13. Founding

* * *

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Oh, Divine One, I offer you pancakes made with rose petals. It’s full of vitality-”

“Stop it…”

“Oh, Divine One, I offer you ginseng brought from the distant land of Goryeo. It replenishes the deficient Qi of the five viscera and is a specialty that clears the ‘spirit’ and ‘soul’.”

“Stop…”

 

There’s a man trembling, perhaps feeling fear.

 

“Oh, Great Ghoul God-isiyeo, I have placed twenty nobles from old Srodia in the grand hall, so please, enjoy.”

“Stooooooop!!!”

 

 

Unable to endure any longer, he stretched his arms out and stood up.

The women nearby laughed heartily and stepped away.

 

 

They had joyful expressions, as if playing house.

 

 

“Oh, Divine One! Why are you angry? Is there something we lack!”

 

The women used gestures as if performing a play.

Thanks to that, the man’s face grew redder and redder.

 

“…Stop it, you guys. It’s embarrassing.”

 

He was supposed to become a king, but his dignity had fallen to the ground. No matter how much society revered women and belittled men, if he was reduced to a plaything for women, there wouldn’t be even a hair of dignity left.

 

“Ah…! Truly dazzling! We, mere insignificant beings, cannot even look upon a single strand of hair on your divine face!”

“….”

 

 

The women put on increasingly exaggerated performances.

The only person who remained still was Theodora. Naturally, Aran’s gaze turned towards her.

 

The glistening tears welling up in her eyes and the red blush covering her neck stimulated Theodora’s maternal instincts.

 

 

“Ahahaha! Aran, you’re so funny!!”

 

Perhaps she found that expression to her liking, as Iliana burst into laughter and collapsed.

When Aran made a face as if it was too much, she laughed even harder.

 

 

“…You guys are too much… To, to humiliate me like this…!”

“Humiliate? We are merely following the sacred command given by God to offer our worship.”

“Hancock, stop it now… Really.”

 

Aran collapsed onto the bed with a tired face.

 

 

 

A few days ago,

He unlocked the power of Tier 7 and became a woman.

 

And with that ability, he demolished the dilapidated manor and built a magnificent castle according to the blueprints.

 

 

So far, so good, but the problem was that he (she) had an absurd personality after transforming into a woman. A level of narcissism that would make even Moe blush, and a level of foolish impulsiveness that would put Hancock to shame.

Being around her was so exhausting that dark circles would reach down to your mouth, and despite not being around for long, she was such a nuisance that she had already written various ‘legends’.

 

 

The most representative of which was

 

 

‘Behold.’

‘Have you beheld?’

‘Then worship!’

 

 

A chuunibyou three-stage combo.

 

Recalling those memories, Aran would rather die.

 

The only saving grace was that becoming a woman didn’t make her crave men.

Even in that situation, she was aware that she was a man, so she would crave women but wouldn’t touch men even with a ten-foot pole.

 

 

 

 

“Still, it’s amazing no matter how many times I see it. To surpass Tier 6 with a human body, and even a man’s body. Surely, that’s not just the power of Tier 6. It’s something more.”

 

 

Lamias’s expression hardened.

As a dragon, she had witnessed the full extent of his exploding power.

 

It was truly shocking.

He had the ability to fight dragons and not be outdone. And that was not a realm that ordinary humans could reach.

 

 

Especially in Aran’s case, he was a man and barely over twenty.

Even after searching through the entire history of the continent, there was no example of a person like Aran appearing.

 

“That’s true. What on earth did you eat to grow so much? Ah, maybe you ate a lot of women…?”

“Don’t say weird things… I just… have something.”

 

Even if I told you about the subscription, you wouldn’t understand properly.

 

 

Aran glossed over the words and moved on to another topic.

 

 

“By the way, the name is a real problem. I can’t get a grasp on it at all.”

“The name is easy. First, attach your name and surname, then attach the Founding Castle, and then attach the surnames of your wives.”

“…That’s difficult. No, it’s not difficult, but… the name becomes too strange.”

 

 

According to that rule, Aran’s name would become very long.

Basically, his name is ‘Aran Persia’, and after attaching the Founding Castle to it, he would have to attach the surnames of the women again.

 

 

For example, ‘Aran Persia Rial ooo de Youun Persia Mayoo Hancock Yerina’ something like that.

It’s too long and very strange.

 

 

“Persia is duplicated, so you only need one. In this case, since it’s attached to the wife’s surname, the Founding Castle can go right after ‘Aran’.”

“Ugh… I wish it was a more ordinary name…”

“Hmph. This is what happens when you say things like ‘Everyone be friends and be my legal wives!’ If you distinguish between legal wives and concubines, you can make it a little easier and more plausible. For example, ‘Aran ooo de Youun the Persia etcetera’.”

“Why am I being expressed as a concubine instead of a legal wife?”

“Because I, the 1st Princess of the Great Mei Empire, am the only legal wife.”

 

 

The relationship between ‘de’ and ‘the’ is easy to think of as the relationship between legitimate and illegitimate children.

Because its history is so deep, the exact correlation is unknown, but academia usually sees ‘de’ as high and ‘the’ as low.

 

 

Therefore, in this case, the surname attached after ‘de’ becomes the surname of the legal wife, and the surname attached after ‘the’ becomes the surname of the concubine.

 

 

“Stop that fight now. Iliana-nunim and Moe-hwangnyeo, Count Hancock and Baron Lamias, and even Princess Theodora. Just make them all legal wives and leave the rest as concubines.”

“…As expected of the Ghoul Demon King. You’re naturally inserting an implication that you’ll increase the number of women.”

“Hmph. I don’t like it.”

“….”

 

After several days,

Aran, after much deliberation, made all five women legal wives.

Jungjeon (Central Palace), Jwajeon (Left Palace), Woojeon (Right Palace), Sangjeon (Upper Palace), and Hajeon (Lower Palace) were the names of the remaining palaces out of the six palaces built by Aran, excluding the one where Aran resided.

 

The woman residing in Jungjeon would be closest to Aran in terms of location, but it was purely the distance between buildings, so it didn’t mean much given the nature of the women living collectively with Aran.

In the first place, the palace was like a gift from Aran, so it had almost no practical meaning.

 

 

“Sigh. Then let’s do this. Let’s mix the five surnames appropriately and call it ‘Yuphemia.’ How about that?”

“…Why does it become that?”

“If you take the front part of Hwangnyeo-nim’s Youun, Her Majesty’s Persia, Cow’s Mayoo, my Hancock, and Gongnyeo’s Yerina, it becomes ‘YouPeMaHye’, right? But if you do that, the pronunciation is strange, so I changed the arrangement a little to ‘Youpeemiah’. I just replaced the last spelling e with i. If you do this, it roughly includes everything and is neat, right?”

“…I don’t like the idea of a shared opinion, but it’s okay.”

“Then, without abandoning the surname Persia, we can do ‘Aran Persia Rial ooo de Yuphemia’.”

 

Iliana and the other women nodded, and Aran also agreed.

It certainly looked much better than putting all five surnames in.

 

“Okay, then let’s do it that way.”

 

 

Aran was satisfied that he had effectively diverted the topic, but also with the name. He never wanted to relive that dark history.

 

 

‘Let’s not unlock Tier 7 if possible.’

 

 

 

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

 

 

As time passed and Kora’s royal palace was somewhat filled, kings and envoys from various countries arrived.

Among them were Emperor Seorae and Cornelia, and their scale was easily in the thousands.

 

 

“Wow. To meet like this. It’s nice. It’s our first time meeting, right?”

 

Seorae spoke to Cornelia, who was visible in the distance, in a friendly manner.

She sensed an unusual aura, but she wasn’t intimidated.

 

 

“…Your tone is very annoying. Are all nobles like that?”

“I don’t like unnecessary formalities.”

 

The two women got close, and a large circle formed around them.

 

One is the owner of a great empire that is eyeing not only the Eastern Continent but also the Western Continent, and the other is the emperor of a newly formed empire that has recently been rapidly gaining power.

 

Small and large kingdoms were simply huddled together to avoid their anger, and never approached them.

 

 

“Aran is my son. This is our vassal state. It doesn’t seem like you need to come.”

“That Aran’s wife is my daughter. Aren’t we in-laws?”

“…If you’re planning to play useless tricks, go back. I’m telling you, I can fight and win against everyone here except Aran.”

“It seems so. But I’m not easy either.”

 

The two women’s battle of wills was so chilling that it could bring frost even in May.

 

 

 

Cornelia was the first to turn away.

 

She didn’t even have any regrets, thinking that there was no need to waste her energy.

 

 

“That’s too much. You’re turning around so quickly? I even recognized your imperial title.”

 

Cornelia didn’t look back and continued walking as she answered.

 

 

“I’m an emperor even if you don’t recognize me.”

“Oh, is that so?”

 

Seorae scoffed as if she found it ridiculous. She still saw her as a mere child.

No matter how strong the emperor’s individual power is, it is still individual.

Unless they are monsters who have deviated from the norm to the extent of Aran or Yuri, they can never stand against the Mei Empire.

 

 

She must know that, but it was quite cute that she was putting on such a bluff.

 

‘Shall I provoke her a little?’

 

 

Since she was bored anyway, she could enjoy a small amusement.

 

 

She spoke to the small back that was moving away.

 

 

 

“Hey, your son was delicious.”