The First Prince, Rublek Lyons, couldn’t make heads or tails of the last week.
It had truly been a chaotic rollercoaster of days.
In the middle of a bloody fight with the Second Prince, Degenos, out of nowhere, a woman known as the Eleventh Princess showed up demanding both the succession rights and the holy artifacts.
At first, I thought maybe Degenos had sent her as a prank.
Degenos was the type to enjoy playing tricks, and no matter how low on the totem pole she was, killing a sister related by blood could cause some serious issues.
What worried me the most was that breaking trust while trying to win over several younger brothers could backfire spectacularly.
“……”
If that were the case, wouldn’t it be such a relief?
“I’m about to lose my mind.”
Degenos was dead.
The Fourth Prince, Kain, lost the holy artifacts too.
Even my father, who owned five holy artifacts, had been defeated and was said to be trapped deep within the royal palace.
She even shamelessly ascended to the throne, either purging the opposition or blackmailing them to join her side.
All this had happened in just one week.
When I finally came to my senses, the only one left to support Rublek was Jeniva.
Every other supporter had turned their backs on Rublek.
Of course, Jeniva was still the kingdom’s largest granary and boasted a vast territory… but what could she possibly do all on her own?
‘Should I establish an independent nation like this?’
It would be nice if that were possible, but Jeniva was surrounded on all sides by other territories of the kingdom.
If she could latch onto one of the neighboring countries, there might be some chance of independence, but right now, she was just a golden mouse trapped in a poison jar.
“Hehehe…”
She had flourished like a greenhouse flower without any interference from foreign countries using the geographical advantages.
Yet now it had become poison, ensnaring their ankles.
‘It’s over.’
In the end, Rublek was left with very few options.
He could either stay holed up in Jeniva and slowly wither away.
Creeeek…
“Um… I have an audience with His Highness…”
“Welcome, Rublek.”
He could bow as he entered.
■
“It’s been a while.”
“…Y-yes.”
Rublek lowered his head as if in shame, gritting his teeth.
The past week—well, not exactly a week, but you get the idea—was spent engaging in the kingdom’s ‘purification’ efforts.
Cleaning up various corruptions and evil deeds, and dealing with the opposition.
The one who got most purged was the Second Prince, but the First Prince also had his own skeletons in the closet.
He had a few schemes in place for the throne as well.
However, compared to the Second Prince, he was a relative fairy, so it wasn’t quite enough to warrant execution; I could say it was a bit lenient.
‘It was all just a dream anyway.’
Since this was all just past history, I didn’t need to sort it all out perfectly.
After all, a god wouldn’t be unhappy over a trivial matter.
Tap, tap.
As soon as he slightly lifted his hand, Rublek trembled and took out a holy artifact from his bosom, placing it down.
Finally, he had gathered all eight holy artifacts of the kingdom.
“Why did you run away?”
“…I didn’t realize you were this strong.”
“Good to know you found out now.”
[Hahaha]
[Too easy]
[Great Lily]
[What’s the use of the holy artifacts though?]
[Are we killing the first prince now?]
“…What will happen to me?”
“What do you want to happen?”
“……”
Rublek pondered.
He was the unfortunate prince who challenged the succession but ultimately could not ascend to the throne.
Usually, once this kind of succession process ends, other heirs are purged out of fear of a rebellion.
Even if it’s not overtly done, they’re often exiled far away and secretly dealt with.
Boom!
Rublek knelt on both knees.
“Please spare me, Your Highness! If you just let me live, I’ll keep myself hidden like a dead rat and won’t take a single step out!”
“……”
“Also, the taxes from Jeniva will double…”
“Why would I kill you?”
“Eh? Oh, you’re not going to kill me?”
“Not at all.”
The criteria for killing is only for those who have done something deserving of death.
A first prince, while not a good person, wasn’t someone who deserved to die.
“Hmm. Alright.”
“I’ll obey…”
“Rublek Lyons, I appoint you as the administrative minister of the kingdom. The term is permanent.”
“…Yes?”
[?]
[Lol]
[Omg, you’re a slave now]
[Even in dreams, saving a slave lol]
[Slave collector Lily]
■
After completing the collection of administrative processing machines, I left the dazed Rublek behind and returned to the village.
He seemed quite bewildered, but it wasn’t a major issue since it was just a dream.
I had ascended to the throne, but it wasn’t really to act as a king; it was more to eliminate variables.
“I’m not really saving anyone.”
Fortunately, there were already two solid workers in my actual kingdom.
“Your Highness!”
“The King has arrived!”
As soon as I arrived in the village, the Silver Lion Knights simultaneously knelt and bowed their heads.
For the past week, the Silver Lion Knights had drifted around the village, protecting the residents.
Occasionally, the Celestial Being glared at them with a disgruntled look, but thankfully, nothing serious happened.
Also, upon hearing that I had ascended to the throne, the knights became loyal supporters of mine.
“Please be at ease. At ease.”
“How dare we… in front of Your Highness…”
“Should I make it more uncomfortable for you?”
“……”
Only then did the knights straighten up and stand properly.
For reference, out of the 25 members of the Silver Lion Knights, 15 were part of the plan with the second prince.
Excluding the 7 waiting at the second royal castle, 10 out of the 18 remaining were extracted, and currently, only 8 remained in the village waiting.
Those who survived were very surprised but managed to stay alive by proving their innocence.
He was able to survive, not without proving his innocence, despite being quite surprised.
“Your Majesty! I have faithfully protected this place!”
Among them was also the newcomer knight, Jeokhye.
Jeokhye, still resisting immersion.
This is something truly worthy of praise.
From the moment she rewrites the celestial being’s dream, whether she wants to or not, she falls into immersion.
Although the amount Jeokhye has rewritten isn’t much, after spending such a long time revising, it’s impossible not to become immersed.
The fact that Jeokhye appeared even in dreams is also proof that her immersion is deepening.
“Good job. You must be going through a lot.”
“T-thank you!”
Pat pat.
As I patted Jeokhye’s head, her sparkling eyes momentarily went blank.
“Hehe…”
“……”
Snap!
“Ah!”
“Get a hold of yourself.”
[LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL]
[I’m dying of laughter LOL]
[Look at Lily hitting her head, LOL]
[Lily’s slap]
[That was a close one]
[So envious]
As I delivered a slap imbued with holiness, her vacant gaze finally regained its sharpness.
During immersion, various senses, including touch, are shared, so delivering an external shock this way can break the immersion.
Here, ‘holiness’ is the most alien power whose origin in existence is unknown.
“Where is the stone monster?”
“It’s in the fields behind the village… ugh.”
“Anything special about it?”
“It’s been a bit quieter? According to the villagers, it’s said to have significantly decreased, but we can’t really tell.”
“…Hmm. I understand.”
Leaving Jeokhye, who was scratching her head as if it hurt, I headed to the back of the village.
There, as if enjoying a vacation, Ertarn was quietly lying down with his eyes closed.
“Hey! It’s the knight!”
By the way, beside him was a young child lying together, whom Ertarn treasured.
“I heard from the village elders that he’s an incredible person.”
“He is indeed incredible.”
“Yes! Ah! I’ll bow to you!”
The child quickly got up and awkwardly bowed.
I stopped him and stood him up again, then asked, “Why is this person sleeping?”
“Huh? God doesn’t sleep. He’s just closing his eyes.”
“Just closing them?”
“Yes!”
The child seemed eager to demonstrate and poked Ertarn’s cheek with his finger.
Of course, since Ertarn was a stone, he couldn’t feel the poke, but it was enough to make his eyelids flutter open.
Ertarn opened his eyes and looked up at me.
After a considerable time of making eye contact, Ertarn lightly tapped the child and walked back toward the village, as if he was used to sending them off like this.
“…You’ve come.”
“Can I trust you now?”
“Yeah. I trust you.”
As the grass in the field fell away, Ertarn raised his upper body.
Chirp! The sound of birds echoed, and the village, which had once faced doom, was now incredibly peaceful.
The sound of birds chirping fills the air, and the village, once on the brink of destruction, is nothing short of peaceful.
Having already dealt with the corrupted Buabua and the little Buabua created by the Second Prince, there’s likely nothing left to threaten them for a while.
“More kind than I expected. Perhaps…”
“Perhaps?”
“No, why did you come? Isn’t it all done?”
It’s already all over.
In a way, one could think that.
From now on, this village and Ertarn will be protected under the kingdom’s power, and all authority of the kingdom is in my hands.
Other kingdoms or monsters might be a bit annoying, but as long as there’s no special malice, this peaceful village shouldn’t crumble.
‘Ertarn is a Kraken-level existence.’
Given that it’s regarded as one of the strongest in this world, it shouldn’t have to suffer too much going forward, but…
Someday, an end will come.
After all, the original me, ‘Jeruna,’ will have to step down from the throne someday.
“Do you know what this is?”
I pulled out eight holy artifacts from space.
Ertarn’s eyes widened round upon seeing the holy artifacts.
“That’s a strong piece of existence.”
“Piece?”
“An old one. Not as good as me, though.”
“Do you know the person?”
“I don’t know. But I know. Can call it too.”
“?”
[Oh?]
[How?]
“How?”
“Gather the pieces together.”
I collect the teeth together.
“Pray earnestly. Like the residents.”
I pray earnestly like the residents.
“Come out… come out… please come out…”
“……”
“It’s not coming out?”
“Seems like it doesn’t want to. You.”
“Then what do we do?”
“Other method.”
“Other method?”
Thud.
The celestial being flicks me.
More precisely, it flicks the teeth I hold.
“Hit it.”
“Um… is that okay?”
“Somehow, I feel like it’s what I should do.”
“?”
“Deserves to suffer.”
“……?”
Did something else happen?
I don’t know because the record isn’t clear, but it seems that this god is also included in Ertarn’s corruption.
Crack!
Boom!!
“Whoa.”
Light emanates from the teeth.
─KRAAAAANG!! Who dares!!! This rudeness!
“Wow. Transparent Lion.”
─You unworthy creature!
A chaotic transparent lion leaps out.
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