Hold on a mont!
As I froze upon hearing Roroas sudden marriage proposal, a flustered Liscia ran down and pressed on to Roroa.
Youre Amidonias princess, right! What are you saying!
Whut do ye an whut? The sa as you, big sis
Big sis!?
On the other hand, Roroa was still at ease.
Big sister Liscia is Elfriedens princess too, aye? The reason fer ye to marry Soma-hanwas at first to give him a case to govern Elfrieden, no?
H, how did you!?
Dinnae be underestimanting rchants. And then Im the sa. By marrying , Soma-hangains a case to rule Amidonia. Hed sowhat lessen the chance of rebellion by the people
Well yes, but even if its that way in the beginning, but Im now completely doing it to support Somas rule. Theres my feelings for him too. Not just for giving him a case. , Aisha, and also Juna, we all chose to stay by Soma ourselves!
Being sort of confessed to so loudly made , who was listening from the side, feel embarrassed. However, even having listened to Liscias proclamation, Roroa said with a grin,
Ah, naught a problem then. I like Soma-hanplenty myself.
that easily.
Back when I was sheltering in Nerva, I saw the Royal Broadcast. That was revolutionary I say, and theres still a lot of uses for it, too. Ye could make a fortune depending on how ye use it. Lets see both the Kingdom and Principality have Purveyors, aye? The one where the highest quality items they present gets a seal of approval from the governnt? That is simultaneously a guarantee of the quality of the item and publicity for only the guaranteed goods. So whut about taking just a wee bit of ti on the Royal Broadcast to publicize these goods for a fee? Big rchants who want to publicize their goods will be willing to spend a lot of money for it I think.
Ah, I see. You want to air comrcials
That was a blind spot. Currently the Royal Broadcasts were airing public broadcasts. I havent thought much about comrcials at all. Because I didnt think that the idea of becoming a TV sponsor exists in a world without TV. But just like Roroa said, there are rchants like Purveyors who do trade by publicity. Theyd be willing to part with money if we gave them a place to advertise. Using that for program production costs would help lighten national expenditures.
As I was thinking, Roroa flashed a grin.
Soma-hanlooks like ye could bring both Elfrieden and Amidonia together to a more prosperous era. I think theres going to be a lot of fun things if I stay with ye. Ive always thought that its better to marry soone fun
Roroa are you sure youre alright with ?
I looked Roroa straight in the eye. This is sothing I must ask of her.
Im the man who killed Gaius your father
The air froze as I said so or so I felt. Unexpectedly however, the only ones who are tense were people from the Kingdom. Roroa only calmly shrugged.
If yere going to say that, then Im the one who drove out brother. I used the rchants network to cause many riots to happen at the sa ti
Ah so the simultaneous riots really were this girls plan.
About Lord Faither, ye neednae lose sleep on him. Or would ye prefer a girl who glares at ye saying how dare ye kill my faither! ?
Um, its not about preference
Seeing baffled, Roroa breathed a sigh.
well, not that I didnae feel anything. Hes still my faither after all. But, he was also going to kill ye as well, aye? A battlefield is where ye kill or get killed. That is sothing that cannae be helped anymore. Yeve also kindly returned his body, so theres nought left for to say
Well it only shows how much we dinnae get along that I only felt this much.
Roroa said with a sowhat lonely look.
Lord Faither and brother were so obsessed with revenge to the Kingdom, they couldnae see the reality. Amidonia is a poor country. We have mines, but thats all we have. Were also not food sufficient. The ones to make the people suffer isnae the Royals or the people of Elfrieden, but hunger and poverty. What we really need are jobs and food. We, that is , Colbert, and the officials, desperatly tried to raise money, but Lord Faither puts them into army spending right away
We managed to reduce the number of people that are starving, the girls selling themselves off, the children who had to be sent away. Fueling hatred for the Kingdom to suppress dissent isnae healthy. Soday its going to fail. But even so Lord Faither never lent us an ear. I wonder when it began when did I stop thinking of him as family
Roroa shook her head, pulling herself together, and made a grin.
My family is already old man Hermann and big brother Colbert, and also the uncles and aunties living in town. The ones I want to protect isnae the family only connected to by blood, but the ones important to
She wants to protect not the family only connected by blood, but the ones important to her. Back when we negotiated post-war arrangents, Julius cast Roroa away, thinking she would beco a political opponent. And now, Roroa is also abandoning Julius. It shouldve been even, but sohow, I felt more filial piety in Roroa. Probably unlike Julius, Roroa understands the importance of family.
One more thing. The insurrection in north-western Amidonia the other day, causing Julius to co cracking down, is that also your instigation?
Id never do sothing like that!
For the first ti since Roroa was here, she was angry.
In fact, I made it so that the rebellion happens at the sa ti to avoid that. Rendering brother immobile so he dinnae oppress the masses
So the insurrection in the northwest happened on its own?
Thats also wrong. Judging by the location, whats near the northwest where it happened? Was there anyone who acted strangely?
! Holy Orthodox Empire Lunaria!
The Holy Orthodox Empire Lunaria was to the northeast of Amidonia, and they sent troops to the border in order to take care of their believers within Amidonia. Roroa made an annoyed look and nodded.
Religious affairs go beyond borders. Being so close to the Holy Orthodox Empire, that area had lots of Lunarian believers. The Orthodox Empire probably instigated the believers with a papal commandnt. They dared send in troops and call it protecting the believers
But the northwest isnt a prosperous land, right? What would the Orthodox Empire gain from it so much as to cause an insurrection there?
Whut they want isnae land, but people, believers. True believers, no matter how much they suffer, willnae latch away from the Holy See. Troubles and hardships are a trial from the gods. Therefore the country never has to think about the peoples well being. They get support so long as they observe the rites. Thats why the country is happier the more believers they have.
Nothing quite as troubleso as that, huh speaking of which, you sound like you really dont like the Lunarian Church, Roroa
I dinnae care about the Church itself. Whut I hate is the bastards using religion for politics, filling their own pockets while causing suffering.
Hmm, I guess mixing religion with politics does cause trouble no matter what world youre in. Youre using sothing that was supposed to heal peoples hearts as justification to do what you want. Interpretation of dogma is left to the powers that be, condemning people under the na of god for being heretics, for not espousing the sa creed as themselves. Really, theres nothing quite so troubleso.
Id rather avoid having anything to do with any of it if I could
But ye cannae do that, aye? That countrys going to contact you eventually
Why!? Im not a believer
Because that country detests the Star Dragon mountain range and the Grand Chaos Empire
The Star Dragon mountain range is obvious. It is the (de facto) country of intelligent dragons, and the faith of the Mother Dragon that inhabits it is one of the two great faiths of the continent along with the Lunaria Church (though its unknown what they believe in the Demon King Territory). Thats why the Orthodox Church would obviously detest the Star Dragon Mountain range, being the seat of the faith of the Mother Dragon.
Ye ken that the Empress Maria is called the Holy Maiden, aye? The citizens that were saved by her relief policies called her that on her own. In the Lunaria Church, the right to na Holy n and Maidens belong to the Pope. The Lunaria Church actually has soone they call the Holy Maiden. Which is why to the Orthodox Empire, Lady Maria is soone who sullies the title of Holy Maiden.
Since its the people who called her that, Lady Maria did nothing wrong, right?
They dinnae care. A religious country seeks charisma over everything else. Its a slight on their honor for a Holy Maiden to just spring up on her own. Which is why after absorbing Amidonia and expanding your power, ye cannae expect the Orthodox Empire to leave ye alone. Theyd try to probe you out sowhere. They may even slap a Saint title on ye and drag ye along in their fight with the Empire.
Uwaa its scary howlikelythat is. The secret alliance with the Empire, with it being secret and all, cannot be publicized to other countries (in fact, since it would be a problem if it were ever found out, both countries intelligence bureaus work around the clock to keep it under wraps). I have seen how the Church stabilized their own influence by giving the powers that be a spiritual position, back in the histories of Earth. They could possibly start calling us Holy Elfriedenian Empire and set us up to head the fight against the Empire.
But that said, its not easy to just antagonize them. The problem with religion is that even when you crush their ho base and kill their leaders, their believers will remain. The more you suppress the believers the more united they beco, and the leaders you killed will be revered as martyrs. Furthermore, most of these believers are common citizens. It would be just short of a genocide to eradicate all believers. I cant join or antagonize them. Seriously, such a pain.
Wincing back from the bad imaginings, my shoulder was stroked by Roroa, who switched the topic.
Well, lets leave the matter about the Orthodox Empire for now. What ye should decide now is about our marriage
Uuuh
Soma-han Do ye want , or do ye not?
A straight-ball question. A pair of big round eyes looked straight at mine, looking like the puppy from What to do, Aifl?1. Well, since you asked like that, then the answer is obvious.
I do
There were just too many benefits to marrying her I desperately want to reach out and grab her. Firstly, marrying Roroa would reinforce the legitimacy of the Amidonia rger. Secondly, she was attractive from a personnel point of view. She had the economic foresight to co up with a source of revenue in advertising, and independently establish a rcantile network. It was also well that she understands the tricks that nobles use, which is sothing that Hakuya and I had overlooked. Both she and Colbert are talented people I want to have at all costs.
Furthermore, I have a good impression of Roroas way of thinking. Her downtown rchant spirit, or rather, the way that even when shes a realist that screams The world, its money! she was still aware of duty and humanity. The money she earns for the people, she uses for the sake of the people, even though it didnt co to bear fruit thanks to Gaius actions. She had the guts to butt heads with her own brother for the people she cares about. To top it off, theres nothing to complain about having such a cute girl wanting to marry . If theres a problem that would be what Liscia thinks. Shes the princess of a longstanding enemy country, after all.
What do you think, Liscia?
If Soma thinks shes necessary, then Im okay with her
Said Liscia, bluntly. I couldnt see any ill feelings in her face. Whats weird was that she was slightly miffed as if saying, whats that look for?
She looks like a capable girl to as well. I think she has what it takes to be received as a Queen Consort. If Soma would manage inheritance rights later, then theres nothing more for to say.
Liscia thank you.
Naturally, youll still care for the rest of us, right?
Naturally.
Really such a good girl. Im really glad about having Liscia as my fiance. Roroa then interjected with a sowhat good mood.
Ah, sorry for barging in on your sweet world for two, but ye dinnae have to worry on that front. I dinnae care about the crown
Really ?
Aye. in return, theres sothing I want to ask of ye, Darling.
Darling? well, okay. Roroa then looked up at with upturned eyes and a face like a child begging for sothing.
Sothing you want?
Ye see, I always wanted a company of my own
Company?
Aye. Ye see, Darling, I wanted te see how much I can change the country with the money I earn for myself. Your policies have foresight, but they canne et the budget every ti, right? Youd have it hard to spend treasury money on high risk or seemingly useless things, aye?
Well youre not wrong.
Now that my authority had gotten stronger, I can easily assign budget on things that I can explain the rits of relatively easily, like road construction to improve the circulation of goods, or building a new city, but on the other hand, its hard to budget for things whose effects cannot be seen imdiately or that are seemingly aningless. Like for instance, funding for specialized research. Experts can understand We cant be left in second place, but non-experts arent likely to understand.
And so, if ye have so asure that ye want to take and dinnae have budget for, ye can talk to . Ill back ye up with the money I earn from the company.
Thats reassuring, but are you sure? For a Royal Consort to be doing a rchants work, youre going to look as if you have no authority to the people.
Ive thought about that too. Ill be working behind the scenes, and leave the front to lets see the owner of the Silver Stag Shop in Vannes Im friendly with, Sebastian
Sebastian of Silver Stag Shop2 ah, the one Juna and Tomoe went to. The na left an impression on , like, doesnt it sound like a butlers? Then that ans the really cute small racoon type client he was talking about would be Roroa. Well, he sure did seem like a reliable, nice middle-aged tradesman. Hed have what it takes to represent a company.
Um if I may have a word as soone entrusted with the treasury.
Colbert cut in with a difficult look on his face.
Whats wrong?
If you have that kind of money Id rather have it in the treasury, but
Ah, yeah. I get what Colbert is saying. The Kingdom was at the brink of bankruptcy until recently, too.
But I refuse!
Why are you two suddenly in sync!?
Its fine. Its sothing Ill be earning with my own skills
Itll be much easier for dostic affairs if we have the budget for it, too
But Your Highness
Now now, I willnae be wasting it away like Lord Father did, see. This is what ye call division of labor. Ill be earning, and yell be saving. Then everything will be alright.
The later setup of King Soma adopting extraordinary policies, Roroa providing financial support out of amusent, and Colbert counseling him against it, had now been established. They both support King Soma in financial affairs, but due to the difference in their statuses, they would each co to be called Arsonist Roroa and Extinguisher Colbert.
Then Roroa slithered up to and wove her arm around mine.
And then when a child is born to Darling and , they will go on to succeed the company. Since theyre my child, they probably wont be interested in the crown.
Well, sure, a child born to I want to live in peace and I hate boring things Roroa and took to our personalities wouldnt want to be a King, what with it being a lot of work. speaking of, I suppose the only ones whod be willing to inherit the throne would be I will do my duty Liscias children maybe? Musselbrain? Can you eat it? Aisha and also Ufufu Juna would be like Its better to be able to move freely, and hope to be side queens.
Is this going to be an inheritance war? People fighting because theydontwant to inherit? I have to make sure Liscia works hard and give birth to a successor with a good sense of duty if Im to avoid this. Though, if I asked her directly shes going to get mad at and say dont act like its sobody elses problem!!
Sebastian got himself a daughter not long ago, if we had a boy then we could have him marry into that family, but if we had a girl, well, lets think about it later
Youre moving too fast! Actually, will you get your hands off Soma already!?
Liscia tried to pry her off in a fluster, but Roroa used my body as a shield and clung to alternating between my left and right hands.
Aw dont be so stingy big sister. Yeve been all lovey dovey with Darling all this ti, aye? Let have this bonus turn
We havent! Weve been so busy we didnt have ti for things like that!
Really big sister? Could ye actually bestill
Yes Im still! Got a problem!?
As Liscia said that in a frenzy, Roroa turned towards with eyes full of cold.
Darling thats
No, hold on (why the hell is the bla on now!?)
Thats right! This happens because Soma wonttake careof thingsproperly
Well, thats, umm (Theyre teaming up!? Is thisthat!? The appearance of a common enemy!?)
Um I, uh would like you totake careof properlytoo
Ugu (Et tu, Aisha!?)
(Ufufu)
Huh!? (D, did I just feel the hand of soone whos not here on my shoulders just now!!?)
In the blink of an eye, I was wrapped in the rowdy mood of my four (?) fiances. Cold sweat dripped unstoppably from , and the retainers watched resignedly with wry smiles.
Several days later, the Principality of Amidonia had rged into the Kingdom of Elfrieden, becoming a new country, the United Kingdoms of Elfrieden and Amidonia, or Friedonia Kingdom for short. Since around this ti I had co to be called the Great King who expanded the territory in under a year, or the Great King of Friedonia. I dont think too fondly on this Great King title, it gives the impression of a squid or an isopod or sothing aaaaalso
Since I took the princess of Amidonia, Roroa as my wife, there were rumors that King Soma becos stronger (territory expands) every ti he gets a new wife or Hes a lecher that even overthrew an enemy country because he wanted the princess (Roroa). Sheesh, how did it turn out like this
One thing led to another and thus it ca to the top level conference between Lady Maria and I over the Royal Broadcasts. I had just now finished explaining to her how the Amidonia rger ca to be.
and thats what happened
[Thats really no pffft]
On the receiver set, Lady Maria was covering her mouth and her shoulders were shaking. Sounds like it tickled her funny bone. Still, since it was officially a conference site, she held herself back (and she looked cute doingthattoo). Though I thought it would be better if she had laughed out loud.
[Fufufu Lord Soma, you sure can put ones mind at ease]
Yes. It looks like I caught a shark when I was fishing for bream with a shrimp
[Do take proper care of the fish you caught, okay]
I cant really release them now, can I?
Maria continued to chuckle for a little longer, but then regained her serious look.
[Now, about the Lunaria Orthodox Empires manoeuverings ]
According to Roroa, they disliked that you have taken the na of Holy Maiden
[That is true. They requested many tis that I dont call myself Holy Maiden protested, actually. But even so, I wasnt the one calling myself that, so theres nothing there for to do]
It would be weird if you tell the people not to call you Holy Maiden, after all. in that case, the Empire would continue to be a latent danger the Orthodox Empire. They might try to co in contact with just like Roroa said
[Lord Soma, dont you think youre throwing away the Orthodox Empires authority?]
She was trying to probe with that question, so I answered with a clear shake of the head.
Please dont joke about that. Im trying to lead the world into a new era here, spare the theocracies
I dont need aGirolamo Savonarolain my country. Lady Maria seems reassured by my clear denial.
[The Empire also considers the Orthodox Empire a big headache. There are a lot of Lunarian believers in the Empire, as well, so the Humanity Declaration have no power against religious groups. In fact, I fear they might make use of the loophole Lord Soma pointed out.]
Sothing like, the religious groups within the country declaring independence. Once the religious adherents grouped together theyd be hard to eradicate. Theyre more likely to blow up the more they were put under pressure. The only way for her to handle them would be to round up those who sche for independence before they could form up into groups, or maybe throw away the Humanity Declaration and promptly attack and destroy the Orthodox Empire.
Will the Empire still not renounce its leadership of the Humanity Declaration?
[No. Humanity cant afford not to stand together at a ti like this. There needs to be a flagwaver for that, and the duty falls to the Empire. The Orthodox Empire should understand that as well. If humanity fought with one another and the Demons ca in and destroyed us, then it will all be for nothing. I do believe they wont do anything rash at this ti.]
I wonder about that.
I dont think its a problem you can look at with that kind of optimism. The more chaotic the tis are, the more religion shows its true worth. The reason was the hearts of the people who wish to be saved. Despair caused by society and the tis drive people towards religion. Nowadays, with the threat of the Demon King Territory, so people had already thought of this as the end tis. If this despair were to be allowed to run rampant, it will beco food for the Orthodox Empire, leading to them gaining incredible power.
In order to avoid that we need to show the people a ray of hope. We need to have the people believe that the world will not co to ruin, that tomorrow will co no matter what, and that the coming future will be sothing greater than today. For that
Lady Maria
[Yes]
So long as you, the Grand Chaos Empire, espouse the ideal of humanity becoming one, then we, the Kingdom of Friedonia will walk alongside you.
The Empire Maria, is the ray of hope for humanity. In the anti, the Kingdom will steadily advance the progress of the tis. For humanity to not lose hope. For us to rise up by ourselves without having to cling to the divine even in despair.
I believe that if we cover for each other, we can deal with anything that may happen.
[Yes. I wish, if I may, that this oath will continue on for eternity]
If one continually looks up towards an ideal, one will stumble on the rocks by ones feet.
But if one were to only look down at reality, one will lose sight of the path to ones destination.
That is why we walk together.
The two of us looked at each others face through the screen and smiled.
Elfrieden Classical Idioms Course
[To catch a shark while baiting sea bream with a shrimp] proverb. aning to catch a shark with a lot of untasty3parts as one tried to use cheap shrimp to catch valuable sea bream. Denotes the disappointnt of having sothing unexpected happen when one tries to expend the least effort for the greatest result. Furthermore, since even untasty shark has valuable shark fin, it also denotes the fact that there was sothing good that ca along with the disappointnt. Similar idioms on Earth would be Dont count ones chickens before they are hatched for the forr, and Jewel in a dunghill for the latter. King Soma uttered this phrase upon being disappointed that he had to rge the whole of the poor lands of Amidonia when he wanted to only annex Vannes (and as for the latter, the shark fin would surely be Princess Roroa).
TN: Its election day and I can finally have so ti to finish this up! Apologies for going missing all this ti. Funnily, one of the candidates in my area is the incumbent governor who is being sued for blasphemy for saying what Roroa and Maria is saying in this chapter: that political opponents are using religion to take him down and further their own agendas. It only proves his point IMHO.
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