Emergency Situation, Contingency Contract

Good morning, Your Majesty Vane!

"Um."

"Your Majesty! This is breakfast today!"

"Oh."

"Your Majesty, your new office is ready!"

"Good..."

The sun rose once again from the east of Gran Faro, and Vane began his first day as the ruler of Iberia.

Although there was no official confirmation, the members of the Inquisition, under the respectful attitude of Carmen and other Saints, began to show respect to this usually unremarkable great figure.

Vane knew this was due to the influence of Carmen and others, but being respected was always pleasant.

But everything has two sides, and reality soon dealt him a heavy blow.

"Vane... Your Majesty, these are the documents I need your review."

The bright sunlight was blocked by the stack of documents. Vane moved a little closer to the door without making a sound, and sighed:

"Alas, only one night has passed, and a pitifully thick barrier has already formed between us."

"If you wish, I can switch back to the original form of address, but until then..."

Irene turned around and locked the door.

"Please read these documents. How can a ruler not even know the situation of his own territory?"

Seeing that his way out was blocked, Vane reluctantly picked up the documents.

Although he agreed to govern Iberia with Carmen's consent, Vane was actually a complete novice when it came to expertise, but Carmen and the others seemed to tacitly agree that he was a seasoned veteran.

With no other option, Vane could only try to start with the simplest parts.

Clothing, food, housing, and transportation—make up for whatever you lack.

Once basic survival needs are met, many seemingly troublesome issues can be easily resolved.

[Clothing]: Thanks to Iberia's southern location near the sea, although the sky is always overcast, the temperature is very pleasant.

Let's put it aside for now.

[Food]: A serious problem nowadays is that Great Silence tsunamis destroy farmland and cause soil salinization.

The land to the east has even turned into a saline desert, and the current food shortage largely depends on the Great Yan.

This is easy to solve. Seaborn Si has the function of improving the environment. Without energy limitations, it can produce enough arable land to meet the minimum needs within a month.

As for the seeds... it seems there's been some progress with the third brother, maybe we should ask him?

[Vane: Third brother, third brother, please respond.]

[Gorth: Tell me, what do you want now?]

[Vane: You really know me... Any results from the seed research we did have before?]

[Gorth: You want some too?]

[Vane: Also?]

[Gorth:... It's not important. The research has made some progress, but it's still far from being localized.]

[Image of Nursery by Gorth (jpg)]

[Vane:... Is that a man-eating plant? Is that Doom-shroom in the corner? How did they do that!?]

[Gorth: It's just a counterfeit product with a similar appearance. It's confirmed to be very resilient; it can even grow on frozen ground sprinkled with Magic Crystal Ore fragments.]

[Vane: One of everything, please!]

[Gorth: Don't do anything reckless, it's dangerous.]

[Vane: Didn't you say it was a counterfeit? The Doom-shroom can actually explode, can it?]

[Gorth:...]

[Vane:... Got it. Then could you optimize some safer, more sustenance crops for me?]

[Gorth: Enough food crops? What type?]

[Vane: It can be grown on a large scale, serving as a major crop for a region or even a country.]

[Gorth: There are two types. The lowest grade of buckwheat whips people like a whip, and some newly grown rice varieties cut people with their leaves after they mature.]

[Vane: Give me some, I'll plant some to try it out first.]

[Gorth: I'll put it in the main hall. If you want it to ripen faster, just use the Vitality Fertilizer.]

[Vane: I love you~]

[Gorth:...]

Vane's brief disappearance, Irene, already immune to this familiar scene, simply sighed.

"They ran away again..."

"I'm back!"

Wien grabbed two handfuls of the ear feathers that had stood up in fright in front of her, and before Irene could react, she screamed. Vane then shoved the retrieved items into the girl's arms.

"Inquisitor Irene, I have a very important task for you!"

"The seeds you hold are crucial to Iberia's future of food self-sufficiency. Experiment with them outside immediately, go go go!"

"Huh? Wait a minute! I don't understand..."

Bang--!

The door closed in front of her, and Irene, clutching a bag of seeds, stood there bewildered.

Was I being targeted and given the cold shoulder?

The duration of grain seed experiments cannot be resolved in a short time, not to mention that this is not her area of expertise at all!

After a brief moment of melancholy, the little bird headed towards the cafeteria.

The chef has his own vegetable garden; he should know about this, right?

As I approached the stairwell, a boy walked towards me.

Irene's eyes lit up. From Vane's description, the young man in front of her was actually a very talented alchemist. Could there be a shortcut in this area?

"That, Thorn..."

The girl hesitated to speak.

Why would anyone use such a code name?

"Thorns, just call me Thorns."

Thorns corrected her expressionlessly. Even though she had checked the corresponding book and the original code name was unambiguous, she could tell something was wrong from the girl's reaction.

"Hey, Thorns, do you know how to farm?"

Looking at the items in Irene's arms, Thorns guessed that it was another arrangement by Vane.

Thinking of the strange sight he had witnessed yesterday, Thorns questioned the safety of the grain.

"I understand. I've cultivated plants in experiments before, so the general techniques should be similar. Leave it to me."

"Thank you so much! I'll go with you!"

After sending away the little bird that was watching over him, Vane continued to think about the remaining two parts.

[Dwelling]: This obviously cannot be considered just a simple dwelling, as the physical fitness of the Terra is not so bad as to be defeated by ordinary climate.

Catastrophe...

Iberia has a small population, so the current Mobile Cities are sufficient; we need to consider another aspect there.

Job position.

Let Seaborn fish in the sea; the Golden Age is exactly what it sounds like, and there will be no shortage of start-up capital.

The questions are: how to properly deliver money to the people, and how to get that money spent and circulating.

After briefly considering the current state of commerce in Iberia, Vane abandoned his plan to produce and sell his own goods.

"We really have to open the blockade..."

Great Silence, the National Defense Forces have strictly sealed off the border, blocking caravans from entering along with spies from various countries.

Vane had long understood the dangers of isolationism, but the issue of the National Defense Forces would have to wait until after his ascension to the throne; at least he needed to gain the basic acceptance of the people.

This brings us to the last goal.

[Travel]: As the saying goes, if you want to get rich, build roads first.

In Terra, where Mobile Cities and mobile blocks serve as residences, traveling between different locations is a cumbersome process.

Why did messengers and mercenaries rise to prominence?

Catastrophe, wild beasts, bandits.

The three major powers will relentlessly beat anyone who tries to challenge the authority of the wilderness; even in a great power like Victoria, only a very few trade routes are officially protected.

It's easy to understand that even the best trade routes can be abandoned after being hit by Catastrophe, and official maintenance naturally requires costs.

Increased travel costs naturally reduce circulation between regions, and this is even more pronounced in Iberia.

Despite the Inquisition's efforts over the years to connect different regions, large black areas on the map remain disconnected.

In towns under the control of the ruling territory, it was common for people to outwardly comply but inwardly defy the rules.

The implementation of a law can take years or even decades to show any results, which is fundamentally due to low communication efficiency.

The Inquisition are all taciturn; they won't publicize good deeds, but bad deeds often travel far and wide.

With the lighthouses fallen, Iberia's proud nationwide broadcasting system fell silent, severing all communication between the regions.

Although it was initially developed by the emperor to promote his achievements, many people underestimated its importance.

In Terra, which has no satellites, the ability to broadcast nationwide signifies the unimpeded flow of information.

If it weren't for the Great Silence, Iberia's yet-to-be-implemented global broadcasting system could have carried the sound throughout Terra.

"Those machines seem to still be in the sea?"

Recalling this legacy of the Golden Age, Vane immediately ordered the Bloodline Heir to collect the machines from the ruins of the lighthouse.

If we can find a way to spread propaganda that Carmen and others are worried about, it will be easy to solve.

When nationwide broadcasting returns, it will be the time to announce Iberia's revival to this Daichi.

"Speaking of which, wouldn't you say I stole the messenger's job?"

With the rollout of nationwide broadcasting, the work of messengers and other similar entities that rely on mail delivery will certainly be impacted.

Another viable job opening has disappeared...

Vane folded the documents in front of him into paper airplanes, aimed at the open window, and threw them out.

Forget it, we're not short of money anyway. Let's wait until the Suspended Loop is fully deployed and then observe which jobs the public prefers.

I'm going to take a nice nap now...

"Oh dear--!"

A crisp scream, unique to Irene, instantly snapped Vane back to his senses.

The noise... is down below!

Vane darted to the window and, clinging to the frame before jumping out, saw the chaotic scene below.

Within the scattered courtyards, enormous plants waved their branches and leaves, and the neat stone brick walls were cut into pieces.

Irene screamed as she was tied up in mid-air, her only free hand wielding a sword against the blade.

"Thorns! What's going on? Why did they suddenly grow like this?!"

Faced with the girl's accusations, the boy, suspended in mid-air, responded with a Zen-like indifference.

"This must be a problem with the seeds themselves. I only added some growth-accelerating agents. This kind of unexpected situation has never occurred in previous experiments."

"Then what about this one?!"

"I am observing."

While responding, Thorns's brain began to piece together the fragments of the accident.

"The reagent wasn't that powerful, and there was no unusual reaction when we watered it before. The problem started after we applied that unknown fertilizer."

"Is it due to a special ingredient in the fertilizer? Or is it a special reaction resulting from the combination of the two?"

Why are you so calm?

"I can't believe it!" Irene cried out in despair. The angle at which she was tied was too bad, and with only her wrists free to move, it was impossible for her to use her swordsmanship.

"Please calm down, Miss Irene. Actually, if you hadn't been startled and reacted instinctively at the beginning, this strange plant most likely wouldn't have attacked on its own."

"You see, the staff over there weren't involved."

"Is that the point? And Mr. Vane! How long are you going to keep looking up there!?"

Faced with the girl's shameful accusation, Vane took a screenshot, smiled, and gave her a thumbs up.

Thank you for your hospitality.

"You're welcome."

Hedley carefully accepted the book and thanked the librarian again.

"I told you not to be so polite. There are very few people in the Babel Tower as passionate about reading as you. I'm practically getting moldy from being here all alone every day."

"Moreover, fewer and fewer people are willing to learn about Kazdel's history; it might be forgotten one day."

"... I will try my best to remember it."

"Oh! Then I'll leave it to you."

After saying goodbye to the overly enthusiastic librarian, Hedley went to a corner of the lending room, where two people were already there.

"Too slow, Hedley. Chatting so happily with that woman, is he planning to abandon Ines and find someone new?"

"I can pretend I didn't hear that, but if you don't want to find someone crawling out of your shadow while you're sleeping at night, you'd better refrain from saying things like that."

"Tsk! You should worry about yourself, you're henpecked."

Feeling refreshed after his mockery, Wis'adel lowered his head again, immersing himself in the struggle with his words.

Hedley sat down wearily. Thanks to someone's unintentional comment, the nickname "henpecked husband" had somehow overshadowed his real name.

And the culprit was sitting right across from him.

"Thank you for your help."

"My pleasure."

Hedley handed over the translated document, which Vera took and looked at, occasionally asking questions about the annotations.

Soft questions and explanations, the rustling of pages turning, and Wis'adel's annoyed mutterings.

Hedley felt a little like he was in a dream.

As a teacher, passing on knowledge, this dream didn't seem as far away as he had imagined.

"It won't work..."

Vera's annoyance drew Hedley's attention back.

Is there something you don't understand?

"The history of the Sarkaz is too vague; there's practically nothing to see. There are far more descriptions of foreign armies than of the Sarkaz's own."

Vera rubbed her temples. She had intended to learn about the Sarkaz race from history, but instead, she became even more confused.

The All Souls that Vane spoke of are also difficult to find in the book; the only ones mentioned more often...

"Demon King..."

This title has been used throughout the history of the Sarkaz, and it is more of a reflection of an era than a king in the conventional sense.

Kazdel, hated by all nations, should have been destroyed long ago over the course of ten thousand years, but every time it is on the verge of destruction, a demon king appears to give Sarkaz a breath of fresh air.

Subsequently, this newly born demon king will be devoured by his own race, which has recovered from its previous decline.

Combining Vane's intelligence with her observations of history, Vera felt increasingly perceiving the twisted nature of the Sarkaz race.

Including the current Sarkaz Twin Kings, regardless of which Demon Lord they are under, the Sarkaz are all affected by an extreme emotion.

Hatred.

This hatred is extremely abnormal. Normal hatred should be directed at enemies, but the Sarkaz's hatred has reached the point where they don't even recognize their own family.

[Because you don't want revenge, I have to kill you first, and then I'll take my revenge.]

This may sound exaggerated, but it reflects the facts that Vera observed in history.

Even the current civil war Twin Kings is a compromise forced upon them by this extreme hatred.

The more Vera learned, the more certain she became that, more than material changes, Sarkaz's twisted mind was what needed to be addressed immediately.

"Hate..."

Hearing Vera's question, Hedley's expression turned grave.

"You're right. Most of the Sarkaz fighting alongside the Military Commission these days are blind believers driven by hatred."

"Your Highness's decision to bring in members of other races to the Babel Tower may also be intended to ease tensions."

Vera leaned back in her seat, exhausted. "Judging from the results, she failed."

As an organization led by the Demon King, yet not located within the Mobile City, it's obvious who has more popular support.

"Your Highness could have succeeded..."

If it weren't for that accident.

"So what exactly happened that forced Your Highness to leave Kazdel?" Wis'adel looked up.

"The gunpowder had been buried for a long time; someone just happened to ignite a spark."

Hedley didn't talk about the past, but his unpleasant expression clearly indicated that it wasn't pleasant.

"Is there a traitor?"

Wis'adel understood the inside story and said unhappily:

"Why not just kill the traitor? Why should the Demon King leave his own city?"

"Because it's His Highness..."

Hedley gave a seemingly unrelated answer, but it was the best answer.

"Besides... although the future Your Highness described is indeed beautiful, the blood of the Sarkaz will be shed before Your Highness's ideals can be realized."

"Unless someone is willing to donate blood to Sarkaz."

Vera continued the conversation, leaving Hedley speechless.

That makes sense, but who would be willing to donate blood to the infamous Demon Granny?

Hedley glanced at Vera.

There is one such opportunity, but it's unrealistic to expect an individual to provide financial support to a country of such size.

Vera was unaware of Hedley's thoughts; she was considering the possibility of this move.

She certainly doesn't lack resources; with the support of the Yuanqi World, supporting a small country is no problem at all.

The potential split caused by third-party intervention could have been avoided by Theresa's personality.

The prejudices of the remaining countries... this is indeed a difficult aspect to handle.

The ironclad rule of "pacifying the internal before resisting the external" is reversed when applied to Sarkaz.

With the Flame Demon King sweeping across the Daichi before them, no one wants to see a unified Kazdel.

Therefore, a policy of friendly communication and appeasement will not work.

With a long sigh of relief, Vera made up her mind.

The only option left is to try using force as a deterrent.

The fear instilled by the first nuclear bomb will buy the Sarkaz enough time to develop.

As for the person in charge of the nuclear missile... a certain "Flame Demon" would be quite suitable.

Vera nodded.

Well, I'll discuss it with Theresa later. That Demon King shouldn't have any prejudice against the Flame Demon's identity.

"By the way, Hedley, what's Kazdel like?"

As Kazdel's only Mobile City, Vera was indeed curious about it.

Hedley pondered for a long time, then shook his head.

"You don't want to see this."

"Is the Demon King's palace really that bad?" Vera wondered.

"A palace, perhaps there once was," Hedley recalled.

"In my memory, Kazdel was a giant, mobile slum, with twisted buildings layered upon layer, blocking out the sun, black smoke from factories, and polluted air..."

"If it weren't for the Catastrophe disaster, the environment in the wilderness would be better."

Vera was speechless.

She had thought Kazdel's life would be better.

Hedley said in a low voice, "I used to live in Kazdel, where a teacher once taught me..."

[If one day I can leave Kazdel, I must never come back.]

"This is really..."

Vera didn't know how to describe it.

Seeing this, Hedley felt comforted instead.

"Of course, I'm not being absolute, after all, the Kazdel I remember is from more than a decade ago."

"Well, let's wait a while longer, maybe we'll have a chance to see that city for ourselves."

Vera turned to look out the window. Judging from the time Theresa left, she should have finished dealing with the strange situation in Kazdel by now.

The Dead Souls, I wonder if it really looks that much like Little Black...

[Help... help...]

Vera turned around in surprise, Hedley was the first to notice something was wrong.

What's wrong?

Vera subconsciously reached for the hidden Crown on her head. Since entering Ifrit's mind with Theresa last time, she could hear the whispers of the soul from time to time.

Theresa explained that those were the voices of the Sarkaz All Souls, and that some of the more perceptive Sarkaz occasionally heard these whispers.

Unable to bear the noise any longer, Vera asked Theresa to help her mute the noise.

It's only been three days, and it's already expired?

Just as Vera was contemplating whether to seek help from the Banshee lord, the murmurs grew louder and louder.

Vera sensed something was wrong. She had just stood up when the babbling suddenly stopped, and the next moment...

"Boss!"

Wis'adel caught Vera as she collapsed and frantically pulled candy from his pocket.

Hedley did not lose his composure; Vera was clearly not the type to suffer from malnutrition.

"Are you feeling unwell? Do you need to go to the infirmary?"

"Roar..."

"What?"

Vera covered her head and said with difficulty:

"The All Souls... are roaring!"

At the same time, the Catastrophe detection stations around Kazdel emitted sharp alarms.

"Catastrophe alert? Where's the messenger? Immediately notify the cities in your area to evacuate!"

"No... this is too strange!"

"What are you still muttering about?! In which region is this Catastrophe?"

"Kazdel!"

"... What? They've broken up? That place isn't covered by the Contingency Contract."

"No, stationmaster! You need to take a look at this!"

Frustrated, the stationmaster, awakened by the alarm, rubbed his hair and slapped the staff member on the back of the head.

"What are you looking at? Don't make a fuss."

Even so, the stationmaster, out of professional ethics, still glanced at the data on the observation platform.

"Um..."

"Um?"

"Um!!?"

He abruptly shoved the station staff member aside, and the station manager, his face pressed against the screen, shouted in disbelief.

"What the heck is this ridiculous coverage area?!"