<590 - Delicious Link Quest (14)>
Running a country is tough.
Massgaki, who accidentally became the emperor with the help of friends, realizes this daily.
“Your Majesty. Reports from the Bureau of Count French Fries indicate that 13 officials have fled in the dead of night again. Although the amount of national funds they stole is significant, there are not enough knights to catch them. If the territorial army requests a dragnet search, there is a risk that they will cover up their crimes, so please issue a directive.”
“Uh… Well…”
“While I agree with the Grand Vizier’s desire to uphold the country’s laws, I must speak as an Imperial Grand Vizier myself. The late-night escapes of those in public office reflect the failure of the officials to unite in the face of national calamity. To prevent this, it would be necessary to widely publicize a campaign to boost the morale of the people.”
“I’ll… consider it…”
At the academy, the first-class princess is now a pathetic emperor…!
Massgaki felt like tears were about to burst from her eyes in frustration.
This was something Abama never taught her, and the aristocratic students who were both peers and subordinates had never mentioned it even once!
No one can excel at their job from the start.
Yet, when she looked at the expressions of her ministers, their worry about how the fragile Empress could possibly govern the country was clearly visible.
If the loyal ministers’ concerns stemmed from goodwill, that was understandable, but it was hard to push away the treacherous courtiers who approached with hidden agendas and sweet words.
“Surely Your Majesty has great intentions, but why act so high-handedly as to pressure your heart? Your Majesty, as the Minister of Culture and the Dean of Arts, I will always support your governance and follow it wholeheartedly.”
“Huh? What are you talking about? If you thought I’d spare you for your empty compliments, you’d be mistaken.”
So far, she had managed to fend off these schemers with a series of pathetic blunders, but there was no guarantee it would continue.
During her struggles to control the bureaucracy that was in upheaval while simultaneously facing the Underworld and the Demon King’s Army, a message from Oknodie arrived.
“Huh? The emperor is being asked to promote the launch event of the Saintess Alliance, comprised of pathetic saintesses? Isn’t that just too annoying~?”
“Sorry! Instead, I’ll let you shake hands with our goo later!”
“Huh? Goo…?”
“Ah, don’t get me wrong! It’s not a human child!”
“Hmph. I bet you picked up something weird again and are trying to pass it off as goo. Your pathetic trick won’t work on me! I’m not a pathetic Titosso. I’m not fooled by Oknodie’s nonsensical babble!”
On the outside, Massgaki pretended to be embarrassed, but the launch of the Saintess Alliance turned out to be a great boon for her, the emperor of the Holy Central Empire.
‘Finally, I have something to say about the Northern Demon King’s Army invasion!’
It was indeed a rare piece of good news flying into a territory filled with bad tidings day after day.
“Listen up, everyone♡ While the high officials are scrambling about, the emperor—who isn’t pathetic—has secured a venue and schedule for the launch ceremony of the Saintess Alliance!”
The ministers erupted into applause and cheers.
“Oh, if we are talking about saintesses, unlike the Pope who represents the light of the Church, aren’t they the ultimate weapon that symbolizes darkness!”
“Truly, Your Majesty’s graciousness is profound!”
“Even the late emperor merely utilized the Pope, yet calling upon the saintesses of the Church is truly remarkable! This will go down in the history of the Empire as a monumental achievement, Your Majesty!”
No matter how much she fended off these schemers with her pathetic tricks, Massgaki couldn’t stop the rising corners of her mouth from curving up at the determined flattery of her ministers.
However, the high officials were not mindlessly praising her; today, they genuinely thought she had done well.
Historically, saintesses were the natural nemeses of the Demon King’s Army.
Skeletons would crush skulls with maces.
Zombies would smash skulls with crosses.
Demonic beasts would split skulls with their claws.
Ghosts would dissolve skulls with holy water.
Using anything at hand, and their own bodies as weapons, they trained fiercely; these human weapons were none other than the saintesses themselves.
The news of at least three saintesses gathering for the launch of the Saintess Alliance could only uplift the morale of humanity’s forces.
“Thanks to this, the Warrior Party will come running along too♡”
The saintesses, having paused their long retreat in training, can’t just sit back and watch while the Warrior Party rushes to take action.
With Ishtar, who sent her pathetic brother to the afterlife, joining the fray, they wouldn’t fall behind in momentum.
Oknodie really helped to elevate the spirits of her friends.
“Isn’t Oknodie’s bestie me~? Pfft. Pathetic Titosso has plenty of people around, but she has no amazing power like me♡ She must feel my absence dearly♡”
“Your Majesty. I apologize for saying this, but you mustn’t be overly pleased with this situation. With the late emperor gone and our national strength drained in the Underworld, the Empire is in more danger than ever. If the gathered saintesses decide to target the Empire rather than acknowledge its existence, it could lead to severe repercussions.”
The controller of facts, an unyielding high official known as the Grand Vizier, doused the joy of Massgaki.
Unlike previous Grand Viziers spawned from the mutual interests of aristocrats, this one had arrived during the chaotic political times to report to Massgaki and was presented with the vacant high office, serving as a workaholic.
With the twin misfortunes of a tyrant-like late emperor’s deposition and the ascension of a short-lived, failed royal who would be forgotten in history, Massgaki was so engrossed in managing the duties he had now roped in a high official for himself; this was her own doing.
“Wahh… Is it that bad…?”
“The Saintess Alliance was originally formed by those who were crushed in the previous hero’s journey. It’s only natural that those united in anti-imperial sentiments wouldn’t view a launch event hosted by the Empire’s emperor in a favorable light and would regard the saintesses joining the Alliance as betrayers.”
“W-What should we do…? The Grand Vizier works hard and is smart. Please tell me what to do, okay? Huh? Huh?”
In the times of the late emperor, it would have been unthinkable to even imagine such a thing as [Apetty Emperor] being chastised by the Grand Vizier.
“Your Majesty should be the pillar of the Empire, not an adolescent girl. If you act so frivolously, how can the citizens feel reassured to engage in their livelihoods?”
“Huh? Didn’t Oknodie ask for the event to be announced? Surely Oknodie can figure out a solution to that! Plus, we have heroes!”
Massgaki pointed to Oknodie’s subordinates who had been left in the Empire.
All were once heroes of the Empire, enshrined in the Hero Memorial, but now they were hollow shells engraved with false loyalty after losing their souls.
These mindless undead followed Massgaki, who bore [Dark Mana], just like their master.
‘Surely Oknodie provided these tools for my sake. Pfft♡ If I’m as good as I think I am, I could have just expressed it verbally, but being honest is hard♡’
The reality was a little different.
– Although the purity of the Dark Mana is high, its concentration is lacking.
– There’s a noticeable deficiency in numbers.
– This is the master’s servant. Is it a tool to convey the master’s will?
– They will follow this command until they reunite with their master.
– This will guide us to our master.
Massgaki and the undead heroes treat each other as tools!
‘Oh wait? Now that I think about it, these precious tools are the ones Oknodie provided. Wouldn’t it be a problem if they got noticed by the saintesses?’
Cold sweat broke out on Massgaki’s forehead.
Destroying such valuable manpower was no different than borrowing a light stand from Titosso for a bravery test, accidentally breaking it and giving it back.
It was the sort of thing only a real scumbag would do.
Oknodie had granted the authority to organize the launch of the Saintess Alliance as a goodwill gesture, and to reciprocate by sacrificing her subordinates would make it impossible to face her.
Just then, the [Divine Steward] hurriedly rushed in, bowing his head.
“The followers of the transcendent god Immanuel are inquiring about the exact schedule for the launch ceremony. Your Majesty, please set the date and location.”
Massgaki’s expression turned sorrowful.
If she didn’t decide soon, her ministers would scold her again.
She would have her dinner taken away from her tonight.
What to do now?
As she groaned in agony, she suddenly recalled memories of similarly challenging times.
She, being the princess, had to dive into governance at a young age, all to care for Yayoi… not to mention her difficult first year at the Gift Academy.
Specifically, it was the hardest week when there was just one week left for the exams, and professors assigned three report tasks as if students only attended their lectures.
‘How did I get through that crisis?’
One was solved on her own.
Another one was tackled collectively with subordinates.
The last one?
‘I had seniors do it for points♡’
That’s right.
You can outsource your work to others.
Even the emperor is no exception.
“If you don’t like the Saintess Alliance, why not go directly to the academy and let the saintesses participating in the Alliance decide whether they want to agree with the launch or refuse?♡”
That way, even if they are scorned, it would be the saintesses opposing the launch who would suffer gain, and even if the schedule is set, they would claim it for themselves, and the skulls of Oknodie’s undead heroes in the Empire wouldn’t suffer unfortunate incidents.
Massgaki’s excellent political maneuvering, outsourcing outsourcing, and a divine strategy made the high officials applaud, declaring the emperor’s governance was mesmerizing.
The joyful reactions of the older officials, who felt like proud fathers watching the proud young empress, showed that today the empress shone with delight.
