Marisu City was unusually lively today, because a grand ceremony was being held within its walls.
Every single resident of the city had the right to attend and witness it.
In the massive plaza at the heart of Marisu, two formations of silver-armored knights stood at attention, banners raised high as they cleared the path ahead. As the ground began to tremble with a steady, rhythmic vibration, a majestic subspecies wyvern appeared before the eyes of every citizen.
Under normal circumstances, the mere sight of a Special A–rank subspecies wyvern would have sent the entire city fleeing in panic.
But today was different.
As the people of Marisu stared at the enormous creature, fear still showed on their faces—but even more than that, their curious gazes were drawn to the young man seated calmly upon the wyvern's head.
The subspecies wyvern had been procured by Spider Princess and the others. According to the yokai under Ren Kuroda's command, since Ren-sama was about to assume the throne of this kingdom, the proper spectacle could not be lacking.
This wyvern was the mount prepared by Spider Princess, the Samurai Spirit, and the other yokai for Ren's appearance today.
Although it was only a subspecies, it still carried a trace of dragon blood—and as such, it had been deeply dissatisfied with the idea of being used as a mere mount.
However, when Ren and Spider Princess released their [Pressure] skill, the wyvern's draconic pride immediately folded. It chose submission without further resistance.
For the ordinary people of Marisu, it was impossible to judge how strong their new king truly was.
But an emperor who rode a wyvern as if it were a horse?
That was something they were seeing for the first time in their lives.
Thirty thousand soldiers in formation. Numerous powerful monsters appearing one after another. And behind Ren, Spider Princess and the Ten Yokai stood, releasing their full reserves of demonic energy without restraint.
Everything before their eyes proclaimed one thing clearly—
The new king of Farumusu was terrifyingly powerful.
This display served two purposes: to calm the anxious hearts of Marisu's citizens, and to intimidate any troublemakers lurking in the city.
It was a clear warning—think carefully before you cause trouble.
To the people of Marisu, Ren Kuroda was unquestionably a stranger.
But after the massive commotion that shook the city yesterday, no one here was foolish enough to ignore it.
Most residents had originally planned to flee the city today. After all, living in what had become a battlefield felt dangerously unsafe.
What they never expected was that before they even finished packing their bags, news arrived that the battle was already over.
And the victor wasn't the Farumusu army, which had held the terrain advantage and overwhelming numbers—
It was the new king now standing before them.
Farumusu had fielded fifty thousand elite soldiers, along with its strongest knight, Commander Vulcan, and its greatest mage, Razan.
And yet, such an overwhelming force had collapsed in just a few hours.
The outcome was beyond anyone's imagination.
Still, for ordinary civilians, who sat on the throne didn't make much difference.
Kings came and went—it rarely changed their daily lives.
This was a medieval world. Even though Farumusu was one of the most powerful nations in the region, and Marisu its capital, most people here were still struggling just to survive.
Those with talent or youth became adventurers. The rest farmed to earn their daily bread.
With monsters roaming everywhere, even merchants lived dangerous lives—hiring adventurers for protection, only to sometimes lose both goods and lives anyway.
So what Marisu's people cared about wasn't who became king—
But what kind of person that king was.
The previous king, Edomaris, had been greedy—but at least he was human.
The young man now sitting atop the wyvern looked human as well—handsome, even—but the sheer number of monsters following him stirred unease.
Everyone knew that humans and monsters didn't coexist peacefully in this world. Humans hunted monsters; monsters fed on humans.
Many feared that if the new king himself were a monster, absurd and terrifying laws would soon follow.
"This kingdom is finished," someone muttered in the crowd."He keeps that many monsters. Just feeding them would cost thousands of lives a day. Where's that food coming from? I say we'll all be raised like livestock—saved as rations for his monsters."
Where people gathered, conflict followed.
With such a massive crowd and so many monsters on display, pessimistic voices naturally emerged.
"Don't spout nonsense if you don't know anything," an elderly man suddenly snapped back."Let's ignore how His Majesty commands those monsters for now. But one thing this old man knows for sure—our new king is not a bad person."
Hearing the confidence in the old man's voice, the surrounding chatter quieted as people waited for him to continue.
"Do you know why Marisu suddenly erupted into chaos yesterday?"
The crowd shook their heads.
"You know those otherworlders, right? The three scum summoned by Lord Razan?"
Everyone nodded. The infamous trio was well known—most people avoided them at all costs.
"Yesterday, those three showed up in the commercial district again. They ate fruit from a stall without paying, then hurled insults at a mother and her daughter.The little girl didn't know better and tugged on them, asking for the money. She almost got slapped for it."
The old man's voice grew sharper.
"It was that young king you see now who couldn't stand it any longer. He stepped in and fought those three otherworlders."
"And what happened next, you can probably guess. The trio couldn't beat him. Then Lord Razan arrived.Razan was wise his whole life—but this time he made a terrible mistake. By siding with those three, he ended up clashing with the young king."
"As for the outcome… well, you can see it yourselves now.And don't doubt my words. My vegetable stall was right next to that fruit stand."
The crowd erupted in realization.
No wonder the old man spoke so firmly.
After all, someone willing to step in for a stranger's child—even at the risk of offending the powerful—how evil could he be?
And how was that little girl 'misbehaving'? Paying for what you eat was common sense—even children understood that. If anyone lacked sense, it was those arrogant otherworlders.
"That's right! That's right!" a young man chimed in excitedly."My second aunt's cousin's nephew's relative works at the palace! He said the new king spared the greedy old king's life—and purged a whole group of corrupt nobles."
"Apparently, those nobles are going to be put on trial in a few days. And the judges? Us commoners. We get to vote!"
Rumors, whether good or bad, always spread fast.
Thanks to the old man and the enthusiastic youth, support for Ren grew rapidly—along with increasingly outrageous embellishments.
At first, people said the young king was compassionate and righteous, unflinching even before fifty thousand troops.
By the end, the story had morphed into something absurd:
Ren had acted because he was 'enraged for a beauty.'
What the hell was that supposed to mean?
Ren Kuroda nearly choked just hearing it later.Enraged for a beauty? Nini was still a child—were they calling him a lolicon now?!
Or was the "beauty" supposed to be Nini's mother?
Sure, her mother was pretty—but this misunderstanding was way too much. What, did they think he was some historical womanizer?
And the rumors only got worse.
At first, people said Ren summoned monsters to repel Farumusu's army.
By the end, the story claimed Ren sneezed once—and fifty thousand soldiers collapsed on the spot.
Even Ren didn't know his sneeze was that powerful.
As for Spider Princess and the other yokai—early versions said they were summoned servants.
Later versions claimed they were mighty monsters who submitted only after being overwhelmed by Ren's strength.
In short, rumors were running wild—but almost all of them worked in Ren's favor.
Behind him, Spider Princess and the Samurai Spirit exchanged glances, their eyes filled with admiration as they looked at Ren's back.
At last, Spider Princess understood.
Why Ren had helped that mother and daughter.Why he judged the nobles instead of slaughtering them outright.Why some were imprisoned instead of executed.
From the moment Ren stepped into Marisu City, everything had been planned.
All of it—to become King of Farumusu legitimately.
With their strength, wiping out the city would have been effortless.
But ruling an empty city meant nothing.
Saving civilians. Judging corrupt nobles.
It was all about winning hearts.
These foolish humans had likely already pledged themselves to Ren completely.
Even knowing he commanded monsters, they now saw him as a symbol of wisdom and overwhelming strength—
Perfectly canceling out humanity's instinctive fear of monsters.
..
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