Yelena
Yelena
"How would you like to handle this? Administrator Albrecht?"
Yelena asked, waving the paper. Another message had arrived from the Dragon Beastkin.
"I believe it would be best to tear it up, Your Highness Princess Yelena."
Albrecht hadn't been imprisoned after abdicating, but he wasn't living comfortably either.
He had been appointed as an Administrator and was handling administrative duties alongside the ministers of [Raigen].
And all decision-making power for [Raigen], which originally belonged to Albrecht, had been transferred to Yelena.
The Emperor had appointed his eighteenth daughter, Princess Yelena, as the Regent Deputy.
Marina's conviction played a huge role in this.
Since she had personally participated in the affairs of [Raigen], she had asserted that there was absolutely no way they would harbor any ulterior motives.
However, because the excited Marina could only express things like,
'Saklasi is amazing! Mother.'
'Saklasi is incredible! Mother.'
'Saklasi is the best! Mother.'
the Emperor hadn't even heard about the [Wish] 'Blood is also water' yet.
Anyway, since [Raigen] had clearly surrendered, someone suitable had to be sent.
Someone was needed to stabilize the system of the [Raigen] Kingdom, which had lost its King.
Someone with a certain level of status, loyal to the Empire, and not currently tasked with anything important.
Since there was no risk of ulterior motives, the young princesses currently serving as regular knights were chosen as options.
However, the youngest, Clara, was excluded. Even the Emperor thought that would be difficult.
Next was the nineteenth, Zhenya, but she politely declined the job.
The Emperor thought, 'I suppose she doesn't want to live with the belligerent White Weasel tribe,' considering the distance between the Empire and the [Raigen] Kingdom, even if they had surrendered.
He couldn't ask his other daughters, who were busy serving as Captains and Vice-Captains.
That was when the eighteenth, Yelena, readily accepted the job.
The Emperor, who had been worried that Yelena would also refuse this job considering Zhenya's refusal, was simply overjoyed.
He thought Yelena was being considerate, hearing that Zhenya had refused.
In reality, Yelena just didn't want to miss the chance to have a connection with Saklasi.
That was why she, the head moderator of the <Water Ability Gallery>, was currently here as the Regent Deputy of the [Raigen] Kingdom.
"Please call me Deputy Grand Duke Stan. I like the ring of that title better."
Yelena intended to make the most of this connection.
"I will keep that in mind, Deputy Grand Duke Stan."
"If you're done with your business, you may leave. Administrator Albrecht and ministers."
"Yes, Deputy Grand Duke Stan."
Albrecht, not even dreaming that Yelena was thinking,
'Deputy of Stan... it feels like I've already become his wife. Hehe.'
backed out of the office of [Raigen], which had originally been his own.
Albrecht and the ministers gathered at the Government Office. This was now where the subjects of [Raigen] conducted their administration.
Albrecht, who had now become a mere subject, also had to work here as an Administrator.
In fact, when Albrecht first received the message from [Dragonia], he had thought it was a revelation from heaven.
He had considered it destiny. A golden opportunity to topple the already powerful Empire, an Empire that was only growing stronger!
To think that a mere seagull could travel the long distance between the frozen lands and the [Raigen] Kingdom!
Who would have known that such a frail life could brave the harsh cold and deliver a secret letter over such a long distance?
Furthermore, the ocean currents starting from [Raigen] were flowing precisely toward the frozen lands.
It just took a long time, but by using flotsam drifting on the currents, they could send messages from [Raigen] to the frozen lands.
In this day and age where advanced scientific civilization had taken root, it was truly a method difficult to detect!
If this wasn't a revelation from heaven, what in the world was?
It was a series of coincidences: if that seagull had been a migratory bird heading to the Empire, or if the Dragon Beastkin hadn't endured the frozen lands for over 2,000 years, none of this would have happened.
"Thinking about it now, I was such a fool."
"It was understandable, Father."
Adelhardt, who had stepped down from Crown Prince to a mere secretary, was also working at the Government Office.
"The Empire gathered those abandoned Soi Tribe members... there was a reason for it."
"Has it been about a thousand years? I never imagined that would be the process to create a Transcendent. Even now, I can't guess how that event birthed a Transcendent."
They were interpreting the reason the Soi Tribe became a Transcendent completely differently.
They didn't know the fact that even the Imperial family didn't know the reason, and simply thought,
'It's our bloodline,'
without looking into it deeply.
"The Imperial family was so devoted to winning the heart of that monster!"
"Yes, Father. Was it about 20 years ago? I never thought that high-nosed Princess Yelena, whom I saw during the Demon Continent flooding, would act so submissively."
They were completely misunderstanding the reason Yelena wanted to be called Deputy Grand Duke Stan.
In reality, she was desperately holding back her desire to be called Saklasi's deputy.
She had just put forward the surname Stan because she felt a bit embarrassed to attach the name Saklasi.
But there was no way they could know about this inner situation. It was natural. How could they know that Yelena was the head moderator of the <Water Ability Gallery>, who shouted,
'Our gallery owner is so cool,'
in her heart every day, and that she was just doing this because she liked Saklasi?
"Once just one Transcendent showed their power, it became like this. It was a power that a mere kingdom, no matter how strong, had no choice but to kneel before."
"Your Highness..."
Seeing Albrecht show a weak side he had never shown before, the ministers wept sorrowfully.
"I am not Your Highness. Watch your tongues if you don't truly wish for destruction. Where do you think you are, in the Government Office? That's a high enough position... Yes, indeed..."
"Father...."
Everyone in the Government Office became gloomy.
"We must be grateful for his mercy. If it were that monster, he could have submerged the entire United Kingdom with a tsunami and turned this continent into ruins. If destruction itself had been his goal, it would have been entirely possible."
"Was the power that great?"
Adelhardt hadn't been present at the time because he had evacuated, so he was curious.
Therefore, he couldn't properly gauge the fear that his father and the ministers were feeling.
"Most ability users up to the mid-rank would be neutralized. High-ranking ability users might endure, but as you know, resistance is meaningless."
As the ministers recalled that memory, they felt fear return. They were thinking of that incomprehensible [Wish], 'Blood is also water' again.
"Still, if they are Soi Tribe, they shouldn't live more than 100 years."
"No, it didn't feel like they had a lifespan."
"Father, was your lightning ability truly useless?"
"It seemed to work. It was just meaningless. I suspect his constant [Wish] is the ocean itself. I thought his body might be made of Elixir, but that wasn't it."
"Are you saying the ocean is above Elixir?"
"I was able to cut that monster with 'Lightning God Manifestation'. At that time, a powerful current must have flowed into that monster's body. Why would it be useless? It felt like pouring electricity into the ocean. If you shoot electricity into the ocean, is there any way the ocean would die?"
Albrecht sighed deeply as if recalling that memory again and continued.
"The target when using 'Lightning God Manifestation' was his neck. I cut off his head."
"You mean the Grand Duke's head?"
"Yes, even that was useless. He picked up the severed head and put it right back on his neck."
"What the!?"
"Is such a thing truly possible!?"
Adelhardt and the ministers were hearing this for the first time. They couldn't understand what they were hearing, even as they listened to it.
"Do not even think about opposing a Transcendent. I was a fool. Lately, that scene keeps appearing in my nightmares. If only that event had been a dream, if only it had been just a nightmare..."
The more they talked about Saklasi, the more the atmosphere in the Government Office became deeply darkened.
"To think we tried to trust a primitive race that can only communicate via birds in this modern age, it was truly a foolish thing. I hope they encounter that monster quickly, too."
〖The Supreme King of [Minos], the Grand Duke of the Empire, and now even [Raigen]? Where will his path lead!〗
The [Raigen] Kingdom has surrendered with a white flag. King Albrecht has abdicated, and it has become the territory of Grand Duke Stan.
[Omitted]
The cause of the incident was the assassination attempt on Grand Duke Stan by Albrecht. However, it ended in failure, and the Grand Duke used a massive tsunami to [Raigen] Kingdom....
[Omitted]
The entire territory of the [Raigen] Kingdom has become an extraterritorial area, and the ports and aviation have become logistics hubs for the Koopong Camp operated by the Grand Duke....
[Omitted]
It seems questions like this are circulating in public regarding the Grand Duke's path.
Next, which country?