We returned to Alka after finishing a meal with His Majesty Gumnos in Centro, the central capital of Valentia. First, we informed Fiana and the others about Rorie Village.
Even though it was our hometown, Fiana was ostracized after she became an indentured slave, and Fiana and Reina grew up being treated poorly. Therefore, we had a responsibility to tell them what had become of Rorie Village.
“Is that so?”
“Hmm.”
However, when we told them, Fiana and Reina gave nonchalant answers.
“I’m worried about my friends, but other than that, I don’t particularly care.”
Even Fiana only seemed slightly concerned about the children she used to be friends with, and didn’t seem to feel anything in particular about the disappearance of Rorie Village.
“More importantly, aren’t we going to Amagi Castle again tomorrow?”
For Fiana, Rorie Village truly seemed to be a thing of the past.
Rorie Village had done enough, and we ourselves had our lives threatened, so I could understand her feelings though.
“Yes. We need to decide on the names and royal titles for the five countries in the Valentia region and the eight countries in the Libertà region that are scheduled for independence.”
“It’s a difficult task. I thought they could just decide their own country names and claim to be kings, but that’s not going to work, is it?”
“It seems so. They want to make it so that the country names and royal titles are granted by the Celestial Emperor to clarify the lord-vassal relationship.”
Mana looked like she didn’t want to go, but I felt the exact same way.
However, given the circumstances, we couldn’t afford not to go. As Ed said, if they were allowed to arbitrarily name their countries, it would cause problems, and Amister needs to think about it.
His Majesty Reinhardt wanted them to name themselves freely, but he was stopped by the representatives of each country.
“It’s a troublesome matter. But I don’t think we need to go along with it, do we?”
“We’re being dragged along. We don’t want to go either.”
“There goes your true feelings.”
I inadvertently let my true feelings slip out to Marina, who let out a voice that sounded truly troublesome.
“Besides, isn’t it asking too much for us to come up with country and king names?”
“Right. Well, we can use the excuse of being guards, so let’s use that to escape.”
“Agreed.”
The ones who suggested such a cowardly plan were Lucas and Lyra, who had started living in the副殿 Shiragasa of Hinomoto Mansion since last night.
They weren’t married yet, but both had been promoted to A-rank Order, allowing them to use their family names. They decided to do so upon getting married.
“Who would approve of such a thing? And do you really think we need guards?”
“Not at all. But that doesn’t mean we don’t need guards, does it?”
“His Majesty has also evolved into an Ancient Class, but he will always have guards.”
I had intended to force them to participate, but they countered with impeccable logic.
Indeed, His Majesty had evolved into an Ancient Elf, but he would always be accompanied by Royal Order as guards.
His Majesty was stronger, and not only could he withstand minor attacks but also poison, but it would be problematic for the king of a country to be seen out and about without guards.
This was except when engaging in Hunter activities, of course.
“Even so, that doesn’t give you a reason not to participate!”
“We will absolutely make you participate!”
“Spare me!”
Prim and Ludia were also determined to make sure the two of them participated.
Keep pushing them like that.
“By the way, Lucas and Lyra, you’re living in Feel, aren’t you?”
“That’s right.”
Mako hadn’t interacted much with these two, but they had become friends during the march.
However, she didn’t know where they lived?
“My family are Traders, and my sister married into the Silver Ore Inn, so we’re doing reasonably well.”
“My family are Crafters, and we’re doing alright too. Apparently, we aren’t ranking up quickly, but we were satisfied because Yamato and the others were hunting a lot of Monsters.”
Lucas’s family manages a farm in Feel.
He is a colleague of Sub-Order’s Master Iris and Butler’s Master Orkis’s husband, but they manage different fields.
Lyra’s family used to run a clothing store, and we had patronized it many times.
While her skills as a seamstress were undeniable, she had not evolved into a High Class, and due to mana issues, she was still operating as a G-rank Crafter.
Lyra’s father runs the clothing store, and he had even registered as a Trader for that purpose.
“G-rank is first-class, isn’t it? And we often use Lyra’s family’s shop too!”
“Yes, I know. My father was happy about that.”
We usually bought our everyday clothes and underwear at Lyra’s family store.
Feel wasn’t a very large town, with only about three clothing stores, but they also dealt in armor, so many Hunters patronized the shop.
Behind the store, there was a workshop used by Lyra’s mother and others. They not only procured goods from the Crafter’s Guild and Trader’s Guild but also tailored and sold their own clothes, making it a popular establishment.
“And yet Lyra became an Order, participated in the war, and not only became a High Harpy but also received the title of Jade Knight and became an A-rank Order. I don’t know if she’s being filial or not.”
“Shut up. It’s all Yamato’s fault.”
“Why is it my fault?”
I intended it as praise, but Lyra didn’t seem to feel that way.
However, I wanted to know why it was my fault.
“Well, that’s only natural. We were able to evolve into High Class thanks to your training, weren’t we? As for the war, while I did volunteer, we often acted together with you as the Feel branch Order.”
“The title of Jade Knight was also created by His Majesty and the Grand Order’s Master because Yamato leveled up the Orders and Hunters so much, driving them to think of new titles?”
There’s a lot I want to say, but is it generally correct?
No, rather than me, shouldn’t it be called Wing Crest?
“You’re the leader of that Wing Crest, aren’t you?”
So it’s my fault, are you kidding me?
“I understand how you feel, but…”
“Right?”
As I was thinking this venomously, Lydia and Ludia agreed, and everyone else also nodded their heads vigorously.
Am I alone in this?
Damn it, I’ll definitely drag Lucas and Lyra into it tomorrow.
Side Mana
The next morning, we all headed to Amagi Castle.
My brother asked me to help him come up with country names and royal titles for the five countries about to be established in the Valentia region and the eight countries in the Libertà region. However, I wished he had figured it out himself without asking us.
“I apologize. There were many pleas asking us to decide by the next International conference. Considering my coronation is in April, the timing of the next International conference is optimal, so I understand their pleas. However, it’s not easy to come up with thirteen new country names and royal titles. Therefore, I need as many opinions as possible.”
The next International conference means less than two weeks away.
The next one after that is undecided, but considering His Majesty’s coronation is in mid-April, there’s only about a month from when the country names are decided to their establishment, so there isn’t enough preparation time.
Amister hasn’t changed much, but the other countries will undergo significant changes, so they would prioritize that over taking the time to think of country names.
“I see. In that case, I can’t help but agree.”
“Indeed.”
I understood the situation, but it wasn’t going to be easy.
“For the Libertà region, I think using the names of the bridgehead cities as country names would be good, but the five countries in the Valentia region are tricky.”
“Yes. If the ducal territories were to become independent individually, they could use their former country names. However, the only ducal territories becoming independent this time are Ovest in the west and Rodpeace in the north. The south will be ruled by His Majesty Gumnos’s Basilus Family, and the remaining central area will be governed by two ducal families. Therefore, we can’t use the names of the capitals as country names. This is especially true since Trial will be abandoned and Freihait has already decided to change its name.”
“No, it’s difficult to use the names of bridgehead cities as country names for the Libertà region as well, given that some bridgehead cities will be abandoned.”
“Ah, that’s right. More than half of the bridgehead cities will be abandoned, won’t they?”
That’s right.
The abandoned bridgehead cities will have their bridges dismantled, but since each bridgehead city governs surrounding small towns and villages, the borders are still only tentatively decided.
The representatives governing these cities will have to govern territories more than twice the size of their current ones. Therefore, although there are currently eight countries, there are plans to increase the number by two or three in the future.
All the bridgehead cities are located over the Grand River, a massive river. From a transportation perspective, bridges are essential, and having cities on them is advantageous for trade.
“So, including potential candidates, we have to come up with nearly twenty country names?”
“I’m sorry, but I’m asking for your help.”
The country names we suggest may not be adopted as they are, but it’s not a simple task even for Amister, so there’s a high possibility that some of our suggestions will be adopted.
We need to think carefully, and the responsibility is immense.
“Personally, I believe that the royal titles for both the Valentia and Libertà regions should be unified. Ideally, it would be in a form that evokes memories of former kingdoms.”
She’s making another difficult request.
While I agree that it would be better, it’s not easy to come up with a unified royal title, let alone country names.
“How about keeping Lichtenfels as Grand Duchy? There are also Grand Duchies on Earth.”
“Ah, like Luxembourg, wasn’t it?”
“That’s right.”
Actually, before the Libertarian Federation was established, the country was called the Grand Duchy of Lichtenfels.
The royal families of other countries disappeared, but it seems only Lichtenfels was ruled by a Grand Duke. Since they contributed greatly to the establishment of the Libertarian Federation, they remained as a diplomatic family.
“That’s true. Moreover, Lichtenfels provided information and dispatched troops to other bridgehead cities during the previous war. Considering that, it’s reasonable to have some differences compared to other bridgehead city-states.”
It seems fitting for Lichtenfels, not only for their contributions in the war but also for the revival of the former Grand Duchy.
The problem is that the bridgehead city immediately to the west of Lichtenfels will be incorporated into the Lichtenfels territory, making it difficult to use the name “Grand Duchy of Lichtenfels” as a country name.
“Isn’t it fine to just use the capital city’s name as the country name? Many old small countries did that, so it’s true.”
However, Mako doesn’t think there’s any need to worry about it, and my brother agrees with her opinion.
Indeed, many old small countries shared the same name as their capital cities, and the former Grand Duchy of Lichtenfels was also like that.
Since there’s a possibility of future independence, the decision is not to consider bridgehead cities other than the capital.
“Assuming Grand Duchy of Lichtenfels is decided, what about the others?”
“I can’t think of anything immediately.”
“Since Valentia is ruled by the Beast King His Majesty, shouldn’t we make it sound similar?”
“However, ‘Beast King’ is difficult considering the scale of the country.”
“And if we go with ‘Grand Prince’… it overlaps with Alegria.”
“Grand Duke is also rejected for the same reason.”
“I also considered using the race names of the beastfolk, but since there are six beastfolk races and only five new countries, that’s also difficult.”
Luxembourg was decided easily, but the new countries in the Libertà region seem to have been put on hold because there are still seven of them.
However, Valentia isn’t easy either.
I agree that a title similar to Beast King would be good, but I can’t think of any good ideas.
For a moment, I thought Mina’s suggestion was the best, but indeed, when you compare the number of beastfolk races to the number of new countries being established, one beastfolk race is left out.
That would only cause problems, and if you think about it carefully, one of the ducal families and the Basilus Family are both of the Tigari, so that’s already a problem.
However, no better ideas are emerging, and it seems it will take a considerable amount of time to decide everything.
