Chapter 685
Even if he wanted to listen to nagging all day, the Emperor had no time for it.
After finishing his entrance speech, the Emperor returned to the imperial palace.
Charlotte was by his side as he sat on the imperial throne.
The heated ministers began their respective reports.
"Your Majesty, I bring news that the warp gate in the Autonomous Human Territory has been destroyed."
"…Again?"
The Emperor, seemingly fed up with the repetition, closed his eyes and pressed his temples with both hands.
"What do they want to achieve by destroying the warp gate, which is the lifeline of our aid? Are they asking us to transport supplies by carriage? Could it be that they want to starve to death?"
"It wasn't the autonomous government that destroyed the gate, but as always…"
"The citizens, right?"
"Yes, Your Majesty."
The gate incident had come to an end.
However, warp gate phobia was widespread across the entire continent. People believed that warp gates were massive ticking time bombs.
It was only natural for people to feel vague fear and anxiety about the reintroduction of something that had nearly driven humanity to extinction.
As a result, not only in the Autonomous Territory but also across the entire continent, warp gates were frequently destroyed by terrified citizens. Thus, it was not an issue unique to the Autonomous Territory.
Nevertheless, the benefits of the warp gates were not something people could give up out of fear. So, compared to the previous era, the area surrounding the warp gates was under strong military protection.
"Although we continue to proclaim that the gates are unrelated to those of the previous era, many people still refuse to believe it… In particular, citizens of the Autonomous Territory view the warp gates as entrances to invasion and feel uneasy."
Especially in the Autonomous Human Territory, which could be considered a gathering place for the anti-demon king forces that rejected his rule, warp gate phobia was bound to be more severe.
"Did we cover the cost of repairing the warp gate after the last destruction?"
"Yes, we did."
"Really? They must have thought they could get away with being lax since we rebuilt it for free. It's time to change their mindset."
The Emperor began to speak with a cold tone.
"From now on, the Autonomous Territory government will bear the full cost of repairing the warp gates. That way, they'll protect them with their lives. Deliver this message to the Autonomous Territory government."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
There were many humans in the Autonomous Territory.
Those who had rejected the demon king's rule and the followers of the Hero Religion.
Instead of killing them, the demon king had allowed them to live together in one place.
As a result, rebellions occurred from time to time, but they were all ultimately suppressed.
Furthermore, they could not survive without the aid of the new empire.
Although it was a gathering place for those who hated the demon king, the reality of the Autonomous Territory was that they couldn't even survive without him.
This was Charlotte's plan.
The Emperor issued orders while receiving various reports.
Occasionally, he would listen to advice from Charlotte, who was standing beside him.
Although the tasks at hand weren't very different from what he had been doing in Edina, the scope he had to manage was vastly larger, and the number of lives involved was on an entirely different scale.
With a bored expression, the Emperor maintained his focus as he made one decision after another.
There were important matters to discuss, but there were also trivial ones that seemed hardly worth mentioning.
However, there were undoubtedly topics that, although insignificant, had to be reported to the Emperor.
"Your Majesty, we have caught the person who damaged your statue installed in the Aligar district last Monday. He is a 67-year-old man living nearby and is currently in the custody of the guards."
"…Why did he do that?"
"The reason is not important, Your Majesty. Damaging a statue modeled after you is a challenge to the imperial authority in itself. I believe he should be sentenced to death."
"And on Monday? I don't remember well, how did he damage it?"
The official reporting to the emperor looked pale in response to the question.
The emperor heard so many things in a day that too many of them disappeared from his memory.
"Um, he… he urinated on it…"
"Urinated? Ah… yes. I think I heard about that."
"Yes…"
Hm.
The emperor crossed his arms.
The emperor may have forgotten, but his officials remembered the shocking incident.
An attitude of not understanding why he should be angry about it.
He had reacted like this at the time.
"I never ordered the installation of that statue in the first place."
The demon king seemed to be searching his memory, lost in thought for a moment.
"I don't know who it was, but some sculptor said he wanted to dedicate it to me and made it…"
"It's Ernak."
As the demon king's assistant Charlotte whispered the name, the demon king nodded as if he remembered.
"That's right, it was that fellow Ernak who carved it as a tribute to me or something. Aren't all the statues and images of me like that?"
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"Why is it a challenge to the imperial authority when a citizen damages an object they sculpted without my permission?"
In fact, such things existed throughout the empire.
In some form or another.
Artists and groups praising the demon king created various works of art idolizing him.
"It is because a statue bearing your likeness symbolizes the emperor's authority."
"Shouldn't we stop people from making statues of the great and dignified emperor at their own discretion? That could also be seen as a challenge to imperial authority…"
Charlotte interrupted the emperor before he could finish suggesting that if problems arise from unauthorized work, they should not allow it in the first place.
"If we start censoring in that way, we'll end up prohibiting even the poets from singing praises of Your Majesty's achievements, creating a needless atmosphere of fear. Undoubtedly, inevitably, you will find that situation more tiring later on."
"Is… is that so?"
"Forbidding idolization in fear of idolization, Your Majesty, is in itself a very powerful form of idolization. And if you issue a ban and later find it more troublesome, leading to its repeal, the citizens will only feel unnecessary confusion. Inevitably, people will think that the imperial family lacks consistency."
"I see. Well, let's just forget about it…"
If left alone, people would idolize the emperor as they pleased, arguing whether it was right or wrong.
If told not to, an endless list of things to prohibit would only create a meaningless atmosphere of fear, fueling resentment.
In the end, repealing the ban itself would mark the climax of the emperor's pointless meddling.
So, leaving it alone was the best solution.
"Anyway, just let the old man off with a warning. He must have been drinking. When people get drunk, they sometimes do unpleasant things in places they shouldn't."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
The minister sighed and nodded, knowing that the Emperor rarely punished anyone in such cases.
"At least give a warning. Tell them if they pull that stunt again, they'll have to fight in front of the Emperor himself. I'm curious if they can manage that."
The old man was released along with the Emperor's bizarre warning.
After that, many reports came in.
When the Emperor's judgment seemed to verge on mistake, Charlotte would quietly discuss with him and make decisions.
Everyone knew Charlotte was the true power behind the new royal family.
The reason she was respected even as a remnant of the Gardias royal family was because everyone knew she never acted against the Emperor's will or ordered others to do so.
And soon, the ever-present topic arose.
"Your Majesty, there have been sightings of a hero in the Olland region of the western Kernstadt area."
The atmosphere in the royal chamber, which had been quiet, became heavy.
In the royal chamber, and throughout the empire, there were two extremely sensitive subjects.
One was the hero, Ellen Artorius.
"Also, there have been sightings of the deposed Emperor Bertus in the Olland region about two months ago."
The other, of course, was the topic of Bertus de Gardias, the previous emperor.
"When we look at these two matters together, it seems that the deposed emperor and the hero are once again acting together..."
"Can you take responsibility for that?"
"..."
"Can you take responsibility for that statement?"
The minister who reported the matter lowered his head even further before the Emperor's cold gaze.
"Every time we've heard about the hero and the deposed emperor, we've dispatched forces. But as far as I remember, not once has the information been true."
Most of the sightings of these high-priority fugitives were false.
No one knew whether any of the reports had been genuine.
Regardless, all pursuits had ended in failure.
The Emperor stared at the reporter as another sighting was reported.
"Your Majesty, I am merely reporting the information that has come in."
"Isn't it your 'opinion,' not information, to 'infer' that the deposed emperor and the hero are together based on two sightings?"
"That... that is..."
"How much longer must the empire's power be wasted on false sightings, most of which have proven to be lies? Some of the people who provided the information didn't even know the appearances of the hero or the emperor. There have even been instances where sightings were reported simultaneously at the southernmost and northernmost ends of the continent."
However, it was not the reporter who answered, but someone else.
"Your Majesty, the deposed emperor and the hero are the greatest threats to the current empire. The moment they reach the autonomous region, humanity will rally again, and those within the empire who harbor impurities will be tempted. We must closely monitor even the smallest piece of information regarding those two individuals."
The other officials did not hesitate to agree, as if acknowledging the truth in those words.
It was true that the people in the autonomous region were essentially slaves and that their resentment remained.
If the wars so far had been the resistance of those who could not overcome their anger, a real war could break out the moment the vanished emperor and hero reappeared.
Those who remained in the empire, hating the Demon King, might also follow that turning point.
Thus, the deposed emperor and the hero were real threats to the empire.
There were still those who believed that the two were hiding somewhere, plotting in secret to save humanity from the Demon King's oppression, and the believers of the hero in the autonomous region continued to have faith.
Thus, for those who pledged loyalty to the Emperor, the only way to eliminate the root cause of the empire's unrest was to find and kill the hero and the deposed emperor.
Everything they said was for the sake of the empire's eternity and peace.
There might have been incorrect information in their words, but there was no reason to doubt their loyalty.
That's why a tremendous bounty was placed on the heads of Ellen and the deposed emperor, and the Emperor could not deny its legitimacy.
In order to justify the rule of the Demon King, the hero and the deposed emperor had to be captured, and the propaganda continued.
Now, they revered the Demon King as the savior of the world, and hated the hero and the deposed emperor.
In reality, civilization had achieved some level of reconstruction, the absolute problem of hunger was almost resolved, and people were expanding their foundation of life by restoring the ruined cities and buildings.
It was not an era of peace, but it was approaching that time.
Most people believed in reality and substance.
Many people's lives had improved after the rule of the Demon King.
So people believed in the Demon King.
However, ironically, no matter who held power after the end of the Gate Incident, things could only improve. The Demon King just happened to be the one holding the reins.
It was a situation where things had to improve, and it was unknown whether things got better because the Demon King took power or not.
However, things were improving, and in fact, the Demon King did not commit unnecessary atrocities against those who accepted his rule quietly.
Not all policies went smoothly, but there were obviously no senseless acts of tyranny or slaughter.
Nowhere on the continent were people gathered and burned to death. The Demon King was actually taken aback by the fact that so many people had been terrified imagining such a thing.
Moreover, he even created autonomous regions for humans who refused his rule and claimed to be their protector. Of course, everyone knew that the title of protector was just a name and in reality, he was a watcher.
In the end, unlike the early days of his rule, a considerable number of humans now supported the Demon King due to improved living conditions.
Thus, they naturally came to hate the hero and the fugitive deposed emperor, who were on the opposite side. It was a natural phenomenon.
So it was an unavoidable reality that the entire continent was pursuing the two, even if the Emperor did not.
However, the Emperor still felt uneasy, even though he understood this.
"Yes, that's true. But not all the information is false. How long do we have to listen to stories from murderers who kill innocent people and then demand money, claiming they killed the deposed emperor or the hero?"
Every time such a story came up in a report, the Emperor felt suffocated.
"Your Majesty, just because some accidents happen, we cannot stop the attempts to find the deposed emperor and the hero. They might have hidden in the autonomous regions."
"We should strengthen the surveillance of the autonomous regions, enforce curfews, and of course, prohibit gatherings to prevent people from assembling, and reinforce the guards more than they are now."
"Your Majesty, the cunning humans of the autonomous regions are merely taking advantage of your compassion."
"Not only should we identify the ungrateful and reckless people who have received your forgiveness many times but do not know gratitude, but also the fact that the leaders of the past rebellion are included in the top echelons of the autonomous regions is a very serious security risk."
"The problem is not just the autonomous regions. We need to significantly increase the activities of the intelligence agency to identify the subversive elements within the empire as well."
"Yes, Your Majesty. There are countless subversive elements who have deliberately chosen not to be affiliated with the autonomous regions in order to operate within the empire."
Once someone opened the floodgates, words poured out from all over, and the Emperor silently looked down at his ministers.
The Emperor glanced at Charlotte, who was standing quietly by his side.
'Please save me.'
That was the underlying meaning of his gaze.
Looking down at the Emperor, Charlotte gave a faint smile and nodded her head quietly.
"From now on, I will receive the political reports."
In the end, Charlotte took over.
"Let's leave out the useless conversations and start by organizing the reports according to each department."
As always, this was the flow of events.
They were all individuals loyal to the Demon King.
There was no doubt about their loyalty.
It was just that their expressions were aggressive.
Their loyalty was so strong that they didn't hesitate to say that they should kill the deposed emperor's half-sibling, Charlotte, right in front of him.
Some of them were even former members of the empire.
This was because they were either irreplaceable personnel who had not been replaced even after five years or had proven their loyalty to the point of not being replaced.
That's why Charlotte, although doubting their intelligence, did not doubt their loyalty.
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