The Human Alliance smoothly followed the steps towards dissolution.
It was merely a return to the way things were a year ago, so the division was completed without much backlash or conflict.
Once considered sworn enemies, the Trud Kingdom and the Freya Empire resumed trade, which had been severed for decades, transitioning into a symbiotic relationship.
The Kingdom exported natural resources to the Empire, while the Empire supported the Kingdom’s reconstruction and snatched up a ton of business rights.
But the problem erupted from the other side.
The issue of the dissolution of the Freya Empire Federation had arisen.
“*Schlus…* I wonder if we just erased those noisy things from the map, it would solve everything…”
“There’s no way!”
Aria seemed to have a terrible headache.
The Freya Empire Federation consisted of the Freya Empire, the Monarch Principality, the Southern Colony, and the Desert Development Area.
The Monarch Principality was essentially part of the Empire, disguised as a principality in the form of the Papal Palace. However, the problem lay with the Desert Development Area and the Southern Colony.
“Damn those guys. Even though we set a minimum export limit for grains, they’re getting cocky and now demanding the Desert Development Area? What the hell!”
A faction advocating for independence from the Desert Development Area had emerged.
It was a common occurrence, but this time the scale was markedly different.
It was obvious that the Elf Alliance was orchestrating things from the outside.
It was something I had anticipated since they had managed to unite the elf tribes, who were usually too busy tearing each other apart.
Of course, it was up to Duke Damien and Aria to suppress this.
If they failed, well, it wouldn’t be surprising if the elves, who barely spoke the Empire’s official language, claiming to be citizens of the Desert Development Area, seized it and declared independence, triggering a great war between elves and humans—but that was beyond my concern.
“On top of that, those crazy furballs have started making a fuss again…”
In the South, chaos erupted as well.
Although it wasn’t outright rebellion, suspicious factions demanding independence began to swell in the 3rd and 4th Castles.
The seriousness was compounded by the fact that even the lord of the 4th Castle was advocating for independence.
Voices were even rising insisting that if the entire South couldn’t be independent, then at least the 3rd and 4th Castles should be allowed to break away.
Once again, the mastermind behind this was all too obvious.
It was probably the Great Forest trying to secure territory in the plains by coming out from the shadowy woods where sunlight barely reached.
Speaking of which, the 3rd and 4th Castles were notably wealthy locales.
During the suppression of the civil war, we had confiscated lands and stripped the rich subhumans of their tax rights, so there was no way they’d hold the Empire in good favor.
“You know this is all because of you.”
“Eh? Me?”
“Don’t act dumb!”
It was my judgment that caused Duke Damien to successfully unite the elf tribes he had expertly divided!
It was also my decision to screw over the landowners in the Southern Colony.
Well, I might feel a little guilty about it, but only a little.
“Honestly, if I hadn’t done anything, the continent would’ve been wrecked by the Majin before it even reached this point, right? Shouldn’t I at least get immunity?”
“Shut up. There’s no way I’ll grant you immunity. Hurry up and use your magic to solve this like it’s nothing. Is it not an easy task for an omnipotent Majin?”
“…”
It wouldn’t be easy.
I could just *poof* and erase the independent factions from the continent.
The problem was that in the long term, that would be a lethal blunder, only deepening the divisions between the races.
No matter how vast the power of the Majin was, it could never control human hearts.
If I couldn’t even control my own women’s feelings, there was no way it would be possible.
So, I decided to just step back.
I had absolutely no intention of interfering with any issues regarding races, nations, or religions.
What kind of terrible makeshift solution would my foolish brain come up with?
I’d rather be called the omnipotent bystander than be labeled an ignorant brute.
Of course, if any one race was on the brink of extinction or if the entire continent was threatened with destruction, then I would have to act.
“Hmm. You’ll do fine? Both Cain and Damien are competent. How about you put your heads together this time?”
“Please… No, you…”
Aria sulked as she grabbed my hand.
She leaned in close, her beautiful eyes sparkling.
“As your wife… could you lend me your strength just this once…?”
“Ah.”
Aria was pulling a fast one.
I thought the honorific mode only activated when she was overwhelmed with excitement and craving my lips, but it seemed she had decided to flex it flexibly and aggressively now that she had lowered her pride.
“Ah… No, that’s not good. Do your best. I’ll be supporting you from the sidelines.”
“*Cheh.* Alright. I don’t want to see you!”
“Shall we go?”
“No… Stay by my side…”
“You said you didn’t want to see me.”
“Then I won’t look and we’ll just hold hands…”
Aria turned her head away, sulking.
Yet, her hand had interlocked with mine, preventing me from escaping.
Was she planning to do paperwork in this state?
“Don’t look! It’s state secret.”
“Can’t I see?”
“Could I show it to someone who’s no longer a state figure like you? …And you won’t even do me any favors.”
A soft mumbling sound, cute enough, was clearly picked up by the Majin’s ears.
She really seemed to be genuinely pouting.
Aria, with her lips poked out, was utterly adorable.
“I clearly remember receiving all of you that day. So, the Empire is basically mine too, right?”
“What nonsense…”
“Just kidding.”
“I’m worn out. I need to take a break.”
Aria threw down her pen and leaned against my shoulder.
I gently held her body, which completely leaned into me, with her eyes closed.
I slowly stroked her hair and caressed her cheek.
A *heh heh heh* sound of pleasant laughter filled the air.
I swept Aria’s bangs aside and kissed her forehead, then her cheek… and then…
“*Ugh.* Where are you taking your hands…?”
“I’m tired. Just sleep.”
“I can’t sleep like this, you damn fool.”
“Then should I stop? Do you want to sleep like this?”
“There’s no way to start and then just end in between…”
Just as I tried to pull my hand out from beneath her skirt, Aria seized my wrist and pulled it back down again.
She clearly wanted it herself.
Still, she had a hard time expressing it honestly, the Empress.
*
The preparations for the wedding were in full swing, making things quite hectic.
We had roughly decided how the ceremony would unfold.
First, I would hold a joint wedding with Emilia, Iris, Trie, Erica, and Pelaine, and later have a separate ceremony with Aria.
After all, as the Emperor of a nation, I needed that much recognition.
Yet, although the wedding order had been pushed back, no one seemed too dissatisfied.
Although Emilia seemed displeased about the very idea of marrying Aria.
Of course, the busyness wasn’t just due to wedding preparations.
Day in and day out, I was moving from one house to another, casting teleportation spells like there was no tomorrow, yet 24 hours felt utterly insufficient.
Now, it was practically as if my eyes were everywhere across the world.
Pigeons, wild dogs, rats, and so on…
Erwin was everywhere—above the sky, in the ground, and even underground.
Now, I could remotely inscribe spells across their hearts, spreading my influence across the continent.
Thanks to the nearly boundless processing power of the Majin, I could simultaneously digest information from all over the world.
Speaking of Erwin, there’s a story I need to share.
Once, I had stopped by the desert, and out of nowhere, teleporting to one of my subordinates in the institution—
“*Schlus, huh?*”
“*Schlus, big brother?*”
“*Huh?*”
I was taken aback as Erwin’s younger siblings grabbed my hands on both sides.
In a fleeting moment, I realized we had teleported with Erwin and froze in embarrassment.
After all, I had just come from 3,000 meters in the air.
“Where’s our sister gone?”
“I-I’ll bring her back right away. Let go of my hand. Good. Just wait a moment.”
*Poof.*
After switching places with Erwin with one teleport, I did it once more.
I swapped places with an eagle soaring through the skies above the institution, slowly landing by Erwin’s siblings.
By the way, I find the word *poof* to be rather cute.
“*Hyaaaah!!!*”
“Sis?”
“Are you okay, big sis?”
“Wha—? Uhm?”
Erwin had collapsed to the ground, crying out in agony, attracting the attention of all the passersby.
I felt a bit bad about that.
I scratched my head and pulled on the back of Erwin’s neck, lifting him up and setting him right.
“Ah, sorry. It wasn’t intentional.”
“Again! Again! Why do you keep sending me to weird places?!”
“Since I’m sorry, I’ll erase the spell I inscribed on your heart.”
“That’s still there?! I thought I erased it before!”
“…”
Back then, I thought I was going to die, so I had removed it. After being revived, I secretly inscribed it again.
But now, I truly felt it was time to set Erwin free.
So nothing like switching places with him would ever happen again.
“Should’ve done this earlier… *sigh…*”
“Stop that, I get it. But wasn’t it fun in the meantime?”
“Fun? Do you have any idea the fear of being spied on 24/7? That’s what made my whole body feel goosebumps and shivers all the time!”
“Isn’t that a bit of a trust issue…?”
“Damn it!”
“Ah, I’m really sorry. I feel like I was too harsh on you all this time…”
“Not ‘like,’ but it really was harsh. A lot.”
“Still, you did a great job. You were one of the few people I could trust. You contributed quite a bit to the peace of the continent. I wanted to say thank you for a long time.”
It was a sincere statement.
After Emilia, Erwin had been one of the most trustworthy allies.
Considering my life was tied to his, there was no way he would ever think of betraying me.
“What do you care? I don’t trust someone like you even a little bit. Who knows when you might suddenly go rogue with that massive power? How can you guarantee that tomorrow, just for fun, you won’t wipe out the institution? Ugh, I can’t live with that fear.”
“You trust me a lot, huh.”
“Ha. Me? Trust you?”
Erwin looked at me as if he couldn’t believe his ears.
Hadn’t I told him about the activation conditions for the teleportation spell?
“Teleportation. It’s not something you can just swap around freely. For high-order beings like humans, you have to be trusted to the level where you can entrust your entire body, including your freedom—”
“Ha, that’s hilarious! Of course, I trust you, to some extent?”
“To some extent isn’t enough. You need complete trust, where you can totally entrust me with everything, including your body—”
“*Aaah! That’s a lie! It’s a lie!*”
“Sis, what’s wrong?”
“Big Sis, are you okay?”
Unable to bear the brutal truth, Erwin covered his ears and cried out.
Even if the mouth spoke lies, the internal circuit could never tell a falsehood.
By the way, what context made him trust me so much…?
Was it the exposure to my everyday life that opened his eyes to being spied on?
Is there a connection between that and trust?
I really don’t know.
“Oh, right. I wasn’t just going to say thank you without any reward. Alright, kids. Want some pocket money?”
“Yes! Schlus, big brother! I mean, big brother!”
“Hehe. Thank you, big brother!”
I took out two bills from my wallet and gave one to each of the siblings.
They quickly rolled up the bills as if someone would snatch them away and stuffed them into their pockets right away.
They both seemed to have their pockets filled with junk, causing them to bulge out, which was adorable, so I gently ruffled their hair and stood up.
“Why are you giving them so much money? They just use it all on candy and snacks.”
“Oh, right. Did you get upset because I didn’t give you any pocket money?”
“Not that!”
“Here.
*Cheh.* I’ll accept it just for form’s sake.”
“Then should I take my leave?”
“Big brother, bye-bye!”
“Take care, big sis!”
“Alright.”
Erwin reluctantly snatched the white piece of paper I handed over, clearly hesitant.
Having given what needed to be given, I decided it was time to head home.
Just as I was about to activate the teleportation spell, a tearing scream rang out from behind.
“Hiiiii?! This isn’t a bill! How many balls are in here?!”
And then *poof*.
As I jumped across the space, I didn’t get to hear Erwin’s scream to the end.
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