I Was Connected to Earth’s Black Market From Another World With The Skill [Market]! (WN)

Chapter 278

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Chapter 278 – What Ends and What Begins

“…Goodbye?”

Beside me, astonished at the sudden confession, Myrril had a relaxed expression on her face.

“What is it, McKin-dono? Who’s after you again?”

“Personally, I don’t think I’ve done anything to warrant such a grudge.”

“I’m joking. If Ecla-dono is here, nothing serious will happen to me. Should I congratulate you then?”

“What?”

Seeing Myrril tilt her head cutely, Ecla-san relaxed her cheeks a little.

“As expected of Kazinair’s daughter, I suppose. You seem to have a good understanding of politics.”

“What does that mean… Ahh.”

“That’s right. Thanks to all of you, or rather because of all of you, I have been called to the center.”

“Is it a promotion?”

“Not that I wanted it. At least that’s what it says on the paperwork.”

I thought, “That’s right,” as I looked at the situation from a bird’s eye view. There are excuses like self-defense or that we were just responding to a request, but in the end, it was our fault.

“It’s just like Sarz. Or worse.”

The number of people we killed and the devastation after they were gone. Since it was the enemy forces that were slaughtered, you could say that military stability has been achieved, but if it is rebels, there is essentially a large political vacuum. It is not necessarily cooperative or submissive people who will try to fill the hole that has been left. Rather, it would be the firebrand type who would make the first move.

“I suppose we should be happy and grateful that the roots of the disease have been eradicated everywhere, but the human resources have dried up, and there is no one to replace them. Instead of recovery, there is no one who can even explain the current situation to the central people who have been sent to the area. The political functions of the northern and eastern areas have completely stopped.”

“If you say that about the Western Territories, it’s as if the Western Territories had stopped functioning altogether. Officials were sent from the central government to integrate them into the central territory.”

During the last rebellion, only the Central Territories, including the East Bank enclave of Cassmeer, and the Southern Territories acted on behalf of the Republic. “Lord McKin and his merry band of friends” managed to hold out, but had they fallen, the capital might have fallen…or rather, it was a foregone conclusion.

“Will you abolish the fief system?”

“That would leave the central government short-handed. The west and the central region would be merged into a “landlocked area. The north and the east would be combined into a huge ‘coastal area.’ That’s where I and Ms. Ecla will run into trouble. The first priority is political and economic recovery. After that, the big job will be to retake the northern port cities that were taken from us some seventy years ago.”

“Oh, that’s what Rinko and the others were after, right?”

Hey, Myrril-san, let’s talk about this later. Lord McKin, please don’t look at me like, “Maybe I don’t have to move?” We are not a private military company that goes around putting out fires.

“But regardless of the future, what will happen to the Southern Territories when you two are gone?”

“That’s it.”

Even if you say, that’s it.

“The capital has sent a formal request. To you.”

Me? Why me?

“I would like to hand over the former Southern Territories to you.”

“Are you kidding? No, I mean, what are the former Southern Territories?”

“I want to lease it, along with the pirate fortress.”

Uh, wait, wait, what’s that?

“I know it’s impossible, and I expect a refusal. In that case, I thought it would be a good time to get you all involved. I have proposed the joint government of Casemaian and Solbesia.”

Hey, what are you doing, you fat little lord?

“I’ll leave it to you to divide up the territories after the consolidation. We’ll send as many people, budgets, supplies, and information as we can. If you want, you can put a deadline on it or just the Sarz and the pirate stronghold.”

That can’t be good. In that case, I’m sure that a very aggressive legal system and an open appeal to the outside world would be necessary. Kind of like “collective self-defense” in my former world.

You know what I mean. “If you mess with the southern territories, the demon king who lives there might come out, you know? (glance).” The idea is the same as the …’Roving Demon King Service’ or the regular patrol service for a demonstration that was suggested earlier.

“I just heard from Tinian-chan, and she showed me the sacred tree in the forest. Can I help you with that problem as well?”

Uh-oh… Somehow, the witch has an evil smile on her face.

“What do you mean by that?”

“Currency of Grace. I heard that this is how you transferred to the throne. You can only travel one way at a time, and the return trip is very long, I hear.”

Hey, no way.

“If you send me there, I can arrange the same transfer on the way back. Even without a corpse.”

“””…!?”””

The witch, the lord, the Prince, the twin escorts, and even Nojaloli-san are all looking at me. I may be the one being talked about, but I feel like I’m being ignored. I’ve always been like that.

“No, even if you ask me to do something like that…”

“I know it’s impossible. I’ll do everything I can and give you everything I can. Even if it’s just until the coastal area is stabilized. Or even just the name, if you want.”

No, apart from the others, not the last one. Myrril-san also shakes her head slightly with a straight face when our eyes meet. I don’t want my name to be the only thing I can’t control. I don’t want any more strange titles.

There was no way I could give them a quick answer, so I decided to go to the capital, Hagwai, for a meeting after I finished the rest of my work. Frankly, it was a nuisance.

I thought about running away, but I was handed a letter from Merlot, the President of the Council of the Republic of Hagwai. It was the same scroll I had seen several times before. The content was the same as what I had heard verbally from Lord McKin, and the letter was just to prove that it was an official request from the Republic government. In short, it was a nail in the coffin that said, “This is serious.”

I heard that Lord McKin and Ecla-san are returning to Lafan and will be heading to the central area without a break.

“How are the Battlecry doing?”

“Oh, they are doing very well. They are in Hagwai with Loringen now.”

The giant elven man is the head of Lafan’s trade guild. But the capital?

“The old man has been in Lafan for less than a month, and he’s about to return to his old guild in the center. He’s replacing the guy who tried to kill him. That’s not funny.”

“It’s not funny.”

I think it’s okay to laugh, but I’m going to get caught up in it, so I’ll answer that.

“All right, Your Majesty the Demon King, Your Majesty the Queen. See you later.”

“I will be waiting for you in the capital of the Republic.”

With these words, which sounded a bit like “I’ll be waiting for you in hell,” Ecla-san and Lord McKin left with the ship.

I don’t want to go. I don’t know if I can escape. Can’t I just leave everything behind and run away to Casemaian? I don’t think so. I’ve made so many connections. Oh, dear…

I looked away from the ship of the fat lord and his men in disgust.

I looked back to see Myrril looking at me with a strange expression on her face. She looked both pleased and worried, an incomplete mixture of fear and anticipation.

“What is it, Mir-san?”

“Yoshua. Can I ask you a question?”

“Eh? Ah, yes. Sure.”

“After the winter break, you’re going back to the demon king’s business, right?”

“Well, yes. It would be bad for the people of Casemaian if I had to play around all the time.”

When the snow melts, and it becomes possible to travel to and from the surrounding areas, there will be a lot of problems. There are many things we want to do and many things we need to do. We will try many things, make many things, create an environment where people can live happily, and…

…And then.

I stop thinking, as I always do. I look away so as not to see what lies beyond. I am aware that it is an image of the future in my mind―or rather, a manifestation of the lack of an image. But I am not ready to face it. I have lived all my life without facing it. Even if I were told to dream now, the more I stare into it, the more I see nothing but muddy fear and emptiness. I’m like a child who can’t go outside without his parents’ help. That’s why I can’t get rid of my corporate mentality.

“Takifu has a habit of looking down on himself.”

Myrril told me once. She doesn’t care how other people see her. Such a person should either have “unshakable confidence and a firm ego or, on the contrary, be open-minded and have nothing to lose,” but I don’t look like either.

But I am not. I was unaware of it. I have tried desperately not to be aware of it.

――I am not interested in myself.

“Yoshua.”

I look up at the soft voice in my ear. At last, I noticed a warm hand on my arm.

“I swear again, I will always be with you. I will never go anywhere. I will never leave you. So, to me. To us. Will you give us your strength?”

A light. A red light from Myrril’s hand and a blue light from mine. Pointing.

To the west. Where the ships of Lord McKin and the others are headed. To Lafan. There is Sarz. There is Casemaian to the west. The merging light pierces straight through.

“I want to see it. It will appear where you make it, where you go as you wish…”

Myrril laughed, illuminated by the swelling light.

“…Paradise.”