Chapter 473
Chapter 473
Ever since arriving in Edina Archipelago, Charlotte had spent most of her time with Harriet, rather than the Demon King.
"When you're around, the child becomes restless. Just leave us alone."
"Uh... Is that so?"
"Yes, so will you let me handle things on my own?"
"…Alright."
Feeling guilty and apologetic even with a mere glance, Charlotte decided it would be best not to see the child for the time being. Despite being smaller in scale compared to the empire, there were plenty of matters to attend to in the island nation.
Although Charlotte suddenly found herself in charge of an entire nation, she felt obligated to fulfill this responsibility, as it was Reinhardt's order.
'What can someone like me do?'
Despite being lost in these thoughts, she couldn't refuse the task.
Reinhardt entrusted her with this duty because he believed in her, in his own way.
So, Charlotte spent the entire day listening to various stories from Harriet.
The population of the Edina Archipelago.
The distribution of the islands.
The current situation of each island.
The refugee transport ships arriving regularly at the main port, Lazak.
The status of stored resources and their suppliers.
Fort Mokna, which could be considered a forward base, and its imminent relocation.
And then, the demons on the streets.
Charlotte blankly stared at the scene of orcs and trolls roaming the streets of Lazak.
Initially, she wore a robe with a hood to conceal her appearance, but now she walked around without it.
In the colorful scenery of various demons, Charlotte's figure wasn't particularly peculiar.
In fact, people paid more attention to Harriet, the secretary accompanying Charlotte, than to her appearance.
"Isn't it fascinating? I can't say I'm completely used to it."
Harriet also stared blankly at the mixed crowd of humans and demons on the streets.
"Even so, my thoughts have changed significantly just by knowing that such things are possible."
Harriet took Charlotte's hand and led her up a hill in Lazak.
"Do you see that over there?"
"Farmland...?"
"Yes."
At a distance where a human figure would appear no larger than a finger, a colossal creature was cultivating the farmland.
An ogre single-handedly and rapidly plowed the land, a task that would normally require dozens of people.
"Originally, vampire mages do it, but once the basic cultivation is complete, the ogres handle the heavy lifting. They do help, but... um... to be honest, they do the work of dozens of people and eat as much. It's almost the same, isn't it? Still, it's amazing, right?"
"…Yes, it is."
"Fortunately, this scale of production is maintained because there's a faction of vampire mages specialized in botany, alchemy, and magic. Without them, the refugees might have starved to death long ago."
Surprisingly, the one directing the ogre's cultivation was an elderly farmer with a bent back.
Whether this was efficient or not was uncertain, as Harriet suggested.
However, they were surviving.
They were trying to live together in harmony.
Charlotte etched that sight into her memory.
"Honestly, the biggest issue in Edina is food. The scale of Edina has grown too much since the Gate Incident. With the help of demon mages and other demons, they are somehow sustaining themselves. But that's all thanks to the Demon King… I mean, Reinhardt's power."
"…I see."
In Edina, the existence of the Demon King is absolute. The humans of the island fear the Demon King, and the demons follow him unconditionally, which is why there is no conflict. If the Demon King were to disappear, the demons would not accept living alongside humans, and the humans would struggle even more.
The Archdemon commands absolute obedience from the demons.
And the humans on the island fear the Demon King.
Though this coexistence appears complete on the surface, it would be impossible without the existence of the Demon King.
"In Darkland, the Demon King's existence is more like a god than a king. I heard that demons originally fought and divided among different races. It was like that until the Archdemon appeared and took control of them all."
"Yes, I know."
Closer to a god than a king.
The Archdemon.
Charlotte quietly observed the landscape created by this absolute being, a scene never seen before in the world.
Charlotte had heard many stories from Harriet.
How many refugees had flowed into the island so far.
How the demons had made contact and entered the island.
How they built houses for them to live in with magic and cultivated the land.
How the United Holy Church was founded.
While she was locked away in the Spring Palace, blaming herself for everything.
What the Demon King had accomplished while trying to do something, rather than wallowing in guilt and self-loathing.
"You've really... done so much..."
The Demon King had saved countless people and created a landscape that seemed impossible to exist in the world.
What someone who kept moving forward, even after failing at everything, had managed to achieve.
Charlotte looked at it from the perspective of a defeated person.
Can I take responsibility for this?
Can she, a defeated and traitorous person, bear the weight of someone's shining accomplishments?
"Charlotte, this isn't pity."
Harriet looked at Charlotte and spoke with a serious gaze.
"Reinhardt has a lot to do."
"..."
"Really, way too much."
"…I suppose."
"Reinhardt brought you here because he needs you, not because he feels sorry for you."
Harriet wasn't angry.
"If you want to be a sinner and a traitor, keep living like that."
"..."
"But if you want to live as the administrator of Edina, which Reinhardt needs, then that's what you'll become."
Charlotte looked up at Harriet.
"Do you want to be someone Reinhardt needs or someone who constantly demands his attention even though he's terribly busy?"
Charlotte's lips trembled.
"Of course… I…"
Everyone here is someone Reinhardt needs.
She knew this because she had heard so many stories from Harriet.
Liana, Olivia, Airi, and Harriet.
All of them had important tasks.
Reinhardt had brought Charlotte here for a very important task as well.
If she wanted to live as a defeated person, she could continue living as one.
However, she would become a burden that required Reinhardt's endless attention.
Harriet patted Charlotte's shoulder.
"If you know, just do it. Don't overthink it."
"It was like that when we first came here."
"If we thought too much, we would have stopped in the midst of guilt."
"We just thought about taking one step at a time."
"Rather than thinking about how many people would die on the continent."
"We built houses for those who had lost their homes."
"Instead of thinking about whose responsibility the situation was."
"We quickly set sail to escape the monster and save the people, bringing them to this island."
"Rather than mourning the many lives lost and dwelling on what we've lost."
"We had to feed those with nothing to eat, so we expanded the farmland."
"If we think too much about the distant future or abstract concepts, we become paralyzed and unable to act."
"Let's take it one step at a time."
"Let's move forward one step at a time."
"And as time passes..."
"Look."
Harriet gestures around.
She gestures at the world.
"Before we know it, this is what we've become."
"It's not perfect, it's incomplete, and there's still a lot of uncertainty, but we can't say we haven't done anything."
Charlotte looks at Harriet with wide eyes.
There was an endless gap between those who were motionless and those who took at least one step every day.
She looks at the landscape created by that difference.
Whether she deserve this. Whether it's okay. Whether she can be forgiven.
Whether she has the power to waver in the face of such beauty.
Simply being still is just that.
Before considering qualifications and rights.
As Reinhardt instructed, she took care of her weakened body, nourished her health, built up her strength.
Learning more about Edina.
Taking that first step, beginning to handle matters from the throne.
What is the reason not to take that step?
Harriet's comforting yet persuasive words that there are things that must be done.
Eventually, Charlotte gave up on all thoughts.
There would be no rights and duties.
But there were things Reinhardt asked her to do.
Then all she has to do is just that.
She takes that step.
It is a sin to stand still, thinking about whether she deserves to walk this path.
Looking at Harriet's warm smile, Charlotte grits her teeth.
She felt like crying because of those who went to such lengths for her.
But.
Charlotte cried a lot during those two years.
That was all she did.
She didn't do anything else but cry.
Therefore, without letting the tears welling up from deep within her heart flow, Charlotte wiped them away with her sleeve while gritting her teeth.
Her devilishly red eyes, her eyelids reddening.
"Alright. I'll give it a try, whatever it may be."
Her thoughts of wrongdoing did not change.
But the sense of obligation to do something.
She was able to regain that sense of responsibility to accomplish it somehow.
—---
Harriet's persuasion was successful.
Instead of sinking into thoughts and self-loathing, she had to focus on what was ahead and take one step at a time.
Reinhardt didn't forgive her, but brought her because she was needed, so if she felt guilty, she should respond to that need.
So Charlotte had many conversations with Harriet afterward, and tried to understand the situation in Edina by inspecting the area.
After a thorough assessment of the Edina Archipelago, Charlotte reached one conclusion.
"Um... Can I be honest?"
"Yeah, you should be honest."
At Reinhardt's words, Charlotte shook her head firmly.
"This isn't a country."
"…Huh?"
Charlotte's assessment was harsh.
"It's more like... a national-scale soup kitchen? I'd call it something like that. Calling it a country seems... a bit off."
Charlotte determined that the Edina Archipelago was in dire need of a comprehensive overhaul.
"The greatest problem is that the people of Edina would starve to death without the demons. Bringing refugees from the continent is good, and providing them with free land and homes to live in is also good, but without magic and the help of the demons, the basic issue of food self-sufficiency cannot be solved." 𝚋𝚎ｄｎｏ𝚟𝚎ｌ.ｎ𝚎𝚝
"Although they say they're continuously expanding the cultivated land, I've heard that ultimately, magicians are involved in the process. There is a limit to the available human resources. Even now, the area where the most manpower is concentrated in this island must be related to food resources. But as the scale continues to grow, at some point, the population that can be supported will exceed the threshold."
"What this means is that this country does not have a structure where surplus goods produced by the citizens are stored in the national treasury as taxes and then supplied when needed or used for national projects. Here, the national project is for the state to produce food. It's the other way around. This is essentially a charity, not a government or a nation. The sole purpose of this state is to support the population. And even that is a burden."
"Of course, doing such things isn't wrong. However, there are no measures in place for when the supported population grows to the point where it becomes difficult to handle. In the first place, using magic to farm is an absurd idea under normal circumstances, and the same goes for the merfolk supplying marine resources as food ingredients. We need to establish a long-term food self-sufficiency policy, one that does not rely on this bizarre situation where magicians are farming."
"The security issue is the same. The scale of the refugee residential areas has long since surpassed that of the original Lazak city center by several times, but they're trying to prevent crime in those areas simply by having guards patrol at night. However, there is a limit to the number of troops that can be maintained. That's why the crime rate in the refugee residential areas is quite high."
Food. Security. Systems. Policies. Management of areas outside the capital, and so on.
When Charlotte's story about the numerous problems of the Edina Archipelago ended, Reinhardt's mouth was wide open in shock.
It looked like a country, but in reality, it was a charity.
It was a strange structure where the national treasury and the king's power worked for the citizens, not for inflating the national treasury under the guise of taxes.
That was the reality of Edina that the Demon King had built in just two years.
After finishing her story, Charlotte looked quietly at Reinhardt.
"The reason we have managed to come this far is because the demons under you have extraordinary abilities. No matter the situation, such capable individuals wouldn't normally do such work."
Edina was only able to survive because these exceptional individuals were engaged in work they would not normally do. The people of Edina were merely military dependents at this point.
The reality of Edina was that the nation itself could not survive without the Demon King.