Spider Princess felt that Ren Kuroda was playing a far bigger game than anyone could see.
Although he had repeatedly claimed that he didn't want to become king, in reality, he had already planned everything—how to ascend the throne smoothly, without provoking resistance.
Saving that civilian mother and daughter, punishing the corrupt nobles—those were never impulsive acts. They had all been deliberate moves from the very beginning.
As for his talk about not wanting the crown, it was probably just a test—meant to gauge the resolve and judgment of those around him.
The Samurai Spirit, who was equally fond of overthinking things, reached a similar conclusion.
As someone who also specialized in management—and imagination—his interpretation differed slightly from Spider Princess's, but the core idea was the same.
Once they connected the dots, the way Spider Princess and the Samurai Spirit looked at Ren's back changed completely, now filled with genuine admiration.
At that moment, both of them shared the same realization—
Ren Kuroda's wisdom was simply too vast, far beyond anything they could hope to reach.
While they were still pondering what advantages the position of "king" might bring, Ren had already thought countless steps ahead and set his plans into motion long ago.
Of course, the Ren sitting atop the wyvern had no idea that his spur-of-the-moment decisions were now being interpreted as some grand, master-level strategy by two professional overthinkers.
If he did know, he would probably sigh and lament that after the shameless flattery duo—Amanojaku and Nurikabe—he now had a brand-new "delusion duo" in Spider Princess and the Samurai Spirit.
Ren had originally wanted to skip the coronation ceremony entirely.
Unfortunately, his subordinates strongly advised against it.
To Spider Princess and the others, Ren was the greatest being in existence. Now that he had become the king of an entire nation, the proper grandeur was non-negotiable.
Whatever spectacle that fat former king had enjoyed, Ren's ceremony had to be several times more impressive.
Otherwise, wouldn't that imply Ren was inferior to that useless lump of lard?
After ascending the throne, it was customary for a new king to deliver a rousing speech.
Clearly, Ren was terrible at that sort of thing.
So instead, he used the opportunity—with everyone present—to announce a series of concrete decisions he had already prepared.
First, due to the former king Edomaris's extreme greed and relentless tax increases, the royal treasury was now piled high like a mountain of gold.
Letting Edomaris live at all was already an act of mercy beyond the law. There was no chance Ren would allow him to take even a single coin with him.
Afterward, Ren had the Samurai Spirit audit the treasury—and the results were staggering.
Even if the Kingdom of Farumusu generated zero income, the existing reserves were enough to keep the nation running for three full years.
Thus, on the very day of his ascension, Ren announced—
A three-year tax exemption.
Of course, it wasn't a total exemption.
Only agricultural taxes were fully abolished.
Commercial taxes were restructured instead: businesses would only be taxed after their revenue exceeded a certain threshold, and the more they earned beyond that point, the higher the tax rate became.
As people from modern society, Ren and his subordinates knew perfectly well—
In this era, merchants were the ones truly raking in money.
This policy ensured that small vendors could still scrape by, while wealthy merchants would finally have to bleed a little.
The moment Ren announced the tax exemption, Marisu City erupted.
Although he hadn't given a dramatic speech filled with lofty rhetoric, this single decree was more stirring to the lower classes than any speech ever could be.
Farumusu was originally a commercial powerhouse. Taxing peasants heavily never brought in much revenue—the problem had always been the former king's greed.
Based on calculations by Spider Princess and the Samurai Spirit, Farumusu's advantageous location meant that commercial taxes and entry tariffs alone were more than enough to sustain the kingdom.
The lower-class citizens were already dirt-poor, yet Edomaris had continued squeezing them dry. That was precisely why Farumusu had stagnated at its current scale for so long.
The coronation ceremony concluded perfectly.
Thanks to these immediate reforms, Ren had only just become king—but his popularity among the people skyrocketed straight to its peak.
The citizens of Marisu were so satisfied with their young king that many openly said—
"If only His Majesty had come to Marisu sooner."
Ren's prestige among the commoners soared like the midday sun.
Among the nobles, however, the situation was very different.
Behind closed doors, there was no shortage of curses aimed at the new king.
Every policy that benefited the common people inevitably weakened the nobles' interests.
Especially the new commercial tax.
Which noble family in Marisu didn't own massive estates and businesses?
In the past, even when taxes existed, they could use their connections to dodge them entirely—or simply increase taxes on their own subjects to cover the difference.
Now, the ruler had changed.
Their old connections were useless.
What awaited them was taxation several times heavier than before.
The nobles despised this new king—but all they could do was grit their teeth and endure.
In fact, most of them were deeply uneasy.
Anyone with eyes could see that King Ren was firmly aligned with the common people. He wasn't one of them.
They had also heard the rumors—
Several officials had already been executed for going too far in the past.
Despite his youth, Ren showed absolutely no hesitation when he killed.
Now, the nobles of Marisu were terrified, fearing that once he finished dealing with corrupt officials, they would be next on the chopping block.
Running away wasn't impossible—but Marisu City was currently under lockdown.
Unless they were willing to abandon all their wealth and disguise themselves as commoners, escape was nearly impossible.
As for resistance?
That took even more courage.
After all, fifty thousand elite soldiers—along with Commander Vulcan and Archmage Razan—had all been crushed within a few hours.
No matter how strong the nobles' private forces were, could they compare to that?
Meanwhile, for the past several days, the commoners of Marisu lived as if every day were a festival.
They had realized that the new king had kept his word.
No tax collectors showed up.
Being able to eat their fill was already more than enough to satisfy people at the bottom.
Compared to the celebratory mood of the commoners, the nobles—after days of dread—finally received visitors.
Farumusu soldiers arrived at their doors.
At first, many nobles felt absolute despair, convinced the new king had finally come for them.
Just as some prepared to fight to the death, a stunningly beautiful woman in a maid outfit stepped out from between the soldiers and politely handed each family head an invitation.
"Our lord, His Majesty Ren Kuroda, the new King of Farumusu, will be hosting a banquet at the royal palace tonight.He hopes you will honor him with your presence."
Such invitations were delivered to nearly every noble household in Marisu.
And every messenger was one of the Ten Yokai summoned by Ren.
The people of Marisu were no longer ignorant fools.
Despite the simple clothing—linen robes or maid outfits—no noble dared show the slightest disrespect.
They all knew that after the purge of former officials, the ten monsters personally summoned by the king now held critical positions within the government.
Especially this beautiful woman in a maid outfit—
She currently held the position of Minister of Internal Affairs.
Aside from the king himself, she was effectively the second most powerful figure in the entire kingdom.
Because Ren still possessed abundant demonic energy, Spider Princess and the others were temporarily allowed to remain in this world to assist him.
After all, Ren had become king overnight, and most of the former officials were either dead or gone.
He was painfully short on manpower.
Thus, the ten yokai he summoned had taken over the responsibilities of the former noble ministers.
Spider Princess now served as Minister of Internal Affairs, overseeing all domestic affairs of the kingdom.
The Samurai Spirit replaced the former Minister of Finance, managing taxes and the treasury, with the Needle Woman acting as his deputy.
Most of the others joined the military, replacing Vulcan and Razan.
The Nekomata began training an assassination unit, handling covert operations and intelligence.
The Hand-Washing Oni and Amanojaku split duties—one taking over as commander, the other running law enforcement.
Nurikabe became Minister of Defense, responsible for city fortifications and security.
In short, the people of Marisu adjusted astonishingly quickly to humans and monsters coexisting within the same city.
Many residents even felt that compared to the rampaging trio of otherworlders, these monsters were downright adorable.
Powerful monsters far outperformed human labor in construction, transport, and logistics.
Now, many merchants entering and leaving Marisu actively hired monsters for transportation.
Massive demon spiders could haul goods far more efficiently than wagons—and their intimidating presence scared off bandits and hostile monsters alike, saving merchants huge sums on adventurer escorts.
And for everyone living in Marisu City, one thing was unmistakably clear—
Since Ren Kuroda became king, their quality of life had truly begun to rise.