Building A Human Empire By Creating A Clan [EN]: Chapter 182

Creating a Vassal and Building a Human Empire 184

Travel

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The war was over.

The war started by a man exiled from his family was over.

The army that had set out on an expedition across the Oroko Plains returned a little over a year later. The fallen soldiers arrived home first. The bodies of soldiers who died in battle were sent to their families before any returning soldiers.

The administrators of each residence buried them in the most fertile land among the state-owned lands outside the city for the fallen soldiers. In small villages, the dead were mourned for a day, and in large cities, for three days.

– There will be no more war.

And when the last memorial service was over, a voice echoed in my mind.

– The war is over. The war between humans, the war between humans and other races, the war between humans and gods, all wars are over, so now humans are free. There is no threat to the right to life.

The voice was heard by all humans throughout the empire, in this world. Confusion arose. An unidentified being was making a sound in their heads.

Surprised citizens visited government offices and churches. They told the officials and priests that someone was deceiving them. Then the vassals laughed and replied, “That is His Majesty the Emperor, speaking directly to you.”

– Peres, your father was a great man.

A boy named Peres in the city of Asina trembled.

The boy, who had turned thirteen last month, was in front of his father’s grave. It was three days after his father returned as a fallen soldier. As sorrow pierced his heart and tears poured out instead of blood, he heard the Emperor’s voice.

– I sympathize with your sorrow. I too have lost someone precious.

Peres trembled.

He was overwhelmed by the fact that the Emperor had called his name and that the Emperor was looking down on him. Even at the age of thirteen, he could not help but know the greatness of the Emperor.

The boy lived in a village created by vassals [a person or state that is subordinate to another], the vassals led the village, and he was educated by the vassals. When the village was sick, when the crops were ruined, and when creatures of the old gods attacked, the vassals solved the problem.

Because of this, the boy and his peers regarded the vassals as extremely great, so how would they regard the Emperor who created them?

The adults said that the Emperor was a god, and the vassals said differently, but Peres was sure that the Emperor was not human. He learned at school that the Emperor saved humans, created the empire, and made his descendants rule the world. Boy, is such an achievement possible for a human?

– Praise for your father, who showed unwavering courage against other races and old gods, should be endless. But I will not.

The Emperor spoke not only to the boy but also to the families of fallen soldiers throughout the empire.

– He showed his actions and results. How dare I judge him there? However, I am only sad that I could not save him from death.

Peres looked at the sky with tears in his eyes and asked.

“Your Majesty is a god. Can’t you save my father?”

– Death is the end in itself. The soul forgets its memories of life the moment it leaves the body. Only those who were called old gods, beings who were born on their own, maintained themselves. Humans cannot, so death exists.

“But···.”

– But I will bless his soul even if it does not remember life. I will guide you to find the next life. Do not worry about the souls of those who have been enshrined.

An invisible hand stroked the boy’s head.

– I cannot replace your father, but I will watch over you. I will guarantee not only you but also the bereaved families of the dignified who showed their courage in the war. So let go of your grief and go.

After another week, when the sorrow subsided a little, the returning soldiers visited their hometowns. Sorrow subsided for a while, and joy arose in the victory parade. There was no more war in the world, and there were no enemies to humans, so the age of humans had arrived.

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Dylan stood in front of the mirror with an awkward expression. The middle-aged man in the mirror was wearing a frock coat [a formal men’s coat characterized by knee-length skirts all around the base]. A long coat down to the knees, a vest, a tie, and even a silk hat.

He was truly a gentleman.

“Hmm···.”

He had never bought or worn clothes in his life except for gifts for his wife. He was a craftsman, so he always wore stained work clothes, and he never had to wear formal clothes that bureaucrats wear.

But from today on, he had to wear this for a few months.

“Oh, it looks really good on you.”

“Is that so···?”

The tailor looked at Dylan and nodded.

“Yes. You have broad shoulders, so it looks good on you.”

He scratched his head awkwardly. Thanks to the sudden trip, he was dragged by his wife to have clothes made. The tailor said it looked good on him, but he felt like he was wearing clothes that didn’t fit.

‘My colleagues will make fun of me if they see me like this.’

Wouldn’t they laugh at him for acting up? No, on the contrary, they might be jealous. There were so many people who couldn’t go on this trip even if they wanted to.

‘Transcontinental train···.’

Much time had passed since the railroad tracks were laid across the country.

At the beginning of last year, a travel product appeared under the name of a transcontinental trip. It was about taking a train and visiting tourist attractions throughout the empire. As soon as the product came out, its popularity skyrocketed. There were countless people who couldn’t get a chance even if they had money.

This was even more so because the travel price was not expensive. Dylan could go if he saved a little money, so he entered the lottery several times. It wasn’t because he liked to travel, but for his wife, and he was lucky enough to win.

“H, how is it···?”

His wife, Maya, came out of the dressing room. She was stuttering and her cheeks were flushed, so she felt the same way as him. He smiled brightly so that his wife wouldn’t be embarrassed.

“It suits you.”

Maya was dressed lightly compared to Dylan. The women’s clothing that was popular these days had wide skirts, but if she followed the trend, it would be difficult to enter the room. So she wore a narrow long skirt.

“R, really?”

“Yes. I like it. It really suits you.”

“You too···.”

The two smiled, hiding their awkwardness.

“L, let’s go.”

His wife took Dylan’s hand and headed to the station.

Boo——

The train was stopped, emitting white smoke little by little. He saw it several times a day, so it was nothing new, but he was nervous because he had never boarded it before.

“It’s big. We’re going on this?”

There were many people like the Dylans at the station. They also looked like couples. They were dressed in new clothes and looked around with nervous expressions.

“Are you a passenger? I will check your ticket.”

Station employees raised their voices in front of the train entrance. People lined up in front of him, showed their train tickets one by one, and then boarded.

“What number are we?”

“Wait a minute··· It’s number 14.”

The compartment classification marked on the train ticket was a sleeping car. Of course. It’s a transcontinental train. Dylan had read in the newspaper that the distance between the starting and ending stations was 13 nights and 14 days.

‘13 nights and 14 days··· They said the route is still expanding.’

That’s the story when running non-stop. The transcontinental train that the Dylans were riding stopped at every station to sightsee, so the period took several times longer. The vacation he received was four months.

‘I couldn’t have dreamed of it in the old days.’

Dylan let out a hollow laugh. Before the founding of the Human Empire, there was no concept of vacation. When he was an apprentice, he was treated like a slave by the craftsman, and when he came to the frontier village of Olympus, he was treated as a slave by other races.

‘It’s much better since His Majesty came···.’

He glanced.

He looked at his wife.

She was smiling and looking at the train. His heart stung when he saw her. He remembered the days when she was captured by orcs and goblin groups and suffered hardships.

‘It’s all in the past. We’re so happy now.’

She was broken in body and mind while being treated as a slave by other races. Everyone who became a slave at that time was like that. The reason Dylan was able to protect his body and mind was because he was a slave with some skills. The situation of humans who didn’t even have that was terrible.

Still, the couple was lucky. Everyone who survived in the place where the two were captured could say that they were lucky.

Soon the Emperor came and punished the evil.

The slaves who had become livestock were saved and have survived to this day.

“Look at that! They’re also carrying animals.”

“Are they having a circus?”

She had forgotten her name because her heart was broken. Her arms and legs had tendons cut off, so she had to crawl, so she couldn’t live alone unless someone took care of her.

But now she has endured the pain.

The severed limbs healed without leaving any scars, and even when she recalled the painful past, she could just pass it off as the past. People who don’t know her wouldn’t be able to guess her wounds.

‘Humans can be broken, but they are never defeated.’

Dylan recalled what the vassal had told him. That vassal was a nun named Rachel. Now she has become the Pope of the Public Church, and she has become an existence that he cannot dare to meet.

He held the Public Church’s relic around his neck and closed his eyes.

“Oh my?”

Dylan opened his eyes at someone’s exclamation.

An old gentleman was standing in front of the employee. His attire was old-fashioned. He was an old man who was well-dressed enough to be very different from other guests. But the reason he attracted attention was not his attire but his race.

“Elf?”

The old gentleman was an elf.

Long, pointed ears announced the old gentleman’s race.

Some people wondered if he was wrinkled. There were quite a few people who had seen elves, but no one had seen an old elf. In the first place, if you ask if elves get old, there are only people who will answer, “Well.”

“He’s an elf, right?”

“I think so, but how can an elf?”

There was a brief commotion due to the appearance of an unusual guest. It soon calmed down. They looked at him with curiosity, but there was no emotion beyond that.

“It’ll be okay if those people stay still.”

“Hmm···.”

Other races suffered karma. Races other than humans were destroyed. There were very few survivors, but not enough to maintain civilization. There were too few to even maintain the species.

They were given foreign lands without humans, and they decided to spend the rest of their lives there or live in human society under the Emperor’s guarantee and die.

‘Is he an existence guaranteed by His Majesty?’

The old gentleman must be such an existence.

Rather, the fact that the Emperor guaranteed it attracted the attention of humans. An existence guaranteed by the Emperor who fought fiercely with other races.

“There’s a child too.”

To the old gentleman’s right was a girl about the age of his granddaughter. She was holding the old gentleman’s hand tightly and holding a stick cookie in her other hand. The ears revealed because she was not wearing a hat were ordinary.

‘That child is not an elf.’

An old elf and a girl.

It was a strange combination.

“Please come in.”

The station employee moved aside next to the old gentleman and the girl. But the old gentleman did not board the train and faced the employee. Dylan saw for a very brief moment the employee’s expression change and then return.

“Ah, I’m sorry. I’ll check your ticket.”

He forgot to check the train ticket.

Dylan narrowed his eyes. He checked the guest right before the old gentleman, so why didn’t he check the old man? The employee was a vassal. Not an ordinary human, but a vassal who is revered as an apostle of God.

Did such an existence make such a simple mistake?

“E, Erun-nim [term of respect], I have confirmed.”

“Thank you.”

The old gentleman tapped the employee on the shoulder once and boarded the train.

‘What is it?’

Something, a strange feeling.

Should I call it déjà vu [a feeling of having already experienced the present situation], it felt like a memory was about to come to mind.

“Maya?”

Dylan called his wife.

She was blankly looking at the old gentleman and the girl.

“······.”

He called her name several times and she looked at him.

“Yes?”

“What’s wrong?”

“Ah, that’s···.”

While Dylan turned his back, the girl turned her head as she climbed the stairs. Maya and the girl’s eyes met in the air, and the girl let go of the hand she was holding the old gentleman and covered her mouth with her index finger.

Maya opened her eyes wide, took a breath, and continued.

“No, nothing.”