January.
　It's an important day to welcome a new year.

　For me, this is the first New Year's day since I became King.
　I'm the king, so I have to fulfill my duties as the Supreme Divinity Officer.

　Well, it's not that difficult. All you have to do is imitate Julia, who until now has been in charge of the sickbed King Lossies as his representative.

　But there are two other problems.

　First, it's the announcement of Tetra's birth.


　''Well people are surprised.
　'That's natural. I mean, I was just as surprised as you were.

　Tetra mutters next to me, her belly bulging wide.

　Normally, New Year's celebrations are celebrated only by the people of the country.
　But for some reason, a foreign dignitary named Abraham came to this country.

　I've heard that the rich and powerful, as well as the commoners, were wondering what was going on, but....
　He didn't expect it to be Tetra's real grandfather at all.

　........This birth has enormous political significance.
　Because in Abraham, the only direct descendants are Tetra and his belly child.

　The others are dying off because they died of accidents or illness.
　It would be better if Abraham was a regular regent, but he is a pretender. He is a dictator.

　He might think that the next child will be his own blood........
　In that case, Tetra would no longer be treated as just a side room.

　Not at all, it's a troublesome thing to have a political marriage that naturally turned into a political marriage, even though it wasn't intended to be a political marriage.


　However, the issue has not yet come to the surface, so it's a good thing that it hasn't come to the fore. It won't come to the surface until after the baby is born...oh no! My stomach hurts.



　Next problem. That is, we have to worship the three gods we have recently designated as the main gods.
　After all, no one had ever experienced this before.

　All the clans and witchcraft practitioners had to come up with the rules for worshipping them.

　It wasn't just a simple matter of worship. They had to show the whole country that the three pillars would be the guardian deities of the land of King Rosais.

　For the time being, they built a makeshift altar and performed the rituals there.

　If we combine the new anti-spell system with the traditional way of doing things, I think we can somehow withstand the curse of retribution.
　There are more spellcasters in our country than in any of the three countries, and most importantly, there are wards that Yulia put in place before her pregnancy.

　However, it's only a temporary thing. The wards Yuria put up for me this time will be broken.
　There's a chance that Yulia will become ill and won't be able to set up the warding for next year. If that happens, we're out. Our country would be hit by the enemy's curse from the front.
　And we can't just protect ourselves. We must take retaliatory measures.

　Right now, we are working on the construction of a curse prevention system as quickly as possible.
　It will take at least five years to complete it, though.

　According to Julia, the important thing in a system that uses God is faith.
　We'll build temples around the country to gather people's faith, and we'll also build a great temple to gather their faithfulness together.

　The faithfulness gathered in those great temples is transformed into a spell and warding is applied.
　This is a system of preventing spells using the gods.

　He builds temples in various places. It's easy to put into words, but it's expensive and time-consuming.
　As for the cost, we can raise enough money, but we don't have the time.

　We just have to take our time.






　'You're making quite a bit of progress. Construction.
　'Yes, sir. We're going to finish ahead of schedule. Well, with the new Great Temple we're building, that margin will disappear.

　Ismaila said a little sarcastically.
　He ordered her to build the Great Temple, no matter what.

　She was angry because of that and had to review her plans.
　Nevertheless, we had our own political reasons.

　I'm going to have to convince her.


　I was at the site where the new capital was to be built.
　After the New Year's confusion, I had some time to spare. I still have to see it with my own eyes.

　Flood control is progressing well. The river around the proposed new city construction site has already been diked.
　Now, a little bit of melting snow and heavy rain won't cause flooding.

　However, the situation is still not perfect. If it rains hard once in a decade, it will be destroyed.
　Well, it's only been about four months since construction began, so there's nothing we can do about it.

　According to Ismail, this is where the real work begins.
　They are going to build a branch of the river and further expand the embankment.

　There are seven hills in this proposed metropolitan area.
　Even if the levees break, these hills will not be submerged by water.

　In other words, it is the safest place to live.
　The palace, the great shrine and other important facilities will be built on the hills.

　To be honest, the river isn't that much of a threat. It's the hills that are the problem.
　The Hill?
　Yes. A hill is like a small mountain, you know. There's a mountain stream and water runs underneath. It's fine when it's sunny, but when it rains, it's a disaster. That's why it's essential to have a drainage system, in other words, a sewage system.

　
　Well, drinking water isn't a problem since there's a river nearby.

　'What exactly are we going to do?'
　I'll bring a water diversion to the capital. Of course, it will be sluiced to prevent flooding. Let's pour the drainage and rainwater into this river. A well is enough for drinking water. If it's not enough, I think the best thing to do is to pull the aqueduct. It's cleaner than the water from the river.

　Suidobashi....
　I've seen one in Rome. If they were to build it, it would take a lot of money and expense.
　I mean, do you have the technology?

　'It's tough with the current technology on the Adelian peninsula. Or rather, Cilicia has only a limited number of aqueducts. But by the time this city is completed, the craftsmen will be as skilled as those in Cilicia. When it comes to road technology, I'm sure they will already be on par with Cilicia.

　Cilicia is far ahead of our country when it comes to building technology. But in civil engineering, there is not much difference.
　Since Cilicia is divided into small states, bridges and roads are not used for the enemy's advance.
　That's why they don't build many of them.

　Besides, the Cilician people are a maritime people.
　When they traveled to the neighboring countries, the first means of transportation that came to mind was not walking, but boats.

　Therefore, they tend to disregard the land trade routes.

　By the way, when will I be able to live there?
　Four years from now. It will be six years before it can function as a full-fledged capital. Well, if the king wants us to focus only on the capital, we can speed it up even more...''

　Roads and flood control in various places. And it's been decided to build a temple as well.
　Since those things are taking up a lot of manpower, we'll just have to take our time.

　'My King. Can't we get a few more people to join us?　It would be a lot quicker if there were a thousand more of us.
　'Don't be absurd. The construction work is already putting a strain on our finances. We can't afford to spend more in the future, given the possibility of war.

　The number of ingenuity we are now mobilizing is 3,000. Including the standing army, four thousand........
　You see?　This number of people. We are constantly mobilizing one and a half percent of the population.

　A war would be over in two weeks at the most, but now we've been mobilizing this one and a half percent for four months.

　Well, our income is increasing as much as our expenditure.
　Sales tax from Cilician merchants, paper and liquor, boxwood (garnet), rock salt, etc. Our income has increased a great deal over the previous generation.　


　''As for the laying of the road I would say it's about twenty percent. And there were originally simple roads in this country that were trampled down with dirt. And there are no troublesome obstacles such as mountains or forests. The concrete that the king invented for us is easy to handle. It's going smoothly. For now, the road to King Domorgal's country is almost complete. The road to King Belvedere's country should be ready by June.

　The plan is one line from the present capital to King Domorgal's country. One line to King Evil's country. One to King Belvedere's country and one to King Belvedere's country. In total, three roads were given top priority.

　Originally, our country had a good number of roads.
　Anyone can understand that the existence of roads speeds up the movement speed of armies and increases the comings and goings of people.

　In particular, the roads to King Domorgal's country and to Belvedil's country, which were my arch-enemies, are quite splendid by Adelunian standards.

　This time, the road was paved with crushed stone and drainage equipment was installed.
　That's all we had to do, so the construction period was short.

　Well, the country of King Loseys is only about one size smaller than Iwate Prefecture.
　The distance to be laid is also short, so the construction work is not that difficult.

　By the way, construction of the road extending from the new capital has not yet begun.
　It is useless to build a road where there is no one. And we're using water transportation for the construction materials.

　It's on the back burner now.

　''But even so, for me to take on a part in the construction of a country... it's like a dream.
　It's a small country.
　But it's the sunrise now, isn't it?　Under your reign. From now on, this country will be the most powerful nation on the Adelian Peninsula. Perhaps the unification of the Adelian peninsula how would you feel about that?

　Ismaila said with a laugh, half in jest.
　As for me, I'd like to make that happen.


　Speaking of which. Are you and Aomei dating?
　What are you talking about?　It's not like that....

　My face turned bright red. That's very helpful to understand.

　'I need you to be honest with me. Actually, I have an offer for you. You. Well, it's not a bad place to be. I'm an advocate of political marriage, but not compulsory. I think it's preferable if we can get married through free love.
　Well I don't want to get married I'll find out for myself.
　Okay. Let me know if there's anything I can do to help.

　I said and said goodbye to Ismaila.





　'Heh, that's funny,'
　I finish reading the first volume of The Transcontinental Chronicles written by Qingming.
　The first volume is about the Scarlet Empire.

　It tells the customs, culture, manners, geography, and history of the Scarlet Empire, with episodes of how Qingming's parents set out on their journey and where they went.
　According to this book, there are real dragons and qilin in there.

　I'd like to go there. Well, it's probably not possible though.

　Thank you very much. This paper is really easy to use and it's a big help. And to give it to me for free........
　Don't worry about it. We're proud to have a great book come out of our country.

　I had given Qingming the paper for free.
　Not only that, I also prepared a mansion and servants to provide him with an environment in which he could write.

　Even on Earth, the "Journey through the Three Continents", "Oriental Travels", "Records of the Western Regions of the Great Tang Dynasty", and "The History of the Return of the Southern Ocean" are well known.
　Qingming's "The Chronicles of Crossing Continents" is definitely a book on par with those... or even better.


　Let's say that I had done a poka and this country was ruined.　
　Even so, there is no doubt that Qingming's book will live on.

　If I support him, I will live on in his book.
　I will remain a part of my existence for posterity.


　''The only thing that bothers me is that it's hard to read. The further I read, the more it spreads out and gets in the way.
　But that's just the nature of the book, isn't it?

　Yes, it's the nature of the book in the form of a scroll.
　So what I'm saying is, you know, stop doing the scroll style.

　'How about a booklet?'
　Is this a booklet?
　'Yes. You cut the paper at regular intervals and make a bunch of it. Then you punch a hole in it and thread the string through it. Then you can use a piece of cardboard as a cover to protect the book. This way it won't get in the way and you can use the paper inside out.

　For those of us who are familiar with modern Japanese booklets, they are hard to read and hard to compete with.
　And the booklet book takes up less space for storage.

　The booklet is far superior.
　Well, the scrolls are cooler, though.

　'Sure, it's more efficient. Why didn't I think of that ... it's quirky.
　Ha, ha.

　It's a rip-off of our predecessors.

　''By the way, Qingming. What do you think of Ismea?
　Hmm?　I think he's a good man. Is it?
　No, it's nothing.

　This reaction is....
　Ismea you need to work hard.







　'Nikolaos, how are you doing?　Are you used to living here?
　'Yes. The food isn't much different from Cilicia, and the climate is mild ... not a bad life.

　

　Best of all, I don't get smashed with eggs every time I go out.

　Should I bemoan that, or should I bemoan the lowliness of the Cilician people, or should I bemoan your annoyance....
　Probably the latter.

　By the way, where's King Loseys?
　Which one?
　The Ptolemaic Theory or the Geocentric Theory. Well, Master Tetra seemed to support the Ptolemaic theory.

　Oh, so he's a heliocentric.
　Well, if you think about it naturally, the heliocentric theory is the correct answer. Of course.

　As for that guy, he's going to say something like, "In the first place, why do you come up with the perverse idea that you are going around instead of the other person going around? You should just look at it honestly" or something like that.

　Hmmm, I don't know which one I am....
　This is a different world, so I wouldn't be surprised if the heliocentric theory is correct. I knew it........

　Geocentric Theory?
　'Whoa!　It's as good as it gets, Lord Almus!　I've always thought you were very savage for a barbaric Adelnian for a long time. You are the best king ever!

　The best of kings. Thank you.
　And I'm sorry. I'm sorry for being a savage Adelian.

　Nikolaos, so excited by the prospect of having someone who understands, doesn't notice my giggle.
　I think I understand part of why this guy is getting pelted with eggs.

　'As for me, I'm glad you're here. This country is not as civilized as the countries of Cilicia. By the way, let me ask you one thing, how do you think you can make the Adelian alphabet?
　Adelunian characters?　Well, it's certainly inconvenient not to have your own characters. If there's no Cilician script and you ask me to do something with the Persis script, I'm going to go crazy. But I'm not that side....

　I knew he was weak. This guy is a science major too.
　In this world, there's still no distinction between science and humanities, so I thought it might be possible.

　Do you have any strengths or weaknesses?

　''I'm sorry. I'm sorry I can't help you. 'I'm sorry I can't help you, but for me, I think there's something more important than writing.
　Does it matter?
　Calendar.

　Calendars?
　What's so weird about it? I have no idea, but....

　People in this country are barely aware of it, but it's a bit outside the actual season. It's about 40 days.
　'Hmmm, if you ask me, is that right?　I'm not really conscious of it.

　The current calendar was created five hundred years ago. Forty days off means eight days off in a hundred years. No, you'll never know.

　"This kind of discrepancy makes me strangely irritated...
　'So your opinion is that the calendar should be revised?'

　Hmm.........well, the people of this country have lived according to that deviated calendar, so it's not as inconvenient as you might think.
　The commoners would be sowing seeds according to the seasons they sense with their skin, not the calendar.

　It's not so easy to revise the calendar because it has a big impact on the people......... Well, I'll think about it.
　Okay. Then I'll make some more.

　This guy doesn't really listen to me.





　Hey, Ial. I've got two things to tell you, actually.
　I called out to Ial.
　I need to talk to you about something important........As soon as I heard those words, Ial's expression tightened.

　He seemed nervous.

　'First of all........will you marry me?
　What?

　Ial's eyes widened.

　'S-sorry. I am a great admirer of Lord Almus and I am loyal to him. If you ask me to die, I am prepared to die.
　What the hell kind of stupid shit do you think you're talking about?

　I don't want to marry you, either. I'm not going to marry you.
　Ial's face turned bright red because he saw my expression and realized he was mistaken.

　''I'm sorry, too. No, I heard that the upper class people also enjoy that kind of love between men...''
　I'm not much of a hobbyist.

　I wouldn't choose you if I had it. I'll take the pretty boy.

　So, are we getting married?
　Ial asks back. I nodded.

　'Yeah. How old are you?
　This year I'm twenty-six.
　So unmarried is pretty bad.

　The majority of Adelnians get married in their teens.
　Late in life, they're in their twenties.

　Well, if you're the kind of person who marries for political reasons, you get divorced a lot, and sometimes you get married in your mid-thirties.

　Still, unmarried is not good.

　I've got a marriage proposal for you. You don't have a girl you like, do you?
　Unfortunately, I haven't been in love since I was born...

　That's too bad. I've had it twice. They both came into fruition.

　So who's this?
　'I haven't settled on anyone. But I'd like you to marry the daughter of one of the ex-Dibelites.
　Are you an ex-Dibelite?
　Yeah. Things have been bad lately, haven't they?　We need to get the country together. I just thought I'd forgive you enough.

　As a matter of fact, most of the great families aren't even loyal to me.
　All they care about is their fiefdoms.

　That's no different for the ex-Dibelites and the Ass faction. Then it's better to forgive the ex-dibelites than to continue to let the As faction get carried away.

　'Well, I don't mean right now. Just think about it. And secondly, this is an important matter right now.
　What is it?
　"You are going to King Zoldias's country.

　King Zoldias' country is a country on the west side of King Evil's country.
　Most of the country is mountainous, and agriculture is quite hopeless.

　But the soldiers are quite strong.
　And I heard that they are doing their best to counter the southward movement of King Gilbed's country.

　''Is this a policy against King Evil's country?''
　'That's what I'm saying. I will put pressure on King Evil's country.

　Perspective approach. The basics of diplomacy.

　And here's why I'm not going with you.
　First of all, an alliance is a long shot. Therefore, returning home without having achieved anything would make King Evil's country happy.
　Secondly, there is King Evil's country and King Belvedil's country between our country and King Zoldias' country.

　Even if I can get an alliance with King Zoldias, it's useless if I can't go home.


　'I'll have to wait two months before I can go. "I'll probably be there in two months, but I'll be ready. You're going to be there for a long time. A year at the very least. Your presence in King Zoldiers' country will only add to the pressure.
　'All right. Well, I'll get ready to go, too. Thinking about marriage. And do me one favor.

　Hmm?
　You're asking for the Eal. That's unusual.

　What's that?
　I thought I wanted a clan. No, we've had one before, but it's a commonplace clan for commoners...

　Basically, in the Adelian peninsula a name is constructed of three elements.
　Personal name (praenomen), clan name (nomen), and family name (cognomen).

　For example, Tetra's real name is Tetra As. Tetra is her personal name and As is her clan name.
　The reason why she doesn't have a family name is because she is the most important family in the As clan.

　The same goes for Julia, Julia Rosais. In other words, she comes from the highest family in the Losais clan, so she doesn't have a family name.

　On the contrary, Raimondo's real name is Raimondo Rosais Noiattus. Nowaatus is his family name.
　This is because Raimondo is setting up a branch of the Losais family.

　By the way, it was only a personal name in the old days. But as the population grew, the names got longer and longer.
　The bad thing about Adelnian names is that they can't be created indefinitely in combination like the Japanese language.


　''Hmm, it's certainly not a good idea to use an overly common clan or family name in diplomacy...''

　I've already given the clan names to Ron, Rosward, and Gram and others. The three of them are a wealthy family with a fiefdom.
　And they don't want to use their previous names. Mainly Lulu.

　They gave each of them the clan names Ron Aemilius, Rosward Fabius, and Gram Calpurnius.
　Where they came from you don't have to tell me. Because that country and the Adelian peninsula are similar in culture and climate, let alone topography. It's not exactly alike, though.

　The reason why I haven't given Ial any territory before is because I don't have one. As for me, I would have given him a large territory, but he refused to give it to Ial. Well, the territory is only a burden to Ial, who works as a diplomat and internal affairs officer.

　''Then........what about Claudius?　There's a great man with a clan name like that.
　'Claudius that's good. Then from this day forward I will take the name Claudius.

　Ial smiled happily.