Chapter 2303 – 2303. God’S Atlantis
After the meeting, only the Emperor and Millennium Duke remained in the conference room.
Millennium Duke slowly opened his mouth.
“Weren’t you originally going to get rid of Illusion Duke?”
“Illusion Duke has the ability, but I saw him as a child who would eventually collapse. Didn’t he actually collapse once? But he rose again. I don’t know how, but he even overcame the lifespan issue. Just now, he consumed his lifespan to make wine and drink it. Illusion Duke’s biggest weakness has disappeared.”
The Emperor chuckled.
The situation had changed. Depending on how it was used, Illusion Duke’s power could produce effects similar to a god. It was burdensome and wasteful to antagonize him.
“Illusion Duke insulted the Crown Prince, your son. Are you just going to let that slide with your personality?”
“He didn’t insult me. From Illusion Duke’s perspective, it’s natural for the Crown Prince to be annoying. Besides, the position of the Imperial Five Dukes is above the Crown Prince.”
“…Has your intention to pass the throne to the Crown Prince changed?”
“The situation has changed. Are there any dukes, including you, who sincerely support the Crown Prince? There aren’t any. Iron Duke’s interest is elsewhere, and it seems like Count of Numbers has other plans. Illusion Duke is a given, and Sword Duke doesn’t really prefer power struggles. And you.”
“My oath is only to the Emperor.”
“I suppose so. If Illusion Duke had maintained a moderate neutrality, I might have passed the throne to the Crown Prince. …Hmm. Thinking about it again, it’s a shame, a shame. If I had known Illusion Duke would overcome his lifespan, I would have established a close relationship with the Valdert Duchy.”
“What are you going to do with the Crown Prince?”
The antagonistic relationship between the Crown Prince and Illusion Duke was known to all the nobles. As Illusion Duke’s influence has recently expanded and he has been on the rise, the Crown Prince’s position on the opposite side is gradually diminishing.
It would be different if Iron Duke firmly supported the Crown Prince. Right now, Iron Duke seemed uninterested in the Imperial Family. He was strangely favorable towards Illusion Duke. Given his personality, he wouldn’t have fallen for Illusion Duke, so perhaps he was being blackmailed.
“The Crown Prince seems to be doing something with the Angelus Legion. I’ll have to keep an eye on it for now.”
“You seem displeased. Wasn’t it you who chose the Angelus Legion?”
“I only chose them as useful pawns. In the end, the Empire has to solve it. The Crown Prince doesn’t know that. If he did, his relationship with the dukes wouldn’t have become so strained.”
His eyes were cold as he thought of his eldest son. If it was for the sake of the Empire, he would cut off his own son with tears in his eyes. He just hoped his son wouldn’t disappoint him further.
• • •
I was resting at the Valdert Duchy when Elena returned before evening.
She looked cheerful, considering she had been urgently summoned to the Imperial Palace by the Emperor.
“Did something good happen?”
“The Emperor finally apologized. He said he would officially apologize, so the Imperial Family will announce it soon.”
“No matter how I think about it, isn’t it a late apology?”
“I didn’t even think I would be able to receive an apology. The Imperial Family is the heart of the Empire, so their pride is higher than any mountain. Since the Imperial Family has apologized, it’s the era of Valdert for the time being. Even if we push ourselves a bit to increase our influence, the Imperial Family will turn a blind eye.”
I nodded at Elena’s words. I also know politics. In the political arena, bowing one’s head and apologizing requires considerable determination. Moreover, this isn’t a democratic society.
Elena, who had been happy for a while, soon regained her composure.
“I heard from the butler that you brought a talented person to introduce to me.”
“I guarantee his talent. He’s really outstanding in internal affairs. In District 7,500, he was called a great leader.”
He was a leader who was heavily focused on internal affairs.
“I’ll trust you since you guarantee it. You have quite high standards.”
“However, I don’t know much about his external affairs.”
He had fought battles with other civilizations, but Arel had never actually been involved in war.
“External matters are fine. I can handle them. First, can you tell me what happened in District 7,500?”
“There’s nothing I can’t tell you.”
I summarized and explained the history of the United States of Chomi.
“That’s an interesting yet troublesome strategy. More than that, a goblin farm….”
Elena looked at me with slightly fearful eyes and shook her head.
“I acknowledge its efficiency, but isn’t it a bit excessive?”
“I won because I had a goblin farm.”
After that, I explained Arel’s career. Elena was impressed several times, then made a strange expression.
“He’s a workaholic and has died from overwork three times?”
“That’s right. So you have to keep a close eye on him. He’ll work overtime and even on weekends.”
I couldn’t stop him when he was in the United States of Chomi. I could only intervene once every ten years.
Elena’s eyes sparkled.
“He’s the talent I want. However, it’s not good for my reputation to accept him without question. I should check his skills, right?”
“Sure. You’ll be satisfied. But treat Arel well so he doesn’t die.”
Elena stared at me. She frowned as if something was bothering her, then nodded.
She used magic. It was a telepathy magic to convey words to the butler.
Knock, knock.
The butler’s calm voice echoed with the knock.
“Your Excellency. I have brought Mr. Arel.”
“Come in.”
Arel entered, and the butler stepped back with a bow. Arel looked at me, then at Elena, and bowed slightly.
“I am Arel.”
“Hmm. Well, your confident attitude is good. But aren’t your clothes too vulgar?”
“In my country, the United States of Chomi, these are the clothes worn by female council members in Dongtan. They are a type of formal wear. I believe you will be considerate of the cultural differences.”
“That’s right. We should be considerate.”
I sided with Arel. I couldn’t lose the Dongtan dress that looked so good on him. Elena glared at me for a moment, but waved her hand as if to change the atmosphere.
Books and documents floated in the air and lined up in front of Arel.
“Magic. I knew about it in theory, but it’s amazing to see it for the first time.”
“How is it? Does it look convenient?”
“No. It’s trash compared to a computer.”
“……”
That was true. Elena also knew about computers, so she couldn’t argue.
Arel moved his hands without being told to do anything. He glanced at the documents and books and sorted them.
“These documents don’t need any changes, and the books are thick, so I’ll read them later. From what I see, it seems to be a book recording transactions with clients… inefficient. These documents here need to be revised. The rest… are trash. They’re not even worth revising. The people who wrote these documents are either incompetent or embezzlers.”
Clap, clap, clap!
Elena clapped and laughed.
“Perfect! I’ve been waiting for a talent like you! It’s truly fate! Is there anything you want? I’ll grant it as much as possible.”
“First, I would like you to guarantee a certain level of authority.”
“It’s hard to manage people without authority. I’ll grant you the title of Baron. Any authority beyond that will depend on what you prove.”
“I’ll skip over the salary since you’ll take care of it appropriately. However, I would like to work year-round. Working diligently is the joy of my life.”
“……I don’t work year-round either. I’ve talked to Eugene, so that’s impossible.”
“How about six days a week with overtime?”
“I’m not such a cruel employer. A day’s work is 10 hours. I’ll allow overtime at my discretion.”
“I would like 16 hours a day. I’ve already conceded a lot. I usually work more than 20 hours.”
“No.”
“No.”
Elena and I said in unison. Fortunately, Arel seemed to have given up.
“I would like a computer. Even a laptop is fine. Oh, and I would like to create a new administrative department and hire people. If I teach them how to use computers and do their jobs for about a month, they’ll be somewhat useful.”
“Hmm. Modernization, huh? I’m not uninterested. I’ll need your help with this.”
Elena said, looking at me. She meant that she wanted me to get computers and other products. It’s easy to bring them from the modern world, but there’s a high chance the system will go crazy. Fortunately, there’s another way.
District 6,700, the Kingdom of Entertainment.
I am the ruler of the district with a modern setting. Originally, you couldn’t take things from District 6,700 out, but there are exceptions. You can take them out if you pay a price higher than their value.
“You’ll have to use a lot of AP.”
“It’s okay. I have AP saved up. It’s worth paying over 1 million AP to recruit such a talent.”
“You don’t need that much.”
Arel had one more request.
“I need a laboratory and support for my personal research.”
“What are you trying to research?”
“Right now, what interests me the most is magic. I’ll research other things as well. I won’t do anything dangerous.”
“I understand. I’ll support you.”
“…How should I address you?”
“You can call me Your Excellency.”
“To me, Your Excellency is only Eugene. That’s what I’ve decided.”
“Is he like Yuria…. Hmm. Then call me Lord. As a vassal of Valdert, there’s no reason I can’t acknowledge you. Do you have any desire to become independent?”
“No.”
“You’re firm. You like to work, but you don’t want to create your own business or power. That’s unusual.”
“I want a sense of accomplishment, but I don’t want responsibility.”
“I see. If you need anything else, don’t hesitate to say so.”
“Yes, Lord. May I borrow some books related to the Valdert family?”
“This should be enough.”
Elena snapped her fingers. Three books gently fell into Arel’s hands. Arel left the study.
“Eugene. Are you free tomorrow?”
“I was going to meet Samuel tomorrow, but why?”
“I received an order from the Emperor to restore the Guardian Stone. If you have time, let’s go together. And that woman too.”
“My meeting with Samuel isn’t important… I guess I can postpone it. But who is that woman?”
“The one in the A-Plan Legion… the woman who’s as stiff as a sword. Her name was Joo Seo-hyun, I think. We spent some time together before, but we didn’t have a proper conversation. I’d like to have a separate conversation with her this time.”
“Well, I guess it’s okay. She’s always training in the Legion anyway.”
It wouldn’t be bad to take her out once in a while to change her mood.
