Dictator From Outer Space

The first thing Leobold did after conquering the Lantis County was to demolish the lord’s castle.

A temporary office, including a residence, was built in the nearby Lantis City, and then the castle began to crumble under the joint work of golems and goliaths.

The people of Lantis City were shocked by this.

The lord’s castle was a symbol and a history of the Lantis County.

—It was the emblem of the Lantis family that stood firm even in the Great War…

—According to old documents, it took 15 years to build that castle, and a huge amount of materials and labor were invested. It’s a shame to destroy it in an instant.

—The castle is big enough for goliaths to move around. Isn’t it a pity?

Of course, these opinions came from a very small number of influential people in the territory, such as semi-nobles, wealthy merchants, or bureaucrats.

From their perspective, the name Lantis was more important than the Bagran Kingdom, so they did not understand the new lord’s actions.

However, Leobold had several reasons for breaking down the castle.

“It’s too big and inefficient. I don’t need to live in such a castle unless I’m a giant.”

It was not a graceful appearance that deserved preservation, and it was a problem that it wasted too much space in a strategic location.

“Thanks to that, the view from the lord’s office was nice, though…”

He thought that this place might be where he would rest after finishing everything, as he looked at the wide and green fields and the calm Ob River.

But for Leobold now, the efficient expansion of Lantis City was more important than sentimentality.

“I need to bring in a world-class food company here. I don’t need an old castle like that.”

His territory had a great potential with its grain fields, which were small compared to the whole continent.

Most of its 15,000 square kilometers area was plains and suitable for growing food because of its octo soil.

In addition, the stones, iron ore and coal from Ohmel City nearby made it ideal for building an county industry.

The only drawback was that there was no chemical fertilizer, so mass production of food was still far away.

Of course, he decided to push those things away quickly, and now only the ground remained.

The golems cleaned up the debris and bureaucrats and craftsmen from Lantis City gathered under Arma’s command to discuss the expansion of the city.

“So you want to connect these separated parts of the city into one?”

“If you expand the city like that, you won’t have enough space for the lord.”

The craftsmen were all worried that the lord’s space would not be separated.

This plan had the residence and other buildings too close to each other.

It was taboo for nobles to live in the same space as commoners in most countries, not just Bagran.

Ether bloodlines needed to establish their authority accordingly, and building castles or mansions was one of them.

But Arma said it didn’t matter.

“Don’t worry. This is what the lord has reviewed and finalized.”

“The lord himself…”

“Wow, he’s really different from other nobles… I mean, counts.”

In fact, these people had a lot of curiosity and doubt about Leobold.

They wondered if he was really such a casual person without any arrogance as a noble, as they heard from his territory.

He had not revealed much of his details since he took over Lantis County shortly, but at least one thing was certain.

His attitude did not show any arrogance or superiority complex typical of Bagran nobles.

He had to eat at nearby restaurants because his residence was temporarily built, but he always ate with commoners.

At first, people were startled and tried to run away, but they got used to it as he didn’t care at all.

He didn’t eat anything special either.

Sometimes he ate crustaceans or seafood from Vandus Village, but it was almost the same as what commoners ate.

Naturally, stories began to spread among people.

—This count seems different. He eats and sleeps in the same space as us.

—He should have imposed special taxes and corvee according to the previous conventions when he conquered the territory, but there is none. It’s surprising.

—Most of all, he’s implementing the same business as Vandus Village. We thought we were second-class citizens…

Leobold currently ruled over Vandus Village, Ohmel City, Lantis City and some other territories that had not yet been incorporated.

People thought that Lantis City would be neglected, but it wasn’t.

Clock towers were erected everywhere, and sewerage systems, irrigation facilities, and other public amenities such as baths were built.

As a lot of money flowed in, Lantis City became lively and smiles began to appear on people’s faces.

Money naturally makes people smile.

As the situation reached this point, the former Lantis count disappeared from people’s minds.

Now, the ruler of the eastern Bagran was Leobold, not Lantis.

He also carried out various reforms besides the facilities, and the representative one was the establishment of a company.

Yu Ji-ha Company.

It was a development of the cooperative that existed in Vandus Village, and under Arma’s control, it monopolized all the goods in Vandus County.

Leobold was embarrassed when he heard the name, but he decided to let it go after learning that it sounded exotic to the people of Astera.

There were many multinational companies on Earth that were named after their founders.

Anyway, Yu Ji-ha Company traded not only salt and seafood, but also coal, iron ore, wheat and other resources, as well as all the products and values that Vandus County would produce in the future.

The main staff were merchants who belonged to Rohan Trading Company and were charged with selling wheat to Galisto in connection with Lantis count.

Instead of asking for a pardon from Prince Ruad, Leobold accepted him as his staff.

He had only one demand.

“I don’t care who you are or what you did in the past. All I want is a transparent ledger and a profit. Work hard and report on time. Then I won’t hold you accountable.”

No one could object to being spared.

Especially since he preserved their assets and did not ask for their crimes, the merchants’ choice was almost decided.

That’s how Yu Ji-ha Company was formed, and the organizations such as Ether Research Institute and Workshop were also transferred.

It wasn’t bad to entrust them to Zion or Bultorn, but he needed a system to control them.

The former was just a madman and the latter was a nerd who was obsessed with research, so they spent money like water and he had to put a brake on them.

They grumbled, but they couldn’t disobey Leobold’s instructions that all organizations should be managed systematically.

The citizens were dizzy by these changes.

—There was almost no change for 200 years, but I don’t know what’s going on all of a sudden.

—It’s good that the facilities are increasing, but I wonder if they will be well operated. It seems like it will cost a lot of money…

—But it’s good that the city is lively. It makes me doubt if there was ever a war.

War was originally a thing of nobles, so the commoners didn’t feel much, but he did so well in cleaning up that the aftermath was even smaller.

In addition to these external changes, internal changes also began to take place.

It was the research on ether.

***

The important thing in ether basic research was ether stones.

Not ordinary ether stones, but huge ones made by collecting ether for at least several months or even years through a purification magic circle on a high-purity crystal.

This process was necessary because the research was easier as the purity and amount of ether gathered in the ether stone increased.

It was hard to get a transparent crystal without cracks or bubbles with ordinary wealth, and it was not an ordinary thing to collect ether for years.

In that sense, Magician Stephina didn’t have much expectation for Vandus Territory at first.

She knew that the lord had a lot of money, but he didn’t seem to have much knowledge or interest in ether.

But she changed her mind as she met Zion and Lucia, and as she conducted research with unlimited funds and materials.

“Hmm… It’s not a bad place if you ignore the lack of data and the lord’s lack of interest. I like it.”

“You don’t know anything. The lord is not uninterested, he just lets it go for now. If there is no result even after some time, he will start frying us.”

“Is that so?”

Zion and Lucia, who came to the research institute first, were very curious beings to her eyes.

Lucia was a rare fairy, but Zion seemed somehow not human.

He looked like a great sage when he researched magic, but he was so stupid in daily life that she doubted if he was really human.

Anyway, life in the research institute with them was not bad.

Zion demanded support from the lord, saying that the best magicians needed the biggest ether stones.

“Search all over Astera and bring me the biggest and purest crystal. Then I’ll devote myself to research.”

“Zion, isn’t that too hard? That kind of crystal is not lying on the street.”

“You still don’t know that guy. He’s like a magic wand that gives you more than what you ask for. Look forward to what he’ll bring.”

Lucia, who was sitting on his shoulder, nodded her head.

—Master is not an ordinary person, so he will surely bring a huge crystal.

Whatever he brings will be good.

Stephina thought lightly and focused on research, and good news came to her.

Leobold really handed over a huge crystal and left.

It was almost as big as an adult’s head, and it was so big that Stephina, who had seen countless crystals, opened her mouth wide.

It also boasted a perfect quality without any cracks or scratches.

“It’s huge…”

“Hehe, what did I tell you? Leobold is like this. Come on, let’s start the research.”

That’s when ether research began in earnest.

The task that Leobold requested was to reveal the essence of ether, so he needed pure and dense ether accordingly, and that had a lot to do with time.

Zion, Stephina, and Lucia were all excellent magicians, but the ether stone was so big that it was expected to take years.

They reduced their sleep and spread purification magic circles.

It wasn’t enough to just spread it once, but they had to maintain it and spread multiple ones to collect more ether.

As they spread dozens of purification magic circles, they had no time to spare.

In this process, it turned out that Zion and Lucia were much better magicians than expected.

Even a decent magician couldn’t maintain more than three or four at the same time, but they handled more than ten.

And they still fought and nagged at each other, so it was driving Stephina crazy.

—You’re so busy, but you have time to go to the village? You lizard-like human!

“I would have finished the ether stone by now if you had reduced the time to flatter the lord! You devilish fairy!”

It sounded like a weirdly missed hint, but it was a true statement.

But to Stephina’s eyes, the ether stone was completed at a speed beyond imagination.

“I don’t understand why ether is gathering so fast. Is the land good?”

“It’s probably because of the excellent purification magic circles that I spread.”

—That’s funny. You haven’t touched them for weeks with the excuse of being busy.

“Isn’t that the same for you?

—I went with Master’s orders. You’d be surprised if you knew what I saw underground.

“What was it?”

—I won’t tell you.

The reason why ether gathered so fast was thanks to the ether receiver that Arma installed separately.

This device, which was installed under the research institute, gave them a huge amount of ether even after filling the ether stone.

Stephina felt like she had become a great magician.

“I don’t know why there is so much ether here. It’s hard to avoid the elves’ surveillance network with this much ether. Well, the lord will take care of it.”

As they chatted, the ether stone was completed.

They all expected it to take at least five years, but it actually took only three months.

This would have been enough for a research topic, but he had so many and diverse topics that he didn’t have time to touch it.

Zion was the first to touch the ether stone with an evil smile.

“This is really amazing ether… If I absorb this, I can become the greatest dragon surpassing Altema… Aaaargh!”

He felt a shock as if dozens of lightning bolts struck him from the sky and fell down.

Lucia, who came in wondering what nonsense he was talking about, also touched the ether stone and suffered the same fate.

—Aaaah!

Stephina came in last and didn’t even touch the ether stone, but she couldn’t avoid fainting from the pure ether that filled the research institute.

“Aaaargh!”

So when Leobold entered the research institute, all three of them were lying on the floor in harmony.

“They’re doing well.”

He wondered if living together would make their intelligence level similar.

Anyway, this huge ether seemed very dangerous to him.

Unless there was a strong stimulus, it wouldn’t explode, but its mere existence could cause various anomalies.

“Arma, how is it?”

「It might be dangerous for others, but not for Master. I think.」

“On what grounds?”

“Master has a soul that can withstand the ether that spews out of the warp gate. It’s just that the ether heart we made is still incomplete and we don’t know how to use it well.”

“So you mean it has enough potential. Good. It’ll only make me faint at most.”

He erased the sealing magic circle and touched the ether stone. 

Then something astonishing happened.

The ether that filled the crystal swirled and was sucked into his hand.

Arma warned him of the rapidly increasing concentration of ether in his body.

「The ether heart is operating at maximum level. Ether is spreading throughout your body.」

He didn’t dare to ask what would happen next.

His whole body felt like it had jumped into a fire and he couldn’t breathe.

‘This is not a laboratory.’

His vision zoomed out and the journey that Settler had sailed so far was quickly replayed.

It was like going back in time and he finally saw the planet Nox and the warp gate.

‘Is this a memory from 50 years ago?’

And then Earth appeared.

Leobold reached out his hand and the ether shook violently.

Arma warned him in a surprised voice.

「Ether storm detected. The warp gate is opening.」

He flinched and withdrew his hand. 

The warp gate closed and the ether storm subsided.

The swirling wind evaporated and all that was left were the ether stone and the three people lying on the floor.

“…What was that?”

「Congratulations, Master. You just opened a warp gate to Earth.」

“Is that even possible? Does that mean our 50-year journey was a waste?”

「Not exactly. You lost all the ether you collected by opening the warp gate just now. And it wasn’t fully opened and it was very small.」

If he had to say, he had a glimpse of hope that he could open a warp gate by himself.

Leobold touched the ether stone again, but nothing happened as if it was empty.

“All the ether I’ve collected for months is gone…”

「Don’t worry, Master. According to the data we collected, we can install an ether collector magic circle without a mage.」

“That’s a relief.”

It meant that the research on ether had progressed and there was a possibility of returning to Earth.

But he didn’t know if the time period would be different and if he couldn’t meet the prophet, it would be meaningless.

Leobold started to wake up the three who were still lying on the floor.

***

A while later, Steffina reported on the paper she had written so far.

In fact, Arma already knew everything that happened in the laboratory, including the paper, so most of the information was acquired afterwards.

But there was something that only ether users could feel, so it was better to listen to her report directly.

“Well, um… So, the main point of this paper is that ether is this energy that is very stable and doesn’t stay in one place easily.”

“But knights and mages can use ether easily. Especially knights, they can store it in their ether hearts.”

“That’s a misunderstanding. No matter how excellent a knight is, they can’t store ether. They can only slow down its flow.”

“Slow down its flow?”

Steffina hesitated and snapped her fingers.

“You can take the train station that is being built in Lantis City as an example. If the train doesn’t stop and moves slowly, it would be possible for passengers to get off and load cargo, right?”

“…I guess so.”

“It’s the same with ether. Knights tend to brag a bit and make it seem like they can store ether, but in fact, they are only minimizing the ether that escapes by slowing down the flow.”

However, her words were not certain either.

Leobold was able to store and use ether in his body for sure.

Whether it was his body, his soul, or his ether heart, he still didn’t know, but he had shown various abilities even in an environment where there was no ether at all.

“So you’re saying that only ether stones can store ether.”

“There’s one more thing. The branches of Yggdrasil, which can store a tremendous amount of ether. They say it’s incomparable to crystals.”

Leobold nodded.

In the case of Yggdrasil, there was a huge body on the ground, but it was revealed that it also affected the floating continent.

That meant there was a branch somewhere and it was not owned by Elvrande, so he would be able to get it soon.

“I see. Let me ask you one thing. If there are beings like gods and dragons, would it be possible to open a dimensional gate? To transcend space completely, I mean.”

“It would be possible. There were frequent rumors that the champion used teleportation in the war 200 years ago. There was also a rumor that the dimension was broken because of the ether blade that someone used at that time.”

Leobold felt something uneasy in her words.

The giant ether blade that he used to kill the Plague Queen.

What if it didn’t kill her, but sent her to another dimension?

What if she flew to another dimension and grew stronger there and came back to Earth?

The power of Earth was sufficient, but it would be uncertain if they could win since they would be in chaos.

More than anything, they didn’t have Yujiha.

‘51 years have passed, so maybe it’s over…’

But the Earth he saw was still blue, and the saint said that there were many who called Yu Ji-ha’s name, so it was not impossible.

Stephina’s report ended there.

She said that she had this much left of her paper, but he didn’t need to listen to it himself since Arma had checked it.

「I’m developing a device that can directly measure ether through this research data. I think I’ll be able to show it to Master soon.」

“How would it look to me?”

「It will be displayed as numbers in your sight through the biochip. The Ains are still gathering data, so it’s difficult right now, but Goliath is already done.」

According to Arma, the lowest-performing Jagan-class had an output of about 100E.

1E was a unit that Arma arbitrarily introduced, meaning the total amount of energy that ether had in a certain space.

So the more ether you could draw, the higher the E would be.

It was a unit that was directly related to combat power, but not exactly the same, because the user’s ability could not be measured.

Nevertheless, it was the most accurate unit to represent ether at this point.

If Arma’s research was completed, he would be able to measure not only Goliath’s but also knights’ or magicians’ combat power.

「If you consider Jagan-class’s output as 100E, then Raum-class is 110E, Bephar-class is 150E. The highest one is Belial-class, which exceeds 180E.」

“Belial is the exclusive machine for Elven Knights, right? Impressive.”

「There’s something higher than that here. After checking the information that Lucia brought, it’s confirmed that it’s an ancient Goliath that was used 200 years ago. It activated with the key sword and scared away the troops stationed above.」

Leobold saw soldiers running away in his eyes, saying it was an earthquake.

“I should have just caused an earthquake. Well, it’s fine as long as I can get it out now.”

「We’ll use a gravity crane to pull it out.」

The Settler was mobilized to break the nearby land and pull out the ancient Goliath.

A huge monster that overwhelmed all existing Goliaths began to reveal itself.