CH 105

Idealism does not subvert the laws of physics.

Hart learned at the Military Academy that leaders, managers, administrators, and superiors who bring up idealism without providing physically capable and feasible means are as stupid as talking monkeys.

「The Royal Army has no plans to keep monkeys as Generals. Even if you argue with your subordinates about their idealism, it will not help solve the problem at all, it will only be a waste of time for both sides. From an outsider’s perspective, it is as ridiculous as monkeys threatening each other in a zoo.」

Hart was greatly impressed by the instructor who taught in this way.

What kind of results can be brought about by the difference in strength? Having lost almost all of his colleagues in his first battle, Hart experienced this firsthand, and he was convinced that a commander should gather as many allies as possible before advocating for idealism.

Two ships rather than one, or three ships rather than two, would reduce losses and give an advantage in the next battle.

Based on this idea, Hart did not advocate idealism in the immigrant to the Hermes Star System, but rather, invested a large amount of human and material resources and pushed forward with the plan.

“Since it is wartime, there is no need to worry about fairness. Generously invest all the technology and resources that the Monarchy has, give great leeway to the urban space and the activity energy, create a production planet capable of supporting the entire Monarchy, and use it as the foundation for human progress.”

Deployed in the Hermes System were a large group of urban construction facilities.

Using the transition gate that even a 400-kilometer-long celestial body could pass through, a group of urban construction facilities equipped with magic element engines was sent one after another from each star system.

They first created a cluster of hundreds of giant orbital elevators that pierced the sky of the planet Kerykeion.

If the planet Kerykeion were the human body, a large number of tubes called orbital elevators were thrust into it, infusion packs called urban construction facilities were connected to them, and natural resources in the star system were processed and poured into the entire body.

Infused with billions of containers day and night for 20 days, the planet Kerykeion has been reborn as the Monarchy’s largest planet, an orderly combination of modern metropolises, large-scale food supply plants that support the entire Monarchy, and the great outdoors.

The new star system, which has three times the surface area of Earth, has expanded the size and height of the allocated land by 1.5 times, expanding the living space by 3.3 times.

State-of-the-art power-generating satellites orbit the planet, and microwave power transmission systems continue to send energy to large, untethered power batteries installed on the ground.

The neatly arranged urban facilities are lit up all at once to check the function of the planetary management system, making the continent glow at night.

Without the Transition Gate, it would have taken at least several hundred times longer, and would have been smaller in scale and function.

The royal aristocrats, who worked hard to build the star system’s spaceport and develop the planet, sighed in admiration at the sight of a planet whose functions had advanced by about a century.

After several days of confirmation, the immigrant fleet that arrived from the Machaon System docked with the orbital elevator and began sending down the immigrants.

Thus, the Monarchy of Diete was enriched with the territorialized star system entirely inhabited by royal people, connected by a transition gate, promising great economic development, strong defense from foreign enemies, and safe exodus from the star system.

The second year of the Queen’s coronation was coming to an end in a few hours.

The aristocrats of the Monarchy, who played their respective roles in the Hermes System, gathered aboard the Mobile Fortress Ophaniel, which was being operated by the Duke of Mauriac, to celebrate the success of the immigrants and the New Year.

On a huge screen at the venue, live media footage of immigrants stepping onto the land on the daytime side of the planet Kerykeion is broadcast.

Before the start of the year, the aristocracy of the Monarchy, whose goal was to bring the first group of immigrants down to the planet, cheered at the sight of the royal people taking their first steps.

The jubilant aristocrats exchanged toasts on numerous occasions to celebrate the glory of the Monarchy and the bright future of its people.

“Long live the Monarchy, we have achieved interstellar immigration!”

“Long live the Monarchy, we have protected the Royal Citizenry entrusted to us!”

As a result of all the star systems being connected by Transition Gates, it is now possible to gather in the same star system from any star system after a two-hour one-way trip. The 1500 aristocratic families had representatives participating in the support of the Hermes Star System.

For the first time since the dispersion of the inhabited star system to multiple aristocratic families, the entire aristocracy of the Monarchy gathered for the celebration, which attracted more than 10,000 people from the 1,500 aristocratic families.

Most of the attendees, however, are remote-controlled robots.

Whether caused by accident, terrorism, or enemy sabotage, the deaths of Hart and Yuna are directly linked to the outcome of the war. The death of 10,000 aristocrats will also collapse the aristocratic system, making large-scale immigration like this difficult. Putting everyone on one ship is simply unthinkable from the standpoint of national security.

Participants include Liú Hào of Kyūyama and Digitalis, the Countess of Lynn, who married Liú Hào. However, if controlled remotely, the robot prepared by the Duke of Mauriac, the organizer, cannot introduce drugs or explosives into the body, nor can it perform actions that could cause harm.

Remote control of robots from within the same star system is not only excellent in terms of safety, but also has many advantages, such as shortening the preparation and travel time of each person, and because it reduces the burden on the body, sick and elderly aristocrats are able to attend.

Thus, in the midst of a large gathering of aristocrats, the 12 heads of the Hermes senior aristocratic families bowed to Yuna, who was sitting on a throne set up on a higher level.

“This time, I am deeply grateful to the Hermes immigrants from the Machaon Star System for their collective efforts. We the Hermes aristocrats promise to devote ourselves to the Monarchy and the Royal people.”

The Duke of Mauriac, who had witnessed the immigrants take their first steps, spoke on behalf of the group, and Yuna nodded in return.

“The Hermes System will be the richest star system in the Monarchy.”

The planet Kerykeion, which has been extensively improved by making the most of the Transition Gate and infusing Fukashiro’s abundant natural resources, will be enriched. Compared to other Monarchy star systems, it can be called too rich.

The planet’s production system and infrastructure are created by the Monarchy, and it is unlikely that only the Hermes System will become extremely powerful because it is state-owned and the fee is also included in the Monarchy, but if the Monarchy is perceived as exploiting the people of the Hermes system, a bad future may come to pass.

Exploitation from Earth triggered the independence of the Diete government.

As for how to avoid such a future, Yuna disclosed the possibility of the future.

“In the future, the next Sovereign may move the capital to the half-vacant lands, and use it as a foothold for the expansion of the Monarchy throughout the galaxy.”

The Mauriacs were wide-eyed and astonished at the possibility of being told for the first time.

For 445 years since its founding, the Monarchy has consistently placed its capital in the Diete Star System, but there is no reason why it has to be the Diete Star System.

If the Royal Family controls the most prosperous star system and transfers government functions, it will prevent the provinces from gaining the power to overthrow the state.

With such rational reasons, and the transfer of government functions was made easier with the transition gate, there was a good chance that the Capital star could be transferred.

The present-day Monarchy of Diete is being leased the Royal Capital by the Marquis of Amakawa.

Yuna, who claims that she is supposed to be the Marquess of Amakawa, may be content, but after either Bernard or Josslan becomes the next Sovereign, it is not proper for the next Sovereign to stay at the home of his older sister and her husband.

The Monarchy had one Duke per star system, but during the war with the former Coalition, the Royal Family and the Strani Dukedom were in the Diete Star System at the same time. There is no national law that prevents placing the Royal Family and the Duke of Mauriac in the Hermes Star System.

The Hermes system is too rich.

The land area is three times that of Earth, and the three-dimensional habitable space in the thick layers of the atmosphere is more than three times larger. There is no clear standard for what part of the highlands should be considered habitable, but the livable space could be six to nine times larger than Earth’s.

As expected, it was too large to entrust this to a single modern Duke Household.

If the time taken to develop the planet was as usual, it wouldn’t have been a major problem for the Monarchy that expanded its territory in a few hundred years, but due to the Transition Gate and transportation by a huge number of fighter crafts, the development progressed too quickly.

And the transition gate witnessed the differences between star systems that were difficult to see in other star systems that required time to move.

If the Royal Capital is moved to the Hermes System, there will be no Duke in the Diete System.

However, if the next Sovereign declares after the war that they will reward the unprecedented achievements of the Marquis of Amakawa with the title of Duke, and that the domain will remain in the Diete System, the royal parliament will probably pass a resolution.

Without Hart, the Monarchy would have been destroyed, and in terms of his achievements with the realms and the Transition Gates, he clearly contributed to the Monarchy more than all the Dukes combined. And the status system of the Monarchy is not originally based on bloodline, but rather magic power value and military service obligations.

Also, even if there were people who cared about lineage, Hart has no royal blood, but Yuna and Claudia are of royal blood, and from the next generation, there will be no bloodline issues as a Duke. Thus, the Royal Family, which has installed a Duke in the Diete Star System, can move its residence to the Hermes Star System.

In the Royal Capital of the new star system, government employees and family immigrants from the current Royal Capital, immigrants of those who do business, and immigrants from each star system can gather a population suitable for the Royal Capital.

The next Sovereign will be able to offer a debt of gratitude to the Amakawa family, making it easier for them to serve as vassals… thought Yuna and Hart, who are planning to leave it to the next generation.

The Hermes System without Yuna and Hart is convenient for Bernard and his family, and the Hermes aristocrats include the Marquis of Ornelas, the father of the former First Queen and the grandfather of Bernard, Josslan, and Mirabel.

“I expect the Duke to give his best for the Monarchy.”

“By your Will.”

As a Royal Aristocrat dedicated to serving the Royal people, Mauriac resolutely accepted the Queen’s will.

After the 12 aristocrats bowed, the Marquis of Herzberg, who saw the silent Mauriac and the Marquis of Ornelas obeying with his mouth shut, opened his mouth with a slight preamble.

“I am aware it is presumptuous of me, but I would like to make a presentation. Given the thousands of years of prosperity our Monarchy have reigned, it would be best if Her Majesty the Queen and the Duke of Son had their way for the time being, but it seems to me that it will eventually be necessary for the Amakawa or Taka Amanohara families to marry into the Royal family of Asteria.”

Hart, who was standing next to Yuna, was impressed by the courageous statement.

Having two royal families in a nation can cause divisions and strife in discordant generations.

The descendants of the Amakawa family, who hold the Transition Gate and the Spirit Crystals, and the greatest queen in history, Yuna, who has made a leap forward in the Monarchy, will be the ones who could shake the next Royal Family of Bernard or Josslan. A peaceful way to avoid this is for the blood of Hart and Yuna’s descendants to enter the Royal Family.

Seeing Yuna’s expression urging him to say something, Hart responded on behalf of Yuna, who had accepted the report.

“Both families are my descendants, so I will answer. First, I will make it clear at the outset that I have no intention of sacrificing the happiness of my descendants for the sake of the nation.”

Beatrice, the fiancée of the First Prince Bernard, is one of the women whose father forced her to marry in recent years.

Beatrice, whose fiancé has been changed three times by her father to former Duke’s son, former Sovereign’s great-grandson, and First Prince, has a respectable title, but she is criticized by the royal family and never seems to be happy.

The reason why Hart doesn’t speak out in Beatrice’s case is that Beatrice herself has not explicitly indicated her refusal and he cannot take responsibility for Beatrice’s life. If the person in question insists that they do not like it, he is willing to intervene, but otherwise he can’t say a word on the issue.

However, Hart had no intention of selling his daughter to the Royal Family like Beatrice’s father, and he would not hesitate to drag her away if the other party forced her into it.

“In the first place, it is against the founding principles, the Constitution of the Monarchy and the will of Their Majesties, the former Sovereign and the present Queen. Those who violate the Constitution with power and violence are rebels against the Monarchy. I consider it my mission to annihilate the enemies of the nation.”

Herzberg’s concern is perfectly valid from a national point of view.

However, Hart believes that no one individual should be burdened with an excessive amount of responsibility and sacrificed just because it is in the best interest of the nation.

As Yuna said at the Lords’ Conference, if the Marquis of Amakawa is to be questioned for their contributions as aristocrats of the Monarchy, then the questioning side should make more contributions than Amakawa before coming forward.

After subjugating four of the five Tenka Nations, recapturing MacLir and Fukashiro, and contributing more than Amakawa, who made the Eight Star Systems of the Monarchy into realms and connected by the Transition Gate, they could speak of the next burden.

No aristocrat would pick a fight during Hart and Yuna’s lifetime, but Hart cautioned him.

“Even after my death, there will be spirits in every Monarchy star system, and my will as a contractor is their highest priority. Tell your descendants that if you treat my descendants irrationally, they will see a reenactment of the Diete War of Independence. However, if the person themselves doesn’t oppose it, they may make overtures as they wish.”

“I understand the views of both Amakawa and Taka Amanohara.”

Hart presented a compromise, and Herzberg answered resolutely, ending the question-and-answer session.

Mauriac, who sent a protesting glance to Herzberg, thanked him once again, and the greeting of the Hermes aristocrats among the immigrants ended.

At the large venue, the countdown for the New Year was about to start.