by Dojyomaru
However, that fracturing didn’t last for long. No, it couldn’t last.
Because a foreign enemy invaded Amidonia.
The ones to move were the Orthodox Papal State of Lunaria in the north, and the Turgis Republic in the south. The Mercenary State Zem to the west had its policy of eternal neutrality, so it showed no signs of invading, but it was probably selling its mercenaries to both of the invaders.
The Orthodox Papal State of Lunaria was the center of Lunarian Orthodoxy which worshiped the moon goddess Lunaria. It was a theocracy with their pope serving as a religious and temporal ruler. Lunarian Orthodoxy stood next to Mother Dragon worship as one of the two largest faiths on this continent. The latter revered the Mother Dragon who lived in the Star Dragon Mountain Range.
Lunarian Orthodoxy doctrine preached love for all mankind, mutual cooperation, and tolerance, but some zealous believers held ideologies that were hostile to other religions. In that way, it was similar to Judaism, Christianity, or Islam on Earth.
Incidentally, the Elfrieden Kingdom, as a multiracial state, placed no laws on what faith its people should follow, and everyone followed whatever religions they pleased. It positioned itself as a polytheistic state.
Let’s get back to the topic.
In response to the rioting, the Orthodox Papal State of Lunaria deployed its troops along the border, justifying it in the name of protecting their coreligionists within the Principality of Amidonia.
They gave shelter to the faithful who fled Amidonia, and showed that they were prepared to advance into Amidonian territory should that become necessary. However, they moved slowly.
They were likely aware of the forces of the kingdom deployed near Van, and were taking a “wait and see” approach in order to avoid clashing with us.
The ones who actually crossed the border were the Turgis Republic in the south.
This continent got colder the further south you went. As the southernmost nation, Turgis was a land of frigid cold. Their southern peninsula in particular was locked in snow and ice for most of the year, and the air currents were wild enough to make flying wyverns drop from the air. In the face of that harshness of nature, it’s said that even the Empire at the height of its power had been unable to touch this country.
This country’s soldiers rode on giant yak-like creatures that only lived in their country, and they were said to be invincible when it came to battles on cold terrain.
The news that the forces of the Turgis Republic had invaded quickly spread throughout the principality. As it stood, the principality was disorganized and would be easily carved up. If Turgis was invading from the south, Lunaria would no doubt invade from the north before all of the spoils were taken. If that happened, Amidonia would collapse and would be ruled by two separate powers.
Fortunately, forces of the Turgis Republic had their advance impeded by a fierce resistance put up by the lord of the fortress city Nelva, the battle-hardened old commander Herman. If they were going to be divided and ruled separately, weren’t they better off having a single person who they could trust rule over their entire country instead? When the people of the principality thought that, what came to mind was the cheerful face of the king of the neighboring country which they had seen over the Jewel Voice Broadcast. That young king who had ruled the princely capital Van without issue, and who had even hired General Wonder, the woman who had tried to demonstrate her loyalty to the principality.
...Well, basically, it was me.
The next thing I knew, it had become mainstream opinion in Amidonia that they should seek annexation by the Elfrieden Kingdom and resist Turgis and Lunaria that way.
In the process, anyone who was attached to maintaining Amidonia’s independence (which was pretty much all people who had launched rebellions to usurp Julius’s position) was eliminated by the annexationists.
Herman Neumann, the old general who had stopped the Turgish advance at Nelva, along with the former Minister of Finance, Gatsby Colbert, who was staying with him, both lent their names to support the annexationist faction, which was a major factor in that. It seems Colbert was well-trusted by the people for his reputation as a great minister who supported the country through financial difficulty.
And so, a request for the annexation of the entire Principality was delivered to me.
...
...Yeah. It makes you go, How did this even happen?
If I weighed the pros and cons of annexing all of the Principality of Amidonia, there were more negatives than positives. The positive was that it would raise our population, which would increase the power of our nation in the long term.
Furthermore, the Principality of Amidonia was rich with rare mineral resources, such as gold, and this would provide a steady supply of those mineral resources that we couldn’t mine inside the kingdom.
The negatives, on the other hand, were that even though we had finally resolved the issue of the food crisis inside the kingdom, we would now need to deal with Amidonia’s food shortages, too.
In addition, it was a nation that had been our enemy until mere days ago, so it would likely be difficult to rule.
Also, until now our country had only shared borders with the Union of Eastern States, the Principality of Amidonia, and part of the Turgis Republic. With the change in borders, in exchange for the disappearance of Amidonia, we would now border the Mercenary State Zem and the Orthodox Papal State of Lunaria, which was another downside. The more nations we bordered, the more difficult our diplomacy would be, after all.
Another thing was that, though I hadn’t ever been counting on them, the war reparations would stop being paid, too. Since the citizens of Amidonia would become part of our country, the border between those paying the reparations and those receiving them would be gone.
When I looked at it this way, it seemed like there were more negatives than positives to annexing Amidonia.
However, we didn’t have the option of refusing. That was because the negatives of choosing not to annex Amidonia were even bigger.
First, it would shake our just cause in claiming, “We incorporated Van into the kingdom at the request of the residents.” If we took in just Van, but not the rest, then: “Oh, so, in the end, the kingdom just invaded the land they wanted,” people would point out.
Furthermore, if we left Turgis and Lunaria to invade the country, ultimately, we would still end up bordering more countries.
Also, ruling Amidonia while it was facing food shortages would be difficult. If the two countries failed to rule properly, and famine and civil war were to break out in the former territory of Amidonia, we would see a fresh influx of refugees. That being the case, it would be better if we took responsibility for caring for all of it from the very beginning. It would be difficult now, but in the long run, our investment would pay itself off.
In the end, I accepted the integration of all of Amidonia with the kingdom, and notified various foreign countries. As I did that, I also moved a naval unit under the command of Excel that was standing by in the southwest of the Elfrieden Kingdom to the border with Turgis, putting myself in a position to invade at any time.
From the Republic’s perspective, they wouldn’t want an attack on their mainland while their primary force was laying siege to Nelva. They immediately withdrew from Nelva, and the forces of the Republic pulled back from Amidonia like the receding tide.
Also, seeing that the chaos in Amidonia had subsided, the forces of the Orthodox Papal State of Lunaria that were deployed along the border stopped preparing for war.
Unlike Turgis, they hadn’t made any major moves. Because of that, it was hard to gauge what they had been thinking, and it felt creepy.
Anyway, that was the sequence of events that led to my annexation of Amidonia.
Sometime after the Turgis Republic withdrew...
I was back at the castle in Van to handle the post-annexation paperwork, and on this day, I was seated on the throne in the audience chamber to present awards to those who had contribut
ed to defending against the Turgis Republic. It had come up suddenly, so I hadn’t brought many of my followers with me, but, as per usual, Liscia and Aisha stood on either side of me, while Hakuya carried out the ceremony.
There were two people receiving commendations on this occasion. The old general who had defended Nelva, and by extension Amidonia, Herman Neumann; and the former Minister of Finance Gatsby Colbert (his first name was Gatsby, but because he was a former minister, I felt like I should call him Colbert) who had worked with him to unite the fractured Amidonia. Herman was a battle-hardened old general, like Georg or Owen, while Colbert was a more delicate intellectual type in his mid-twenties.
Behind them were two piles of something, but I couldn’t tell exactly what because they were covered. Whatever it was, it was apparently a gift to our country.
When they bowed before me on the carpet, I told them, “Raise your heads.”
Once they had, I first addressed Colbert.
“Sir Colbert. I thank you for bringing the people of Amidonia together. Without your hard work, the chaos would have been drawn out, and the people of Amidonia would have suffered much misery for it.”
“You are too kind.” Colbert bowed his head deeply.
I had tried speaking of the people of Amidonia as if they were my own people, but he showed no real response. Well... he did plan to push all of the responsibility off onto me, so that was only natural, I suppose.
Colbert raised his head and said, “In any event, Your Majesty, I have something here which I would like to give you.”
“What is that?” I asked.
Colbert removed the cover from one of the two piles. What appeared from beneath it was a mountain of documents. Hakuya, who was standing beside him, said, “I see,” with a strained smile.
I wasn’t sure what it was that he saw, but I asked Colbert, “What are those?”
“These documents are statements of income and expenditures as well as materials regarding rights and ownership within the Principality of Amidonia,” Colbert explained. “They were originally stored in the archives at Van, but we carried them away before the outbreak of hostilities in order to prevent them being lost in the fires of war. The war is over now, so we have brought them back to Van, where they belong.”
Oh, now that he mentioned it, when we had taken custody of Van’s archives as collateral against the war reparations, I might have received a report saying that none of those documents were there. That must have been the reason for Hakuya’s strained smile. Because, for Hakuya, things hadn’t worked out the way he had planned there.
“I see,” I said. “That makes a wonderful gift. It will make ruling easier.”
“I’m honored to hear you say that.”
“However, I think it would be best if you returned them there with your own hands,” I said, refusing to accept them.
“Huh?” Colbert looked dumbstruck.
Hm, I think that evens the score.
I grinned as I said, “Former Amidonian Minister of Finance, Colbert! Do you wish to serve me?!”
“Y-Yes, sire!” Colbert responded almost reflexively. Good, I had a commitment from him now.
“Very well,” I said. “In that case, I will prepare a position for you equivalent to the one you held in Amidonia. Henceforth, as the Minister of Finance of both the Elfrieden Kingdom and the Principality of Amidonia, I ask you to support the finances of this new nation.”
“I-I am an Amidonian, you realize... Is that all right?” he stuttered.
“It doesn’t matter to me. I’ll use anyone I think I can use. If I obsess over race and nationality, I’ll never get this country rebuilt.”
“Y-Yes, sire...”
No, seriously; I had been wanting someone like him. I had been studying the humanities, so mathematical calculations and decisions involving the economy were always difficult for me. If this guy had the skill to keep this less-than-prosperous country from going bankrupt when the military was eating up its budget, I wanted him working for me, no matter what. If there were a capable Minister of Finance trimming unneeded expenses, I might be able to find room in the budget for a policy or two I hadn’t been able to before.
Heh heh heh... oh, the possibilities.
“Minister of Finance Colbert,” I said. “Those documents will surely be the tools of your trade. Take them back, and work to rebuild the Amidonia region.”
“Ye... Yes, sire! I understand!” Colbert prostrated himself before me again.
I nodded, then looked to General Herman. “Sir Herman, you did well to defend against the forces of the Turgis Republic. Without the fierce struggle you put up, I am sure the Republic would have made it past Nelva and into the heartlands of Amidonia. If that had happened, our aid wouldn’t have arrived in time, and the situation would be even more chaotic than it is now.”
I had thanked him, but Herman’s stern expression didn’t soften.
“Warriors are the defenders of the people,” he said. “Even without a master, that remains the same. I merely did what is my duty.”
H-He’s pretty strict and formal, huh... I thought. He was probably the sort that was dedicated to his profession. If Owen was a laughing old man, this guy was a stubborn old man.
Yeah, he was like a tsundere old man from Japan, and I liked that. His earlier words had been the equivalent of: “I-It’s not like I did it for you, okay? I didn’t have any choice after losing my ruler, so I just defended it!” or something like that, I guess.
Herman stood up and walked over in front of the other covered pile. “I, too, have come bearing gifts, Your Majesty. I hope you will not make me take mine back after receiving them.”
With those words, Herman pulled back the cover. Beneath it was a pile of many colorful textiles, all rolled up like roll cakes.
“The south of Amidonia has a successful industry that produces high quality wool,” he said. “These textiles were made with that wool. Please, accept them.”
“Hm... May I come take a closer look?” I asked.
“As you wish.”
I rose from my seat, approached the pile of textiles and put my hand on one. Yeah, it felt good. Was this one a carpet? I didn’t know how to judge the quality of these sorts of things very well, but I could still tell somehow that this was a good one.
“Hm? A carpet?” I murmured.
A carpet as a gift... huh. I dunno... I feel like I’ve heard of this scenario somewhere before. If I recall, there was a scene like this in Earth’s history... Huh?!
“...Sir Herman,” I said.
“What is it?”
“There wouldn’t happen to be a woman hidden in that carpet, would there?”
The moment I said that, Herman’s face stiffened.
Wait, seriously?!
One of the textiles in the pile began wriggling. Had an assassin slipped in? The soldiers and Aisha were on edge, when...
“No fair, no fair! It was gonna be the surprise of a lifetime! Why’d ya have to go and figure it out?!” a girl’s voice exclaimed.
The moving textile slowly came unfurled, and out popped a girl who was somewhere between middle school and high school age. Her long hair was tied at the nape of her neck into ponytail-style twintails, and she had lovely, regular features and beady little eyes. That was the kind of girl she was.
The young girl put her right hand on the back of her neck, and her left hand on her hip, shaking back and forth a bit while she posed like a model. “Welcome or not, here she is, dun-da-da-dun! It’s Roroa!” Then she gave a coquettish giggle and tried to act sexy.
She was slightly shorter than Liscia, and her body had a distinct lack of curves, so she just looked like a little girl trying too hard to seem like an adult. But, well, it was cute in its own way, like a small animal, and... Wait, wasn’t Roroa the name of Julius’s little sister?!
While I was staring in blank amazement at the suddenness of all this, Roroa got angry. “Aw, you’re no fun, Mr. Souma.”
“Mr. Souma?
!” I cried. I’ve never been called Mr. Souma before... Wait, that’s not it! Huh? What?
Gaius and Julius had both been scary people who’d given off a serious bloodlust, so why was this girl so friendly? Wasn’t the princely family of Amidonia supposed to hate the royal family of Elfrieden?
While I was still out of sorts, Roroa started punching me in the shoulder. “Still, I can’t say I approve of ya spoilin’ the surprise. I was all rolled up in here for a little under an hour, y’know? ...Yeah, it was hotter than I thought it’d be.”
Well, yeah, if you were wrapped up in wool, it would be...
“So, how’d you figure it out?” she demanded. “I was pretty confident you wouldn’t, y’know?”
“Well, there was a woman in the world I came from who did something similar, you see.”
“Urkh, my trick overlapped with someone else’s, huh?” she cried. “What a blunder.”
“Though, that person was apparently naked when she did it,” I said. ( *Opinions vary about this.)
“What’s with that woman?” Roroa cried. “Was she some kinda pervert?”
I shrugged. “It’s been said that she was so great that if her nose had been shorter, the whole face of the world would have been changed...” ( *Opinions vary here, too.)
I looked at Roroa who was hugging her rather meager chest as if to hide it. She let out a sigh.
Roroa, by the way, was clothed. If she had been naked, we wouldn’t have been able to have an easygoing chat like this. My two fiancées were right behind me, watching, after all.
“Erm... Do you mind if I call you Roroa?” I asked. “You’re the princess of Amidonia?”
“Darn tootin’,” she said. “These clean-cut features, this charm and wit, oh, yes, the breathtaking beauty of Amidonia, Roroa, that’s me.”
“Oh, geez, I don’t even know where to start poking holes in that...”
“‘Poking holes,’ huh?” she demanded. “Which of my holes are you plannin’ on pokin’? ...Blush.”
“You don’t say ‘blush’! Also, get your head out of the gutter!”
