After-Story Chapter 6: The Remus Royal Couple’s Stay in the (Former) Capital City (Part 1)- That City is Avant-garde!

It was shortly after the nations of the Landia Continent were reorganized.

“A consultation? With us?”

On this day, Liscia and I were meeting with Lombard Remus and Yomi Remus, the King and Queen of the restored Kingdom of Remus, in a reception room at Parnam Castle. Despite the short time that had passed since the summit that decided the continental reorganization, King Lombard and Queen Yomi had gone out of their way to visit our country.

I was somewhat braced, wondering what kind of topic they would bring up, but King Lombard stated, “I have a private matter I wish to consult you about.” When I asked him to elaborate, King Lombard nodded and replied:

“Yes. I am swallowing my pride to ask for your wisdom.”

“Wisdom… that’s a grand way to put it. What exactly do you wish to know?”

“How to govern a country, as its King.”

I stared at King Lombard, puzzled. “I thought you were a born royal, King Lombard? Haven’t you been King longer than me?”

“That may be so, but the Kingdom of Remus was only one state within the Eastern Nations Union. Our current territory is more than twenty times larger than it was then, and in terms of area, we can stand alongside the nations of the esteemed people who attended the summit. …Although, in its current state, which has not yet fully recovered from chaos, it is merely a large, empty state of vanity, judged only by its area.”

King Lombard smiled weakly, a hint of self-deprecation in his tone. The three Northern Continental countries—the Great Tiger Kingdom of Haan, the Kingdom of Remus, and the Kingdom of Lastania—which were formed from the splintering of the Great Tiger Empire, were currently in the midst of reconstruction. After Fuuga’s ambition was crushed, civil wars broke out everywhere, and the chaos accelerated after Kuree’s coup, leaving the land desolate. This was natural, as it was originally a region known as the Demon Lord’s Domain, which already suffered greatly from monster attacks.

Following the defeat of Kuree, the forces that had followed him either had their territories confiscated or were destroyed, while the opportunistic forces of the time humbly bowed their heads and pledged allegiance to their respective new nations. The fastest of the three Northern countries to stabilize its security was the Kingdom of Lastania, which had the powerful backing of our country—the Kingdom of Friedonia.

Our country is viewed by the world as the ‘Leader of Post-War Order.’ Rumors even circulate that this world, stabilized by the formation of the South Continent Union, is informally called the ‘Grand Friedonia Empire,’ and I, who effectively defeated Fuuga and was the initiator of the Union’s formation, am informally called the ‘Emperor of Friedonia.’… Between the previous ‘Great King’ title and this ‘Emperor’ title, I seem to get called great things unofficially a lot.

The Kingdom of Lastania, whose king is my brother-in-law Julius Lastania and which receives active support, was quick to restore order. The Great Tiger Kingdom of Haan, though significantly reduced in size, is a direct successor state to the Great Tiger Empire and also recovered quickly. It is being supported by the Kingdom of Euphoria and reportedly trades frequently with the Garulan Spirit Kingdom.

Among the three nations, the Kingdom of Remus was struggling the most with reconstruction. King Lombard was the only survivor of the Great Tiger Empire deemed fit to lead a nation, yet some knights and nobles who came to follow him after the war scorned his state as merely a windfall state. The old friendly nation, the Great Tiger Kingdom of Haan, is cooperating with its reconstruction, but since that country is also in a position to receive aid, it cannot provide strong backing.

The next summit will likely discuss ways to boost the Kingdom of Remus’s reconstruction with the strength of the entire Union. However, simply waiting for that won’t advance reconstruction. King Lombard seems to have come to us for advice, exploring what he can do now.

“So, what specifically do you want to ask?”

“It is about how to govern people with different backgrounds and different cultures,” King Lombard stated clearly. “I hear that when you were King of Elfrieden, Lord Souma, you annexed the hostile Principality of Amidonia and governed its people without major upheaval, forging them into a single nation, the Kingdom of Friedonia. Furthermore, as someone summoned from another world, this country must have initially been a foreign land to you, and its people foreign as well. There were even rumors in the beginning that you had usurped the throne.”

He has researched well. I can sense his inherent intelligence from his words. It makes sense that King Lombard was an invaluable, sensible, and solid general in the Great Tiger Empire’s camp, which was full of quirky individuals, despite his lack of flashiness. He must have been the equivalent of a Yon Gorōza in the Oda clan, perhaps.

“Well, there was someone who jumped to conclusions that I had usurped the throne and stormed into the state office to yell at me… Guh!“

“…”

When I mentioned that while glancing at Liscia, I was immediately elbowed by her. It hurt, subtly. I shot her an accusing glance, but Liscia looked away with a huff. Good-natured King Lombard continued the conversation in a calm voice, acting as if he hadn’t noticed the scene.

“That is why I sincerely wish to learn from you, Lord Souma. As you know, although our Kingdom of Remus was once part of the Great Tiger Empire, it was historically a region composed of multiple states, and its people possess diverse cultures and values. As our country moves toward nation-building while reconstructing, the introduction of new things is bound to clash with tradition and culture.”

That is definitely true. King Lombard looked me straight in the eye.

“Pushing forward forcefully will breed public discontent. But if we stop our progress there, we will fall behind other nations. Therefore, I would be grateful if you could instruct me on how to introduce a new culture while convincing the citizens as much as possible. I humbly ask for your help.”

“! We ask this of you,” Queen Yomi added, quickly lowering her head when she saw King Lombard bow.

To have the King of another nation bow so deeply to me… I couldn’t possibly turn them away after that… though I hadn’t intended to in the first place. However, even if I agree to teach them, this is quite difficult. Even my policies are sometimes well-received by the people, sometimes not, and sometimes result in outcomes that are completely unexpected.

So, I’m at a loss when asked how to teach this, but… I do want to help them somehow. As I pondered this, Liscia gently tugged at my sleeve.

“Souma, you look stumped on what to teach, but there was someone who boasted about learning governance directly from you, wasn’t there? There must be something you can teach them.”

“Learned from me? Who are you talking about?”

“Come on, the current head of the Republic of Turgis.”

“Ah, Kou, you mean.”

That’s right, Kou, who still calls me ‘Big Bro’ and looks up to me, once stayed in this country as a guest researcher to study governance under me for a while. Though it was more like he learned on his own and went home rather than me actively teaching him. Liscia pressed her temple with her finger as if recalling something.

“I had a chance to talk to Kou, and he said, ‘How do you win over the hearts and minds of people in newly conquered territories? It is by presenting them with something novel and rendering their minds defenseless.’ He said he learned that from you, Souma.”

“I didn’t mean to teach him that… but I understand what Kou meant.”

“And what exactly does that mean?” King Lombard asked, intrigued.

 I crossed my arms and answered. “If you simply propose a new form to people who are bound by tradition, culture, or old values, they won’t easily accept it. Their mentality is, ‘We’ve been doing it this way until now, so this way must still be fine.'”

“…Yes, that is exactly what we are grappling with right now.”

“Then, before you even make the proposal, you should demonstrate and let them experience the new thing. Just like when I introduced the Rhinosaurus Train to revitalize logistics, or when I used the orbs—which had only ever shown royal speeches—to create broadcast programs. Instead of proposing, ‘I want to build this,’ you first build it and let them experience its greatness. Get them interested. Once the people accept the new thing, tradition and culture will make their own compromises.”

In the world I came from, even when the pen was introduced to Japan from overseas and everyone started using it, the paintbrush wasn’t eradicated. Both the brush and the calligraphy style it produces remain undiminished, and they even created hybrid items like the brush pen. This is what I meant by tradition and culture making compromises.

“I believe this is what Kou was talking about. If you are worried that the Kingdom of Remus will be left behind by the wave of the new era, then you should present the new things to your citizens first. By improving distribution and activating trade with other countries to increase opportunities to encounter foreign things, or by showing them broadcast programs like the ones we produce, you first get them interested in the novelties.”

“Novelties, you say.” King Lombard mused.

That’s when an idea struck me.

“As it happens, why don’t you visit the city in our country where novel things are most favored? I won’t be able to guide you personally as I am tied up with state affairs, but I will assign you an escort and a guide. You should take your time and visit with Queen Yomi.”

“What! That is more than we could have hoped for!” King Lombard’s face lit up with joy.

Liscia, on the other hand, looked confused. “Which city are you talking about? I’d say Parnam is quite a lot already.”

“No, there is a city that is far more avant-garde, isn’t there?”

“Avan… what?”

“It’s a word from my original world, used to mean ‘pioneering’ or something similar. It originally referred to the vanguard of an army, but it came to be used mainly for artistic works that were ahead of their time.”

“Art… Ah, there,” Liscia realized.

Queen Yomi tilted her head. “Um, where exactly is this city?”

“It’s Van, in the Amidonia region. It was the former capital of the Principality of Amidonia.”

I then smiled wryly.

“Now, it is the most avant-garde city in our country.”