Chapter 812

Beastman Devourer, Sword of the Starry Sky, Red Empress, Saintess of Order Ha-shal-leur Astika Median Ai-shan Gi-or von Landenburg.

It’s been about twenty months since I fell into this world.

With a name so long and grand that it makes me laugh involuntarily, I have become the ruler of the eastern part of the empire.

—

Four days have passed since then.

The funeral was concluded without any issues, but I was still stuck in the capital. Before heading to Landenburg, there were a pile of discussions I needed to wrap up.

What kind of discussions, you ask?

Well, of course, discussions about the kingdom that would be handed over to me.

“Then, what should the name of the country be—”

“Why complicate things? Isn’t Landenburg Kingdom sufficient?”

“What nonsense! If it’s a country ruled by Ha-shal-leur, it should naturally be called Ai-shan Gurun.”

Nigel and Ja-han’s answers didn’t stray an inch from my expectations.

“Ai-shan Gurun? Isn’t that the name of the barbarian country ruled by Or-han? It’s a negative and unpleasant name.”

“Unbelievable. Are you saying Ha-shal-leur’s lineage is negative and unpleasant?”

“When did I ever say that…! I guess I need to relearn the Imperial language!”

As expected, they suddenly started arguing among themselves while talking to me.

Watching them sitting side by side on the sofa bickering, I couldn’t help but sigh and turned my head away to ignore them.

Honestly, I can’t tell if they get along well or not.

“You should learn the history of the east. If you ask politely, I might teach you.”

“No need. Shouldn’t you be the one asking me? You look like someone who’s lived far removed from learning. Take this opportunity to cultivate some refinement. How long do you plan to live as a barbarian?”

…Maybe it’s both.

—

“How about Astika Divine Kingdom?”

After I was officially recognized as the Saintess of Order, the priestess Bethania, who had started openly quoting scriptures, suggested a name that fully reflected her wishes and way of thinking.

If it’s a country founded by a saintess, it should naturally be a religious state centered around the church, right?

“Hmm… that might be difficult.”

Of course, it was a proposal I couldn’t accept. I’ve seen firsthand how corruption and conflict among church orders turned the Holy Kingdom into a mess. Creating another Holy Kingdom here would be a disaster.

If I did something like that, it wouldn’t be surprising if a religious war broke out between the Holy Kingdom and the Divine Kingdom in the future.

Moreover, since the Shaulite Church Order has traditionally been strong in Landenburg, most of the people there believe in Elpinel or Shaulite. They wouldn’t welcome the establishment of a religious state centered around the Astraea Church Order.

“…I understand. It’s a bit disappointing, but I guess there’s no other way.”

Fortunately, Bethania, though devout, wasn’t a ruthless fanatic. She didn’t suggest expelling the people who believe in Elpinel and Shaulite and filling the void with Astraea believers.

“How about Muspelheim? It seems to suit you perfectly.”

Freide smirked mischievously, teasing me with nonsense.

Muspelheim.

The name of a mythical fire hell.

As if fire hell suits me.

Daring to say such blasphemy. As the Saintess of Order, I have no choice but to punish her.

“The Saintess of Order, me, suited by fire hell? Are you saying Astraea is no different from a demon of hell…?”

“W-what?!”

Freide, caught off guard by my exaggerated retort, looked utterly flustered. She probably never imagined I’d counterattack with a religious argument.

“Indeed…”

Bethania, who had been lamenting the failure of the Astika Divine Kingdom plan, suddenly turned her head and glared at Freide with narrowed eyes.

“No, I mean, that’s not what I meant…”

“Blasphemy! Blasphemy!”

“I see. It is blasphemy.”

As I dramatically cried out about blasphemy and Bethania tightly gripped a whip she had seemingly pulled out of nowhere, Freide, now even more flustered, frantically waved her hands and tried to explain that wasn’t what she meant.

Like a country woman accused of being a witch desperately pleading her innocence.

Too bad I don’t have a camcorder. I should have recorded this scene and played it in front of Freide whenever I had the chance.

—

While Freide sighed in relief after praising the Goddess Astraea in front of Bethania to clear herself of heresy charges, I asked the rest of my comrades if they had any name ideas.

Only Ferne, Hersh, Ophelia, and Leonor remained, all of whom seemed unreliable.

What about Damien and Milia? I sent them out to hunt monsters. If I left them alone, they wouldn’t leave the house for a week.

Where did the pure and innocent Milia go? While it’s good that she resisted demonic corruption, lately it feels like she’s been corrupted in a different way.

Damien, with his sunken cheeks, even thanked me sincerely.

He said he felt more at ease wandering the Sky Mountain Range. Quite a contrast to Milia, who looked ten times more lively than usual.

…Ah, my thoughts wandered off again.

“So, what do you guys think?”

I shook my head lightly to clear my thoughts and tapped the ashtray on the table, asking again.

“Hmm… how about Alvudreparry…?”

Ferne’s opinion wasn’t even worth considering.

Alvudreparry? That means Fairy Slaughterer. What kind of crazy country would name itself that?

“I… I don’t know…”

“Why are you asking me? You should decide, miss. It’s your country, not mine.”

Hersh and Leonor seemed to have no thoughts on the matter.

“The country name doesn’t matter much, does it? More importantly, about the kingdom laws Princess Eleonora is drafting, there’s a clause legalizing incest and same-sex marriage for the purity of special bloodlines…”

“……”

Ophelia would have been better off having no thoughts at all.

“Sigh…”

I looked up at the ceiling and let out a deep sigh.

These guys are supposed to be the core forces of my kingdom. Did I pick the wrong comrades?

No, in the original work, they weren’t this messed up. What went wrong to end up like this?

In the game I played, Milia was a pure and affectionate childhood friend, and Freide was a reliable senior with a mix of coldness and fierceness.

Ophelia was a proud, capable, and passionate mage, and Leonor was a lively yet dignified princess knight.

Even Lacey was the epitome of a merciful and faithful saintess.

…That’s how it was in the original work. How did it end up like this?

A show-off Damien and a yandere Milia.

A friendless shut-in Freide.

A soul extraction mage Ophelia who keeps her sister captive.

Leonor, who’s too busy teasing me to maintain any princess dignity.

An alcoholic traitor fairy Ferne and Lacey, who’s practically a reincarnated exterminationist with a mustache.

Every single comrade gathered around me is so bizarre that the original Damien would have fainted upon seeing them.

The enemies I faced weren’t much different from the original, so why are all my allies missing a few screws?

I can’t figure out the reason.

[Ha. How did you manage to gather such useless people around you? Not a single one of them is of any use.]

Hersela, seemingly exasperated, muttered sarcastically.

‘Oh, really? What do you think?’

I asked, staring at the chandelier on the ceiling.

Hersela’s naming sense was predictable, so I had no intention of adopting whatever answer she gave.

[Of course, it should be the Heavenly Demon Divine Kingdom.]

Nope.

I knew it. More Heavenly Demon nonsense.

The Heavenly Demon Divine Kingdom? Even cultists worshiping evil gods wouldn’t come up with such an obvious name.

It’s the perfect name to make paladins and priests have a fit.

Unless you’re the Heavenly Demon of the Dragon Kingdom, openly declaring, “I’m the leader of the bad guys,” there’s no way the Saintess of the Astraea Church Order would name her country that.

—

In the end, I had no choice but to decide on the name of the new country myself.

Hestela.

A name combining the first letter of my name with an ancient word meaning “star.”

Originally, it should have been Hastela, but that reminded me too much of castella cake, so it didn’t sound right.

Rana shyly suggested “Medirana,” but honestly, it sounded so bad that I could only awkwardly smile and shake my head.

—

The country name wasn’t the only thing to discuss. In fact, it wasn’t even that important.

Compared to the core issue of Hestela Kingdom’s territory, which Leopold, Eleonora, and I had to ponder over.

“How about Median’s territory—”

“From here to here—”

“The Dane occupied territories—”

This territorial issue was a real headache.

While absorbing surrounding territories around Landenburg and raising the kingdom’s flag might be one thing, turning my original territories into an independent kingdom was no simple task.

I had four territories granted to me.

The small village in Pailoon and the ambiguously owned Dane cities didn’t require much attention…

But Median’s Marquisate was in such a complicated situation that the three of us had to rack our brains over it.

If we declared the establishment of the kingdom with Landenburg as the capital, Median’s Marquisate would end up floating in the middle of the empire.

Like West Berlin in East Germany.

But if we excluded Median’s Marquisate from the territory, Landenburg alone wouldn’t be sufficient to stand as an independent kingdom.

“I might be able to help with that issue.”

The answer came from Duke Bien, who was losing his hair while serving as the empire’s chancellor.