“Did that truly happen?” murmured Rosalind Magica Crystania from her hastily built room on one of the floating islands in the sky above the taboo territory that had, until recently, been ruled by Country Eater.
This young girl was a descendant of the royal family of the Holy Kingdom of Crystania, a world power that had been obliterated by the slime boss. She was pale enough to almost pass for an elf and so young that there was an innocent and transient quality to her great beauty. Her eyes were pale silver like all others from her bloodline, and her long, glossy hair was ashy silver. A jet-black circlet of simple design crowned her head, but the crimson flashes that periodically ran through it suggested that it was, in fact, a magic item. Her somewhat stiff and old-timey manner of speaking was at odds with her high-pitched, prepubescent voice, but for some reason, the discrepancy did not invoke discomfort in those who heard her.
The young man standing at attention next to Rosalind’s chair with a ramrod-straight back, though failing to hide his shock, managed to say, “I believe so. I will verify and ensure word gets around.”
He was not a direct descendant of the family but still shared Rosalind’s eye and hair color. His skin, however, though still rather fair, was more within the natural range of human complexion.
Despite holding the position of prime minister and right hand to his queen, he was having trouble gathering himself. He could hardly be blamed, though. He had just watched four teenage girls kill Country Eater, the taboo territory boss that had dominated the land of his ancestors for two hundred long years. No doubt similar conversations were happening on all the other floating islands between the state heads and their subordinates. The death of Country Eater and the unsealing of the great western expanse were both century-defining events.
If the deed had been committed by the monsters who answered to Sol, the world’s new absolute ruler, everyone would have thought, Of course they’re that powerful. Humans were incorrigible creatures who could get used to pretty much anything rather quickly. But no, it had been “Sol’s Girls,” as they were called. Humans. Humans had struck down the monster that humanity had feared so much that it had forbidden itself from fighting it.
Gender did not affect talent distribution much, and since God-given talents were what defined a person’s ability in battle, pure physical differences were practically meaningless. As a matter of fact, two of the girls in question were former adventurers. As a healer and a tank, they had been with Sol in Black Tiger, a party that had been approved for promotion to Rank A. However, though Rank A and B adventurers weren’t exactly a dime a dozen, there were still a number of them around. Despite being at the top of the hierarchy among adventurers, they most certainly did not possess the strength to kill bosses dominating territories that humanity had deemed off-limits.
At least, they weren’t supposed to. But that assumption had just been disproven in a way that was plain to every single person alive. Reen and Julia were one thing—they were veterans all adventurers had at least heard of. Frederica and Eliza, to everyone’s understanding, had had no ability to fight until a few months ago.
“What we should fear is not annihilation. Being seen as useless and abandoned—that is the true nightmare.”
All countries were already doing their utmost to avoid being erased. Knowing that they would be wiped off the map in the literal sense if they earned Sol’s ire, everyone had bent the knee to him at the Continental Conference and sworn to abide by the newly established continental law.
It was true that during the restoration of the Floating Continent, Sol had protected humanity from a catastrophe that would have been even more destructive than Country Eater’s rampage two centuries ago. However, the blessings that could come from his hand were not merely lives of safety and abundance, these worldly benefits that everyone patted themselves on the back for seeing. No, it was so much more.
Though wildly different in social status, two girls this world had once grouped together as “those whom God did not smile upon” for being equally useless in a fight had been lifted high above the rest of humanity, arguably to where they deserved to be seen as kin to the monsters from legend. It was a miracle, but as Sol had shown by going to the trouble of broadcasting the Country Eater fight to the entire continent, this miracle was something that anyone could undergo should he wish it.
Any gift bestowed by the absolute ruler, be it armis magicka or talent, would surely be managed closely. And yet, what was on offer was the possibility of being more than just someone who could only wait for scraps, someone who could brandish the power of one of the monsters’ kinsmen. Avoiding being killed was the lowest bar to clear. Being too wise and obedient, however, ran the risk of being seen as deadweight and discarded. Instead, people had to be active in finding something they could do and show that they were contributing to the world’s development. Everyone now fully understood that the way to become someone who mattered to the truly powerful was to become a useful weakling. And this was a race, as being overlooked by the strong was as much a death sentence in this world as actually being targeted by Sol’s baleful glare.
“On the other hand, it is also for the sake of huge profits for our country.”
“That, too, is true but can be set aside for a while. As long as we are not discarded, what is already guaranteed to come in will be more than enough.”
Rosalind understood her right-hand man’s impatience. However, in her calm analysis, she figured acting on it was the worst possible reaction.
“Will we not be overtaken by the other nations, then?”
“We might. However, faster is not necessarily better in this case.”
Sol’s group almost certainly knew exactly what everyone was thinking after seeing the defeat of Country Eater. It wouldn’t be surprising if there was some magical device embedded in all the floating islands that allowed him to directly listen in on all their conversations. The technology that he had access to was already that far ahead.
Put simply, the world was completely dancing to Sol’s tune. Regardless of whether he intended it to be so, today was a test for the countries. The royal family of Emelia who served him as the brains of the Libertadores would surely be grading everyone on how useful they would be to him based on their reactions.
Rosalind thought Frederica, who had solidified her position as Sol’s first secretary, an extremely capable person. However, what Rosalind was impressed by wasn’t Frederica’s political thinking or skill, but the way she had managed to insert herself into the heart of Sol, a walking example of someone who came with a “handle with care” label, and obtain his complete trust. Reen and Julia were easy to understand, being his childhood friends. Eliza was too, on some level, as she was a young girl originally in a deplorable situation whom he had saved himself. Princess of a major nation, however, was a title that could very easily have worked to Frederica’s disadvantage, but she had pulled it off. It was an incredible achievement, even if Sol had been inclined to like someone with a pragmatic outlook like hers from the start.
There was no need to rush to an answer for a test designed by such a brilliant mind. Coming first did not mean winning here, which meant there was time to first observe the fate of those who rushed to act. Taking too long would result in points docked, of course, but shouldn’t be an outright fail. Conversely, if speed was the answer, there would be little point in being anything other than number one, which would require forming a response now.
The way Rosalind saw it, what their examiner wanted most was for countries to realize that sticking to their own agenda was a bad move and to do their best to instead understand what Sol wanted. And if so, Rosalind had an ace in hand. Sol’s group already had the biggest stick in the world and the ability to obtain as much wealth as they wanted. These things were therefore not much use in negotiations with his side, even though they were what defined a country as weak or strong. Rosalind knew she had a card that was highly effective in this very situation.