Chapter 36
In front of Adrian's Imperial Palace.
A huge crowd had gathered, craning their necks to see.
Today was the day the crown prince's fate would be decided.
Featured Post) The Execution of Crown Prince Frederick
(Farmer meme giving a thumbs-up)
Please show lots of interest.
- At last, my dopamine!
- Head Mod, sell some popcorn.
ㄴ Seriously lol, are you saying you don't sell popcorn? Ah lol.
ㄴ (Farmer emote saying, “This is it~”)
- Can I tear into some chicken today?
ㄴ If you're from Adrian, by all means.
ㄴ Have a whole one~
ㄴ You've held out this long. Have two~
Lloyd, who had somehow ended up becoming Adrian's representative, stood on a wooden platform.
In front of him, Frederick stood with his head held stiffly high, bound tightly with rope.
“Then, from this moment on, we shall begin the execution of the criminal.”
“Waaaaah!”
- Oh lol, looks like it's starting.
- Boo, you piece of trash.
- Stick out your butt and wave your hands!!!
Cheers erupted from both the Gallery and reality.
Frederick cursed the people watching him with venomous eyes.
“To abandon the Imperial Family and side with foreign powers—you’re worse than leeches! You’ll all starve to death!”
And his resentment was directed most fiercely at the Head Mod.
“I curse you, Head Mod! Even after I die, I’ll wait for the day you die, looking forward to nothing else!!”
- Lol, he says he's gonna curse him~
- This bastard's still going at it to the very end...
- Ha... Guess he hasn't seen my personality yet.
- Oh my!! So~ scary!
ㄴ How are you going to wait in hell? Ah lol.
ㄴ The Head Mod is going to heaven! Don't wait!
ㄴ Why are you the one deciding that?
ㄴ He saved my mom, so he's definitely going to heaven, yep.
ㄴ Ah lol, gotta admit, that's true.
- Lololol, the humans are really excited.
ㄴ I think this is already the third human execution I've lived to see.
But Frederick, the criminal rather than the crown prince, no longer possessed the same dignity as before.
Lloyd signaled to the soldiers below the platform, and they dragged Frederick off somewhere.
Yet the direction was a little strange.
“That’s not the direction of the guillotine.”
“What? Weren’t they going to kill him?”
It looked as though they were punishing the criminal rather than executing him.
Just as Adrian’s already-shattered public sentiment began to murmur, Lloyd raised his voice.
“The criminal was found guilty of corruption, poor judgment, burning all the food supplies when the Empire was in its greatest crisis, and 56 other crimes.”
It would be one thing if he’d simply been bad at politics.
How many people like that were there, anyway?
But he had trolled people while the world was falling apart, and when cornered, he burned the Empire’s food stores.
Even so, the bastard crown prince had tried to starve all his own people to death.
“Without the Head Mod, this could have resulted in mass starvation.”
Lloyd soon lifted his gaze from the paper and spoke calmly.
“Therefore, judging the guillotine to be insufficient punishment, I have decided on exile.”
The crowd began murmuring again at those words.
“What, exile?”
“You’re letting a guy like that off with mere exile?”
Just as the atmosphere was about to turn serious, the people soon realized
that being exiled would have been far worse than having one’s head fall beneath a guillotine.
“...Fuck, no. This can’t be happening.”
Frederick muttered a curse.
Because what stood before him was a rift.
A passage to the “outside,” leading to the land of monsters.
Though its interior would be censored behind a black screen, it was the passage the Head Mod had proven in a Featured Post.
“Just kill me! Kill me!”
Frederick cried out, drenched in a cold sweat.
But the soldiers had no intention of showing mercy, and before long, Frederick was thrown beyond the rift.
“Aaaagh!! I curse you, Head Mod! I...!”
Before he could finish speaking.
Frederick vanished completely beyond the rift. Those were his last words.
“...Did we get him?”
- Human punishments are more horrifying than I expected.
- So was that why they cut the feed?
The crowd, stunned by the unexpected punishment, fell silent, and Lloyd slowly turned around.
Then, with a resolute expression, he typed something into the Gallery.
Tap... tap-tap...
Title: We’re Moving Now
Author: Lloyd
(Meme of Frederick being thrown into a rift)
(Knight emote shouting, “Let’s go! Beyond that!”)
As announced previously, we plan to leave Adrian and establish a new base in the Kingdom of Kelton.
Anyone who volunteered or wants to join even now is welcome to join the procession.
Departure: 30 minutes from now
Destination: (Former) Kingdom of Kelton
Come on~ let’s all get out of here~
Just as the crowd’s eyes widened while they checked the new Featured Post!
“Let’s leave for the Kingdom of Kelton!”
Lloyd shouted, thrusting a hand toward the sky.
“Waaaaah!!”
“Let’s leave for the land of freedom!”
The moment Adrian’s entrenched corruption was exiled, Adrian split in two.
Half stayed behind to rebuild.
Half left for the Kingdom of Kelton to start anew.
“They’re coming here? Even better.”
Of course, that was good news for me.
*
The Kingdom of Kelton no longer exists.
But it lives on in our hearts!
Right, the people of Adrian planned to come and establish a new dynasty atop the kingdom’s ruins.
The Kingdom of Kellyerton, to be precise.
It would both succeed the Kingdom of Kelton and announce the founding of a new kingdom.
And in the meantime, I...
“I should help these guys.”
I was planning to get in on this kingdom founding.
How many threats to my safety had there been in the meantime?
Frederick’s instigation of murder.
The rabbit beastfolk’s attempts to fuck me to death.
Even the monsters constantly eyeing me up for a bite.
“This is getting ridiculous.”
If “ridiculous” happens three times, it’s truly ridiculous.
I was planning to fortify the warehouse myself, but I also needed additional protective barriers.
A sturdy Kellyerton Kingdom, rather than a ruined one, was part of that plan.
“And they’re trustworthy.”
For one thing, Lloyd—their leader—was that kind knight who had poured milk onto my wound right away.
The reason people recognized him as a leader was also that I frequently called on him in the Gallery.
Getting to play a knight accompanying the army and be close to the Head Mod? I couldn’t pass that up.
- Ah, fuck, this is such a pain lol.
- I should’ve stayed shut in my room and gone to sleep, damn it...
- But how can you stay holed up after hearing a line that makes your heart swell?
ㄴ Seriously, and there’s no guarantee another dictator won’t show up.
ㄴ Adrian went under ages ago. Kellyerton is the only answer... Yep.
“It looks like they’re making good progress, at least...”
Lloyd and his group were making their way toward Kelton.
They had enough forces to fend off most monsters, but there was another problem.
- So who’s going to be king?
ㄴ It’d be nice if Lloyd, a former knight, became king...
ㄴ We’ve got no legitimacy here, that’s the problem!
There was no legitimacy.
The Kingdom of Kelton had become a ruin, but many survivors and buildings still remained.
It had naturally been decided that they would succeed the Kingdom of Kelton, but Lloyd had been born in Adrian.
That created a problem with their legitimacy.
“Well, he must have thought of something.”
Still, I wasn’t too worried.
There was no way he’d suddenly announced he was founding a kingdom without thinking this through.
Lloyd’s group alone numbered over a hundred thousand.
There was no way every single person among that huge number had followed him mindlessly...
- Oh, fuck, that’s true.
- So what are we, then?
- Is this the foreigner meta, invading a ruined foreign country?
- Is there even a single Keltonian in our party?
- I’ve been a Keltonian working as a home security guard for ten years. Is that enough?
ㄴ Do you think that’ll work? Lol.
ㄴ We’re really screwed, aren’t we?
Apparently not, huh?
I could see that the people who had moved over through the Gallery were getting flustered.
- What do we do now?
- Lloyd) Fuck, I didn’t think of this lol.
- Ah, fuck lol.
- A legend among legends...
- The world is just completely insane.
The real problem was that Lloyd was caught up in all this too.
“Are these guys really supposed to come here?”
For a moment, I felt uneasy about whether I should really support the Kingdom of Kellyerton.
But the kid was nice.
At least he didn’t seem like the type to stab me in the back after I helped him.
Even if he did, it didn’t seem like he could break through the twenty-first-century warehouse I was going to fortify and kill me.
I showed up in the Gallery at the right moment.
Featured Post) Lloyd, come here.
Author: Head Mod☆
Hmm-hmm.
Upvotes 9999+ Downvotes 54
[Comments 9999+]
- Lloyd) Oh my, did you summon this lowly one?!
ㄴ Head Mod☆) Hmm-hmm, yes, yes.
ㄴ Lloyd) I am overwhelmed by Your Grace!!!
ㄴ LOL, why is this bastard acting like this?
ㄴ Fuck, we’re all about to end up on the streets. What are we supposed to do then? Lol.
ㄴ Damn, I knew I could count on the Head Mod!!!!
ㄴ The Head Mod came to save us!!!!
Was it because I had helped them like this several times before?
As soon as I posted, Lloyd appeared, as if he’d been waiting, amid a flood of upvotes.
Of course, I didn’t have some amazing master plan.
“We just need someone reasonably sane.”
Anyone would do, as long as they weren’t a weirdo.
In that regard, I happened to know one high-ranking noble from the Kingdom of Kelton.
A decent noble who couldn’t do anything bad.
ㄴ Head Mod☆) Looks like no one’s here. Can I get a recommendation?
ㄴ Lloyd) As the Head Mod commands...
ㄴ Ah lol, please take good care of our Kellyerton...
ㄴ Oh my, we’ll do exactly as you say hehe.
ㄴ Head Mod, our kingdom’s doomed without you...
ㄴ Head Mod☆) Okay, then listen carefully.
I took a moment to catch my breath and wrote down a name.
ㄴ Head Mod☆) I recommend Fallen Noble Lady.
She was the likable (seriously) registered user who had once bartered a bed and canned tuna with me.
*
Evelyn Ophelia.
The daughter of the only ducal family in the Kingdom of Kelton.
By now, she couldn’t even guess how long she had been confined to her room.
Today, too, she was killing meaningless time by counting the patterns on the floor and ceiling.
ㄴ Head Mod☆) I recommend Fallen Noble Lady.
“Pfft!”
Her lifesaver had started trolling.
“Head Mod, what on earth are you talking about...?”
After spending months shut up in her room doing nothing but browsing the Gallery, she had become a perfect shut-in.
If there was one advantage, it was her appetite, which let her eat well without being picky despite living on nothing but canned tuna.
And now they were suddenly telling someone like her to become queen?
“I don’t even know if my father is still alive...”
What a bolt from the blue!
- Fallen Noble Lady) Um, Head Mod...?
- Fallen Noble Lady) I’m really grateful that you’re saving me, but what do you mean, queen? ㅇ︿ㅇ
- Fallen Noble Lady) And what about my opinion...? ㅠㄱㅠ
Evelyn had none of the aristocratic superiority or drive to fight for greater power.
She was the sort who found happiness in giggling at amusing things while digging through the Gallery and savoring tuna.
“I’m telling you, I don’t have any ambitions like that...”
She tried to rebel timidly, but the Gallery was cold.
- Head Mod☆) Ah lol, the decision’s already been made.
ㄴ What? The person involved should stay out of it.
ㄴ We’re discussing a momentous matter—the founding of a kingdom. Why is the person involved butting in?
ㄴ Seriously, how cheeky; just quietly become Queen of Kellyerton.
ㄴ Full-HP Elf★) Human politics are confusing every time I see them...
Before she knew it, Evelyn had become queen.
- Head Mod☆) Besides, I’ve already sent someone over lol.
- Fallen Noble Lady) ㅇ?ㅇ
- Head Mod☆) You’re the queen now.
Knock, knock, knock.
“Mommy!”
At that very moment, there was a knock at the door.
Evelyn flinched and hunched her shoulders, and a voice came from beyond the door.
“Goodness, I’ve come bearing good news.”
“Would you open the door, future Queen of Humanity?”
“Eek.”
Evelyn felt even more fear than she had when facing a monster.