Demon King of the Royal Class-Chapter 456

It was the day after our occupation of the Edina Archipelago. I had thought that more than half of the retainers and soldiers would flee, but surprisingly, fewer than ten people rejected my offer and disappeared.

The kingdom had been seized by the Demon King. For the royal family of Edina, it meant loss. But for the retainers, soldiers, and citizens, it meant something different.

The weak royal family had been displaced, and an absolute being, the Demon King, had taken their place. Moreover, this was a nation of islands. Even if they tried to escape from me, there was nowhere to go.

Sailing across the vast sea to the main continent was something only seasoned captains and sailors could do. Therefore, while the common people feared the new Demon King, they hoped he wasn’t as terrifying as the rumors suggested, since remaining under his rule was the only choice they had.

Because of this, there were hardly any deserters among the royal retainers and the nation’s armed forces. But I was still curious about one thing: where did those who had disappeared go to?

I was sitting on the throne. In front of me, a trembling official from the royal administration began to read out various reports. Reports about houses being destroyed, and the number of people killed. Many survivors had lost their homes.

The official continued on to give information on the relief supplies within the castle. Honestly, none of it really registered with me.

I was bad with numbers, and when all this death was reduced to mere numbers, I was more confused than sad.

“Alright. Is it possible for us to provide sufficient relief supplies to the refugees?” I asked.

“If we start supplying relief immediately, we can manage, but we lack facilities to accommodate all the refugees. Fortunately, because the weather is still favorable this season, they won’t freeze to death... But it’s impossible to say if the large-scale repairs will be completed before winter comes,” the official replied.

This meeting was being held with both retainers and soldiers of the Edinan Kingdom and my own people present.

Harriet and Airi stood flanking me, and Eleris was behind me. Galarsh and Lruien were absent. Riana had excused herself, saying she was too foolish to understand state affairs, while Olivia, despite claiming she disliked helping people, had gone to Rajak City to treat the injured because I had asked her to.

“How many refugees are there?” I inquired.

“Approximately eight thousand,” the official reported.

Eight thousand. Eight thousand people had lost their homes entirely. However, the official also reported that those who needed help numbered over forty thousand, five times that amount. That itself seemed like a large number, but if we had been even a little later, the eight thousand who had lost their homes could have become forty thousand.

“We’ll need to set up a large refugee camp on the outskirts of the city...” I suggested.

The expressions of all the retainers turned grim. They knew it was necessary, but it was by no means an easy task.

Just thinking about feeding and housing eight thousand people was daunting. Even if we used all the royal assets to feed them, there would eventually be a limit.

Whether they believed it or not, intercontinental trade was impossible. Therefore, importing materials and food was out of the question.

And then there was the period of reconstruction. If we couldn’t provide warm shelter for the refugees before winter, they would all freeze to death.

Food and shelter. These basic needs were a problem for each individual, but on such a massive scale, it was truly a headache.

“Eleris, how is that magic for building houses coming along?” I asked.

“It needs a bit more refinement in the details, but... I think I can draft a prototype within two days,” Eleris replied.

The others in the room seemed awestruck by my exchange with Eleris. A form of magic used to build houses... Mages, to begin with, were an extremely rare resource.

In the Temple, there were so many aspiring mages that they seemed to be everywhere. However, on the islands far to the south of the continent, mages were exceedingly rare, and even if they existed, they were of a rather average level, so solving everything with magic was not feasible.

The Temple was a place where all the best talents from across the continent were gathered, so opportunities and resources seemed abundant. However, just as the person who was either the knight commander or the captain of the guard in the Edenian royal palace had been subdued with a single swing of my sword, it was likely that the Edenia Archipelago did not have people of strong magical ability either.

“Even if you want to build houses, you’re going to need materials. How will you manage that?” I asked.

“There are plenty of trees. We can cut them down and use them, and even if there aren’t enough, we can use magic that interferes with nature to supply timber, so you don’t need to worry about that part,” Eleris replied.

“And manpower?” I inquired.

“I think I can handle it alone,” Eleris said.

The retainers’ expressions grew more and more bizarre at the mage’s statement that she could build temporary housing for all eight thousand refugees by herself.

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The problems that troubled these royal retainers were being solved by a single mage.

I had three Vampire Lords at my disposal, and all of them had already reached the level of archmages. And Harriet, who could use magic beyond their imagination, stood to my right.

Magic could provide answers to most problems. The important thing was that very few people experienced the benefits of magic, and being graced with the works of archmages capable of such feats was even rarer.

The people of the archipelago would realize within a week that my rule was a blessing.

I laughed at the bewildered retainers. “Why are you all so surprised? I am the Demon King.”

My rule had begun with fear, but I had no intention of deliberately fostering fear. There was no reason to.

“Whatever you imagine, you’ll soon see much more than that.”

***

I had decided to do what I could. Of course, that didn’t mean I had grand goals like creating a fair and perfect state for the citizens.

I would build a nation that operated the way I wanted, where I could do what I wanted. Ultimately, I hoped for the peace and well-being of the people, but the fact that I was a dictator would never change.

If necessary, I would conscript soldiers, seize citizens’ property, and force them to act according to my orders if needed.

My primary action had been the occupation of the Edina Archipelago.

The issue with the gates had been resolved early on, but there were urgent problems within the four damaged port cities that had to be prioritized. The next phase would proceed simultaneously.

I had chosen the Edina Archipelago as my base because, once the four small gates had been suppressed, it would remain free from the monsters from the Gate Incident that was plaguing the main continent.

On the continent, numerous cities would be destroyed, people would die, and many lands would become uninhabited areas crawling with monsters.

The many villages and cities without gates would slowly become affected as the monsters from the gates spread. Protecting those places would be difficult. Monsters would continue to attack, and although my forces would soon grow, they were still limited.

Therefore, my secondary goal was to rescue people from the continent and relocate them to the Edina Archipelago. Cities and villages that might fall to monsters that could attack at any time had to be evacuated, and survivors who had escaped the monsters needed to be rescued and relocated to the Edina Archipelago, which was free from the horrors of the Gate Incident.

Since the warp gate system could not be used the people had to be moved via traditional means.

I summoned the fleet owners of the largest fleets remaining in the Edina Archipelago. The fleet owners, upon seeing that the throne of the Edina Archipelago now belonged to the Demon King, naturally reacted with shock.

“As the ruler of the Edina Archipelago and the King of the Demon Realm, I hereby requisition all your ships, captains, and crews,” I declared.

It would be a mistake to think I would only be a benevolent ruler.

I would take what was necessary.

“If you have any objections, speak now.”

I was not an ordinary king, but a horned demon. An Archdemon.

I would use the fear that stemmed from my name as much as I could. They would imagine that refusing my orders might lead to a fate worse than death.

That imagination, too, would aid in my rule.

Naturally, all of them were too terrified to object, trembling in fear.

“First, organize three fleets of ships. The purpose of each fleet is to accommodate refugees from the three other damaged port cities and relocate them here, to Rajak,” I said.

The fleet owners, fearing they might be devoured alive, turned pale, but the retainers nodded in agreement when I said it was to accommodate the refugees.

“Finally, organize another large fleet, the largest one, and send it to the continent.”

The retainers seemed confused by my mention of heading to the continent, which was already a living hell.

“Soon, my army will be ready to cross the ocean and come here. That fleet will be tasked with periodically transporting refugees from the continent and parts of my army over.”

At the moment, Galarsh was at the base in the Gelkorgis Desert, gathering the demon god cultists.

I couldn’t teleport them all over using mass teleportation. Therefore, I would organize a large fleet to relocate them to the Edina Archipelago where I could control them.

Fortunately, not all of the numerous islands of the Edina Archipelago were currently inhabited, so the archipelago wouldn’t be overwhelmed by the new arrivals. There was plenty of land available. It was just a matter of making it habitable through reclamation and development.

The Edina Archipelago would become a refuge for people. A place where people could escape from the disaster ravaging the continent and live without fear of the monsters.

“In the long-term, we will also expand and develop the uninhabited islands of the Edina Archipelago to make them habitable,” I stated, laying out my plan.

Whether this small island nation in the south could be transformed from a temporary refugee camp into a great nation was uncertain. But I hoped that this island region, far from the continent, could become a refuge for people to escape danger. I desired that, and I would make it happen.

That wasn’t all.

The remaining demons on the outskirts of the Dark Land... They might not be directly affected by the Gate Incident yet, but they might be in the long run. I would also need to work on subjugating them and incorporating them into my forces.

And the ports on the continent that connected to the Edina Archipelago... The Gate Incident would surely have manifested in those ports as well, so measures needed to be taken to secure them.

I had to organize an army to conduct preliminary operations to eliminate the monsters that were roving the continent and turn the continental ports into forward bases.

There was much to be done. Too much. Far too much.

***

In the middle of a ruined city...

Thud... Thud...

Ellen Artorius drew her sword out from the pile of corpses. Standing on a mountain of flesh made from the intertwined bodies of humans and monsters, Ellen ended the last monster’s life and slowly stood up.

From atop the mountain of corpses, Ellen surveyed her surroundings. Amidst the buildings that had been reduced to ashes by fire, the imperial army was just finishing the battle.

Descending the mountain of corpses, Ellen sheathed Lament and adjusted the collar of her cloak. The soldiers watching Ellen descend looked at her with eyes filled with awe, respect, admiration, and fear.

She had entered the ruined city alone as the vanguard, slaughtered the dangerous monsters by herself, and then fought together with the main force.

It was no exaggeration to say that she had practically conducted the monster extermination operation in this city alone.

“Are you... alright, Hero?” one of the soldiers asked.

Ellen nodded with a cold and indifferent demeanor that seemed impenetrable. “Yes.”

Someone else approached Ellen from a distance away.

“Are you okay? Shouldn’t you get some rest? You’ve been going without sleep for days now,” said Heinrich von Schwartz, Ellen’s classmate.

Ellen shook her head, dismissing her classmate’s concern. “I’m fine.”

Now that the battle was over, Heinrich, who had the power of Pyrokinesis, would begin the task of incinerating the corpses. He told Ellen to get some sleep when she could and headed off.

Given the dire situation facing the empire, where every person was precious, all combat-capable students from the Temple were being deployed across the continent for monster extermination operations.

Many soldiers, knights, and students had died. Humanity was paying a harsh price for not trusting the Demon King.

Two years had passed since the triggering of the Gate Incident, and humanity had not yet reclaimed all their lands.

Ellen’s eyes were empty. They had seen too much death, and had become accustomed to the deaths of monsters and allies alike.

In that state, Ellen watched refugees packing their belongings and moving under the guidance of soldiers at the edge of the burning city.

“Were there... survivors?” Ellen asked.

The soldiers tilted their heads. In this city, long since devoured by monsters, it seemed impossible for any survivors to have lasted so long.

“They’re not survivors, but refugees. They were discovered on the outskirts of the city,” a soldier explained.

“Oh...”

“They were saying some strange things.”

“... Strange things?” Ellen asked.

“Yes,” the soldier said, looking slightly confused. “They said that there’s a paradise to be found if you go south... so they were heading south.”

Paradise...

Ellen looked around at the burning streets and the mountains of corpses.

Soldiers and knights had become so accustomed to these bodies that they no longer even gagged at the sight of death, which was everywhere.

Hell had overtaken the present world, and people had become residents of this hell, and were familiar with its horrors.

How could there be a paradise in this hell?

She had destroyed what might have been a paradise in this world.

Where in this world could one find paradise and rest?

With despair enveloping the world, people had begun to believe in strange things. They thought there might be hope somewhere.

Ellen was one of those responsible for this hell. Therefore, she could not rest.

Instead of believing in a non-existent paradise, her only role was to gradually erase hell from the world.

With that thought, Ellen set off to find her next mission.