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The hot water’s color is cloudy.

It’s been said that you can expect beautifying effects on the skin from this.

If you can complain about one thing then that would be the bad smell similar to rotting egg.

However, it’s a sulphuric spring so it couldn’t be helped.

“Iyaa, I had wanted to come to a spring once.”

“We were busy after all.”

Julia says while twining herself around my right arm.

I feel a bountifully soft sensation.

The concept of hot springs itself is known.

Naturally, if sulphur, an ingredient for making gunpowder, exists then surely hot springs also exist.

As expected, if you start looking you’ll immediately find one.

However, unfortunately, the Adernians doesn’t seem to have a custom of bathing in hot springs. Or, if I were to say more accurately, they don’t have the custom of expressly travelling to a hot spring to bathe there.

Locals, on the other hand, seem to frequent them.

Well, there is little idle curiosity for Adernians, whose basic means of movement are walking on foot, to go to hot springs several kilometers away just to bathe there.

And because there are few people who would purposely dig up a hot spring since agriculture is a busy lifestyle, there’s not a great number to go to.

“There are even more types of hot springs other than sulphuric springs, if you looked around. There might even be one peculiar to this world. Yes, I can’t wait to find one.”

When we unify the peninsula, I’ll have the country go find and dig up all the hot springs.

“I really want to enter everyday, if possible. Can’t we do something?”

Tetra asks while twining herself on my left arm. Although not as much as Julia’s, I can reliably feel a certain elasticity. Personally speaking, I prefer this sensation.

Do something? Like what?

“Like transport by carriage?”

“It would cost not an insignificant sum.”

“You’re king so this much luxury is appropriate. Aren’t the tax revenues higher than those from the previous king’s time?”

After the civil war, territories under direct royal control have doubled.

Including the original Ars Territory, now there are the territories from the opposition and the DeBell territory plus the territories conquered from the DeMorgal Kingdom.

Furthermore, there’s the ((new)) garnet trade.

While not all the new territory came under direct royal control since, naturally, I distributed some amongst the great clansmen that supported me, quite a lot had still been added.

Bolus was given the territories around Fort Terrier.

Although it’s a strategic location that connects the old and new territories, Bolus should probably be able to hold on to it.

I’m at a loss, on the other hand, with Bartolo.

Naturally, he should also receive some territory but……..regrettably, his ability is too high.

After much deliberation, I finally settled with relocating him to a new territory. It’s about 1.5 times larger so he shouldn’t have any complaints.

Furthermore, his abilities should be more than enough to defend against the DeMorgal Kingdom.

I gave Ron, Roswald, and Gram territories near direct royal possessions since I’ll still have them help me in the palace from here on out.

Therefore, there’s probably no need for them to live in the crown territories.

The most troublesome one was King Rosyth’s relative, Raymond who had the honor of playing a leading role.

He possesses one of the three salt mines in the country. I had hinted at relocating him to another territory three times larger, but he had refused with a smile. Well, that’s par the course.

Well, there would be a danger of worsening our relations if I had unreasonably forced his relocation, so I settled with increasing his present territory just by a little.

“If possible, I want to completely slice away the power of the great clansmen.”

“Yes…..if only that were possible……”

Tetra murmurs her agreement.

It’s evident that the great clansmen are a hindrance to the smooth management of the country.

This is not a problem of good or bad government.

Their very existence is limitless inefficiency.

Not only do you need their agreement in wartime, you also have to be vigilant against those who might defect to another country. Great clansmen defecting is a common occurrence.

“However, the centralization of power is progressing quite smoothly, you know. I think we shouldn’t have to worry that much about local clansmen.”

Thanks to the flashy way we handled the recent civil war, no great clansmen is in open opposition.

Using forced relocations, we succeeded in resetting their influence on their respective territories.

The problem is…..

“The central clansmen headed by Raymond.”

Tetra murmurs.

The central clansmen are tentatively allied to me, having the same objective of curbing the power of local clansmen. They want to strengthen the power of the Rosyth clan.

They possess small/confined territory.

However, because they hold territories surrounding and within the direct royal possessions, they have an extremely stron influence on the center.

Moreover, the people who put me in power were Raymond et. al.

I am in a situation where I have to hold them in high regard.

From the very beginning, the reason they had chosen me as king is that I don’t have any decent relatives.

While the Ars clansmen are my relatives, they are not close and intimate with me. While I do have hereditary retainers, at best they number only around 30 people.

That’s why in the management of the country, I would certainly have to rely on the Rosyth clan.

My abilities and any other things didn’t matter. If I had been incompetent, they would have made me a puppet though.

Unlike Regal, the only relatives I could and would have to rely on were the Rosyth clansmen, so that made it easier for them.

I want to go and thoroughly inquire and reconcile our interests. We should be the same in wanting to decrease the great clansmen’s power and advance the centralization of power, after all.

“By the way, are you serious on uniting the Adernia Peninsula?”

“Yeah, I’m serious. I had thought for a long time that would be a good idea if possible. However, just thinking won’t make that into reality.

The reason disputes won’t die out in the Adernia peninsula is that it’s not unified after all.

If you unite them once and laid down the foundations, then they’ll become more difficult to divide.

“Then who are we going to attack first?”

“That would depend on the circumstances. We’ll first begin with strengthening our national power.”

The foundation is important in any endeavor.

A building whose foundations aren’t properly staked on the ground would lean after all.

“A, wait…….”

I cling to Julia. I then creep my tongue on the nape of her neck while caressing her lavender-colored hair.

“We also need to properly decide on the crown prince.”

The Royal Succession Problem.

It’s the greatest problem that always follow a monarchial country. Aside the Rosyth Kingdom, a lot of other countrys are also tormented by this problem. There are also a lot of well known cases from history.

While things would settle down once a crown prince has been designated, the one fed such a golden spoon might grow into a foolish king.

Conversely, putting off designating one would cause great troubles.

If the king dies before being able to designate a successor, or, if, for example, the king did declare one but his retainers twist and lie about the heir, or if another prince himself disputes that such a designated succession is a lie so that he may take the throne for himself, naturally a civil war will occur.

“Almis……Julia’s child would be fine as crown prince. That way, there won’t be any trouble in the country.”

“Is that so?…….Thank you.”

I lick her ear to return the favor. Her body quivers in response.

I then ask her while tracing her white back with my finger.

“As I thought, would it be better to choose the crown prince with the acknowledgment that he’d be a foolish ruler?”

“N…….there would be faults in any system. I think that would be second best. There needs to be a system to administer the country in itself even if the King is foolish.

That’s true, huh…..that would be the best though.

Though I think the bureaucratic system I’m recommending is better in that point if you think about it….

A bureaucracy that has not decayed is pretty much like cheese that hasn’t gone bad after all.

Well, you could also say that meat that has rotten just a little bit is much more delicious.

There’s a need to create a system that will oversee the bureaucracy.

I guess it’s better to think about it on the way.

The present number of bureaucrats are too few, so decay couldn’t be helped.

“ What direction do you plan to take in domestic affairs, Almis? You had said that you’d curb the powers of the great clansmen but, what exactly do you have in mind?”

Julia asks me while pushing her chest on me. Her breasts are being pushed on mine.

“Let’s see…..I want to directly gather taxation from all the territories. The great clansmen’s territories wont be exempt, of course. After that, I would maybe move the power towards the common people…..”

“To the common people?”

Tetra makes a doubtful face.

“Yes. As an opposing force against the great clansmen. Well, it would naturally progress, you know – depending on the spread of crop rotation and the monetary economy. Besides, we also receive strong influence from Cretians, right?”

“……if we did that, won’t they absolutely demand suffrage in the future?”

“Yeah, that’s quite true….”

If a country becomes wealthy, interest would naturally shift towards government. However, that’s an inevitable outcome, if I were to unify the Adernia peninsula.

If you have repeatedly recruited commoners into the military, naturally the commoners’ influence would increase. Commoner hoplites would make up the core of the army after all.

The more the territories increase, the more there would be landed farmers. The more slaves increase, their price would go down and even the commoners would be able to afford them.

If we poorly tried to prevent such, then we might become on the receiving end of the people’s ire.

If the monetary economy spreads, accompanying it’s disease-like spread would be the Cretian ideology of democracy.

If we deepen our relations with the Cretians and try to modernize the country, sooner or later, democracy would put down its roots on the commoners all over the country, right?

Then should we drive out the Cretians?

If we did that then the idea of unifying the Adernia peninsula will become distant. No, it would probably become impossible.

We have no choice but to accept them.

Rather, we should seriously utilize them.

That being said, that’s still a story for later.

It’s no use even if we discuss it now.

It’s a story only for when we’ve settled down and considered things carefully.

I don’t have any intention to stop the monarchial system.

I, as I thought, want my children to inherit what I have myself built-up.

In the first place, education for all is a critical element in democracy.

Therefore, it is an inappropriate concept for the Adernia peninsula where only a few people could read and write.

Democratic governance works because there exist small units of governance.

The northern Adernia peninsula………the territories north of the Rosyth Kingdom are completely changing into state territories.

Or perhaps, I should say, that even the Cretians, who have a level of civilization several times higher than the Adernians, fall into ((pitfalls associated with democracy such as)) falling into mob-rule or the outbreak of tyrants.

I can’t say that it’s the fitting system of government for my goal of a united Adernia peninsula.

In the end, all historical democracies of the ancient era have collapsed and transitioned into monarchies.

In a word, monarchy is the most suitable system in the ancient and middle ages where the power of religion is strong and where ideologies, science, and technology are undeveloped.

That being said, somebody somewhere said that ‘While Democracy is the worst, it’s the least objectionable amongst the government systems that have been tried up until now.’

Besides, things that will spread will spread out.

We will need to compromise with that point, right?

I need to keep this in mind.

“You’re making a difficult face. Ei!”

Julia splashes water on to me, startling me.

It seems I’ve gotten immersed in my thoughts.

“Aa, sorry, sorry. …..since it’s about time, should we get out of the bath?”

“N, let’s do that.”

We get out of the bath.

Let’s come again.