The Prince Wants to Retire

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The Crown Prince Wants to Retire

[Side Story 4: The Problematic New Continent?]

Ever since Kariel decided to head to the New Continent, the one who’s been busiest is the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Things that should already be wrapped up are still dragging on due to several issues.

“Why aren’t these guys answering? Are they messing with me?”

“That’s because… the kingdom where your Majesty will visit tends to take things slow overall.”

“What?”

The minister shot a furious look at the Foreign Affairs Officer in charge of the New Continent.

“That’s because… they have a custom where everything is done according to the Will of God…”

“So?”

“They tend to leave the rest to fate after doing the bare minimum.”

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, with a look of disbelief, then asked, “…Are you telling me these idiots are slacking off because of that tendency?”

“That’s part of it, but most of them are Nobles…”

The Minister then let out a hollow laugh and, recalling the past, wore a bitter smile.

It was indeed something unimaginable from the current perspective of Ignit.

Working half-heartedly?

The very next day,

“Do you want to die? Don’t you dare leave before getting this done today!”

With every curse flung at him, he would find himself directly pulled in by the revered Emperor and spend the night working.

But think about the past.

Let’s consider before Kariel got seriously involved in politics.

Did the ministers work like they do now during his Crown Prince days?

No, they didn’t.

What about before that?

Ignit was a humiliating country that had to remain silent in the face of mockery from other nations.

“Are they on the same level as the former Ignit?”

“It’s worse than that.”

The Minister of Foreign Affairs sighed at the officer’s words.

Thinking about how he would be called to the Emperor’s Palace today already made him dizzy.

Seeing the foreign relations officer sigh deeply filled the others with pity.

It was the ignorant states of the New Continent that were the problem, but the brunt of the backlash fell on the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

“Minister.”

“…Is His Majesty calling for me?”

“Yes.”

With summons from the attendant at the Emperor’s Palace, the Minister of Foreign Affairs had a look as if he’d been hit by a truck.

He trudged toward the Emperor’s Palace like a prisoner being led to the execution ground.

“What… day is today?”

“It’s the sixth day.”

“By now it’s either one of two things: you’re incompetent, or you’re staging a protest because I’ve been tormenting you.”

Kariel, saying so, glared at the Minister of Foreign Affairs with an angry expression.

“But the Foreign Minister I know does his job excellently. So the only conclusion left is that you’re doing this on purpose to make things difficult for me…”

“Your Majesty! Absolutely not!”

“Then why on earth is this happening!”

With Kariel’s loud voice, the Minister of Foreign Affairs sighed and relayed what he had heard from the New Continent officer.

At the same time, he briefly conveyed the current situation in the New Continent.

“It’s a mess?”

“…Yes.”

The current situation in the New Continent was worse than the past West Continent.

While conflicts among other nations lessened to gnaw at the robust Ignit, they had a significant prey.

Wouldn’t they take a bite out of that prey first and then fight amongst themselves?

But the New Continent was different.

Centered around the sluggish kingdom of Kaba, various states had recently undergone rapid growth and were quickly catching up to Kaba’s power.

However, the bigger issue was that despite this change, instead of pulling themselves together to develop their country, they were growing complacent, blissfully ignorant of whether the gifts received from other nations were poison, due to long-standing habits of accepting bribes.

“So what’s the plan?”

“Best to ignore them…”

“Weren’t we just at war not long ago? You want to start another one?”

The Minister of Foreign Affairs sighed as he noticed Kariel’s incredulous gaze.

“If not, there’s only one solution.”

“What is it?”

“We need to shower every nation near Kaba with hefty bribes and benefits.”

Kariel’s brow furrowed at the Minister’s words.

Knowing that he had enough experience with Kariel to realize he was about to blow up, the Minister swiftly added:

“Actually, all this happened because the bureaucrats did well in their jobs.”

“What nonsense is that?”

Kariel tilted his head in confusion as the Minister calmly explained.

There was indeed a reason for their current behavior.

1. It was Ignit that always reaped huge profits from trade with the New Continent nations.

2. The current situation arose out of the nearby nations wanting to use this opportunity to renegotiate the unfair deals they had with Ignit.

3. It seemed they were becoming bolder because they believed the sea and the newly emerged Monsters would create barriers for them.

In fact, the bureaucrats were right to a certain extent.

Typically, most imports from the New Continent were raw materials anyway.

Moreover, the trade routes established to the New Continent had undergone repeated improvements, resulting in optimal pathways being formed.

Thus, even if the other nations of the New Continent sought to create their own routes towards the Southern Islands and the East Continent for greater benefits, probabilities were low that they would fare better than now.

They had no choice but to rely heavily on Ignit’s ports. Knowing this, the bureaucrats amassed discontent against the New Continent nations while reaping benefits without holding back.

For a long time, Ignit had conducted unfair trade without wanting anything from the New Continent.

The items they produced became possible to generate in the West Continent and parts of the East Continent due to the efforts of the Ministry of Agriculture. Moreover, resources like ores were available at good prices elsewhere too, not just the New Continent.

“With this scenario, they wish to negotiate new agreements with Ignit, using the foolish Kaba to lead the charge?”

“Correct.”

Kariel’s expression tightened at the Minister’s explanation.

It was hard to say whether problems arose because of their performance. However, they also couldn’t let this situation continue indefinitely.

“This isn’t just our problem, is it? They’d be worse off.”

“…Most of the New Continent nations are influenced heavily by the Nobles.”

“They don’t care what happens to the citizens as long as it benefits them.”

The Minister of Foreign Affairs nodded with a bitter smile, lowering his head at Kariel’s words.

Just like the former Ignit, most nations in the New Continent were rotten to the core.

If he could, he would want to conquer the New Continent. And he had the capability to do so.

They were confident Ignit wouldn’t cross the seas to invade them. It was just distance, after all.

However, because of the remnants of the past, Monsters began swarming the seas, making it difficult to protect trade routes.

But they were underestimating something.

Ignit is the world’s strongest nation, after all.

They possessed more national power than they thought. In fact, they could expand more land to the East Continent and conquer larger areas in the Southern Islands.

But the sole reason they weren’t doing this was:

“Too much of a hassle…”

It was Kariel’s ennui.

And the ministers and bureaucrats also preferred not to have even more work on their plates than they already did.

Honestly, cultivating territory would yield less stability than the massive profits gained from simply not invading anyone.

Had they craved expansion, they wouldn’t have had such free trade routes as they currently did.

With no appetite for conquest, Kariel found the current status to be just right.

Building a foundation for Ignit to develop, based on that for higher-level technology, and ultimately overwhelming national power.

Since other nations also welcomed peace, he hoped everything would go well, but an unexpected problem arose.

“If we agree to their demands, how much of a loss are we looking at?”

“From the Empire’s perspective, the damage will not be significant.”

“Can we bear it?”

“Yes. The real problem lies beyond that. The nations that benefit from trade with Ignit aren’t the only ones.”

By taking a step back, Ignit would incur significant losses.

Additionally, if the nation were a haven for corruption, there would likely be leaders who could not judge correctly.

The moment they thought they had deserved this outcome because Ignit yielded will be the moment they cross the line.

“Here… the Ministry of Finance’s opinion indicates that conceding to their demands could cause a collapse of the majority of the minor merchant unions currently thriving in the Iron region.”

“……”

Having served Kariel for a long time, the anticipation was that if they were to create solutions, meetings would ensue, leading to even more work, so the Minister had already discussed potential reports with the ministers.

As the Minister of Foreign Affairs, he had coordinated results from meetings with the Military, Ministry of Finance, issues of merchant alliances, predicted about resource supply by the Engineering Division, and what diplomatic negotiations would be needed to resolve these problems.

“Quite impressive.”

Kariel looked at the Minister of Foreign Affairs with a slightly surprised expression.

Indeed, during Kariel’s time as Crown Prince, the Minister had been merely adequate.

Yet, people are animals that can grow.

As days passed with pressure beyond their limits, the Minister of Foreign Affairs had become such a capable figure.

Of course, the younger bureaucrats might possess better skills.

But the wisdom and systematic synthesis of information exhibited by the current Minister would be unmatched.

‘I should commend him to work even harder in the coming days.’

With thoughts of making Rufiel’s first slave in mind, Kariel smiled while pondering until he finally reached a conclusion.

“We need to show these arrogant ones our true strength.”

“…Are we going to war?”

“Of course not.”

“Then….”

The Minister tilted his head in confusion.

“I plan to gather only Ignit’s Best Elites.”

“Ah….”

“I’ll take Marquis Sicario, Lord Glen, and about four Masters along. Oh! And of course, two elite legions armed with the Empire’s latest weapons will accompany us, right?”

The Minister understood at once why Kariel was being so specific, lowering his head in response.

“I’ll draft a plan on how to intimidate them and report back.”

“Call Talion and the Minister of Internal Affairs over.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Before dealing with the enemies, it was necessary to first shape public opinion.

Laying down groundwork for an image that read, ‘We are not a bad nation!’

“Should the operation name be something like, ‘Eliminating those who disrupt world peace!’?”

Saying that, Kariel smiled brightly.

As peace settled over the continent, the long-forgotten sensation began to awaken once again.

The thrill of smashing the obstacles to his plans one by one.

As the feeling began to resurface, Kariel found himself wearing a wide smile unconsciously.

For a while, while pondering how to crush the arrogant New Continent folks, Kariel hurriedly checked the time.

“I’m late!”

An evening appointment with his wife.

Aila was already sulking, and now he was even late for their meeting?

“W-Wagon! No, that won’t do!”

As he flung open the door, demanding a wagon, Kariel shook his head and took off on foot.

It was faster to run than to prepare a wagon and travel slowly.

If he was late, a hellish time beyond imagination would unfold, so he ran with sweat pooling in his palms all the way to the Empress’s Palace.

And at last, the face of his beloved Aila appeared.

Fortunately, her smile hadn’t vanished from her face.

‘Phew… I made it.’