The Demon King Seems to Conquer the World

Chapter 239: After the Ceremony

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“Whew… Finally, it’s over.” (Yuri)

I sat on the sofa and loosened my collar.

I finally feel like we’ve reached a turning point.

“It was a good ceremony. Myaro, thank you for your hard work.” (Yuri)

“I’m satisfied.” (Myaro)

“The coronation was almost exactly at noon. That was my biggest worry.” (Yuri)

Although I couldn’t see or hear it, there were probably cheers echoing throughout Shaalta at noon today. Both large cities and small villages were in a festive mood, with meat and alcohol being served.

There are few coronation ceremonies surrounded by such joy. Certainly, if it had been off by even a minute, it would have been a letdown.

“With this, the country will come together as one.” (Yuri)

Dmitri, who was also sitting on the sofa, said. This was Myaro’s office, but on the long bench that seated six, Tigris and Gin Toga were also present. The reason we were in Myaro’s office was because there was no risk of anyone eavesdropping. Myaro was thorough about such things.

“I wonder. There are still many headaches to deal with. The biggest issue is the distribution of rewards.” (Myaro)

“Are you going to divide the land?” (Tigris)

Tigris asked.

“That’s a difficult question. Honestly, I don’t think it’s good for knights to control land.” (Yuri)

“…Indeed.” (Dimitri)

Dmitri agreed.

I wonder.

“May I express my thoughts?” (Dimitri)

He asked for permission to speak.

That’s unusual.

“Go ahead.”

“What I realized from this battle is that the power of the people is great. I’m referring to the people of the Hou Company created by Your Excellency Yuri.” (Dimitri)

Well, some decisive factors were indeed created by the Hou Company. For example, the combat carriages and Molotov cocktails. It’s quite a remarkable story.

“In recent years, the development of Suomi has been remarkable. This is probably due to the contributions of the people of the Hou Company established by Your Excellency Yuri. If the Ek Household had continued to rule, it wouldn’t have turned out that way.” (Dimitri)

That’s likely true.

I intend to dismiss Jano Ek once things settle down, but he was so afraid of me that he neither interfered nor meddled with the Hou Company.  He didn’t bow his head but also didn’t become an obstacle, and if a thief broke in, he would conduct a particularly heavy investigation and catch them. Thanks to that, the Hou Company has made rapid progress over the past few years, being able to operate with maximum flexibility.

“Moreover, the harvest in the direct territories of the Hou Household has increased considerably over the past five years. This is because Rook-sama, following Your Excellency Yuri’s advice, implemented reforms in farming methods. However, Rook-sama didn’t interfere with other feudal territories. He taught and recommended, but didn’t enforce, so the new farming methods didn’t spread beyond the territories where lords were keen on land management. This has started to create a disparity in the lives of commoners between the Hou Household’s direct territories and other feudal territories.” (Dimitri)

That’s not really my doing. Rook had been quietly working on it. When I talked about soil nutrients, Rook set up experimental fields and began quietly exploring ways to produce wheat and other crops every year. Discussing cow manure, pig manure, and chicken manure, and stressing the importance of well-matured fertilizer.

By guiding based on those results, the yield started to gradually improve. Absorbing refugees from Kilghina also enabled labor-intensive farming, which was significant.

“If this trend continues, the disparity will widen. Lands governed by excellent lords will become more prosperous by adopting new technologies, while lands governed by inferior lords will fall behind. The commoners will become discontent. Currently, the population is excessive, but if we gain Kilghina, some territories may see a decrease in population.” (Dimitri)

“Indeed.” (Yuri)

“Your Excellency Yuri must think so too. It’s better to separate military power and governance.” (Dimitri)

“Exactly.” (Yuri)

I affirmed.

“A good general isn’t necessarily a good land manager. There’s no need to hold both roles.” (Yuri)

Take Dolla, for instance. He made outstanding military achievements in the last battle, but if you gave him vast territories as a fief, could he manage them well? Probably not. He wouldn’t cruelly oppress the people, but he would find listening to their petitions bothersome, and no one would be happy.

The idea that a good general should govern land stems from the notion that ruling people is about wielding violence, which often happens to be the case. Imagining a sage without martial prowess founding an empire is unrealistic. Conversely, there are countless examples of generals with only bad governance but excellent martial skills founding empires.

“Besides, I’m thinking of establishing schools in various places to nurture talented individuals from among the commoners. Honestly, it would be difficult to continue entrusting territorial dominion to someone else as before.” (Yuri)

“Well then, wouldn’t it be better to hire them under national funds?” (Tigris)

Tigris suggested.

“The Royal Guards have been doing that.” (Yuri)

Indeed, the First and Second Armies of the Royal Guards received salaries from the royal family to sustain themselves. They weren’t managing territories.

“However, most knights seem to expect they’ll receive portions of the Boff and Noza Households’ former territories.” (Tigris)

“Well… yes, they probably do.” (Yuri)

Most knights were born into a traditional world where the ways of knights of that era were considered supreme. That’s troublesome. Money isn’t the problem, but whether they’ll be satisfied with it.

“As long as we and two of the Godwins don’t complain, there shouldn’t be any problems. Regarding territorial management, it should be fine to station someone influential as the Your Excellency’s representative in the capital.” (Dimitri)

Dimitri appeared to be deeply considering the matter of territories.

That’s surprising.

“Or rather, if we’re going to Shantinion, we won’t have time to manage new territories… If we’re going to be at the front all the time, we won’t be able to shine our eyes. If we have to leave it alone, we’d be happy to receive wages.” (Dimitri)

Well, that’s true… If we’re going to Shantinion, we’ll have to go as far as the Crimea Peninsula. We can’t come back frequently. So, in the end, we’ll have to leave the territory to someone else. I don’t know if it’s the wife, the head of the household, the son, but it’s also a difficult problem. If they can get paid, they won’t be able to act like a king in the territory, but we can live a pretty comfortable life in the capital.

“Do you want to be a General household…?” (Yuri)

I told Dimitri.

Traditionally, it would be appropriate to place Dimitri in charge of a region and make him a General Household.

“I’m sure Your Excellency Yuri doesn’t want such a thing. I’m satisfied to lead a large army.” (Dimitri)

“Leave that to me.” (Yuri)

I’m confident. Well, I’ll give you some money.

“The real problem is with the Rube Household?” (Gin)

Gin said.

“The remaining General households are the Hou Household and the Rube Household. Since the head of the Hou Household is Your Excellency Yuri, we can manage it in any way. But I don’t think the princes of the Rube Household will like sending a representative of the regent to them.” (Gin)

That’s also a concern.

“Cooperation is promised, and there’s nothing else to do but leave it to them. There’s no way we can take away their territory.” (Yuri)

“Well, yes… But, going back to what we were talking about earlier, I think the gap will widen. What will happen then?” (Dimitri)

“There’s iron ore. As long as the Rube Household exports it, it’s safe.” (Yuri)

The Rube Household has the country’s only iron ore mine. There are other iron ore mines, but they can’t be dug without digging the mine shaft. The Rube Household’s iron ore mine is located deep in the mountains and is inconvenient, but it is an open-cut mine.

“There’s no need to worry about managing the territory. All you have to do is dig up rocks.” (Yuri)

There’s room for improvement in terms of facility investment.

“Is that so? Well, that’s right.” (Dimitri)

Oil is the same, but it’s easy to manage the land with local products like this. Usually there’s only forests and farmland, the water is pure, and they sell it to make alcohol or something.

“By the way, it’s really hard to say…” (Yuri)

I glanced at Myaro, who had been silent for a long time. She nodded and stood up, heading for his desk. When she came out of the shadows of the desk, she had a sheet of paper. She placed it on the desk between the sofas for receiving guests.

“I think I have to tell you guys.” (Yuri)

“This is a map of the new continent.” (Myaro)

Myaro, who sat next to me, explained.

“A new continent…?” (Dimitri)

Dimitri frowned and said.

“It was discovered two years ago. It’s far out in the western sea. It’s about twice the distance to Aisa Island.” (Yuri)

“Huh…? That’s, uh—?” (Tigris)

Tigris blinked rapidly.

“Two years ago, right? How big is it?” (Dimitri)

Dimitri asked.

I placed my palm on the desk.

“This much is the White Wolf Peninsula.” (Yuri)

“Hah, please spare me the jokes…” (Dimitri)

He smiled wryly.

Well, it’s not unreasonable.

“We’ve only mapped a small part, but we’ve already resettled about two thousand people living in villages. Here and here.” (Yuri)

I pointed to two distant red dots in sequence with my fingers.

“Two years ago…? So, you had found this before the battle?” (Gin)

Gino said.

“Yeah. Even if we lost that battle, we wouldn’t have been wiped out. Considering Carol’s condition, relocation was difficult.” (Yuri)

As I said that, Dimitri’s joking smile finally disappeared.

“So, this isn’t a joke.” (Dimitri)

“Not at all. It’s the reality.” (Yuri)

I said firmly.

“Everyone, please don’t misunderstand. Despite the vast continent, there aren’t many ships. 2000 people was our limit before the last battle.” (Myaro)

Myaro said. She opposed conveying this. She must want to explain at least.

“It’s just 2000 people. If His Excellency Yuri had announced it immediately upon discovery, those 2000 would have been fortified with royalty, Witches, and General households. The people who should protect the people would have fled first, leaving only ignorant civilians to be trampled by the Crusaders and enslaved. The knights wouldn’t have considered resisting the Crusaders.” (Myaro)

Saying 2000 was the limit is half a lie, but even if it doubled, it wouldn’t exceed 4000. There is not much difference between 2000 or 4000.

“I am confident that hiding this information was the best decision. It’s because we hid it that we can talk here now in the Royal City of Sibyaku. Please keep that in mind.” (Myaro)

Myaro said that much and closed his mouth. The three were deeply lost in thought.

“Well… but are we aiming for Shantinion? Not just resettlement?” (Tigris)

Tigris said.

“Yes. On that note, I want you to hear my thoughts first.” (Yuri)

I said so, and then, I paused for a moment.

“In my speech, I said, ‘We and the Kuran are in a fundamental conflict, and we never know when war will break out. It’s human nature to fear other species. The Kra people consolidated a wide area of ??their nations, and as a result of them turning their fangs on us, the Great Shantilla Empire was destroyed by overwhelming forces.” (Yuri)

“That’s true. I was surprised to hear that there was such a way of thinking.” (Gin)

Gin said.

“They dominate the overwhelming majority of this world. We cannot outnumber them in their habitat. Therefore, when inter-species conflict arises, we are always at a disadvantage and could be destroyed at any time if they unite against us. We become a weak race. If they unite globally, they can create armies as numerous as those in the recent battle. If such battles occur every six months, we will eventually be destroyed.” (Yuri)

A human country unites by creating enemies. A country of different races that cannot produce crossbreeds is an easy enemy in itself. I don’t know what they’re thinking, why they want to conquer us. In fact, Catholic nations have a long history of being united by this one thing.

“To prevent this, the first thing to do is to create friendly relations with the Kuran. It is important to create Shanti-speaking speakers among the Kuran to increase understanding within the Kuran. And above all, it is important to expand our habitat. A small peninsula like this is not worth talking about.” (Yuri)

Language is a difficult issue, so saying to stop using Shanti language and use Telor language is a very difficult task. That’s not possible, so the only solution is to increase the number of bilingual people. To do this, it is important that we first learn both languages.

“Expanding our habitat means encouraging childbirth to fill the New World and the old land of the Shantilla Empire with Shanti. It will take more than a hundred years. To establish stable diplomatic relations, crush the hostile Catholic sects, repaint the religion, and establish a pro-Shan nation. Even if we become hostile later, if we are friendly for about a hundred years, we can take root in the New World.” (Yuri)

It’s a dizzyingly ambitious plan, if I do say so myself.

“Such opportunities are rare in the past 10000 years. If we work hard now, the Shanti will be able to create a world where they will not taste the bitterness of extinction again in 1000 years.” (Yuri)

Fortunately, the Shanti were able to get tickets to the New World earlier than anyone else. And they also acquired weapons to prevent the Kuran from traveling. There’s no way to resist the Eagle’s bombing until steel ships appear. The combination of these two elements is really rare in history. Celestial navigation is difficult to imagine, but it will be conceived someday. At that time, if the opponent has steel ships equipped with anti-aircraft guns, landing cannot be prevented.

“In essence, it’s about developing the New World while thoroughly crushing the Catholic sect. Well, whether we can actually achieve that remains uncertain, but that’s the general direction.” (Yuri)

Personally, I don’t care much about Shantinion in my heart, but domestically, there’s a sentiment that the old land of the Great Shantilla Empire was taken by the Kuran and is rightfully our land. The Black Sea is considered sacred in Shanti religion and is called the Holy Marsh, where the royal ancestor, Shamo Chartres, was born on its shores. It’s an ancient capital and can be considered a holy site.

It should be a good goal. The city-states of the Galilea Union are essentially a gathering of various groups, so resistance up to the Galilea Union will likely be weak.

“Any questions?” (Yuri)

—

After several questions and answers, there was a lull.

“To be honest, it’s really hard to say.” (Yuri)

I said while looking at Tigris.

“The truth is, there isn’t currently anyone who can truly govern the New World. For now, it feels like a man named Harold Harell is in charge. We need someone capable of governing this.” (Yuri)

I stared at Tigris.

“I need someone serious, reasonably flexible, and who is also liked by the people…” (Yuri)

“Me…?” (Tigris)

Tigris looked somewhat reluctant.

“Do you dislike it? You can bring your followers with you.” (Yuri)

“From what I’ve heard, they probably don’t have a house there…” (Tigris)

Tigris seemed uneasy.

“We do have a house. We sent over the lumber we sawed and cut into pieces for a house. However, we don’t have a castle or a mansion. Of course, you can build one if you want.” (Yuri)

“I see… What if I refuse?” (Tigris)

“I won’t do anything. I’ll still promote you. You’ll probably miss city life, though.” (Yuri)

That must be tough.

“Let me think about it for a moment.” (Tigris)

I see… Well, can’t be helped.

“Since it’s much further south from here. I guarantee it’s good land. In fact, there’s plenty of land to choose from. It’s much richer than the Hou Household’s territory, with animals roaming around, though they’re a bit different from those in Shaalta.” (Tigris)

There seem to be herds of buffalo-like creatures at least. Still, there’s no city and it’s not easy to return casually, so it might be tricky.

“Gin.” (Yuri)

“Yes.” (Gin)

“I want you to join Reform and become the governor of the Kilghina region. Are you okay with that?” (Yuri)

“Huh—Really!?” (Gin)

Gin’s face lit up with unexpected joy. I knew he harbored strong homesickness for Kilghina deep down.

Since I’m not granting him a fiefdom, if it doesn’t work out, I can always remove him.

“Absolutely. Dimitri, you’ll continue as the chief of the entire army. Do well.” (Yuri)

As I said that, Dimitri suddenly stood up.

“Serving on the battlefield under Your Excellency Yuri is my joy. I humbly accept.” (Dimitri)

He saluted crisply and sat down again, evidently wanting to show he had no complaints.

“Good. Well then, let’s end it here for today. I apologize for gathering you all at such a time.” (Yuri)

I’m also tired from discussing such difficult matters today.

“Of course, the matter of the New World remains top secret for now. Tigris, I’ll await your response within a month.” (Yuri)