In a conference room deep within the palace of the Ramallon Empire, Emperor Ramallon Crow Frayns and ten ministers and military staff members are lined up in a row. Behind the emperor is a woman. She is the mother of the emperor, Empress Dowager Lamarone Crow Leicesis.
She is over sixty years old, but still in good health. Her beautiful silver hair is glossy, and she is seated with a plump smile.
"Now, ladies and gentlemen, I have summoned you here today at once to a meeting of the people. We are here today to talk about the new nation of Juka and the new nation of Agartha.
The emperor opens the meeting, and everyone hangs their heads. It was customary in Lamarron for everyone to strike this pose when listening to the emperor's words.
"A month or so ago, Juca was invaded by the empire of Heedata. However, now that the name of the country has been changed to Agartha, I have been informed that they have few forces and that the country is not united. Is that so? Mother."
The Empress Dowager nodded her head in exultation.
"Then attack Agartha once more. If we attack now, it will be easier to defeat them.
"With all due respect, sir, please wait a moment.
The voice was Madeline, the prime minister.
"Due to the recent deployment of troops, the Imperial Army is in a state of logistical shortages. If we are to move the Imperial Army now, we will have no choice but to take advantage of the stores in the palace. If Heedata attacks while we are deploying our troops, we will not be able to hold out. I respectfully request that you reconsider the deployment of troops after the autumn harvest.
"Ummm..."
Silence reigns in the room. This was broken by the voice of the Empress Dowager.
"Is that what you want? Prime Minister?"
"I am truly sorry. I have no further comment to make."
"Prime Minister Madril. You always say you can't do something and you can't do it. Is it not the duty of a minister to make possible what cannot be done?
You are absolutely right. But I have a country to look after..."
"Attack Agartha."
Empress Dowager!
I'm telling you. We must attack. Otherwise the kingdom will not stand, Prime Minister?
In a small voice, the Empress Dowager lets out a laugh. But behind the smile, her eyes are cold. As if caught in her eyes, the Prime Minister Madryn turns his head to the side, sweating. The Empress Dowager looks at him with contempt and opens her mouth again.
"Is there no loyal subject who will do the Emperor's will?
"...with all due respect..."
It was Zizeu, commander of the Second Corps, who raised his voice.
"Indeed, as the Dowager Empress says, lack of logistics is not a reason. If we don't have the logistics, we must think of ways to attack.
The Empress Dowager nodded deeply.
"I have a plan here in Zizeu. I would like to ask you to leave this task to me, if I may be so bold.
"You are indeed a man of your word, Mr. Zizeu. The Imperial Army must be like that.
The cold eyes of the Empress Dowager turned to General Callies.
"It is not a battle to just advance your troops unnecessarily. It is better to win without moving our troops.
Zizeu grinned and bowed reverently to the Empress Dowager.
Since we had changed our name to Agartha, we had been extremely busy.
After renaming the royal capital as the capital, we decided to put all our efforts into rebuilding the city. Fortunately, many carpenters and other craftsmen had immigrated from the capital. These people, together with the people of the capital, are repairing broken houses one by one.
Furthermore, I opened a branch of Super Darke in the capital.
I renovated an empty house in a corner of the merchants' street and set up a store there. The management and operation of the store was entrusted to Willis, a cat person who manages the store in the capital. He just had a baby the other day, and he is determined to do his best for his wife and child.
As expected, he is still far from being able to sell his products, but he thinks that the sales of the supermarket will naturally increase as more money goes to the capital. He has decided that now is the time for investment.
These funds were lent to me by Teikoku. Moreover, they said that there is no interest on the loan. If we wanted to, we could, but it would be a shame to ruin His Majesty's face, so we would like to pay back the money as soon as possible.
Gon and May are checking the farmlands in the capital and other places around the city. As for the cultivated lands in the capital, I was worried about whether the residents would resist the idea of growing crops there, since the dead bodies had been left there in piles, but it seems that there is no problem there. The inhabitants of this world seem to have a better sense of discretion than I do.
For some reason, a gnome, a spirit of the soil, has been following May around like a stalker. Originally, a genie is summoned and contracted by a master of genie-jutsu, but there are rare cases where a genie offers a contract, and in May's case, it seems that this is the case. She and Gon seem to get along well, and the three of them are having a good time talking about this and that.
Speaking of Gon, he not only manages the farmland, but also advises the capital as well as the roads and flood control. It is no joke that he has been alive for more than 200 years. He gives precise instructions based on past cases, which are very persuasive.
As for Rico, he has reduced his work at Krumphal to one day a week and is almost always at the capital. He is supported by Ferris and Ruara. Both of them have a good memory and are likely to be Rico's right and left hands.
In the end, we have decided to reject His Majesty's proposal to make Rico the Prime Minister. Rico is now taking the lead, but fortunately the people of the capital are taking the initiative in helping her in her work. We have decided to find a promising and popular person among them and raise him or her to the position of Prime Minister.
The people of the capital have responded well to our efforts and have taken the initiative in helping us. I am truly grateful.
As for me, I have been spending most of my time in meetings with the lords of the country.
In fact, only about 2/3 of the lords have shown their willingness to follow me, and not all of them. But I have made up my mind. Those who obey me, I will do my best to help. Those who do not, I leave them alone. Probably, most of those who do not show willingness to obey me are just looking down their noses at me. They must be trying to see if I can really run the country. I am sure that these people think that they will be dominated by me if I show them how prosperous we are as a country.
Fortunately, most of the lords who have vast arable lands as breadbasket are following me. I am now sitting down with them and discussing how to run the country from now on.
And Lafayence, who has been appointed Commander-in-Chief of Agartha, is happy to do his duty. Most of his SS have also moved to Agartha. They and Knogen take the lead in training the newly hired mercenaries.
Currently, the number of soldiers in the Agartha army is about 2,000. However, they are growing day by day.
"That's no way to kill the enemy! Go at it with more force!"
"No! Loosen the reins more! The horse can't run!"
"That's not cool! That's right! Women love that beautiful shape!"
It is Lafayence, tanned and blackened, who is teaching the soldiers how to do things. The old general takes the lead in training the soldiers every day. Knogen says that he has always loved this kind of training, even when he was young, and that he is now a much more rounded man.
When I first joined the army, he was a terrible man," he said. He used to cut me with a sword. But after the training was over, he immediately became kind and gave me many compliments. I loved that gap... I miss it.
Knogen smiles with a faraway look in his eyes. Maybe this guy has an M-type mind.
Our country has only just begun to move. There will be a lot of naivete. How is he a king? I know some of you may say, "I'll just be me," but I have no choice. I am working with that kind of determination every day.
But I do not yet know that Lamaron is planning to invade the territory of Agartha.