Ch.18That Galaxy and Its Nations’ Circumstances (1)

# Chapter 18: The Circumstances of That Galaxy and Its Nations (1)

*Squawk squawk, SQUAWEEEEK!*

An unidentified bird flies overhead across the vast beach illuminated by bright sunlight.

Blue waves crash, breaking into white foam.

The beach is filled with sand that gleams brilliantly white under the sunlight.

In the middle of it all, I was enjoying a pleasant vacation with a folding chair complete with a parasol.

“Wow, I never thought I could enjoy myself like this in this world.”

As I said that, I began to recall what had happened just yesterday.

————————-

[Quest: Settle the Empire’s Debt! has been completed!]

[As a reward, the Trade Union’s goodwill toward the Holy Sebelli Empire has increased!]

[As an additional reward, the player’s fatigue has been recovered!]

Somehow the mid-event rewards seem sweeter than the quest rewards.

Lost in such thoughts, I looked at the imperial party hall that had been in a state of madness until just yesterday, shook my head, and muttered.

“Sigh, truly… I didn’t really do anything.”

‘Wow, how cool, a man lost in contemplation.’

I thought this was quite a humble posture, but…

“Wow, if the Minister says he did nothing, are you telling all of us working staff, including me, to just kill ourselves?”

“…”

“Where did you learn such a useless try-hard cool guy habit?”

Riel’s brutal facts from right beside me were crushing my bones mercilessly.

“…I think my bones just got hit.”

“Please think about how others would hear such nonsense before you speak.”

“Hmm, I see.”

But thanks to such intense factual attacks, my mental fortitude was being tempered.

“Indeed, what doesn’t kill me makes me stronger… I suppose.”

“Seeing you continue to talk nonsense, it seems you’re still in a state of confusion.”

Hearing Riel’s muttering, I shuddered as I recalled the days of madness in the meeting room over the past few days.

“I’m joking, but I guess the mental fatigue was quite substantial.”

As I said that, a memory I thought I had buried tried to surface…

———————-

“Hero of the Empire! Arto! Arto!”

“That man… is so charming.”

“Take me!”

———————

Since it was clearly a memory that couldn’t possibly exist, I deliberately erased it from my mind.

My thinking must be accurate.

The sight of economic and diplomatic experts—all men, whether scruffy-bearded, robust, or scrawny—rushing toward me as if proposing marriage.

Such garbage memories, I cannot acknowledge.

As I was rapidly darkening in mood, Riel’s tiny voice pierced my ears.

“But still, you’ve finally gotten a real vacation, right?”

“…Right! That’s what it was!”

Only then could I recall why I had been passing through this upper corridor, looking at that wild party hall.

[Event: Enjoyable Vacation]

[You should have received a vacation after handling a planetary-scale riot, but due to sudden debt issues, you had to go on another long business trip.]

[For your sake, the Emperor has given you an order stamped with the imperial seal, promising you a vacation at last.]

Ah, vacation!

In that passionate name, one cannot help but yearn for burning love.

“Everything’s prepared, right?”

“Of course! I never even unpacked the luggage from when we were supposed to go on vacation last time.”

“…”

Hearing that, I was momentarily plunged into gloom, but…

“Good, then let’s depart immediately.”

“Yes!”

Since we now had an official order stamped with the imperial seal, no one would be able to stop us.

——————–

Finishing my long reminiscence, I picked up the juice glass from the folding table placed under the parasol.

‘This is nice.’

Of course, right before the vacation, someone (like Alimus, or the Vice Minister of the Execution Star, or some suffering uncle being tormented by the Purge Squad) tried to desperately hold me back…

But in the face of my intense determination that if I couldn’t have my vacation, I would rather reduce all vacations to ashes, what power could such feeble resistance exert?

‘Oh, that just now felt a bit villainous.’

After emptying my glass while indulging in such useless self-praise,

I looked around to see where Riel might be swimming nearby.

‘She even prepared a swimsuit, truly serious about this.’

And not just any swimsuit, but an erotic one that would only suit a glamorous figure, how presumptuous.

Of course, since that would clearly cross a line, I bought her a child’s swimsuit from a nearby shop and made her wear it instead.

‘Anyway, for a robot to try all sorts of things…’

And not long after, I was able to confirm where Riel was, but…

*Splash splash splash*

“Iamtheveryembodimentofgodandnatureitselfsohowdarethesepettycreaturesofsimplenaturesuffocateandpersecutemeaaaaaaah!!”

“Pfft!”

Perhaps because she’s a robot, or more precisely a humanoid, something like electromagnetic waves might be the cause.

For whatever reason, Riel was suffering at the hands of numerous native creatures that had gathered around her.

“Nggghbrbrbrbrbr!!”

Thanks to that, I ended up spitting out the juice I was drinking, but it was truly such a funny sight that I decided to let it slide just this once.

‘She’ll get herself out of that anyway, so it’s not something I need to worry about.’

Ignoring Riel’s continued screams, I suddenly became curious about the current situation of the Empire and other countries.

‘Sigh… I shouldn’t be curious about such things while on vacation.’

Even as I felt sorry for myself gradually turning into a workaholic, I naturally opened the nation window to assess the situation.

[Galactic Nation Rankings]

[Changes within the last 20 years added]

[7th: Holy Sebelli Empire -2]

And seeing the news of our Empire’s plummet, I couldn’t hide my tears.

‘No, what did we do wrong?’

The great Holy Sebelli Empire, which had been at 5th place, had fallen all the way to 7th.

‘This, this injustice, I cannot accept!’

So I immediately pressed on the nation window to see exactly what had happened, but…

[7th: Holy Sebelli Empire -2]

[Reason: Northern border territories seized, continued political and economic turmoil]

“Aish~shit!”

The fact that the reason was none other than the endless misdeeds of that damned former emperor caused a stream of curses to flow from my mouth.

But this was something I already knew, so putting that aside…

The rankings of the countries surrounding the Empire had also changed significantly, so I decided to examine them one by one, starting with the closest.

[13th: Kar-Du Holy Grand Duchy -2]

[Reason: Defeat in war with the Riksi Council Realm, massive territorial losses]

Kar-Du, one of the few theocratic states in the galaxy and right next door to the Empire.

Considered the first alien species encountered in imperial history, boasting considerable friendliness and trust…

Unfortunately, it was also a place brutally trampled by the Riksi Council Realm from the southern galaxy.

At least now, with Ztrakfor’s fleet stationed there and support from both our Empire and Ztrakfor, they’re recovering from the scars of war in what territory remains.

‘Next is… Ztrakfor.’

Our across-the-street neighbor who helped us during the Tallianium incident.

We had a pretty good relationship, and while not as good as us, they were quite a successful nation, so I had some expectations.

[5th: Ztrakfor Council +1]

‘…’

But I never thought they would take our Empire’s place.

[Reason: Influence gained by providing large-scale aid to the Holy Sebelli Empire]

Moreover, the reason for their rise was none other than the help they provided to our Empire.

‘Is the world being unfair?’

Looking at this status window, I could freshly understand why there was a saying in my previous life in Korea about feeling sick when your neighbor buys a house.

So, to move past this irritating situation, I decided to check the next closest nation…

[9th: Riksi Council Realm +1]

[Reason: Victory in war against Kar-Du Holy Grand Duchy, massive territorial gains, defeat in war against Roirakan Republic]

“Hmm?”

Fighting two nations within 20 years.

But the war with Roirakan was a story I had never heard before.

“Riel! Stop playing and come over here for a moment!”

I demanded that Riel, who was now approaching something like a tentacle scene, stop playing and come explain this matter.

“Ugh… I explained this to you before.”

“Don’t know~”

But it turned out I had been given the explanation and had forgotten.

“Good job, go back and continue resting.”

“…”

With something like seaweed stems of unknown origin on her head, Riel began running again toward the kraken crawling back onto the shore.