Chapter 78: The Burdens of an Empire
"I’m bored," I announced to the quiet Throne Room.
My voice, now a smooth baritone thanks to my Vampire Lord evolution, echoed pleasingly off the crystal walls.
"This is it, isn’t it? The post-game. I’ve finished the main quest, and now I’m left with resource management and collecting all the pointless little collectibles.
I’m going to have to start a new game plus just to feel something again."
Pixia, who had been diligently cataloging the different resonant frequencies of the crystals in the throne room, zipped over to my shoulder.
"My Lord, may I humbly suggest that this period of peace is a critical opportunity for infrastructure development and strategic consolidation?
Our borders are vast and our internal logistics are... suboptimal."
"Suboptimal?" I scoffed.
"Pixia, our kingdom is a logistical nightmare.
It’s a patchwork of a brutalist stone dungeon, a cozy university library, and a gaudy, half-looted shopping mall, all stitched together with magic and desperation.
It’s less of a cohesive empire and more of a geopolitical migraine.