24 - CHAPTER XXIV "The King's Speech (Previous Part)"

On that day, the demons living in Alkimaira were in high spirits.

It was announced that the king would make a speech in person.

"Hey. Did you hear about that?

Yes, of course. Our king is going to make a speech, isn't he?

"Oh, yes. The square in front of the castle is already packed with people. Are you sure you're not just going to sit here?

"I'm farsighted. I'm going to go up on the roof and listen. Are you sure you want to do that?

"I'm a Titan. I'm a Titan. When the time comes, you'll be able to break free of your human form and revert back to your original form. No matter how big the guy standing in front of you is... he can't be any bigger than the Titans. There's nothing blocking my view in my original form.

"...... how many meters are you?"

Thirty.

"You definitely don't want to do that. The Second Corps will see you. Don't do anything that might cause a disturbance. If you interfere with the speech, the commander of the 2nd Corps will cut you down.

Conversations like this are going on all over the place.

Since the announcement of the speech, the line of people heading to the main square in front of the castle has never stopped.

It has been about a day and a half since the unprecedented event of the entire capital being relocated.

The demons living in Archimyra were more or less shocked.

The fact that only the capital city had been moved to another location meant that all the other satellite cities and regional cities had been lost. The country has also lost its territories, and distribution with the outside world has come to a complete standstill.

Naturally, the various industries have been hit hard.

The primary industry is almost completely destroyed.

Secondary industries are partially paralyzed.

The tertiary industry is somehow functioning, but it is doubtful how long it will continue to function from a medium- to long-term perspective.

The government treasury is open, so life is guaranteed for the time being.

The government has given its endorsement that there will be no problem for the next one year.

But what will happen after that?

Many of the more hard-headed members of the tribe were optimistic, but the more astute and intelligent of the high-ranking demons were aware of the critical situation that the country was in.

"Well, it's true, everyone is giving off a tense atmosphere, isn't it? In fact, I heard that there were more skirmishes than ever before.

"Did you hear the guards complaining?"

"Speak nonsense. The guards of the 2nd Corps are only hired for hard-nosed guys, so you won't hear any complaints about their work. It's just a rumor.

"Rumor of the wind. ....... Well, it's true, there's a lot that can accumulate in a situation that can't be managed by violence."

Yes, that was the problem.

Demons are basically followers of power.

The demons of Alkimaira have a disposition to respect even the weakest, but they are still essentially oriented toward seeking solutions through force.

Therefore, if this were a problem that could be solved by wielding power, the people would not be stressed.

<. Waiting was a period of preparation for the fight, and it was not stressful at all, but rather gave them a pleasant feeling of elation.

But this time is too different.

It is not something that can be solved by exerting our strength.

If the focus of the problem is , it would be the area of expertise of the Fourth Corps, which specializes in magic, or the Sixth Corps, which is trained in witchcraft, but these specialists have not been able to produce satisfactory results.

If this is a problem such as a lack of magical power, I would be willing to rush to the Fourth Legion and others and forcibly provide them with all the magical power I can muster, but there is nothing I can do if I can't even see a clue to solving the problem to begin with.

Naturally, there is no way to solve the problem by force of arms or physical ability.

Moreover, as a country, we are obliged to behave cautiously, and we cannot vent our anger and resentment by going on a rampage outside of the country.

This time was slowly but surely causing stress to the people and the military.

Then came the announcement that the King was to give a speech.

The whole nation jumped at the announcement.

All the demons, except for the garrison that is protecting the city from the outside enemies, are already gathering in the square in front of the castle.

The plaza in front of the castle does not have the capacity to accommodate all of the more than 100,000 demons, and although screens have been set up throughout the capital to deliver images from remote locations, it seems that everyone had the same desire to see the king in person.

Those who were not able to get a good view of the king were stationed on the roofs of nearby buildings, or they used or , or some of the winged races floated in the air, waiting for the king to appear.

Looking around from the balcony of the castle, it seemed that wherever one looked, it was filled with the shapes of demons.

The scene could be described as a gathering of many demons.

"But, well, we don't mean to say so ourselves, but it's a spectacular sight when you look at it like this..."

"Indeed. Normally, there is no such a gathering of forces in the capital."

"Nowadays, the only time we see the heads of the eight major military corps in one place is when we celebrate the founding of the nation. Look, there's the Commander of the First Corps.

"...... true. It is rare to see the Commander of the First Army away from the side of our king."

A high platform standing in the center of the square.

Surrounding it, the first through the eighth legions are arranged in a circle.

The citizens seem to fill in the gaps between them.

The heads of the eight legions also appeared under each legion.

It was a rare sight to see the Commander of the First Army (Liewe), a close aide of the King, away from the King's side, and those who were nearby were looking at him with a reserved gaze.

The bustle of the crowd gradually dies down.

The announced time ...... for the king of Alkimaira to make his appearance is approaching. He stops speaking without a word, and the great square where over 100,000 people have gathered is enveloped in silence.

--And the time has come.

A ray of light reaches out from the balcony of the castle to the plaza.

As soon as the light connected to the center of the square - the cylindrical lectern - it crystallized and became a path.

A man emerges from the balcony.

Wearing a cloak with the country's emblem engraved on it, the figure walks with ease.

There is no mistaking him.

He is the one whom the people have been waiting for, the leader of all demons.

Alkimaira is the king, Helian Edda Elsinorek.

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

A voice like a rumbling of the earth fills the plaza.

The people greeted the king's appearance with cheers.

Step by step, the king took his first steps.

With each step, the crystalline passageway extending from the castle transformed once again into light and danced into the heavens.

The king's steps are graceful and solemn as he steps forward with the dissipating phosphorescent light at his back.

The king steps forward with ease as the people of Archimyra look on.

As soon as he reached the platform, the crystalline passage disappeared completely.

The people trembled in silence at the sight of the long-awaited king.

"Gentlemen, thank you for coming!

As soon as Helian spoke these words, the hustle and bustle that had just broken out seemed to have died down.

The people watched with bated breath, not wanting to miss the king's words.

One hundred and fifty years...... have passed since Alkimaira was founded. Looking back, it seems but a moment, but it has been an intense time with you all.

Wang looked up to the heavens.

It was a gesture as if he was thinking back on something.

The first steps were taken with three demons. A little werewolf, a lesser warcat, and an elf. And an old wooden house. That was all I had. Three demons were all that the man Helian had, and a cheap wooden house that could easily be broken was his only base in Alkimaira.

The First Corps leader, Liewe.

Balan, the second corps leader.

The Third Commander, Ertina...

The three bodies of the Beginning listen attentively.

"We have no weapons, and our tools are not good enough. All we can rely on is the bare physical strength of the three demons. Even hunting a single stray goblin was nerve-wracking. We managed to win the battle by taking the three goblins by surprise and attacking them all at the same time. A knife with a badly damaged blade obtained from a defeated goblin was the first weapon Alkimaira acquired.

A lion-headed man in full armor holds a dagger at his waist.

There was a dull blade, once cast and reforged by the swordsmiths of Alkimaira.

"I spend day after day in battle. And so, little by little, he gained friends and trained them. Meanwhile, they began to build living quarters. We spent our days huddled together in a small room in an old wooden hut, but finally we were able to give the 'first three' a small home."

The dilapidated wooden house was later reconstructed and turned into a tavern.

It was the first entertainment center built in Alkimaira.

It has been more than a hundred years since it was rebuilt.

Then came the time of war. Everyone was desperate to survive. The days of war continued."

But Alkimaira survived.

Sometimes defeated, sometimes victorious, they survived the harsh times of the war by fighting with the neighboring countries.

The demons, who were weak at first, became powerful through repeated battles, and established a fighting organization of the First, Second, and Third Legions.

The leaders of each corps were appointed as the "three bodies of the beginning".

"Then one day, there was a country that made a raid on our country's resources. We successfully repelled their invasion and made peace through desperate negotiations, but the damage caused by the war was enormous. Archimyra's military strength at that time was poor, and even the few military forces it had lost most of their strength in the previous defensive battles. A rapid military expansion was called for."

The Fourth Legion was created.

This corps specialized in the field of magic.

However, its military strength was still inferior to that of other countries.

The Fifth Legion was created.

It is a heavily-armed corps composed of giants and demons.

At last, they had enough strength to compete with the neighboring countries.

"However, our country, which had been expanding its military, had not laid the foundation for further development. We had no choice but to put our domestic affairs second, and our technological and economic power was outstripped by other countries, and we saw a future in which we would be swallowed up by them.

Therefore, I decided to invade the neighboring country, which was a major domestic ...... power, in order to save Alkymyra from the path of destruction. Fortunately, the invasion was swiftly accomplished, and as a result, a king left the world, and the remaining high technology and people became part of our country."

For Helians, it is a bitter memory.

It was the only war of aggression launched by the Alkymiras.

From then on, the Alkymaira was committed to a defensive posture, but once it was called upon to fight, it was destroyed and annexed without mercy.

"There was a time when a wave of calamity swept over the land. The world was about to be destroyed by a being known as the "God of Mischief. Forgetting the grudges of the past, nation and nation joined hands to resist and repel it. However, all countries suffered tremendous damage, and war was no longer an option.

The era of the Cold War had arrived. On the surface, it was a calm period, but behind the scenes sabotage and espionage activities became more active."

The Sixth Corps was created.

This corps specialized in sabotage and information warfare.

Thanks to their efforts, the corps survived the increasingly fierce underwater battles.

"The war continued. The major powers fought each other, involving neighboring countries. This period was later called the Second War. After a long period of warfare, the powers were reduced in number. The era of the three great powers had arrived. Japan, as one of the three powers, fought over the other powers.

The Seventh Army was created.

They were entrusted with the management of the heritage of the excavated ancient civilizations and further technological innovations based on them. They achieved more than expected, and the national and military power increased dramatically.

The 8th Legion was created.

It is a corps composed mainly of dragon species.

With their tremendous fighting power, they became Alkimaira's trump card and achieved great results in the battlefields that followed.

"And then the god of disaster appeared again. And once again, the God of Mischief appeared, this time far more powerful than before. The great powers and small and medium nations mobilize all their forces and successfully resist and repel it. However, each nation suffered considerable damage.

However, one of the major powers had preserved its strength and suffered only minor damage.

They were reluctant to put forth their forces in order to gain world supremacy after the God of Mischief had been defeated.

"A great nation tried to bare its fangs against us, weakened by the God of Mischief, but it was regarded as an "enemy of the world" that stood by and watched the world in peril.

No matter how powerful a superpower it may be, there is no way it can win against the enemy of the whole world. That country easily perished by turning every country except itself against ...... literally the world itself. The number of countries that can be called superpowers has been reduced to two.

After meeting with the king of the other great power, it was decided that a decisive battle would be fought for the supremacy of the world. Having decided on a time, a place, and trained all the forces it could muster, Alkymaila threw literally all of its strength into the duel.

A great battle was fought for the supremacy of the world. The battle was fierce. It was the largest battle ever fought, and the toughest battle ever fought. But with some luck, we won the battle. And we have earned the title of world champions. Alkimaila became the one and only superpower, and the golden age had arrived."

Then came a period of temporary peace.

Whenever the god of calamity appeared, they protected the world by acting as shields for small and medium-sized nations.

Whenever a new nation was born in the neighborhood, they watched over it without interfering with its development.

When small and medium-sized nations formed alliances and launched wars against each other, we stood up for them.

They never attacked on their own, but only met the challenge of war as champions.

Thirty years have passed since then.

And now... our country is entering an age of the unknown.

Helian, the king of Alkimaira, once broke off his speech.

"As you all know, our country was forced to move its entire capital. Moreover, the transfer was limited to the castle and the castle town, and the facilities across the street were not transferred.

According to the subsequent investigation, the land where we are standing now is a different continent from the original location of Alkimaira. On the contrary, there is a strong possibility that we have been transported to a world different from the one we were in - a different world."

The people, who had been quiet, let out an unbearable murmur.

"Cities other than the capital city don't seem to have been transferred, and we can't get in touch with them. Naturally, the same is true for the troops who have been staying in the satellite cities. In other words, we are completely alone and helpless.

The only forces we have are those presently in the capital. You who are gathered here now, including those who live in the capital, are the entire population of Alkymyra, and the total strength of our army. Compared to the number before the transfer, it is less than a hundredth of that number.

The murmurs grow louder.

Some of the more discerning and intelligent among us, who had been expecting this to some extent, did not sound upset, but they raised their eyebrows in a serious manner.

"We don't even have a way to return to our original location. We are investigating from a magical and spell-casting point of view, but we haven't even found a clue to a solution. We are forced to adopt a long-term strategy. On the other hand, the capital city has only enough food for one year. After that time, the government will not be able to feed everyone here.

And that's not all. According to the information we have obtained through our contact with the half-elven nation of Rattestwood, the land to which we have been relocated is considered a forbidden land, a dangerous area where powerful demons roam.

Furthermore, the entire forest surrounding our country is under the influence of an illusionary effect, and any investigation magic at a short distance, or even at a long distance, is blocked. Therefore, we cannot even grasp the surrounding terrain. The country has been forced into a situation where it is as if it were blindfolded."

The king describes the current state of the country in an eloquent and flowing speech without concealment.

Then, the king, who had caught all the people's clinging eyes, put on a somber expression and said, "I am not a good person, but I am a good person,

"It's ---- hopeless."

He said so.

"We were forcibly transferred to the danger zone, and we were forced into a state of isolation and helplessness.

The cause of the shift is not yet known, nor is there any hope for a solution.

All industries are malfunctioning, and the stockpiles of food will run out after one year.

Furthermore, the country has lost most of its land, population, and military power. Our overall national strength is probably less than one-hundredth of what it was before the transition.

The people could not even raise their voices at the king's words.

Although they had known it for some time, they could not help but be shocked by the reality of the words coming directly from the king's mouth.

Many of the people, confronted with the reality of the critical situation, could do nothing but stand dumbfounded.

"There is nothing we can do.

We can't even resist.

This country ...... alkimaira is finished."

When the words were finally released, the people turned their heads.

Some even shook their shoulders.

It was an unbecoming behavior for the people of Alkymyra, the world's dominant power.

But no one could blame them.

Everyone was shocked by the king's words.

A somber silence fills the square.

To the people, the king asked

"- Does anyone think so?"