episode_0146

A few days later, replies to the documents sent by Edward came back from each city in the kingdom.

And a few days later, delegations from each city stopped in Kubel.

We do not know what information Edward sent to each city.

However, they arrived in Kubel as a ‘delegation’ and stayed in a building near the mayor’s residence.

I know that envoys are usually sent between countries, but the envoys are sent between cities in the same kingdom.

What on earth is Edward planning?

I was so concerned that I continued to monitor the situation.

One day, as I was passing by the mayor’s residence, I saw one of the envoys from another city coming out of the mayor’s residence.

I was curious about what they were doing here, so I approached them and spoke to them first.

“Hello, where are you from?”

When I asked with a smile, the man immediately recognized me and said,

“Ah, you are a warrior who received the goddess’ protection, right? I’ve heard a lot about it. I am from the northern city of Arunhem.”

If you’re from a northern city, you must have come from an incredibly far away.

“I heard it was a mission, what are you doing in Kubel?”

“Hmm? Don’t you know? Isn’t the kingdom in a situation where it has lost its head now? However, a person named Edward here made a good suggestion on behalf of Kubel.”

“Suggestion?”

“It is difficult to forcefully return the current kingdom to its former form, so the best way under the current situation is to unite each city in a new form to prepare for the coming crisis.”

“If it is a new form… … .”

“City Federation. Rather than rebuilding the royal family right away, the idea is to protect the kingdom in the form of a union while maintaining the autonomy of each city until the crisis facing the kingdom is resolved together.”

As the man explained this, he praised Edward, who he had just met at the mayor’s residence.

The documents Edward sent to each city were for this purpose.

『Edward let everyone know that he had royal blood, but instead of ascending to the throne himself, he formed a city union and conveyed to all the cities his intention to unite the kingdom in the form of a federation.

The document he sent to each city detailed the reasons why each city should unite and his detailed plans.』

Previously, the idea that each city should cooperate where it can cooperate was carried out through Algoat.

But it wasn’t official, it was just a verbal conversation about helping each other with some cities and other needs.

The city alliance promoted by Edward went one step further.

Certainly, it would be much more stable to unite the power of each city using this method than to suddenly declare Kubel as the capital and ascend to the throne using Edward’s royal lineage.

Upon entering the mayor’s residence, Edward was talking to Algot.

As soon as Edward saw me, he greeted me with a happy face.

“Oh, I just happened to have something to tell you, so it went well.”

“City Federation… … All the delegations staying outside came for that reason.”

“Yes. The immediate form is not important. If only all the cities in the kingdom could become one and become strong.”

“Have you given up on ascending to the throne?”

I asked Edward.

“No, the final part of this plan is to rebuild the royal family.”

“But if it’s in this form… … .”

When I tried to ask Edward back, Algot answered instead.

“Edward hopes to become a king recognized by everyone in the kingdom. Since you have already decided not to avoid the responsibility of your lineage, even if you have a justification to ascend to the throne right away, you are deliberately delaying it. The city federation formed by Mr. Edward involves each city working together more closely than any previous kingdom. And the head of the union was Mr. Edward.”

“Union leader?”

“Yes, well… That’s how it happened.”

The plan Edward outlined was simple.

Persuade all the cities in the kingdom to unite in the form of a ‘city union’.

He serves as the head of the city union and puts to rest the unorganized and chaotic parts of the kingdom.

And in the process, they will verify their abilities and make all cities naturally follow Edward, the leader of the alliance.

Are you trying to gain persuasion by focusing on overcoming the crisis in the kingdom and deliberately delaying the rebuilding of the royal family?

I thought it was a priority to instill the perception that people like this can be trusted.

And when he gains enough trust from other cities, only then will he claim to be ruling Kubel, the city of blood and goddesses.

If he did that, he would be recognized by everyone and be able to ascend to the true throne.

“And the reason I used this method is to prevent the kingdom’s current power from being used for power struggles.”

“I think there are many cities where there would be no objection even if he ascended to the throne right away… … .”

Kubel’s status as a city in the kingdom is already high.

It wouldn’t be strange if it functioned as the capital right now.

But Edward chose a more cautious approach.

“Preparing for the unexpected. In the current situation, if a city rebels and takes its own course, unnecessary force will be used. This is not the time, considering what the kingdom’s goals were before the rebellion toppled its capital. Hasn’t the Demon King’s army already set foot in the kingdom once? Now is the time to work together to defeat the devil rather than worrying about who will be king or not.”

Then he showed me a document.

“This is… … ?”

“This is the Cities Alliance’s kingdom defense plan. This is to prevent a re-invasion by the Demon King’s army and raise the alert status of all cities in the direction of the Demon World. If necessary, you can organize and deploy the kingdom’s troops aggressively.”

“Are all other cities cooperating?”

“All cities are currently ‘cooperating’ on equal footing. If you don’t subordinate other cities as if you were ruling them, the city union will be able to act like a kingdom with one goal.”

If Edward’s words are followed, does this mean that the kingdom can be stable even without a king?

Clearly, what was really urgent right now was the Demon King.

If you use that sense of crisis to make everyone have a common goal, you can get cooperation without having to elect a king.

“So, what I wanted to say to Yunoa… … .”

Edward said, looking straight at me.

“Please do the work that the goddess has entrusted to you. Please make a warrior party. I will gather the will of the kingdom and support you.”

* * *

A union of cities in the kingdom formed under Edward’s plan.

It united cities that were originally under the same country but had gone their separate ways after losing their capital and king.

Unlike Lotus, who took over the palace in rebellion and intimidated the surrounding cities to put himself on the throne, this was not a form of rule.

And that slight difference became the key to success in gaining the response of every city in the kingdom without any opposition.

Although it was not a system in which specific cities gave orders to other cities, Edward, who took over as head of the city union, had the power to virtually control the entire kingdom.

Of course, the fact that he was the person entrusted with being the mayor of Kubel, the city of the goddess, also played a big role.

Edward, the head of the City Alliance, submitted a plan to move troops from relatively safe cities far from the border close to the Demon World and to concentrate their deployment in cities near the border.

In addition, we supported the warrior party that went to attack the Demon King at any time, and also modified the organization of the Kingdom’s army so that it could intercept the Demon King’s army.

Some troops were sent to Fifnel, the capital of the kingdom, which had become a lawless place, to clean up the remnants of the rebels.

All of this was accomplished not through unilateral instructions, but because Edward appealed to the city federation on its necessity and gained consensus.

Even in the refugee camp, his unique ability to gain the trust of people around him may have shined through.

“It’s a huge driving force… … .”

I couldn’t help but be amazed as I watched Edward’s actions.

Is this why he is the ‘important person’ the narration spoke of?

Now that I think about it, although he has royal blood, the narration does not directly say ‘he will become king’.

Just because he had royal blood, I thought he would be the new king of a kingdom that had lost its king at will.

However, he did not choose to become king right away, but ran the kingdom efficiently without disagreement through the city union method.

And he told me to create a ‘warrior party’.

It’s a warrior party… … .

Since the structure of the world created by Stellania had already been destroyed, there was no need to create a warrior party.

They designated me as a new hero, but unlike the existing heroes, I am only called a hero for convenience and am not bound by that bondage.

However, since the City Alliance has come to move with the single goal of helping the warriors defeat the Demon King and protect the kingdom from the Demon King’s army, I think it would be a good idea to create a party of warriors like the warriors people already know.

Did Edward think this far and ask me to make a warrior party…? … .

I immediately thought of people who could go to the demon world with me.

The first thing that comes to mind is, of course, Mileia.

And Sylphy will also go with me if I ask.

I don’t know what Mariel is like.

Having a wizard would be helpful in many ways.

… … It’s a bit poorly structured to be called a warrior’s party.

I think each person’s ability is strong enough, but… … .

* * *