Chapter 678
It wasn’t long before I had to say something to the Allied Forces Headquarters.
Withdraw all Allied forces and return them to focus on reconstruction.
Effective rule is not immediately possible and meaningless.
This is after they became self-sufficient and self-sustaining on their own land.
For now, it’s better to disband the allied forces and scatter them apart, so that they can neither unite nor disperse without our strength.
Saying that I have decided to rule you does not mean actual control.
The work to be done does not diminish as it is solved, but more and more.
After giving the order to prepare for withdrawal to the allied forces, he entrusted all the work to Rowen, Louise, and Harriet.
The rest of us had to deal with more pressing problems.
empty imperial palace.
The void in the ecliptic must be filled as quickly as possible.
Since the battle wasn’t scheduled anyway, only the three of us arrived at the imperial palace, Charlotte, and Olivia.
The imperial palace guards naturally opened the way for me when I appeared, as if they knew we were coming.
I couldn’t see the expressions on the faces of the guardsmen in their helmets.
However, everything was prepared to enter the imperial palace without blood.
Naturally, it would be by Bertus.
The imperial palace was almost empty except for the guards guarding the entrance.
In fact, people were not really needed because the palace’s defense was a magic barrier in the first place.
However, the most important people still remained.
“You’re back, Her Highness the Princess.”
“It can’t be called that anymore, but yes. I’m back.”
Is it the chamberlain?
A person who is in charge of all management inside the imperial palace.
Although they were not outsiders, the people in charge of running the palace stayed behind and guarded their positions.
* * *
Just taking a step into the empty imperial palace made it mine.
To be precise, it’s not my job from here on out, it’s Charlotte’s job.
Charlotte, of course, had no choice but to know the circumstances of the imperial palace well, and she would have no choice but to quickly grasp the operation of the imperial palace.
So I had nothing to do.
So, Olivia and I walked through Tetra, the central imperial palace in Emperatos.
The central palace was solemn and quiet, and also huge.
Olivia gazes at the lofty ceiling of the Central Palace.
“Something… … . It doesn’t feel right.”
“Iknow, right.”
I ran while looking at the end of the war.
However, after the war, the events that took place were so continuous that I wondered if I was dreaming.
I only thought about getting here safely, and I was at a loss as to what to do next.
The emperor’s palace, which I once couldn’t even look at, is now mine.
But I wasn’t happy at all.
“too… … . Is it because I’m so small that I’m just helpless?”
Olivia seemed to feel a sense of emptiness rather than a sense of accomplishment when she saw this huge palace.
“Me too.”
This palace alone is gigantic, but the world is incomparably gigantic.
A word from us will make the world go round, and a single mistake cannot be undone.
They will be torn apart, joined together, and sometimes disputes will arise.
Just as I took on the central axis, Olivia also occupied the gigantic axis.
It is carrying the weighty mission of unifying all believers in the Five Great Gods and reforming religion.
So I and Olivia couldn’t help but feel the pressure in their own way.
“still… … . We got here somehow.”
Olivia quietly hugs me.
“You can’t lie that there will only be happy things.”
“… … yes.”
“Anyway, let’s believe that we can do well. ‘Cause I’ve been doing it all along I will be able to do something in the future.”
Having rejected religion, she has to return the way she left and do what she least wanted to do.
It’s all because I wished it for her.
I always had to receive.
I still just give.
“thank you. always.”
Seeing no reason not to thank her, I hugged Olivia tightly.
Like I’m trembling a little bit.
Olivia, who was hugging me, was clearly trembling.
You still have to believe that it will work out.
Just as a sense of defeat always brings defeat.
A hopeless vision will only bring despair.
You have to believe that it will work out.
* * *
how much time has passed
After being called by the attendants, Olivia and I headed for the emperor’s office. Charlotte organized her papers piled on her desk and neatly placed them to her right.
“It’s a situation where you just have to come and sit down.”
“… … Is that enough?”
“huh.”
Even though Charlotte knows most of the details, Bertus left with a clear handover.
“I think most of the key officials knew what was going to happen. Just call it and do what you do. Of course, there are those who get scared and run away. However, in that case, arrangements have been made to determine who should be designated as the successor.”
State administration is not a vacuum.
Bertus arranged in advance so that the status quo could be maintained even if I came.
“But things are never good. The problem of absolute starvation is still severe, as well as the resentment against the empire, and the problems such as people’s opposition and riots that will happen when you ascend the throne, are not problems that Bertus can handle. We should know better.”
As the war continued, people were becoming more and more impoverished.
You can take over an empire.
However, the empire on the brink of collapse is embracing immeasurable problems.
We drink the poison itself, not the poisoned chalice.
Taking over an empire is easy, but managing it is not easy.
I inherited a sandcastle that was on the verge of collapsing.
The bureaucrats remain, so you can run the empire through them, but the challenge of normalizing the situation in the ecliptic remains the same.
If the ecliptic is stabilized, is that the end?
Beyond the ecliptic, the direct control of the empire and the problems of the vassal states also remain.
You should also begin to win their full obedience and help them to grow up on their own.
“Fortunately, when the allied forces withdraw, the resources for the military can be spent on the ecliptic. Originally, it would have been like this for about a year more. You could say it was fortunate out of misfortune.”
The quick withdrawal of Allied forces brings about the conservation of resources.
Harriet’s presence is very helpful to us and to everyone in the world.
Indeed, Harriet turned mankind and all races into one of the greatest wizards in history.
After Charlotte finished her words, she stared blankly out the window.
I can’t help but know what you’re thinking
He must be thinking about the missing Bertus.
After completing all the preparations, Bertus disappeared.
No, he ran away.
But neither I nor Charlotte thought that Bertus would run away.
Somehow, it seemed to be different from what he was preparing for.
“Rather, this is good. People will hate the emperor who ran away, and then they will be able to easily abandon their attachment to the Gradias family.”
If the emperor had been executed, there might be some who believe in the emperor’s chagrin.
However, the fact that the emperor ran away would bring about the disappearance of the last remaining lingering feelings for the emperor.
So Charlotte will think that Bertus has escaped and is lucky to be alive. As I think so now.
But neither Charlotte nor I were sure whether Bertus really thought that way and ran away.
“I can’t figure out the whereabouts of Christina, Louis, and Anna. I probably can’t find it. I guess I’ll have to check later to see what happened. The infrastructure for making immortals has all been destroyed, and it can never be rebuilt at the level of individuals, but people don’t know what to do.”
We need to find out if Cristina is really dead, and if so, if the other two are also dead.
I can’t say that it’s not the root of the problem either.
And what happened to Ludwig?
There’s even the issue of Antirianus.
It’s not all over yet, and I don’t know everything.
There are more and more things to do, and more and more things to do.
* * *
Two weeks have passed since the Battle of Diane.
In the meantime, Charlotte took care of the overall state affairs of the imperial capital.
Allied forces began to slowly return under Harriot’s leadership.
As soon as they return, the story that the Gate Crisis ended with the victory of the Allies will spread throughout the continent.
And, the story of the Empire’s betrayal and the Demon King will also spread.
Another confusion that will result will be taken care of by people everywhere.
Conflicting claims will ensue between those who reject me and those who have seen me firsthand in the Allied Forces, which will lead to numerous conflicts across the continent.
You can’t deal with all the work at the same time.
I hope that the leaders of mankind will carry out what I have said.
I don’t know about anything else, and I want you guys to eat well and live well.
What really dominates them is what comes next.
Right now, it was too difficult to deal with the imperial affairs.
After the withdrawal of the allied forces, a complete end to the gate situation was announced to the ecliptic.
All troops returned to the ecliptic.
and.
The story that the demon king swallowed the empire will also spread at the same time.
A joy so great that it puts to rest all the confusion of the past.
And, a bizarre story that will make that joy suddenly bizarre.
The empire’s betrayal and the demon king’s rule.
It is a story that will have to be known someday.
Black propaganda begins.
The gate incident was actually caused by the emperor, and the demon king has been working hard to protect mankind.
That’s about it, to sum up the content.
The great meeting room of the Central Palace Tetra.
me.
Harriet.
shallot.
Olivia.
Airi summoned from the Edina Archipelago.
liana.
Sarkegar.
Four Lord Vampires, excluding Antirianus.
There, the leader of the Knights Templar, Rowen.
And even Louise von Schwarz.
In other words, all those who were supposed to take on the role of the real power of my regime, which would begin from now on, were gathered.
It would be nice if the Archduke of Saint-Ouan was here too, but the Archduke returned to the Duchy with his army. Leaving behind the word that he would leave everything to his daughter.
“… … To be honest, I don’t believe it even if it’s like me.”
At my words, everyone in the seat nodded slowly.
black propaganda.
To be honest, it was too obvious.
It is nothing more and nothing less than the new regime vilifying the former regime to justify its rule.
“Isn’t that something you can’t do?”
I nodded at Olivia’s words. Regardless of whether people believe it or not, it’s good for me if there are even a few more people who believe in it.
“The words of the people who saw you fighting in the Allied Forces will serve as proof.”
Black propaganda that doesn’t sound like words.
Real participants testify to it.
That will give you some persuasion, and I agree with Charlotte when she said that that’s enough.
Charlotte begins to explain.
“Things across the continent are not at the stage where we can use our hands yet. For now, the first goal would be to support and stabilize the entire ecliptic.”
“Perhaps many of the forces that have returned to their hometowns will have different feelings over time.”
“Many of them may be unwilling to accept our domination now as we begin to function as an empire. It could be the position of the rulers, or it could be the result of representing the position of the ruled class.”
“However, there is not a single force in the entire continent that can invade the ecliptic by force. So while their rebelliousness may defy our domination, they will never pose a real threat to us.”
“It will be difficult to secure political legitimacy. But if you subjugate them anyway, obedience will follow.”
“It doesn’t have to be power to subjugate it, it could come from the power we have, the resources we have, the technology we have.”
“In the long run, we need to subjugate the entire continent to the Empire through economic rather than political or military methods. Once you’re full, you create a situation where everything collapses the moment you don’t acknowledge our domination.”
“Everybody can hate us, but if we make them realize that without us everything they can enjoy is gone, we can rule them.”
“Fortunately, we have blueprints for a new warp gate.”
Charlotte looked at Harriet as she said that, and Harriet nodded.
A new warp gate.
That’s the second button for us to dominate the entire continent.
“First of all, let’s aim to stabilize the ecliptic.”
“And, by restoring and redesigning warp gates across the continent, to economically unite the continent. When control of the warp gate is in our hands, no one can disobey us.”
In exchange for miserably surrendering to the demon king, you can live a peaceful life.
So, subordinate them economically rather than forcefully.
After all, economic abundance will speed up the rebuilding of civilization.
The moment we have a warp gate, the leash of the entire continent is in our hands just by having the control over it.
We briefly talked about the path we should take in the future.
“Something may actually happen that requires the use of force. The food issue is tight, and I have to worry about Edina’s problem. So, stay at the imperial palace for a while. You never know when or where you might need it.”
The ecliptic is now a boiling cauldron.
Since emergencies can erupt at any time, you must stay in the ecliptic for now.
