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Vol 03 Chapter 77: Hot Spring

「Phew…」

When I soak in the water, I feel the core of my body getting warmer. The water is a milky white color. I’ve heard that it’s supposed to have beautifying effects on the skin.

The only complaint I have is the smell, like rotten eggs. But that’s unavoidable since this is a volcanic hot spring.

「This is good, I’ve always wanted to try this once.」

「We’ve been quite busy, after all.」

Julia commented while embracing my right arm. Her big and soft breasts enveloped my arm.

I knew there had to be hot springs in this world. I was able to get sulfur for making black powder, so hot springs should exist too.

Sure enough, when I did some research, I found them quickly.

Unfortunately, it seems that the Adernians don’t have much of a tradition of bathing in hot springs. To be precise, they don’t have the custom of traveling to hot springs for a soak.

The local residents do seem to use them frequently, though.

Given that walking is the primary mode of transportation on the Adernian peninsula, few would go out of their way to travel tens of kilometers to bathe in a hot spring. Perhaps because they’re busy with agriculture, few people bother to dig for hot springs, so there aren’t many around.

「There must be various other types of hot springs if we search. Maybe there are some unique to this world. Yeah, that would be great.」

When I unify the Adernian peninsula, I’ll start a great project to dig for hot springs everywhere!

「I wish I could bathe in one every day. Can’t you do something about it??」

Tetra pleaded with me while clinging to my left arm. She isn’t as voluptuous as Julia, but her breasts are just as good. Personally, I like hers better.

‘Can’t you do something about it?’ What do you want me to do?

「Can’t you transport it by carriage?」

「That would be ridiculously expensive.」

「You’re a king, after all. A luxury like this should be appropriate. Haven’t the tax revenues increased significantly since the previous king’s time?」

After the civil war, the territories directly controlled by the king doubled in size.

My territory now includes the original territories, the Aris territory, the Dibel territory, the lands of the patricians that were purged, and the territory taken from King Domorgal’s Country. Additionally, the garnet mine in the old Blouse territory is now mine.

Of course, I divided some of the territories among the patricians who had sided with me, so not everything gained in the war became my property, but still, the increase was substantial.

I gave Boros lands around the Teria fortress. It’s a strategic location connecting the old and new territories, and Boros should be the perfect person to protect it.

The one I had trouble deciding how to reward was Bartolo. Naturally, I had to increase his holdings as well… but his abilities are just too exceptional.

After much deliberation, I assigned him a new territory bordering King Domorgal’s Country. His domain increased by one and a half times, so he should have no complaints.

With Bartolo’s capabilities, he should be able to defend it against an invasion from King Domorgal’s Country.

I assigned lands near the royal demesne to Ron, Roswald, and Gram. They will continue to serve close to me as my arms and legs. The three of them will have to manage their territories indirectly from the palace.

The most troublesome are the patricians of the Rosais Family, the blood relatives of the previous king, centered around Raymond.

Specifically, Raymond owns one of the three rock salt mines in our country. I subtly suggested relocating him elsewhere in exchange for tripling his domain, but he declined with a smile.

I would do the same.

Well, I don’t want to force him to relocate and worsen our relations, so I just slightly increased his holdings instead.

「I wish I could reduce the power of the patricians families…」

「Yes… That would be ideal…」

Tetra sympathized with my muttering.

It’s clear that the patrician families are hindering the smooth operation of the country. The problem is not whether they’re governing their territories well or poorly.

Their very existence is the epitome of inefficiency. We need their consent to wage war, and we must always be wary of them defecting to other countries.

It’s not rare for patricians to switch sides along with their territories.

「But we’ve made considerable progress in centralizing power. I don’t think you need to worry too much about the regional patricians anymore.」

Thanks to my flashy actions during the last civil war, no patricians dare to openly oppose me now. Taking advantage of their fear, I suggested they relocate to other territories, and with that, I’ve successfully reset their influence over their lands.

The problem is…

「The central patricians, led by Raymond…」

Tetra murmured.

The central patricians are technically on my side, and we share the goal of diminishing the regional patricians’ power. They want to strengthen the power of the Rosais Family, and their territories are small.

However, since they own lands around and within the royal demesne, their influence on the country’s politics is very strong.

Moreover, it was Raymond and his relatives who made me king. I’m in a position where I need to show them respect.

Raymond chose me as king because I lacked powerful relatives. The Aris Family are my relatives, but we’re not related by blood, and they don’t have that much loyalty towards me. I have at most thirty loyal retainers.

Thus, to run the country, I inevitably have to rely on the Rosais Family.

They supported me to ensure they wouldn’t be sidelined.

My abilities or lack thereof were irrelevant to them. If I were incompetent, they could simply make me a puppet.

Unlike Rigal, I can only count on the Rosais Family, so exerting control over me shouldn’t be difficult for them.

I want to maintain a good relationship with them. Most of our interests are aligned and we share the goal of diminishing the power of the regional patrician families and advancing centralization.

「By the way, are you serious about unifying the Adernian peninsula?」

「Yes, I’m serious. I’ve always thought unification would be the best for this region. But just thinking about it won’t make it happen.」

The reason for the constant conflicts in the Adernian peninsula is its lack of unification under a single power. Once unified and a national framework is established, it will be much harder for it to fragment again.

「Where will you attack first?」

「That depends on the situation. First, it’s necessary to start by strengthening the national power.」

The foundation is crucial in everything. A building without a proper foundation is prone to leaning.

「Ah, hold on a moment…」

I embraced Julia, stroking her lavender-colored hair and gently tracing my tongue along her neck.

「We need to decide on who is going to be my successor.」

The issue of royal succession.

This is a major problem that plagues monarchies. I’ve seen other countries struggle with this issue several times, and I know of many historical examples.

Appointing a crown prince soon can stabilize the situation, but if he becomes complacent in his position, he might turn into a tyrant. On the other hand, not having a clear successor can lead to turmoil.

If the king dies without naming a successor, chaos is likely to ensue. Even if a successor is named at the last moment, there’s a risk that a vassal who hears the will might lie or challenge its authenticity, inciting a civil war for another prince to seize the throne.

「Almus… the crown prince should be Julia’s child. That would cause less turmoil.」

「Is that so… Thank you.」

As thanks, I licked her ear, making Tetra tremble. I traced my fingers along her white back and asked.

「Would it be better to appoint the crown prince from the start, even with the risk of him falling into decadence or becoming a tyrant?」

「Mm… Every system has its flaws. I think that’s the next best option. We need to create a system that can keep running the country even when the king is unsuitable.」

Right… that’s the ideal. The bureaucratic system I’m trying to create is perfect in that regard…

However, finding a bureaucrat who doesn’t become corrupt is like finding cheese that doesn’t spoil.

Well, there’s a saying that meat is tastier when it’s a bit rotten. We need to establish a surveillance system for bureaucrats as well.

That’s an issue to consider in the future. Currently, there are too few bureaucrats to be concerned about corruption.

「How are you planning to handle domestic affairs, Almus? You mentioned weakening the patrician families’ power, but how exactly?」

Julia pressed herself against me and asked. Her chest pressed against my chest plate.

「Well… I want to be able to collect taxes directly from all lands, including the private lands of the patricians. And then, I guess giving the plebeians some sort of political power…」

「To the plebeians?」

Tetra looked puzzled.

「Yes, to serve as a counterbalance to the patricians. It will happen naturally with the spread of the four-field system and the monetary economy. They will also receive even more influence from the Kirisians and their democratic beliefs.」

「Then, in the future, won’t they inevitably demand the right to participate in governance?」

「Probably yes…」

As they become wealthier, their interest in politics will naturally grow. But it’s an unavoidable issue if I’m to unify the Adernian peninsula.

If we keep conscripting the plebeians, their influence will naturally increase since the heavy infantry, the core of the army, is made of plebeians. As the territory expands, so will the number of plebeian landowners, and as slaves become more numerous and cheaper, most plebeians will be able to afford them.

Trying to prevent this could turn their dissatisfaction towards me. As the monetary economy expands, so will the spread of Kirisian democratic ideas.

If I deepen relations with the Kirisians and strive to modernize the country, democracy will likely spread among the plebeians across the nation sooner or later.

Should I then ostracize the Kirisians? Doing so could hinder the unification of the Adernian peninsula or even render it impossible.

The only option is to accept it, perhaps even embrace and utilize it proactively.

However, this is a concern for the future, not something to be debated now. When the time comes, I can sit down and think it through thoroughly. I have no intention of ending the monarchy. I want to pass on what I’ve built to my children.

Moreover, democracy requires an educated populace. On the Adernian peninsula, where the majority can’t even write, democracy is impossible.

The reason why Kirisians have been able to implement democracy is due to their division into city-states. Because each administrative unit is small, they can manage politics democratically. In the northern part of the Adernian peninsula, beyond King Rosais’ Country, all city-states have disappeared and only territorial countries and kingdoms remain.

Even the Kirisians, with their advanced civilization, have faced the pitfalls of mob rule and tyranny.

The bureaucratic system I envision for a unified Adernian peninsula doesn’t necessarily align with democracy.

In the end, all ancient democratic states in history have collapsed and transitioned to monarchies. In ancient and medieval times, when ideology and technology were underdeveloped and religion was powerful, monarchy was the most suitable system.

Still, someone once said, ‘Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the others that have been tried.’1 Once an idea starts to spread, it’s difficult to censor it. I need to find a balance and keep this in mind for the future.

「You are thinking of something difficult again, eat this!」

After being splashed by Julia, I was jolted back to reality.

It seems I got lost in thought.

「Ah, sorry, we have been bathing for a long time. It’s about time we got out, shall we?」

「Mm, let’s do that.」

We got out of the hot spring.

We should come back here soon.

1TN: The one who said this was Winston Churchill.