Ripening (7)

The road of seeing off the vassals leaving for various places felt quite regretful.

They were moving to close distances they could reach in a day, but it was certain that I would not be able to see them often unless something happened. At least Demina, Hare, and the others would remain in Ing City, so I could see them often, but Wijel, Ulde, and the others would not be people I could easily meet face-to-face under ordinary circumstances.

Furthermore, in Ulde’s case, unless it was a special occasion, there was an aspect where he would be difficult to see even if he was nearby.

As I was organizing my complicated thoughts while watching Wijel, who was the last to leave, Mia approached and asked me.

“Do you feel regretful?”

“Mm… I cannot say there is none of that.”

“Still, they are people going to do great work, so it is right to see them off with a smile.”

“I agree with that.”

Matilda, who was beside me, also agreed with Mia’s words, and I thought the same. So I hid my regretful feelings as much as possible.

That did not mean I was terribly sorrowful or upset.

Should I say I simply felt very disappointed?

In any case, once everyone left and only a few close aides remained, I thought the empty space felt quite large.

“Now, let us all go inside.”

At my words, the vassals answered that they understood and followed behind me. And just as I was about to spend an ordinary day as usual, Hare spoke to me.

“Since you must now live with the status of a ‘king,’ I do not think you should go around as you usually do, Your Majesty.”

“…Let us leave out that ‘Your Majesty’ part.”

“But I cannot call you Lord anymore, can I?”

It was awkward, but this meant I should accept it. I sighed and nodded, and thinking it was fortunate that she at least did not point out the respectful speech, I asked Hare.

“Then how should I act now?”

“I think you should replace it with the work using the ‘mana potions’ we prepared before. Unless it is an extraordinary task, I do not think Your Majesty should step forward.”

“That is wrong. Since that opinion is too contrary to my thoughts, I will correct it. Rather, I think I should be close to the people precisely because I am king.”

“Why?”

The position of a king that I knew was an endlessly high position. However, there had occasionally been kings whose lives were close to the people, and those kings were later evaluated and revered under the name of “sage kings.”

The reason was that they had been able to immediately know what the people wanted and what they lacked, and by dealing with that, they had enriched the quality of life of the people.

When I made such an argument to Hare, she said something unexpected.

“Your Majesty is in a situation where you have many enemies right now. I am saying that the Empire alone is not your enemy. Consideration and concern for the people who must guard you are also necessary. Furthermore, I do not think you can only concern yourself with such things by always being close to the people. So could you listen to us and do that?”

I glanced at Demina, and when her eyes met mine, she spoke about something else.

“Guarding only Your Majesty is possible for me alone. But the problem lies elsewhere. There must be many spies from foreign countries who have entered our country. It is certain that they will carry what they see back to their own countries, and if you show a figure that is unlike a king, I think they may try to damage your reputation.”

“I do not have a reputation to be damaged, though?”

“That is exactly what Your Majesty is mistaken about.”

This time, Matilda spoke. It felt like everyone had made up their minds to restrict my actions, so I asked Matilda.

“What am I mistaken about? Could you please say it clearly?”

Matilda nodded and told me several things. First, the fame of our small country of Ingrad was greater than I thought.

First, compared to the size of a small country, its economy turned independently, and although it did tend to rely on trade, it could supply most things on its own.

And it had not yielded even an inch to the Empire thanks to its powerful military strength and new weapons. Finally, it monopolized an item called Black Gold, which seemed capable of sweeping up all the money in the world. Matilda told me about a variety of things far beyond what I had imagined.

After listening to Matilda’s argument for a while, my head became complicated.

It was a very short time, but thinking that I had truly done many things and would do more going forward, I felt somewhat proud and satisfied.

Rather, perhaps because I was making a proud expression while listening to Matilda’s words refuting my argument, she seemed dumbfounded.

Then Mia asked me.

“You have done that many things, but would your reputation really be damaged just because they tried? I think people would think the opposite instead. Maybe the country runs well because he is that kind of king?”

If one was a citizen of the Republic of Korea, one could not help but learn stories of sage kings, wise kings, or great kings who lived lives close to the people. Even though her memories had disappeared, it seemed that the things she had acquired through long years of learning remained to some degree.

However, those who could be called people of this world had faces that showed they could not sympathize.

“I am sorry, but like Mia said, I think the same. Would it not be fine to create my own method instead?”

“You truly… never break your stubbornness even once. Huuu…”

Hare sighed deeply. But the problem was that Linda looked at those women and said.

“I think this side of His Majesty is good too. Having one’s own stubbornness means that he may go down a dangerous path, but if he can only head in a good direction, then he will be able to take endlessly correct steps… I think it is good.”

Linda said that she thought it was good twice. As the situation turned out this way, Hare, who had resigned herself, said to do as I wished and closed her mouth.

“I am sorry for being too stubborn. But if you tell me to change everything all of a sudden, I think there is nothing more unreasonable than that. I intend to change gradually, so I hope you do not feel too hurt.”

“It is fine. You do not have to say it like that every time.”

After that, we returned to the now-empty inner Keep and called people in order to finish the work that had been delayed during that time.

First, I called Princess Riana and the three Masters. Agnes and Marquis Giltian, whose bodies had not yet fully recovered, looked uncomfortable because their mana had been suppressed for a long time, but even so, I had received a report that their bodies had recently recovered enough that it would be all right for them to teleport.

“I called you to notify you that you may slowly return.”

“…Many things have happened, but you are only meeting me now?”

After hearing Princess Riana’s complaint-like words, I felt sorry for her, but I had to cut her off firmly.

“To say that I am only meeting you now is misleading. I believe you know that Ingrad has also been extremely busy during this time.”

“I know. I know you were extremely busy, but… did you not even have a moment of leisure?”

“I am sorry, and I have nothing to say to you. As the Princess knows, you must know the relationship between our Ingrad and the Terakan Empire, do you not?”

“Why… did it have to turn out like this…? I… came here after mustering my courage. Now, I will ask the person who has become king… Did you truly not have even the slightest interest in me…?”

Princess Riana’s words dripped with lingering attachment. At first, it had simply been a relationship between patient and pharmacist. Then it had begun to develop into a good relationship, and many different things had happened.

‘Perhaps… she may have undergone a change of heart after the treatment for the poisonous spider…’

I recalled that dizzying time back then, then organized my regretful feelings and spoke.

“You were of the status of a princess, and I was no more than a mere Free Citizen. The Princess’s interest was, rather, so great that it burdened me excessively. I acknowledge that you cared about me and treated me well, but… I suppose my answer should be that you are right.”

Though the cold words made me feel upset inside, for the sake of her life as well, there was a need to cut it off clearly.

She had a rather shocked expression, and behind Princess Riana, I could see Agnes and the others looking at her with pity. However, I had no reason to stubbornly say kind words to Princess Riana, so I immediately spoke to Agnes and the others as well.

“Agnes, Marquis Giltian, and Viscount Muriel, make sure to escort the Princess and leave quickly. You should know that the reason I generously spared you is because of the war with the Demon Tribe. If you act toward us as you did before one more time… there will not be a second time.”

Aside from Princess Riana, who had a resentful expression, the three Masters seemed relatively calm, and among them, Agnes asked a question.

“There is something I wish to ask.”

“What is it?”

“How many Masters… exist in Ingrad?”

“Do you think I will tell you?”

“Even the number of Masters I saw seemed to exceed five. What do you intend to do with them?”

“Whatever I do is now my own will. It is not something for you to interfere with or be curious about. Furthermore, I am not the kind of person who idly shows mercy. Even if I were to act on a whim right now and cut you all down, it would not be strange in the slightest. Do not make me think about it any more, and leave.”

Agnes cautiously approached Princess Riana, who had bitten her lip, and pulled her by the arm, and as I watched the four people leave the Audience Chamber with their heads lowered helplessly, I could feel as though I had set down one heavy burden.

Afterward, I received a report that they had returned to the Imperial Family through the magic circle inside the official residence.

“Do you not think it is a waste?”

At Demina’s question, I scratched my head and said.

“It is a waste. It is so wasteful I could die. I even thought about breaking the promise with the Empire and holding them as hostages. But I decided there was no reason to wage an unnecessary war and sent them away…”

At my words, which were dripping with lingering regret, Demina grinned and said.

“From now on, no matter what decision you make, it may not pass by lightly like before.”

“I know. I know what influence a single decision of mine now has. Still, I do not intend to regret it. In the end, it will be the conclusion I made.”

After that, I began receiving envoys from various kingdoms and handling matters related to trade and diplomacy with them. First was the matter concerning exchanges with the Kingdom of Wedia.

The Kingdom of Wedia on the Western Continent was a maritime kingdom made up of three islands the size of our Ingrad Region, and after hearing Linda’s explanation that it possessed excellent shipbuilding technology, our first meeting with them had taken the form of purchasing shipbuilding technology from them.

Currently, the people who had come as representatives of the envoy were Princess Forne de Wedia and a noble called Duke Desilon, under the pretext of assisting her. Remembering that he had called himself the representative of the Technical Department, I asked him.

“I heard the term Leviathan-class. Could I know exactly what kind of class that is?”

“I have heard that the latest ships currently known on the Central Continent have four sails. Those too are extremely large ships and can be called excellent technology. However, you may think of the Leviathan-class as a super-large ship with one more sail than that.”

Even ships with four sails were quite large. Yet a ship that could mount one more sail than that—when even the four-sailed ships I had seen were extremely large—made me wonder just how big five sails would be.

And as if answering my curiosity, Duke Desilon took out a bundle of parchment from a long cylindrical tube and handed it to an attendant.

The attendant received it and brought it to me, then carefully unfolded it and held it up so that I could see. Seeing the complex blueprint drawn on the parchment that unfurled with a rustle and the size of the ship, I could not help but be slightly surprised.

‘Mm… It is enormous. But it seems like it would require quite a huge tree…’

As for timber, it seemed like we could use the massive trees in the Forest of the Demon Dragon, but the problem seemed to lie in the technology for making the part called the keel.

“It looks impressive even at a glance. Is this a simplified design?”

“It is something I personally drew in order to inform you of the basic information of the ship that can be made with the technology you purchased before the technology transfer.”

“You drew it yourself?”

There were clear traces that he had put quite a lot of effort into it. Moreover, because I felt consideration from it, I could feel my favorable impression rising for no reason, and Duke Desilon pointed to Princess Forne, who was still smiling and silent, and said.

“It was something prepared at the earnest request of the Princess, so if you wish to praise the merit, I would be grateful if you would look favorably upon the Princess.”

I could not help but laugh softly. To think he would take care of the princess even at a time like this. His intentions were obvious, but I supposed it could not be helped.