Despite hovering so high above Atriesta that it did not cast a shadow on the ground, the Floating Continent was still visible to the naked eye, which spoke volumes about its sheer size. It was usually camouflaged for good reason.
Like a scene lifted from a myth, Sol and his entourage descended on an Astral—deliberately not using teleport magic—to where a group was waiting in prostration. At the front was the current leader of the self-governing domain that was all that remained of Crystania in the current day and her retainers, and behind them were the royal family of Svendbania, the suzerain of Crystania, and their ministers.
Given how soon it was since the defeat of Country Eater, serious reconstruction was still a ways off, so one of those royal pavilions that Svendbania was famous for building—complete with a throne—had been hastily set up for this audience.
The first words were said by the girl at the front. “We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for returning our homeland to us.”
Even a generous estimate would put her at under ten years old, and she had a voice that matched her diminutive build, but there was a certain elegance and maturity to her bearing. The nervous adults next to her made her composure all the more pronounced, but it was understandable. The higher someone was up the ladder, the more nerve-racking it was for them to face those even higher.
As always, Sol took the throne with the All Dragon clinging to his right arm, the Elven Queen clutching his left shoulder and floating behind, and Little Alshunna splayed out on his head. This arrangement that was fast becoming a standard formation made for an adorable display, but there wasn’t one person who didn’t know the incredible feats performed by the monsters during the Oratorio Tangram and the rising of the Floating Continent.
Just in case, the Astral remained floating above the pavilion imposingly, ensuring that no one forgot for a moment. To top it off, they were surrounded by Reen, Julia, Frederica, and Eliza, the four who had directly killed Country Eater and were currently humanity’s most powerful fighters.
The delegation was all too aware that committing a faux pas here would mean more than physically losing their heads—their entire country could be wiped out. It was hard not to be nervous with that kind of pressure on their minds. Whether Sol’s group would actually go that far to punish unintentional gaffes was beside the point. The knowledge that they could made it impossible not to feel fear when the power dynamic was so skewed.
It was odd, then, that Rosalind was so much calmer than the adults. Though she was officially the head of her domain, her age suggested that she was still just a figurehead. And she wasn’t calm, not really. The letter of thanks she had sent to Sol’s party had received an immediate reply that requested an in-person audience where the restoration of the Holy Kingdom of Crystania and her position as its leader would be confirmed. That had happened just yesterday.
Rosalind had nearly spat out her tea upon reading the missive. Both Crystania and Svendbania had immediately been thrust into a whirlwind of commotion. Turning Sol down wasn’t an option, and so there they were, welcoming him in the middle of two-centuries-old ruins.
“Lift your face, Queen Rosalind,” said Frederica kindly. “Lord Sol wishes for the restoration of all countries that were once on this land, not only your own.”
This was not Frederica stepping out of line. There was a new policy that only a select number of people were allowed to speak directly to Sol. If he thoughtlessly responded to Rosalind’s expression of gratitude, she could be found in violation of lèse-majesté.
In response to Frederica’s words, the two from Crystania lowered their heads even further. Those from Svendbania farther back felt a cold sweat running down their backs as their minds quickly analyzed the situation.
The first thing to note was that Frederica had called Rosalind “queen.” This confirmed that what she had thanked Sol for—the restoration of Crystania—was already a done deal in his mind and that he had acknowledged—nay, ordered her to lead it. Moreover, in declaring that it was what Sol wanted, Frederica was making the distinction that this decision wasn’t an acceptance of Crystania’s plea. And even if it was, now no one could protest against it. That extended beyond those present to every country and organization that wanted to be part of the Panhuman League. It included Crystania itself too, in fact. It was a present they had no choice but to accept.
“That’s why I had Frederica and the others kill Country Eater, after all.”
This was a lie, but Sol was saying it to prop Frederica up. His real aim was to get access to Abyss, and the restoration of the seven countries was a secondary objective. If Frederica had proposed a plan to carve up the land among the existing countries, he would have said, Sure, sounds good and green-lit it without a second thought. It just so happened, though, that she was a bit of a history buff—Sol felt he was seeing this side of her more and more lately—and she wanted to bring back Crystania, the Kingdom of Magic, the greatest world power that had existed.
Thanks to the thorough education she had received growing up, Frederica knew that the remnants of Crystania still lived and that their leader was still part of the royal bloodline. That was why she had added them to the list of those receiving a floating island and taken steps to ensure that their suzerain, Svendbania, would not get in their way. When Rosalind sent the letter thanking Sol for killing the culprit responsible for driving her people out of their homeland and acknowledging them as a people with their own autonomy, Frederica had immediately gone to Sol to ask for permission, then set up today’s audience. Of course, she hadn’t done all this purely to satisfy her interest in history, but she wouldn’t deny that was a big part of it.
Behind-the-scenes details aside, as Sol had clearly laid out the “why,” anyone intentionally spinning Frederica’s words would constitute defiance against him and was therefore lèse-majesté. Crystania was officially back, and there was no stopping that tide. Given that, Svendbania’s best course of action was to fully accept Rosalind and pursue a reward for giving her people a place to live and protecting them for the past two hundred years. Svendbania hadn’t done it entirely out of the goodness of its heart, but what it had done was way more than anyone else. Even after apologizing and making amends for the less than stellar way it had treated the autonomous domain all this time, the kingdom was still in a pretty good bargaining position. The profits guaranteed to come with developing the world’s largest taboo territory were more than enough to persuade the former suzerain to get off its high horse and immediately readjust its attitude.
“It is all seven, isn’t it, Lord Sol?” Frederica asked.
“I assume you’re actually asking about the one that caused the incident and was erased from history? If there are descendants from that country still alive, yes, give them the same treatment as the other five.”
“As you wish.”