How a Realist Hero Rebuilt The Kingdom

Book 16: Prologue

Prologue: Two Years After

Its been two years since the members of The Mankind Declaration, The Maritime Alliance, and The Fuuga Faction joined together to stop the spread of the Spirit Kings Cursean illness known as the Blood-Borne Magic-Eating Bug Disease, or Magic Bug Disease for short.

Although the great three powers competed on the continent of Landia, their combined effort resulted in peace throughout the continent. The Demon Lords Domain still remained to the north, but during this time, there was no great outpouring of monsters. No countries were ravaged, nor were any annexed as well. It was a harmonious erahowever fleeting it seemed to be.

Despite the silence within the Demon Lords Domain, however, its threat to mankind was ever-present. And held steadfast alongside this was Fuuga with his great ambitions. While there was a premonition of great waves to come, until that came to pass, each country spent this peacetime developing itself for the future.

First, there was Fuugas Great Tiger Kingdom, which was bound to be at the eye of the storm. For these two years, Fuuga had been actively expanding his territory into the Demon Lords Domain. He gained land, increased his population by calling for those whod initially fled south, and steadily increased his power. This resulted in a state that rivaled the Empire in landmass.

Their liberation of the Demon Lords Domain also steadily built their fame. It solidified Fuugas position as the great man of the era.

In foreign affairs, Fuuga had strengthened his relationship with the Orthodox Papal State and the Spirit Kingdom andtogether with themsurpassed the Empire in power. With internal affairs, hed learned medical techniques from the Kingdom and the Empire, and was hiring a wide variety of personnel to fix his shortage of bureaucrats. Using Fuugas fame to recruit, the Great Tiger Kingdom was able to take in those who were upset with the status quo, those who wanted to make a name for themselves up north, and those who were inspired by his heroic tale. The adventurers spread around the continent were especially likely to heed the call and join Fuugas country.

Thanks to him liberating so much territory, theres a lot of work. Adventurers drift from country to country, having no real attachment to any of them. But the expansion up north really appeals to our sense of romanticism. I hear adventurers in other countries have all been heading there, Juno the adventurer explained at a late-night tea party with the queens present.

When adventurers werent exploring dungeons, they were basically jacks-of-all-trades around the towns they stayed in. So the north being a frontier abound with opportunity really appealed to them.

Youre not going north yourselves? I asked.

Juno smiled and shook her head. No, adventurers can make a decent enough living in this country. And if we ever want to quit, we can go to school and train for another line of work. All of the policies to improve the lives of slaves have also worked to support people like us, who tend to be at the bottom of society. Any adventurer working in the Kingdom who wants to go through the inconvenience of heading north is either ambitious or an idiot.

Having said that, Juno drained the rest of her tea, then put on a slightly more serious expression.

But on the other hand... Those who cant stand this sort of treatmentwho dont want to be looked down uponwill be drawn to the north, right? Theyre looking for an upset to turn things around in their miserable existence. With nothing to lose, its easy for them to gamble it all.

I shuddered at those words. It meant more ambitious people were gathering around a man who already had great ambitions. It might be difficult for Fuuga to completely fix his shortage of bureaucrats with the kind of people he attracted, but it was creating a group that would be even harder to deal with.

Next, there was Marias Gran Chaos Empire. The size of the Mankind Declaration had shrunk and Fuuga had stolen the attention of the world, but Maria was still able to remain the Saint of the Empire. In contrast to Fuugas expansion of his territory, Maria had her eyes focused on internal matters.

Shed hired capable personnel, gradually reforming the old systems. And if there was new science and technologies her country lacked, she wasnt above looking to other nations to teach her. Shed learned medicine from us, and other technologies from the Republic and the Archipelago Union. She also had matched pace with us in abolishing slavery in all but nameeven before the Republic and Archipelago Union did the same. Now they had a social safety net that was at the same level as the Kingdoms. That made the people support her even more, and there was no sign that shed stop being the Saint of the Empire anytime soon.

Meanwhile, there were those among their nobility and knightly class who couldnt accept that Fuuga had stolen the worlds attention from them. They regularly pressured Maria to send a force into the Demon Lords Domain. Maria, however, refused to stop focusing on domestic matters, so they were getting more and more discontent.

In regards to this, Maria had told me over a broadcast conference...

Ive said this before, but if our country grows any larger, it will only result in more places that we cant adequately look after. If we obsess over appearances, well lose sight of whats really important.

Her exhaustion was almost palpable.

Now lets talk about our allies in the Maritime Alliance. First, Kuu and his Republic of Turgis.

Not long after returning home, Kuu took his fathers place as Head of the Republic and set to work reforming their technology with the help of his fiance, Taru the blacksmith. With the revolving mechanism that theyd developed alongside the Kingdom and Empire, the Republic was hard at work using drills to dig tunnels through the mountains. This would support their transport network when it was shut down by snow. This meant that travel between cities in winter, which required a numotha beast that resembled a wooly mammothwould be possible without one. These tunnels would also allow them to trade with other nations, resolving their perpetual shortage of supplies.

Hed also taken my adviceor careless slip of the tongue, ratherand created a lift near the hot springs in Noblebeppu for a ski resort. It looked like he was seriously trying to use that to bring in some foreign currency. We were even sent invitations. Kuu was a man of eccentric tastes, so hed asked his genius technician Taru to make a variety of improvements, turning his country into something stranger than it already was.

Speaking of Kuu, he was supposed to marry Taru and his former servant Leporina soon. Knowing him, I thought theyd tie the knot the moment they got home, but he got so busy with reforms that it apparently went on the back burner. That invitation to the ski resort came with a wedding invitation too. Does that mean he wants us to try skiing while were there?

I was arranging things so we could go as a family.

And we have our other ally, the Nine-Headed Dragon Archipelago Union.

Over the past two years, Shabon centralized power within the islands and renamed the country to the Nine-Headed Dragon Archipelago Kingdom. (Shortened to Archipelago Kingdom for simplicitys sake.)

With the assistance of her father Shana, the previous king, and Kishun, the royal advisor, she solidified her position as the Nine-Headed Dragon Queen, ruler of the archipelago.

Shabon had formed a skills and technological exchange treaty with the Kingdom and Republic, and was strengthening her country with knowledge from the continents mainland. In particular, shed unified the maritime forces of the individual islands into one force known as the Queens Fleet. Even if another massive creature like Ooyamizuchi appeared, they wouldnt run into the problem of not being able to coordinate a response. The fleet also made travel between the islands easier than ever, and they cooperated with us and the Republic to bring in foreign currency.

During this time, Shabon had also married Kishun and given birth to a boy and a girl. Perhaps because islander names tend to be said all as one word, neither of them had changed their family names when theyd married.

According to our earlier promise, her first child, Princess Sharan, would be my eldest son Cians fiance. Shabon and Kishun had visited one time to let them meet each other, but the easygoing Cian just sort of vaguely looked at her. It was actually Kazuha who seemed more interested in Princess Sharan. Maybe shell get along with her sister-in-law.

Next, lets talk about the Nothung Dragon Knight Kingdom, which didnt belong to the Maritime Alliance but did have relations with us.

After becoming the Dragon Knight Queen and inheriting the throne from her father, Queen Sill Munto was running the dragon knights as a courier serviceinitially beginning two years ago. With their lands surrounded by the Fuuga Faction, the Dragon Knight Kingdom was engaged in trade with them for now. Rather, Fuuga hadnt decided to blockade them yet. But theyd received permission from the Star Dragon Mountain Range to pass through their airspace when making deliveries, and they were flying all over the nations of the south.

Their pact with the dragons made it so that other countries could trust them with transporting supplies and VIPs. This resulted in the nations of the Maritime Alliance and the Mankind Declaration using their services. In our case, our ambassador to the Empire, Piltory, used them for short trips back home. And the Empires ambassador to us, Trill, used them when Jeanne demanded she come back home (to be lectured).

Their treasury was apparently more flush with lucre now than when they were operating solely as knights.

Lastly, lets talk about my country, the Kingdom of Friedonia.

In these two years, we have made steady progress in trade, technological development, and military preparations. The overscientist team, composed of Genia, Merula, and Trill, was focusing its efforts on the theory that magicium were nanomachineswhich wed discovered while studying the Magic Bug Disease.

This led to the theory that curse ore, which was the power source for the drill, was made up of nanomachines that had lost all of their functions other than the ability to recharge. Using this idea as a basis, our understanding of curse ore as a storage tank for magical power deepened, and we were able to utilize that in a variety of different applications.

Incidentally, among the first implementations was a lighter that didnt need gas or oil. Fire mages could create sparks with ease, but this lighter could store the magical power of any type of mage in its curse ore. By using the formula carved inside, it could then turn the stored power into fire magic power and create a spark.

Frankly, this lighter had no practical application. Itd cost as much as a small destroyer to build one, and it was no more useful than a standard oil lighter. And anyone who could use fire magic didnt even need it. While impractical, the ability to store magic power and convert it had a wide range of applications, and we were looking forward to seeing what came of them.

On the topic of military preparations, our island carrier, the Hiryuu, has been joined by two more, the Souryuu and Unryuu, giving us a three-carrier fleet.

Using Tomoes ability, wed set up an environment the wyverns could be trained in, and expanded our air force at the same time. This meant we could now deploy air forces overseas in multiple theaters at the same time. In other words, we could launch bombing runs from three locations at sea simultaneously. That was a pretty major threat to other nations. The ones who understood this were pretty much all our allies though. Fuugas faction was focused on the land, so it was hard for them to grasp the importance of sea power and recognize the threat of it.

Now, moving on to personal mattersduring these two years, another member joined our family.

Juna gave birth to her second child, a boy we named Kaito. We chose it because kai means sea, which Juna has a deep connection to. Not much else had changed. Me and my wives were all over twentyalthough some of their ages were still undisclosedso a couple years barely changed how any of us looked.

But there were some people whose appearance had changed a lot in two years.

In the 4th month, 1552nd year, Continental Calendar

Tomoe, Ichiha, and Yuriga graduated from the Royal Academy.

On a spring day, when the sun felt warm on my back as it shone in through the windows...

Recent graduates Tomoe, Ichiha, and Yuriga were standing in front of me at my desk in the governmental affairs office. They were all going through puberty, and had grown to the point where I couldnt treat them like kids anymorethough, they still looked young.

Standing on either side of me, Liscia and Hakuya were both smiling at the trio too.

Ahem... Tomoe, Ichiha, Yuriga. Congratulations on your graduation.

Thank you, Big Brother, Tomoe replied with a smile.

Tomoe was fifteen, going on sixteen this year. Now at the same age as Roroa was when Id first met her, Tomoe had gotten taller, and her figure was getting more womanly. She was growing her hair a little longer too.

Aside from her studies, Tomoe had also been taking lessons from Juna in etiquette and how to make herself look beautiful. Thanks to that, even just standing there, she had a beauty that could overwhelm people.

I probably shouldnt say this, but she looks a lot more like a princess than her big sister Liscia.

I guess we cant go calling you little Tomoe anymore...

Hee hee. Call me whatever you like, Big Brother.

That laugh... Its just like Junas. Seductive...I guess you could say, Liscia said with a sigh.

At some point, Tomoe had evolved from a cute little girl into a pretty girl.

She could have men dancing in the palm of her hand, should she want that... If we dont find her a partner and announce their engagement soon, shell end up making men go mad. As her big brother, I had complicated feelings about that.

Youre going to keep working in the castle, right?

Yes. Id like to keep using my ability to help arrange environments where we can breed all sorts of different animals, Tomoe said, nodding. Clapping her hands, she added, Ah, Ive also been learning about royal ceremonies from the royal chamberlain, Marx. I love living in the castle with you and all my big sisters, so Id like to take over for Marx, and run things inside the castle at some point.

A successor for Marx... That sounds good.

O-Oh, I see.

I welcomed this, but Liscia seemed a little conflicted.

Hm? Is there a problem? I asked.

No, but in Marxs position, he had to worry about producing heirs, right? Im not sure how I feel about Tomoe being the one to pester us about that from now on...

I see where youre coming from...

With that in mind, I felt awkward about it too. Marx was a man, so while hed been fussing about an heir, it was the court ladies who kept track of the queens health and scheduled our nights together. But with Tomoe in his role, she would be making the decisions herself.

While Liscia and I were exchanging awkward glances, Tomoe grinned.

Big Brother, Big Sister, isnt it about time you had your third?

S-Sure...

W-Well, give us time... Okay?

The king and queen were powerless before this little devil.

I cleared my throat loudly, trying to get past this awkwardness, and looked over at Ichiha. He was fourteen, turning fifteen this year. Of the three of them, he had grown the most. He was taller than both the girls now, and was rapidly catching up to my own height of 174 centimeters. His face was still youthful, but he had grown into a handsome, literate young man.

If we put him on the broadcast, housewivesll love him. When he stood next to Hakuya before, it looked like something off the cover of a fetishized manga magazine targeted at women.

I assume youre going to keep serving with us, so do you want to be assigned to Hakuyas place?

Yes. Please let me work for Hakuya as I continue to learn.

Id like that as well, sire, Hakuya said, bowing his head too.

While Ichiha had become recognized as an expert in the field of monsterology during his time at school, hed also been learning about politics and strategy from Hakuya. When he saw his elder sister Samiwho fled here after being caught in the political struggles of their homelandhed been motivated to study those sorts of things to protect the people he cared about.

Hakuya had taken a shine to him and was raising the boy to be his successor. I was considering him as a candidate to be the next prime minister too.

Hee hee. Do your best, Ichiha, Tomoe cheered.

Okay! I will.

Tomoe and Ichiha smiled at each other.

For a foreigner like Ichiha to attain an important position, he needs powerful backers... Like a marriage to an adopted daughter of the royal family of Elfrieden... Is it time I had a talk with the two of them?

As I was thinking that, I looked at Yuriga.

And Yuriga...

Yes...

Yuriga was older than the other two, and would be turning eighteen this year. She was about as tall as Liscia now, and also had a more womanly figure. Her hair was the same length as before, but now she wore it half up and half down. According to her, Wearing twintails at my age would be pretty cringey!

She had a brave, dignified appearance that reminded me of how Liscia was when Id first met her. While she didnt have a unique skill like Tomoe or Ichiha, shed developed into an all-rounder who could handle military matters, academics, and administrative tasks better than average. pared to the others, she was in a much more delicate position.

Has Fuuga given you any instructions? Like about what to do after graduation?

No.

He hasnt called you back to the Great Tiger Kingdom or anything?

Nope.

Seriously, nothing?

I told you, theres nothing! Augh! Yuriga crossed her arms and peevishly looked off to the side. Ive asked him for a long time what I should do after graduation, but all hed say was to stay in the Kingdom. Seriously, what does he want me to do?! Im just stuck here in the dark otherwise!

Whoa, Yuriga, Tomoe said. Please calm down.

Shove off!

Yuriga pinched Tomoes cheeks. Their relationship hasnt changed much even as theyre older.

Still...whats Fuuga planning? Back when Malmkhitan, the precursor to the Great Tiger Kingdom of Haan, was part of the Union of Eastern Nations, Fuuga had sent Yuriga to study in our country. Hed done so in order to protect her from the chaos during their war of unification, and also to have her learn. I never wouldve expected that shed have no instructions for what to do post-graduation.

Things had settled down in the Great Tiger Kingdom, so there shouldnt have been any problem with her returning home.

Is he intending to leave Madam Yuriga in our country as a hostage? Hakuya suggested.

Yuriga let go of Tomoes cheeks and snorted. Hmph! If thats what he wants, I wish hed just say so. I wouldnt mind being a hostage for his sake. As long as Tomoe and Sir Souma are around, I wont be mistreated, and I can lay back and relax. The worst thing is being left hanging with no instructions.

That was an incredible way to look at it. Yurigas pretty gutsy.

She turned and looked at me. Hey, Sir Souma. Is there any work I can do while Im waiting to hear from my brother?

A job for Yuriga, huh? We could always use another pair of hands, but... Thinking about it, I said, Well...your abilities make you an appealing candidate, but until we know what position youre in, I dont know how we can utilize you. The way things stand, youre still a guest, which makes it hard to give you a job in the military, administration, or academia.

Hearing my response, she slumped her shoulders.

I dont want to just sit around... Velza and Lucy are working too.

Their friends Velza and Lucy had also graduated. Velza had joined the land forces through her connections with the House of Magna. Apparently, she was acting as a secretary for Halbert now. Lucy had taken over her familys parlor, and I occasionally spotted her at the castle, planning events with Roroa. Yuriga felt impatient, seeing all four of her friends doing their own things while she had nothing.

Ah! Come to think of it... Thats when I remembered something, and pulled a document out of my desk.

It just occurred to me, there was a request from someone who wants your help.

There was?

Yeah. A mage soccer team, the Parnam Black Dragons, I said, handing her the document.

Mage soccer started as a club in the Royal Academy. It was soccer, but you were allowed to use magic. So, people went around doing things like kicking literal balls of fire. Wed tried broadcasting a game, and the people really liked it, so wed ended up forming several pro teams to make it work as a broadcast program. The Parnam Black Dragons, based out of the royal capital, was one such team. Their mascot was actually inspired by Naden in her ryuu form.

You played a lot of mage soccer while you were at school, right? They were sayingif its possiblethey want you on the team. I just assumed youd be going home after graduation, so I never brought it up before.

This could be good... Yuriga said as she looked through the document. It looks like some of my seniors are on the team, and it might be nice to keep on playing. Not like I have anything else to do.

It sounded like Yuriga was on board for it. She wasnt going to run into any classified information as a mage soccer player, and shed make the broadcasts more fun, so it suited her well.

Good for you, Yuriga, Tomoe said. You dont have to be an unemployed bum.

Dont call me a bum!

I smiled as I watched the two of them go at it.