Chapter 367: The Choice Depends on the Person Himself
「The royal city and this temple had been powerful and beautiful in the past — Father showed that to me through water scrying before, although it’s a pity that the place was already in this state when I first came here. 」
Our path was illuminated by the light that Hauron conjured. He narrated tales from the past while we descended the stairs of the well which led down to the underground temple. Retze poked me as I meekly listened to Hauron’s stories.
Butler was smiling mysteriously. Dinosso and the kids were probably too far and couldn’t hear Hauron; they were happily chattering and were all fired up at the end of our line.
「‘Tis an honor to set foot on this land! Not only that, what a marvelous privilege it is to reminisce about the grandeur of this kingdom and meet not only Grand Mage-dono, but the last king who supported this nation as well! 」
Chris couldn’t contain his excitement as he gestured with flourish.
「Hmph — more like “the king of desolation who brought the kingdom to ruins”. 」
Khan retorted curtly.
「King Tirdonai… It is said that the kingdom was already at the point where to it’s impossible to stop its destruction when you became the king. 」
「If we look at history, you’d see that if powerful kingdoms, particularly those with the King’s Bough, head towards destruction, there’s no stopping it. The avalanche caused by chains of events surrounding the human desires and black spirits would make it difficult to turn the tide. 」
Just as Retze said, if you study the reasons why nations with the King’s Bough perished, the majority fell to ruins because they expanded too much. The more people there are, the more varied their desires. The goals and desires would also change. It’d be difficult for every single citizen of the kingdom to keep the very first oath pledged to the King’s Bough.
The founding ideals would lose against the desires and reality of life. In addition, moreover, unlike the other nations, the folks of the kingdom would rest on the laurels of the blessings brought about by the Bough, no longer seeking improvement.
When the Bough starts to blacken because of the oaths that hadn’t been kept, the black spirits born from hearts of the people and their actions would stay within the towns. One of the countermeasures usually done would be putting up barriers that are similar to those used by temples of nations that didn’t have the King’s Bough. However, blackened King’s Boughs summon black spirits so it was apparently useless to do so.
I don’t like having too many things to consider, so I’m not gonna expand my domain — basically the island and the cultivated land on the Tarya Peninsula — more than what I have. Residents would also be kept at minimum, and immigration permits wouldn’t be permitted.
Ah, but the population would still increase whether I like it or not because of marriages and childbirth, so I’m worried about how to deal with that.
Grandparents, parents, and three kids — the number of people in a household would be limited to seven, with poll tax jumping up for the eight person and above. If the families wish to separate, then they’d be given more lenient terms compared to those given to foreigners who wish to migrate. As of now, we’re currently using Soleil’s proposal, though.
The cultivated land on Tarya Peninsula came with the residents as they were, so I don’t have any intention of installing a Spirit Bough there. Some of the folks wouldn’t follow the policies that I established, and I couldn’t just tell them suddenly to leave either. There’d be a lot to consider including the maintenance.
「Ooh, so this is how spirit lanterns look, huh. 」
「It’s broken, though. The lantern’s light was also magnificent. 」
The staircase ended while I was mulling, and we entered a corridor. We encountered dead-end gimmicks, but Hauron and Bayliss opened them up.
Retze interestedly peered at the things that I myself studied when I first came here.
「…What is a wooden box doing here? 」
Hauron dubiously stared at the wooden box under the spirit lamp that was relatively still intact.
Ahm, that’s the wooden box I stepped on to study the spirit lamp more closely. I forgot to put it away!
「… 」
Retze’s stare pricks! Please stop reading my behavior.
We arrived at the throne room.
Stone pillars, which were probably majestic before they crumbled to ruins, lined both sides of the room, and the lofty ceiling rose high above. The stone throne where Khan sat stood imposingly.
Sand flowed into the room from somewhere — ah, no, it’s flowing out. Seems like Bayliss is taking the sand out so that this place won’t get buried?
「I’ll go to the back, will be back in a minute. 」
Khan said before disappearing into the passageway with Bayliss in tow.
Maybe he’s praying for those who served with him in the place where the King’s Bough was enshrined. Khan isn’t the sentimental type of guy, but he sure is reverent.
「How about we have some tea, then? 」
I took several carpets out of【Storage】and laid them before preparing tea.
「Tea~ 」
「I wanna drink! 」
「I’m hungry! 」
The three kids were lively.
Cinnamon, clove, cardamom are best crushed just before using for that remarkable aroma. This is chai, an Indian spiced tea. Yup, we’re having chai — I’m not giving up on cinnamon!!
I added mildly sweetened banana cake for the hungry children.
「You totally don’t have any intention to hide, huh? 」
「Only among these guys. 」
I answered Hauron’s exasperated comment.
「This is sweet. 」
「Yeah, but it surprisingly goes well in this heat! 」
Dean and Chris drank the chai.
「… 」
Ash seemed to like the sweetness; she’s practically radiating happiness.
「The spices are fragrant. I wonder, what did you put in it? 」
Shiva was curious about the spice mix.
「It’s heavier than ordinary tea, huh. 」
That’s because of the milk, Dinosso.
「Anyway, there’s something you wanted to tell me since earlier, don’t you? 」
Hauron quipped the moment I let my guard down.
「Urk. 」
「Don’t look at me. 」
I turned to Retze for help, but he escaped! So mean!
「Hauron-dono. 」
Butler called out.
「Would you like to hear it clearly and collapse here, or do you prefer to be gradually encroa..be informed? 」
Butler asked calmly.
「Hey, wait a minute! You wanted to say “encroach” just now, didn’t you!? 」
NEXT CHAPTER
RELEASE RATE
I Got Transferred in the Middle of a Mountain
Speed up schedule by 10 hours
Current schedule: Every 80 hours
Thanks for the encroachment, or treat.