Philip II's most brilliant achievent was transforming Spain into a centralized and bureaucratized empire.
Spain is a country made up of a coalition of various regional powers.
Due to this characteristic, various indigenous powers coiled like snakes in different regions, threatening royal authority. It was a situation where no one could be trusted.
Therefore, Philip II trusted no one.
He maintained the powerful empire and royal authority by lonely tackling the enormous workload head-on.
If he didn't weigh the paperwork to be processed in a day, he would work endlessly.
He established royal authority while working until his body broke down, enduring gout, diabetes, and other ailnts.
"M-Marquis of Denia?"
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"Could you... uh... help handle this together?"
"Of course."
And in just a few minutes, that royal authority began to waver.
"Did the new king give any separate orders?"
"No. There weren't any particular instructions. Wouldn't it be fine if we just proceed among ourselves for now?"
"No, that won't do. Until the late king's ti, moving without approval would result in imdiate punishnt."
"Let's wait for now. Surely... uh... the new king must have so deep thoughts on this."
In fact, there were no such thoughts.
The newly appointed royal favorite, the Marquis of Denia, was rely whispering plans like relocating the capital for land speculation into the king's ear.
And.
A temporary administrative vacuum befell the Spanish Empire that had lost its head.
The colonial governnt of New Spain also did nothing for the ti being.
All offensive plans toward Florida were canceled, and only operations focusing on defense with existing resources were approved.
Like that...
Peace arrived.
==
"Surely... Spain wouldn't stop so easily. They must be plotting so grand conspiracy behind the scenes!"
No.
It's just that Spain's new king is a bit... of an idiot.
If nurous scholars in Spanish academia until the 21st century couldn't find much room for reevaluation despite their best efforts, he must indeed be an incompetent ruler.
...But since I can't say that.
"...The reign of Philip III will be like a long quagmire. During his reign, the vast empire will temporarily lose its vigor, and many people will fall into confusion."
"Ah... ahhhh!"
"Nemo has once again prophesied, Hu-Hewett! Write it down!"
"I'm writing it down!"
I replaced the explanation like this for now.
Being able to skip the persuasion process is very convenient.
Anyway.
The external threat that was pressing against our skin has disappeared for now.
It suddenly beca peaceful.
The secret society in Florida has already grown vigorously to the point of leaking internal information.
Various asures implented in preparation for a Spanish invasion have also beco temporarily unnecessary.
Since there are no urgent external matters for now.
"Let's aim for internal stability first."
Yes. Sounds good. Internal stability.
Most of our community consists of refugees.
People who have suffered from hunger, displacent, plunder, and war.
People whose minds and bodies have been devastated. They even harbor hatred toward each other.
There are no visible ard conflicts or full-blown disputes.
But tension remains here and there, so it would be good to resolve it on this occasion.
Hmm... hmm...
For now, we've roughly figured out how to fill their hungry stomachs. Nothing more to fill on the economic side.
"Speaking of internal stability, sothing cos to mind."
"Ah, Walter? Please tell ."
"First of all, residents don't have anything to enjoy or spend ti on. As always, if a ruler doesn't provide entertainnt to residents, they tend to harbor discontent."
Oh. Leisure activities.
Indeed, dieval peasants were so devout and fanatical because they had no entertainnt other than church and faith.
If social energy isn't released sowhere, it can leak out in strange ways. Perhaps that's why conflicts between natives have intensified like this?
"And... when it cos to fun, it's definitely 'that', isn't it?"
"'That'?"
"Yes. Although there's so risk of injury, there's nothing like football to pursue pleasure while moving the body."
"Football!"
It's good for the health of community mbers and quite a decent leisure activity, isn't it?
"That's a good idea. Let's implent it right away. First, we'll build a stadium for football..."
"That's not necessary! Hahaha, let's just set simple rules. First, you can't throw the ball with your hands..."
"Good."
"...and, you can't bring weapons. These two rules should be sufficient for now! I should ask Mrs. Dare to send healers!"
"...What?"
"Pardon?"
I had a deep conversation with Raleigh about the concept definition of football.
"But... if you prohibit fighting in football, where's the fun? Won't the spectators be bored?"
"..."
"Co to think of it, the benefits of football are clear. Since we don't know when we'll fight against the Spanish, it's good to instill appropriate belligerence and fighting spirit in the residents..."
Rejected.
This isn't football.
Football is... forbidden in this land.
So I left Raleigh behind with a regretful expression as he muttered, and went to seek advice from soone else.
"Every morning, a sermon containing the Lord's words..."
Rejected.
Church kids always dozed off during the pastor's sermon ti when they were young.
"Let's hold a festival!"
Oh, is that a good idea?
"As the festival gets going, once people chew this mushroom and get excited..."
"...Manteo? What's the na of this mushroom?"
"Hahaha, it's nothing special. It's what you might call a hallucinogenic mushroom..."
Rejected.
Calling shamans, chewing psychedelic mushrooms, dancing and singing together...? Would Christians from Europe collectively foam at the mouth and collapse?
"Lord Raleigh recomnded football? Why did you refuse?"
"The rules... only prohibited throwing and weapons."
"Ah, I see the problem."
"I knew Mr. Hewett would understand..."
"If you ban weapons, it certainly wouldn't be fun..."
Again, rejected.
These crazy people, that's not football.
...
...
...
Sigh.
Can't we just keep it simple and modest?
For entertainnt, what about soccer, basketball, baseball, Sudoku, crossword puzzles, escape room gas?
While thinking about this, Eleanor raises her hand.
"I have an opinion!"
"...Eleanor? Please speak."
"Um, what if we let residents decorate their houses?"
Oh.
"Houses?"
"Yes. Co to think of it, until now, the natives have lived simply with just a few pots, a few tools, and nothing else besides their huts, but now they can't live like that anymore..."
"That's right."
"Until now, everyone has sohow managed to live in huts or temporary tents, but they're all secretly envious of the nicer houses of those who ca earlier.
So..."
I grabbed Eleanor's hand.
"I understand. Thank you, Eleanor."
After hearing various strange opinions, my mind suddenly becos clear.
"Uh... what? No, it was nothing special..."
No. It is sothing special.
It's so special that I wonder why I didn't think of it earlier.
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