The Founding Monarch Became the Mastermind

Chapter 100

When Si-on first arrived in this world, he came nearly empty-handed, though that’s a slight exaggeration.

All he had was the basic clothing given when creating a character, a pair of boots, and a shortsword.

So, if other users came to this world based on the same rules of the AWS world setting, they would arrive with the same conditions.

Of course, their weapons could differ.

Some might carry bows, others spears. And if some twisted user wanted to act like a veteran player, they could even choose a whip or a tree branch.

But whatever they brought, it wouldn’t last more than a few months.

In the end, they would have to either buy, steal, kill, or rob to get other weapons and armor in this world.

And not just once, but repeatedly, not just for hundreds or thousands of people, but…

‘For millions.’

It was something Si-on had seen long ago, over 90 years ago, yet he still remembered it clearly.

– A fantasy world where over 100 million NPCs live freely and independently!

– The largest server in history, capable of supporting 10 million simultaneous connections!

That was AWS’s (Another World Saga) advertisement slogan.

When he first saw it, he thought it was an exaggeration.

Over 100 million NPCs? That was too much.

But after living in this world for a long time, he realized…

‘It really did happen!’

He hadn’t gone around counting, of course, but considering the rough population of the Kingdom of Obla, the various city-states and large estates around the Inner Sea, and other kingdoms, the math suggested that the total population might actually exceed 100 million.

And if that was true, then the number of users could indeed be in the tens of millions.

‘Well, realistically, only a few million would actually arrive.’

But even if just a portion of those millions of users started using weapons crafted in the Si-on Duchy…

What? You think in a real game system, users would only use rare or unique items dropped as loot?

In that case, don’t call them rare or unique.

If every Tom, Dick, and Harry could easily get those items, why did Si-on work so hard to acquire his current weapons and armor?

And most importantly…

‘The gear produced in our duchy is probably better than most rare items. After all, Dwarves aren’t something you can easily come by.’

There were skilled human blacksmiths, but even an excellent human blacksmith, called an artisan in small estates, couldn’t compare to an average blacksmith of the Cheolsan Dwarves.

There were many such ordinary blacksmiths in Cheolsan, and a few masters even more skilled than them.

In short, even regular gear from the Si-on Duchy, not crafted from monster by-products, was top-tier.

In the end, not only the knights and mercenaries of this world, but even the users arriving during these turbulent times, would undoubtedly want gear from the Si-on Duchy.

“Hmm. Just to be safe, I should educate Vodka a bit more.”

Though Vodka was quite capable, his greed was too strong.

Si-on resolved to give him more “training” periodically, or else he might go astray again.

“What did you say?”

“Hm? Nothing.”

When Piotr, overhearing Si-on muttering to himself, asked cautiously, Si-on shook his head.

“But, Grandfather, about Big Fang…”

Piotr lowered his voice as he started to speak.

“What about him?”

“Well, those of us who know your true identity understand Big Fang’s behavior. But the other unit members seem to find it odd.”

An ogre bowing before someone, eating roasted meat offered to him, packing leftovers to take, and even being appointed to manage the hunting grounds—who could simply accept that without question?

“Oh, that? No need to worry.”

Si-on understood Piotr’s concern, but he shook his head again.

“In fact, I was planning to explain it to the others tonight.”

“Ah… I see.”

Piotr wasn’t sure what kind of explanation it would be, but he was already worried about whether it would be effective.

Surprisingly, that evening, when Si-on gathered the unit at the campsite near the relay station, his explanation worked.

“Big Fang can also read the Divine Message.”

“Huh!?”

“Yes, he’s part of the Si-on Duchy. But other medium- to large-sized monsters aren’t. That’s why the others attacked us.”

“Aha!”

Everyone in the unit, who had harbored doubts about Si-on, understood at once.

“Unless we venture into Big Fang’s territory deep within the Brandin Mountains, we won’t be seeing him again.

So, just leave him be. He’ll help us by managing and controlling the population of other medium- and large-sized monsters in the mountains. No more issues, right?”

“Yes, sir!”

There were still a few lingering suspicions, but everyone nodded.

“Alright then, get some rest. We’ll be heading to Flandre early tomorrow.”

Si-on’s next destination was Flandre, another city where he had previously tested the waters with Rozin but ended up having to bow his head to the “big boss.”

* * *

Flandre was the fourth-largest city in the Si-on Duchy and maintained the lowest boundary to be classified as a “city.”

The registered population was around 12,000, and when including the surrounding area, it barely exceeded 20,000. Flandre was, well, an “in-between” kind of place.

Sionia was the capital and the heart of the duchy. Paloma was famous as Sionia’s satellite city and its first port city. Rozin, located at the southernmost tip of the peninsula, was the go-to stop for merchant ships heading from the Inner Sea to the Kingdom of Obla.

But Flandre, though located at the lower reaches of a river and equipped with a port, had no significant specialties to boast about. For merchant ships, there was no real need to take the trouble of sailing upstream to reach it.

Traveling by land from Rozin to Flandre took about a day and a half, but by sea, it only took six hours to sail up the coastline.

The problem was that traveling from Flandre to Paloma by boat also took only six hours.

So, whether it was Paloma or Rozin, once a ship stopped at one of those cities, it could reach the other within half a day of sailing, making it unnecessary to stop in “in-between” Flandre.

The same applied to land travel.

Rozin, Sionia, and Paloma were all connected by the “Si-on Road,” a national highway built during Si-on’s time and completed during his son Theo’s reign.

But Flandre was about 20 kilometers off the Si-on Road, and unlike the carefully maintained and managed Si-on Road, the roads to Flandre were little more than rural paths in poor condition.

Moreover, the Si-on Road had relay stations at intervals as short as 5 kilometers or as long as 10 kilometers. These relay stations, even if they consisted of just a few buildings, often developed into proper relay villages.

So, unless someone had an absolute reason to visit Flandre, they would stop at a relay station or relay village, rather than traveling several more hours to reach “in-between” Flandre.

In other words, the population, the farmland, the fishing and livestock industries—everything about Flandre was just “in-between,” unable to excel or stand out.

As a result, despite being located in the middle of the Si-on Duchy, Flandre ended up becoming a city with an “in-between” presence.

‘That’s why even I went to Rozin, which is further south, first.’

As Si-on rode Blackie along the national highway Theo had embarrassingly named the “Si-on Road,” he felt a strange mix of emotions.

Thinking back, there hadn’t been any real need to develop the city of Flandre in its current location.

But no estate or country would leave the central part of their territory empty.

Although Flandre wasn’t exactly in the center, it was still relatively well-situated near a river, and the land was good enough to farm. (In other words, it was just “in-between.”)

That’s how Flandre came into being.

Who would’ve thought its attitude would also be so… “in-between”?

“Have there been any signs of movement from Flandre?”

“No, my lord. When you and the Peregrine Division went to Rozin, they were sending messengers nearly every day. But for the past few days, it’s been dead silent.”

The ranger from the relay station where Si-on’s unit had camped the previous night responded to Si-on’s question.

He was the guide responsible for leading the group along the twisted, unmarked paths to Flandre.

“A few days ago, huh. Could it be because they heard about us subduing the monster horde in the southern part of the duchy?”

“I don’t think so. After all, I only heard about it from you yesterday.”

The Si-on Road, due to its importance, required constant maintenance (road repairs and patrols), and the rangers stationed at each relay station were tasked with this duty.

Known as the “Highway Rangers,” they were often the first to hear any news within the duchy.

If even they hadn’t known about the subjugation until yesterday, it was clear that Flandre also hadn’t received the news.

“I see. Ah, is that Corinth Forest over there?”

“Yes, my lord.”

“From here, I know the way, so you can head back to the relay station. Thanks for your help, Ranger.”

“No problem at all, my lord. With the monsters lurking around the Si-on Road lately, we were all quite worried. Thanks to you and the Peregrine Division, we can finally relax. Thank you, my lord.”

The ranger saluted crisply and turned Gau around, heading back the way they had come.

“If the monsters were coming this close to the highway, things must have been really serious, Grandfather,” Piotr said, watching the ranger disappear into the distance.

“Indeed. Everyone and everything moves through the highway. If something had gone wrong, the entire duchy could have come to a halt.”

Of course, that wasn’t likely to have happened.

Each relay station housed about ten rangers on rotating duty, and they patrolled the roads in groups of five or six during daylight hours.

Even if a few dozen small monsters had attacked in packs, they would never have been able to take on mounted, fully armed rangers.

That would be like a group of middle schoolers with delusions of grandeur attacking armed mounted police officers in broad daylight.

In other words, a suicidal act.

“But it’s strange. For Flandre to suddenly stop sending urgent messages to Sionia like they were before.”

“Hmm.”

Si-on agreed.

Something was off.

Flandre, a city located at the lower reaches of a river over a kilometer wide, was surrounded by numerous large and small islands covered in reeds and silver grass.

When Si-on first saw it ages ago, it reminded him somewhat of the Han River.

Of course, in modern times (from what Si-on last remembered), the Han River only had islands like Seonyudo, Bamseom, and Nodeulseom. But before the river was managed, there had been many sandbars and islands, or so Si-on recalled hearing.

The river and its surrounding area in Flandre were just like that.

Which meant there were plenty of freshwater creatures and monsters.

Those creatures must have also been affected by the current situation, which was why Flandre had been sending desperate messages for help.

But for them to suddenly go quiet?

“We’ll see when we get there. Let’s hurry up. We only have three or four hours left to go.”

“Yes, sir.”

Three hours later…

Si-on and the Peregrine Division crossed streams and passed through forests before finally arriving in Flandre, the last city of the Si-on Duchy, with its ambiguous existence.

What awaited them was…

“Haha! What a pleasure! My name is Zeitz of the Garen Family. Ah, we’re from the Kingdom of Guslander.”

It was a nobleman from the Kingdom of Guslander, located somewhere between the Si-on Duchy and Yazan.

This nobleman, accompanied by several knights and hundreds of soldiers, had entered the Si-on Duchy without permission or notice.