Chapter 371: Inheritance Has Always Been a Serious Matter
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 371: Inheritance Has Always Been a Serious Matter
The Fallen Dominion had lost the Golden Lord, its greatest Arcane. No one knew what kind of butterfly effect this would cause, but one thing was certain: the Fallen Dominion was now weaker.
Moreover, the Golden Lord was the spiritual and economic ruler of the Fallen Dominion. His disappearance meant the loss of the unifying force that held the nation together. Even if a ceasefire agreement were reached, as Hilde had suggested, it would be difficult for any nation—be it their own or another—to accept.
“…Wait.”
Just then, Peru spoke up. Standing beside the Regressor, she let out a few dry coughs, wiped the corner of her mouth, and addressed Hilde.
“…I’ll agree to a ceasefire.”
“You, Peru? In what capacity?”
“…In my capacity as the Goldenarch.”
Hilde looked surprised at the unexpected declaration.
The Goldenarch was the one who oversaw the guardians of the Golden Palace. Since we never expected to have a proper conversation with the Golden Lord, we had designated the guardians of the Golden Palace as our negotiation partners from the start. Considering Elric had been able to present her opinions directly to the Golden Lord, Peru's qualifications as the Goldenarch were more than sufficient.
The problem was Peru's credentials.
“But aren't you the Witherarch, Peru? From Wither to Gold? How romantic~.”
Hilde smiled sweetly before lowering her voice to point out the flaw.
“In other words, unrealistic. It's quite unbelievable, you know? Why would the Peru who traveled with 'us' suddenly be the Goldenarch?”
“…Still, it's true.”
“Even if it is. The Golden Lord who could vouch for you is gone, isn't he? Without the Golden Lord, what meaning does the title of Goldenarch even have…?”
Just then, the golden bell chimed, clang, as if affirming Peru's words. Of course, the ringing of a bell wasn't proof enough, but the relic of the Divine did more than just make a sound.
Rumble. The Golden Ark burst forth, pushing through the blocky debris.
This was the same Golden Ark that had been 'eaten' and dismantled by the Golden Palace. Its hull had been converted into alchemic materials, becoming part of the palace itself, which was why Peru had detached only the Furnace of Wither to infiltrate it. That was certainly what had happened.
Yet now, the Golden Ark emerged in the exact same state it was in before being consumed, standing majestically upon the ground.
Hilde stared in astonishment, as if the palace had vomited the ark back out whole.
“Well, well? Peru, did you become the Goldenarch or the Golden Lord? You should have said so sooner if that was the case!”
“…It's not my power. The power belongs to the relic.”
“So you're using the Golden Lord's power? Then you're the Golden Lord, aren't you?”
“…With this power, I can only fix what's broken. Because it's me using it, not the Golden Lord.”
Even if a tool holds infinite power, its user has limits. Compared to the Golden Lord, who possessed the residual thoughts of Democrias and Elric, Peru fell short. Just like me.
In fact, the Golden Lord himself was a good example. Though he could create anything in the world, the limits of his imagination prevented him from designing an aesthetically pleasing city. Everyone has their shortcomings.
“Thanks for the kind explanation~. Hmm, what to do about this.”
Hilde wore a troubled expression.
Even without definitive proof, considering the Golden Palace had collapsed right after Peru approached the Golden Lord, there was little reason to doubt her. Especially if she could wield his power.
However, this was something only those like Hilde, who had witnessed it firsthand, could believe. On a national level, it was a different story entirely.
“Peru, to become the representative of a nation, what's more important than the individual claiming the title is the majority who acknowledge and follow that person. The Military State has no king, but everyone follows the will of the Chief Command. No matter how much you call yourself the Goldenarch, who's going to believe you?”
“…The Dominarch is here.”
“That man is dead. 'I' saw it with my own two eyes. He got too close to the Golden Lord, saying he'd draw its attention. He really didn't need to go that far~.”
Peru was deeply shocked by the unexpected news. The golden bell rang with a sharp, sorrowful chime, as if echoing her emotions. After a moment of stunned silence, Peru mumbled weakly.
“…I see. So, Hector…”
“It was a noble sacrifice. I can't say for sure if it was thanks to him, but we achieved our goal! So, what now?”
Hilde wasn't cornering Peru simply because she was malicious.
She still represented the interests of the Military State, and in any situation, she acted to ensure the best possible outcome for her nation. Right now, Hilde was in a position to extract as many concessions as possible during the ceasefire negotiations. She was pointing out Peru's weaknesses to gain the upper hand.
“A self-proclaimed Goldenarch. One who might have even destroyed the Golden Lord herself! Who would follow you? And even if they did, could they truly be trusted?”
…Of course, that didn't mean she wasn't being malicious.
Just as Hilde was pressing Peru from all sides, we sensed numerous presences approaching from behind. Turning around, we saw the Dholes who had followed Hector. They had finally arrived and were now loitering about.
One of them, a man dressed far more neatly than the other Dholes, stepped forward, drawing everyone's attention.
“Lady Witherarch. I am Deca, secretary to the Dominarch.”
He was one of Hector's subordinates, whom I'd seen a few times in the city. Recognizing his face, Peru replied grimly.
“…The Dominarch, he…”
“I know. I saw it myself.”
The man called Deca closed his eyes briefly, as if in mourning for his respected Primarch, before continuing.
“I wish to mourn our Primarch's death, but because of those Dholes, I don't even have the luxury. The moment Lord Hector passed, they cowardly came straight to me, demanding I hand over his assets.”
Though they were some distance away, his voice was loud enough for all the Dholes behind him to hear. At his words, they bristled and shouted back.
“The Dominarch promised to share his wealth with us if we followed him!”
“We followed him on that promise, so of course we deserve our share!”
Having successfully provoked an uproar from the Dholes, Deca shouted for all to hear.
“Do you see? They did nothing, they didn't even help you stop the Golden Lord! Yet they demand a share simply for having followed Lord Hector! What is this nonsense? What's more, when our Primarch died, not a single one of them was by his side!”
“Are you crazy? We would've died if we went there!”
“Who in their right mind would knowingly bash their head against a wall?!”
A torrent of jeers and curses rained down on Deca.
Factually speaking, the Dholes were right, but shouting for their share now that Hector was dead made them look like heartless demons. Deca used their outcry to secure his own justification and pleaded his case to Peru.
“Lady Witherarch, you were the one who stepped forward to stop the Golden Lord. You saved us, and you fulfilled the Dominarch's will. If there is anyone who can distribute the Dominarch's assets and his trading company, it is you and you alone.”
“…I…”
“Lady Witherarch, though the Dominarch may be gone, our Drum Trading Company is responsible for the Fallen Dominion's food supply. If it were to be dissolved, the people of the Fallen Dominion would starve. We can't let that happen, can we?”
“…Mmm.”
Deca looked as if he were genuinely concerned for the nation's future, and Peru, unable to answer easily, let her words trail off. To the hesitating Peru, Deca subtly added one more thing.
“And besides, don't you need a power base of your own, Lady Witherarch? The Drum Trading Company can be of great help to you.”
He was subtly suggesting that she could become the head of the Drum Trading Company. Curious about his true intentions, I read his thoughts.
‘If I just obediently dissolve the company and distribute the assets, it'll all be for nothing! We are the ones running the Fallen Dominion. Even if Lord Hector is dead, we must remain the Drum Trading Company! No one else can keep this nation running!’
Deca was clearly sincere. He had a slight air of arrogance and a sense of superiority over the other Dholes, but his desire to maintain the current system, even by installing Peru as the new Primarch, was undoubtedly genuine.
Peru already looked overwhelmed. The moment she became the de facto ruler of the Fallen Dominion, one side was pressuring her for a ceasefire while another was bickering over an inheritance. She must have felt like she was about to die. And all this while she was in the worst possible physical condition.
Peru looked at me with difficulty and asked.
“…What should I do?”
“Huh? Why are you asking me?”
“…There's no one else to ask.”
Peru glanced around before answering gloomily.
She had a point. Hilde was on the Military State's side. The Regressor was the muscle. And Hector, the only one who might have been helpful, was dead.
“I don't really have an answer for you. Wouldn't it be better to ask someone else for help?”
“…Someone else?”
“First, we need to find out the details. Where are the Dominarch's assets? Even with his Juggernaut, he couldn't have been carrying everything with him, right?”
“…When the assets are large, they're entrusted to Claudia. It's the only city… and the Thunderarch is trustworthy.”
“Then it's decided.”
We can't accomplish anything out here on the street anyway. That leaves only one path.
“Let's go to Claudia. Once we meet the Thunderarch there, we can probably dump most of these problems on her.”
When you can't solve a problem, you just have to dump it on someone capable. How can one person lift a heavy log? You have to carry it together.
The reactions to my proposal were sharply divided.
“Wait. Assets? Are you really thinking of distributing the Dominarch's wealth?”
“Aww. This was a perfect chance to fleece someone who doesn't know any better~. Whose side are you on, Father?”
Deca and Hilde did not welcome the involvement of a greater power, though it was nothing on the scale of the Golden Lord. The others, however, felt differently.
The Dholes cheered, and Peru agreed. Even Tyr welcomed the decision.
“The Village of Clouds… It would be good to go and see how much it has changed.”
‘If things go well, I might be able to show Hu the Duchy of Mist beyond it.’
The Regressor, who had been deep in thought, also agreed.
“Alright. It's decided. Our next destination is Claudia. We had to stop by there at some point anyway.”
‘I have Chun-aeng and Jizan. If I go to Claudia with both, I can imbue the Thunder God into this. It's become a struggle even with Chun-aeng and Jizan, but things should get better once I imbue the Thunder God.’
…Though her reasoning was a bit different. What the hell was a Thunder God? How do you imbue something like that? Can she get even stronger from here?
Some people can't even become more than a slightly more complicated human after imbuing three Divines!
“…Let's go to Claudia. If you have business, we'll handle it there.”
In any case, a decision had been made. Peru moved to board the Golden Ark, but Deca, agitated, blocked her path. If the Regressor hadn't shot him a murderous glare, he might have even laid a hand on Peru.
“Of course you may go. But are you planning to take them with you? They'll try to bleed the company dry!”
“…If that was the contract.”
“They didn't fulfill their end of the contract!”
“…Including that, I plan to resolve it in Claudia.”
“How can you… when the matter is so clear!”
If Peru had been alone, she might have been in trouble. But by her side was the Regressor, an expert at cutting things short. As Deca persisted, the Regressor cut him off, her voice thick with annoyance.
“Shut up. We don't have time for this. If you're going to get in the way, stay here, grab whatever you can, and leave.”
Whatever his grievances, his survival instinct was still intact. Deca clamped his mouth shut and turned away.
‘This is absurd. I didn't follow the Golden Lord around, cleaning up his messes, just for this! I can't let our company disappear like this!’
It seemed there would be plenty to do in Claudia before our business there was finished.
I nodded to myself as I read his thoughts while he walked away.
The horn of the Golden Ark sounded, and the group heading for Claudia departed as one.