Ch.316The Path to the Hurichel Continent (1)

Viktor always saved the most beautiful attractions for last.

The reason was simple: if you see a beautiful place first or in the middle, its image gets blurred by subsequent attractions. But if you see it last, you leave the continent with only good memories.

Plus, there was the advantage of departing with clear, unfaded memories.

Though this advantage had considerably diminished since becoming a god, even gods cannot remember everything.

And so, after traversing Faerun, Miriam, Meridia, Yenisei, Hyacinth, and Raicion, Viktor’s forces had now turned their blades toward Hurichel, the seventh continent.

The progress of the pilgrimage, which could now definitely be said to have passed its midpoint, brought Viktor satisfaction. The world’s integration was gradually becoming more visible as it drew closer.

“The continents are slowly coming together. Not in physical distance, but in spiritual harmony. As the ancient sage said, the world divides when united and unites when divided. After 1,200 years of division, the world is preparing to unite once more.”

“And we shall establish an empire that will last even longer than 1,200 years, my lord.”

“Your words please me, Legion Commander. I tell you this: a sword is sharpest when in its sheath, and a gun most formidable when holstered. Though our legion is mighty, its power must not be wielded recklessly. Remember my words.”

“I shall humbly obey.”

But Viktor was not complacent. He did not forget that after the middle comes the latter half.

Now that his divinity was maturing and the continents were increasingly taking notice of his movements, he needed to increase his allies, reduce his enemies, and leave good impressions on his supporters. To achieve this, he had to maintain strong control over his subordinates—a goal of paramount importance for Viktor, whose aim was to establish a nation.

They say clear water upstream makes for clear water downstream, but when the upstream is divine and the downstream human, the turbulent current of disparity between them could leave the downstream murky despite the clarity above.

In other words, while the god might be trustworthy, his followers might not be—creating a problematic situation.

Even during the Nariakiran Empire with its magnificent civilization, it was humans who directly executed the emperor’s will. Considering this, image-making was a more important issue than one might think.

This wasn’t a sudden realization, but it was brought to the forefront by the Legion Commander’s report of some soldiers’ misconduct in the Crater hills.

Getting drunk and making a ruckus, public urination, damaging property… such trivial acts.

Of course, these were merely minor transgressions that could be dismissed with the insignificant word “misconduct,” and since soldiers were human, they couldn’t be prevented simply by a god’s command.

However, the reporting of these actions prompted Viktor to start seriously considering corruption and misconduct.

Even Karl, the CEO of Turianic Industries, was ultimately human. If promised greater benefits than following a god, couldn’t he betray Viktor just as easily?

“Damn. I feel like I’m becoming paranoid.”

“My lord?”

“Nothing. I just realized this position isn’t as comfortable as I thought.”

“Then it’s not nothing, is it?”

Viktor wore a bewildered expression for the first time in a very long while.

The misalignment when one’s concerns don’t match another’s—wasn’t it truly a long time since he’d felt this?

*

That night. Late evening.

Simon and Viktor were sharing drinks and catching up after a very long time.

Despite the gap between god and human, they were equal companions and dear friends who cherished each other.

“So Raicion is finished too. I can’t believe we’ve already completed six continents.”

“Time flies so fast. When I got old, everything seemed to slow down, but following you was definitely the right choice.”

As Simon mentioned their first meeting, the corners of Viktor’s mouth turned up slightly.

His belief had always been that adventurers must embark on adventures, and that had never changed.

Although what Viktor was doing now was a pilgrimage rather than an adventure, throwing oneself into the unknown was also a form of adventure, so wasn’t a pilgrimage a proper adventure in its own right?

“Anything interesting happening lately? I’ve been busy dealing with the flood of work.”

Viktor said this while showing the documents he had processed.

No matter how capable his subordinates were, defining their actions was Viktor’s responsibility. Additionally, he had to consider all matters that couldn’t be approved by others, so just because he wasn’t staying in one place didn’t mean he had no work to do.

“I’m not just lounging around either. I am a sage, after all. But there is something interesting.”

Simon said this while sipping his drink, then handed over a report.

“What’s this?”

“A report on the explosive increase in demand for orichalcum. As supply increases, so does demand. Until now, there was high demand for orichalcum, but with limited supply, the supply and demand curves didn’t match.”

“Hmm.”

Viktor read the report carefully.

Originally, orichalcum was a special metal that only descendants of the imperial family could produce.

But now, someone who had surpassed even the imperial succession had appeared and started mass-producing orichalcum. As a result, those who had been desperate for orichalcum but couldn’t get it due to limited quantities were now rushing to buy it as fast as it could be produced.

On the surface, there’s nothing strange about this. It’s a market principle that when a previously limited product becomes more available, demand increases accordingly.

However, the issue wasn’t simply about supply and demand. Orichalcum, by its nature, was a rare metal that could only be produced by those connected to the sun. And until now, it had been monopolized by the imperial descendants.

“It’s suspiciously quiet. The production of orichalcum hasn’t stopped… Are they preparing something?”

Viktor narrowed his eyes.

The Iron Walker Party had once encountered an imperial person.

“Nariakira Sayuri was her name… The fleet was majestic then, but I wonder how it is now. Those many fleets couldn’t all belong to the imperial family.”

“We can’t determine such human elements using surveillance satellites.”

In truth, these imperial descendants were the greatest obstacle to the establishment of the Victorian Empire.

Having been essentially confined for 1,200 years and treated as orichalcum-producing machines, they could easily garner public sympathy. Moreover, the sun was disappointed in them rather than hating or despising them, so indiscriminate slaughter would weigh on Viktor’s conscience.

Yet embracing them was also problematic because the sun they worshipped was Nariakira Saburo, the founder of the Nariakiran Empire—not Viktor Walker, who would be the founding emperor of the Victorian Empire.

Although Viktor had become the sun god, it was a side effect of temporarily becoming one with Saburo, far removed from a normal ascension. Thus, he couldn’t predict how the imperial personnel would react to him.

The establishment of the Victorian Empire completely disregarded the already precarious position of the imperial descendants.

They couldn’t even choose to send a young woman to marry and secure their clan’s safety, as Viktor already had Raisha, who was also an apostle of the moon.

Even if there were a woman with larger breasts and hips than Raisha who was stronger than the moon’s apostle, Viktor and Raisha were already married. Attempting to unilaterally break a bond formed under a god’s name could incur divine wrath and potentially lead to the clan’s extinction.

“What will you do with them? If left alone, they’ll inevitably become seeds of discord, whether they want to or not.”

“I know… but we should at least try dialogue first. Whether that will work is uncertain.”

Moreover, even if they prostrated themselves under the earthly sun and swore allegiance, it would still be problematic.

The Victorian Empire’s founding principle was to eliminate the celestial sun and create an earthly sun. What would be the point of accepting a clan originating from the cosmic sun?

“They’ve done nothing to be called corrupt, but leaving them alone is like having a splinter in your slipper… Damn, this is really difficult.”

It would have been easier if communication with the sun were possible, but since they were already recognized as essentially the same entity, one couldn’t call oneself.

“Let’s drink for now. We gathered here to relax, yet we’re talking about work. I was shortsighted.”

“Sigh… How much do I need to drink to get drunk…”

The two men with throbbing headaches began to wash their brains with alcohol.

There was still a week left until they reached the Hurichel continent.