This king had made his name the name of his country. She figured that he loved being the center of attention and had commissioned the statues in order to make his power known throughout the region.
Maybe I didn’t compliment them enough?
“The statues not only portray your greatness but also make your power known more widely. The Sacred Kingdom has none that can match them.”
That wasn’t a lie. Besides being huge, they were also the height of artistic construction and so lifelike it seemed like they could start walking around at any moment.
The sea dragon statue at a place called Lighthouse Point was comparable in size, but it wasn’t as well crafted, and the elements had worn away at it until it started looking pretty sad.
“My subordinates often say the same.”
Oh, I see! He gets praise from his subordinates, so he means that he takes that much for granted!
“They seem to be making plans to build similar statues at various places throughout the nation.”
“I see. That might be a good way to spread word of Your Majesty’s greatness.”
He looked at her in surprise. “Uh, mm-hm. But I’m not sure how I feel about putting statues of myself around my country. Yet, my subordinates say they want to build one over three hundred feet tall in the center of town to tell the world how great I am. The idea that bigger is better is simplistic, though.”
“Why is that?”
“Ahem.” The King of Darkness cleared his throat. For a moment, the question of if he got a sticky throat even as an undead occupied the back of Neia’s mind, but he was about to speak, so she didn’t want to interrupt. “It’s not material things that indicate a king’s greatness.”
“Ohhh.”
Neia was awfully shocked. Of course she was.
In the moment, she forgot that he was an undead and began to truly respect him.
This guy is a real king.
Out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of him clenching his fists.
“Of course, it’s a different story if plentiful ‘things’ allow my subjects to live their lives in freedom and comfort. But you know, even if I show people my greatness with a statue, what does that mean? I want to be known for a peaceful reign.”
“You’re quite right!” Neia swallowed. Then she asked, “Your Majesty, as an undead, why is it you put so much thought into caring for your people?”
The King of Darkness’s compassion for his subjects was no act. She began to wonder if he was really even an undead.
“…I don’t really think about it a ton. This much is normal, isn’t it?”
Neia was shaken.
Is this the true greatness of a king?
Is this the sort of thing the Holy Lady and the high-ranking nobles thought about as they ruled the people?
Or is it because he’s undead? Does his immortality give him that perspective?
Neia didn’t have the answer.
“And what the heck. If it’s over three hundred feet tall, people will complain about it blocking the sun.”
When the great king continued with that jokey comment, Neia was once again astonished by his humility. He’s a king among kings.
•
The Sacred Kingdom Liberation Army’s base was, as the King of Darkness had noted, a natural cave nestled in the side of a rocky mountain.
In one corner was a groundwater spring. The ceiling wasn’t very high, but space was plentiful, and they could fit their horses inside. Additionally, mushrooms nearly half the height of a human provided a pale-blue glow, so they didn’t need additional lighting.
The reason they were familiar with this location was that a party of paladins had been sent to exterminate the monsters who once used it as their lair.
After deciding to use the place as a shelter, the refugee knights had put some effort into splitting the space into different areas. In the sleeping zone, there were even room-like partitions. They had gone to the trouble of cutting down trees in the forest that spread out at the foot of the mountain a hundred yards below and building simple furniture with the lumber.
Even so, it was still a cave.
The total number of evacuees was 347: 189 paladins; 71 priests, apprentices, and associated staff; and 87 regular folk with nowhere to go. There was no hoping for a private room.
Naturally, they didn’t have a suite to offer a foreign king.
The undead King of Darkness and the people of Roebel didn’t need to spend much time face-to-face, and the Sacred Kingdom wasn’t keen on him coming into contact with the classified intelligence floating around in the cave.
Yet, they couldn’t very well say they preferred that he make liberal use of Teleport and spend most of his time in the Nation of Darkness.
In the end, they were forced to move around some baggage and create a room for him.
Normally, a messenger would be sent ahead to allow for ample preparation time, but the Sacred Kingdom was currently under subhuman rule. They couldn’t risk sending a paladin ahead of the group if they couldn’t scout for enemies, and Neia was waiting with the King of Darkness in his carriage outside. They must have been frantically moving bags, carrying over a bed, a chest of drawers, and so on. They were also supposed to be hanging up a Nation of Darkness flag they had borrowed.
“…Hrm.”
“Is something the matter, Your Majesty?”
“…I don’t mean to offend you guys, but I have a few questions. If you can answer, please do. We don’t seem to be covering our tracks. Is that okay? Will someone go out later to hide them?”
The King of Darkness spoke evenly as if he were reading, and Neia’s eyes went wide.
He was exactly right.
Climbing up this uninhabited mountain would definitely leave tracks.
And on top of that, the hoofprints of the horses the paladins had with them would be spotted instantly by someone who knew what to look for. So was it only coincidence that they hadn’t been discovered until now? Or—
“Y-Your Majesty. We haven’t been covering our tracks. Do you think they let us go
