World leaders are visiting South Korea.
Normally, this would be good news, a sign of the country's standing in the world, but for South Korean President Ahn Dong-gil, it was not good news at all.
"I see. Her Majesty the Queen of England, I stand corrected?"
"Yes. The Gate has taken much from humanity, but it has also given us much."
Since the Cataclysm, the British royal family has undergone massive changes.
The biggest change was Queen Victoria's Hunter awakening.
The aging Queen, who was in her 70s at the time, became physically younger when she awakened her magic.
It's not that the old woman became a young woman, but her physical age was reduced by 40 years. It's not so strange considering that Korea's oldest hunters, Oh Kang-hyuk, Chun Jin-soo, and Kang Jin-sung, are still in their 70s.
Thanks to this, it was virtually guaranteed that the current Crown Prince would die first.
'This princess in front of me is the next Queen of England!'
Queen Victoria's granddaughter, Princess Diane, who is also a high-ranking British hunter, dazzled President Ahn with her stunning beauty.
"So, I'll leave the formal discussion of this FTA to Secretary Davidson, shall we take a picture?"
"Oh, yes— that would be great."
Ahn Dong-gil took a picture of him shaking hands with Princess Diane, and realized that royalty with a little modernization is different.
After dealing with only recently steamed medieval royalty, he felt relatively comfortable with British royalty.
"So, Princess Diane, what are your plans afterward? My government will take care of you."
"Oh, that's okay, I'm in Korea for the first time in a long time, and I'd like to do some sightseeing."
President Ahn watched Princess Diane drive away in a plain car and muttered to himself before heading to the meeting with Secretary Davidson.
"She has backup, doesn't she?"
"——Yes, maybe."
The next Queen of England, plus ministers to Japan, Belgium, Poland, and Norway, plus Russian and French generals.
Even the deputy director of the U.S. Hunter Management Agency openly announces that he's here to scout Leon.
"Tell them to increase the number of National Security Agency personnel in Naju, we need to shove tourists and whatever else in there so we know what the talks are about!"
After last week's opposition "Resign!" incident, the country was in a state of uncontrollable chaos.
The TTG Temple fanatics are out in force, protesting to kick the crap out of lawmakers, and the public is blaming the president for not being able to control them.
Now foreign countries are sending envoys to beat the shit out of him.
"One representative, that asshole——"
If the opposition's goal was to feed the president a big fat ass, they succeeded very well.
* * * *
The plains of Naju, where the TTG Temple was first established was where Leon took up residence after he cleansed the land of miasma contamination, and enshrined the hammer of Georgic, the Holy Knight of Demera, the Goddess of Life and Fertility.
In recent years, the Naju Main Temple of the Ten Thousand Gods has become even more powerful, as its resident holy relics have grown to enormous proportions.
Georgic's Hammer, the holy relics that the Knights of the Ten Thousand Gods inherited from the Lionheart Kingdom Gate, and four Holy Knights.
Even if they stood still, the entire area of Naju was being sanctified with their exhaled breath.
"The air is different. I never thought I'd say this, but the space itself has an auspicious aura."
"From what I've heard, there are over a dozen epic-level items here."
"You mean the equipment of the Holy Knights, and half of them are available on——"
"The Lionheart King– sword, spear, and Holy Grail. Each and every one of them is said to be unparalleled among Epic-level items."
Indeed. The scale of the TTG Temple was already the largest in Korea. Even the Maverick Guild in the United States couldn't compare to it in terms of numbers.
What's even more terrifying is the power of each individual.
Whether it's the mysterious Magician Queen, the Yakt Spinner who wields super scientific weapons, or the recent survivor Vulcanus, there is no comparison in Asia.
'You're saying you're above them all?'
Leon's reputation was already well known in England.
It was he who had defeated the Wandering Demon Sword, the culprit of the London Massacre.
"Princess, these talks are about——"
"I'm well aware, it's been discussed before."
After Leon expressed his displeasure with the whole "resignation!" situation and called the hearing off, Japan made the first move.
They offered a 10 trillion yen grant and said they'd like to invite TTG Temple to their country.
Spurred on by this, other powers, including Britain, sent envoys to the Korean government and Princess Diane was one such envoy.
"Money is a given," she says, "and we'll have to promise a number of changes to the law to accommodate the TTG Temple, which is basically the stakes."
The problem is, all the other envoys know this, too.
So what can she, as the next Queen of England, offer?
"I've got the best diplomatic hand a royal could ever hope to play."
Herself or in other words, an arranged marriage.
Diane is thinking of asking Leon to marry her.
'I can't think of a better bride.'
Diane is still single. She's not even engaged to be married.
But marrying her would mean a seat next to the next Queen of England, a royal estate worth hundreds of billions, and royalty in a country called England.
But is that all? Diane was sure her beauty would also be a plus.
She had the golden, honey-blonde hair of a full-blooded Englishwoman, jewel-blue eyes, and the toned body of a high-ranking hunter.
A trifecta of beauty, power, and fortune, she was England's finest bride-nay, the bride of the century.
"Is the princess okay?"
"I'm royalty. Arranged marriages are an old concept, but they still work, and most of all–I like His Majesty Leon."
Even before the benefits of marrying Leon, Princess Diane liked him and his firebrand appearance that belied his three hundred years of age.
Above all, he exudes a sense of power, unlike the royal authority of the past.
It was the difference between a constitutional monarchy and an absolute monarchy. King Lionheart had been an absolute monarch for a long time.
'He's the ideal groom, and I'm sure he'll like me.'
Diane saw a high probability of this marriage coming to pass if nothing else happened. As the King of a destroyed kingdom, what could be more attractive to him than the British royal family?
"You're sure His Majesty the Lionheart has no other woman?"
"Yes, from what I've heard, he seems to be quite close to the Magician Queen, but I have no confirmation of that."
"The Magician Queen–I suppose she's quite beautiful, but she always wears a veil, so it's hard to tell."
"She may be pretty, but she's nothing compared to the princess."
Yes, if she was so confident in her appearance, why would she wear a veil? There were occasional pictures of her on social media, but never full-face.
"Let's see, then, if we can get His Majesty the Lionheart King to-"
Princess Diane stopped in her tracks since in front of her was a woman in a dress with a veil.
"Are you Princess Diane from the British royal family?"
Beatrice, the Magician Queen, came out to greet Diane.
"Oh, yes–you must be the famous Magician Queen, I'm Diane Grace Phillips."
Something, an aura, overwhelms her.
The magician queen of the kingdom of Spero was an otherworldly survivor and the high Priestess of Fle, the Goddess of Dreams and Death.
There are many labels for her, but she is always too far away to experience however now she's right in front of her, Diane felt that she was born queen, something she can feel even beyond her veil and dress——
Before the intense authority, Diane felt a strange undercurrent that made her blush, even with the same woman in front of her.
'She's a tough competitor. This won't be easy──'
"Then follow me, His Majesty is waiting for you──Oh my."
At that moment, a gust of wind blew hard. It stirred the veil that covered Beatrice's face, and for a brief moment, her face was revealed before Diane.
"Ah——"
The wind shook the veil, but only for a moment, and as Beatrice straightened it, Diane felt a twinge of regret.
Just a little longer–to see her face.
"Princess——"
"——Yes."
"This is going to be hard."
"——Yes."
* * * *
As it turned out, none of the envoys who came to see Leon received a positive answer.
Not the marriage proposal from Princess Diane, not the special religious law from the French envoy, not the massive investment proposal from Japan.
None of them were of much interest to Leon. Until finally──
"Your Majesty, it is an honor to meet you."
The blond Caucasian middle-aged man in the sleek suit bowed to Leon in courtly fashion, polite but regal.
"Is it you? Lord Spinner says you know the case."
"Haha, I gave Sir Yakt Spinner a small gift, and he seems to have liked it."
The white middle-aged man carefully stepped up to the dais, with Leon's permission, and offered the box containing the gift.
"I'm Donald Cooper, Deputy Director of the Hunter Management Agency of the United States of America."
A modern day, 21st century elite bureaucrat in the Hunter Agency of the United States, the one that was moving Hunters turned to Leon and spoke in a cool voice.
"We, the United States of America, can rebuild the Lionheart Kingdom for your Majesty."
* * * *
Donald Cooper, Deputy Director of the Hunter Administration.
Leon locked eyes with the American bureaucrat who had the audacity to promise to rebuild the Lionheart Kingdom.
'He doesn't speak in hollow words.'
Leon knew in his gut that Donald's words were neither empty nor hollow.
The United States' annual budget is about $400 trillion. It spends more than $100 trillion on defense, twice as much as South Korea.
With the collapse of China and the decline of Russia, the U.S. defense budget has been transferred to the Hunter Management Agency. He heard that the budget for next year alone is 200 trillion won.
With an agency that size, it's not out of the question for them to offer to rebuild the Lionheart Kingdom.
This would naturally lead to an invitation to come to America.
"How can your country offer to rebuild this king's kingdom?"
Leon asked with interest, and Deputy Donald drew up a blueprint with a confident look on his face.
"We'll give you land in the United States, and you can pick a place with enough land to build a country and plenty of maritime resources for the Kikiruks."
Each of Donald's suggestions was a city with modest American influence.
Each one is about the size of the Korean Peninsula. The option of building a "kingdom" on that much land was presented.
"This wasn't discussed overnight."
"Yes, we, the United Nations, have been watching you for a long time."
The U.S. government had a plan to scout Leon almost from the start.
He was a medieval-minded king from another world but his character aside, harnessing the power of the goddess Demera to cleanse a polluted land was an irreplaceable miracle.
Now that the Ten Thousand Gods Temple had spread, a modest cult of Demera had begun to spring up in the United States, and the land was being cleansed of miasma contamination.
There had to be some discussion when it was suggested that Demera's farmers should send a tribute to the TTG Temple.
"But Your Majesty's value— excuse me, Your Majesty's mere existence is of immense benefit to the country. The Japanese government offered ten trillion yen–that's too low for Your Majesty."
Deputy Donald was confident that Leon's combat prowess alone was worth more than an apostle.
"And it's not just you, Sir Vulcanus, Queen Beatrice, and Sir Yakt Spinner, who will be coming with you."
It was a value that could not be measured in money.
"Religiously, I would like to see His Majesty and the Ten Thousand Gods Temple take root in our country. Of course, there will be conflicts with existing religions, but Christians are not bombers like the indigenous religions of the desert."
Leon weighed in on Donald's and the U.S. government's intentions.
"Do you think you can treat this king like the Pope of the Christians?"
"Vatican City–you mean."
You don't have to look far to find another country within a country: Vatican City, Italy.
A nominally independent country with the Pope as its head of state but dependent for the most part on the Italian government.
Leon rested his chin on the back of his hand and turned to Deputy Donald.
"This king's primary mission is to spread the Code of the Gods, but before that, he is the absolute monarch of Lionheart. His authority and power are bestowed by the gods, not subject to human considerations."
In short, a kingdom is an absolute monarchy. Leon had made it clear.
"Hahaha–of course, I am aware of that."
A cold sweat broke out on Deputy Donald's forehead. The best deal, of course, would be for the TTG Temple to remain a religious shrine, a nominally independent state, like Italy's Vatican City but the TTG Temple had the power to wipe out a nation, and its leader was a man of transcendent power.
The United States had more than a best-of-both-worlds deal in mind.
"Your kingdom will be a sovereign state, strictly separate from the United States, and we will lend you our support."
There was a strong sense of determination in the man's voice that he would do whatever it took to make the TTG Temple and Leon a part of his country.
"Interesting, indeed. However, the rebuilding of the kingdom can be done by this king himself. Well, I will consider it as an option."
"Yes?"
The words caught Deputy Donald off guard. He'd made such an outrageous offer, and he hadn't even gotten a positive, if not a definite, response?
As it turned out, Leon wasn't as interested in what the United States could offer as he'd thought; he'd just heard an interesting proposal, that's all.
'I guess that makes him no different from the other envoys before him!'
Deputy Donald regretted that he had to reveal this hand already, but he spoke quickly to get Leon's attention.
"Your Majesty, do you think that the only gods in this world are the gods of the TTG Temple?"
"Hmm?"
He wasn't sure if he was talking about Yahweh or Allah, but the mention of God certainly got Leon's attention.
"Your Majesty, the United States has gods from other worlds, just like you and the TTG Temple."
And he would be just the god Leon needed, Deputy Donald was sure.