Chapter 19 - History Written by the Victors
History Written by the Victors
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Translator: Dusky90
Chapter: 19
Chapter Title: History Written by the Victors
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“Why are you acting like that all of a sudden?”
Otto was slightly taken aback by Kairos’s gloomy voice.
- How much... time has passed.
“Time?”
- I’m asking how long it’s been since I died.
“Well, I’m not sure.”
After thinking for a moment, Otto replied,
“I’m not exactly sure, but I’d say around 500 years.”
- I see. So that much time has passed.
“But what did you mean earlier? About being betrayed? Framed?”
- History… is said to be written by the victors.
“That’s true.”
- How truly fleeting.
Bitterness was plainly evident in Kairos’s voice.
- My entire life, I lived for one purpose, to bring peace to a world in turmoil….
“What are you talking about?”
- The man I once called my sworn brother… Argonne betrayed me. On my way back from inspecting the northern wall, the rebels ambushed me...
“That part isn’t written in any history record.”
- Did I not say it before? History is written by the victor.
“Are you saying you were betrayed and framed by Emperor Argonne the Great?”
- If not, then why would I have died alone in such a remote mountain village? Why would history remember me as a tyrant? That I ate human flesh? Do you think that makes any sense?
"That’s what everyone thought, though."
- Argonne… you bastard… was betraying your sworn brother not enough, that you had to defile the honor he built over a lifetime as well…
Otto was honestly a bit startled by Kairos’s reaction, which was nothing like what he’d expected.
What Kairos was saying now was something even Otto had never heard before, a hidden backstory that wasn’t part of any official lore.
In the game, the soul of Kairos contained within [Kairos’s Punishment] had never once spoken to him.
"Tell me more."
However, Kairos did not respond to Otto’s words.
It seemed he had closed his mouth because his anger had surged up.
"What’s wrong?"
When Otto no longer heard Kairos’s voice, he frowned.
"Could there really be some kind of secret story behind all this?"
No matter how capable Otto was, there was no way he could know everything about the world.
‘I’ll have a chance to talk about it later. It’s possible he just lied to deceive me. I’ll have to look into it for now.’
With that thought, Otto lay back on the bed and tried to fall asleep.
* * *
The next morning.
“Are you saying you need historical records about Great Emperor Argonne and the Cannibal Emperor Kairos?”
“Yes.”
Otto nodded in response to Camille’s question.
“More precisely, not the materials written from the perspective of the Great Emperor Argonne, but those written from a viewpoint favorable to Kairos. Things like fairy tales or legends passed down in certain regions are fine too.”
“I’ll look into it. But why do you need that kind of material?”
“Kairos said something strange earlier.”
“Are you saying the spirit inside the mace was actually Kairos?”
“Yeah.”
“Oh my god.”
“He said he’d been betrayed, by the Great Emperor Argonne. He also claimed that being branded a tyrant was a false accusation.”
“It might be that the demon’s trying to tempt you, my lord. To seize your body.”
“I know that. But it didn’t seem like he was lying. So I just want to see if there’s any truth to what he said.”
“Understood. I’ll look into it as thoroughly as possible.”
“Thanks.”
Just then.
*Ding!*
A quest window suddenly appeared before Otto.
[Notification: A quest has occurred!]
The details were as follows.
[Kingdom Construction!]
Objective: Establish a Kingdom and usher in the era of the Scuderia Dynasty!
Type: Epic Quest
Progress: 0% (0/1)
Condition:
- Develop one regional specialty
- Establish one trade route
- Clear out three monster habitats
- Achieve a minimum of 70 public approval in every region
- Hold a coronation ceremony
The [Kingdom Construction!] quest would naturally unlock once the [Condor’s Counterattack] event was completed.
Naturally, it wasn’t a privilege granted only to Otto de Scuderia.
Once the number of territories to manage increased to three or more, anyone could proceed with it.
Managing several lands at once was a real hassle, so the quest was basically encouraging players to consolidate and govern them as one.
Reward:
- Public sentiment, unity, loyalty, patriotism, and public order increase by 70%.
- Hero Units +3 (Random)
Although the rewards relied somewhat on luck, the chance to gain additional hero units was still a huge benefit.
Of course, the quest had its perks, but it wasn’t without drawbacks.
[Warning!] Clearing this quest and founding a kingdom will greatly worsen diplomatic relations with neighboring powers!
[Warning!] Clearing this quest and founding a kingdom will greatly decrease the lord’s reputation!
After all, founding a kingdom signified a sudden surge in power, which was more than enough to stir up the vigilance of neighboring factions.
As a result, relations with neighboring factions would deteriorate, and the character’s reputation would drop as others branded him a warmonger obsessed with domination.
If there were extremely powerful forces nearby, one should never rashly establish a dynasty.
Relations with nearby rulers and factions would spiral into hostility, and one wrong move could result in being crushed by a coalition army, just like what happened to Nazrak in the past.
However...
‘I don’t need to care about penalties like that anyway.’
For Otto de Scuderia, the potential gains far outweighed the risks.
After all, it wasn’t like he had much to lose in the first place.
Besides, this place was the outskirts of the outskirts, located in the western part of the continent.
To put it bluntly, it was a rural backwater — no, a total backcountry!
With no powerful factions nearby, he didn’t have to worry about stepping on anyone’s toes.
He could call himself a King or even an Emperor, and not a single soul would care.
'At worst, they’ll just laugh and sneer, saying, “That tiny patch of dirt? You call that a kingdom?”'
Otto accepted the [Kingdom Construction!] quest without hesitation.
“Camille.”
Otto turned to look at Camille.
“Yes, my lord.”
“We’ve expanded our territory quite a bit, so why don’t we take this chance to establish a Kingdom?”
Then Camille responded.
“Have you gone insane?”
"Yeah, I’ve gone cra—"
"What did you just say?!"
* * *
“Do you think anyone can just found a Kingdom? If you make one here, it’ll probably be the smallest Kingdom in the world.”
Camille wasn’t wrong.
Even if one combine Lota, Sorun, Racene, and Orth, their total size doesn’t even reach that of a single territory of an average Kingdom.
No matter how much they say that many grains of dust make a great mountain, to form a nation out of such rural territories, at least dozens of them would need to come together.
They may be called territories, but how could one form a Kingdom out of four lands that are barely more than large villages?
“They’ll all laugh. They’ll mock, asking where such a country even exists, saying they’ve never heard of it, and sneering that even rural villages are called Kingdoms these days. Are you still fine with that?”
“Yes!”
“No one will recognize it. It’ll just be something for people to laugh at.”
“What’s the big deal~? You can’t live your life worrying about what others think~!”
“Do you actually want to become a laughingstock?”
“Ah! I don’t care anymore! I’m going to be king! Make me king!”
When Camille wouldn’t go along with him, Otto flopped onto the ground and started flailing his arms and legs like an overturned cockroach, throwing a full-blown tantrum.
“No.”
Camille frowned as if she were seeing something unpleasant.
“Why are you throwing a tantrum like a child? Do you think being a king is something you can just decide because you want to?”
“Ah! I don’t care! Just make me! I said make me!”
“……”
“If you don’t, I’m not working!”
“Please don’t. Since when have you ever worked? You’ve been idle for years until recently.”
“Then I won’t eat either!”
“You seem to have gained some weight lately, so I’ll just think of it as you managing your weight.”
“I’ll even poop on your desk!”
“You’ll po….”
Camille’s expression stiffened the moment he realized what he’d almost said.
“Huh? Really? Then I’ll do it?”
“I never said you could.”
“I could’ve sworn you just told me to.”
“Ab-so-lute-ly not.”
Camille answered in a clipped tone, clearly disgusted.
“Ah~ Come on, make meee~ I said make meeeeee! Otto’s gonna be Kiiing! He’s gonna be Kiiiiiing! Gyaaaaaah!”
Otto rolled around on the floor, making a huge scene.
And he kept it up for an entire hour!
And in the end, Otto’s “effort” succeeded in moving Camille’s heart.
“…Fine. Do it.”
Unable to withstand Otto’s tantrum, Camille spoke at last, sounding as if he had given up completely.
“What’s so great about being a king? I’ll just start calling you Your Highness. No, actually—why stop there? Go ahead and be an emperor.”
“Ehh~.”
Otto grinned slyly and cheekily returned Camille’s sarcasm.
“I’ve still got some conscience left, so I can’t go that far~.”
“…….”
“Anyway, that means you’re on board, right~? We’re starting our Kingdom today~?”
After saying that, Otto left Camille behind and went off to grab a snack.
“…He’s like a damn kid.”
Overwhelmed by the sudden wave of exhaustion, Camille covered his face with both hands in frustration.
Camille thought to himself.
‘Why is it that the embarrassment is always mine?’
To be honest, it was a bit… no, very embarrassing.
* * *
Though he had whined to Camille, Otto wasn’t founding a Kingdom on a whim.
Using the reward from clearing [Kingdom Construction!] as a stepping stone, Otto planned to rapidly expand his power and gain the upper hand in competition against other lords.
In terms of a traditional strategy simulation game, it was like quickly advancing along the tech tree.
And when [Kingdom Construction!] is cleared, an event occurs where one can obtain the final material needed for awakening, the [Orb of Hatred].
Therefore, for Otto, he had no choice but to establish the Kingdom quickly, even if only for the sake of awakening.
‘Let them laugh all they want. Who cares? As long as it benefits me, that’s enough.’
Besides, Otto, being a thorough pragmatist, wasn’t the type to even blink an eye at being pointed at or ridiculed.
“So, what do we start with? Do I just start calling you Your Highness from today?”
Camille asked Otto.
“Ah~ still, we need to have the basics in place.”
“Huh…?”
“First, for the security of our Kingdom, let’s destroy the nearby monster lairs.”
“Alright.”
Camille wasn’t particularly interested in the absurd talk about founding a Kingdom, but he was very interested in hunting monsters.
After all, monsters were the greatest threat to the safety of the people living in this land.
“Where do we start the subjugation?”
“Here.”
Otto pointed at the map.
“There…?”
Camille’s face hardened slightly.
“Isn’t that the ogres’ breeding ground?”
Ogre.
A monster often referred to as the ruler of the forest.
It stands more than three meters tall and weighs nearly six tons.
To make it easier to understand, the ogre was a monster comparable in size and strength to the largest species of elephant — the African elephant.
It was at least ten times more violent, and being a humanoid that walked on two legs made it even more dangerous.
Though it didn’t possess any magical or special abilities, when it came to sheer physical power, few high-ranking monsters could rival it.
“If we clear out the ogres here, it will open a route merchants can use. Then we can charge tolls, and our Kingdom could become the logistics hub of the continent’s frontier.”
Otto was aiming for a two-for-one, or even more.
By clearing the ogres and seizing control of the area, trade routes would naturally open.
And that wasn’t the only advantage.
Ogres were a direct threat to the safety of the people.
So successfully subjugating them would naturally raise public morale and improve security.
The rewards from securing that one region were far from few.
"That's a sensible and wise judgment. But now isn't a good time."
Camille raised an objection to Otto's proposal.
"It's the ogres' breeding season. If we rush into an attack, our forces could be wiped out."