Chapter 52 — The Goddess Comes to Me and Brings Words of Wisdom (3)
Chapter 52 — The Goddess Comes to Me and Brings Words of Wisdom (3)
Several days passed after the trading company was launched and Helen arrived.
During that time, Roan's orders were dispatched to the front lines.
A detachment of troops moved to establish a supply line, and a notice was conveyed that from the Deep Winter onward, the Survival Rate would also become part of the criteria for Rewards According to Merit.
And so, the Small Council fell into worry.
"His Majesty has certainly grown more generous, hasn't he."
"Indeed."
Minoreus and Liron were conversing.
The Knight Commander glared at his desk and, as if annoyed, flicked his tail a few times.
"Will he not get angry, then, if we deliver this report?"
"That's... hard to say."
At Liron's uncertain response, Minoreus furrowed his brow and looked at the Finance Minister.
"Look at those eyes. Don't glare like that, Knight Commander."
"...I wasn't glaring. I was concentrating."
"...."
"My head is that of an ox, and you, Liron, are unable to read my expressions, are you not?"
"Haah."
It was the Prime Minister who sighed.
Changing the subject like this because they didn't want to work.
Good grief, they weren't children.
"If you're afraid of being scolded, do you intend not to report it?"
"Wouldn't it be troublesome if we were scolded to death?"
"That is...."
It was a fair argument.
Aranya had no choice but to close her mouth.
Seeing this, Shwikviena chuckled softly, but when she received sharp looks from the three, she wiped the smile off her face and spoke.
"All three of you are lacking in faith."
"I cannot agree."
"What?! Are you out of your mind?!"
"What nonsense is this, Corrections Officer!"
The three fiery voices were directed at Shwikviena, but she spoke with a serious expression.
"His Majesty does not harm those who wish to convey their voice. Do you not remember the troll woman from that time?"
"Ah."
Liron's jaw dropped open.
Indeed, since she was a woman who had screamed and resisted before His Majesty, everyone thought she would surely die without a chance to struggle. But His Majesty had even handed her a handkerchief.
What followed was a groan from Minoreus.
"Hrrrrrm."
"So it will be fine. Knight Commander."
"Hmmm, then, Shwikviena, you do it in my stead...."
"But His Majesty would think it strange if the military-affiliated Minoreus did not bring this report."
"Hrrrrrrrm."
Minoreus clutched the horns behind his ears.
"Why are you acting like that, Commander."
"Ah, it's nothing! Your Majesty!"
"Hm."
The emperor, who had appeared without a presence just like any other day, stared at Minoreus as if finding him odd and took his seat at the head of the table.
"Something occurred to me on the way here."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Aranya answered with a bitter smile.
What matter had he brought this time?
"Imported supplies are expensive, aren't they?"
"They... are. What is your opinion, Finance Minister?"
"Yes. Since the human world does not carry items for larger-framed demonkind, we must place separate orders."
"Hm, in that case."
He had been thinking the entire time he walked down the corridor.
No matter how he looked at it, foreign products were bound to be expensive.
Buying many expensive goods would be difficult, and the share that reached the soldiers would shrink accordingly.
I didn't want to just fatten the purses of Arteala.
It would be better to create a domestic defense industry instead. Even if it's just a temporary one!
Everyone knew military suppliers were the peak of sweetheart deals!
Though my conscience wouldn't quite allow selling ten-million-won trash cans.
"What if we set up a place in our country that specializes in manufacturing military supplies?"
Oh. Fascinating.
The eyes of the four of them widened at once.
"You could outsource the work to the State-Run Trading Company, or directly set up a production facility. There are many areas of supply, after all."
"If that happens, the central government and the lords would certainly both benefit."
Aranya nodded. Immediately after,
Liron, who had caught the scent of money, responded in an instantly bright voice.
"Like grain, this means the State-Run Trading Company would sell goods at a low price, and the lords could also purchase supplies cheaply. This minister approves."
Good, this was positive! Roan felt pleased.
He had heard that, although the lords were indifferent to their people, they initially prepared things like armaments, clothing, barracks, bedding, and even cooking tools. Over time, each unit would fight over them and use them in rotation.
At the very beginning, unless those things sprouted from the ground, even they would have to pay to buy them somewhere.
He would sell them cheaper than the market price.
Because the goal wasn't to make a large profit.
Moreover, if a defense corporation researched technology professionally, it would also help strengthen the national defense.
Of course, since that was the standard of a modern military, there was no telling how much help professionally researched military goods would be.
But it would definitely be better than nothing.
This place had powers that did not exist in reality, like magic.
Something extraordinary that could change the lives of the soldiers and the war itself might even be developed.
"I believe they would be welcomed on the front lines if they were cheaper than what is available on the market and more smoothly supplied. Your Majesty."
Minoreus nodded his head.
He had an oddly relieved air about him.
"In that case, you might also hire those who rest during the winter to work on manufacturing these supplies.
Even if you go just a little outside of Basel, there are many people reclaiming the land, Your Majesty. The people would be happy if they could find work during the winter."
They could fill the workforce as well.
Perfect! A faint smile surfaced on the emperor's face. Seeing this, the Small Council also felt relieved.
When delivering bad news, of course, the superior's mood would sour once the matter was relayed, but it was still better to speak to a superior who had just had something good happen than one who had just been chewed out by higher-ups.
At least there was hope it might be passed over with something like, 'Oh, really?
It's fine. Don't make this mistake next time.'
The seasoned Prime Minister did not miss this opening.
"These are excellent ideas, Your Majesty. We will prepare a plan to realize Your Majesty's words at the earliest possible date."
Perhaps if Liron had eyebrows on his face, one would have seen them drooping in sullenness,
but fortunately, his face was only bone.
However, the three nobles knew why the Prime Minister had prostrated herself on the ground first.
Minoreus swallowed hard without realizing it.
"However, Your Majesty, even though you have given us such remarkable ideas, I believe there is a matter we must bring up to you first."
...What was this?
What was with all this build-up?
The smile disappeared from Roan's expression.
It was Roan's emotionless mask that surfaced whenever the thought 'What's going on?' arose. In other words, the expression that, to others, looked like he was annoyed.
The Knight Commander, seeing this, gulped dryly once more. This time, the sound was loud.
Everyone turned to look at him.
'...Huh?'
'I've set the stage, hurry, speak.'
There was nowhere left to hide.
Minoreus glared at the desk once more and then spoke in a resolute voice.
"Your Majesty, this minister has something to report."
"Hm."
What was this? He was scaring me.
Couldn't he just spit it out?
"From the front lines."
Roan's brow
"The great lords' appeals have arrived."
twitched,
"There appears to be considerable... opposition to the orders that were issued."
then furrowed deeply.
Minoreus squeezed his eyes shut.
The emperor remained silent for a long moment.
Roan fell deep into thought.
When he had first possessed the Demon King's body.
Inside the castle, the Demon King had been an object of fear.
Everyone had been too busy fleeing to even look the emperor in the face.
The Demon King the lords knew was likely the one from that period. They might have heard that he had changed, but they had never seen him in person.
Yet even though he had been a terrifying mad dog of a Demon King, they were rebelling in such an organized fashion.
"The cause is... the suddenly increased discipline, as expected?"
"...Yes, Your Majesty."
Indeed, they couldn't change customs all at once.
He had thought it would be difficult.
But to rebel this much? To defy orders during wartime?
No matter what, they were an army.
In the Korean army during wartime,
this would have meant execution by firing squad!
"If I... ignore the appeals. What will happen."
"There is a possibility that the armies of some lords may not follow Your Majesty's orders."
These little shits....
I was trying not to use rough words here.
An organization that doesn't follow the orders of the head has no future.
Roan's eyes flashed sharply.
The Prime Minister, witnessing the emperor's violet irises gradually turning into a deeper purple, trembled.
"In that case..., Knight Commander."
Roan's voice, spoken through gritted teeth, wavered.
His brief words were fully saturated with suppressed rage.
Minoreus felt dizzy.
It was strange, too, that he wasn't being overwhelmed by His Majesty's skill at this moment. In the past, all four of the Small Council would have been drooling, collapsing, in absolute chaos.
He was being so rational that it was truly alien.
"Why. Do the lords. Think that... they do not need to fear me."
Minoreus was momentarily stunned. The emperor's questions continued.
"The lords are my agents. Whether great lords or minor lords, it is the same. And such people, especially during a war, ignore the emperor's words?"
Roan's anger ignited in layers, a gradient of fury.
As he spoke, the more he thought about it, the more unforgivable it became.
"Just what!"
The emperor's roar echoed thunderously through the Small Council chamber.
The Prime Minister reflexively squeezed her eyes shut.
Earlier, I had been about to scold Minoreus for closing his eyes. Now, I could say nothing.
Too afraid to see what would follow.
It seemed our tolerance to His Majesty's wrath had vanished somewhere along the way.
However, the emperor's next words were something that made everyone doubt their ears.
"...Hoo. ...Just what. Why."
"...?"
"Why, do they go to such lengths."
The Prime Minister, the Finance Minister, and the Knight Commander, stunned, recalled what the Corrections Officer had said earlier.
— His Majesty does not harm those who wish to convey their voice.
Truly, His Majesty was trying to listen.
They could feel it tingling in the air, how he was gritting his teeth and struggling to control his fury.
Aranya fumbled, but quickly opened her mouth. She could not miss this chance.
"Your, Your... Majesty. In this humble minister's insufficient opinion."
The moment that fury erupted, everything that had built up might pour out.
Aranya was afraid.
Roan stared at her with simmering eyes.
"It has been far too long since the great lords have personally seen Your Majesty. Your Majesty's fury, and Your Majesty's generosity, have become far too distant stories to them."
"...Too long...?"
His Majesty was intrigued!
The color returned to Aranya's face.
"It has already been seven years since the great lords last all gathered for the New Year Festival. The great lords' duty to participate in the Harvest Festival has also come to be neglected. They refused to come to Basel, giving the excuse that their territories are far away and their affairs too busy."
"...Aranya. Is it, perhaps."
No way, it couldn't be. Please tell me no.
"Because... I did not participate myself."
Aranya's face, which had just regained some color, turned pale once more.
"...That is.... Your Majesty, in your great generosity, was attempting not to bind the other nobles and officials...."
"So, because I slacked off, those bastards did, too."
Aranya, who had been rambling, clenched her teeth so hard they seemed about to shatter.
But she had to answer.
"...Yes."
The emperor lowered his head deeply, covering his face with both hands.
"After all."
Roan's voice, buried in his hands, sounded as if it were unjustly weighed down.
"They know I don't care whether the great lords come or not?"
"...."
Aranya, trying hard to choose her words this way and that, eventually dropped her head along with Roan.
"That is correct. Your Majesty."
The atmosphere could not have been more awkward.
The emperor remained like that for a long time, his face buried in his hands. The Small Council couldn't even twitch a muscle, forced to watch their lord in that state.
After a few minutes of prolonged silence, Roan managed to ask his next question.
"...What else?"
"...Excuse me?"
Silence fell again.
This was truly an unexpected question.
But Roan, surprisingly, asked in a voice that seemed to have regained its calm.
"Don't they lack sufficient grounds to act as they please simply because they know I don't pay attention. I could nitpick at any time, even belatedly, the moment I found out."
Since he was a crazy Demon King, couldn't he just drag up an incident from ten years ago and say, 'I didn't like you at that time!' and cut their heads off?
Having understood Roan's words, Aranya belatedly and barely attempted an answer.
"Ah, yes, and also. Um, probably...."
It was a rare sight to see the Prime Minister flustered, but the Finance Minister, Knight Commander, and Corrections Officer could not laugh.
They were literally holding their breath as they watched the question-and-answer session between the emperor and the prime minister.
"The great lords... probably do not believe that Your Majesty gave these orders."
"What?"
Though she knew it was an insolent act, Aranya ultimately averted her gaze from her lord.
"They believe that we are issuing orders under Your Majesty's name."
Ah. Good heavens.
That bastard Demon King. That piece of shit Demon King.
"...And that, too, is probably because I have never given them a direct order until now?"
"...Yes."
Roan buried his face in his palms once more.
He couldn't lift it because his face was burning hot.
So, in other words, he was reaping what he had sown?
Well, to be precise, it wasn't what I had sown?
A sigh leaked through the gaps in the emperor's fingers.
Aranya wore an expression that was, if anything, resigned,
and the remaining three trembled in a terror they hadn't felt in a long time.
A suffocating eeriness filled the Small Council chamber.
So, when someone suddenly knocked on the door of the council chamber, it felt as if they could all finally breathe again.
"Your Majesty."
"What is it."
"Lady Grünent and...."
The head butler outside the door hesitated before continuing.
"...the human female knight are urgently requesting an audience. Your Majesty."
Had Helen come all the way here?
Roan's head shot up.
"Let them in."
Wasn't a female knight that prisoner from the 'rescue squad' who His Majesty had captured last time?
Although Lady Grünent had occasionally participated in meetings, for a mere human prisoner to come all the way here?
The Small Council fixed their bewildered gazes on the two women entering the council chamber. That was when it happened.
"Huh?"
?
Did His Majesty just make that sound?
At the odd atmosphere, Roan's eyes widened involuntarily, and he quickly shut his mouth.
The question had failed to be filtered and had popped right out of his mouth. It was a question so powerful that even the Demon King's shell couldn't filter it out.
Why?
Why was Helen's Affection at +20?
Roan's expression subsided into a blank mask.
The 'What's going on' mode activated.
"Human, Helen."
"Yes. Your Majesty."
The woman with the cool voice was no longer wearing the Church of Laurecia knight uniform she had previously worn.
"Why have you changed your mind."
Helen had become a traitor to humanity!
Helen gently closed her eyes as she spoke.
"It is the will of the Goddess I serve."