"Join which country?" Abner shot a glance at the snickering Klein and said irritably, "Do you really think I went to all that trouble to obtain a major city and its surrounding towns from each of the three countries just so I could join one of them in the future?"
"Are you planning to establish a family like the 'Lower Body Castle'?" Klein asked, struggling to hold back his laughter.
—The Habsburg Family of the era before the First Epoch was called "Lower Body Castle" because most of its lands had been acquired through marriage alliances. Even before World War I, it still possessed a long string of titles, including kings, archdukes, and emperors.
"The Apocalypse is almost here. Where would I find the time?" Abner rolled his eyes at him again and shook his head. "Dillis, Indo, and Beldan are all major cities along the Sonia Sea. I became their lord because I want to establish a 'Kingdom of the Ring Sea' and completely solidify the foundation of the Church of the God of Truth.
"However, establishing a kingdom directly might provoke resistance from the people outside Beldan. So I want to use the buffer period while I'm their lord to designate the three places as free ports with reduced taxes, promote free trade, and focus on developing the economy. Once people realize that they'll live better under the rule of the 'God of Truth' than they did before, they'll gladly become citizens of the 'Kingdom of the Ring Sea.'"
After listening, Klein first nodded approvingly at his plan before asking in puzzlement, "Dillis City and Indo Port are indeed both major cities along the Sonia Sea, but I remember Beldan being only a small city. And wasn't it inland...?"
"Heh, it seems you haven't bought a new map