Just as I can only understand those day-to-day poor people conceptually, they can only perceive me conceptually too. The King as the entity that governs the nation. Therefore, if the nation isn’t being governed properly, it’s the King’s fault.
Since that’s obvious, competent rulers create outlets for anger between themselves and their subordinates. In other words, nobles. They can be offered up as sacrifices. For example, a man like the one happily drunk before me.
Going one step further, it’s even better if you can create divisions among the commoners too. Wealthy citizens VS propertyless citizens.
Divide and conquer.
You learned that in high school textbooks, right? However, while it’s easy to think about, executing it requires extremely delicate maneuvering. The side being sacrificed won’t stay quiet either. You need to do it skillfully without them noticing. And if they do notice, you must silence them by force.
I have neither the ability nor the motivation to do that. Giving up the Royal Guard—the apparatus of violence—means exactly that.
Monsieur Pierre understands the possibility that he might be offered up on the altar. That’s why he proclaims himself “the protector of the common people.” No, it’s probably genuine. This type of businessman is strong. A mental structure where exploitation and philanthropy can coexist without contradiction. This. If Lord Pierre were to take the throne, he’d surely become a wise ruler. With his “that’s that, this is this” mentality, he could carry out “bold reforms.”
But I can’t do it. All I can do is repeat stopgap measures while holding my breath, waiting for the storm to pass. Can’t I think of something? Something to overturn this deadlock?
As for the massive number of unemployed commoners—I absorbed them into the military, which pressured the finances. So then I tried to send them to the New Continent, but that developed into a conflict with Angland, which pressured the finances. Even if I wanted to start new industries, large-scale ones requiring manpower don’t just spring up, and even if we mass-produced something, there’s no market to absorb it. Seek markets outside the Central Continent? We’re trying, but here again we clash with Angland and it pressures the finances. The nobles, except for a few families overflowing with business talent, are in continuous decline. So they aim to become civil servants. In the military or as national bureaucrats. And as a result of preparing various positions and taking them in, it pressures the finances.
The wealthy citizens involved in commerce are individually doing well. Some nobles are doing well too. So I want them to spend more and more money and spread those benefits to the broader base. Then the entire nation’s economy would improve and the government would prosper from tax revenue. Though it’s still not enough.
So how do we get them to spend money?
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT gadgetizedpanda.net
Opening the path to national politics for wealthy commoners (in exchange for them paying money) is a reform proposal that’s been popular in Santeneri lately. For them to engage in commercial activities with peace of mind, there must be a guarantee that those activities will be “protected.” From whom? From me, the King, and the nobles.
That’s nothing other than creating a real parliament—not the Chamber of Commerce Youth Division or a National Assembly.
A parliament is a legislative body. In other words, codified laws are born. If you create those laws through case-by-case responses to various situations, they’ll be full of contradictions, so you need a law that serves as the standard for laws. There, the King and nobles will have their existence defined and their powers limited.
I hope it ends with limitation. But you know, this fundamentally means the destruction of the class society that Santeneri has been building up since its founding. In principle. In reality, it’s already collapsing though. Because the Central Continent’s class system has its source in Orthodox teachings. “Those with greater magic power rule over those with less.”
And “magic power” doesn’t exist—that’s becoming common knowledge now. In other words (except for fanatical Orthodox believers), everyone is in a state where they can’t explain why the King and nobles are superior. Currently, there’s just a vague atmosphere remaining in society that says “I don’t really understand why, but we must obey the King and nobles. Because ‘that’s how it’s always been.'”
Also, violence. But even the military, the apparatus of violence, is part of “everyone,” so there’s plenty of possibility they’ll think “Why do we have to listen to these people?”
In that sense, clarifying everyone’s position through law isn’t necessarily a bad thing. But you know, when creating it, won’t someone notice? “The King is sacred and inviolable,” they say, but on what basis?
That realization will surely spread. Once it starts, there’s a possibility it’ll go all the way.
I vaguely studied similar cases in high school and university. Though the details are completely different.
History is interesting. In elementary and middle school, you learn about lots of “historical great figures,” right? Starting with Himiko, then Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and so on. But in high school, the character changes a bit. You start learning about the “flow of history” from a more distant perspective. In university, it becomes even more incomprehensible. Either you read specific documents from specific periods in extreme detail, or you go in a conceptual direction like “what is ‘history’ anyway?”—a diverse world spreads out that can’t be summed up in one phrase.
Living in Japan, I only had to think about our own survival within the framework of the society I was given. But now, here in Santeneri, I must see “the larger world.” Yet unfortunately, I’ve received no such education, nor do I have any natural talent for it.
New technology, new systems.
They won’t come from my ideas, and even if they did, I don’t know if the results would be good. Probably they’d fly off in some different direction like “Huh? You’re going there?”
In the end, this sense of futility is everything.
Maybe I should just abdicate to this guy—the Grand Duke of Aquiane—in front of me and set off on an adventure. There are old swords and such in the Old Castle treasure vault, right? I’ll take one of them. Maybe, without realizing it myself, only I in this world can use “magic.” Or perhaps I have a hidden talent for swordsmanship.
Along the way, I’d help villagers in trouble and rescue noble princesses being attacked by bandits. I’d defeat dragons too. I’d gain companions who admire me, and receive passionate gazes from the princess. Eventually, I’d defeat some kind of bad guy. Some kind of bad guy. Like a Demon King?
And in the end, I’d marry the noble princess and become King. Oh, and the cross-dressing knight lady who protects the princess would also fall for me and we’d become lovers. Let’s also make it so the daughter (with little sister vibes) of the great lord who rules the region where the dragon was rampaging admires me too. Furthermore, I’d build a relationship of trust with the Prime Minister who recognizes my abilities as King, and naturally his daughter would also come to fancy me.
That’s me right now. This.
There’s the noble princess (a kind of sacrifice sent to symbolize peace with an enemy nation), and there’s the mannish knight lady. There’s the Prime Minister’s daughter and a great noble’s daughter who’s like a little sister. Unfortunately, the only thing missing is the Demon King.
I want a Demon King.
Not some invincible something like red national finances or propertyless citizens or New Continent conflicts, but one I can properly defeat with sword and magic.
Also check out my friend Localizermeerkat for more LN translations!
BUY THE SOURCE MATERIAL TO SUPPORT THE AUTHOR !!!
Kindly click on the green button above and contribute to filling the green bar if you’re interested in having another LN from the request page translated. Also, every donation is being used to purchase the source material and to fund more English translations.
Please consider joining my Ko-Fi membership. By becoming a member, you’ll also gain access to 2-10 additional chapters of all of the novels from this site translated into English. Last but not least your support will also assist me in upholding the translation quality and speed. For more information, please follow the link.
Donation for faster release is always welcome
Additionally, I am now accepting translation requests.
