Ruler
After the meeting with Lautrec and the others, the next meeting was for the High Council. The previous meeting was a meeting for the nation of humans. The meeting with the High Council is positioned as a meeting for the Empire.
In fact, there are quite a few overlapping parts, but right now the demon side is unilaterally supporting the empire. The meetings were purposely separated so as not to bring unnecessary feelings of dependence or inhibition to the human side.
When Ren arrived at the meeting room, he found that the representatives selected from each tribe were all there. The faces were all kings and chieftains as usual.
"I don't think so, but do you have any free time?"
"Compared to humans, we certainly have a lot of free time. We don't have anything to do except to secure food."
It was Luke, the king of Therianthrope, who answered on behalf of the others.
"No, I'm asking you to do a lot of things right now. And I am talking about your job as chief or king. King Luke, you're the king of the country of beastman races. There's going to be a lot of interspecies stuff going on."
"I'll leave that to the chief council."
"Aren't you also a chief?"
"The chief of the Fang Claw tribe has retired. Come to think of it, it's strange to hold the post of king at the same time. It would be a problem if the Fang Claw Tribe has a strange sense of privilege."
"What you're saying sounds reasonable, but is it my imagination that it sounds like an excuse?"
"The truth is, I'm more interested in being a warrior and moving around."
The life of the beastman race is the same as in the past. They make their living by hunting. In such a lifestyle, there is not much politics to be done. The chief's job is mostly to mediate disputes. Such a job, which requires such care, is not what King Luke is looking for.
"Well, the selection of representatives is up to each country, so I will not complain."
"That's right."
"Well then, let's start. King Luke. How's the training of the security force going?"
"No good at all"
"What?"
"Only a handful are usable. The rest are too weak to talk about."
That's a pretty harsh assessment. But this is not something that LRn accepts as it is.
"…Aren’t you comparing yourself to them?"
"There is no other comparison."
"I wonder how many humans are there who can fight one-on-one with the chief of the Fang Claw Tribe on equal footing?"
"That's a handful. Most of them are His Majesty's disciples."
Apparently, it was King Luke's evaluation that was out of the question. Ren's gaze turns to Kai, who is sitting next to King Luke.
"Kai. Mai. Either of you is fine. Report."
"Oi!?"
"The standard of evaluation is too high. Most of them are just soldiers. No wonder they can't fight King Luke."
"That's true, but..."
If one soldier can fight a demon on equal terms, it will certainly be the strongest army. But there is no way such a thing can be achieved.
"What is Kai's assessment?"
"Not much has changed. There is still no one who can follow the basic training to the end."
"And Mai?"
"The same?"
Unfortunately, their evaluations were not normal either. The training that Kai and the others are doing is the same as what Ren was doing. It is not something that ordinary people can handle. The two's standard of strength is based on Ren and Ren's mentor, Alexis, and thinking they are the weakest.
Ren was a little taken aback, but if he gave up now, it wouldn't be a meeting. He decided to change the way he asked the question.
"Is there anyone who would do it until they pass out?"
"There are some. Twenty at most."
"Then let's train those twenty thoroughly. Cut the basic training in half. Use the time for King Luke's personal training. Kai and Mai, teach swordsmanship."
"Is that okay?"
"Were you all able to do all the training from the start?"
"……No."
It can't be done. It's that kind of training. Kai and Mai are here because they have the strength to overcome it. Otherwise, they would have remained in the Church.
"That's what I'm talking about. And Maisen."
"Ha"
Ren called out the name of a former church knight. He was one of the former knights of the Anti-Hero Alliance who had followed Ren.
"General education for those twenty people. The content of the church knights is fine."
"I understand."
"If someone has no prospects as a general, let me know. For those who are not, I will have them train only in their personal military skills."
"Ha"
At the moment, there are twenty people who have potential. Ren decided to train them thoroughly. That would reduce the number from twenty again, but it can't be helped.
"Use the rest of the time to train the rest of them. We will start with group behavior training in groups of five. I will give you a summary of the training methods. If you need me to explain the contents, please let me know."
"With all due respect, I was afraid that His Majesty had no experience training soldiers."
"That is correct. The training method is an imitation of the Lemberg Empire. With a few changes."
"When did His Majesty?"
"While I was in the Church, I looked into it. I was eavesdropping, so I didn't have a complete picture, but I had a general grasp of it. I also looked into other countries, but I thought Lemberg's method was better than Luine's."
While in the country, he put special emphasis on military studies. He had to steal the methods of other countries because no amount of time would be enough if he just studied from scratch.
"...I see. Then let me read it first."
"Also, we will be recruiting new soldiers in a little while. I don't know how many will come, but be prepared to accept them."
"Do you mind if we remove the unfit from the current unit?"
"I think it's about time. We just need to make sure there is a place for them to return to before we release them. Submit your candidates. I'll check it out in person."
"Ha"
"So that's it for the military. Ai, Sai, what about the mages? How many do you have available?"
"At most, thirty people."
"That's few."
"It seems that the creation of a mage group was also prohibited."
Since their defeat, the Nord had limited military power. There's no way a mage group would be recognized.
"If you don't have the opportunity to learn, how can you possibly acquire it? In that case, we'll have to start from scratch. We'll have to do it steadily."
"What are we going to do?"
"We'll go around each town and village and recruit people who seem to have a lot of mana and people who are skillful at handling them."
"Who?"
"You two. You can measure that, can't you?"
"Who are you asking? Of course."
In order to discover human resources, it is necessary to have the ability to discern the mana of the other party. The most talented mages in Nord today, with the exception of Ren and the demons, and by the way, Shizuku, are Ai and Sai.
"Then, I'll leave it to you. Rather than being an escort, I'll send someone for your travel."
"Yeah. We'll send a number of people from our side."
"Oh, we'll send a few from our side as well."
Following King Luke, even Queen Yuri of the Dunkerelfe Tribe offered. It was an unexpected offer for Ren.
"Why from the Dunkerelfe Tribe?"
"To put it simply, it's a face-to-face relationship. I'd like to investigate the surroundings of human towns and villages, but I'm reluctant to act with only elves."
"Ah, I see."
Ren's command is not in a state where it can be said to have spread widely to each and every citizen. It is not always possible to say that there are no people who have strange dispositions.
"If we made it clear to them that they were under the Emperor's command, I thought it would be enough to prevent them from thinking of anything strange."
"I understand. Should I issue something for that kind of work? Like a certificate that shows its official business?"
"...I think it's good enough. In fact, I wouldn't be so sure. I just want to avoid unnecessary trouble."
If not caught off guard, the elves won't lose to the humans, at least one-on-one. Furthermore, among the elves, the Dunkerelfe tribe has the highest combat power.
"Understood. But the certificate can be created quickly, so I'll prepare it. But I don't want it to be misused. I can't think of anything to misuse it for, though."
"I will take care of it. I will not let them do anything to betray His Majesty."
"Please... do you have a prospect for the job I asked you to reach out to the outskirts of towns and villages?"
"Yes. Almost done."
"Then give me that report."
"That's... I'm putting together the materials, so I'll give it to you later."
"……I understand."
Sensing the atmosphere of wanting to avoid reporting at this time, Ren returned his approval. The thing he is asking the elves to do is to investigate the resources. Ren was concerned that there might be some problem, but he proceeded with the meeting without revealing it.
"The Mage Order is about gathering personnel. The military is done. Next is the waterway. This is also from King Luke."
"Ah. As you may know, there are three waterways under construction. The largest, the Tenkei River, is under construction."
(TN: Tenkei, Heaven's Blessing.)
"Eh?"
"What?"
"What is Tenkei River?"
"Blessing of God, it's the Tenkei River. Didn't you know that?"
"I didn't know. However, I don't really understand the languages of this world. Country names and people's names are English, German, and even Italian, but sometimes Japanese is mixed in like this."
"Japanese language? Ah, you mean the otherworldly language? Isn't it named by otherworlders? There are many otherworlders appearing in this world."
There are many words left behind by those otherworlders. It's a good thing, though, because it's more helpful for Ren and the others who use it.
"That's right, but I was a little confused. Sorry, keep talking."
"Yeah. The construction of the Tenkei River is going well. We are extending the waterway to the farmland from where it was pulled in."
"What about flooding? Isn't it bad if you draw water in poorly?"
"We've considered it. We've strengthened the water gates and reinforced the river banks."
"I'm making you work hard"
"No, not really. I had thought that the tools used by the humans were foolish, but they are quite useful. With our strength and tools, we should be able to finish the work much sooner than we had planned."
"…………"
King Luke's explanation made Ren more astonished than pleased.
"What's wrong?"
"You're not using any tools?"
"Yeah, because we didn't need them.."
"Well, they've been around for thousands of years, haven't they?"
"We didn't need it for a long time."
"...It looks like I'm going to worry about something strange again"
A sense of discomfort in this world. It popped into Ren's head again. He knows there's no point in thinking about it, but curiosity makes him do it.
"What?"
"There are races that live in nature like that, and there are vampire races that have castles like humans. Why are they so different?"
"...I don't have the answer to that. However, demons have aptitude. We are suited to living in nature. If we lived in stone buildings, we wouldn't be able to take advantage of our characteristics, would we?"
"Indeed. In that sense, it is necessary to keep a proper distance between you and the humans, considering each race's characteristics."
"Well, that's the way it is. This can't be helped. Fish from the river can't live if they are released into the sea."
"Ah, a good analogy. I'll remember that... I got off topic again."
For Ren, talking with the demons is a lot of fun, with many new discoveries and surprises. The conversation always gets sidetracked. The demons also enjoy this, so there is no problem. On the other hand, it is also fun to hear them make surprising guesses based on what they talk about.
"Well, in conclusion, the waterway construction is going well. Conversely, considering the rainy season, it may be necessary to delay the construction so that it will not be interrupted by strange conditions."
"I'll leave it to you. Don't rush it and don't cause any problems. If an accident happens, all your hard work will go to waste."
"Yeah. I know."
The construction is also to improve the feelings of the humans towards the demons. The construction work should not cause problems.
"What about the coastal area?"
"I wanted to talk to you about that. It doesn't take much time to build one salt field. The question is the number. How many do we need?"
"I don't have an answer for that. Until we can exceed the domestic consumption and use the amount for trade. Then the more the number is, the more it will be."
"We can't keep making them forever. We have other jobs, right?"
Making salt fields is not the only job. There are still many towns and villages that have not been touched. One of the goals is to gain popularity among the people, so they can't just focus on one place.
"Then let's do it this way. There must be a limited number of salt fields that can be used by one person, so if we multiply the number of salt fields by that, we can get the number we need."
"I see. That's right."
"Then I'll let you investigate. Is the construction related to this?"
"What are your plans for the next construction project?"
"Ah, the road. First of all, it's between the coastal area and the border area. This is a transportation route for transporting products such as salt to the trading post. So we'll see when production gets going."
The construction of transportation routes is necessary to transport as many products as possible from the coastal areas as quickly as possible. It is a matter that should be prioritized in order to enrich the country through trade.
"I see. But there is something else, isn't there? From the lumber quarries to the capital. Stone, too. And more."
“Fortunately, or unfortunately, there are many sinners.”
"Construction as punishment?"
"That's right. There are many targets for forced labor, such as lumber and mining stone materials, as well as underground resources, but it's not a job that everyone can do. On that note, there's a fair amount of work that can be done on the road that doesn't require a lot of strength."
"Really?"
"Even children can do things like pulling weeds and moving stones. They can also pound the soil and harden it with a lot of people and tools."
"... You're paying attention to the sinners?"
People in this world don't think about the human rights of sinners. Ren's idea would be seen as an unusual concern.
"This country's population is too small to be used as consumables, the number of people is too small. We must use even the sinners carefully. It's important as a labor force."
Ren is not thinking about human rights either. He just wants to keep using the precious labor force for a long time.
"......When you put it that way, it's certainly true. When you are an emperor, you have to think about a lot of things."
"What about the king?"
"...Well. People have strengths and weaknesses."
"I admit that. Well, that's all I have to say for today. Is there anything else?"
In response to Ren's question, the vampire King Drakul lightly raised his hand.
"What is it?"
"I have received a message"
"Message?"
"From the dragon race"
"Yeah, he brought the offer back. Is it okay if they leave it as a message?"
"No, it seems that they chose our family as an intermediary."
Seeking an intermediary means the willingness to form an alliance.
"No way? There's no merit."
Even Ren was surprised by that. He never thought that the dragon race would accept the offer.
"They have a strong attachment to this land and are willing to help if it is for the good of the Nord."
Nord lands have long been home to demons. That's thousands of years. It's a special place for the demons, and it's the same for the dragon race.
"...Well, if we can tie it. But what are the conditions?"
"Didn't you negotiate that? I heard they asked for military cooperation in the defense of Nord."
"Yes, but is that enough?"
"No, conditions were presented from the other side as well."
"What were they?"
"Make a match when they feel like it."
"...Why such a condition?"
Ren doesn't know why the dragon race put such a thing in the alliance conditions.
"They said they are bored with each other."
"I am very busy"
"What the dragon race is talking about is martial arts."
"Bored about martial arts?"
"There aren't many opponents who they can fight with all their might"
"That's……"
Ren wondered why the dragon race thought like that. They just talked for a short time.
"There is no need to hide your abilities. We can guess the general strength by looking at their mana and their movements. As far as we are concerned, there are few who can match His Majesty in earnest. King Luke, who actually fought you, admits this."
"……I see."
Even without actually fighting, demons are able to determine the strength and weakness of their opponents to some extent based on their mana alone. This was the first time Ren had learned this.
However, for example, special skills cannot be determined, so it is not possible to foresee victory or defeat with certainty.
"Why are you hiding your power so much?"
"No, I hid it from the humans, but I didn't intend to do so from everyone. But I was scared, you know?"
"Scared?"
"When I was training in the church capital, I wasn't as strong as I am now. But before I left the capital, I received a blessing that boosted my power. I became aware of it when I fought against the army of Saint Miriam's Kingdom. I didn't feel like I could lose at all with five hundred in front of me."
The power of the blessing. Ren, who obtained it just before leaving the capital, never had a chance to realize it. The attack by the Luine Kingdom was not a threat to Ren. But it was not until he was confronted by an army of 500 troops that he realized it was an anomaly.
"Are you afraid of that?"
"Because I didn't train to get it. I became stronger just by receiving the blessing. I can't trust such power."
How much effort did he put in? Because there is proof of that, he can trust the power. Ren has a tendency to think this way. That is why he is not bothered by effort.
"...The blessing is the [Demon King's Vessel], right?"
"""What?!"""
Hearing King Drakul's words, the surroundings raised voices of surprise all at once. Not everyone understands the true meaning of [Demon King's Vessel]. However, the word [Demon king] is still special to demons.
"……That's right."
Slightly Ren's expression turns grim. He is not happy to have himself recognized with the title of Demon King, or rather, he can't trust it.
"King Drakul! Why did you hide it until now!"
"If he doesn't have that title, would you obey His Majesty?"
King Drakul understands Ren's feelings. He knows how Rin feels about it.
"...I see."
King Luke's anger cooled down in an instant at King Drakul's reply.
"Let me confess. Our race knew His Majesty's title and chose to follow His Majesty. For our race, loyalty to the [Demon King's Vessel] is absolute. My loyalty is not to the [Demon King's Vessel] but to His Majesty Emperor Kaiser Ren Breitkreutz. I hereby declare this."
He did not want Ren to be misunderstood by the rest of the races. With this in mind, King Drakul pledged his loyalty to Ren once again.
"Don't show off. If you say so, I swore allegiance to His Majesty even if I did not know his title. Knowing the title now won't change anything. At best, I can boast that my eyes were right."
King Luke, defeated, also puts into words that titles are irrelevant.
"We are the same. Regardless of the title, everyone in the Lilith tribe loves His Majesty."
"It's not the same as loving him like yours, but all of my people's sincerity is directed toward His Majesty. I swear my loyalty once again."
One after another, the kings and chiefs of each tribe express their feelings for Ren. All of them are swearing allegiance to Ren, regardless of titles. Ren couldn't be happier.
"I'm at a loss. It's not going to be a meeting."
Ren muttered these words while hiding his embarrassment.
"Let's take a break for a while. It's been a long time since the meeting started."
"Yeah, let's do that."
In response to Ren's words, the demons left their seats one after another and left the conference room. They are concerned about Ren.
"I'm not going to cry."
Ren was again embarrassed by their concern.
"I don't mind if you cry. But first, I'd like you to see the documents."
"Ah, yes. Let's take a look at them while we're at it."
All the demons left the conference room, but the elves remained behind. The elves were staring at Ren with a slightly nervous look on their faces. What is there in the materials he was given? Ren's movement stopped as he turned his eyes toward it. What was written on the document was a map of Nord. On it were numerous symbols.
"...What does the mark mean?"
"Black is iron ore, and there are also special iron ores such as mithril. Red is silver. Yellow is gold. Green is gemstone. The types are diamonds, rubies, and many more. There are too many different kinds, so we decided to use only green."
The land of Nord was a treasure trove of underground resources.
"Who knows about this?"
"Only I, who compiled the findings of each tribe, know the whole story. But the people here have a rough idea of what it is."
"I see. Then forget it."
The document flares up with Ren's words. It was supposed to be hot, but Ren kept holding it until the document burned cleanly.
"Only one place from each tribe. So rework the materials and submit them officially. More steel stones, as they are a necessity."
"I believed that His Majesty would make such a decision."
"I'll say it again. Once you've compiled the materials, destroy the original materials and forget the contents. If this is known, the Nord will become a battleground for each country. We can't afford to lose the place where the demons and elves live."
“Yes. I pledge my loyalty once again."
"We too" "Me too"
Yuri's words are followed by the other chiefs. The place where they live is important, but for the elves, who have the mission to protect nature, overexploitation of underground resources is unacceptable because it leads to the destruction of nature.
Ren instantly gave up underground resources that would make the Nord rich all at once, and would probably even reach the funds needed to fight the rest of the world. That alone makes Ren an object of loyalty to the elves.
On this day, Ren truly ruled over the Nord's demons and elves. Neither Luna nor Ron. Their allegiance was undoubtedly directed to Ren.
◇◇◇
By the time Ren returned to his room after finishing the meeting and subsequent office work, it was already late at night.
As expected, Shizuku and Saku refrain from visiting Ren's room at this hour. Even now, some of the Liliths are on his side as maids, but they do not seek him out on their own.
As long as Lyra, the queen, maintains moderation, the other women will do the same. They are a highly disciplined race.
"Ah, Luna."
Luna appeared in front of Ren, who was relaxing by himself. Even though he showed up, Luna is with him even when they are apart. Even if he can't see her, he can always feel her presence. No feeling of being disturbed occurs at all.
"It's been a long time."
"I haven't seen you. Why?"
"It's because Ren is always flirting with other women."
"Ah, I'm sorry. That's right, I have to decide on a day to spend with Luna."
"I'm kidding. Luna is also busy."
"What are you doing?"
"Ruling the Nord so that Luna won't lose to Ren."
"Rule?"
"Luna will be king of the Nord spirits."
"That's... amazing, but are you okay? There are strong spirits, right?"
For Ren, no matter how much time passed, Luna was still the small existence he had to protect when they first met.
"That's right. Nord has high-ranking spirits. Luna will win against those four."
"Four. Four attributes. Do you mean there is a salamander or something?"
"That's almost right. In this world, they are called Salamander, Undine, Gnome, and Sylph."
Even without words, Ren's thoughts are conveyed to Luna. And so are Ren's memories. The reason they speak in words is because that is what Luna wants.
"That's a subtle difference. But I can usually tell which is which. Winning is strong, right?"
"I'm fine. I've already beaten Undine."
"Uwaa. That's amazing."
"Three more to go. No problem."
"I see. Luna is also working hard."
"Ren is also working hard."
"Well, somehow. But there's still a long way to go."
"You're not going to hold Rin?"
"Huh? Why are you talking about it all of a sudden?"
For Luna, controlling Nord and Ren's harem is on the same level. No matter how much they communicate, Ren doesn't know. Even if he knew, he wouldn't believe it.
"You didn't hesitate to embrace the other two, but I wonder why you don't embrace Rin, who you like the most. Your emotions are too complicated for Luna to read."
"Ah, I wonder if I can explain it well."
"You like her, right?"
"I like her. Thinking about my feelings, I think I like her."
"Then you have fulfilled your promise."
"But I also wonder if this is what it means to like someone."
"Hmm?"
"Thinking about it logically, I think I like her. I don't think love is like that. However, this idea also comes from the knowledge that romantic feelings are like this, and I don't even know if this is correct."
Love doesn't make sense. The reason why Ren thinks this way also comes from knowledge. Ren has no choice but to use reasoning to understand the emotions that do not come naturally to him. But logic cannot explain emotions. There is no answer.
"Even if you explain it, it's still complicated."
"I think so too"
"Is not being clear about your feelings the reason you don't hold her?"
"That is also a little different. In fact, I have feelings of love for Kazuki."
Emotions that cannot be explained by logic. Ren believes that he did indeed have such feelings toward Kazuki.
"I know that."
"I see. But I wonder if it might have come from a physical relationship. I feel like the distance between me and Kazuki has grown tremendously since our first night together."
"But isn't that what it is?"
"Maybe so. But what about Shizuku? I rather disliked Shizuku. And yet, we had a physical relationship, and I came to allow her to be by my side for some reason or another, and we continue to have a relationship now. It's like the body comes first and the feelings come after."
"I finally understand. In other words, Ren wants to feel that you love Rin, regardless of the physical relationship."
"Yeah, that's right. As expected of Luna."
He can understand feelings he doesn't understand when Luna explains them to him. This is because Luna reads and changes into words the feelings and vague thoughts that Ren does not recognize.
For Ren, who is emotionally deranged, Luna is the best partner in this respect as well.
"I understand how you feel, but I feel a little sorry for Rin. Ren should understand Rin’s feelings."
"Well. This is my indulgence of Rin. I know that. But if things with Rin go well, I think something in me will change a little. I'm still sorry to Rin. It's only for my own reasons."
"...I think that's fine. In that respect, Rin is a special person to Ren."
What Luna is looking for is not necessarily just the creation of affection in Ren. It is not only affection that is driving Ren crazy, but all kinds of feelings for others. Thinking about others, even if it is not love, is necessary for Ren.
"Yes"
"That's enough about Rin. From now on, it's time for the two of us."
"Right. Time to think about Luna and myself."
"That's right."
Then they discuss a lot of things. In fact, many of the things they discuss are things they already know about each other, but by putting them into words, the thoughts of the other person become strongly etched in each of their minds.
They cannot have physical relations. They rarely see each other. But still, their relationship is special. Although they know each other well, they are unaware of each other. They are connected only by their hearts. They care for each other and want each other.
Such feelings may be pure love. Two people who can't understand love don't understand it.
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