Chapter 218

Normalization (3)

Around the time Grylls welcomed yet another not-quite-family member into his home...

The entire world was abuzz over the incident in El Dorado.

It was considered basic common sense that a nation should never use violence against its own citizens.

After all, humanity had established nations in the first place to protect themselves from the dangers of the wild.

Yet the state, which was supposed to protect its citizens, had instead attacked them.

Even if a state resorted to violence, it was meaningless without proper justification.

But El Dorado had not merely violated that principle. It had exposed its ugliest secrets for the entire world to see.

Various nations issued statements of condemnation, while Mephisto openly mocked them.

They had branded his people as servants of the Demon King, only to turn around and commit deeds befitting a Demon King themselves.

Ironically, Mephisto had matured culturally, causing violent incidents there to decline dramatically.

Even so, El Dorado did not collapse. It might have staggered, but as the nation most beloved by a god—and one personally founded by that god—it endured.

In fact, after Cain, a legendary hero, personally appeared, El Dorado’s standing could only rise from here.

Assuming it managed to overcome this crisis.

That development was bound to have various effects on countless nations.

And that included...

It’s not the worst possible outcome, but neither is it entirely welcome.

Arnold, who had recently ascended to the imperial throne.

He carefully examined both the reports submitted by his subordinates and the latest activity in the gallery.

El Dorado was currently dealing with the aftermath and deciding how to punish the Pope.

It was the perfect opportunity to attack the nation politically rather than physically, yet Arnold could not do so.

That was because Cain had descended in answer to the Hero’s call.

That alone forced everyone to tread carefully.

This is why religion is such a headache.

Countless gods existed in this world, but most people worshipped one of two.

Aragon, the god of magic and order.

Ares, the goddess of war and justice.

Even the Central Plains in the east was no exception.

They merely adapted the titles to suit their own language; the religions themselves still existed there.

However, the influence of those religions was somewhat limited because "Buddhism" held tremendous power in that region.

The mere fact that they don’t deny those gods is remarkable.

Even the notoriously conservative Central Plains did not suppress other religions.

After all, they did not deny the myths either.

That was what made this even more troublesome.

Cain personally revealing himself meant...

The goddess herself has effectively vouched for El Dorado.

From now on, El Dorado’s influence would only rise, never decline.

The Hero had essentially dragged the country’s status back up by the collar, but even that could not be ignored.

At least the gallery allowed me to assess the situation quickly.

Without the gallery, it would have taken approximately three days for him to learn what had happened.

Thanks to the gallery, however, he had been able to grasp the situation almost immediately.

It was a moment that demonstrated the gallery’s advantages.

The problem is that El Dorado is practically in a state of anarchy... Will the Hero act as interim leader?

It would probably take about a month to establish a proper government.

Until then, the Hero would most likely serve as acting leader.

After all, she enjoyed the overwhelming support of the citizens.

Arnold gathered as much information about the Hero as possible, but there was very little available.

She had been born an orphan with no one in the world, but her natural talent allowed her to grow up within the Papal Palace. She was later chosen as the Hero.

Afterward, she was falsely branded a traitor and forced to live as a fugitive.

Her political ability is bound to fall short compared to the Pope’s.

The Pope had been remarkably skilled at politics.

He had simply committed acts that should never have been committed.

Alvenheim was certain to start causing trouble soon. Arnold wondered whether the Hero would be able to handle it.

Of course, Alvenheim would also be reluctant to attack El Dorado directly.

Cain might descend again.

They would therefore be desperate to diminish El Dorado’s prestige by any means possible.

Perhaps they would resort to a different approach.

Even in this situation, Alvenheim did nothing but issue a statement of condemnation. What are they scheming?

Alvenheim had been unusually quiet both in the gallery and in reality.

People said no news was good news, but Alvenheim was far too quiet.

It wouldn’t be strange to learn that they were quietly building up their strength to conquer the world.

Alvenheim—and the elves—possessed the power to do so.

The elves were a race equal in strength to the demons, after all.

If necessary, I’ll send an envoy and force them to respond.

Now that Arnold had become emperor, the time to do so was approaching.

The same applied not only to Alvenheim, but to other nations as well.

For the time being, he planned to send envoys to the countries bordering his empire.

There’s so much to do. Far too much.

There were no serious problems internally, but the situation beyond the empire was extremely unstable.

Things in El Dorado had improved, but there was no telling what might happen next.

He needed information.

Along with an overwhelming supply of resources.

The Iris Kingdom has also become rather emboldened because of Kadir...

Before the crisis in El Dorado, the hottest topic had been the incident involving the floating Mage Tower.

The Mage Tower had since returned to its original position, but certain rumors had begun circulating.

According to them, Kadir had caused the Mage Tower to rise into the sky because he had advanced to a higher realm.

It could not be dismissed as complete nonsense.

Kadir was monstrous enough to make such a thing plausible.

He was a mage who had even defeated a dragon single-handedly.

"Ugh..."

Arnold groaned and pressed his fingers against his temples.

So many crises had erupted simultaneously that he did not know which knot to untangle first.

At a time like this, he needed to establish friendly relations with at least one nation.

Unfortunately, finding one was difficult.

El Dorado is politically unstable, the Iris Kingdom will tell us to go screw ourselves, and the only remaining option is...

Wyd, the nation of beastfolk.

It could be considered a neighbor that was both distant and close.

The beastfolk had once been classified as barbarians, but after establishing their nation, they had grown into formidable adversaries.

Even the demons preferred to avoid fighting them.

This is probably our best option.

Arnold drew a circle around the name Wyd.

Ideally, he would have liked to establish friendly relations with Mephisto, but that could provoke Alvenheim.

Of course, they would continue maintaining cultural exchanges.

For now, however, gathering information took priority.

There’s also the matter of the gallery user who received soil from the Forest of Four Seasons through Grylls.

Arnold understood its value the moment he saw the post that user had uploaded.

With that soil, they could enjoy abundant harvests throughout the entire year.

Various studies would naturally be required, but the post alone had been enough to demonstrate its extraordinary effectiveness.

Among all the gallery users currently interacting with Grylls, Arnold knew the identities of only two.

That farmer and Count Gorgon.

Knock, knock, knock—

[Your Majesty, it is Gorgon. May I enter?]

"Come in."

Creak—

Once Arnold granted permission, Count Gorgon entered.

Perhaps it was because he now held the title of a trusted servant of the emperor.

His complexion was far brighter than before, and his appearance was much neater.

His relaxed expression was an added bonus.

"So, what brings you here?"

"We found the region Your Majesty asked us to locate."

"You did?"

Arnold’s eyebrows rose slightly.

He had not expected them to find it so quickly.

He tapped a finger against his desk before speaking.

"Did anyone else visit and cause trouble for him?"

"As far as we could determine, no. However, rumors appear to have already spread. That was what allowed us to locate him so quickly."

Arnold would be able to obtain even more resources from the Forest of Four Seasons.

The thought delighted him.

"Make sure we don’t interfere with him unnecessarily. Even if it is merely soil, it may prove to be an invaluable resource."

Count Gorgon nodded at Arnold’s instructions.

"What is that man doing now?"

"I am told he is attempting to improve crop varieties at his home."

"Selective breeding... Is he an academy student?"

"He comes from a family of farmers that has worked the land for generations."

"And yet he attempted to develop improved varieties?"

"Yes. I heard that he has already developed a variety intended for livestock feed."

Was there really such an exceptional talent out there?

Arnold’s mind began racing.

This was a gallery user who regularly received soil directly from Grylls.

"First, send an official letter to the local lord. Tell them not to bother the man and to provide whatever assistance he needs to continue his research."

"Understood."

"Oh, and recommend that he enroll in the academy. The more knowledge he possesses, the better."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Some might complain that he was providing far too much support to a single person.

But just as a fisherman would not want to let a hooked fish escape, Arnold had no intention of losing this "connection."

For now, the man was receiving only soil.

But in the future, he might obtain something far more extraordinary.

"Oh, and we received a request for asylum."

"Asylum? From where?"

"From El Dorado..."

"Ignore it. I have no desire to see Cain descend directly onto our heads."

Arnold cleanly rejected the asylum request.

Count Gorgon bowed respectfully before leaving the room.

Once he was gone, Arnold let out a deep sigh.

Just when he thought he had finished dealing with one problem, another had appeared.

Still, this is welcome news.

Arnold logged into the gallery to enjoy both his good mood and a moment of rest.

As luck would have it, plenty of interesting posts had appeared among the trending threads.

I wonder whether the Hero will be able to handle the people’s anger.

Well, that was their problem.

For now, he would enjoy his break.

***

Just as Arnold expected, the anger of El Dorado’s—or rather, the Holy Nation’s—citizens showed no signs of subsiding.

They were already filled with rage and a sense of betrayal after learning how they had been deceived.

Worse still, the Papal Palace had attempted to attack them.

Simply expelling the guilty parties could never be enough.

At the very least, the people would not be satisfied until they saw them hanging from ropes.

"Kill the Pope!"

"Execute the cardinals!"

"Execution! Execution!"

Every citizen demanded the death penalty.

Their demands eventually reached the Hero, Asella.

The problem was that this was an unprecedented situation, making even the trial difficult to conduct.

Judging solely by their crimes, the perpetrators deserved to be hanged—and publicly at that.

Asella, however, firmly refused.

She insisted that the problem could not be resolved through someone’s death.

"Everyone! You must calm down! Their crimes may be grave, but shouldn’t we at least hear their defense?"

"What defense?!"

"Are you on their side too?! Huh?!"

Asella’s appeal only backfired.

From the citizens’ perspective, her words were infuriating.

Even Reina, who had been watching quietly, eventually began to look as though she thought Asella was taking things a little too far.

Of course, it was not as though Asella had no plan.

She appealed to the crowd as strongly as she could.

"The criminals will soon deliver their final statements! After hearing them, I will pass judgment!"

The promise of a verdict caused the citizens’ anger to subside slightly.

More accurately, they suppressed it.

It would not have been strange for the crowd to erupt at any moment.

Before long, the paladins dragged out the Pope, the cardinals, and the commanders.

Most of them had been directly involved in the recent crisis.

They appeared to have taken quite a beating in prison, as not one of them was unscathed.

Their faces were badly swollen, and they could barely open their eyes.

"Die!"

"Execution! Execution! Execution!"

The citizens’ voices rose as soon as the criminals appeared.

Stones and all kinds of filth were hurled at them from the crowd.

The Hero did her best to restrain the citizens before calling over a mage.

At the very least, everyone needed to hear the criminals’ final statements.

"Now, is there anything you wish to say?"

No one opened their mouth.

They had already realized that it was over.

There was only one exception.

The Pope.

Despite having been beaten more severely than anyone else, his gaze remained firm.

Shamelessly so.

"I-I am innocent! I merely followed Lady Ares’s will! Why must I be subjected to this humiliation?!"

"Shut up!"

"Can’t we rip out his tongue first?"

Naturally, his words only fueled the flames.

The citizens erupted in fury.

And that was precisely what Asella wanted.

She casually asked the Pope a question.

"Do you truly believe you are innocent?"

"I do! You are a traitor! Ares clearly sent Lord Cain down for me!"

"I see. You must feel terribly wronged."

"I am—!"

"Then I will help you prove your innocence."

"My innocence...? What?"

Louis II stared at her in bewilderment.

Only moments earlier, she had spoken as though she intended to behead him.

Now, she was suddenly saying something completely unexpected.

"Master Ludwig must have felt wronged as well. That must be why he personally entered the Forest of Four Seasons."

"T-That was..."

"So we will give you the same opportunity! Enter the Forest of Four Seasons, meet our benefactor, and prove your innocence!"

"Y-You wretch...! How can you even suggest such a thing?!"

"If you don’t like that option..."

Asella smiled and made Louis II an offer he could not refuse.

"You may receive the full force of the people’s anger instead."

"..."

"Everyone! I shall now deliver my judgment! Since the criminals insist that they have been wronged..."

Asella raised her voice toward the citizens.

"To atone for their crimes, we shall send them into the Forest of Four Seasons to search for our benefactor!"

"Waaaaaaaaah!"

"Long live the Hero! Long live the Hero!"

"Asella! Asella! Asella!"

Arnold had expressed concern about the Hero’s political abilities.

At the very least, however, her speeches and performances were exceptional.

I should thank Mr. Grylls first. And while I’m at it, I’ll let him know that we’re sending some people his way.

Had Grylls seen this, he would have answered:

I don’t need trash that can’t be recycled.

El Dorado was gradually returning to normal.