I, Hicked Migha, have become the king of Migha.
I killed my father and my brothers and climbed to the top. But it hasn’t all been smooth sailing.
There are powers that don’t recognize that I’m the king, but that’s to be expected. There aren’t any countries that are perfectly unified, and being king means having to listen to different points of view.
The pressure of being king is also great, and I can’t help feeling anxious about what’s to come.
But still, it’s not like I’m alone. I have people who care about me and stay by my side. That alone is enough motivation for me to try my hardest.
Nina was here to form a treaty, but has since gone back to her country.
The next time she’ll come here will probably be for our wedding ceremony. In this country, I’m no longer a prince with a low claim to the throne. Since I’m now king, some people think I should marry someone of higher status, instead of the fifth princess of Fairytrof.
But… I’d rather be with Nina than some other woman I’ve never met. But they do have a point, in that it’s selfish of me to say those things now that I’m king.
Still, I want Nina to be my queen, and I’ll go through with it unless it becomes completely impossible.
But is it really fair for me to have that happiness after all I’ve done under my father’s orders… A big part of me feels that way too.
There’s also the fact that if Nina is my queen, that means that if I go down she goes down with me. I’m far beyond the point where I can stop, so all I can do now is keep pushing forward and accomplish my goals. I can’t falter.
◇ ◇ ◇
“Your majesty, there are people here who are requesting an audience with you.”
I hear one day.
This happens without going through the proper procedure, I simply hear it from a beast person who reports it to me. It’s a little suspicious, but after hearing more about it, I decide to meet with them behind closed doors right away.
After all, they are knights I sent to the girl I believe to be the miko, and merchants who accompanied them.
It’s been over a year, and I never heard from them since.
All this time I had no way of knowing if they ever found the miko, so now that they are back, I have to talk to them.
“It has been a while, King Hicked… I was very surprised to hear you are now king. Congratulations.”
“Congratulations Prince… King Hicked.”
They say while respectfully bowing.
I had beast people and dragon people bring them to the castle.
“Don’t be so formal.”
I say while looking at them.
They don’t seem fatigued. It looks to me like they really did find the miko.
“We managed to reach the miko. She is safe, and living with people of many different races. Since you are king now, that means these races that are friendly with the miko are at much less risk of being harmed.”
“Races friendly with the miko? Beast people?”
“Yes, but also elves, people who fly, and humans with tattooed faces who were driven out of Migha.”
I’m surprised to hear this report.
I already knew the miko was with beast people, and I believed the miko could survive even in a dangerous forest. But still… I didn’t expect the miko to be joined by more and more different races.
I guess we have to take into account our treatment of other races too, if we want to avoid displeasing the miko. Even the people who see other races as nothing more than slaves will most likely quiet down if we declare it to be the will of the miko.
No… We should probably not reveal that she is living in the forest until she herself declares it.
We might end up encouraging fools to go after her.
“There are cat beast people living in the miko’s village too but… The village where they lived was attacked by Migha, and we heard many of them were enslaved. The miko’s village wishes for them to be freed.”
“…That is very good news for me. I have no intention of just letting people who were unfairly enslaved remain as they are. I want to free them, but my obligations have only become bigger since I became king, and I have to think about every movement. But if we can take them to the miko, that’s good.
I want to make it easier for former slaves to live in this country but… There are too many people who see other races as inferior.”
Honestly, the fact that the miko wants to liberate slaves is the best news I could have heard. Even a king like me is not free to do everything he wants. If I force things too much, I might even incite rebellion by the nobles.
I think the freed slaves will be better off with the miko instead of here in Migha.
Even after everything that happened, it might be hard for me to accomplish my goals. But I will slowly and steadily continue to move forward with the help of people around me.
—King and a visit
(The former prince receives a visit.)
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