Esther de Baronia - Chapter 3.1

Apocalypse.  A place somewhere in the world, there existed a great nation with great wealth.

It’s a kingdom named Esther de Baronia. It’s ruled by the black-robed king, Karon, and is home to a large number of non-humans.

It’s strange that the King, who is a human being, rules the country full of all these non-humans. It’s actually due to the game system, but anyway, it flourished as it’s the only country where they can live peacefully.

But, the human race does exist in this world. However, most people who treat non-humans as people who should be eliminated, as there are countries that advertise humans and beasts to live together in harmony, but in reality they use the beasts as pets.

Apocalypse’s stance is to take on such countries as enemies and expand the country.

Originally, the non-humans lived in tribes or races and did not have a country of their own.

There are towns and villages for elves, dwarves and other non-humans, but even these are poor compared to the human country.

This said country is called “white paradise” and is praised as a place where those who do not have the means to resist the people who outnumber them can live in peace.

There are other demonic nations, but they’re insignificant in comparison to Esther de Baronia.

Those countries will be obsolete in just a few years, so thanks to the king who was able to maintain and expand the country where demons are living now.

However, the king right now is so haggard that he cannot believe he had accomplished such a feat. He’s old enough to look as if he was in his late thirties.

Understanding that he is suddenly involved in a strange phenomenon, his five senses complain that this is reality no matter how many times they check. There is no place to escape and nothing to cling on.

Karon feels as if he is thrown into a world very similar to the game.

The biggest problem right now is not whether there is a way to escape. He understood that it does not exist as far as his brain can comprehend .

There is no option window, GM calls are not working, and there was no change in the forced logout command, so he’s putting this off. He can’t help it but to do so.

So what is he worried about? There are only demons in this land. That’s the way the game was designed, so it wasn’t any surprise.

Until now, he played the game without questioning, but when it comes to reality, it becomes impossible to be a bystander looking at the surroundings with holistic eyes.

He is in danger of being killed if he rebels.

Karon is a NPC with no fighting ability. He’s just a ruler, not a hero or a brave man, or even a warrior, but a powerless king.

Although demons are NPCs, they have various powers, and even the inhabitants of the city have the power to kill Karon at will.

There were times when residents and troops revolted during the game’s quest, but since it was only an event, it was only effective in the decline of national power, and it was never a matter of life or death for the king.

But when it’s PC to PC, when both sides have a will, and when it’s not in the game world, a rebellion that is just an event can lead to death.

It is easy to imagine the consequences of revolting against the king if history is unraveled.

If the worst is assumed, the gallows and stone-throwing demons come to mind.

He shakes his body, shakes his head, and tries to switch his thoughts, and this time he starts thinking about demons, not himself.

All demons are characterized. Previously, it was related to the cooperation and skills between NPCs in battle, and it was not actually reflected in the demons.

However, it will definitely have an impact when it comes to reality.

When you open a system window and open a list of demons, you will see detailed information about all them and their personalities.

He doesn’t know how much it affects the demons, but if it does, there are a few dangerous personalities.

“Short-tempered”, “cunning”, “arrogant”, “ferocious”. You can tell from the letters that they are not good.

There are other characteristics to be wary of, but these four are the most important.

Even though the loyalty of all the demons is fixed at the maximum with the charged items, it’s necessary to be cautious as long as he doesn’t know if it was applied.

“Ru, Rushka. If it’s Rushka…”

What he can rely on is the first demon he met who was worried about him and shed tears.

Rushka is currently the most reliable.

They meet each other, and although it may be favouritism to say that she is his second-in-command, he feels much safer knowing that she has a “loyal” character. She has a deep respect for her master, so as long as he doesn’t offend her, there seems to be no problem.

However, he immediately reconsiders.

She has a “ruthless” personality along with a “loyal” one, and it’s hard to imagine what would happen if she was abandoned.

If she knows her an incompetent person, she will probably cut him off regardless of her loyalty. He thinks he would rather her to do it for the sake of loyalty.

It’s a game system that he recognized, but it’s quite frightening when applied to reality.

It has been about ten minutes since he thought of the best thing to do. He restlessly taps his toes on the floor, but he was surprised at the sound of the door being knocked three times and jumps out of his chair.

“Excuse me. Everyone is ready… Lord Karon?”

A slender, tall woman bows deeply with her hands folded in front of her. But soon she sees the king sinking before her, she rushes to his side, and stretches out her thin and long hands, fearing that the symptoms have appeared again.

“Ah!”

A dry snap clicked.

Rushka stiffens. Karon’s fears are deepened by the fact that she’s behaved and acts in such a way.

If she were to be betrayed, he would die. If he has a grudge, he will die. If he dislikes her, he will die.

Thinking that if he leans in the wrong direction, everything will lead to death.

He knows he’s in a situation he doesn’t understand and has no idea what to expect. He can’t help but feels that way.

“Lord Karon ……? How can I help you? Did I do something to offend you ……?”

Rushka’s beautiful face is contorted in grief.

Like the king’s bizarrely frightened appearance, she is shocked by the clear rejection.

Never before has he been able to shake her hand.

She always has a calm look on her face. He has never seen anyone so frightened in his life, someone who doesn’t panic or make a fuss during a crisis, who puts on a difficult face and quietly gives instructions.

He can think of a few reasons.

First, there was the incident with him. He was screaming his head off, foaming and fainting.

Secondly, the unprecedented phenomenon that is now visiting the country. It’s possible that the incident that had occurred just after Karon had passed out had affected him.

Both of the problems were important, but Rushka feared for Karon’s safety first.

But when he refused to listen to her advice, he thought that she had sensed something strange and put him before herself.

It may not be the right thing to do, but it was the only thing Rushka could think of to do.

“Lord Karon, would you mind just listening?”

Rushka stops reaching for Karon and kneels down on the floor and lowers her gaze. As a vassal, take a proper attitude and wait patiently for permission to be granted.

Karon, on the other hand, feels a little more relaxed when he sees that Rushka is not going to make any sudden moves.

He knows that she’s waiting for him and not trying to force him to do anything, which makes him less likely to be attacked.

Regretting now that he had been so rude to the only person he could trust at the moment, he decides to ask her what she wants to talk about.

“..Okay, let’s hear it.”

“Yes, today at about 21:00, a distortion of space was observed here in Esther de Baronia. When the dragon species led by Veios observed from above, the surroundings of the castle suddenly curved and the scenery changed. It seems that the surrounding area of our country is not as vast a forest as it used to be, but a vast grassland.”

“…What?”

The sudden and unintelligible report created in Karon a feeling of disbelief, but also a feeling that it was possible.

Esther de Baronia started from an initial position in one of the wooded areas where there were many beastmen.

The rare monster he got using the lottery was Rushka, and with Kobold in tow, he gradually expanded the country.

Eventually, they expanded their territory beyond the 14×14 forested area and conquered 72×64 squares, a fifth of the Apocalypse field, which is unattainable in a normal MMO simulation. It’s a figure that makes you understand how underdeveloped it was.

However, listening to the story, it seems that the whole land has been lost. The country’s territory has disappeared and in its place is a strange meadow.

Esther de Baronia, once a great country, is left with only a 5×5 castle, which has been expanded to the highest level.

“If all the land is gone, does that mean that the demons who lived there and the soldiers who were sent there are gone too?”

“No, there is no decrease in the number of people or soldiers. I’ve asked Mylko to investigate this and I’m pretty sure he’s right.”

“Then where are they?”

“They are clustered around the perimeter of the …… castle. It’s like a refugee camp.”

Several demon towns and villages were built in the territory of 72×64. The rate of reproduction increases or decreases depending on the land, and the soil in which they are good at increases their abilities in battle and activates special skills.

Therefore, the number of people scattered around the country is greater than the population of the country. In addition, soldiers were sent to defend the country in case of emergencies, and in peacetime they were deployed so that they could move quickly when sub-quests arose.

In addition to this, four of the seventeen pillars are chosen to guard the castle from the center, east, west, north, and south, and the family members are also working together. Half of the population of about three million is outside the castle.

The other half, 1.5 million people, are crowded around the castle.

While Karon is playing the game, it’s just a number, a measure of the country’s strength, but when translated into reality, it’s outrageous.

To put it simply, all the people living in Esther de Baronia are living as refugees.

He doesn’t know the population, but no matter how many Karons there are, he can imagine that it is a terrible situation.

They are demons, after all.

Some of them are as dense as humans, but the ones that live outside the castle are the ones that use a large area of land for their territory.

The ones that don’t want to interfere unnecessarily, even if they are of the same family, are crowded around the castle.

In addition to the hassle of settling familial disputes between people of the same family, there is also the risk of bloodshed if people of the same family are involved.

A phenomenon that is happening to him, and it was far beyond his expectations.

If all the NPCs who until now have only been able to speak in fixed sentences have a will of their own, like Rushka, it is quite dangerous to remain silent.

Perhaps it’s because all the problems have all come at once, his headache is echoing.

‘If it’s a dream, wake me up. If it’s a glitch, let me log out.’

He’s trying to escape reality in a situation where he’s still not sure if it’s real or not. But this world isn’t kind to Karon.

****