Yuri Empire

―――Today is the 36th day of the winter month.

The second half of the month passed by in a hurry. Perhaps because there were two major events this winter, the latter half of the month was quite hectic. But now that the end of winter is in sight, I feel like I’ve finally calmed down a bit.

I think we have a good relationship with the Duchy of Selsia, which has become our vassal state.

All the cities in the Principality are equipped with [Transfer Gates], so the people of the Principality can freely visit the “Lost City of Ulysses”. Thanks to this, it has become possible for the people of the Yuri Empire and the Principality to interact directly with each other, and the city of Ulysses is becoming quite an interesting place where multiple cultures mix.

One example of this is the increase in the number of food stalls in the city that serve ‘Selsia Cuisine’.

In many cases, the signs on such stalls clearly state whether the food is ‘Selsia Cuisine’ prepared by the cooks of the Yuri Empire or the Principality.

The latter, which is the authentic taste, is of course very popular among the people of the Yuri Empire. In this world, many people spend their entire lives without ever leaving the land of their birth, so there is a strong attraction to dishes that are unknown to them.

And the former―――surprisingly, popular with the people of the Principality.

For the people of the Principality, the ‘Selsia Cuisine’ prepared by the cooks of the Yuri Empire is something that ‘tastes familiar but unfamiliar’, but it is also something that ‘tastes very good’.

It was quite an interesting story, though. Unfortunately, Yuri could not tell the difference between the former and the latter when she tried them.

It was tasty, but… in the end, Yuri felt that both tasted like ‘exotic cuisine’.

Incidentally, it seems that the store that sells slaves has disappeared from the capital of the principality.

It seems that they simply couldn’t make ends meet and went out of business. Well, it’s only natural that every time a new slave arrives, Yuri kidnaps it with [Transfer Magic].

If the goods that come in are disappearing over and over again, there is no way that business can be established.

Of course, the slaves that were kidnapped were welcomed as citizens of the Yuri Empire.

As for the mining city of Dakart, which was ceded from the Principality, there was no particular movement as a new city was still under construction.

Although the mines are still closed, there are no complaints from the city’s inhabitants, as they are all paid enough money to live on.

Rather, it seems that many of the residents of Dakart are using the [Transfer Gate] to visit Ulysses and earn additional income by being active explorers.

The sight of these muscular miners slaying demons with all their might was well received by those who watched the exploration via the broadcast.

In particular, the sight of the dwarves living in Dakart fighting with their huge axes, which are much bigger than they are, is very popular.

It is said that the dwarves are even a bit ‘hated’ in the city of Dakart due to the known stench of their excrement. In the city of Ulysses, they are treated as very popular people, and they seem to be the most confused by this fact.

It seems that strangers often offer to buy you a drink at the tavern, and some of the dwarves are so pleased that they have decided to move to Ulysses as soon as possible.

The population of Ulysses is still very small, so Yuri would welcome any newcomers.

Surprisingly, we have been able to administer the land of the former Eldard Kingdom that we started to control without receiving any opposition from the residents.

It may have been a good thing that we followed Sofia’s recommendation and first put up [Barrier Ward] and [Temperature Control Ward] in all of the cities and villages in the former kingdom’s territory, and then announced the effects of the warding on the air.

In the end, the most important thing that the people of this world want from their country is to be prepared for demons.

To put it another way―――as long as they can do that without fail. It may not matter to the people whether the ruler is the Kingdom of Eldard or the Yuri Empire.

Of course, each city in the kingdom has its own [Transfer Gate].

However, since there is no shortage of food like in the Duchy of Selsia, it is necessary to register oneself as an explorer at the branch of the Explorers Guild that has been built near each [Transfer Gate].

It seems that many citizens don’t want to become explorers but have already registered anyway. ―――I guess that many people were interested in the city of Ulysses after watching the broadcast and wanted to visit it.

The civil servants and noble ladies of the kingdom will be accepted in the Yuri Empire.

The civil servants of the royal castle, both men and women, will be employed as civil servants in the Yuri Empire only if they wish to do so.

They will not be punished in any way but instead will be treated as ‘low-ranking civil servants’ from now on, with basically no career opportunities.

On the other hand, the noblewoman was given a choice.

In exchange for a two-week punishment, she could be hired as a ‘high-ranking civil servant’ in the Yuri Empire. Or, they could choose not to be punished, but to be employed as ‘low-ranking civil servants’ with no way of advancement like the other civil servants.

As a result―――all of the noblewomen wanted to take the path of punishment.

As a result, the noblewomen are currently imprisoned in the basement of Yuritania and are in the middle of being punished, or rather trained, by the children of the <Kuroyuri>.

The early birds should be released in the next couple of days. By the time they come out, their loyalty to the Yuri Empire will probably have been engraved into them through their training.

If the girl is already trained, there is little risk of her getting involved in vices for her benefit, so she can be easily selected for an executive position.

I’d like to leave all the political work, such as city management in the former kingdom’s territory, to the trained noblewomen, and keep the hands of everyone in the Yuri Empire to a minimum.

*

“―――Nothing in the world is ever the same.”

After reading the letter that arrived this morning from Duke Cadain Theodore, the monarch of the principality, Yuri muttered to no one in her office.

If the fact that the sovereign was murdered and that the country became a vassal state of the Yuri Empire spread, it would weaken the duchy. I was thinking that the Volmician Empire, which judged that the Principality was weakening, would take advantage of the fact that they bordered each other to put pressure on the Principality.

It seems that my fears were unfounded. According to the letter from Duke Theodore, the Duchy is not receiving any interference from the Volmician Empire at the moment.

If I’m being honest… I was a little disappointed.

If the Volmician Empire does anything to us. As the sovereign state of the Principality of Selsia, Yuri was planning to do everything in her power to buy the quarrel that was being waged against the vassal state.

Just like in the past. She was even willing to ‘rain meteorites’ on the Volmician Empire.

―――Today is the 36th day of the winter month.

Today, exactly two and a half months have passed since ‘Summer Moon 16th’, when Yuri easily annihilated the kingdom’s army of 60,000 troops.

In this world, a month is 40 days, which means that 100 days have already passed.

This means that once you use it, you will not be able to use it again for the next 100 days, which is an extremely powerful [Ultimate Skill].

This means that Yuri’s [Star Fall・Meteor Strike] can now be used again.

Of course, Raquel’s [Army of the Dead] should be able to be used as well. To be honest, if the Volmician Empire were to come now, it would be a great opportunity to replenish the resources of the meteorite while destroying the enemy army and procuring new skeleton soldiers.

It seems that things are not going so well after all.