The world continues to flow on.
In the meantime, while the divided Romania Empire is too busy keeping watch over each other, many large and small nations are established and disappear.
If you exclude the two gigantic countries… it was quite close to the Warring States period.
Thanks to that, there were plenty of whoosh of friction and bang of war, as alliances are formed and then turned on each other.
Looking down from a high place at all those large and small nations running wild… it felt just like watching a strategic game of territory capture.
Games based on the stories of countries that split into three during the era of divided powers, or games where a leader with no lifespan rules a nation from primitive times to nuclear war, or games that wage total war.
Among them, if I were to choose a game that closely resembles my current situation… it would be a game about developing civilization. Though I’m in the position of a god rather than a ruler of a nation.
Well, games are games. Reality is reality.
Ahem. I digressed, but let’s get back to the topic.
Among the many restless nations… there was occasionally a country whose news reached my ears.
In the northeast of Northern Romania, there was a small country adjacent to barren plains.
With mountains to the north and a river to the south, it acted as a gateway blocking the nomads of the plains.
A small country called Wallachia.
One of the most interesting rumors about that country was… that they collect taxes in different forms.
While ordinary countries collect taxes in silver coins, cloth, food, or mana stones, Wallachia was said to collect their taxes in small amounts of blood.
Not from animals, but solely from humans, the blood of the taxpayers.
They could pay taxes with enough blood drawn to not endanger life.
Of course, the rumor was that only healthy individuals among the humans were chosen by lottery to receive this benefit… but such strange rumors began to spread through various gossipers.
Someone said that the blood contained the power of life, so the blood collected as tax is offered as a sacrifice to the goddess of life.
Another claimed that the king of Wallachia uses the blood to tame monsters and protect the land.
Yet another person said that the king of Wallachia was not human, and that he drank blood to enjoy eternal life.
Though these were extremely absurd rumors, the story of blood taxes was likely quite fascinating to others.
“Quite an exaggerated rumor, but there’s some truth mixed in, making it interesting.”
I chuckled softly while gazing at the scenery of Wallachia.
“Truth?”
“Yeah. Truth.”
With Asherat’s vacation over, I decided to take a trip to explore the world while being free. So, I embarked on a journey with Sia.
Well, even if I call it a trip, it wouldn’t take too long. Unlike me, Sia was a busy person.
Even if she could delegate tasks through her disciple, could a god of magic and knowledge really leave for long?
Unless, of course, no one was as skilled at creating tasks as me.
“From the outside, it looks like just a peaceful country.”
“Um. It is peaceful.”
Despite being located right in front of plains swarming with raid-happy savage nomads, this country was exceedingly peaceful.
“But the threat of nomads is real.”
The nomads on those plains were living fiercely.
They herded sheep, rode horses, and struggled to survive with scarce food, plundering and abducting others to increase their manpower.
To those, this small peaceful country must look like an exceedingly flimsy warehouse.
“Isn’t that dangerous?”
“It’s dangerous, but… it’s fine.”
“Fine, you say?”
“There’s someone protecting it.”
Strictly speaking, I’m not sure if we can call that someone a person…
“So, this peace is maintained thanks to that person?”
“In a way, yes.”
Maintaining peace in a country with the strength of one person is incredibly difficult… but the king of this country is accomplishing that feat.
I couldn’t help but acknowledge how remarkable that was.
“Well then, shall we go see?”
“Go see? Where?”
“To see the king’s face.”
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
The royal castle of Wallachia. Compared to the castles of other countries, it was quite small… no, it looked more like a rather large mansion.
Was it humble or was it just lacking money? In any case, it was quite lacking in majesty for something called a castle.
Inside that mansion was the king of Wallachia.
White hair that had turned completely gray. A face lined with the traces of many years.
However, the years he had lived were likely far deeper than the wrinkles etched on his face.
“Hmm… despite the tax already being plenty, there are still many who want to pay their taxes with blood…”
The old king was working day and night for his small country.
“Running a country requires a budget… this is troublesome…”
How much money is needed to rule a small country?
He sighed again.
Everything was lacking.
Since Wallachia was a small nation, its population wasn’t large, and it had no particular resources to boast of.
While they could produce enough food for self-sufficiency, thanks to the dwarves who settled here decades ago, they could secure high-quality tools… but that didn’t mean there was any surplus in living itself.
In the end, the only thing he could do was… tighten his own belt and save money.
“Yet I can’t eliminate blood taxation…”
To him, blood was essential for keeping this frail body alive.
For someone who had continued living for over a thousand years—an impossible feat for humans—by force, blood was something he desperately needed.
“I wish that foolish son would come back…”
In this bleak situation, all he could do was sigh.
“If I could just give everything up and let go of this life…”
With those weak words, the old king shook his head.
Maybe it would be easier to give everything up… but he couldn’t.
In this small country, his wife was buried.
He became king because he wanted to protect the land where she took her last breath and the scenery she loved.
So…
“It’s not easy. Living.”
The old king spoke in a low voice to the figure looking at him.
“Well, that’s right. Life, if you let it go, just rolls along as it likes, but if you try to live well, it becomes endlessly difficult.”
A silver-haired girl with horns. Though she looked somewhat different from the memory, she was a being holding endless life within that small body.
A dragon priestess… no, she was the goddess of life in the form of a dragon priestess.
To put it bluntly, it was me.
“I didn’t expect to still be alive.”
I only realized it after coming to this country.
To be honest, when I only heard the rumors, I thought she might be a descendant of that fool. But here she was, herself.
“You certainly have a long lifespan.”
“Indeed. I’m living because I can’t die.”
After a small laugh, the old king opened his mouth.
“Still, living long isn’t all bad. Thanks to my vast experiences, I’ve come to suspect your identity.”
“Oh? My identity?”
“Yes. While you appear like a dragon priestess, you are not a dragon priestess, but the goddess of life, aren’t you?”
“Impressive. How did you figure it out?”
At my words, the old king smiled slightly.
“Having dealt with the power of life my entire life, I’ve become sensitive to such forces. Thanks to that, I can now see the immense power of life flowing within your body.”
“Oh… that’s quite fascinating.”
The fact that he could see the life force flowing within me was indeed amazing.
I gazed at the old king, who sank deeply into his chair.
Once a prince of the first empire, a cursed wanderer, and then a being who extended his life through blood, he had become an old king of a small country.
“If you’re genuinely collecting blood taxes, I thought there wouldn’t be any left if you weren’t one of your kind.”
“Of my kind…”
He spoke in a faint voice.
“I have only my son left who is of my kind…”
“My son?”
“Yes. Unlike insufficient me, he’s overflowing with confidence and talent.”
A hint of sadness appeared in his expression as he spoke of his son.
“His overflowing confidence has led him to venture to make his name known in this world…”
“What is your son’s name?”
“Vlad. Prince Vlad of Wallachia.”
Vlad… ah, Vlad. The name Vlad reminds me of one particular vampire. Is this going to be okay?
Well, if I remember the name, I might hear it one day. So let’s just keep it in my mind.
“I’ll remember.”
“It’s a great honor that the goddess of life remembers my son’s name.”
“Well, if I don’t hear that name again over time, I might just forget it.”
At my words, the old king only smiled.
