A week after Ririru came to meet Alec of the Executive Branch.
The incorporation of Amamiya Tower in the West Town was announced.
The reaction in Tower Town was half surprise and half “as expected.” The surprise was directed at the West Town’s incorporation.
While the South Town had maintained a close relationship, the West Town had not been enemies, but they weren’t as close as the South Town. To have them announce their incorporation first was surprising.
Those with keen intuition and sharp ears quickly sensed there were political reasons behind it. However, even with the surprise, there was no real reluctance about the incorporation. Once announced, it was readily accepted. The residents of the town were, in a good way, growing accustomed to the incorporation of towns on the continent.
More importantly, the rumors that had been circulating for some time were the significant topic for the residents.
♦
Floria and Silvia were visiting the Executive Branch. From now on, after the kingdom was established, they would likely be spending more time here than in the management layer. Both had met the high-ranking officials of the Executive Branch numerous times in the management layer, so no particular problems arose. Rather, it was the introduction of Floria as Alec’s daughter that surprised many.
Alec’s past as a prince of a certain kingdom was not hidden, so Floria’s identity was naturally known. Therefore, there was no significant opposition to Floria becoming the Queen. While some felt a vague sense of dissonance about Kousuke, the Avatar, directly governing the country, even they seemed to accept the choice of person. Such individuals were invariably devout followers of God.
Simultaneously with Floria, Silvia was also introduced as a representative for temple affairs. Silvia was accepted by the relevant parties even more smoothly than Floria. After all, it was already widely known that Silvia was Kousuke’s Shrine Maiden. Having visited the temple frequently, she was known not only to the high officials but also to ordinary residents. To oppose this would be tantamount to opposing Kousuke himself. It was unthinkable that anyone would do such a thing.
In that sense, Floria was also recommended by Kousuke, but that was a matter of different fields. Floria, as the Queen, would be involved in politics, not directly with God. At least, that was the official stance.
“…Is it alright to be accepted this smoothly?” Floria asked, looking bewildered, in a room at the Executive Branch building.
“Isn’t it? After all, you were known as a member of the management layer,” Alec replied.
“That’s right. At least it’s better than being vehemently opposed, isn’t it?” Silvia added.
Alec and Silvia said this, but Floria still tilted her head, looking unconvinced. Having witnessed many power struggles in her home country, she felt the residents of this tower were too compliant.
“Well, yes, but… doesn’t being too compliant make you worried?” Creating a nation invariably involves power struggles, both internal and external, to some degree. For Floria, being accepted as the queen of a new country with almost no such struggles felt strange.
“Is that so? You’ve hardly seen the Executive Branch directly, so you might feel that way,” Alec said, sensing her unease. Alec himself had felt similarly at first.
“…What do you mean?”
“Well, this has been the case since before Kousuke-dono became an Avatar. It seems that whatever Kousuke-dono, who conquered this tower, does is accepted with almost no conditions.” Of course, they didn’t accept it blindly like puppets. However, unless it was extremely unreasonable, the townspeople tended to accept it straightforwardly. Having witnessed the town’s growth firsthand, the residents felt that Kousuke’s actions were infallible.
“That’s… quite… that’s kind of scary in itself,” Floria muttered unintentionally. Alec nodded broadly.
“It will be our job to manage that skillfully.”
“My, my… sounds troublesome.”
“What are you saying? There’s no such thing as politics without hassle.” Floria returned a bitter smile to Alec, who stated this so definitively. She could only agree that it was entirely true.
Henceforth, Kousuke would gradually decrease his direct involvement in the country’s affairs. Kousuke himself had stated this, and Floria also believed it would be for the best. It was a shared understanding among everyone present that it would be better for Kousuke, who had become a God, not to interfere directly in politics.
♦
“What about the temple?” Silvia tilted her head at Alec’s question.
“What do you mean?”
“Well, will it continue as it is, or will it have clergy like the other towns? If it does, I suppose you would be the one to take the position.” Silvia started to respond immediately to the question, but then stopped herself from blurting out the answer reflexively.
“Let me see… I don’t think there’s any problem with the current situation, but…” Seeing Silvia pause in thought, Floria’s expression changed to one of mild surprise. She had expected Silvia to argue for maintaining the form that Kousuke had established.
“Is there something?” Floria asked. Silvia shook her head.
“It’s not that there’s an immediate issue. However, I think it’s better to be prepared for the unexpected.”
“Hmm. I see.” Floria nodded, seemingly convinced by Silvia’s words.
Seeing this, Alec interjected. “I’m not an expert on temple affairs either, but may I offer a thought?”
“What is it?”
“While the ability to adapt flexibly is wonderful, it’s also important to remember that maintaining the original form can be wonderful in itself.” What Alec was trying to say was that many things, especially those involving God, remain unchanged over time. Such things often receive a higher level of treatment even today. While some things change to adapt to the flow of time, those passed down from the age of gods can remain unchanged. Alec wanted to convey that even though Kousuke was the newest God, there might be meaning in preserving what he said in its original form.
“…Yes. Thank you. I will keep that in mind.” Silvia, as a priestess, understood that there were many such examples. It was meaningless to let things fall into disuse by clinging to form, but she recognized anew the importance of preserving the current form.
“By the way… is the management of the tower alright?” When Alec asked this, the two exchanged a look and gave a wry smile.
“There are no particular problems. After all, we have the golems for the regular maintenance work.”
“…Ah.” Alec pictured those figures, which he wasn’t sure could be called golems, in his mind. If he hadn’t been told, he might not have realized they were golems. He thought they could indeed be entrusted with the task.
“While they can’t do anything new, they can completely handle repetitive tasks, so there’s no need to worry.”
“Besides, we intend to return to the management layer periodically.”
“Is that so? If that’s the case, I won’t ask any further.” Alec had no intention of interfering further if there were no problems.
