Yuri Empire

That night, for the first time, Yuri took a break from broadcasting.

Well, to be precise, she did broadcast to the people of the three countries, the Yuri Empire, the Holy Land of Nimun, and the Principality of Selsia, as usual. The content of the broadcast was a performance of musical instruments and dances by the children of the <Blue Rose>, and Yuri herself did not appear at the broadcast.

This was the first time since the beginning that Yuri herself did not appear in the regular evening broadcast.

The reason for this was that they were discussing the matter of the surrender of the kingdom in the palace.

In the end, Meteora, the captain of <Kikyou>, had to be summoned, and the meeting was attended by Yuri and all twelve of the captains of the Yuri Empire.

Yuri did not want to increase the number of controlled cities too quickly.

If you overextend the area of control at once, there will inevitably be cities that you can’t reach.

This is why Yuri is cautious about over-expanding the number of cities they control. Yuri never wants to have a city that is under her control, but because she can’t see it, unwanted misfortune is inflicted on the people.

Furthermore, Yuri has no intention of leaving the autonomy of her city to others.

The reason is simple: Yuri is not good at leaving things to others.

As long as she controls a city, she believes that he should be responsible for managing it. Conversely, Yuri believes that if it’s beyond his control, she shouldn’t control the city in the first place.

That’s why Yuri was troubled by this ‘total surrender’ of the kingdom.

The reason why the administration of the Yuri Empire has been so successful so far is that the number of cities it controls is limited.

There were two cities and four villages. No, there are now three cities and six villages.

With such a large number, Yuri’s eyes could still see well enough. If any of the people were unhappy, she would be able to notice it and take immediate measures to deal with it.

―――It’s not unusual to suddenly have 12 more cities to manage and over 50 more villages.

It was obvious, without even thinking about it, that Yuri’s hands were not large enough to manage such a large area without shortages.

(…… I wonder if we can’t just leave them there without accepting their surrender.)

This is why Yuri is thinking about such terrible things inwardly.

The cities and villages of the kingdom are occupied by skeleton soldiers. And since the skeletal soldiers are ordered to attack not only ‘armed opponents’ but also ‘demons’, the safety of the kingdom’s cities and villages should be ensured even without the control of the Yuri Empire.

Of course, if other countries take advantage of the collapse of the kingdom and try to invade, the skeleton soldiers will be useful in defending against them. ―――However, skeletal soldiers are not very clever demons, so there is a possibility that they will be annihilated by the enemy army.

“If you don’t mind, we, <Red Rose>, would like to manage the cities and villages of the kingdom.”

In contrast to Yuri’s dislike of domination at the meeting, Primula, the captain of <Red Roses>, proposed this with a happy expression on her face.

I mean, from what I’ve been hearing from each of them, it seems that everyone except Yuri is very positive about the idea of taking control of the kingdom.

―――If that’s what everyone wants, then that’s what Yuri wants as well.

As soon as she realized everyone’s intentions, the option of not accepting Roselotte’s offer of ‘total surrender’ immediately disappeared from Yuri’s mind.

It is not a bad idea to entrust the <Red Rose> with the management of the cities and villages of the kingdom. Even now, the children of the <Red Rose> are responsible for a significant portion of the management of Yuritania’s cities in the Yuri Empire.

The clever brains of these girls can only be demonstrated to the fullest when they are in charge of administration. If left to the children of <Red Rose>, they will be able to properly manage the cities and villages of the kingdom’s territory.

However―――there is one thing that worries me, that the children of the Red Rose have the same tendency to be [Extreme Evil] as Yuri.

The term [Extreme Evil] does not mean [Evil], as it refers to the tendency to put one’s own will first without being bound by the order. However, the <Red Rose> children’s top priority is none other than the interests of their master, Yuri.

Leaving the city to the <Red Rose> means that the city will not be run for the people, but Yuri’s benefit.

She was worried that this would affect the city in a bad way.

“Primula. I don’t doubt in the slightest that the <Red Rose> is on my side.”

“Yes. Thank you, Princess.”

“But―――I’m sorry, but there is a part of me that doesn’t trust the <Red Rose> to be on the side of the people. Would it offend you if I said so?”

“No, I don’t think you are wrong in your concern.”

When Yuri asked her, Primula answered immediately.

After all, it seems a bit risky to leave the entire city management to the children of <Red Rose>.

“Primula, as you suggested, I will entrust the management of the kingdom’s cities and villages to the <Red Rose>. However, when managing the city, always have someone from <Shirayuri> or <Water Lily> to accompany you, and make sure that everything is done after careful consultation.”

“I understand. If that is what the Princess wishes, I will not do anything to disappoint.”

“Hera, Sera, will you both cooperate with me in this matter?”

“Of course, Princess. I will see to it that the <Red Rose> does not treat her people with too much contempt.”

“As you wish, Yuri-sama.”

Hera, the captain of <Shirayuri>, and Sera, the captain of <Water Lily>, agreed to Yuri’s request.

Both of these two units are made up of children who have the tendency [Extreme Good], so having them oversee the operation of the city of <Red Rose> would be just right for balance.

“As a general rule, skeletal soldiers will be withdrawn from the territory of the kingdom. However, if there are cities or villages like Notoku where the existence of skeletal soldiers is accepted, we can leave them behind.

―――Does anyone have any opinions on the future operation of the skeleton soldiers?”

When Yuri asked this, Sakura, the captain of the <Sakuraka> raised her hand.

“Sakura, let me hear it.”

“Yes, Master. It’s a shame to leave them to rot, so why not send them all to the Volmician Empire? If it goes well, they might be able to bring down a city or two.”

“I’m going to have to reject that suggestion. I don’t want to add to the number of cities we have to manage.”

Yuri immediately denied Sakura’s words.

For the time being, Yuri doesn’t even want to think about further expansion of the country.

“I’ll tell you exactly what I know.

I’m not sure how much the kingdom’s army was involved in being defeated by demons as small as skeletal soldiers, or even in being driven to the brink of collapse, though I don’t know the specifics. I’ve noticed that all of the troops, except for the <Shirayuri> and <Water Lily>, have been doing some sort of manipulation against the kingdom.”

At Yuri’s words, more than half of the captains gathered there were shocked.

After all, they hadn’t even dreamed that Yuri had noticed them.

“Oh―――don’t get me wrong. I don’t want you to be puppets that just follow my orders to the letter. If people want to do something of their own volition, I’m not going to stop you from doing it. I believe it’s perfectly fine for you to act in secret from me, per se.

However, you need to understand this. For the time being―――at least for the next two years, further expansion of the country is not what I want. Of course, if you want to do it against my wishes, that’s fine with me.”

When Yuri said this, several of the children shook their heads strongly.

In the end, what they all wanted was for Yuri’s benefit. If Yuri herself declared that she didn’t want to expand the territory, then everyone else wouldn’t want it either.

Just as Yuri gives priority to everyone’s will, everyone will also give priority to Yuri’s will.

“For the time being, I will focus on the internal affairs of the cities and villages currently under my control. In particular, <Kikyou> children will have to work very hard, so please be prepared for that.”

“Yes, Sister! That’s what I want!”

Yuri’s words were met with a happy response from Meteora, the captain of <Kikyou>.

After all, the children of <Kikyou>, including their captain Meteora, love architecture.

“―――Well, that’s a bit off-topic. About the handling of the skeleton soldiers, does anyone have any opinions?”

“The skeletons are numerous and capable of destroying naturally occurring demons, so why not have them guard the trade routes that connect the cities?”

After a show of hands, it was Partita, the captain of <Nadeshiko>, who gave her opinion.

“It’s not a bad idea,” Yuri thought to herself. It’s easy to protect cities and villages by having the <Red Plum> deploy wards, but it’s not practical to cover all of the long, narrow trade routes with wards, of course.

However, if a large army of skeletal soldiers, tens of thousands in all, were deployed along the trade route, it would be possible to protect the entire route. With the increase in the number of land areas, there will be more places where extermination will not be able to reach, but with the skeletal soldiers in place, the threat of demons and bandits should be blocked.

If the trade routes are fully protected, there is no doubt that the traffic of merchants and passengers will be revitalized. This will contribute greatly to the prosperity of the entire country.

“That’s a good idea, I’ll take it. If I can get the word out, the merchants won’t be frightened by the sight of skeletal soldiers lining the trade routes… it may not completely disappear, but it should be okay.”

Imagining it in my head, it was a bit of a scary sight.

Well, it seems that many people in this world don’t have much of an aversion to skeleton soldiers, so maybe it’s not as bad as it seems.

“We’ll have to leave the deployment of skeletal soldiers along the trade routes to Raquel, who is a wielder of [Army of the Dead]. Cassia, could you please ask her to do that for me?”

When Yuri told her, Cassia, the captain of the <Kuroyuri>, looked a little troubled.

“It’s easy for you to say, but… It must be very difficult to tell that many skeletal soldiers where each one should be protected. I’m sure Raquel won’t mind if I tell her it’s Yuri’s request, but… I’m sure she will think it a bit of a hassle on the inside.”

“However, it is difficult to ask other children to do this… Say that if all the skeletons were successfully deployed, I would reward them with some pampering from me. Can you please tell Raquel that?”

“Yes, I understand. I’m sure Raquel will be happy to work with you then.”

In response to Yuri’s words, Cassia replied with a shrug of her shoulders.

As Casia said, deploying the skeletal soldiers would be a difficult task. I would like to reward Raquel by loving her to the fullest later.