LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 26 - More Labor is Better (1)
✦ Chapter 26 – More Labor is Better (1) ✦
「Translator – Creator」
“This is so boring.”
Quite some time had passed since I returned to the Imperial Capital as Emperor Bael.
Life in the capital remained dull and monotonous, to the point of making me yawn.
“Your Majesty, these are the documents that require your signature today. And these are petitions from the Belevelle region, which need to be addressed today. Also, you have a meeting with Duke Machiavelli this afternoon…”
A mountain of documents was piled up.
How tedious. Couldn’t someone else deal with this?
Petitions from some obscure region I’d never even heard of before. They were all filled with trivial matters.
A lunch with dull, stuffy nobles? It was enough to make me want to flee.
‘Why do I have to endure this?’
I am the Emperor of the Pandemonium; I should be the freest man alive. And yet, it felt like I was a prisoner, confined to this tiny throne.
‘I need to create [Hel Steel] quickly. Also, making [Hel Bread] and [Hel Cake] to address loyalty issues.’
As I was beginning to feel like every moment spent on this throne was a waste of time, Dimensia of Barbatos stealthily approached and perched herself on my lap, “The 『Round Table Conference』of the Twelve Zodiacs is approaching, Your Majesty. I wonder what troublesome issues they’ll bring up this year? The 『Round Table Conference』 always brings about a storm… Fufufu, I’m looking forward to it.”
The 『Round Table Conference』.
A gathering of the most powerful nobles on the continent, the true rulers of the land. Now that I thought about it, Somnia had mentioned that she wanted to introduce Daniel as her fiancé at this year’s conference.
This meant that the time for me to leave the Emperor’s throne and return to being Daniel was drawing close. During my absence, Dimensia would keep the throne secure.
It was then a sudden thought occurred to me.
“Dimensia, will Barbatos also be attending this conference?”
“Well, I don’t know. As the Emperor’s secretary, I’m not privy to the news of the Barbatos family. For matters concerning the Barbatos family, please inquire during the audience with my father this afternoon.”
“Machiavelli.”
Machiavelli Barbatos.
He was the current head of the Barbatos family and known as the Chancellor of this continent.
Frankly, I didn’t like meeting him. He was the most boring man on the entire continent.
“I can’t stand it.”
Thud—!
I stood up abruptly, knocking Dimensia, who was still perched on my lap, to the floor.
“Ughh!”
“Dimensia, I’m leaving.”
“W-What? Leaving? But what about your meeting this afternoon?”
“I’ve lost interest.”
It was clear that I needed to get out of this palace.
I was concerned about the potato field I had left behind in Ardan and curious whether Somnia, who had been away for a long time, was sleeping well.
“Your Majesty, in that case, please take this…”
Rustle—!
As I was about to leave the palace, Dimensia reached into her cleavage and retrieved a small package, which she handed to me. It was a pouch filled with seeds.
「Hel Wheat Seeds」
“I had quite a hard time obtaining these.”
“Well done. You’ll receive a proper reward soon.”
“Well done, Dimensia.”
“…..……!”
She looked at me with wide, surprised eyes.
Then, lowering her head, she began to tremble. “You… you remembered my name…” she mumbled.
I may have been terrible at remembering people’s names, but even I knew the name of my own personal secretary, who worked by my side day in and day out. Just how bad is Emperor Bael’s reputation? I sighed inwardly, shaking my head.
I turned and headed towards the secret passage hidden within the Emperor’s bedchamber.
⋆༺𓆩☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆
Let’s organize this.
Daniel’s primary goals were twofold.
First, he needed to attend the Round Table Conference, gather information, and win his bet with Lexi Amon to acquire her fire-attribute Hel.
Second, he had to cultivate the [Hel Wheat].
“With this, I can finally make [Hel Bread],” I muttered to myself, my spirits lifting at the thought of creating a field of [Hel Wheat] from the seeds Dimensia had acquired.
Once I have [Hel Bread], I can finally increase Barkie’s loyalty; the higher its loyalty, the faster it’ll work. And that means I’ll get my hands on that clue about returning home sooner rather than later.
“Barkie, if you were just a little more obedient, I wouldn’t have to go through all this trouble to make [Hel Bread].”
—Grrrr!
Barkie, perched on my shoulder, grumbled in response.
Its loyalty remained stubbornly stuck at 27, failing to break through the crucial 30 mark.
What even is loyalty, anyway? I suddenly wondered. Galakrod, one of the Ascended Knights, was utterly devoted to the Emperor, even willing to lay down his life for him.
But if I was being honest, Emperor Bael hadn’t actually done anything for Galakrod. He hadn’t demanded or even expected his loyalty. And yet, Galakrod remained steadfast in his devotion.
However, Barkie, the creature whose loyalty I desired the most… was practically a rebel.
Galakrod and Barkie…..What’s the difference between them? I pondered this as I walked—
“You, standing in the middle of the street like that, you’re obstructing people.”
—when a gentle voice suddenly chastised me from somewhere.
When I turned, I saw a woman in a white dress, a large bag in her hand, staring at me disapprovingly. She looked like a white rose blooming in the spring sunshine.
“Patricia of Sabnack.”
“As haughty and disrespectful as ever, I see. But this is outside the Imperial Palace, so I’ll overlook your lack of decorum,” she said stiffly.
Patricia was always dressed in her maid uniform. Seeing her in a dazzling white dress, outside the palace walls, felt strange.
“To think a change of clothes could alter one’s impression so drastically,” I chuckled.
It was a statement of the obvious, but it was amusing to say. I, too, navigate between Emperor Bael and Daniel of Dantalian by simply donning and doffing armor.
Clothing could indeed be an extension of one’s identity.
Right now, I was Daniel.
To make that clear, I decided to engage in a behavior that Emperor Bael would never do.
“Want me to carry that for you?”
Carrying a maid’s luggage?
Something an emperor would never do.
But Patrica, instead of being grateful, frowned as if I had offended her.
“A member of a noble family must only carry what they can handle. Do I look like a fool who would burden herself with more than she can manage?”
“Yes, actually. Your arms are shaking.”
Tremble–!
The way her hands were shaking as she gripped the large bag made me worry she might drop it. Her muscles were clearly screaming in protest. Patrica, who had been trying to maintain her composure, finally nodded curtly.
“Fine. I admit defeat. This is my first time returning home in a while, so I may have… overpacked. Daniel, can you at least help me carry it to the relay station where the carriages are?”
“Hmm, now that you’ve asked so nicely, I’m suddenly not interested.”
“Dantalian, I’ve done my research on your family. The Dantalian family has a long history of being mercenaries, carrying out tasks for the nobility. Consider this a request, not a favor.”
“Oh? And what’s my payment? My services are quite expensive.”
“100,000 gold—”
“Ooh.”
“—paid in smiles.”
“Deal.”
I hefted her bag onto my shoulder.
The Imperial Capital was rather large, and the carriage station was about a twenty-minute walk away. As we strolled along, we chatted about various things. But the question I was most curious about was—
“How are things at the palace these days? Any complaints or inconveniences?”
During the ‘Well-Blocking Rock’ incident a while back, I had noticed that the people who lived and worked in the Imperial Palace were reluctant to voice any dissatisfaction or discomfort to the Emperor. Even if I asked them directly, I would only get vague assurances that “Everything is perfect!”
But I had, in my role as Emperor, made an effort to improve their working conditions recently. Surely I would get a more positive response now?
It’s odd, but I’m actually getting excited about this.
“It’s been very tough. Out of all the days I’ve worked as a maid in the Imperial Palace, recently has been the hardest,” she said with a weary sigh.
“…Why?”
“Because of the ‘Hel Potato Farm’. Cultivating and harvesting crops is a lot harder than I imagined. Constant vigilance, weeding, pest control…”
I see. While I quickly set up the potato fields using Barkie’s help, the handmaidens who weren’t skilled in such tasks had to invest significantly more time and effort to get the job done; the longer it took, the more resentment they would feel towards the Emperor.
“It has been the hardest period in recent years, but it’s also been the most rewarding. Thanks to the hard work, I get to visit home for a while. All the maids are elated about going on vacation.”
The decision to give the maids a break seemed to have been the right one.
We arrived at the carriage station before I knew it.
“See you around, Daniel,” Patrica said with a bright smile.
『You have acquired a buff.』
『White Rose’s Smile Lv. 2 – 144H』
『Hel appearance rate and capture success rate increased by 20%.』
Another buff.
This time, it was Level 2, with double the duration and potency.
Increased Hel appearance rate and capture success rate? I hadn’t thought much of it when I first received the buff, but now that I looked at it again, it was quite significant.
I’d have to capture as many [Hels] as possible while it was still active.
‘I’ll make sure to stock up on [Hel Balls] this time.’
⋆༺𓆩☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆
The potato farm in Ardan was a mess.
“Phoebe, I told you to take care of the potato farm!” I exclaimed in exasperation.
“I have so much to do! How can I possibly spend all day watching potatoes? If you had at least left Barkie here, I could have managed. Right, Barkie?”
—Barkkk!
“Aw, you’re so cute!”
I realized that with Ardan’s limited workforce, it would indeed be difficult to manage a fast-growing crop like potatoes.
And now I’m adding a [Hel Wheat] field, too…
It seemed that [Hel Wheat] required even more time and effort to cultivate than potatoes.
Well, I’m sure we’ll figure it out somehow.
“Barkie, let’s create a field here.”
I chose the blueprint for the [Hel Wheat Field] from the crafting window and placed it on a flat piece of land in Ardan. Barkie, who had been enjoying Phoebe’s head scratches, bounded over and immediately got to work.
「Stones 10/10」
「Branches 10/10」
「Hel Wheat Seeds 1/1」
Excellent. Once those were grown well, I could start making [Hel Bread]. I should add a Small Furnace to the farm while I’m at it. I thought to myself, envisioning a fully equipped bakery.
I placed the blueprint for the furnace on another patch of flat ground. However, Barkei growled in protest.
—Grrrr!
Even though I couldn’t understand his language, it was clear that he was telling me not to overload him with tasks.
The problem was obvious—
A lack of labor. It was an issue that could be easily solved by capturing more Hels. I slowly surveyed my surroundings.
Are there any Hels around here that I could capture?
Nope.
Should I just grab Phoebe and put her to work?
“Why are you looking at me like that? That’s not how you look at your little sister. You look like a lion stalking a deer.”
“It’s nothing.”
“Hmph. Daniel, I heard you’re going to attend that 『Round Table Conference』 soon. Somnia told me all about it. Attending a gathering of arrogant nobles, rubbing elbows with the elite… I can’t believe you have the guts to go to such a place!”
“Do you want to come?”
“Are you crazy? I love it here! Why would I voluntarily walk into a den of pompous monsters?”
Phoebe snorted and scoffed. Then, turning her head slightly towards me, she whispered, “Are you wearing perfume? I smell roses. What is that scent? Sniff, sniff… It smells nice, but also kind of annoying.”
The smell of roses? Could it be Patrica’s Smile buff? I lifted the collar of my shirt to my nose and sniffed.
Beep, beep, beep—
A strange message popped up, accompanied by a jarring alarm sound, like an emergency alert.
『A horde of Rampaging Hel has appeared!』
『Your base is under attack! Repel the assault!』
『Remaining Rampaging Hel: 1』
My base was under attack by a horde of frenzied Hels? Now that I thought about it, I had heard about this event in [Hel World]. My friends, all obsessed with the game when we were kids, had complained about having to properly fortify their bases.
They said that if you didn’t defend your base adequately, it would be completely overrun and destroyed.
“What kind of invaders are we dealing with?” I mumbled, scanning my surroundings.
“Brother! Look there! It’s a squirrel! There’s a squirrel! A squirrel without a tail! Look at the stripes!”
“No tail?”
Wait a minute… That was the tailless squirrel from Somnia’s mansion! The little critter was wreaking havoc in my potato field, munching on my precious potatoes.
“That’s the base invader!”
It was a surprise to see it here in Ardan, but I only had one course of action. I had to catch that squirrel!
『Lv.9 King-Tailed Ground Squirrel』
『Capture Probability: 12.1%』
— End of Chapter —
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Translator’s Notes :-
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