Ch.812How is it that there’s not a single person who can help?

Were Eater, Sword of the Starry Sky, Red Empress, Saint of Order Haschal Median Aishan-Gioro von Landenburg.

It’s been about twenty moons since I fell into this world.

With a name that has grown ridiculously long and grandiose enough to make me laugh, I have become the ruler of the eastern empire.

—-

Four days have passed since then.

The funeral concluded without issue, but I was still bound by protocol. Before heading to Landenburg, there were piles of discussions that needed to be settled.

What discussions, you ask?

Naturally, discussions about the kingdom that would be handed to me.

“Then what should we name the country—”

“Without overthinking it, wouldn’t Landenburg Kingdom be sufficient?”

“What nonsense, if it’s a country ruled by Lady Haschal, it should obviously be called Aishan Gurun.”

The responses from Nigel and Jahan didn’t deviate one bit from my expectations.

“Aishan Gurun? That was the name of the barbaric nation ruled by Orhan. It’s a negative and offensive name.”

“This is absurd. Are you saying Lady Haschal’s bloodline is negative and offensive?”

“When did I ever say such a thing…! You should relearn the imperial language!”

It was also as expected that they would suddenly start arguing with each other in the middle of talking to me.

Watching them bicker while sitting side by side on the sofa, I couldn’t help but sigh and turned my head slightly to ignore them.

I really couldn’t tell if they got along well or poorly.

“You’re the one who needs to learn some eastern history. If you ask politely, I might teach you.”

“No need. Shouldn’t you be the one asking me? You look like someone who’s lived your entire life avoiding education, so take this opportunity to gain some culture. How long do you plan to live as a barbarian?”

…Maybe it’s both.

—-

“How about Astika Holy Nation?”

The priestess Bethania, who had started openly pushing religious texts on me since I was officially recognized as the Saint of Order, suggested a name that perfectly reflected her wishes and way of thinking.

The wish that a country established by a saint should naturally be a religious state centered around her order.

“Hmm… that would be difficult.”

Of course, it was a proposal I couldn’t accept. Having clearly seen how corruption and conflicts between religious orders had ruined the Holy State, how could I create yet another religious nation?

If I did such a thing, even though things might be fine now, it wouldn’t be strange if religious wars broke out between the Holy State and the Holy Nation in the future.

Moreover, since the Landenburg region traditionally had a strong Church of Saulite presence, and most nobles believed in either Elpinel or Saulite, they wouldn’t welcome the establishment of a religious state centered around the Church of Astraea.

“…I understand. It’s a bit disappointing, but I suppose it can’t be helped.”

Fortunately, Bethania, while devout, wasn’t a merciless fanatic. She didn’t spout madness about driving out nobles who believed in Elpinel and Saulite and filling their places with Astraea followers.

“How about Muspelheim? I think it suits you perfectly.”

Frider grinned mischievously as if teasing me and spouted nonsense.

Muspelheim.

Mentioning the name of the mythological realm of fire and hell.

So he’s saying a hell of fire suits me perfectly?

How dare he utter such blasphemy. As a saint, I have no choice but to punish this.

“You’re saying a realm of fire suits me, the Saint of Order? Doesn’t that imply Astraea is no different from an evil god of hell…?”

“W-what?!”

Frider’s jaw dropped in shock at my exaggerated retort. He clearly hadn’t imagined I would counter with religious justification.

“Indeed…”

Bethania, who had been lamenting the failure of the Astika Holy Nation plan, turned her head sharply and stared at Frider with pinpoint pupils.

“No, I mean, that’s not what I meant…”

“Blasphemy! This is blasphemy!”

“I see. Blasphemy indeed.”

Faced with my exaggerated outcry about blasphemy and Bethania gripping a whip that appeared from nowhere, an increasingly flustered Frider frantically waved his hands, insisting that wasn’t what he meant.

His desperate tone resembled that of a country woman accused of witchcraft pleading her innocence.

It’s a shame I don’t have a camcorder. I should have recorded this scene and played it in front of Frider whenever I had the chance.

—-

While Frider, having cleared himself of heresy charges by praising the goddess Astraea in front of Bethania, was breathing a sigh of relief, I asked the rest of my companions if they had any name ideas.

Though the remaining members—Perneisia, Hush, Ophelia, and Leonore—were all equally unreliable.

What were Demian and Millia doing? I sent them out to hunt monsters. If I had left them alone, they looked ready to stay locked in their room for a whole week.

Where had the pure and innocent Millia gone? It was good that she avoided mana corruption, but lately it seemed she had fallen in a different way.

Demian, with his hollowed cheeks, had sincerely thanked me. He said he found it easier when they were roaming the Sky Mountains? His appearance was in stark contrast to Millia, who seemed ten times more energetic than usual.

…Ah, my thoughts have wandered.

“So, what do you all think?”

I shook my head lightly to clear my stray thoughts and asked again while tapping cigarette ash into the ashtray on the table.

“Umm… how about Albdrefari…?”

Perneisia’s suggestion wasn’t worth considering.

Albdrefari? That means “Fairy Slayer.” What kind of crazy country would have such a name?

“I, I’m not sure…”

“Why are you asking me? The lady should decide herself. It’s not my country, it’s yours.”

Hush and Leonore seemed to have no thoughts on the matter.

“Does the country name really matter? More importantly, about the kingdom laws that Princess Eleonora is drafting, the clause legalizing incest and same-sex marriage for the purity of special bloodlines…”

“……”

It would have been better if Ophelia had no thoughts at all.

“Haah…”

I looked up at the ceiling and let out a deep sigh.

To think these people would become the core strength of my country. Did I choose the wrong companions to nurture?

No, in the original work, they weren’t all this unhinged. What went wrong to reach this state?

In the game I played, Millia was a pure and kind childhood friend, and Frider was a reliable senior with both coolness and ferocity.

Ophelia was a proud, capable, and passionate mage, while Leonore was a lively yet dignified imperial knight.

Even Lacy was the very embodiment of a merciful and devout saint.

…That’s how they were in the original, but how did they end up like this?

Demian the poser and Millia the obsessive yandere.

Frider the friendless shut-in.

Ophelia the necromancer who keeps her sister imprisoned.

Leonore, who has thrown away her imperial dignity and spends all day teasing me.

Perneisia the alcoholic traitor fairy and Lacy, who seems to have reincarnated as a mustachioed nihilist.

The companions gathered around me were all so bizarre that the original Demian would have fainted at the sight of them.

The enemies I faced weren’t much different from the original, so why were all my allies missing about fifty screws in their heads?

It was truly inexplicable.

[Ha. How you managed to gather such useless people like yourself is beyond me. Not a single one of them has any value whatsoever.]

Even Hersella seemed dumbfounded, snickering mockingly.

‘Oh really? What’s your idea then?’

I muttered while keeping my gaze fixed on the chandelier on the ceiling.

I had no intention of accepting whatever answer came from Hersella, knowing her naming sense was predictably terrible.

[Obviously, it should be the Divine Empire of the Heavenly Demon.]

No, it shouldn’t.

Just as I thought. More heavenly demon nonsense.

Divine Empire of the Heavenly Demon? Even cultists worshipping evil gods wouldn’t use such an obvious name.

It’s perfect for triggering seizures in paladins and priests.

Maybe the lizard heavenly demon of the Dragon Kingdom who openly declares “I’m the leader of the bad guys~” might use such a name, but how could I, a saint of the Astraea Order, adopt such a title?

—-

In the end, I had no choice but to decide the name of the new country myself.

Hestella.

A name combining the first letter of my name with an ancient word meaning “star.”

Originally it should have been Hastella, but that reminded me of castella cake, so the sound wasn’t quite right.

Lena had shyly suggested “Medilana,” but honestly, it sounded so terrible that I could only shake my head with an awkward smile.

—-

The name wasn’t the only matter to discuss. In fact, the name wasn’t even that important.

The core issue that Leopold, Eleonora, and I had to deliberate on was the territorial problem of the Kingdom of Hestella.

“What about the Median territory—”

“From here to here—”

“The Dane occupied areas—”

This territorial issue was truly a messy headache.

If it were simply a matter of absorbing surrounding territories from Landenburg and raising the kingdom’s flag, it would be one thing, but transforming my existing territories into an independent kingdom was no simple task.

I had been granted four territories in total.

The territory in Faelrun, which was just a small village not worth worrying about, and the cities in Dane with ambiguous ownership weren’t major concerns, but…

The Median Margraviate was in such a complicated situation that the three of us had to rack our brains over it.

I planned to declare the establishment of the kingdom with the Landenburg March as its capital, but in that case, the Median Margraviate would be left floating in the middle of the empire.

Like West Berlin within East Germany.

But if we excluded the Median Margraviate from the territory entirely, the Landenburg March alone would be insufficient for the kingdom to be self-sufficient.

“I can help with that problem.”

The solution was brought by the Duke of Wien, who was losing his hair roots while shouldering the position of Imperial Chancellor.