Surviving as a Knight in a Trash Game

Chapter 191

After the terrible and yet another terrible monster wave ended, the continent, which had found peace after a long time, began to develop at a rate incomparable to before.

The domains, which had almost collapsed, were no longer the exclusive property of the nobles as they had been before. Although not quite free cities, several cities with a similar feel were created, and cases of electing their own lords occurred.

I, with a very slight intervention in this process, introduced the concept of a city and the concept of a mayor to the continent.

In the case of the western and southern domains, which had suffered damage close to annihilation, the domains began to be operated in a way where a mayor elected by the citizens governed the city and received an order with the emperor's seal.

As such cities increased, a new emerging class appeared along with the nobles. Since even commoners could become mayors, major and minor disputes arose here and there about how to differentiate the status of a mayor and a lord and whether power could coexist.

In that process, armed conflicts occurred between each other, and rough battles continued, but in the end, they began to settle down like that.

The ironic fact was that the Arthur Domain, which had released another source of controversy on the continent, was actually running very peacefully under a lord-led system.

“The newly produced administrative resources today will be working at the various local administrative offices and the main office directly under the domain.”

By applying modern concepts, the administrative positions were increased, and through them, administrative staff were dispatched to the Arthur Domain and its vassal domains, establishing a kind of centralized political system.

At the same time, they also promoted local decentralization that allowed the lords of each region to move individually, thus establishing the basic framework of a local autonomy system. Because he was a feudal lord, it was possible to apply the system more freely, at least in the Arthur Domain.

And so, on a day when the Arthur Domain was continuing its endless development, Ellenhower’s envoy appeared in the Arthur Domain.

“It’s been a long time, Count Jennings.”

Jennings, who had now become a Count from a Viscount, bowed his head as he looked at me. It was the utmost courtesy that could be shown between those of the same rank.

“Yes, what brings you here?”

Viscount Jennings dangled the document in his hand.

“I have brought a gift. I should have come sooner, but you seemed too busy, so I have only come to see you now.”

Jennings handed the envoy’s gift to me. In it, along with an object like a seal, were various things, including a cloak.

“This is a letter from His Majesty the Emperor, stating that he will grant you the title of Duke, my lord. He said to proceed with the investiture ceremony in any way Your Excellency desires.”

“What do you think I will do?”

“This one piece of paper should be enough for you.”

Jennings smiled and handed over the emperor’s letter of appointment, bestowing the title of Duke.

“Thank you. Rest as comfortably as you wish before you go.”

“Thank you for Your Excellency’s consideration.”

Perhaps because it felt like a title I should have received long ago, even the people around me only offered light congratulations and did not place much meaning on the promotion.

What was truly groundbreaking was that the document Ellenhower had sent contained a provision that the area I ruled would include one-third of Somerset’s territory.

In a way, it could be said to be an expression of his full trust in me, who could be the biggest threat to maintaining his power.

“There’s no need to go this far.”

In fact, if I hadn't been there, Ellenhower could have remained as the last emperor who was with the destruction of humanity in the first year of his enthronement. It was no exaggeration to say that I was the one who had saved him, come to think of it.

“Isn’t that enough for you to receive? Should I call you Your Excellency now?”

“Stop with the unfitting words. You don’t even mean it,”

“Hahahaha, yes. You are always you.”

Bastien offered his congratulations to me, whose rank was now higher than his own.

“It seems you have crossed the wall. Congratulations.”

At my compliment, he grinned.

“It’s all thanks to you. If it weren’t for you, I would not have experienced this world.”

“Even if I wasn't here, you would have reached it someday.”

Not only Bastien but also the Pope had crossed the wall. The interesting thing was that even though the Pope’s power was not based on aura, the wall he had crossed was similar to reaching the realm of a Grand Master.

And so, with my promotion to Duke, peace came to the continent after a very long time.

***

“Will you truly choose so?”

“Yes, I do not regret it.”

“But, the path you have walked until now was certainly different.”

“I have felt many things, and many things have changed.”

In a space too vast to be called a cave, a handsome man with golden hair was speaking to a androgynous-looking person with green hair. The source of this content ɪs novelFɪre.net

“Yes, Milen, I respect your choice. Walk through that door. As you walk, you will naturally come to know.”

Following the space the blond man pointed to, the 999-year-old dragonkin, Milen, moved his steps.

After crossing a blue circle like a portal and continuing to walk, a vast lake of unknown end spread out before him.

Entering the space where all dragons are born and sleep, Milen closed his eyes without realizing it.

In that moment, a great flow consumed Milen’s body. And at some point, Milen’s consciousness was sucked into the great flow without him even knowing.

And so, for an unknown amount of time, a large amount of energy flowing around flowed into and out of Milen’s body repeatedly.

Wooooooooong!

At the end, the moment a great light enveloped the dragon’s body, the eyes of Milen, who had now become a she, slowly began to open. It was like a fleeting moment, but at that point, after a year had passed in the flow of time, Milen Ardi opened her eyes as a perfect female.

The gender, which is decided when becoming an adult dragon, had made her, who had been androgynous, a she. Milen, with her green hair and a beauty that seemed to have been sculpted by the heavens, smiled faintly as she looked at her reflection in the lake.

“I should go out.”

Along with her smile, the energy enveloping her sparkled warmly.

***

Since coming to the human world and settling in the Arthur Domain, Gremory was spending happy days every day. She liked the warm bread and stew she ate when she woke up in the morning.

And she also liked the new liquor she drank every night.

Sometimes, Anne’s nagging to do something grated on her nerves, but she could easily overlook that much. And sometimes, she would make a very trivial contract in exchange for granting a human’s wish or fulfilling something they desired.

Of course. Since Gremory was favorable to humans, the contract was not one-sidedly disadvantageous to the human. And so, as she was spending happy days every day, things that got on her nerves began to appear.

“What is that….”

The annoying creature that caught her well-to-do eye was made of something like gray clay all over. It was a monster she had never seen in her endlessly long demonic life.

Not a magical beast, but a monster that was hard to describe. A disgusting being that was missing what a living thing should have.

At first, these things were seen in a few places along with the monster invasion, but at some point, they began to slowly increase their numbers and started to be caught by her senses here and there.

“This is annoying….”

She began to personally investigate those gray objects one by one. Where they appeared, how they were born. And so, while investigating the gray monsters, Gremory reached a single peculiar point.

“Where on earth are these things coming from?”

Even she could not figure out where these gray monsters originated from. All she could know was that they were generated at some point and roamed the continent.

Woooong!

A black flame bloomed from her hand and began to melt the gray object. And the melting gray monster, the Gray Demon, in the midst of that, extended the tentacles on its back towards Gremory.

Crunch.

Gremory’s hand grabbed the tentacle and tore it off, and the flame she created completely incinerated the gray monster, now named a grade 3 Gray Demon on the continent.

Wriggle. Wriggle.

Seeing the torn tentacle moving on its own, she put the tentacle into something like a test tube that she took out from her subspace.

“I’ll have to watch it.”

After that, Gremory hunted the Gray Demon a few more times and repeated the process of collecting samples. In addition to the ones with tentacles on their backs, there were also ones that had the exact same appearance as humans.

These things would mimic things like human weapons through body transformation and would also copy Gremory, imitating her face or hair.

The ones that seemed to have higher intelligence also had far superior combat abilities, and even Gremory had a hard time when she caught these humanoid Gray Demons.

And so, during the past year when the monster wave was occurring, she made frequent outings and was enthusiastic about collecting Gray Demons.

“Sister…? What is all this?”

Of course, the things she had collected had been piling up on the rooftop of Anne’s hotel room.

From the wriggling tentacles to the various pieces of gray bodies, they were so gruesome that an ordinary person would faint immediately upon seeing them. The things inside the specially made test tubes by Gremory were wriggling as if they were alive, even though they were separated.

“Ah, you’re here? This is the monster that humans call a Gray Demon. I was doing some experiments.”

Gremory casually deflected Anne’s question.

“Sis…ter… this is a hotel. You know well what a hotel is by now, don’t you?”

“I know, that’s why I put them on the rooftop. People don’t come up here, do they?”

“…”

Anne sighed as she looked at her, who was speaking so nonchalantly and sweeping her red hair back.

“I’ll talk to Karl and ask him to build a research lab for you, sister.”

“Oh, really? Do you think that emotionless, inhuman-like human will listen to me?”

Recently, Karl had absorbed the power of Murr, in addition to Decarabia, and had entered a far higher realm. Thanks to that, even Gremory felt a little awkward.

It might be different in the demon world, but here in the human world, Karl might even be able to annihilate her.

“This is a public matter, after all. I’ll also ask him to prepare an official title.”

“Really?”

In fact, Gremory also wanted to have an official title to introduce herself. She, who enjoyed the human world, also felt a desire for the honor that humans possess.

“Of course, sister. Karl listens to everything I say, doesn’t he?”

“Good. It has to be a decent position.”

“Of course, sister. You don’t know me?”

“I know, I know very well.”

Gremory really liked the human named Anne. Even though she was a human, she was quick-witted and understood her feelings well.

Although her power was not strong, she also had a strangely demon-like feeling, and anyway, she was a human she really liked.

Above all, she liked the fact that she provided a good place to sleep and delicious food unlimitedly like this. Now she was even saying she would provide a position in the Arthur Domain for her.

“Why don’t you ask me for anything?”

“Isn’t it enough just to have you, sister?”

“Huh? Really?”

“Of course, didn’t you save me before, sister?”

“Hmm, that was… just… catching a stupid elf who had invaded my territory.”

“Well, anyway. Good is good.”

Gremory once again thought that Anne was a strange human. And she liked her even more for it.

The next day, the Reitz Research Institute was established in the Arthur Domain to study the monsters appearing on the continent, including the Gray Demons. And Gremory received the position of the first director of the Reitz Research Institute and an advisor who would coach the domain’s monsters and other strategy and tactics.

That position was equal to that of Marquis Nigel, the head who was responsible for everything in the Arthur Domain, so no one could treat Gremory carelessly. It was a safety device from Karl and Anne to prevent foolish people from getting on her nerves.

The dwarves created a facility of enormous scale just three months after the research institute construction plan was announced. And in the office located on the top of the 5-story building, Gremory went to work for the first time.

[Research Director Gremory]

Looking at the nameplate prepared on her desk, Gremory unconsciously lifted the nameplate and stroked her name engraved on it.

“Phew… this is strange….”

Gremory, who had lived for an unimaginably long time, felt a fluttering emotion for the first time in a very long time.

And because of her excitement, the Gray Demons that had been surviving in the vicinity of the Arthur Domain began to be all caught.