"...…"
Looking at King Gandhi in front of him, Duanmu Huai suddenly felt that at this moment he ought to be holding a feather fan and saying something like "Now then, the world is divided into three…" and so on…
…Forget it.
"Isn't this very simple?"
To be honest, looking at King Gandhi, Duanmu Huai really didn't feel that this was difficult at all. And upon hearing Duanmu Huai's words, King Gandhi looked at him in surprise.
"Simple?"
"Yes. You've already found the crux of the problem. Next, just deal with it in a targeted manner. Reform the education system, give second-tier citizens other ways to live. Any ministers who don't listen to you—just chop them down and replace them with obedient ones. Wouldn't that solve it?"
Duanmu Huai truly didn't think this was difficult. The person standing in front of him wasn't some straw-sandal peddler—this was the king of Seth.
If a king or emperor wants to reform and enact change, as long as he finds the right direction and uses his own people, wouldn't it be easily solved?
"Uh...…"
However, after hearing Duanmu Huai's suggestion, King Gandhi revealed an awkward expression.
"...…Wait, no way—are you really such a useless king?"
Seeing King Gandhi's troubled expression, Duanmu Huai looked completely baffled.
Could it be that the King of Seth doesn't actually hold real power and is just a figurehead?
"To be honest, it's not that I have no supporters in my country—but they are only a very small minority…"
King Gandhi sighed. He didn't have many supporters among the upper echelons. More importantly, King Gandhi knew that Seth could not descend into chaos. The reason was simple—the demon race was watching closely from the sidelines. Once Seth fell into internal turmoil, the demons would seize the opportunity to invade. As the King of Seth, this was something King Gandhi absolutely had to prevent.
"Ah..."
Duanmu Huai sighed silently.
This king really is doing a terrible job.
"Alright. I do indeed have a plan that can deal with this problem."
"Oh? Really?"
"Yes. But first, you need to tell me about the power structure of the Kingdom of Seth."
"Alright, that's no problem."
As king, Gandhi obviously wasn't stupid enough to not understand his own country's power structure, so he quickly explained it to Duanmu Huai.
Seth's internal power structure was actually not complicated. At the very top, naturally, was King Gandhi himself. Beneath him were the four strongest mages in Seth, known as the Four Heavenly Kings of Seth: Yamada Chizuko, Nagi S. Nagel, Magico Ze. Gandhi, and Papaya Saba.
Among them, Duanmu Huai had already met Chizuko and Magico. The former was that flamboyantly dressed woman who looked like a peacock, while the latter was King Gandhi's daughter—the girl who had once taken him to the Monster Tamer trial grounds.
According to King Gandhi, when he was absent, the Four Heavenly Kings were responsible for final decisions. However, in reality, only Yamada Chizuko handled state affairs. Magico hadn't graduated yet and was focused on her studies, while Nagi and Papaya had no interest in politics.
Below the Four Heavenly Kings were the Director of Intelligence Noaemasei, the Director of Justice Istora, the Director of Military Nakiri, the Director of Finance Zruchi, and the Director of Education Radon.
These five were staunch discrimination hardliners, and because they wielded enormous power, even King Gandhi couldn't do much about them.
Chizuko was King Gandhi's diehard supporter, and precisely because of this, she had been able to repeatedly rein in the outrageous proposals of those five high officials. However, as the king of a nation, Gandhi still couldn't directly lay hands on them.
But in Duanmu Huai's view… solving this problem was actually very simple.
"Since these guys won't listen, just kill them and put obedient people in their place. Problem solved, right?"
"It's not that easy."
King Gandhi smiled bitterly and shook his head.
"They have deep-rooted influence within the country. Trying to eliminate them could very likely trigger internal chaos in Seth…"
"Hesitating like that means you'll never get anything done."
Duanmu Huai cut off King Gandhi's words.
"Since ancient times, every reform in every nation has been achieved through bloodshed. One has never heard of blood being shed because of reform—that is precisely why such a nation cannot prosper."
"...…What you mean is...…"
"If someone opposes it, just kill them."
Duanmu Huai gave the answer calmly. Hearing this, even though King Gandhi was mentally prepared, his heart still tightened.
"Of course, if you can't do it, I can help… If you think a king killing his ministers would look like tyranny, then a righteous 'Hero' punishing evil and promoting justice could achieve the same effect."
"This...…"
"And right now, I can also provide you with an interesting piece of information."
"Oh?"
Hearing this, King Gandhi froze for a moment.
"Interesting information?"
"You know I killed Saham, right?"
Duanmu Huai glanced at Kaoru beside him and asked calmly. King Gandhi nodded with a complicated expression—he had naturally learned of this from Kaoru.
"Then you should also know that Saham was merely acting on someone else's behalf. The one who actually came up with that game was Education Director Radon's daughter, Amy. I've heard that she and Saham were engaged. Tell me—if Saham's father were to find out about this, do you think he and Radon could still get along harmoniously?"
"This...…"
Hearing this, King Gandhi's expression instantly turned serious. He knew very well how much Finance Director Zruchi doted on his only son. After his son's death, according to Chizuko's report, Zruchi had even gone insane and wanted to kill all second-tier citizens. If he were to learn that this matter was related to his son's fiancée…
Although someone who could rise to such a position wouldn't fall out with another over something like this outright, it was obvious that the two would never be as close as before.
"And as for the second-tier citizens…"
"Heh."
Facing King Gandhi's question, Duanmu Huai raised an eyebrow.
"I naturally also have a plan. It just depends on… whether you have the guts."
Thus, an undercurrent began to quietly surface within the Kingdom of Seth. And the vast majority of people caught within it hadn't even realized it yet.
That day, it was once again time for the morning court meeting.
However, the atmosphere was completely different from usual.
Finance Director Zruchi's pig-like face was flushed red as he viciously glared at Education Director Radon standing beside him. Radon, for his part, wore a sour expression and didn't even look at him. The other three officials also showed helpless expressions.
Seeing this, Yamada Chizuko, standing at the highest position, felt secretly pleased. Of course she knew what had happened. After that incident, the investigation team had been looking into Saham's death, and just a few days earlier, they had uncovered an unexpected revelation: the game that led to Saham's death had actually been devised by Radon's daughter Amy, with Saham merely accepting the invitation to participate!
Upon hearing this, Finance Director Zruchi naturally went mad with rage—after all, he had only one son! So he sought out Radon to question Amy in person. Seeing Zruchi's aggressive demeanor, Radon naturally wouldn't allow him to harm his daughter, and the two had a huge argument. The matter quickly spread throughout the court and beyond.
For Chizuko, one of the Four Heavenly Kings, this was excellent news. In the past, these two had always sung in unison during meetings, causing her endless headaches. Now that they had fallen out so badly, cooperation was impossible—finally, she could enjoy a few peaceful days.
But soon, Chizuko straightened up and spoke seriously.
"Everyone has been summoned today to discuss a very important matter."
"A very important matter?"
Hearing Chizuko's words, the high officials below raised their heads to look at her. Chizuko didn't speak further, merely stepping aside. Soon after, a tall, imposing man strode forward and sat upon the throne!
King Gandhi!
Seeing King Gandhi appear, the officials' hearts trembled. Although their ideals differed from his, anyone who could sit on a throne was almost always a formidable figure. Even Princess Lia was no pushover—it was just that the enemies she faced were far too powerful.
After all, when facing a demon with an invincible barrier, even if King Gandhi himself went, the outcome would still be getting pinned to the ground and beaten senseless.
The officials quickly composed themselves, preparing to listen carefully to what King Gandhi intended to say.
At that moment, seated on the throne, King Gandhi swept his gaze across the hall and spoke calmly.
"During this period, I have traveled throughout the country, conducting investigations openly and secretly, and I have discovered many problems."
"...…"
Hearing this, the officials immediately braced themselves. From experience, King Gandhi was probably about to talk again about first-tier citizens oppressing second-tier citizens—something they were fully prepared to rebut.
"But now, there is one biggest problem—that is, we have severely underestimated the threat of the demon race!"
"...…Huh?"
What? Not talking about second-tier citizens? Talking about the demon race instead?
The officials froze for a moment and instinctively looked at King Gandhi as he continued.
"I believe none of you have forgotten the war that occurred in Lias not long ago."
Everyone nodded. They had all known about the chaos in Lias back then, and some had even tried to take advantage of the situation… unfortunately, it was too far away, and nothing came of it.
"The ultimate goal of that war was for the Demon Men to attempt to seal and revive the former Demon King in Lias. Fortunately, their plot failed, and both the former Demon King and the Demon Men were killed. But that's not what concerns me… According to intelligence at the time, the Demon Men colluded with corrupt and degenerate nobles within Lias to open a teleportation gate inside the kingdom. That's how the armies of Helman were transported directly into Lias's capital! Without anyone noticing, in just one night, they completely occupied the royal capital of Lias!"
At this point, King Gandhi slammed the table hard.
"Gentlemen, have you ever considered what would happen if something like that occurred in Seth?"
"This...!"
Hearing this, the officials were greatly shocked, cold sweat breaking out on their backs. Indeed, if the Demon Men could do that in Lias, they might very well be able to do the same in Seth. And wouldn't the demons have ample justification to attack Seth? Seth's Machino Line blocked the demon race's advance—if they wanted to invade the human world, the Machino Line was an obstacle they couldn't bypass!
But since the Demon Men could silently pass through barriers and open portals in Lias, they might very well be able to do the same in Seth!
What should they do?
Seeing that the atmosphere had been properly set, King Gandhi nodded and continued.
"Therefore, in order to prevent such an event, I intend to build another fortress-capital in the heartland of our country. This way, even if the demon race repeats their old tricks against Seth, we will be able to stabilize the situation quickly and avoid a tragedy like that of Lias!"
At this, the officials immediately understood King Gandhi's intention.
"But Your Majesty!"
However, upon hearing this, Finance Director Zruchi was startled and hurriedly spoke.
"This would require an enormous amount of funding, and at present—"
"Your Majesty speaks with great wisdom!"
Before Zruchi could finish, Education Director Radon abruptly interrupted him and addressed King Gandhi.
"Given the lessons learned from Lias, we must take precautions! Building a fortress city in the heartland may not have been necessary in the past, but the demon race is cunning and treacherous—we cannot afford to be careless. I believe this is absolutely necessary!"
As he spoke, Radon narrowed his eyes and looked at Zruchi.
"Director Zruchi, surely you wouldn't oppose such a good thing, would you? Or is there… some reason why you absolutely must oppose it?"
"You… you…"
Faced with Radon's words, Zruchi's face flushed red with rage. In the past, he and Radon had practically been inseparable allies. But now that his son Saham was dead, the marriage alliance was gone. Radon no longer needed to give him face—and on top of that, Zruchi had been constantly harassing his beloved daughter. So Radon struck first, turning the tables and leaving Zruchi no time to pursue Amy's matter.
After all, his son was dead—there was no possibility of reconciliation. So… might as well go all the way.
At this moment, Zruchi was furious yet speechless. He clearly understood Radon's insinuation: Lias had fallen because its nobles colluded with the demon race, giving the demons and Helman an opening. If Zruchi opposed King Gandhi's proposal now, the suspicion of "colluding with the demon race" might be slapped straight onto his head!
But building a fortress city required money!
Astronomical amounts of money!
Zruchi choked for a long time before finally speaking.
"B-but we currently don't have surplus manpower…"
"I will dispatch part of the army to oversee the project. As for the remaining labor…"
King Gandhi paused slightly.
"…let the second-tier citizens handle the construction."
At this moment, King Gandhi finally revealed the dagger hidden at the end of the map.
(End of Chapter)