novelVol. 2 - Ep. 2
| ← Ch.026 | Ch.028 → |
The day after Sungjin encountered the silver-haired lady, Sir Liberte Todam, a self-appointed historian, was working on two manuscripts on his desk at the same time.
Both had the same title The History of the Kingdom of Sevrantina, but the texts were very different from one another.
A demidevil from another world and the coming darkness.
A new king from another world and the new light.
And the stories following each title were also very different.
Sungjin, the demidevil from another world took away the land using his evil and sly tactics and took away the God-given rights of heroes mercilessly.
Sungjin, the new king from another world overcame the divine punishment of being level 0 and saved the kingdom with his revolutionary tactics and pure martial art skills. He also took care of other level 0 extras with his power.
It was a double standard evaluation of one person, but Sir Todam was happy with what he had written.
"Hm, hm. Good. Very good. This is it."
He was satisfied with his work and kept on writing.
His tyranny didn't stop when he took away land from the heroes; he also prevented them from using extras for labor or from collecting tax from them. The temptress, Ereka, took over Sungjin's tyrannical rule while Sungjin overpowered the heroes, forcing them to live in despair. But the darkness couldn't last forever, for there was a hope growing without anyone knowing.
He protected the extras by preventing the heroes from stealing them and enslaving them. He reduced the tax rate by half, while also using those taxes to build charity hospitals, like a real Merciful Rulership should. The great Queen Ereka supported him as a lover and a partner. His unconventional rulership caused the resistance of the privileged, but the new era had already started.
He closed his book after finishing both manuscripts.
"Good. Now I need to keep them safe until I decide on which one I will publish."
At that time, it was clear that Sungjin owned the Kingdom of Sevrantina. But no one knew if he could keep raising it or if it would start to fall.
In a time like this, I need to be prepared.
He would publish the book that suited the trend when the clear winner came out.
"Sir Todam, isn't it a bit inefficient to write your manuscript while knowing the other half will become useless?" standing next to him, Mr. Gunan asked him carefully."Maybe it is better to start writing when you know
"What are you talking about! With that attitude, you can't publish a good book at the right time. You have to be ready to through two away in order to publish one book just so that you can revise and edit it enough. Which means you need to start editing today."
"But, wouldn't it be better to start editing when you know which one..."
"If you start editing, then it will be too late! Start today!"
"Do I really have to?"
"When you are done, I will prepare a plan for the next volume for both cases, so let's discuss right away."
"Wh... what... the next volume for both cases..."
"Listen. Everything looks different from a different point of view. What Sungjin is doing is no different. We don't know which one will become mainstream yet, so we need to prepare both cases to make a best seller. So do it."
Sungjin was a tyrant from the privileged heroes' point of view but a savior from the extras' point of view. The heroes who used to abuse the extras to achieve their luxurious lifestyles now suffered from their luxury being taken away.
On the other hand, the extras who used to starve and had to die if they were sick were happy for the new world where they could live a better life.
Sir Todam looked at the hospital out of his window. There was an old woman and a child with her who were showing gratitude by bowing to the hospital staff. The hospital staff was shaking her hand.
"Thank you. Thank you so much."
"No, it is thanks to the princess... no, the queen who built this hospital."
It was Nania who was imprisoned to become a sacrifice of the Blood Ruler but was now freed and back in the hospital for her job. Nania smiled
She was able to come back here because Sungjin had saved the queen, and now sick people could get treatment.
"Don't worry, but don't skip a day when you give this medicine to your daughter. When it is running out, come and take more, okay? If you don't, it can be dangerous."
"Yes. I got it. I will remember, " the child answered to ensure her.
"I will take care of her, Nania."
Sir Todam closed his window.
That could have been a beautiful scene or a waste of money.
The point of view depended on if Sungjin would become a final winner or a one-time-wonder. He would publish his book faster than anyone else.
"So start editing, okay?"
"Okay."
Mr. Gunan wanted to punch him in the face, only if he weren't a noble. His level was the only thing that stopped him from punching Todam.
At the same time, Sungjin and Ereka were discussing the matter of either "tyranny" or the "wise rulership" according to Sir Todam.
"Sungjin. This is the complete report on the new hospital that was reported once before."
Ereka reported to him with a map.
"These blue circles are the local hospitals where the extras in the region can come when needed. One healer and a sub healer in general, but we have more staff in the areas with a denser population."
Then she pointed to a dozen green circles scattered on the map.
"These green points are bigger hospitals for patients who can't be treated at the small ones. They have more experienced healers and have beds for patients."
"It's very well organized."
"And for the last, these two red circles in the North and the South are the grand hospitals with Heroic Power healers. To build them, it took 832 billion dilents, and the annual operational cost is estimated to be 150 to 200 dilents."
"Great. This system takes care of poor people. Really great."
Sungjin really thought it was great.
In the country where he used to live on earth, they had a system of medical insurance, but the system had a lot of holes. Many diseases were excluded from governmental support. Ereka's system was better organized to help people in need.
If she lived in a country like this, my mom would have lived longer. Maybe.
He couldn't change what happened in the past, but he could change this world. Sungjin was emotional about it, and Ereka shared his concerns.
"But I still have a concern."
"What is it?"
"If it's 100% free, then people with light issues that can be easily healed naturally or people with fake illness can come and make the real patients who need medical help wait for a long time."
"Ahah. That's why communism has broken down."
"Huh? What-ism?"
Ereka blinked like a rabbit checking out a new object. She was so cute that it made Sungjin smile.
"Ah, Sorry. It's a word from earth. Don't worry about it. Let's solve the problem this way. When someone goes to the hospital for the first time, charge them an affordable fee. If they can't afford it, they can work temporarily at the hospital instead. Those patients who have grave illness are the exceptions."
Even if it was something small, if it wasn't free, people would think twice before doing it. The fee had to be there so that not just anybody could get treatment.
Ereka smiled at that idea.
"That sounds like a good idea. You are brilliant, Sungjin."
"No, you are working on all the details. I'm just helping you with the big picture."
"You are too modest. I didn't do much."
"No, I really think you are doing great."
Sungjin meant it.
He didn't want to be abused or watch others being abused. He didn't want that nasty feeling again. That was the truth. But what he wanted was not what he could actually do. He couldn't take care of all the state affairs in details, and he had to work on military tactics for the upcoming battles with other countries. That took most of his time.
Without Ereka, he couldn't take care of the other state affairs. Ereka took care of the complicated part of the work whereas he had to set up the budget, manage the officials, build the hospitals, set up tax rates and establish the legal system so that he could concentrate on the tactics for the battle.
"It's all thanks to you. If I did it myself, it would have taken me ages to understand the situation of each region."
He was just a high school student without any governing experience, while Ereka was the ruler of a kingdom.
"I'm flattered. I could do what I am doing thanks to your protection and help."
Ereka blushed.
"That's not true. Internal affairs are the base of a country more so than foreign affairs. Thanks to you, I am concentrating on the upcoming battles. I'm the one who has to thank you for letting me not worry about the war."
Ereka smiled and said that they were a good team. Then Sungjin held Ereka's hand.
"That's why I wanted to ask you to not just to take care of this country but also our family."
"That means..."
"Be my wife. You are my soulmate."
"Sungjin..."
Sungjin took Ereka in roughly when she nodded with blushing cheeks and tears in her eyes. His deep passionate kiss tasted her lips and started to go down.
Sungjin's burning desire didn't wear off.
"You shouldn't. Before... dinner..."
Ereka locked the door with her left hand for privacy while hugging Sungjin's waist with her right hand.
"Ereka?"
Ereka opened her eyes at someone calling her name. It was Sungjin holding her hand.
"Oh. The hands."
Sungjin holding her hand was not her imagination but a reality? When Ereka blushed, Sungjin didn't know what to do and let go of her hand.
"Ah... not what I intended... I called you, but you didn't answer."
He could have called her once more without holding her hand.
I can't trust myself in these situations.
"Huh? Did you say something?"
"Yeah, the hospitals are already set, so I hoped you could take care of something else."
"Oh. What is that?"
Ereka lowered her head.
She was hoping Sungjin wouldn't know about her imagination.
Sungjin smiled.
She has a strong habit of spacing out in the middle of a conversation.
That only made her cute though.
He rejected her marriage proposal, but he felt more and more that she was a cute and charming girl. Moreover, being with her made his life comfortable. She was taking care of the internal affairs as the queen while taking care of his daily life at the same time.
Sometimes, he wanted to bite her ear to tease her.
Sungjin realized his hand was moving again and stopped. He was about to hold her hand again...
He knew his instinct was a dangerous thing. He knew that much. Just when he was off his guard, the lion who desired the girl tried to take him over.
Jenna was next to them, trying not to pay attention, but her knife tail straightened suddenly.
Hmm. When the queen spaces out, Sungjin Oppa smiles as if he thinks she is cute.
She quickly wrote down another line in her brain.
She found out that Sungjin rejected Ereka's proposal, but that didn't stop Jenna from working on her plan to make Ereka his wife and herself his concubine.
It motivated her even more.
I will find out everything about Sungjin Oppa to change his mind.
"After the hospitals, not all over the country..."
When Sungjin finished, Ereka's eyes became big with surprise. Rittier's face became hard, and Jenna's tail stiffened again.
"Would you mind telling me again?"
"Let's establish schools so that everyone can become literate and get a basic education."
Ereka was silent for a while. She couldn't understand why schools were needed.
But I'm sure Sungjin has a good reason for it.
"Huh? Sungjin Oppa, why do you need schools?"
"I don't understand either, Master Sungjin."
The hospitals were necessary; they could save sick and dying people.
Ereka and Sungjin fought to protect the people from the Blood Ruler who tried to sacrifice them. And the result was that there were now charity hospitals all around the country.
But why a school?
In this world, there were two factions of heroes: The majority believed in Divine Birth Privilege and thought that the heroes could use and abuse the people who were the extras. The minority believed in Rightful Rulership and thought the heroes should protect and take care of the weak extras.
Ereka was a part of the latter faction, and she risked her life to protect her people. But even for her, a school was not an easy idea to understand.
Jenna and Rittier opposed the idea.
"Sungjin Oppa, shouldn't we do something else with that money?"
"I agree. Throw a party... pave the roads... build a dike..."
"No. We need schools."
"I'm sure you have your reasons; can you explain your reason to us?"
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