Chapter 473
After coming to the Edina Archipelago, Charlotte spent the most time with Harriet, not the demon king.
“He gets restless when you’re with him. Just leave me alone.”
“uh… … . Is that so?”
“Yeah, so will you let me take care of it?”
“… … okay.”
It’s a sin to even face it, and Charlotte can’t come to her senses if she’s with an apologetic being, so she said it would be better not to see her for a while.
Compared to the Empire, it was a shabby scale, but as a country, there were so many things to take care of.
Even though Charlotte suddenly had to take charge of a country, she thought she had to do it because it was Reinhardt’s job after all.
what about me
I was lost in these thoughts, but I couldn’t do it if I had to.
Because Reinhardt believed in himself in his own way, he tried to entrust him with a certain task.
So Charlotte spent the whole day listening to Harriet.
Population size of the Edina Islands.
distribution of islands.
Status of each island.
A refugee transport ship that periodically arrives at the main port of Razak.
Current status and source of supplies in storage.
Fort Mokna, which can be called an advance base, and that it is now scheduled to be relocated.
And, demons in the streets.
Charlotte was staring blankly at the landscape of Razak, where orcs and trolls roamed the streets.
The first few days I wore a robe, but now I took it off.
In a landscape where various demons roamed around, Charlotte’s appearance was not so bizarre.
In fact, rather than paying attention to Charlotte’s figure, people only paid respect to Harriet, the scribe who accompanied her.
“Aren’t you curious? Honestly, if you ask me if I’m used to it, it’s not.”
Harriet also absentmindedly watches the scene where people and demons come and go in the street.
“Still, just knowing that this is possible has changed my mind so much.”
Harriet said she had something to show her, and led Charlotte by the hand and climbed a hill in Lazakh.
“Hey, can you see it over there?”
“Agricultural land… … is it?”
“huh.”
In a distance that a human being should look smaller than a fingertip, something enormously large was clearing the farmland.
One ogre was clearing the field at a very high speed, which should have been done by dozens of people.
“Originally, vampire mages do it, but after the foundation is cleared, ogres tend to do things that require such strength. It helps, but… … . hmm… … . To be honest, I have to work for dozens of people and eat for dozens of people… … . Actually, I think it might be something similar. It’s amazing. yes?”
“… … That’s right.”
“The reason this scale is maintained is that among vampire wizards, there is a faction that has mastered botanical alchemy and magic. If it weren’t for them, the refugees might have starved to death in the past.”
Even directing the ogre’s clearing work was an elderly farmer with a stooped back.
Whether this is effective or not, as Harriot said, is unknown.
But, I am living.
Trying to live in the mix.
The sight etched into Charlotte’s eyes.
“Honestly, Edina’s biggest problem is food. After the Gate incident, Edina has grown too big. It’s somehow self-sufficient with the help of demon wizards and other demons. But that’s all Demon King… … . That’s why it was somehow done with Reinhardt’s power.”
“… … I see.”
“That’s why the Demon King’s presence in Edina is absolute. The people on the island are afraid of the demon lord, and the demons absolutely follow the demon lord, so there is no conflict. If the demon king disappears, the demons will not understand why they have to live with humans, and humans will do more.”
Archdemon draws absolute obedience from demons.
And the people of the island are afraid of the Demon King.
This coexistence seems perfect on the outside, but it is impossible to establish without the presence of the demon king.
“So the existence of the Demon King in the Dark Land is actually closer to a god than a king. From what I’ve heard, it seems that demons originally fought and divided among other races. Until a race called Archdemon appears and dominates everyone.”
“Yeah, I know that.”
A being closer to a god than a king.
Archdemon.
Charlotte looks at the scenery created by that absolute existence that did not exist in the world.
Charlotte has heard many stories from Harriet.
How many refugees have flowed to this island so far.
How did the demons come into contact and enter this island?
How was the work of building the buildings they would live in and clearing the land with magic?
How did the Unified Holy Church come about?
While he shut himself up in the Spring Palace and blamed himself for everything.
I heard about what the demon king did while trying to do something, not about self-blame and shame.
“really… … . You’ve done a lot… … .”
The Demon King saved countless people and created a landscape that seemed to be out of this world.
After failing at everything, what did the person who did not give up and tried to move forward achieved?
Charlotte was looking at it from the point of view of a loser.
Can I be responsible for this?
Could someone else’s brilliant achievement be shouldered by himself, a loser and a traitor?
“Charlotte, this is not considerate.”
Harriet looked at Charlotte and said with a serious look.
“Reinhardt has a lot of work to do.”
“… … .”
“It’s just too much, too much.”
“… … I guess so.”
“I brought Reinhardt here because he needed you. I didn’t bring you here because I felt sorry for you.”
Harriet was not angry.
“If you want to be a sinner and a traitor, keep living like that.”
“… … .”
“But if you want to live as the regent of Edina, which Reinhardt needs, that’s how it will be.”
Charlotte looks up and sees Harriet.
“Do you want to be the person Reinhardt needs? Or do you want to be the person that Reinhardt, who is extremely busy, needs constant attention?”
Charlotte’s lips trembled.
“I am… … . of course… … .”
Everyone here is the person Reinhardt needs.
I know because I have heard many stories from Harriet.
Liana, Olivia, Irie, and Harriet.
All of them were on important missions.
Charlotte was also brought by Reinhardt to entrust him with a very important mission.
If you want to live as a loser, you can live as a loser.
However, he would become a stumbling block that Reinhardt had to care about endlessly.
Harriet pats Charlotte on the shoulder.
“If you know, you can do that. Don’t overcomplicate it.”
“It was like that when we first came here.”
“If I think about it too much, I think I’ll just stop thinking and feeling guilty.”
“I thought we should go forward one step at a time.”
“Rather than thinking about how many people will die on the continent.”
“Building houses for those who have lost their place to live right now.”
“Rather than thinking about who the hell was responsible for this situation.”
“I immediately launched a boat to rescue people fleeing the monster and brought them to this island.”
“Rather than mourning how many times someone died and thinking about what we lost.”
“I had to somehow feed the people who had nothing to eat right now, so I increased the arable land.”
“If you think about the future that is too far away or about things that are too abstract, you get stuck thinking about what to do and then you can’t do anything.”
“Let’s do it one by one.”
“Let’s go one step at a time.”
“After that time… … .”
“look.”
Harriet points around.
points to the world
“At some point, it’s like this.”
“… … .”
“You can’t say you’ve done something completely right, you’re very anxious and it’s still unfinished, but you can’t say you haven’t done something.”
Charlotte looks at Harriet with her eyes wide open.
Those who stood still indefinitely, and those who took at least one step every day.
Look at the landscape created by that difference.
whether I am worthy Can this be? Can I ask for forgiveness?
Is it okay to be given the power to argue with this beauty?
If you stop, you just stop.
Before thinking about entitlements and rights.
Just as Reinhardt ordered, I prepared meals for my weakened body, took care of my health, and built up my stamina.
Learn at least one more thing about Edina.
That one step, sitting on the throne and starting to deal with the agenda one by one.
Why should I not take that step?
The persuasion that seemed to be Harriet’s consolation, but that there was work to be done.
In the end, it made Charlotte give up all thoughts.
There will be no rights and no obligations.
However, there was something Reinhardt made him do.
If so, that’s all you have to do.
so take one step
It is a sin to stop and wonder if I am worthy to walk this step.
Seeing Harriet’s warm smile, Charlotte gritted her teeth.
I felt like crying because of those who did this to me.
but.
During the two years, Charlotte cried a lot.
I just cried.
Except crying, I did nothing.
That’s why, instead of letting the tears welling up in her heart flow, Charlotte wiped them away with her sleeve while clenching her teeth.
Devil’s red eyes, those tears burning red.
“okay. whatever happened… … . I’ll try.”
Though the thought that he was wrong did not change.
A sense of obligation to do something.
I was able to regain the responsibility of having to do it somehow.
* * *
Harriet’s persuasion was successful.
Instead of sinking into thoughts and feelings of shame, you have to look ahead and go one step at a time.
Reinhardt wasn’t forgiven, he was brought here because he needed it, so if you feel guilty, respond to that need.
So Charlotte talked a lot with Harriet after that, and tried to figure out what Edina was like by inspecting Edina.
As a result of understanding the Edina Islands to some extent, Charlotte came to one conclusion.
“that… … . hmm… … . Can I be honest with you?”
“Uh, let’s be honest then.”
At Reinhardt’s words, Charlotte firmly shook her head.
“This is not a country.”
“… … uh?”
Charlotte’s evaluation was grim.
“This is a national soup kitchen… … . same? I called it when I called it like that. Something to say about the country… … . Should I do something like that… … .”
Edina Archipelago was in need of a major constitutional improvement, Charlotte judged.
“The biggest problem is the situation where all the people of Edina will starve to death if there are no demons. Bringing refugees from the continent is good, and even providing them with land and houses for free is good, but basically food self-sufficiency is at a level that cannot be solved without the help of magic and demons.”
“Even though they say they are continuously increasing the farmland, I heard that wizards are involved in the work in the end. Available human resources are limited. Perhaps even now, the part where manpower is most concentrated on this island is the food resource-related business. But if the scale starts to grow more and more, at some point the supportable population will cross a critical point.”
“So, this country is not a structure in which surplus goods produced by the people are stored in the national treasury in the form of taxes and supplied when needed or used for national projects. Here, it is a national project for the state to produce food. The front and back are reversed. This is actually a charity, not a government or state. It means that this country only aims to support its population. Even that is a difficult situation.”
“Of course, that doesn’t mean there is anything wrong with doing that. However, at this rate, there is no countermeasure for when the dependent population grows to an unbearable level. Farming with magic in the first place is nonsensical in normal times, and the same goes for mermaids supplying marine resources as food materials. We need to establish long-term food self-sufficiency measures, that is, a long-term policy to become food self-sufficient even without this bizarre thing that magicians are farming.”
“The same goes for security issues. The size of the refugee residence area has already exceeded the size of the existing downtown area of Razak several times, and the security measures for those areas are just trying to prevent it by having guards patrol at night. However, there must be a limit to the number of troops that can be maintained. That’s why the crime rate in the refugee area is quite high.”
food. Safety. policy. Policy. Management of areas other than the capital, etc.
At the end of Charlotte’s story about Edina’s numerous problems, Reinhardt’s mouth was open in a daze.
It looks like a country, but in reality it is a charity.
The national treasury is not called in the name of tax, but a bizarre structure in which all the powers of the national treasury and the king work only for the people.
That was the reality of Edina that the Demon King had built for two years.
After finishing her story, Charlotte looks at Reinhardt in silence.
“The reason we came this far is because the abilities of the demons under you are too good. No matter how the situation is, people of that level don’t do this kind of thing.”
Edina was only maintained because the overly talented human resources were engaged in jobs they would not normally do, and the people of Edina were only members of the military at this point.
Edina’s reality is that the country itself cannot survive without the demon king.
