The Hero Party Couldn’t Kill Me

Chapter 15: The story after that (3)

A few days later.

The funeral of the emperor and princess was slowly coming to an end.

I didn’t know much about the funeral procession, so I got as many other nobles and servants from the imperial palace as possible.

Anyway, the financial situation of the empire wasn’t very good, so I cut costs as much as possible, but I still tried to do my best to give you the best possible courtesy.

After letting go of the dead, I was able to speak in front of people for the first time as the ruler of this empire.

Nearly 100,000 people gathered in the plaza in front of the imperial palace, and all the important figures of the empire gathered because they were leaders from non-royal families, unprecedented in the history of the past 600 years.

I didn’t shake much. Even during the Inquisition, he spoke in front of so many people.

What I am concerned about is the ripple effect of what I will say. And of the gyehyeok that I am going to do, I have been worried about how much I should say now.

There was already a manuscript prepared, but I looked at the people gathered in the square without looking at the manuscript as much as possible. After looking around at them, he finally opened his mouth.

“… I was an outsider.”

“When I first came to the Solus Empire, I knew nothing about it. That is why I am standing here today as the leader of this empire in front of you.”

While saying this, I briefly recalled what had happened in this world.

When I think about it now, it’s really strange. Indeed 3 years ago. Did you ever imagine that this would happen when I was first summoned?

No, I wouldn’t have wanted a place like this in the first place. I am still forced to do it.

“I became the leader of this empire not solely because of my abilities. It was possible because of your choices. Therefore, my power comes from you.”

Here I took a few deep breaths. What I will say now will have a big impact.

“However, the current system of the Empire ignores this flow of power. That’s why I’m trying to change this empire. I’m going to give you the power that should rightfully go to you.”

People have already started to be agitated from here. In particular, nobles began to look at me with anxious eyes.

I explained my plan, observing their reactions one by one.

“Firstly, the leader of this empire will no longer be emperor. He will not be handed down to my descendants. Instead, once every five years. You will choose them yourself.”

“Secondly, the position of lord and nobility will be retained for now. But this, too, will no longer be hereditary. Also, we will investigate all the lords now, and those who are not qualified will be stripped of their positions.”

After talking this far, I looked at people’s reactions. Is it too radical a reform? The faces of the people who looked at me were full of confusion.

I still have a lot more to do. From regulating contract magic in the short term to creating the National Assembly and the Court in the long term.

But right now, the impact was too great, so I decided to stop here.

“For now, I’ll stop here. The key is to understand that power is not innate and to act on it.”

I explained this, but the confusion of the crowd did not subside. Nobles in particular began to protest openly.

So I looked at them and said.

“Yes, I know. You may not like the things I am about to change. So I would like to take this opportunity to ask you all.”

“Instead, give me five years to prove it. If you don’t like it, you can appoint a new leader after 5 years. If I lose at that time, I will accept the result cleanly.”

Those who still don’t believe me.

I hesitated for a moment. I didn’t want to use contract magic, one of the chaos that Leviathan solved in this world.

But this was one of the few moments where contract magic was beneficial.

“I will sign a contract in front of you now.”

As soon as the magic contract appeared in front of me, the protests of the nobles died down.

“If you allow me, I will change this empire for five years. And five years from now, if you don’t like the changes I’ve brought and choose another leader, I’ll just accept the results and step down. If I don’t follow this, I will lose all the powers of a foreigner and die.”

Recited the contents of the contract. All that remains now is the consent of the crowd.

People were still confused. Some people looked at me suspiciously.

But after a while, a contract seal was drawn on my palm. With that, they gave tacit consent.

***

Soon after my speech, of course, the nobles came to me and started protesting.

And among them I saw a familiar face.

“I can admit that you are a warrior and the emperor of the Solus Empire. I can accept your contract too. But the policy regarding the nobility is a bit off, isn’t it?”

The Duke of Valois, along with other nobles, came to formally protest against me. Other nobles were also opposed to this policy, so more nobles than usual followed him.

In fact, the majority of the nobles of the Solus Empire came to see me.

I explained gently to them.

“I know you are afraid. But there won’t be any big changes right now. Again, what I am trying to do is that your children may ‘not inherit’ the lordship, not to unconditionally prevent them from becoming lords.”

A dramatic situation where a commoner calmly becomes a lord won’t happen much right now. Apparently, the materials of nobles than commoners would have received much higher education, and their ability to run a city would be superior.

And since the commoners have been accustomed to this system for a long time, there is a high possibility that they will still support the nobles.

Until that point, I can’t recklessly intervene.

After hearing my explanation, some of the enraged nobles began to agree.

“Then what do you mean by investigating the lords now to see if they are qualified?”

“Hasn’t this also been implemented since the time of His Majesty the Emperor? Those who failed to do their duty faithfully or who made a big mistake were previously removed from their positions. So did Calia and her gang, and so did Iris Rossi.”

Continued, I looked directly at the Duke of Valois and said.

“And even though I signed an oath of allegiance with Her Highness, not obeying her orders would also be grounds for disqualification.”

When the princess gave the order to fight Leviathan, some nobles, including the Duke of Valois, did not appear until the end.

Of course, some of them had good reasons. It was because there were cases where the princess’s message was not received, or it was difficult to reach her Solaum because it was far away. (At the time, Solaum’s portal was hacked by Leviathan)

The problem is that there are some nobles who cleverly avoid the penalty of an oath of allegiance and postpone their participation on the pretext of not being ready, and arrive at Solaum only after the death of Leviathan.

The Duke of Valois was one of those nobles.

As expected, his expression twisted as if there was a corner where he was stabbed himself. The other nobles next to him also lowered their heads or averted their gaze.

“If you haven’t done anything serious, don’t worry. What I look for in this investigation is whether you have fulfilled your duties as nobles and lords. Isn’t it perfectly normal to be stripped of your position if you don’t fulfill this duty?”

“… ….”

“Do you have anything more to say?”

The Duke of Valois bowed his head. Among the nobles gathered now, he held the highest position, so the other nobles looked at him.

And he, in the end, servilely knelt down.

“… I have sinned to death. Fearing for my life, I postponed my participation even after receiving orders from Her Highness.”

As he knelt down, the nobles who had committed the same sin also knelt down and begged for forgiveness.

I said, looking at the rest of the nobles.

“If you have nothing more to say, you can leave. I would like to speak with them separately.”

As the other nobles retreated, I looked at the Duke of Valois. His body was trembling.

It’s not just because of fear. You must be angry at your own mistake for making a wrong bet until the very end.

“It’s unfortunate. Thanks to Her Highness, you who took the coveted part of Roswell. To think that the most recent oath of allegiance would betray you.”

Actually, it wasn’t that strange. They only signed an oath of allegiance with the princess for immediate gain in order to avoid a momentary crisis.

Because I wasn’t truly loyal to the princess in the first place.

“Sa, please save me.”

The Duke of Valois said. I tilted my head.

“Did I say I was going to kill you? I don’t remember saying anything like that. Since the princess is dead, the oath of allegiance is no longer valid.”

Of course, none of the aristocrats had a relaxed expression.

“… Property will not be confiscated. However, I will forfeit the title of lord and nobility.”

I made a judgment. The Duke of Valois bit his lip, but he had no rebuttal.

I gave them consolation, not consolation.

“Oh, and I will also break all the contracts you unfairly made with the lord of Roswell. We will return the money you paid at the time.”

In this way, Roswell, which had been divided by the princess, was restored to its original state.

The restored Roswell became the first city in the Solus Empire to elect a lord through elections. And for the first time, a lord came from a commoner who was not an aristocrat.

The protagonist of that honor is the wizard who led the citizens when punishing Iris. It was Clovis.

***

A week later.

When he personally toured each region and completed half of the nobles’ qualification evaluation. After a while, I visited the site of the collapsed Daeshinjeon.

Most of the rubble has now been cleared. Certainly, using magic engineering technology, even large fragments could be easily moved.

Then, a golden sapling hidden in the center of the original Great Hall was revealed. When I first discovered it, it barely appeared above the ground, but it had already grown to the height of a child.

“… It is a new covenant the goddess has made with us.”

Saint Joan showed me a golden tree and said,

A new revelation from the goddess. Now, as long as this golden tree lives, the goddess will not abandon the empire.

“… It is beautiful.”

I said looking at the golden tree. It was amazing. I never thought there would be a plant that glows golden like that. Even the leaves were golden.

“How do you plan to build the new Great Temple?”

“I’m thinking of building a new one in this place. It would be nice to have the golden tree as the front yard. And the newly built Daeshinjeon will be built as frugally as possible. The financial situation of the empire is not that good right now.”

“… Still, is there a theme for the Great War that you want?”

“I want to make it as nature-friendly as possible. So that I can harmonize with the golden tree.”

Because it is eco-friendly… I thought for a moment whether there are buildings with such an atmosphere on Earth.

Maybe there’s something you can use as a motif.

“You didn’t come to discuss the Great War today, did you?”

Saint Joan asked me while I was lost in thought for a while. I nodded and showed the sword at my waist.

“I came here because I have a question.”

I pulled out the holy sword and showed it to Saint Joan.

“The holy sword still hasn’t disappeared. What the hell could this be?”

“There are times when the holy sword stays for about a week after the original demonic sword disappears. You’ve done that before, right?”

“That’s true, but I can feel a slight tremor in the Holy Sword. As if reacting to something.”

“… Is that so?”

Saint Joan looked at me with a gentle expression. Maybe the goddess gave her her revelations?

“The problem of this world that Leviathan talked about. To be precise, the problem of the holy sword and the magic sword. Do you remember?”

“… I remember.”

Although her method was completely wrong, she liked it for one thing. A world where holy swords and demonic swords coexist.

“Looks like the goddess wants an answer from Edmund.”

Saint Joan said with a smile.

I understood the hidden meaning of those words.

A week later.

A new demon has appeared.