Well, that was true enough. If the child inherited my “I want to live in peace” personality and Roroa’s “I don’t want to be bored” personality, that child wasn’t going to want all the hassles that came with being king or queen.
…Actually, by that same logic, wasn’t a child who inherited Liscia’s sense of duty the only option to succeed the throne? Aisha’s personality wasn’t fit for a ruler, and Juna was asking to become a secondary queen, saying, “I’d prefer to be able to act more freely.”
At this rate… rather than a war over who was going to succeed the throne, we were more likely to have a war over who wouldn’t have to?
I’d have to have Liscia work hard to raise an heir with a sense of responsibility. But if I asked her to, she’d be bound to say, “Don’t say that like it’s someone else’s problem!” and get angry.
“Sebastian had a little girl recently, I hear,” said Roroa. “If we have a boy, we can marry him into her family. If we have a girl… I’ll get to thinkin’ about it then.”
“You’re getting way ahead of yourself!” Liscia shouted. “And, hey, get away from Souma already!”
Liscia started trying to pry her off of me, but Roroa used my body as a shield, switching the arm she was clinging to from left to right, and clinging to me all over again.
“Don’t be so stingy,” Roroa said. “You’ve had plenty of time for flirtin’ with him up ’til now, haven’t ya, Sis? What’s wrong with me takin’ a bonus turn for the next little while?”
“I have not had plenty of time!” Liscia said angrily. “We’ve been too busy for any of that!”
Roroa looked at her blankly. “…Don’t tell me, you two still haven’t…”
“We haven’t yet! Is that a problem?!”
When Roroa heard that, she turned a cold eye in my direction. “Darlin’… That’s a bit much…”
“I’m the one being criticized now?!”
“Yes! It’s because you’re not taking care of me ‘properly’!” Liscia snapped angrily.
“Yeah, yeah!” Roroa wore a smile like a mischievous child.
Why were these two so in sync?!
Aisha, who had been watching over all of this from behind me, tugged on my sleeve. “Um… I hope, uh… I’d like you to do things ‘properly’ with me, too.”
Urgh… At some point, I had been encircled by three fiancées. As I broke out into a cold sweat that just wouldn’t stop, my retainers watched with wry smiles and a roll of the eyes.
Some days later, the Elfrieden Kingdom, having annexed the Principality of Amidonia, formed the United Kingdom of Elfrieden and Amidonia. (Popularly known as the Kingdom of Friedonia.)
From this point on, as a magnificent king who expanded the country’s territory less than a year after ascending the throne, I came to be called Great King Friedonia.
Now, that “Great King” name — I wasn’t terribly fond of it. It made me think of giant squids, giant isopods, and… also, Dedede. All of which had “great king” in their Japanese names.
Also, given the fact that I’d agreed to take Princess Roroa of the annexed Principality of Amidonia as my wife, there were rumors that “King Souma grows more powerful and his territory expands with each wife he takes,” and, “He’s a lecher who invaded and destroyed an enemy country just to sate his desire for Princess Roroa.”
Honestly, how did it come to this…?
“…And that’s what happened,” I finished.
“Well… I don’t know what to say… Pfft!” On the other side of the simple receiver, Maria was holding her shaking shoulders. Something had struck her funny bone, apparently. This was supposed to be a meeting, so she seemed to be trying to hold the laughter in, but I’d feel better if she’d just let out a big laugh at this point.
“Hee hee hee… It seems that turn of events was completely unexpected for you, too,” she giggled.
“Yeah,” I muttered. “I feel like I was using shrimp as bait to catch a sea bream, but instead I ended up catching a shark.”
“Do be sure that you take proper care of what you caught,” she said.
“I can’t release it… can I?” I asked.
Maria continued giggling for a while, but she eventually returned to a serious expression. “Now, about what the Papal State of Lunaria was doing behind the scenes…”
“Roroa was saying that they hate you for being called a saint.”
“That’s true,” she said. “I received a request to stop calling myself a saint… or rather, a formal complaint over it. But I’ve never called myself one, so there’s nothing I can do about it.”
“It’s a bit strange to ask you to not let the masses call you a saint,” I agreed. “But that being the case, the Orthodox Papal State is going to continue to be a potential enemy of the Empire. They may try to make contact with us like Roroa was suggesting they would.”
“Sir Souma… do you want the authority that the Orthodox Papal State could give you?” Maria asked me with probing eyes.
I firmly shook my head. “Don’t be silly. I’m trying to move forward into a new era. I’m not about to take a step backwards into a time of rule by divine right.” Our country didn’t need a Girolamo Savonarola.
My firm rejection of the idea seemed to have relieved Maria. “The Orthodox Papal State is a headache for the Empire. There are many followers of Lunarian Orthodoxy in the Empire, and the Mankind Declaration is meaningless against a religious body. If anything, there’s the risk that they would make use of the hole you pointed out.”
Something like gathering their believers into one place and having them declare independence, maybe? Once a group of believers had formed, it would be difficult to eradicate them. Religion was something that burned all the hotter the more you tried to stamp it out. About the only countermeasure would be to round up those plotting to declare independence one by one before they could form into a group.
The flag called the Mankind Declaration drew people to the cause, but it also had large holes in it.
“Will the Empire still not abandon its position as the leader of the Mankind Declaration?” I asked.
“Yes,” Maria said. “We need to unite around the Mankind Declaration. If there needs to be someone to wave that flag, the Empire will take on that role. Even the Orthodox Papal State must understand that. If mankind is unable to deal with the encroaching threat of the Demon Lord’s Domain because of internal squabbling, it will all be pointless in the end. I don’t think they’ll try anything strange just yet.”
“…I wonder about that,” I murmured.
I felt like this wasn’t an issue we could take such an optimistic view toward. The more chaotic the times, the more religion showed its true value. It found its root in the hearts of people seeking salvation. Despair for society or the times they lived in would drive people toward religion.
Now, when there was the threat of the Demon Lord’s Domain, some were already viewing this as the end of days. If despair continued to run rampant through society, the Orthodox Papal State could feed on that and eventually become an incredible force. In order to stop that… we needed to show people the light of hope.
We needed people to believe that the world wouldn’t be destroyed, that tomorrow would always come, and that the future would be even more incredible than the present. In order to accomplish that…
“Madam Maria.”
“Yes?” she said.
“For as long as your Gran Chaos Empire continues to hold to the ideal of uniting mankind, we in the Kingdom of Friedonia will walk alongside you.”
I needed the Empire… needed Maria… to be the light of hope for mankind. During that time, the kingdom would move forward into a new era. So that the people wouldn’t despair, and so that even if they did despair, they could get back up without clinging to gods.