(Thandor Hozora POV)
"We will first need to ensure the civilians that if another attack comes again, they will be safe. The first priority is to not cause panic and to ensure that our kingdom has everything under control." I made a small pause.
"How sure are you that the barrier will not break if another attack comes again?" I asked Elarian, the mage tower master of our kingdom.
"If another attack comes again, I am afraid that there is nothing we can do unless we kill the monster immediately."
'That is such a pain.'
How do I reassure my people that our kingdom is safe? Do I need to lie?
It can't be helped that our kingdom is at the edge of the empire. But as the king, I cannot just leave. Not as long as people still live here.
A servant approached me with a panicked face.
"Your majesty, Rylan and Haruki are fighting."
I heard someone crash into something, and I could see the walls next to the door shake a little.
"Are they fighting right in front of our conference room?"
"Yes, your majesty. Do we stop them before they destroy the castle?"
I laughed.
"Do you want to stop two SSS rankers from fighting? Just leave them be. If they wanted to destroy our castle, they would have done so a long time ago."
I approached Albert, the strategist of our kingdom.
"What are the exact numbers of casualties?"
He took a deep breath.
"We are estimating one million people died, but this is just an estimate, and the number could be bigger or lower."
As he said, my body froze, and I didn't know how to react.
1 million was almost 20% of our kingdom; that was a very high number. But that was to be expected since the barrier broke and the metors came crashing down.
Still, one million people died because of the attack.
I sighed.
This kingdom was doomed from the start, since it was at the edge of the empire.
Being at the edge of the empire meant that we were the first ones to experience an attack from monsters.
Look at what happened with the Diterra kingdom. The same would soon happen with my kingdom.
That was if we were in the past; now that we have SSS rankers, we can finally defend ourselves.
But even with SSS rankers, my people still died from the attack. Those attacks will continue to happen, so I need to use another method.
I didn't want to do this. But if my people can survive, then so be it.
"The people of the Hozora kingdom can't stay here anymore."
Albert looked puzzled.
"What do you mean?" He asked.
"There is too much danger to stay here. The barrier broke once. Who is to say that it won't break again? Therefore, my people can't stay here; we need to move them."
"But where to?" Albert asked.
"We will move my people to other kingdoms that are closer to the center."
Albert's eyes widened.
"But that would mean-"
"I know that without the people, there is no Hozora kingdom. But it's better this way." I interrupted him.
My people will seek refuge in another kingdom since the risk is too great for them to stay. But I will stand here and defend the kingdom till it gets destroyed.
Without the people paying its taxes, we will soon lose all our economy. And if we include the damage the monster did to our kingdom, there is only one result: the Hozora kingdom will cease to exist.
Without the money, warriors will not fight for us, and the kingdom will be destroyed by monsters.
Even if the monsters don't destroy it, another kingdom will probably buy us out of bankruptcy.
No matter the result, it ends with one thing.
The Hozora kingdom will be removed from history.
"Sorry to interrupt, as I couldn't help but overhear."
I turned around and saw a person in golden attire. It was the man who represented the empire.
"Since the attack on the Diterra kingdom, our empire has been thinking of a plan."
He paused.
"I don't know if I am allowed to say it."
"Well, who cares?" He shrugged.
"The empire has been thinking of a new law. It's very important in the context of the edge kingdoms, such as the Hozora kingdom."
'A new law?'.
"What is it?" I asked.
"Because of the monster attack, it's very risky for civilians to live at the edge of kingdoms since they are not awakeners."
"Therefore, the emperor made a new law that forces the non-awakeners of the edge kingdom to get temporary citizenship in another kingdom."
That is exactly what we need, but what about my kingdom without its people? Without money, we can't finance the necessities, and it will end with the same result.
"The people that get temporary citizenship will pay their taxes to the empire, which is then used to fund the edge kingdoms."
"But that is not all. The awakeners for different kingdoms will be forced to defend the edge kingdoms, since that is a line of defense we need to protect."
That sounds good, so why haven't they implemented it yet?
Seeing my puzzled face, he continued.
"The problem with this is that the kingdoms that get the people with temporary citizenship will not get the taxes for their work. This is a problem that needs to be fixed since they can't earn any money."
"There is also the problem of how to force awakeners to protect the edge kingdoms. They are not going to do it for free; therefore, we need to think of advantages so good that the awakened are forced to accept."
"Until now, there was no good reason to implement this law, but because your kingdom was attacked. We now have a good reason to implement it."
"How can I help?" I asked.
"The emperor will start a meeting with all the kingdoms, so for now you don't have to do anything. But just show your support when it is needed."
I nodded.
I was already prepared to lose my kingdom, so this new law would be a much better alternative.
A person in servant attire ran into the conference room.
"Your majesty! I have urgent news!"
'Urgernt news?'
As I looked at him panting, I knew that the news needed my attention.
"Speak, what is it?" I asked.
"There is a new awakener from our kingdom." He said with some struggle.
"So? It's normal for people to get awakened, especially because of the recent attack."
Trauma is usually the most common way a human awakens their insignia.
"No, this person is different. He is only a child, but he awakened as an A rank!"
"What! He awakened as an A rank?."
Getting your insignia when you awaken is normal, but most people's bodies will only be around F to E-rank.
Talented people will start with a D-rank or a C-rank.
Those above C rank are the prodigies who have the potential to become S-ranked or higher.
Starting as an A rank meant that he had the potential to become an SSS rank!
Because he was from our kingdom, it meant that our kingdom could potentially get an SSS ranker.
"It seems like the gods have blessed your kingdom." The man in the golden attire said while smiling.
I nodded and looked at the servant.
"Lead me to where the child is."