Brain bloom

"Indeed, as you have thought, the country has become much more stable since the arrival of peacetime. This has made us wealthy and prosperous, which is corrupting people's hearts and minds, contrary to the doctrine that 'wealth brings death,' and it is also difficult to find places to train soldiers."

"so?"

"The secular king devised a secret policy and believed that a certain degree of chaos was necessary for the progress of the country."

She spoke slowly and earnestly, but what she said had a somewhat absurd quality to it.

"Therefore, before ascending the throne, the heir to the throne will be sent to undergo a special training... that is to become a traitor and, as the leader, instigate a qualified rebellion."

Volume 1, #222: The Lecture

The secular king of the Holy Coffin Kingdom relies on the immense influence of religion, but still holds many powerful positions and is not a figurehead or puppet.

This is a political structure established many years ago by the first pope and still in use today. Its advantage is that it separates religious and secular affairs, allowing each to wield some power and operate relatively independently.

This will make the country more diverse, with different perspectives and ways of thinking, allowing for a multifaceted examination of the overall future.

The current king is a man of great vision.

He demanded that his successor must instigate a proper rebellion to prove his abilities in all aspects.

After all, what's needed to govern a country is nothing more than the system of imperial rule. From another perspective, these same principles can also be applied to the leaders of rebel armies.

If one has sufficient ability to make a rebellion successful from scratch, then that proves at least that one has met basic competence requirements.

This is the challenge of determining whether a successor to the throne is qualified.

After briefly explaining the policy, B observed Sen Shi's expression and became extremely cautious in his tone.

"Mainly... there are many forces, both domestic and foreign, that covet the assets you left behind and want to overthrow this country... such political actions can also gather and deal with those who are secretly detrimental to the country."

"So, according to this king's thinking, the benefits outweigh the drawbacks?"

"Yes... so we started using it."

“Let me think— ‘Oh no, Your Majesty, your son has betrayed the country!’ ‘It’s alright, it’s my decree.’” Mori Shi imitated the tone of a movie, and then he smiled bitterly.

"...You have a good sense of humor, but that's the truth."

B didn't know whether she should laugh or not, and her expression became very awkward. In order to quickly restore normalcy, she hurriedly drew a conclusion to answer the true god's initial question.

"The training of our young people is just to use these rebels as practice subjects."

"I see."

Sen Shi felt it wasn't a good idea for him to farm these people, so he decided to take a detour for now. Unlike the Holy Coffin Kingdom, other regions definitely had several wilderness areas of similar level, although the efficiency wouldn't be as high.

Should we go to the Chaos Lands with Melia first? Or take a nostalgic trip to the independent city-states around the world?

She also has a staff, and can use a high-level spell.

I'll practice quietly for ten or fifteen days before going to the Holy Coffin Kingdom to inspect the prosperity built on money.

"Your magic book..."

"What's wrong? That's something I just made." Mori pretended not to care, but was actually a little proud, because B's eyes were wide open, and he could see the value of the Trillion Star Spectrum at a glance.

"It possesses a rather powerful evil force."

"...Actually, I didn't do it."

B clearly didn't believe it, his voice barely audible: "Great coffin bearer, if you belong to the evil camp, I wouldn't be surprised at all... but please tell me in advance... so I can stay up several nights to accept it."

"You can leave now."

……

Many people around the world want to move to Silvermoon City. It has always been peaceful, powerful, prosperous, and offers a high quality of life. But in reality, very few people actually move there.

Housing is extremely scarce here.

To this day, Melia still doesn't fully understand this statement.

When she and Dandelion, disguised as ordinary Silvermoon City residents, quietly arrived at the edge of the Three Heroes Monument Square, she realized just how many people were crammed into this not-so-vast island.

The entire square was completely devoid of space; any few inches of flat ground that remained were occupied by feet.

Even the monument, which is usually off-limits, was surrounded by many people, the bouquets laid the night before already trampled into mud. Some climbed the monument to get a better view.

No one blamed these people; they just shouted in a high-pitched voice amidst the noisy environment, wanting to ask these guys who had climbed up to look into the distance if they had seen Lord Balzac arrive.

During the war, everyone came out of the house and came here.

They endured the noise, the odors, and the crowds, all just to hear a single answer from the lord.

But there were exceptions. Among this countless crowd, a handful of people used spatial magic to separate themselves from the crowd and waited leisurely in another dimension. These people were simply there for the fun of it all, because they knew they could always escape.

Melia was among them.

"With so many people, what are the house prices?"

"The cheapest one, which only has one room, costs thirty gold coins."

"This is insane! You can buy land with gardens even in a small city-state." She marveled at the difference in land value, then nudged Dandelion with her elbow. "Princess, if you sold your winery along with the land, it would probably cost tens of thousands of gold coins, right?"

“Not only that, I could sell it for 20,000. Someone offered me that price.” She shrugged and added, “But I can’t sell it. The winery is everything I own now, and 20,000 isn’t enough to restore the country.”

Melia then questioned, "What if it were fifty thousand?"

"Fifty thousand? That's enough, the deal is definitely done. But before we move them, I'll discuss with the soil that we'll have a year-long, slow-acting poison to kill the buyer, and then we can buy them back at a low price."

"You... well, there are good and bad among the Four Seasons, right? Mori Toki is very kind."

"Yes, I don't deny that. After all, in her time, the Kingdom of Flowers was still very powerful. The Four Seasons People back then didn't need to bring out their true nature to deal with the world... Unlike us, she didn't face a hostile world."

Just as Melia was about to express her views on the previous war of the flowers, she heard the world outside the space being ignited to a boiling point by the appearance of a person.

"—It's Lord Balzac, he actually came out."

"That's true."

"Since Byss left, is he finally out of danger...? What was he doing all this time? It's really baffling."

"His words probably indicate that he's resorting to those cunning little tricks to protect himself."

Melia speculated about his plans, while Dandelion relentlessly attacked him. Their voices couldn't get through, but in reality, the outcry from the people grew louder and louder.

People are questioning why the lord and the three heroes have done nothing with war looming.

The burly man with blond hair, as thick as a lion, remained silent. Amidst the harsh questioning, he strode up the steps without any defense, arriving at his rightful place.

The podium overlooking the crowds in the square.

He stood there, raising his hand with tremendous force—

"He's about to speak; this is his usual opening line," Dandelion said.

"Well, whether we can get the money depends on his attitude towards this war," Melia added at the same time.

Amidst a ring of golden beard, Lord Balzac spoke, his confident voice instantly echoing through the crowd.

His voice was bold and resonant, carrying outwards through every gap between people. Even the most distant listeners absorbed his words.

"War will not come."

Volume 1 #223: Let's Go to Heaven!

His words, spoken with such conviction, though lost to time, remain in everyone's hearts.

This statement is of great significance.

The entire square froze in a strange silence. All those who had come to listen to the lord's speech, hoping for reassuring answers and fearing war, fell silent at the response, unable to believe that what he said was true.

Lord Balzac said... war will not come?

But rumors say that the hunting fleet has already surrounded the entire island...

Not only the plaza, but even the alternate dimension constructed by Melia was filled with a strange atmosphere. Unlike Lord Balzac and the residents of Silvermoon City, they were not out of touch with the outside world, so they knew the inside story of the whole affair.

"...Queen of Demon Banshees".

"I didn't leak any information, how did he know? Damn it."

"No, I want to ask, isn't it normal practice to plant spies responsible for intelligence around each other? Could it be that Lord Balzac obtained the information through such channels..."

Melia carefully considered the possibility, but still shook her head in rejection of the dandelion.

Based on her understanding of the world, she didn't believe that was the truth.

"Common sense tells me he shouldn't have a chance. The spies Silvermoon City has planted in various countries are... quite weak. They haven't invested much in the war; aside from commerce and agriculture, they've only invested heavily in that thing called pseudo-craftsmanship, so... he can't get that kind of intelligence."

Dandelion stared at the sea again and asked, "Could it be that the Peda Empire told Silvermoon City on its own initiative?"

"No, that country, though barbaric, is very trustworthy."

"Whatever the reason... we're not going to get our money back, are we?" Dandelion's eyes also welled up with tears.

Melia felt discouraged; for her, this was also a failure.

As beings standing at the pinnacle, they deeply abhor "failure."

How did Lord Balzac know that war would not come?

The entire square had been awakened by Lord Balzac's words.

Then a cacophony of voices erupted, a torrent of doubt, excitement, and questions instantly transforming into a deafening cacophony of shouts. Everyone wanted to know why this lord was so confident, to the point that they interrupted his speech.

After a long while, he waved his hand several times to quiet the volume as much as possible.

He stood a little taller, but his voice was deep and resonant.

"Questioning, worrying? There's absolutely no need. Because the city's long-standing strength will save everyone. War will not come! It won't! We may not have the power to shake the enemy fleet, but surviving peacefully is not a problem."

"Lord Balzac".

An undeniable voice steadily drowned out the noise, clearly coming from the crowd—it belonged to a retired powerhouse who had been living in seclusion in Silvermoon City.

"You mean, you're going to use airships to transport us to escape? The prey that the Peda Empire has its eye on won't give up just because you make a few promises here, so I guess you're planning to avoid the brunt of the war."

"Indeed, we want to avoid war, but not by running away. The people need not worry about these things. Once the fleet appears on the other side of the horizon, I will show you what peace of mind truly means."

He answered in the direction of the voice, even though he couldn't tell who was asking, because the question was important.

"Balzac, are you planning to pay reparations? I've heard the Pedda Empire is after money. If that solves the problem, we don't mind helping you gather some gold coins so the city can continue to be peaceful."