Game Opportunities Become Reality Episode 173
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Game Opportunities Become Reality Episode 173
41. The King's Eccentricity (4)
The Croysen Empire citizens expelled from the city could not easily move anywhere.
That was inevitable, because in a feudal system, the people of a nation were no different from the property of the Lord and the King, and movement between domains was not free.
Commoners who could freely travel between domains were called freemen, and in the Croysen Empire, the number of freemen was about 0.5% of the total population, a very low figure compared to neighboring nations.
In other words, most Croysen Empire citizens had almost never set foot outside the city except when their work required it.
So they could only stare at the tall city walls, unable to figure out what to do.
"F-first, let's form groups based on the residential districts inside the city and elect representatives. Then we can discuss what to do through a representative council."
A few people who had received higher education compared to ordinary commoners stepped forward and argued this way, and the people gathered around their respective residential districts.
But passive commoners under a feudal system were hardly going to succeed just because they were suddenly told to elect representatives.
In a stratified society, even among commoners, there was an unspoken hierarchy.
As a result, representatives were often decided not by virtue but by whoever had the loudest voice.
And the residents were hardly going to sincerely follow representatives chosen through coercion.
"How foolish. Why should we follow you?"
"That's right, we'll just do things our own way!"
Organizing the residents was an incredibly difficult task.
Still, in some residential districts, clever people were elected as representatives, and the conversations held among such people were fairly plausible.
"Right now, we have exactly three options."
"What are they?"
"First, become slash-and-burn farmers and pioneer new land."
Even if they became slash-and-burn farmers and pioneered land, if that land was located within the duchy, it would ultimately belong to Adrian.
Meaning it would not be strange if they were driven out again at any time.
They could not have been unaware of that.
"Second, naturalize in another nation."
As of now, that was the most certain solution.
But the problem was that neighboring nations had no reason to accept them.
Not only would they have to mind the Rhinehearts Empire, but the world was not so generous as to take in penniless commoners and former citizens of a defeated nation at that.
"And the third option is to negotiate with the King."
"Negotiate?"
"We officially receive a certain territory within the duchy, and we pay for it."
"That's absurd! This land belongs to us, the Croysen people! Why should we pay for land we're being allotted!?"
"It's precisely because arguments like that don't work that we've ended up in this state! I also despise those Rhinehearts bastards! But what can we do about reality? You're not suggesting we all just starve to death here to show the will of the Croysen Empire people, are you!?"
"Ahem!"
"For now, it's important that we unite. In this duchy, there are more people who don't follow King Lawrence than those who do. If we band together and build our strength, we can become a force that can oppose the King at any time."
"So you're saying we should bow our heads for now in order to plan for the future?"
"Correct."
They could have simply registered as residents of the duchy and formed a private organization, but they chose the difficult path instead, insisting that "becoming a citizen of Rhinehearts means abandoning the pride of the Croysen people."
Adrian had said he would respect Croysen culture and history, but these people had fundamentally distorted views of history and knowledge, with the basic belief that the Rhinehearts people were liars.
And so, they tried to present their demands to Adrian in order to continue their new lives in their own way.
However...
"His Highness the King has declared that he will accept no negotiations! Your only options are to leave this place, or if you commit political crimes to sign a document accepting even life-long hard labor, and then register as residents!"
There was no way Adrian could have failed to notice what they were thinking.
Watching Adrian and the people of the Duchy of Lawrence utterly shatter their hopes, the exiled citizens of the Croysen Empire gradually came to realize that the situation was far more serious than they had expected.
"Th-this…."
"What are we supposed to do?"
There was obviously no way to respond.
With their plans thoroughly blocked in advance, their minds went as blank as a sheet of white paper.
Moreover, it wasn't just the duchy's administrative measures that were putting them in a bind.
-Kiiieeeek!
"Agh!"
"M-monsters!"
Monsters had begun sniffing out the residents who had been cast beyond the city walls and swarming in.
No matter how advanced Rondel's technology was, the city still had old-fashioned walls, and the reason for that was the monsters.
They regularly culled the monster population, but just as Grand Duke Lucas had argued, whether a 'species extinction prevention system' existed in this world or not, no matter how many monsters were killed, they reappeared like cockroaches.
That was why anyone leaving the city had to use a vehicle.
At the monsters' appearance, the Croysen Empire citizens camped outside the city like refugees were thrown into utter chaos.
"Huh? It's the Heaven-Piercing Fortress!"
But heaven came to their aid.
Or, to be more precise, Adrian came to their aid.
The massive Heaven-Piercing Fortress, which every boy loved, made its appearance, drawing all eyes.
-Boom! Crash! Boom!
The Heaven-Piercing Fortress eliminated the monsters as easily as popping balloons.
Thanks to that, the surviving monsters soon fled back into the forests and mountains.
"No matter how boldly they charge in, we can't even do anything about that single Heaven-Piercing Fortress right now. That's our lot in life."
As the Heaven-Piercing Fortress displayed its overwhelming military might and protected them, the exiles newly realized their own position.
Furthermore, some among them responded with a newfound respect upon realizing that even though they denied and pushed away the Rhinehearts, they were still being protected from a dog's death.
But nothing changed because of that.
After all, they were refugees, and solving the monster problem didn't make their lives any better.
"Huh? Bread!"
And then, as time passed and they fell into hunger.
A massive amount of bread poured down from the Heaven-Piercing Fortress like rain.
Everyone looked up at the sky in shock.
The amount of bread falling like snow was tremendous enough that if distributed evenly, everyone could fill their stomachs.
[Please feel grateful for His Highness the King's relief efforts.]
Not only were they protected from monsters, but when mealtime came, food was given to them not plentiful, but enough.
Normally, one would feel grateful, but the sentiments of the Croysen Empire citizens were a bit different.
"Of course."
The claim arose that this current situation was merely a show of force against them.
"See? They were never going to just abandon us. It's all a threat, I tell you! How could they abandon people like us? Surely we're valuable manpower to them."
It was a needlessly optimistic way of thinking.
"But should we really be pleased about this? How is this different from begging for our lives from those Rhinehearts bastards?"
"True."
"They're invaders. What we need to show them here is that we can live just fine without their help."
"How?"
"Well… uh."
With all their plans already blocked, what answer could they possibly give?
They put their heads together and deliberated over and over.
"Let's just change our thinking entirely."
"How?"
"Just because our accounts are frozen doesn't mean our personal property was taken, right? First, let's gather the valuables and cash the residents have and build up a fund."
"A fund?"
"There's nothing we can do in the current situation. But if we have funds, the story changes. In one way or another, new possibilities will open up."
"True, there must be at least several million people exiled from this city. If we collect just 100,000 Lute from each of them…."
That was the opinion raised among the district representatives.
Naturally, the residents, who didn't trust their representatives, had no intention of listening to their claims.
So some representatives began acting rather coercively.
"From now on, we will collect all this bread and distribute it ourselves."
And gradually, they began to cross that line.
"If you want bread, pay up!"
"What do you mean?! It was given out for free!"
"It was decided at the district representatives' meeting! You have to follow!"
The district representatives tried to rule as if they were nobles.
"Stop right there. Anyone from now on caught picking up bread better know they'll be beaten to death."
"Who said you could decide that?!"
"I am the law! Guys, beat that bastard to a pulp!"
As trash who followed in the footsteps of those district representatives' misdeeds sprang up like mushrooms after rain, it became impossible for people to unite on the sole basis of being Croysen Empire citizens.
They said the main palace would step in during emergencies, and here they were at a time when they should be helping each other turning hostile toward one another while the enemy sat beyond the walls.
"Is this the true nature of us Croysen people, who claimed to be so superior?"
"Mom, I'm hungry."
"What riches and glory was I chasing that I badmouthed Rhinehearts?"
Thanks to that, even among the powerless, there were those who shuddered at their fellow Croysen Empire citizens and began reflecting on their own actions.
* * *
"Violent crime among the refugees has risen sharply. Assault and robbery are the baseline. Some have even started human trafficking and begun keeping slaves. Outside the walls has become an outright slum."
As expected.
No, the situation had escalated beyond expectations.
Ten days. That's all it had been.
I'd just scattered food to keep them alive and watched from the sidelines, and they'd made a whole racket about it.
In a way, it was almost admirable.
That they hadn't deviated an inch from the plan.
"What about new resident registrations?"
"Given the circumstances, they've increased dramatically. Before the exile, 21% of Croysen Empire citizens had registered, but now 47% have completed registration."
"Any seditious movements among the newly registered?"
"If anything, they're more docile than those who registered on time."
Naturally.
They'd signed documents themselves agreeing to face up to life imprisonment with forced labor if they committed political crimes.
On top of that, they'd personally witnessed the collapse of the nationalism that had run rampant among Croysen Empire citizens, so their sense of helplessness was bound to be immense.
"Your Highness the King is a truly fearsome person."
Marquis Walker, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lawrence, said that.
When I made a face that said I didn't understand what he meant, he frankly confessed what he felt.
"I had judged that integration with the Croysen Empire citizens would be impossible. Aren't they a people who, due to their distorted view of history and fabricated knowledge, cursed us the victims even while they were the perpetrators?"
"That's right."
"But now that they have truly become the victims, their rage must be beyond imagination. That's why I thought the emotional rift between our two peoples would be the greatest obstacle to the development of our Rhinehearts, reborn as an Empire."
Just as the Croysen people hate the Rhinehearts people, our Rhinehearts people also deeply despise the Croysen people.
Unless one is a deviant, who would like someone who keeps hitting them out of nowhere?
So even the Chancellor's very mention of the Croysen people carried a hint of disgust.
"To try to solve that problem by delving into human psychology that's a choice an ordinary monarch wouldn't make. I can only see Your Highness's actions, which change even the thoughts of the Croysen people, as both remarkable and frightening."
"Hmm, well… Thank you for the high praise. That's a bit grandiose, though. 'Delving into human psychology.'"
"Isn't everything flowing according to Your Highness's intentions?"
His assessment of me had grown to its fullest within him.
I didn't bother revealing the secret behind this affair.
Since he was willingly putting me on a pedestal, I judged it better to just leave it as is.
'This affair really isn't something to think about so elaborately.'
Marquis Walker thinks I created this situation with just a few words of instruction, but it wasn't made that simply.
Because a great many people's efforts are woven into it.
'The efforts of those who hate the Croysen Empire even more than our Rhinehearts people do.'
The Croysen Empire had countless slaves, and after emancipating them, I gathered them all and have been putting them to very good use.
Those who were slaves could blend deeply into Croysen Empire culture, but they were also the ones who hated Croysen more than anyone.
So I planted the former slaves among the residents and had them contribute to the chaos now unfolding.
In other words, all of this is the power of agitation.