The Emperor Claims an Iceberg
The same sort of thing had happened before.
It was an incident in the United States.
A simple-hearted old farmer suddenly decided that paying taxes was a waste of money.
What had first sounded like the ravings of a madman slowly took root deep in his gut, and one day he looked back and realized the idea now felt completely natural.
Following that conviction, the old man declared his barn an independent nation.
From now on, he would pay no taxes!
Countless barns had birthed tiny empires like this one, but clearly this particular barn hadn’t been one of the lucky ones.
After all, the farmer was still locked up in a federal prison on charges of rebellion.
“Ugh.”
Kim Hwang-je found himself scratching his head as the memory crossed his mind.
He had boldly declared in front of Seo Jun-seo that he would go through with it, but now that he was actually sitting here thinking it over, he couldn’t hide the swirl of complicated thoughts.
Still, a country was defined by territory, citizens, and sovereignty.
By those standards, Kim Hwang-je was already a legitimate emperor.
The citizens of Adel Kingdom, obviously.
The elves living in the Magic Tower residential district, which he had claimed as territory.
The Gaya puppet state that treated the container truck he rode around in as its sovereign land.
Nax, whose very body was territory.
And Guji Village, which had essentially stolen an entire mansion.
That already made five vassal states.
He had territory and citizens, and sovereignty rested solely with Kim Hwang-je.
So why did he still feel so uneasy?
“Ughhh…”
“Sir?”
Kim Hwang-je was having a surprisingly hard time accepting this change.
In the fantasy world, anything he did felt like a dream that would vanish after one night.
Wrestling a dragon while exposing his lower body galaxy? Honestly, wasn’t that the kind of dream any hot-blooded young man in his twenties would have?
But becoming a real king on Earth?
“Sir, have you given any thought to the matter of territory?”
Yes. That exact question.
He had known it was coming.
Where on Earth was there any empty land left?
Still, Kim Hwang-je answered as best he could.
“Is there… any empty land? Maybe Africa at best? But that place is crawling with monsters, and the political interference would be insane.”
He recalled an article he had read in Monthly Hunters.
Africa.
That treasure trove of natural resources.
Oil, every kind of mineral, drugs(?), and a paradise for monsters.
The news ran documentaries about the African region almost every single day.
Keeping the monsters from flooding out was the job of the multinational forces, the guardians of world peace, so please enlist immediately… or so the accompanying advertisements claimed.
“That’s correct. Africa is currently in complete chaos. UN troops, warlords, hunters, and mercenaries are all swarming the place. If you wanted to establish an independent nation like in that one movie, sir, I believe you could pull it off.”
That might work, but…
“What about Antarctica?”
“Antarctica, sir?”
There was one fact many people tended to forget.
The Arctic was just a frozen sea, but Antarctica was a continent.
And a fairly large one at that.
Seo Jun-seo, however, shook his head.
“Sir, the atmosphere down there is extremely hostile right now.”
“Why?”
“After the Antarctic Treaty was revised, construction began on humanity’s final shelter in the Antarctic zone.”
“Ah…?”
“The great powers have united to build a gene storage facility. Even if humanity were to perish, that place would continue operating for a very long time.”
“Ah, so it’s an ark for the elite. Does it have a name like Eden or Ark or something?”
Seo Jun-seo’s eyes widened.
“How did you know?”
“Their naming sense… tsk tsk… If you give something a name like that, it’s guaranteed to be destroyed. Some enormous monster or powerful enemy will show up and smash it in one blow, and then Extra A will say, ‘No way, the strongest barrier on Earth was destroyed instantly!’”
How’s that joke? Will Seo Jun-seo laugh?
Kim Hwang-je waited, but
Seo Jun-seo nodded with the most serious expression he had ever seen.
“Did you… foresee it?”
“…”
I’m going crazy.
“No… Anyway, it’s a cliché. So basically…”
Explaining a joke that didn’t land with the in-crowd was truly a sorrowful thing.
But with a completely straight face, Seo Jun-seo said,
“I will immediately withdraw all of your investment funds from there!”
“Wait, you invested in it?”
“Yes. It was considered the safest bond on Earth. But apparently not.”
“Pull it out. Right now.”
While Seo Jun-seo frantically worked his phone, withdrawing the bonds and redistributing them elsewhere,
Kim Hwang-je suddenly had an idea.
“What if I just build an island in international waters?”
“An island… an island, sir?”
“I think I could manage it.”
Kim Hwang-je imagined receiving an enormous amount of soil as tribute from Adel.
“Sir, wouldn’t it be better to simply pay for a land grant? Perhaps a 99-year lease?”
“Is there even a place like that…? Oh. Come to think of it, didn’t you mention somewhere that gets constantly bombed because of an evil spirit?”
“Yes. I prepared in advance, just in case a day like today arrived.”
Seo Jun-seo nodded.
He retrieved a tightly sealed document from his safe.
When Kim Hwang-je opened it, the pages were covered in thick black ink exactly like something out of a movie.
From ----- to -----
Destroying --- at ----.
At 3-hour intervals.
Dropping --------.
Everything was redacted, but Kim Hwang-je immediately understood what it was.
“You told President Jung Da-yeon last time, didn’t you? To locate the position of an Evil Spirit class entity.”
“I did.”
“Among the currently confirmed locations, the most famous is the Urulu region in Australia, which is barely being suppressed. They are dropping ten sets of aerial thermobaric bombs at three-hour intervals.”
“I see. If I say I want that land, no one will be able to stop me.”
He had burned that troublesome creature to death with holy fire.
Kim Hwang-je used World Observation to look at the royal castle.
The construction of the Temple of Light was nearly complete; only the ceiling remained.
It felt strange seeing the temple being built by pouring concrete, but…
Well, what did it matter? If enemies were coming, the sturdier the better.
“Very well. Contact the Australian government. Tell them we want that land granted to us. If not, we’ll just make our own island.”
“Understood, sir. I will also look into the island option.”
A few hours later,
while Seo Jun-seo was negotiating with the Australian government, Kim Hwang-je went down to the underground prison to visit the two vice chairmen who were currently ‘reflecting.’
The moment Kim Hwang-je stood on the dais of the coliseum,
the two vice chairmen were roughly dragged out by orcs and thrown to the floor.
Blue light filtered down through the glass ceiling, piercing the sea and illuminating the two men.
Their faces were as white as sheets of A4 paper.
“Feels weird coming to prison without a wheelchair, doesn’t it?”
“…Ugh…”
When Kim Hwang-je mocked the wheelchair act he had performed every time he visited the prosecutor’s office, Cho Young-bae’s brow furrowed instinctively.
But what could they do? Even if they had two mouths, they had nothing to say.
Only one sentence left.
“Please… spare us…”
“Fine. I’ll accept your oaths of loyalty.”
“Yes… Your Majesty…”
Kim Hwang-je realized this was what it felt like to become the ‘shadow power behind the throne.’
A strange sense of accomplishment poked at his insides.
He might not be able to step forward openly, but he had now taken complete control of Gaya Group’s two sons.
“They’ll need regular education, so make sure they visit the mansion often.”
“Yes…”
The two vice chairmen, faces blank, swore their loyalty to Kim Hwang-je.
Beside them stood the Leather Artisan, dressed in the dazzling robes of the empire’s grand archmage—an Archaist.
Not only that, but the Emaciated Mortician lurked in the shadows.
“Your Majesty. I shall ‘bind’ their oaths.”
“Go ahead.”
As they recited their vows, white vapor-like energy already began pouring from the two vice chairmen’s mouths.
When the Leather Artisan reached out, their souls were drawn out like threads, then tied into ribbons in midair.
The ribbons swirled around, as if showing off for the two men to see clearly, before being sucked straight into Kim Hwang-je’s Emperor’s Talisman.
Two tiny versions of the vice chairmen, now resembling small spirits, circled around the necklace.
Since they were only fragments of souls, they weren’t as vivid as Benedict. Unless you looked closely, they appeared as little clusters of light.
Then the small spirits split in half again. One half disappeared into the Mortician’s mouth.
After completing the process, the Leather Artisan spoke.
“Most esteemed and august Emperor. A portion of these men’s souls now resides within Your Majesty’s talisman.”
“So this is how you use it.”
“This subject is so ashamed he does not know where to put himself! All of this is thanks to Your Majesty’s boundless grace! Long live Emperor Kim Hwang-je of the Kim Hwang-je Empire! Long live! Long live!”
It wasn’t exactly praise.
Yet the Leather Artisan proudly raised both hands and shouted “Long live!” in gratitude.
“Aaaah…”
It wasn’t clear which of the two let out that groan.
But the two vice chairmen’s faces shifted—from blank, to terrified, to sorrowful, and finally to resigned.
From a distance they looked like similar middle-aged men, but because their souls were bound to the talisman, Kim Hwang-je could clearly read their ‘thoughts’ on their faces.
ALERT!
Your Majesty!
Congratulations.
It is said that a true emperor can read faces.
Otherwise, how could he command men?
You have now begun cultivating the ability to see through the inner hearts of people from their expressions. We offer our congratulations!
You have taken two jackal-like humans as your subordinates.
They are individuals worthy of being treated as monarch-class figures.
They stand in positions where they can wield vast wealth and power.
However, their hearts are filled with endless complaints and insatiable greed.
Beware the dagger stained with greed!
Your Majesty’s Dignity Score has increased by 120 points!
Current Dignity Score: 123 points.
Use it wisely!
Kim Hwang-je dismissed the notification window.
Because they had sworn on their souls, the two men now looked completely hollow.
They were no longer princes or anything of the sort.
They had become pitiful creatures entrusted with managing secret accounts.
They had tried to rely on fists closer than the law and ended up suffering a truly devastating blow.
“Still, just sending you two back like this makes me uneasy.”
“Pardon…?”
Cho Young-bae’s eyes trembled.
He was trying to force a smile, but the corners of his tense mouth kept twitching.
In Kim Hwang-je’s eyes, those signals appeared magnified.
“So I’ve prepared something. Receive your approvals ‘discreetly’ from this friend here.”
“…”
When they turned their heads, a man walked out from the center of the prison.
White armor of the sort a royal knight would wear. His black hair was drenched in sweat.
But that face was all too familiar…
“Team Leader Cho Jong-hyun?”
“You’re here…?”
Cho Young-bae called out the name, and Cho Jin-hwi muttered in shock.
But they soon realized how obvious it all was.
It was the First Team that had originally been dispatched to keep Kim Hwang-je in check.
In case of emergency, their mission had been to attack and capture him.
Given how wildly Kim Hwang-je was running amok, it was only natural that they had either betrayed their employers or been dealt with.
“You… you betrayed us!”
Cho Young-bae tried to stand, but his legs gave out and he collapsed to the floor.
“Betrayal?”
Cho Jong-hyun smiled coldly.
He gripped the sword at his waist tightly, but said nothing more in front of Kim Hwang-je.
Instead, Kim Hwang-je took Cho Jong-hyun’s side.
“You two used your grandchildren like tools, and when they died, you harvested their organs and shared them among the real ‘nobles.’”
“…”
Cho Jong-hyun’s face flushed slightly.
The family’s shame and the humiliating memories of being treated like lab rats flashed through his mind.
But from now on, things would be different.
Cho Jong-hyun pounded his chest and bowed deeply, pledging his loyalty more fervently than anyone.
This was the kingdom’s etiquette he had learned by watching the knights of Adel Castle.
“Right, then, Cho Jong-hyun. You can manage them, can’t you?”
“Of course, Your Majesty. What should I handle first?”
“First, confiscate all their cars. Merge the two companies into one. Run them under a joint management system and place a large order for airplane engines. Lots of them.”
“Airplane engines?”
“Yeah. I’m going to attach them to the castle walls.”
Enough with the biplanes.
An aviation logistics company could obviously produce massive engines.
Same for drones.
“Start a drone business that can bypass government defense industry restrictions, along with large-scale vehicle manufacturing. And of course, prepare an ‘Adel Branch’ for the department store.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Naturally, I’ll cover the costs. You’ll accept gold, right?”
“It is an honor, Your Majesty!”
True rich people didn’t ask for payment in installments.
Just buy the whole department store and be done with it.
At that moment, Seo Jun-seo carefully opened the door and entered.
“Sir.”
“Yes?”
“The Australian government has refused. They say the Urulu region is strategically important land. Even if you were to take it, they cannot grant it.”
“Ah… really?”
Well, that was too bad.
“However, they accepted a different condition.”
“Oh? What is it?”
“Didn’t you say you wanted an island?”
“That’s right… Wait a moment. Everyone, clear the room.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Cho Jong-hyun led the two vice chairmen out.
As they were dragged away, the vice chairmen’s eyes widened enormously at the word “grant,” staring at Kim Hwang-je until they disappeared.
Once they were gone, Seo Jun-seo spoke.
“Instead, they have agreed to grant you an iceberg. They presented thirty clauses and added it as a joke, but they actually accepted it.”
“…That’s basically an island, right?”
“Yes. It is an island. If you eliminate the Evil Spirit class entity, you will be allowed to choose one of the icebergs that drift from near the Antarctic continent toward Australia.”
I’m going to become the Lord of Icebergs?
“You intend to turn an iceberg into an island and claim it as territory. A brilliant idea, Mr. Seo Jun-seo!”
It was only possible because Kim Hwang-je could freely scoop up both soil and ice from the fantasy continent.
Kim Hwang-je nodded in satisfaction.