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Chapter 2: Meeting
TAKUTO was in such a good mood that day, anyone who saw him could tell. And why wouldn’t he be when the time had finally come for him to devote himself to his absolute favorite pastime: Domestic Affairs.
Lately, there had been many annoying events to tend to, such as the Holy Kingdom of Qualia’s recon team and surveying the neighboring empires’ motives. The peace of mind granted by clearing those events helped improve his mood.
Perhaps his vassals sensed their king was in high spirits, since the meeting about to take place had a relatively relaxed atmosphere despite the air of tension.
“Thank you all for taking time out of your busy schedules to join us.”
Atou was heading up the meeting as always. Her eyes swept over the people present with a polished smile.
Е̃ n̊u̇mа̄
Mynoghra’s leaders were all in attendance today: Elder Moltar, Warrior Captain Gia, and Emle, who’d been promoted from Gia’s adjutant to Takuto’s private secretary and advisor. Takuto’s caretakers, Maria and Caria, were also joining them. And naturally, no meeting would be held without Takuto and Atou present.
“All right, it’s time to begin the ever-so-fun-and-lovely Domestic Affairs turn! Let’s hear the status reports first, starting with the person in charge of construction.”
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
“Hello. I’m Emle, and I’m in charge of construction. Construction of the Palace is now complete, freeing up some of our workforce. I had everyone devote their spare time to replenishing Lumber, so we have plenty of Materials. Construction of new buildings can begin at any time.”
“Good to know. Thank you. We should build something new while we can afford it.” Atou nodded, satisfied with Emle’s ability to concisely provide the information she sought.
As Emle pointed out, Mynoghra’s Imperial Capital was in a state where it could afford to build more facilities. They didn’t want to overextend their valuable working force when they didn’t have to. Still, the facilities belonging to the civilization of Mynoghra brought various benefits to the empire, and the general consensus was to build and improve the ones they needed first.
“King Takuto, is it all right to construct the facility we discussed?”
W̆ ebnо̊v еl Е n ũ m̊_а
“Yep,” Takuto answered Atou with a nod.
As a matter of fact, Atou had spoken with Takuto at length about Mynoghra’s policies before the meeting. Nevertheless, there were several reasons for still holding the meeting like this.
The primary reasons were allocating work to their vassals, reducing the load on Takuto and Atou, and ensuring they didn’t overlook any potential problems. The secondary reason was to gain new perspectives and awareness by listening to citizen opinions. In addition, by having the Dark Elves participate in the meeting, their sense of belonging to the empire would be strengthened, encouraging them to work even harder toward their common goals.
Meetings were held even when they didn’t have the time for it due to these reasons. It was one thing to run an empire of this scale, but it’d eventually grow too big for Takuto to manage entirely alone. The realistic constraints of processing vast amounts of information forced Takuto and Atou to choose methods that wouldn’t have been necessary for a video game.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
“In that case, please construct a Clinic next, Emle,” Atou said. “We want to avoid losing you, our citizens, at any cost right now. Military facilities are important too, but nothing can get done without workers.”
“Noted. I will let the building supervisors know after the meeting.”
W е b̃ ǹ о́v е̊ ĺ Ѐ n ŭm̂а̃
Deciding which facilities to build next was actually quite the headache. There were a number of appealing candidates, such as the Sumptuous Meat Forest, which raises the rate of population growth at the cost of increased Food consumption, and Living Reeds, which gives a defense bonus when an enemy attacks one of your cities. However, both were rejected because they didn’t offer immediate benefits.
So, they went with a Clinic, which considerably contributes to the prosperity of the empire and guarantees existing citizen health and longevity. The Magic Research Institute, which produces Magic units and increases the production of Magic Power in the city, also remained as a candidate until the end. However, it was temporarily put on hold until they had the right personnel for the job.
One of the main reasons they decided on the Clinic was because its construction costs were low, and it could be built relatively quickly. Of course, they had already agreed the Magic Research Institute would be built next.
“Next on the agenda is Domestic Affairs,” Atou said, smoothly moving the meeting to the next topic. “Who is in charge of updating us on the Resource situation?”
“I am also in charge of that,” Emle answered. “We are steadily building up a good domestic food supply. Our Lumber and Stone supplies are in good order, and His Majesty is also providing us with Iron goods and the like that we can’t manufacture ourselves. However, I’m starting to think the expense is not worth the gain given how much Mana and Magic it consumes.”
Takuto’s ability to summon items was the real reason the Dark Elves, who only had the clothes on their backs, were able to build an imperial capital’s foundation in such a short time. His ability to produce unique items and supplies from his world provided them with iron products, clothes, and various other tools that were usually difficult to obtain.
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Producing the items obviously consumed Mana and Magic, but Mynoghra only had a population of around five hundred. Supplying goods for these numbers didn’t even dent his reserves. However, this brute force solution only worked because they had such a small population.
“Emergency Production with Magic is just so convenient to use. It’s a necessary expenditure, so we’ll continue to make the most of it. With that in mind, it really escalates the priority level for facilities and research that increase Magic Power production. Also, I’ll be sure to give you a bigger salary, Emle. Thank you for putting in so much work for your two posts…”
“Thank you.”
Atou became keenly aware of their shortage of talented personnel as she watched Emle bow. But that matter was still being shelved.
They were nurturing the twins to become future leaders, but it would take years for their efforts to bear fruit. At present, they had no choice but to hope that some dramatic change would come and solve the problem.
“All right, since we’ve already touched on magic, why don’t we hear about how things are going on the research front next?” Atou said, leading the meeting to the next agenda.
Е̃_n um.ӓ .id̄
“My turn then,” Elder Moltar responded. “We’ve just finished researching Military Magic, which has made it possible for our forces to use military-level spells. I’m presently the only one capable of using it, but…powerful attack spells using the Ruin Mana supplied by the Palace have been unlocked! Although I don’t see us actively making use of it given His Majesty’s policies.”
“Right you are. Ruin Magic is wonderfully useful but doesn’t serve much of a purpose in Domestic Affairs…” Atou said, trailing off.
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The Magic Technology known as Military Magic could already be used in battle thanks to Elder Moltar’s research. The timely completion—or rather, completely calculated timing of its completion—gave Mynoghra a powerful military card it could play when necessary.
To make things even better, they could produce Magic units once they built the Magic Research Institute. They could expect even greater military might once that became a reality.
That being said, Atou was right for languishing over its completion because Ruin Magic was only useful for offense, lessening its value to an empire like Mynoghra, which emphasized domestic growth over conquest…
“As for what to research next, let’s go with the Six Major Elements under the Magic Technology skill tree as we planned from the start. It will take some time to complete, but there’s not much merit in selecting anything else to research…”
Е̌n ǔ m̂ а
Science Technology skills such as Smelting and Fortress Building didn’t have much to offer Mynoghra in its current state. Both Takuto and Atou found researching skills from the Magic Technology tree to be far more appealing, too. Mynoghra would become a magic-focused nation, but specializing in one technology tree was an orthodox empire-management strategy, so they saw no issue with it.
“Let’s end the meeting with the military report,” Atou said.
“I’ll be reporting on that matter as the Warrior Captain,” Gia responded. “Our newly spawned troops consist of five Long-legged Bugs. They are scouting the Unchartered Territory around the Accursed Lands. However, unlike the Accursed Lands, the area outside the forest is all flat terrain. We can’t investigate as much as we like while prioritizing stealth.”
“Hmm,” Atou hummed thoughtfully, tapping her finger against her chin. “Information on the surrounding area is being reported to the King in detail. It’s a little risky to extend our scouting too far if we want to maintain our anonymity. Please redirect the Long-Legged Bugs to patrol around our territory.”
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“It will be done… On another note, I know it is not my place to speak on research, but I’d like to propose we learn this Advanced Hunting skill you told us about before. If we acquire this skill, the Long-Legged Bugs can evolve into Headhunting Bugs, securing a more powerful military for us…”
Takuto and Atou inwardly groaned over Gia’s proposal.
Ẃ е̂ bnо v̊ е̇l̈ .Е̂ ñū m ӓ
He was rehashing a topic long after they had already made their decision. He presented his proposal at the worst possible time, but its contents were worth considering, and this also served as proof that free thought was growing among Takuto’s vassals.
In fact, Advanced Hunting was brought up as a research candidate before the meeting. Under normal gameplay circumstances, it would’ve been the obvious next choice.
So, why didn’t they pick it? The reason was simple: no animals existed in their forest to hunt. Gia’s inability to take that into consideration proved he still had a long way to go.
“It’s a tempting proposal, but we’re going to focus on magic research for the time being. We have an urgent need to comprehensively enhance magic-related technology,” Atou rejected his idea but made a note to lay into him with some scolding and a lot of praise later. “What is Isla’s production status?”
“Allow me to report on that,” Elder Moltar chimed in. “We have already secured sufficient Lumber and Food resources. The Flesh Trees and the highly nutritious fruits produced by His Majesty have brought good results. However, we are a little behind schedule in accumulating Magic Power and Mana.”
“Do you have anything to add, King Takuto?”
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
All reports and policy decisions had been made, leaving only the question of whether the contents of the meeting pleased the King.
Takuto was impressed by how smoothly everything had proceeded.
He’d explained the general process and plan to Atou, but everything moved forward through the consultation of his vassals. The sight of them being loyal to the empire and trying to fulfill their responsibilities to the best of their ability brought him joy.
“It all sounds good to me. You’re all doing a great job!”
Every one of his vassals deeply bowed their heads in response to his unusually long remark. His citizens understood the King didn’t talk much. Thus, they could feel the weight of his words when he did speak.
As they were filled with the joy that sprung up in their hearts, the meeting moved into more serious topics.
Wе_bn̈.о̃ v̆ е́l Е n̈ umа̂
◇◇◇
BEFORE long, the time for Domestic Affairs had ended, and it became time to raise the agenda relating to a reality none of them wanted to acknowledge. In other words, they had to face the problems with no easy solutions.
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“With everything else settled, let’s talk about foreign affairs. The Holy Kingdom of Qualia hasn’t made its move yet, correct?”
“We haven’t seen any suspicious movements from them yet, no. They still seem to have their hands full with trouble to the North.”
Atou had asked Gia to confirm what she’d already assumed, and his answer did just that.
“That’s a blessing in disguise for us. If we continue at this pace, even with some delays, we should complete Isla without issue. Things are currently peaceful with our potential enemy empires, which means we can focus on the problem of population growth. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to improve the situation?”
Е n ŭ.ṁ_а . ĩď
“We believe our clansmen safely escaped somewhere. Welcoming them into the empire might alleviate some of the King’s concerns,” Elder Moltar suggested. “If you leave persuading them to me, our clansmen are sure to bow before the greatness and mercy of our king.”
“His Majesty is deeply sympathetic to the Dark Elf plight. You can rest assured that he will not abandon them. How many of your clansmen do you expect to be out there still?”
“Not many. Probably around one to two thousand now…”
“Hmm, I see… Even if we make them our citizens, we’re still far from the numbers we need. King Takuto, please regale us with some wisdom on this matter.”
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The decision-making was handed over to Takuto.
Their original plan was to have at least five thousand citizens before too long. They could improve their overwhelming lack of intellectuals and further expand the empire’s scope and scale with that many.
Е_ńu ḿ а
But there were even fewer Dark Elves than expected. Plus, while Elder Moltar refused to admit it, there was no guarantee everyone had survived.
Takuto’s strategy of accepting the weak Dark Elf refugees and indebting them to him had worked better than expected. Unfortunately, he wasn’t lucky enough to catch lightning in a bottle twice.
“Leave it for later.”
That was all Takuto had said after rubbing his chin when Atou drew him into the conversation while he was explaining something to the twins. Even with his experience and wisdom, this was a difficult problem to solve.
In all actuality, their situation was what was abnormal. After all, a normal game session took place over decades and centuries. It was a given that the population would naturally increase over so much in-game time.
They were asking the impossible, trying to find a way to unnaturally multiply their population just because they were short on manpower.
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“There’s no easy solution, is there? You guys need to start pumping out babies!!”
An empire’s power is directly linked to its population levels. Atou narrowed her eyes on Elder Moltar and Gia and took out her grievances on them. It was frustrating that their biggest holdback didn’t have a quick fix.
But the cruelty of reality was thrown back in her face.
“Lady Atou, neither of them…are married,” Emle pointed out, dashing any hopes of children coming from their top council members.
“I’m married to my work,” both men proudly proclaimed, smacking their chests with their fists.
Emle let out an exasperated sigh.
Еnu ṁ а̄. іd
Ha. So they’re the type who celebrates their bachelorhood. People who’ll never marry.
Immediately determining they were a lost cause, Atou gave up on the men and turned to Emle as her last hope.
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“I see. Then the job falls to you, Emle…”
“I’m, um, currently searching for a partner…”
“……”
They’re all a lost cause, Atou bitterly concluded.
Ẅё b̂ nov̄е̄l̇ Ѐn̆ùm̃ӑ
Emle seemed like the type that’d be popular with the guys, but given her current role in the empire, a relationship would be challenging to balance.
Regretting ever touching on the topic of the Dark Elves’ love lives, Atou hastily changed the topic.
“L-Let’s stop talking about this! We’ve gone off track! Next! Onto the next matter of business! Let’s decide what policy to take with the neutral empire of Phon’kaven! That’s our main objective for today’s meeting!”
The tension that had temporarily loosened in the room tightened once more.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
It could be said that the urgent matter of how to deal with the town right outside the Accursed Lands would determine their destiny. One wrong step could lead to an all-out war. They had to avoid that outcome at all costs, especially now when too many unknowns surrounded the neutral empire.
“I will report on that matter,” Gia spoke up. As the warrior captain, he was in charge of all military affairs. “It appears that town is currently on high alert.”
Е̌ n ǔm̌ а̀ .іd
Everyone present frowned when they realized the gravity of his report.
“They are in a state of high alert? Does that mean we’ve been exposed?” Atou asked.
“No. I have confirmed sporadic Goblin attacks from a distance. They’re apparently on guard against Barbarians consisting of hostile Demi-humans.”
Barbarian is the general term used to refer to enemies not belonging to any empire. In Eternal Nations, they’re a nuisance that shows up in droves during early-game. From what Elder Moltar had explained about them, Atou concluded they were a similar annoyance in this world too.
They aren’t too difficult to defeat, but weaker units such as Scouts will go down without much of a fight if attacked. An army needs to be formed to deal with them. Barbarians tend to appear out of nowhere, and if left unchecked, cause significant damage to poorly defended villages and settlements.
They’re a source of irritation in many ways.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
But there are some Barbarians with special skills, and the best part about killing one is that it won’t earn the wrath of another empire.
I’ll just annihilate them if the opportunity presents itself, Atou schemed.
Defeating a wide variety of units would increase her power. She had to become strong no matter what; because that was the mission she’d imposed upon herself.
“But,” Gia continued, “they seemed to be having an extremely difficult time fending them off, to the point it was even making my blood run cold.”
“Oh?” Atou cocked her head, perplexed by that bit of information.
Gia had reported the attackers were Goblins. If that was true, then they should be easy to defeat, given this world’s technological level.
Ẇе b ǹ оv̌ е̂.l̈ E̊num̆а
The implausible situation bothered Atou.
“Is Phon’kaven not sending reinforcements?”
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
“Not from what I can tell. They might not be able to readily deploy reinforcements to such a distant territory. Or…I reckon their capital is under similar attack.”
“Hmm…we can’t dismiss the difficulty of sending reinforcements to a faraway settlement. Are the Barbarians in these parts that dangerous?” Atou asked.
“There are a relatively large number of Demi-humans because this is an Uncharted Territory. You often hear about Goblins, Orcs, and Kobolds attacking people.”
“But it’s hard to imagine Barbarians attacking a city, Elder Moltar. It’s one thing if they run into troops on patrol, but even they know how reckless it is to raid a city.”
Е̇nu m а . іd.
Gia and Elder Moltar commenced their usual bickering. However, they weren’t coming to a very constructive conclusion, and the only thing made clear by it was that no one really knew much about the situation.
“We don’t have enough information to draw conclusions yet,” Atou interjected into their exchange. “More importantly, Barbarian attacks increase the likelihood of refugees. We might be able to increase our population if we can succeed in inviting them into our empire.”
Not every village and town belonging to an empire has adequate defenses. A city of a certain size can prevent enemy invasion with a solid stone wall, but villages devoted to agriculture and raising stock tend to be defenseless.
It was the natural course of things for the town to fall if they couldn’t eradicate the Barbarian threat, and even if they were fortunate enough to escape, they would become refugees with nowhere else to go.
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Most empires couldn’t afford to take in a lot of refugees, but luckily, Mynoghra had plenty of land, food, and work for them. As long as they could accept becoming evil, then all that was left was for them to come to terms with their choice.
This idea, which was explained to the others by Atou with a smug look, was something Takuto had secretly shared with her.
Е ṅ û m̃а . і̊ d
“Lady Atou, isn’t there a chance those refugees will betray us?”
“We just have to keep them under surveillance. You can prevent rebellions by stationing troops in the city. One of Mynoghra’s units—one of King Takuto’s yet-to-be-summoned subordinates—is perfect for that job.”
“Ooh! Now that sounds promising!”
Atou deliberately refrained from commenting on that unit’s peculiar looks. It was just barely tolerable for her. Of course, she had no way of knowing if the Dark Elves shared her sensibilities.
Either way, their abilities were guaranteed, so she and Takuto had already discussed spawning them in the near future.
“Besides, not many people would consider betraying an empire that promises them peace and safety. Am I wrong?”
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
“I reckon you’re onto something there.”
“At any rate, we would like to make contact with that empire and proceed with amicable talks soon. If we can make them feel indebted to us, great. If they’re hostile, then we can cross that bridge when we get to it. I’d love to get our hands on that town if all the right cards line up, but let’s try not to get our hopes up.”
Everyone nodded in agreement with Atou and showed their support for the policies. That marked the end of the meeting.
“Then it’s settled. During our next turn—oops, I mean, our next action is to send a messenger to the neutral empire of Phon’kaven. There’s no hurry, so please think of ways to make our contact as friendly as possible.”
Atou purposefully didn’t touch on it, but there was a very simple reason why she—and Takuto—were fixated on this particular town.
There was a Dragon Vein Mine there.
E n̈ ǔmа
They had to do whatever it took to obtain the Dragon Vein Mine, a Mana-producing map resource. They hoped to guide things in a friendly direction, but there were many ways to go about it.
Takuto selected an unusually assertive policy.
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Mynoghra was only steps away from finally being recognized as an empire for the first time.
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