"You want to become the empress of Lainer?"
Roland looked at Rosa.
Like most magical worlds, Lainer World originally had no terms such as "empress" or "female emperor," only titles like "chief" and "king."
Their word for "emperor" had been borrowed from other languages and cultures.
Through abstract translations that conveyed meaning rather than literal wording, different languages and cultures had blended in curious ways, producing such oddities as emperor elections and vice emperors.
In the context of Huaxia, those certainly seemed rather unconventional.
But the title Rosa had just used was spoken in perfectly articulated Seris, complete with a prefix denoting supreme authority. It could readily be understood as the term "emperor" coined by Qin Shi Huang: a proper hereditary monarch.
Combined with the feminine form in the Atrelin Language, it became "empress."
Roland said, "The Emperor's Crown isn't something you can acquire merely by proclaiming yourself emperor. It requires widespread recognition.
"If you could unite Lainer and achieve a unity that eluded even the Lochia Dynasty and the Tiniara Tribe during their reigns, then calling yourself the emperor of Lainer would be convincing enough.
"But I can tell you frankly that Atrelin doesn't want Lainer united, much less an imperial power emerging in Lainer World.
"Atrelin's interests lie in using Lainer World as a source of magical materials and soldiers, while also relocating industries and absorbing its surplus casually employed population-not turning it into a challenger."
Yet Rosa said, "Sir, you've only spoken of Atrelin. What about you yourself, and the Seris School?
"What do your interests and those of the Seris School require Lainer World to become?"
Roland felt a little troubled, and somewhat puzzled as well.
Rosa had never been an ambitious person.
He did not answer her question, because both of them understood that the