This chapter contains information about this world's history and current situation.
For those who haven't read the novel - 'How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom'
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As the light surrounding me dies down, I hear a voice.
"O Hero! It is good that you have heeded my summons," said a middle-aged man who had just appeared before me. He was average build and seemed to be attempting to sound majestic. I'd have put his age at around forty to fifty years old.
He wore a red cape thick enough to serve as a coat, and atop his head sat a gleaming golden crown. I could tell at a glance that this guy was a king.
Was the beautiful gentle-looking young woman standing at his side the queen, then? She was more beautiful than what I saw on the internet in my last life. A woman with platinum blonde hair, wearing a beautiful dress. She looked like she was only around thirty.
Let's take stock of the situation, I thought. A needlessly high ceiling, rows of marble pillars, and beneath me a red carpet. Soldiers standing at attention on either side, and mixed in with them a person who looks like your stereotypical prime minister.
It was a place that looked like it came out of the opening of an RPG. There was a king, a palace, and that "O Hero" line I'd just heard.
So, I was in the Place of Soma, its good very good. Inwardly I was very happy but was only showing as if I am trying to calm down and not panic.
...Okay, Now the first order of business is... Right, I'll start by gathering information.
"Wh-Why do you look at me like that? Are you upset that I have called you here?" the King said nervously as I stared at him.
"That's not it... I just don't have a good grasp of the situation. Could I ask you to explain?"
"Y-You certainly are calm. It is most enviable..."
"Your Majesty..." I began.
"I-It is nothing!"
The prime minister cleared his throat, and the king jumped a little. Seeing that little interaction, the queen giggled, and the soldiers looked on with wry smiles. From that exchange, I could see the King truly was the good-natured man as shown in the novel. I sensed that he lacked the aura of command required of a nation's ruler, but that he was the type who was loved by the people. Still, that was neither here nor there.
I posed my question to play my role, with deliberate calmness so as not to intimidate him. "So, if I'm the hero, does that mean a demon lord is invading or something?"
"You certainly do catch on quickly. It is precisely as you say."
"Please, explain the situation."
"V- Very well, I shall explain."
The king then launched into a lengthy explanation of the world's history, as you might see in an old RPG.
While the King is talking, I was talking with my Goddesses.
'Girls can you hear me.'
(Yes, Dear we hear you loud and clear)-Aarushi
'Ok'
(Dear, Annessa and I have some work to attend in heaven. So we have to leave And Ashlinn will be here to assist you, Is it okay?)-Aarushi
'it's, alright if you two have work to do then it can't be helped. but come back at night, I like to spend some time with you all to know more about you all'
(Yes, dear we will be there, Byee~~~)-Aarushi
(Byyeee~~~ Dear)-Annessa
Then I focus on the king's explanation. It was long-winded enough that, if this were a game, I'd have been hunting for the Skip Text button, But I have to focus As there can be some changes in the plot as this world is created from the imaginations of people. And sometimes people can imagine some bizarre thing like 'Mil-tan' in 'DXD'.
So I'll summarize for you readers a bit. First, he spoke about this world.
The world was made up of the supercontinent Landia and many islands of varying sizes. On the supercontinent Landia, there were many countries, large and small. In addition to humans, these were populated by beastmen, elves, dwarves, and dragonewts, among other races. There were countries where these races coexisted, countries where one race had preferential treatment, countries that forbade entrance to all but one race, and more. These countries took many forms and they struggled against one another for supremacy at times. However, ever since the Demon Lord's Domain appeared, it seemed that all these countries had, on the surface, taken a position of mutual cooperation.
Next, the king spoke about the Demon Lord's Domain and the Demon Lord.
Around ten years ago, in the northernmost reaches of the supercontinent Landia, a dimension called the "Demon World" had appeared, and monsters of many sizes and shapes had poured out, throwing the Northern Countries into chaos. The countries had formed an alliance and organized a punitive force to send into this Demon World.
However, that punitive force had been annihilated. In the Demon World, there were "monsters" who had minimal (or, some would theorize, no) intelligence, as well as "demons" who were intelligent and also powerful fighters. The demons were the ones who had annihilated the punitive force. Furthermore, though it had not yet been verified, people whispered about the existence of a king who ruled over the demons, a "Demon King."
After that battle, the countries had lost their main fighting forces, and none of them had had the power to defend themselves against the monsters that appeared from the Demon World. The demonic forces, which had until then held only the equivalent of a small country, laid waste to the Northern Countries and came to rule a third of the continent. This territory was now called the "Demon Lord's Domain."
While their advance had stopped for the moment, it was said that this was because the expansion of the front lines had spread the demons and monsters thinner, making it possible for the individual countries to hold the line against them. That didn't mean mankind had any decisive way to turn things around. In the front-line countries, things had bogged down to a stalemate.
Following that exposition, the king talked about this country.
This was the Kingdom of Elfrieden, a medium-sized nation in the southeast of the continent. It was ruled under a monarchy. It was a country originally founded by many races working together, and, though the king was a human, those of other races were accepted here without discrimination. Regardless of race, everyone held citizenship, and aside from "king," they could take any job they desired. Even the prime minister who had been complaining to the king earlier was a half-elf, with human and elven parentage.
Because they did not border the Demon Lord's Domain, there were few monster attacks. However, the country had been weak to begin with, and the national treasury was not exactly in good shape. Food shortages had been especially bad in recent years, and that had only exacerbated the problem of refugees dispossessed by the expansion of the Demon Lord's Domain drifting here.
There were dark storm clouds on both the domestic and international fronts. Apparently, relations were tense with the Gran Chaos Empire, the largest country on the continent, excluding the Demon Lord's Domain. The Empire was the country which shared the longest border with the Demon Lord's Domain. It was also the country that had directed the first invasion of the Demon Lord's Domain. After their loss against the Demon Lord's Domain, the Empire was apparently requesting war subsidies from other countries. To put it simply, they were requesting that countries that were far away from the Demon Lord's Domain provide financial support to those which were close to it. Though these were "requests," when they came from the most powerful country of all mankind, they were closer to an ultimatum. One of those requests had come to this kingdom, but under current circumstances, it would be difficult to pay.
Finally, the king talked about the "hero summoning," which had brought me to this world.
Apparently, in the request for war subsidies that came from the Empire, there had been verbiage that had said, "If you are unable to pay, carry out the ritual of hero summoning which is passed down in your country, and turn that summoned hero over to the Empire." It was abundantly clear that this country had no means to pay, and perhaps that had been the Empire's intention all along. Perhaps they wanted to use a hero for his fighting potential, perhaps they wanted to dissect one and study him, or perhaps they had no interest in one to begin with, and they merely wanted to use the Kingdom's failure to respond to their request as a casus belli to invade. With no way to know what the Empire wanted, speculation had led only to more speculation, and the kingdom had become suspicious of everything.
In response to their situation, the kingdom had decided to perform the hero summoning ritual. They had not yet decided upon whether to turn the hero over or not, but if they succeeded, it would at least give them a card to negotiate with. For that, they needed to respond to the request, and show they intended to perform the ritual.
...Now that you've heard this much, I'll bet you've probably already guessed that the king never thought he might actually manage to summon a hero.
"Hey!" I shouted at him in irritation at how long the explanation was, and the king jumped back in fright.
"Eek! I am most sorry!"
"Oh, sorry," I said. "I lost my composure for a second there."
Even though he acts like this, he's still a king. I'll have to refrain from any further rudeness for now.
"...So, what do you plan to do?"
"A-About what?"
"The whole 'turning me over to the Empire' thing."
"That is... What should I do? It is a real pickle." The king really did seem troubled. That surprised me a little. I had expected a "The Empire is scary! Please, go and serve them for our kingdom!" as he cried and begged me to do it. He looked pretty fainthearted, after all.
"What is there for you to agonize over?" I asked. "You're afraid of the Empire, aren't you?"
"I am afraid! That is exactly why I am agonizing over this!"
"If I may interject, allow me to explain," the half-elf prime minister said, stepping forward. "At present, there is a clear difference in power between our country and the Empire. We simply are not in a position to say no when the Empire asks for something. While we are stuck in that situation, you are the sole lucky card that has fallen into our hands. Once we play that card, however, we have nothing left to use when negotiating with the Empire. Even if we can survive this time by doing as they say, what will we do the next time something comes up? Next time, we might only have succeeded in giving up our only card."
I was silent. It wasn't hard to see what he was saying.
'Since I have my own plans to get stronger and stand beside my wives' I have to make the most of this situation, I know what I have to do.
"What is a hero, anyway?" I asked.
"It is said that a hero is 'one who leads the change of an era,'" the prime minister replied. Hmm... So it's not just someone who slays that Demon King?
"Isn't that a wee bit vague?" I asked.
"We don't have much in the way of documentation, you see."
"...Please don't hold a ritual if that's the case," I said in annoyance, now I understand how Soma had felt.
"I cannot apologize enough for this state of affairs," the prime minister said formally.
I plan to become the king of this kingdom first and take control of this kingdom. It will be hard at first but I have my plans for that. So, I said.
"Sire, I have a proposal."
"What is it? You may speak freely."
"Can we talk about what's going to happen from here on out? Not standing here, somewhere where we can sit down and discuss it at length. Just me, you, and the prime minister."
"Hm. What do you think, Marx?"
"That would be fine." The prime minister, whose name was Marx, nodded in assent.
Since I had their agreement, I made another request. "Please, also gather all the materials you can on this country. With a particular focus on the balance of payment reports, as well as materials on agriculture, forestry and fisheries, economy, trade and industry, and land, infrastructure, and transport. We might be able to scrounge up the money the Empire is demanding. Also, I'd like the materials you have on heroes... but, well, that can wait."
"Very well. I will have them gathered at once," said the king.
We took a break at this point, and I was called to the king's governmental affairs office later.