Ch.26Territory Expansion

“Hmm… a moisture removal machine. Quite impressive.”

I couldn’t help but be deeply impressed by the report detailing what had happened at the coast.

In this world of blockheads where graduating elementary school is considered a life achievement, who would have thought such intelligent people existed.

“I carefully selected the personnel myself. Of course they should be able to handle at least this much, shouldn’t they?”

The aide said this while proudly thumping his chest. He seemed quite confident in his choices.

Indeed, seeing how they came up with solutions immediately after just one dispatch to the site, I could understand why he was so proud.

Whether on Earth or in this world, the demand for people who can learn ten things when taught just one never ceases.

“Aide.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“I’m thinking it’s time to absorb more fragments.”

I told the aide that I was considering expanding the territory of the Earth Core, and after a brief pause, he replied.

“Well… I suppose that’s fine. Now that we’ve solved the fuel issue…”

“Yes, I’ve been thinking that securing the eastern coast should be our priority now. The western forest and northern mountains currently have no rivals, but the sea is different, isn’t it?”

The western forest was already firmly in our grasp, so barring any unusual circumstances, conflict was unlikely there. The northern mountains were a perfectly enclosed terrain with only the road through Amurtat City as access.

However, the eastern coast where coal was mined faced the sea—an unpredictable enemy—so using the power of the Earth Core fragments to secure the eastern coast was currently our most urgent task.

If krakens or merfolk were to appear on the eastern coast, we couldn’t guarantee the miners’ safety.

Ah, to clarify, it’s not that the Earth Core’s power doesn’t extend to the sea. While the “sea” itself isn’t within the Core’s defensive range, the “continental shelf” beneath the sea is included in the Core’s protection.

“Well, if that’s what Your Majesty thinks, I suppose there’s no helping it. After all, you’re the one who makes the decisions.”

With those words, the aide left the room.

Not long after, he returned with a cart loaded with so many parchments that the wheels could barely turn.

“Wh-what the hell?”

I was so surprised that my dialect slipped out, and the aide grinned as he said:

“Since you’ll need to be bedridden for at least a month, I’ve prepared three months’ worth of work. Please handle it within a week. I’ve already taken care of all the minor matters, so you just need to stamp them.”

“…Have you ever heard the saying about gathering dust to build a mountain?”

I attempted minimal resistance, but it seemed useless against the aide.

“Of course I have. But aren’t both the dust and the mountain yours, Your Majesty? So shouldn’t you take responsibility?”

“Is that how it works?”

“Yes, that’s exactly how it works.”

In the end, I had no choice but to surrender to administrative duties, working sixteen hours a day to complete the tasks the aide had given me within a week.

*

Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!

In the bowl lay a brilliantly shining fragment of the Earth Core.

That fragment was now being crushed to pieces.

Gradually breaking apart under the pestle in my hand, the fragment was slowly turning to powder.

“As I always think, it’s truly beautiful.”

Michaela said beside me.

As she said, the Earth Core fragment was dazzlingly beautiful. If the concept of “color” exists, this would be at its pinnacle.

Crack! Crunch!

Yet even such beautiful colors were being crushed by human desire, giving me a subtle yet poignant pleasure.

“Hmm… is this enough?”

“Wouldn’t it be better to grind it a bit finer?”

“You think so?”

Thud! Thud! Thud!

By now the fragment had been broken down so finely that it felt more like I was mashing something rather than grinding it.

“If it breaks this easily, I could have done it for you…”

“Nonsense. Earth Core fragments aren’t easily broken objects.”

“But you broke it easily, didn’t you?”

“That’s because I’m the sovereign.”

“Ah…”

Michaela didn’t seem convinced but accepted it and turned her attention elsewhere.

The reason I can easily crush Earth Core fragments is because my hands are imbued with the Earth Core’s energy.

Unlike fragments that have weakened from not being absorbed into the ground, the complete power of the Earth Core that fiercely pulsates and infuses me with the earth’s power is incomparable.

Swish… swish…

“Hmm. This should be enough.”

After examining the finely powdered fragment, I set down the pestle and poured in alchemical solution from a glass bottle.

Glug glug!

As the blue alchemical solution was poured onto the powder, bubbles began to form, and soon the powder and solution mixed completely, beginning to shine with an indescribable rainbow color.

Flash!

“Wow.”

After a momentary bright flash, looking into the bowl revealed a solution that had reduced in volume enough to fit entirely in a single syringe.

I had Michaela fill the syringe with the solution, and I reclined in a chair to receive the injection.

Click! Click! Squeak!

To remove air, Michaela pressed on the syringe’s piston, and a small amount of solution escaped with the air.

“Now I’ll tie this.”

With skilled hands, Michaela used an elastic cloth to tightly bind my right arm.

She then disinfected my shoulder by rubbing it with cotton soaked in strong wine, searched for a vein, and inserted the syringe into my shoulder.

“Ugh…”

“Does it hurt? Bear with it anyway.”

Phew… Michaela, you and your full chest make it bearable.

Shuuuck!

“Ohhh…”

As the solution entered my body, I instinctively realized that the Earth Core of this land had detected the foreign power entering me.

Soon the needle was withdrawn from my body, and I rose, shuddering at the growing stiffness.

“Whew… I didn’t expect the effect to be this intense…”

I lay on the bed, trying to get as comfortable as possible.

For the next month, I would be in a comatose state. No need to risk catching a cold, right?

Kuooooo!!!

The energy raging through my body began to intensify.

How should I describe it… like a bullfighter throwing a lasso to catch a wildly bucking bull?

Of course, the fragment was the bull, and the Earth Core was the bullfighter.

Gurgle!

“Ugh!”

“Master? Are you alright?”

“Yes… I’m starting to feel sleepy now.”

I could feel my consciousness gradually sinking. This sensation… I’m sure I’ve felt it before…

Ah, I remember. It’s exactly the same sensation as when my head was cracked and I drifted into sleep.

And so, I sank down into the depths of this land.

*

Kuooo…..!

I was looking at the Earth Core.

It was like a heart, and also like haphazardly solidified glass.

With each pulse of the Core, power spread out like blood vessels, protecting this land and creating light that illuminated the encroaching darkness.

“So I’ve made a contract with this enormous thing?”

As I spoke to myself, the Earth Core looked at me.

Though it had neither head nor eyes, strangely, I could clearly perceive that it was looking at me.

I approached the Earth Core, and as I got closer, it began to shrink until finally it became small enough to fit in one of my hands.

Thump! Thump!

Hot. And simultaneously cold.

The Earth Core was boiling magma, freezing undergrowth, flowing streams, stagnant muddy water, barren wasteland, and fertile soil all at once.

[What am I?]

The Earth Core asked me.

“You are the sum of this land.”

I answered the Earth Core.

[I am the earth.]

“And I am human.”

The Earth Core did not respond further. Though it hadn’t asked, it seemed to be waiting for my answer.

“I made a contract with you. An eternal oath to protect those who gather with your power, to build cities, and to reap the fruits of seeds sown.

As long as your existence isn’t swept away, this contract will be eternal, and just as this land remains forever, so too will my body and mind be eternal.

And now, I wish to expand your power.”

I extended my hand and slowly inserted it into the Earth Core.

Like putting a hand into a human body, a sticky texture impeded my hand, but that alone couldn’t prevent me from grasping the core.

Shuuuu….

Within me, I could feel the power of the absorbed fragment slowly seeping out.

And I could sense that the Earth Core’s power had weakened ever so slightly.

Like stars that grow larger as they die, the Earth Core had somehow grown so large that I needed both hands to hold it.

“I wish to claim the eastern coast. The land with the sea and coal, where the horizon is visible.”

I said this, and the Earth Core answered.

[It is done.]

And then I lost consciousness again.

When I opened my eyes again, the world’s calendar was already racing toward autumn.