I rode the Kraken towards the Royal Palace and made it wait outside. On my way, I saw that the Lemurian citizens are quite frightened by the Kraken. Whenever I pa.s.s them, they would kowtow on the ground while trembling. Well, I guess this Kraken has quite a reputation.
Inside the Palace, the first thing that greeted me was a crowd of people. The rebel army made a ring-like formation. Further in, I can see Mara and King Merro fighting to the death. Mara has a few cuts and is slightly panting, while King Merro is half-kneeled to the ground with a crazy look on his eyes. The fight was nearly over.
"No... Don"t kill me... P-please don"t kill me..! I"m begging you! I"ll do anything you want!! Golds? You want golds?! I-I"ll give you all of it...! Please.!!" King Merro"s madly begged for his life.
However, it didn"t work.
Mara suddenly struck forward with a trident, dealing the finishing blow to King Merro. He died unbefitting of the t.i.tle "King".
The rebel army roared victoriously at Merro"s death.
"My comrades! From now on, we"re free!!" Mara raised her trident and shouted loudly.
""OOOHHHH!!!""
Since they"re celebrating in ecstasy and all, it took a while for Mara to notice my presence. She dispersed the rebel army and ordered them to take care of the aftermath of the battle. Finding any injured soldiers, healing them, pacifying the citizens, etc., etc. Only after ordering her soldiers that Mara came running towards me.
"Finn. I thank you once more for helping us achieve this victory." She bowed her head.
"Whatever. Is it over now?" I asked, disinterested.
"Yes. Like I promised, everything is yours."
However, I was given a reply that was a little out of my expectations. For a moment there, I thought I was hearing things.
"Can you repeat that?"
"Yes, My King."
Hearing it for a second time, it seems like it"s not my imagination playing a trick on me. I wanted to laugh it off. But after a while, I confirmed that she"s quite serious and possibly not joking around. Mara continued.
"Even if you"re a human, there"s no saying that you can"t rule the Empire of Lemuria. For example: the King of Atlantis is half-human, but even so, he was still accepted by his people because of his abilities. In this environment, only the strong have the right to speak. Besides... t-that... that..."
Looking at where she was pointing, I can see the Kraken waving its tentacles in my direction. Ah, I see. I think I know where this is going.
"The Kraken is a sacred creature, you see. So a man who the Kraken obeys is more than worthy to be the King. While the previous King Merro did indeed summon it, the Kraken never listened to any of his commands."
After saying so, Mara half-kneeled to the ground and put a hand on her chest. "Hence, from this day forward, I plead my full allegiance to Your Majesty King!"
Thus, I became the King of an underwater Empire. Sort of.
Naturally, I turned down their offers to make me a King quite a few times and even tried to leave immediately. I don"t want to have another responsibility resting on my shoulders, so it"s only obvious that I would try to avoid it at all costs.
However, after their begging and crying in front of me, I found it hard to deny their offer. Thus, what I proposed was that I will only help them recuperate for a few days before finally leaving.
The people at the rebel camp were called back to the city, including Lynn. They reclaimed their old homes and reunited with their families and friends. After that was naturally stabilizing Lemuria.
First of all, the recognition. Since only the previous King Merro was involved in this war, he was the only n.o.ble that died. He was also the last descendant of his family, so no need to think about what will happen to his family.
Then, what comes next was naturally confronting the remaining n.o.bles. However, it seems like I wouldn"t need to work any further with this. The majority of them immediately pleaded their allegiance towards me when they saw the Kraken knocking on their front door.
There were some n.o.bles who are instigating a rebellion but were quickly shut up by the Kraken. They wanted to escape after knowing that they can"t win against me but how could I let them go? I brutally ordered the Kraken to feast on these n.o.bles to make an example out of them. If I can"t rule them with wiseness, I will rule them with fear.
With the n.o.bles" acceptance, the citizens quickly followed suit.
As for the government structure, I adopted a Const.i.tutional Monarchy and Absolute Monarchy hybrid system. It means that I and my decrees weight above the laws, while having the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers take all the work. It definitely suits my style so I cannot wish for more.
I gave the position of the Prime Minister to Mara. As a former commoner/rebel, some n.o.bles voted against it at first. To shut them up, I just needed to raise my hand and order the Kraken for another feast, so all objections quickly vanished to thin air. I declared Mara as a new n.o.ble and as the new Prime Minister.
Then, for the Council members, I let the n.o.bles vote amongst them on who will take what department. It"s not good to always rule with violence, you see. I always believed in balancing the carrot and the stick.
The Ministers are as follows:
Minister of Military and Defense, a war general named Gahor.
Minister of Agriculture and Fishery, a n.o.bleman named Yeroki.
Minister of Architecture and Technology, a n.o.bleman named Dustap.
Minister of Science and Knowledge, a n.o.blewoman named Maliya.
Minister of Human Resources, a n.o.bleman named Fioste.
After that was the delegation of tasks.