Geofu.
- "It's impossible..." said Celestine, shocked. "What you want to do is simply impossible..."
- "Actually, it's very possible," I rolled my eyes. "The union of Eostia, Eldonia, Nidavellir, and the Holy Kingdom, which is de facto ruled by Serafina, will allow you to create an incredibly powerful country with an adequate standing army and relatively poor, but still better than current, intelligence and administration."
Yeah. This plan came to me quite recently. If, according to my rather accurate estimates, the world decided to intervene only because I changed Eldonia and secured it for myself, then in the event of the unification of all the major countries on the continent, it would come out even more.
Of course, I could be wrong about the reason, but the other one seemed completely wild to me, although it still fit within the logic of this world. Let's say, if the world suddenly used an analogue of the Counterforce, choosing the corpse and his Black Dogs as its pawns to do what they are doing now.
However, in this case, I didn't understand the purpose of it all. Usually, the goal of the world was survival, and...
Wait.
As far as I remember, the Black Dogs didn't kill women — only men, right? And if that was the case, assuming they captured the continent and then, possibly, more, continuing to use this method, the question answered itself.
After a while, ALL intelligent beings would degenerate to such a low level that they wouldn't care about anything because they would have no morals. And thus, the population of intelligent life would be maintained at the proper level due to the culture that had changed over tens, hundreds, or thousands of years, and after some time, society would consume itself from within.
Just like some cosmic elves.
And if we build an assumption based on this assumption, and also taking into account that the world did not particularly care about life and received the soul of every deceased person, as the giant told me, then hello, local someone with a name that starts with "Slaa".
After all, if the world wanted to destroy intelligent life or replace it with a new one, it could have just used Serafina or Celestine, as in my case, right? And I haven't noticed any analogues of the Beasts of Nasuverse here.
A crazy, no, CRAZY guess, of course, but still plausible within the framework of this world. A perverted, sex-obsessed world, mind you. Heh.
- "But... What about the opinion of these countries? I have no right to decide this for them."
- "King of Eldonia, like Eldonia itself, accepted me as their new god. He will do as I say, whether it be unification or war, if it comes to that," I smiled. "And Nidavellir, which, thanks to me, is now ruled by Olga, is also mine. So two of the four countries are already in agreement."
- "N-Nidavellir?! Olga?!" Celestine jumped up from her seat. "What?! When?! The dark elves don't accept anyone except..."
- "...the giant ancestor? Well, times have changed, and Olga and her elders have supported her. Well, almost," I finished for her, at which she looked at me with her emerald eyes and open mouth, clearly unable to believe me. "All that's left is to get Serafina on board, and it's done."
- "You... you've already met her?"
- "Of course," I nodded. "She's nicer than you, but if necessary, she'll have to do as I say."
I respect other people's choices, but I don't remember saying that I have to accept it and just back down if I don't want to, do I?
Celestine stared silently into my eyes, and now there was a new emotion in her gaze — doubt mixed with condemnation and even disappointment. A pleasant change, I must say, because it's much better than baseless faith and hope.
And besides, the world hadn't intervened yet, which was not a good sign.
- "Forcing sister and her country to submit..." Celestine lowered her head and clenched her hands into fists. "I thought you were a kind god, Lord Romani..."
- "In fact, I am neutral, as you said earlier. Good and evil are meaningless concepts, unlike desire, logic, and power," I shrugged. "That is why the Black Dogs will live a little longer. They will have to play the role of unifier and scapegoat for you."
- "What will happen to my people...?" Celestine asked with a hint of disappointment and resentment, directed at herself. "When will they stop dying and being held captive by violence because of your inhumanity and my own stupidity? When will their suffering end...?"
- "Oh? Now you see clearly and admit your mistakes? And you didn't even try to stop me?" I raised an eyebrow and let out a chuckle. "The baby bird has left the nest. How cute."
- "Please, stop this! I have never shirked responsibility, and that will never change, just like my promises. Attacking you or begging you to stop will do nothing but exacerbate an already dire situation. If I do that, you can just let Eostia fall completely, and then start acting. And I won't let that happen," said Celestine, her voice beginning to tremble, tears appearing on her cheeks, her nails digging into the skin of her palms. "Just... answer the question... I beg you..."
- "Well, that will depend on you," I shrugged and stood up from the chair, a magic circle lighting up beneath me. "I need to talk to Serafina. See you later, Celestine. I hope you manage to keep your people under control this time. I can forgive a couple of antics, but no more, understand?"
- "Yes... I will do as you say, Lord Romani..."
-0-
The Holy Kingdom.
The Holy Kingdom, or the Kingdom of Aurelia, was located in the south of Eostia, just across a small bay, and to the west of Eldonia. It was the most powerful country and, as far as I could tell, this was entirely thanks to Serafina and her rule, albeit from behind the scenes and not always.
For the most part, the division and structure of power were almost identical to those of Eostia, except that where Celestine relied on the humanity of her subjects, Serafina took a more mature view of things. And for this reason, if the soft approach did not work, a firm hand was used.
I learned all this from books I read out of boredom while in Eldonia and from conversations with Serafina herself. And that was where I was headed now, but not to the cities, but to the region closer to the border.
I teleported to the place where I could sense Serafina and my pendant, and it turned out to be a dense, flowering forest with clean green grass next to a small pond of crystal-clear water... and a tired sigh escaped my lips, and I rubbed my temple.
- "Lord Romani? I didn't expect to see you here," said a naked Serafina, who was bathing in the pond. "What can I do for you?"
- "I want the Holy Kingdom to unite with Eostia, Nidavellir, and Eldonia into one country," I began, at which Serafina looked at me in surprise and stepped out of the water. "The political system and form of government are unimportant, and you..."
- "Fine," she interrupted, which surprised me.
- "Huh? Excuse me?"
- "Fine," Serafina repeated and came quite close to me. "It's a good idea, one that has occurred to me from time to time. By uniting, we can avoid unnecessary conflicts based on nationality and the prejudices associated with it. Unity will allow people to focus on the development of culture, spirituality, art, and other non-violent factors."
- "And what stopped you from doing it before me?" I raised an eyebrow. "You're a goddess and all."
- "I didn't want to force it on others and feared internal conflicts after unification. The king of Eldonia was greedy, arrogant, and foolish to think of such things. The gentle and naive Celestine didn't want to dictate how people should live, and Nidavellir had closed itself off from the rest of the world," she replied calmly and smiled. "But since you have come to me, and as I believe, only to me, the others have already given their consent, correct?"
- "And you have nothing to say to me about the violent mercenaries who are currently terrorizing Eostia? No accusations or anything like that?"
- "What would be the point?" Serafina tilted her head. "Obviously, you want to use this situation to your advantage, and nothing unites people like a common enemy. And you weren't the instigator or a participant in this disaster, so why should I accuse you of anything?"
I stared blankly at Serafina and couldn't say anything.
Yeah. I can say with confidence that I like her. I mean, she not only has a mature outlook on things, but also enviable foresight and a sense of realism.
What's more, despite her reclusive lifestyle, Serafina was well aware of current events. Of course, some might think she could have intervened, but the world simply wouldn't have allowed it, not without someone like me.
I would definitely not have refused her if I were not in my current circumstances. Tia, Yasaka, and even Morgan would not have refused to accept her because of her maturity, intelligence, appearance, and worldview.
But, alas, I'm not here for long, and forcing someone against their will, especially if I like them, was fundamentally wrong and went against my principles.
- "Well, I have to say, of all the women I've met here, you're the best," I chuckled.
- "Thank you for the compliment. That's very nice to hear," Serafina smiled and giggled in response. "What's the next step, Lord Romani?"
- "We will gather in Geofu and sign the official document. King of Eldonia, Olga as Queen of Nidavellir, Celestine as ruler of Eostia, and you, representative of the Holy Kingdom," I replied. "Do you need to talk to your people about this news? I can give you a couple of days at most to take care of everything."
- "One day will be enough."
- "Then, when you're done, send some of your power into the pendant, and I'll teleport you," I nodded, and a magic circle appeared beneath me. "See you later, Serafina. It's nice to deal with someone as mature and intelligent as you."
- "Me too, Lord Romani," she said, standing on tiptoe and kissing me on the cheek.
- "Oh, how sweet," I giggled again.
- "We're not that close for direct kisses or anything more," Serafina chuckled.
- "That close? Really cute," I grinned and teleported back to Geofu.
It's a shame, of course, but she's unlikely to go with me to DxD. Still, I'll have some pleasant memories amid the utter stupidity and illogicality of this world. Yeah, right.
-0-
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