Esther de Baronia - Chapter 3.2

——Quests have formed.

A mechanical voice came out of nowhere. The voice, announcing that a quest has been formed, repeats over and over, interrupting his thoughts.

The voice is deafening, and it sounds like it’s having a malfunction.

He tries to ignore it, but the voice is sending a signal directly to his brain, and it won’t stop until he opens a window to check.

With a trembling movement, he reaches up into the air and touches the “Quest” word that appears on the screen.

“You’ve got to be kidding….”

At the sudden murmur, Rushka looks up at Karon.

She can’t see the console window or hear the voice announcing the quest, so she can’t understand what he’s doing reaching into the air, or why his eyes are wide open and his teeth chatter.

Alone and before anyone else in the quest to find out about a problem, Karon has never experienced anything like what he sees in his eyes in all the years he has been playing.

Urgent – Build a house!

Urgent – Tribal warfare

Urgent – Food shortage

Urgent – Find Water!

Urgent – Find Volcanic Area!

Urgent – Tribal skirmish

Urgent Urgent Urgent Urgent Urgent Urgent Urgent Urgent ……

There are too many quests displayed, and all of them have two urgent characters written on them.

Quests are basically categorized into five categories: subjugation, collection, production, search, and emergency.

Successful conquest, collection, and production of search results in experience value and reward, and there are no disadvantages if a failure occurs, but the urgent quests are the only ones that must be completed.

Urgent quests are varied in nature, but all of them have an impact on the country. If you fail, your country’s power will be affected, and this can lead to even worse emergency quests.

If you’re unlucky, your people and soldiers may rebel and leave the country, or even start a war against you.

The worst part of the game is not the strongest enemy, but the country itself.

The urgent quests are being displayed now. If left unattended, the people will surely become discontent and start a rebellion. If that happens, Karon’s life will surely be lost.

It’s impossible to die in the VR world, but in the current situation where he has a sense of pain, he will definitely die.

There is no way to find a way to return to reality, and he will die in vain without knowing anything.

‘I hate it. I don’t want to die. I don’t want to die.’

What’s frightening is death, and it’s everything but he that carries it. There’s only one friend he can trust.

Loneliness beats in his heart. However, there is no time to grieve.

He grit his teeth and clenches his fists tightly, suppressing his fear with what little guts he has for the moment.

“Rushka. Gather the Kobold and Gigas troops with construction skills together immediately to build the houses and keep them working in shifts. You can release all the materials. Let Mylko and Veios search the area for demons. The control of the area will be done by Albert, Morizen and Gorobei and any other troops who are available. But be sure not to kill any of the creatures they find there. Open the granaries and distribute them outside the castle, and at the same time separate the races that do not get along. If talks don’t stop, Jeremiah and Gladora will have to resort to strong measures. Those who have children should be given priority in the castle. There will probably be a shortage of houses and accommodations, so tell the residents to let them stay. We’ll pay for everything. The castle can cut down the spending if necessary. Everything that’s happening now must go back to the way it was before. Ok?”

There is no time for Karon to tell Rushka what to do one by one. It’s not just the size of the task that’s ridiculously large, it’s the fact that it’s something he has done many times before.

He knows how to deal with them, and he has gathered the necessary manpower, materials, and resources to do so by sheer inertia.

Only time will tell.

As he accepts each of the urgent quests with a furious flick of his fingers and a deep sigh, he looks sideways at the motionless Rushka, who has gone rigid as she looks up at him.

He is suspicious that he had offended her by giving her only a list of orders without taking into account that she has her own will, and as Karon gradually closes the distance between him and Rushka, she suddenly stands up with great vigor.

“Yes! Leave it to me! I’ll immediately inform all the troops and call out to the citizens!”

Seeing Rushka’s clenching fists, Karon immediately covers his face with his hand afraid of being hit, but her fist doesn’t sway, but only clenches in front of her chest.

With a big smile on her face that she can’t hide and a bright spark in her eyes, he watches her back as she dash out through the room. He’s surprised at the change that seems to have thrown off the calm tension.

“What the..what’s …… that all about?”

It’s creepy to see a demon who only speaks mechanical voice expressing her feelings like that, but he decides to leave all those worries for later and uses the message tokens to deal with the problem at hand, sending out orders at random.

*****

Rushka is delighted as she triumphantly runs through the castle.

　‘That’s our king! That’s our king!’

The image that repeats in her mind is her beloved Lord, his face tightened in fear, giving orders as if he had foreseen the current and potential problems, and the way in which he gave instructions on how to solve them, the trembling in his body did not stop.

From Rushka’s point of view, King Karon was always calm, unruffled and languid in his work.

When the eight-headed serpent appeared, or when the dark hordes crawled out of hell and closed in, he handled them calmly, without haste or fuss.

She has often marveled that the only human being, the king of Esther de Baronia has such a great capacity.

But what about this time? The calm and collected King was terrified at the prospect of his country as if he was being thrown into another world. He was on the brink of death, a shadow of his former self, frightened to death.

And yet, as soon as he thought of his people’s priority and safety, he looked more dignified than ever, with an air of impetuousness about him.

‘He must feel horrible too’, thinks Rushka. The demons are in a state of panic, and the people are all out of control.

Only the army, with its usual strict discipline, has managed to keep a semblance of normalcy on the surface, but it is still not calm.

And yet, he is trying to do his duty as a proud king in front of her, pushing aside his own fears and worries.

Rushka thought it was foolish to think that the army is going left and right, and asking the king to make a decision. She should have taken the initiative and done something about it, but what a mess she was in.

‘And what about that man? He was resolute. Oh, what a wonderful king he is!’

No wonder the demons who scorned him because he was human disappeared and the people who praised him increased. It’s no wonder he has the oldest dragon tribe and the most powerful demons at his disposal.

It’s no wonder that he has brought the country from a small house to such a  prosperous empire. No one in the past, the present, or the future will ever be able to find such a wonderfully talented, calm person.

While the light and confused brain of Rushka, whose loyalty is MAXed, celebrates Karon endlessly, she arrives at the destination throne room.

Usually, she enters the room quietly, but just now, she kicked the huge silver door with too much tension today.

The people, who are lined up in the throne room look back in amazement, and theBerserk lizard, who is guarding on both sides of the door, is also stunned. But without regard to the gaze, Rushka strides toward the group with a delighted spirit.

The faces lined up are very strange. It is known at a glance that it is a land full of demons, giant wolves, cat-eared fox tails, warriors with horns on their lower body, and young girls with huge bat wings.

“Come on Rushka, you’ve kept us waiting for long. If the king isn’t well, why don’t you tell us?”

“Yes, I know. We’re all here, but we don’t want to overload work to the king if he’s not well.”

But we can’t think of anything we can do, so we have to ask the Lord for help.”

“That’s right. What are we going to do? The whole forest is gone, and everybody’s in uproar around the castle, and inside the castle is also chaotic.”

“I really don’t know where to start. I know it’s a bad idea to just wait for time to pass in the dark, but there are too many problems….”

When they start talking loudly, everyone is at a loss of what to do. If she was a warrior, she couldn’t think of any other way but a powerful technique to settle such civil affairs. Rushka laughs distortedly and raises her voice.

“Listen up, everyone! Our King, Karon, has sent me personally!　He has given me a message. Listen carefully!”

When Luschka boasts in a roundabout way that she is the closest subordinate to the King, the people feel a slight tug at their temples, but, as usual, they don’t bother to interrupt.

“King Karon is very distressed by this situation. In spite of his own immense fear, he has overcome his fears with the spirit of a strong and keen lion for the good of his people, and with his clairvoyant vision of the world, he has given us a plan for dealing with this contingency! Unlike us, who could do nothing but watch and wait, even though we’re part of the army, he immediately decided what should be done and who was suitable, and came up with several ingenious plans! There is no other king in the three thousand worlds who is so good, no other king who is so honourable! He is the only human being, yet he never gives up on the demons and treats them with compassion! He has built an unparalleled country of many races, and his ability to bring them all together is nothing short of amazing! And—“

“Here it comes. A wise idiot is talking to herself. We’re running out of time, so tell us what you want, you idiot.”

“I know what you’re thinking, and… I understand and agree with a lot of what you’re saying, but… It’s just too long.”

Rushka’s bragging story doesn’t stop even though they look at her annoyingly.

“Yes. The King has sent me a personal message.”

“I’m sure it’s very urgent.”

“Oh, I think so too.”

“Well, let’s get this over with and put our mind at ease.”

“Yes. We’re all a restless here.”

“Do you think the King knows what he’s getting into?”

“No, I think it is not right. You’re very good at playing “cry wolf”, aren’t you, Rushka?”

“Oh, you’re right. Wolves are the exclusive property of me and Mylko, so it’s nonsense for Rushka to do it.”

“You’re a bit of a mixed, aren’t you?”

“You’re mixed, but you look great. Remember that when you’re done.”

Everyone stands up and leaves in a hurry, looking sideways at a woman who is flattered by her reputation.

The king only gives direct instructions when he is away from the land, such as when he wants to dispatch troops, and when he is in the castle, he sends a message to Rushka.

Otherwise, it can be understood that the King wants the situation to be settled in a hurry.

Reading the hidden message that came to mind, each of the leaders of the seventeen pillars of Baronia, who gather in the Throne Room hurry to their own army to carry out the task given to them.

“……The way he looks at you is like a hawk, and if your eyes meet his, he will see right through you…….Where did everyone go?　Wait, I haven’t finished my story! I mean, I haven’t even told you what the king said yet! Come on! Come back here!”

****

(*LOL by then, everyone had already left Rushka who kept blabbering.)