“Pray tell, what do you think makes a state?”
“Uh?” I blurted out lamely. That came out of nowhere. I had to wonder if I’d missed a sentence or two before that.
“Well?”
“Oh, uh... Hmm...”
For now, I decided to give her question some thought anyway.
What made a state? I guess I could try referencing my situation. After all, humans called us a nation of monsters.
Officially, this nation was called Liam-Lardon... It was ruled by me, the Monster King... It was situated in the promised land... And ninety percent of it was monsters.
After going through all the details in my head, I crafted an answer for Sheila’s question. “Land...and people?”
“You are sixty percent correct.”
“Huh?” What’s that supposed to mean?
“In other words, you are two-thirds the way there.”
“Oh...” I got it now. She was saying that I had two out of three correct answers. Well, even villages needed land and people, so these answers came fairly easily to me.
One more, huh...?
“What’s the last one? Money?”
“Not quite. Many states out there are drowning in debt. Parta, for example.”
“Hmm, that’s true...” I racked my brain a bit more, but no dice. “So? What’s the last one?”
“Oh? Giving up already?”
“Sure. I have no clue.”
“How awfully humble of you. Very well, then. The last one is...authority.”
“Authority?” I cocked my head. How did that fit into the equation?
“Yes, authority. Specifically, the authority of a duke or higher.”
“I see...”
“Is that not why you call yourself the Monster King?”
“Not really... Everyone just started calling me that.”
“Oh... Is that so?”
Suddenly, Lardon piped in with a chuckle. “Why not call yourself the Dragon King, then? I will permit it.”
Ah... People called me the Monster King—even though I was a human—because monsters served under me. By that logic, I could also be called the Dragon King... This kind of wit was just what I would expect from Lardon.
“Lardon just told me I could call myself the Dragon King,” I told Sheila.
“That, too, is authority,” she replied. “In fact, that is how titles of nobility came to be—because someone stepped forward and named themselves as such. In time, the title was passed down, gained more value, and garnered the people’s awe and respect. They were then incorporated into the system. Now, a ruler with the title of duke, king, or emperor—basically, anything above a duke—is necessary to form a state.”
“Ooh...” A lot of this was still flying over my head... I guess the main point is that you need a duke, king, or emperor to be a state? Guess we do fit the bill after all.
“Now, on to the main topic,” Sheila continued. “I want to be the grand duchess of Parta. With that title in my grasp and the Partan nobles brought under my wing, the Duchy of Parta would essentially be mine.”
“I get it now. But why do you want an entire country?”
“I have two reasons,” she began. “First, rising from the lowly position of nineteenth successor all the way to a nation’s ruler is incredibly exhilarating. Do you not agree?”
“Ahh... I guess so.” I suppose I could see where she was coming from, to a certain extent. In fact, this made more sense to me than all that “authority” talk earlier. “Wait... Have you been planning this from the start?”
“Oh? And when was that?”
“When we met,” I answered. “Back then, you introduced yourself not just as the princess, but also as the head of your house, right?”
Sheila’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “You remember?”
“Well, yeah.”
She’d left me quite the impactful first impression, after all. Her first visit had been just as sudden and bold as today’s, not to mention she’d challenged me to a duel back then too.
Another reason was that her attacks were fierce yet evidently lacking in any actual malice. My recent exposure to the dragons’ murderous auras made Sheila stand out in my memory as a swordswoman whose skills didn’t rely a whit on such intimidation factors.
“So, you remember...”
“Yeah, I do.”
“Mm... Yes, you are correct.”
For a second, I thought Sheila’s expression looked rather subdued, but I must have been seeing things. The next thing I knew, she had the same bold and fearless smirk on her face again.
“Gaining independence from my country has always been my goal. Thus, I come here today seeking your cooperation,” she continued. “The debt chained to the grand duke of Parta rests entirely in your grasp. Whether I obtain that seat by rightful or forceful means, a discussion with you was merely a matter of time.”
“Ahh...” So this was bound to happen. Hmm... Let’s see...
The human nations had been messing with us a lot recently. Actually, it wasn’t just recently—it’d been going on ever since we settled in the promised land. But if one of the main culprits, the Duchy of Parta, were to fall into Sheila’s hands, then I could trust her not to take after their negative fixation on us. That alone made it more than worth it to lend her my hand.
“Do you need my help for this?”
“Most certainly.”
“All right,” I answered right away.
Sheila was incredibly bold and assertive, and she treated her magic sword rather roughly, but I didn’t hate her frank and straightforward personality. Add in the merit I just mentioned, and there was no reason for me to hesitate.
Come to think of it, she mentioned two reasons...
Before I could ask for her other reason, however, Sheila already continued, “Now, let us talk compensation, shall we?”
“Huh? Oh, sure...”
“What would you like in return?”
“Er...”
I’d completely lost the chance to ask. Just like that, our discussion swiftly proceeded to the next stage.