Chapter 202 : Chapter 202

Chapter : 202

Ahhh….

So ‍​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​​‌​​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​​​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​‌​​​​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​​‌​‌​​​‌‌​​​​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​​‌‌​​​​​‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​​‌‌​​​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​​‌​​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌​​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​​​​‌​‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​​​​‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌‌‌​‌‍this was what Magician Agpiel had meant?

-Your ‍​‌​‌​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‍Grace! We are a small kingdom on the peninsula, and we have a virtuous princess….

-We ‍​‌​‌​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‍write to you from the County of Tyrol in the Empire. Your Holiness, Margrave. We have an eldest daughter who has come of age in our county….

-Be ‍​‌​‌​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‍silent, you lowly rabble. Your Grace, we are envoys from the Duchy of Moskvy. The great Duke of Moskvy, who rules twenty regions, proposes to Your Grace with marriage as a premise….

It ‍​‌​‌​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‍was bedlam, unlike any bedlam I had ever seen.

Noble houses from every direction, nearly all of them, were sending matchmaking envoys with bloodshot eyes, as if possessed.

And then—

-Yah! Do you think you are so great?

-Draw your blade! Let us settle this with steel!

-You dared speak over me. Fine. Let us duel at once. I will show you the hardiness of a warrior in the frozen wastes!

-Hah, you barbarians have loud mouths. A warrior, my foot!

-You bastard—!

These lunatics came as “guests,” only to start dueling each other in the name of honor.

I tried to console myself by blaming it on the rough customs of those who lived on the Empire’s distant borderlands, but that was not the truth.

It was not just them. Every delegation that had come here was unable to rein in its own hot blood, and they were dueling, causing accidents, and turning my estate into a battlefield.

“My head is splitting….”

“Heh-heh-heh. It is all karma. Karma, I tell you.”

“Karma? I did not want this, Magician Agpiel.”

I grumbled as I looked at the laughing Magician Agpiel.

Truly… was this not too much?

Those ill-mannered bastards.

To think they would come proposing marriage, only to brawl and trade blows where they should have been sitting quietly. I was already angry enough just from receiving envoys all day.

There was a mountain of work to be done.

Ever since the Elang Kingdom had effectively been split into three, how could I not be busy responding to a political situation that shifted by the hour?

And yet I was wasting precious time entertaining these envoys…. How infuriating!

“That is why I told you to marry. Where would you ever find a more desirable match than you? You are a rising saint on this continent, a Performer of Miracles officially recognized by the Holy See! Frankly, it is astonishing that proposals did not come sooner. Heh-heh-heh!”

“…….”

Magician Agpiel was in high spirits, as though it were none of his business.

Better to die than to suffer!

“The longer you stall like this, the more tired you will become. It is better to decide quickly. And I—like I keep saying—think that Princess Maceania is quite suitable.”

“She is not a princess. She is the Duchess of Aquitaine.”

“That or this, it changes nothing essential. If you marry Duchess Maceania, you do not merely gain the Duchy of Aquitaine—do you not also gain a massive stake called the Elang Kingdom?”

…What?

I never expected those words to come out of Magician Agpiel’s mouth. The Elang Kingdom too—was he seriously telling me to aim for it?

Magician Agpiel snorted as if to say I was the strange one for being surprised.

“Why? Did you stir up this chaos without intending to take the kingdom?”

“…It was only my own way of surviving.”

“Then you would truly be mad. And without any plan at that!”

At my words, Magician Agpiel shouted at me with a stern expression I had never seen on him before.

“Do you know how much confusion the kingdom has fallen into because of what you have done? If a man starts something, he must take responsibility. If the kingdom stays divided like this, how long will it suffer through war? Look at it even now. Go outside and see for yourself. Your domain may be fine, but beyond it is hell! The poor but conscientious are starving to death, while those who have abandoned all human bonds have become brigands. You have a duty to reverse this. No—responsibility! A power built on other people’s tears can never be kept for long.”

“Mm….”

My face felt as if it were burning.

Had I been thinking only of myself?

Was it greed—because I wanted to return to my original world? Or, to be honest, had I been unconsciously treating this place as mere [Pangea Universalise], and these people as nothing more than illusions?

But—

‘It is so vivid.’

A System window floated before my eyes, and this world truly was the world of [Pangea Universalise] that I knew.

And yet the people beside me—no matter how I looked at them, they were not illusions.

They breathed with me, exchanged emotions with me, and lived as real beings.

Then the people outside, thrown into chaos and suffering because of me, must be real as well.

“I am sorry.”

That was enough for me to steady my heart and gather my thoughts.

“I was wrong, Magician Agpiel.”

Even if I left someday, should I not leave with grace?

“I was thinking too much of myself…. You are right, Magician Agpiel. The chaos I caused with my own hands… I should be the one to clean it up.”

I decided I would fulfill my obligations before I ever thought of leaving.

Yes.

That was right. Only then, even if I returned to my original world, would my heart be at peace.

---

‘Good. Very good. Heh-heh-heh.’

Magician Agpiel stroked his beard with satisfaction.

When greed grows excessive, it blinds a man.

If, even after hearing those words, he had insisted on pursuing only his own desires, Magician Agpiel would have left this place.

But this wise young noble truly knew how to listen to others.

A man with the qualities of a king.

Only when such a man unified the kingdom would peace return.

‘The Elang Kingdom has been governed far too carelessly, each faction chasing its own greed.’

When people moved without any great cause, driven only by private desire, they were bound to meet an end like this.

Just like the King of Elang.

Look. The moment the king collapsed from illness, the mighty authority he had built crumbled in an instant.

The kingdom needed someone who could gather the divided nobles into one, and elevate an administrative system that was disorderly and chaotic into something refined.

And the one who could do that was—

‘The Margrave of Bellua. That young noble alone.’

Magician Agpiel had witnessed with his own eyes the astonishing policies, development, and results that this young noble had achieved.

That was why he did not doubt.

Marry Duchess Maceania of Aquitaine, put the chaotic Elang Kingdom in order, and then go further—topple the Holy Empire’s emperor who sought to set the world ablaze, and ascend as a new emperor.

And this—

Truly would come to pass.

That mysterious old mage, enlightened to the mysteries of the world, sensed it, and understood it, as an undeniable intuition.

---

Even after I had organized my thoughts, proposing to Duchess Maceania of Aquitaine immediately still felt… difficult.

Marriage.

Was it not embarrassingly sudden? It was something I had never even imagined for myself.

‘Besides, it has not even been a month since I refused her.’

After that, could I really turn around now and shout, “Let us marry!”? I would have no face.

I needed time.

Time for the atmosphere to soften and ripen, at least a little.

So what I needed now was not the matter of marriage, but something else.

“Provide relief for the people. Expand the Poorhouse, and care for everyone who comes seeking refuge in my domain. I will make all of them my domain’s people.”

“…Pardon? M-My lord. Too many people are already flooding into our domain. How could you possibly accept them all?”

At my words, the administrative officials all cried out in alarm.

The number of people who could not endure the recent war and famine, and were surging into my lands, had already surpassed ten thousand.

We spoke easily of ten thousand, of one hundred thousand—but these were mouths that consumed without producing.

It was calamity itself.

Their level of culture and education was different as well.

Under my increasingly advanced administrative system and legal order, my domain had, in its own way, stepped beyond the medieval level and reached the threshold of the modern age.

If vagrants from outside poured in, the system would collapse, and public security would deteriorate rapidly. That was certain.

But sometimes, even knowing the side effects, one still had to proceed.

“I understand what you are worried about. But if we receive them properly and only survive this crisis, will the domain not become that much more prosperous?”

Population was national strength.

If the land’s productivity could support it, a large population returned as formidable power.

Of course, as I kept saying, only if the land’s productivity could support it.

The administrative officials, knowing this, pointed to the limitation.

“We have reclaimed much land recently, so our farmland has increased, but if we accept more than ten thousand people, there is no farmland to give them.”

“That is correct. We can feed them temporarily to ease hunger, but fundamentally we will soon reach the limit of the population our domain can sustain.”

“Even counting those we have already taken in, it is more than fifty thousand. We are nearing the limit.”

It was a fairly logical objection.

After establishing a university and continuing to train them, they really were becoming systematic thinkers.

But it was not as though I had failed to consider it.

“Do we not have new territory now?”

“…Yes?”

“The County of Campania. Its population has fallen greatly under the Holy Empire emperor’s long exploitation. We can send them there and have them reclaim farmland. It has worked out nicely.”

“B-But… the culture is different, and even the language is different. Will that be all right?”

“If we do it poorly, there will be severe internal discontent….”

The administrative officials answered while sweating heavily.

It was obvious they could already see an enormous amount of aftermath work waiting for them.

“Hmm….”

I understood their attitude. They were already living as though suffocating under a massive workload, and adding this would make them suffer even more.

But understanding did not mean indulging them.

“Hm? So you would rather leave that land idle? And abandon the people too? Is this because you do not want to work?”

It was said that dried squid and administrative officials only became better the more you squeezed them.

“N-No, my lord!”

“Of course not! Never.”

“Good. Then stop making excuses, and think about how to do it more efficiently. Do you understand?”

So I gave the order to the administrative officials in a flat voice.

As a result—

“Y-Yes, my lord.”

“We were wrong.”

The administrative officials finally understood why Treasurer Palmer hated it so much when the lord summoned him for work.

A lord who squeezed people dry.

Without realizing it, I had just accumulated another title.

---

In any case, my plan to accept refugees was proceeding smoothly.

Thousands of people continued to flow into my domain every day, and I sent them as they were to the southern County of Campania to be housed and settled.

Some nobles disliked my policy, claiming I was stealing their domain’s people, but they were a minority.

In an era when a single morsel of food was precious amid an unending famine, no noble would complain about having fewer mouths to feed.

Still, I could not continue like this forever.

Even the food I stockpiled and produced had limits.

As the administrative officials said, sooner or later one reached a breaking point.

“I will spread the four-rotation farming method to each domain. Form a field team and support them quickly.”

So I began spreading the new farming method without demanding anything in return.

A few nobles—especially in the regions governed by the Western lords and Crown Prince Charles I—showed caution, but it did not last long.

“Magician Agpiel. Would you be able to travel around and bestow blessings upon the farmlands?”

“Hoho. Since this is not done out of personal greed, I will gladly help. It has been a while since I was treated by nobles.”

When I asked Magician Agpiel for help, he welcomed it with open arms, as though he had never complained at all.

-Crop harvests are recovering once more!

-Farmland across the regions is regaining stability!

Thanks to these measures, the Elang Kingdom was steadily recovering at remarkable speed from the scars of The Great Famine and the war.

At this rate, before long the kingdom would return to what it had been, and peace would come again.

But peace never lasted.

-War!

When domestic affairs were stabilized, people naturally wanted to vent their pent-up strength outward.

-Death to the usurper of the throne! We will restore the Elang Kingdom to order!

The Western nobles’ coalition, which had been building its strength in the west, marched toward the capital with an army.

And the problem did not end there.

-I, the Emperor of the Holy Empire, will lend my strength to settle the situation of the chaotic Elang Kingdom.

The mad, war-crazed Emperor of the Holy Empire had declared his entry into the war.