing an event for me without my knowledge. Yet they are kindly preparing it despite knowing that I do not welcome that event at all. What wonderfully grateful vassals they are, wouldn’t you say?”

“Hmm… Still, everyone must be working hard for Your Highness, so wouldn’t it be right to think of it positively?”

“….Mia, how could you… You! You don’t have amnesia, do you!”

I abruptly pointed at her in betrayal, but seeing Mia grow dejected, I immediately had to apologize.

“I’m sorry. It was just a figure of speech. Please forgive….”

“No. I hope my memories return as soon as possible.”

Then Mia stood beside me and walked alongside me. Perhaps because we were from the same place, she tended to rely on me even more, and Demina and Hare looked at that pitifully.

Afterward, I began working to finish the schedule in Soil City, and thanks to Mia’s amazed admiration as buildings suddenly rose up, saying it was fascinating, the work proceeded a little more smoothly.

To put it bluntly, my magic power had increased noticeably lately, so with only a short rest, I was now able to construct well over one hundred buildings.

While watching this beside me, Hare had said, “You could be called the God of Magic Power without any shame, couldn’t you?” and that meant the amount of magic power I used was increasing rapidly.

It had reached the point where even Hare said that, compared to herself, my magic power seemed to be at least three times greater.

From what I had heard, Hare had about twice as much magic power compared to a human great mage, so I could recognize just how enormous the amount of magic power I now had was.

‘If I poured all this magic power into making a panic room, would it even withstand a nuclear missile?’

I quietly imagined something strange as I went through my schedule, and after constructing the final planned building in Soil City, I dusted off my hands and said,

“Now, let’s go to Ing City!!”

Ing City was in full swing with festival preparations day after day.

Envoys from various nations were arriving one after another through Rad Harbor, and it was no exaggeration to say that Rad City and Ing City were becoming packed full of many merchants and many people who had been granted limited entry.

Among them, there would be spies, and there were certainly many women aiming for their lord, the King of Ingrad.

There was even an open rumor circulating that among the kings of this era, the King of Ingrad might be the only unmarried one. Among the vassals preparing the festival, the women’s group was particularly under a lot of stress.

“If I had known this would happen, I should have drawn in only some royals. Really!”

At Linda’s complaint, Matilda also said a word.

“Temporarily opening the harbor was within your capacity, wasn’t it?”

“But… you should have stopped me!”

“I told you because I knew this would happen, didn’t I?”

“I understood it differently.”

In the end, Matilda and Linda sighed at the same time. The two women’s new dream was to become “queen.” To be honest, it was a dream they did not know whether they could achieve, but they were making an effort, and they were two women who continued to maintain their relationship with the man they steadily loved.

“Most of the congratulatory envoys coming this time are supposedly represented by princesses, right?”

At Linda’s words, Matilda nodded and said,

“It would be more correct to say not most, but all of them. To put it bluntly, if they can become the queen of our country, they would be able to steal money, technology, and even fame all at once.”

“Haaah… All the princesses were pretty too…”

“They were pretty…”

The two women felt pressure, but there was something they did not know. It was that the princesses who had come as envoys were becoming incarnations of jealousy toward the beauty of the vassals here in Ingrad.

The worries of the vassals who did not know that were growing by the day. However, it was a schedule they had all rushed to arrange themselves, and if anything happened, it would all be their doing, so the tragic part was that they could not resent anyone.

Meanwhile, amid all this, there was a high-ranking envoy who had come from outside.

“This place is… the small nation of Ingrad?”

It was Rex, who had entered Rad Harbor with the Dust of Sands Trading Company, and Idlen carefully moved close beside him and said,

“You were allowed to accompany us because the Archduke earnestly requested it. You are aware that you must not reveal your status… are you not?”

“I know. But unlike what I heard… this is a very outstanding harbor…”

“If you are impressed here, you will end up shocked when you see Ing City.”

“Is it that remarkable?”

“Even once you go up from the harbor and arrive at Rad City, you will have no choice but to be impressed.”

Rex felt curiosity at Idlen’s words, and soon after, he realized that Idlen’s words had been true.

‘Wide and flat roads, broad avenues wide enough for four carriages to run side by side, and city blocks woven like a spiderweb with small side streets… It is quite practical… and there is no congestion. On top of that, the flow of goods is also active, and the people’s expressions are very bright…’

The scenery of Rad City that he observed in a short time was simply impressive.

To put it bluntly, even the capital of the Empire was not this well organized. But at the words that there was a city even more wonderful than Rad City, Rex’s expectations rose for no reason, and he had no choice but to be shocked once more in Ing City, where he arrived while listening to various introductions from Idlen.

Based on the lord’s official residence, broad roads stretched along the walls, and small roads extended out like the rays of the sun, creating quite a wonderful feeling with the same atmosphere as Rad City.

In addition, with the many buildings inside the lord’s official residence, the rows of what looked like warehouses, and even the splendid castle built like a painting at the top of the hill, he felt he understood why Idlen had said he would have no choice but to be impressed when he saw Ing City.

Furthermore, when they moved toward the main gate of the lord’s official residence, the Sky Bridge that came into view also gave off such a wonderful atmosphere that it drew admiration.

He thought that everything was far too wonderful, from the beautiful majesty of the statue of the beastkin goddess, the Goddess Artemisia, to the thing called a “hotel,” a resting space for nobles that towered behind the lord’s official residence.

A building made of sculpting… Rex had never even imagined such a thing, and he was so culturally shocked that he could barely collect himself.

Moreover, public order was being maintained very well, and the “new weapons” the soldiers carried also drew his gaze.

“It looks like a good place to live…”

“It is a wonderful city. Besides, what status do the people working over there appear to have?”

At Idlen’s question as she pointed inside the lord’s official residence, he turned his gaze and examined the people working there. Seeing that they all wore neat clothing, had firm muscles and well-managed faces from eating well, and wore smiles across their faces, he said,

“Are they Free Citizens?”

He thought they were certainly not nobles, and even if he estimated low, they seemed to be at least commoners, but Idlen said,

“All of them are slaves. In the early days of Ingrad Domain, Princess Riana sent several thousand slaves here. Seeing that they are now living so well like that, how do you feel?”

“They really… are slaves?”

With an expression of disbelief, he looked again at the people working, and he saw that all of them were even taking care of tasks that had not been ordered.

Rex thought that even Free Citizens would not work that diligently, and as if the cultural shock was quite great, he was so absorbed in observing the slaves that he paid no attention even when Idlen asked him something.

Idlen, who knew he was a man who could not escape once he focused on something, gave up after adding a few words and had to wait a long while for Rex to emerge from his curiosity. That was when an unknown amount of time had passed.

“It’s been a while, Idlen-ssi.”

At the sound of the man’s voice she had dreamed of hearing, she hurriedly turned her head, and she saw the King of Ingrad, who seemed to have just descended from the Sky Bridge, riding atop a Sain Tribe member. However, while she was happy to see him, what bothered Idlen was that some woman was riding behind him.