Chapter 473

Since coming to the Edina Islands, Charlotte spent most of her time with Heriot instead of the Demon King. "If you're with me, the child won't be able to settle down. Just leave us alone." Embarrassed and apologetic even to meet face-to-face, Charlotte suggested that it would be better not to see each other for a while. Although it was a country of modest size compared to the Empire, there was a lot to take care of. Charlotte felt that she had to do what Reinhardt had asked her to do, even though she was suddenly put in charge of a country. She couldn't do it if she didn't have to, but Reinhardt trusted himself enough to entrust her with the task. So Charlotte spent her day listening to various stories from Heriot. The population of the Edina Islands, the distribution of the islands, the status of each island, the number of refugees arriving periodically at the main port of Lazak, the status of stored materials and their sources, Port Mocna, which could be called a forward base, and the fact that it was now scheduled to be moved. And the demons on the streets. Charlotte stared blankly at the sight of orcs and trolls wandering the streets of Lazak. For the first few days, she wore her robe inside out, but now she wore it without it. In the landscape where various demons were wandering around, Charlotte's appearance was not so strange. In fact, people paid more attention to Heriot, the secretary who accompanied her, than to Charlotte's appearance. "Isn't it amazing? Honestly, if you ask me if I'm used to it, I'm not." Heriot also looked at the landscape of people and demons mingling on the street. "Still, just the fact that this is possible has changed my thinking a lot." Heriot took Charlotte's hand and led her up a hill in Lazak. "See over there?" "Is that a farm?" "Yes." Something huge was cultivating the farmland, which should have looked smaller than a finger to a person, at a distance. Dozens of people's work were being done at an incredibly fast pace by a single ogre. "Originally, vampire wizards did it, but after the basic cultivation is done, ogres are the ones who need the strength for this kind of work. It helps, but... well... I think it's similar because they have to do the work of dozens of people and eat as much as dozens of people... It's amazing, isn't it?" "Yeah." "The reason this scale is maintained is that there is a faction of vampire wizards who are well-versed in plant-based alchemy and magic. Without them, the refugees might have starved to death a long time ago." Even the old farmer who gave orders for the ogre's cultivation work was bent over with age and had a hunched back. Heriot's words did not reveal whether this was efficient or not. They just survived. They tried to live together. Charlotte engraved that sight in her mind. "Honestly, the biggest problem in Edina is food. Since the Gate incident, Edina has grown too large. They are somehow self-sufficient with the help of demon wizards and other demons. But that's all thanks to the Demon King... So, it's all thanks to Reinhardt's power."

"...I see."

"That's why the Demon King's presence in Edina is absolute. The humans on the island fear the Demon King, and the demons follow him absolutely, so there is no conflict. If the Demon King were to disappear, the demons would not be able to accept living with humans, and the humans would only suffer more."

The Archdemon commands absolute obedience from the demons.

And the humans on the island fear the Demon King.

This coexistence seems perfect on the surface, but it would be impossible without the Demon King's presence.

"In Darkland, the Demon King's presence is closer to that of a god than a king. I heard that the demons used to fight and divide among themselves before the Archdemon appeared and ruled over them all."

"Yeah, I know that."

A being closer to a god than a king.

The Archdemon.

Charlotte listened to many stories from Heriot.

How many refugees have come to this island so far.

How did the demons make contact and enter the island.

How did they build buildings and cultivate the land with magic.

How did the Unified Sacred Sect come into being.

While she blamed herself for being trapped in the Spring Palace and everything being her fault.

She heard about what the Demon King did, not blaming or feeling guilty, but trying to do something.

"He really... did a lot..."

The Demon King saved countless people and created a landscape that seemed impossible.

Someone who didn't give up even after failing at everything, and tried to move forward.

Charlotte looked at it from the perspective of a loser.

Can I take responsibility for this shining achievement, even if I am a traitor and a loser?

"Charlotte, this is not about consideration."

Heriot looked at Charlotte with a serious expression.

"Reinhardt has a lot to do."

"...."

"Really, too much."

"....I guess so."

"Reinhardt brought you here because he needs you. It's not because he felt sorry for you."

Heriot wasn't angry.

"If you want to be someone Reinhardt needs as the ruler of Edina, then that's what you should be."

Charlotte looked up at Heriot.

"Do you want to be someone Reinhardt needs? Or do you want to be someone who keeps bothering the busy Reinhardt?"

Everyone here is someone Reinhardt needs.

Charlotte knows this from hearing many stories from Heriot.

Riana, Olivia, Ailey, and Heriot too. Translation:

Charlotte also came to Edina for an important mission. If she wants to live as a loser, she can live as a loser. However, she will become someone who constantly bothers Reinhardt. Heriot pats Charlotte's shoulder and says, "If you know, just do it. Don't think too complicatedly." "We were like that when we first came here." "If you think too much, you'll just stop in guilt." "Let's just take one step at a time." "Rather than thinking about how many people will die on the continent." "We built houses for people who lost their homes." "We rescued people who were fleeing from monsters by boat and brought them to this island." "Rather than grieving for how many people died and what we lost." "We need to feed the people who have nothing to eat right now, so we expanded the farmland." "If you think too much about the distant future or abstract things, you'll end up not being able to do anything." "Let's do it one by one." "Let's take one step at a time." "If we do that, time will pass and..." "Look." Heriot points to the world. "It's become like this before we knew it." "..." "We can't say we've done something perfectly, it's still very uncertain, but we can't say we haven't done anything." Charlotte looks at Heriot with wide eyes. The difference between someone who was constantly standing still and someone who took at least one step every day. She looks at the scenery that difference created. Do I have the qualifications? Is it okay to have the power to dictate this beauty? If I stand still, I'll just stand still. Before thinking about qualifications and rights. Take care of my weakened body, eat, take care of my health, and build up my strength as Reinhardt ordered. Learn more about Edina. Take that one step towards sitting on the throne and starting to handle the agenda. What reason is there not to take that one step? Heriot's persuasive words that seem to be above that. In the end, Charlotte gave up all her thoughts. There will be no rights or obligations. But Reinhardt has something for her to do. Then, she just has to do that. Take that one step. It is a sin to stand still and think about whether I have the qualifications to take that step. Seeing Heriot's warm smile, Charlotte grits her teeth. She felt like crying because of these people who were doing so much for her. But for two years, Charlotte cried a lot. She only cried. She didn't do anything else. That's why she stole the tears that boiled up deep in her heart with her sleeve without shedding them. With demon-like red eyes, her eyelids turned red. "I got it. Whatever it is... I'll try." However, the feeling of obligation to do something did not change. She was able to regain the sense of responsibility that she had to somehow accomplish it. * * * Heriot's persuasion was successful. He told her to focus on moving forward step by step instead of sinking into her thoughts and self-blame. He reminded her that Linehart was brought not because he was forgiven, but because he was needed, so she should respond to that need if she felt guilty. So Charlotte talked a lot with Heriot afterwards and tried to understand the situation in Edina by inspecting it. After understanding the situation in Edina to some extent, Charlotte came to one conclusion. "Um... Can I be honest?" "Uh, you should be honest." Charlotte's evaluation was harsh. "This is not a country." "...What?" Charlotte judged that the Edina Archipelago needed a large-scale physical improvement. "The biggest problem is that if there are no demons, the people of Edina will starve to death. Bringing refugees from the continent and providing them with land and houses where they can live for free is good, but basic food self-sufficiency cannot be achieved without the help of magic and demons." "I heard that magic users are involved in the cultivation of land, but there are limits to the available human resources. Maybe even now, the part where the workforce is most concentrated on this island is related to food resources. But if the scale continues to increase, at some point, the population that can be supported will exceed the threshold." "So this country is not a structure where surplus materials produced by the people are stored in the national treasury in the form of taxes and supplied when needed or used for national projects. Here, the national project is to produce food. The front and back are reversed. This is actually a charity organization rather than a government or a country. The purpose of this country is to support the population. Even that is a difficult situation." "Of course, it's not wrong to do such a thing. But if it continues like this, there is no long-term plan for when the population to be supported becomes too large to handle. Even cultivating land with magic is impossible during normal times, and supplying ocean resources as food is the same. We need to establish a long-term food self-sufficiency plan, a policy that can be self-sufficient in food even without this strange thing where magic users cultivate land." "The same goes for public safety. The size of the refugee residential area has already exceeded the size of the existing Lajark downtown area by several times, but the security measures for those areas are just guards patrolling at night to prevent it. But there must be a limit to the number of troops that can be maintained. So the crime rate in the refugee residential area is quite high." Food. Public safety. System. Policy. Management of areas outside the capital, etc. When Charlotte finished talking about the numerous problems in the Edina Archipelago, Reinhardt was left speechless. The country appears to be a nation, but in reality, it is a charity organization. It is a strange structure where all the power held by the national treasury and the king works only for the people, not under the pretext of taxes. This is the reality of Edina, which the Demon King built over two years. Charlotte looks at Reinhardt quietly and says that the only reason they have come this far is because of the exceptional abilities of the demons under him. Even though the situation is what it is, such highly skilled individuals should not be doing work like this. The only reason Edina is still standing is because of them. At present, the people of Edina are nothing more than soldiers and their families. The reality of Edina is that the country cannot survive without the Demon King.