Volume 2 Chapter 20 [Kingdom SIDE] The King's Toast
In the grand hall of Diamante Kingdom's royal castle.
This was the same room where Zayte once gathered commoners for a mass dismissal──back then, Horace and 500 golems were present.
But honestly, the space could hold 3 times that many.
It's vast.
Today, the hall was filled with hundreds of folded chairs, brought in from the storage.
A thousand people sat there ──
An awe-inspiring sight, to say the least.
The crowd included some of the highest-ranking guild masters among Adventurers──SS rank, no less──and refugees who'd fled here from the outside.
Many of them once held high status, skilled at stoking others' hopes and fears.
Essentially, they are the 'leader-type' of the overconfident migrants.
"Honestly, they should just recognize the Court Adventurers already."
"Yeah. With the hero taking down the Demon Lord, the age of Adventurers is finally here."
"The nobility just inheriting titles without doing a damn thing──we're the real stars now, holding the kingdom's fate."
"And with so many dungeons still monopolized by the kingdom, once we become Court Adventurers, the profits? All ours."
"Dreams are getting bigger. Hahaha!"
That's the kind of chatter echoing through the hall.
The fact that Adventurers defeated the Demon Lord and became heroes fuels their arrogance.
Even now, most of the capital's commoners ── the 'everyday folk' ── are kept pacified by their deeds.
The city grew around many dungeons──more specifically, it became a city because of them.
The kingdom holds the exclusive rights to those dungeons, keeping control of the treasure troves.
It's the same reason Dragonstone Kingdom controls the Great Mine of Gold World (Kinsekai).
'Exploring uncharted lands where nothing is gained'──that's something only Adventurers with too much time and money, or reckless governments with vast budgets, can afford.
Simply put, the discovery of new dungeons?
That's a game for either daring Adventurers or the nation itself.
They're the ones delving into dungeons, slaying monsters, and pocketing the coins that fund the national budget.
Yet, many──especially Adventurers and foreign merchants──are unhappy with the Diamante Kingdom's monopoly over the Great Mine of Gold World (Kinsekai).
There's a government post at the dungeon's entrance, monitoring Adventurers as they come out, and they're taxed with a 'usage fee'──which, since it's actual cash, adds to the resentment.
"They just don't get that we're the victims of the Demon Lord here."
"Right, we need money to rebuild. How can they call themselves the world's greatest Bloodline Nation if they can't even provide that?"
"Of course, the Demon Lord invaded, but she didn't destroy the buildings. We could rebuild them if we had the funds. Why don't they want to do that?"
"We've had 6 different Permanent Council Members. There should be someone to inherit the assets from those 'ruins'. The world conference should be investing in that revival."
"Indeed, how dare those who don't understand the justice of the world's rebirth make such a fuss. It's as if they've lost all sense of meaning."
Many refugees are those who fled their nations, unable to withstand the Demon Lord's invasion.
According to the laws set by the world conference, 'refugees from Bloodline Nations' are supposed to be provided with 'resources for recovery' to some extent.
Thanks to Horace, the Diamante Kingdom, with its capital as the political heart, was fully supported and suffered minimal loss of supply power and infrastructure among the 'Bloodline Nations'.
Among the 'major powers' of the world, many nations are burdened with massive debts to the hero community, yet the Diamante Kingdom stands free of any such obligations.
Despite being refugees, there were those deemed 'wise' among them, and some with voices loud enough to be heard.
They understood that only the Diamante Kingdom could move freely within the 'world conference.'
That's why they didn't rely on the 'world conference' and instead directed their discontent towards the Diamante Kingdom.
The other nations, after all, had no room to breathe and were being brushed aside.
"Settle down!"
On the stage, Ranza, a subordinate of Valzeil, shouted.
That voice cut through the buzzing hall, silencing it.
Holding a magic tool that amplified the voice, Ranza scanned the surroundings before speaking.
"Next, we shall hear the words from His Majesty. Listen carefully."
As Ranza spoke...
"Are you mocking us?! We're Adventurers, dammit! That's more than good enough! Make us Court Adventurers already! Hand over the dungeon!"
"Decide on the reconstruction aid already! If you can't even do that, what kind of a Bloodline Nation are you?! We won't be satisfied until we get massive support in gold, supplies, and manpower to restore our former strength!"
Both Adventurers and refugees shouted.
Valzeil had seen them as 'immigrants getting carried away,' but they shared a common opinion.
That was, 'What's so great about someone who didn't contribute a thing to the Demon Lord's defeat.
If you want to prove your worth, then show us what you've got!'
Sharing this opinion, there was no conflict among them.
"...I see. So you're all banding together by treating this kingdom as the villain. A real politician has weaseled their way in."
Valzeil emerged from behind the stage.
Yet, even as the king of a great nation made his appearance, the people who had risen in indignation from their chairs did not even think to sit back down.
After all, they had gone to the trouble of providing chairs and, in the actual documents they had shown to summon them, it was explicitly written that they would not be made to 'kneel,' not to these bloodless Adventurers, nor to the people who had suffered greatly.
If he's sitting quietly, straightening his back, and just *listening*──that's fine.
Even if he doesn't sit, only someone like the guild master of an SS-ranked guild can barely be excused for it.
"You think I won't sit if I come out? You're underestimating the Hero and the Demon Lord. Even a king would be seen as too small a threat."
After muttering that, he picks up the magic amplification device.
"Now then, everyone──I *think* I understand."
Valzeil's voice cuts through clearly, even with the power of her magic tool.
"Most of the Bloodline Nations have done... nothing──when the Demon Lord's crisis hit."
The first point: countless Bloodline Nations failed to act against the Demon Lord himself.
"We haven't even shown the word *support* to the countries suffering the most damage."
The second: despite having laws for aid, they've done nothing about it.
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