Chapter 169 : Chapter 169

Chapter 169 : Who is the King of the Inoe (1)

The venue for the coronation where I would ascend to become the King of the Inoe was confirmed to be Kipaso.

It was my decision, but most of those helping me also agreed.

It wasn't just for personal reasons, such as Kipaso being the first place I made a name for myself on the continent, and the bond between me and Maron as god and apostle.

Agamben believed that holding the coronation in a place other than the Beastkin's territory could draw out the support of many more people.

Furthermore, since Kipaso was close to the Empire, just having the leaders of each Inoe race gather there would have a greater effect of pressuring the Empire.

In any case, it was my will to hold the coronation in Kipaso that was carried through, so there was no downside for me.

And the preparations for the coronation also went off without a hitch. It was to the point of being awkward that there was nothing for me to do in the preparation process.

Ims was busily directing the coronation construction site.

“Don't you think the color of the platform contrasts too much with the color of the World Tree? The platform shouldn't be buried by the World Tree, but it's not aesthetically pleasing if it sticks out too much either.”

“Yes, yes, we'll paint the wood!”

“No, don't paint it, please prepare better quality wood.”

“Ah, I understand! I'll look into it right away.”

Ims was so engrossed in the coronation preparations that she didn't notice me until I got close.

“Lady Ims.”

“Ah, Lord Polarin. You're here?”

“Yes, yes, is there anything I can help with by any chance?”

Ims covered her mouth with a fan and chuckled hoho.

“Lord Polarin, did you happen to know how to design blueprints?”

“No, I don't know that.”

“Then, can you assemble wood according to the blueprints?”

“I think I could do that much, couldn't I?”

“Carpentry may look easy, but it's not. You have to be able to tell at a glance which wood is suitable for which place.”

“……Then I think I can at least do a good job of hammering nails.”

“The carpenters will be better at hammering nails than you, Lord Polarin.”

I gave Ims a playful glare.

The coronation was being held for me to ascend to the throne of the Inoe, and the workers were sweating and toiling.

It was because I had the heart to help even a little.

“If you wish to help, Lord Polarin, please go around and tell the people working here ‘thank you’ a lot.”

“Will that be enough?”

“Of course. Especially the Beastkin or Elves gathered here will be very pleased if you give them words of encouragement.”

“What about humans?”

“I'm taking very good care of the humans, so you don't have to worry.”

I nodded at Ims's words.

Looking around, a truly diverse array of races were moving, joining their strength.

A human carpenter and an elven carpenter, with their tools strapped on, examined the blueprints.

A few Tiger Beastkin carried giant logs on their shoulders.

Behind them, an elf and a fairy were carrying wood together.

“Can't you come faster?”

“You're the one who's too fast, you know?”

The elf and the fairy were bickering, but they were moving with one heart, without any lingering resentment from the race war.

Seeing them, a smile inadvertently came to my face.

Before I went to greet the hard-working people, I asked Ims a question I had while watching the preparation process.

“By the way, are you making everything out of wood?”

“Yes, I've set that as the theme for this coronation. After all, Kipaso is a place where the natural scenery under the World Tree is beautiful. I don't plan on developing the surrounding area and decorating the coronation in a grand manner. Does it not look good to you, Lord Polarin?”

“Not at all. I entrusted the preparation of the coronation to you in the first place, Lady Ims. It's not finished yet, but it seems to suit Kipaso well from what I can see.”

“That's right. After the coronation is over, all the wood used here will be dismantled and distributed to the Elves or Fairies. We will leave this place after the coronation, but there are those who will continue to live here.”

Ims's plan seemed ideal to me as well.

There was no point in paving roads and building houses using stone and magitech just for the sake of convenience, as it wouldn't suit the lifestyle of the Elves and Fairies very well.

“Still…… it looks like you'll be spending a lot of money?”

“Of course. It would be much cheaper to proceed with the construction using magitech. Do you see that white pine tree the Lizard is carrying over there?”

“Yes, I see it.”

“It's a white pine that only grows on Monku Island. It doesn't grow in large quantities in the first place, so the price is enormous, and it costs quite a bit to transport it as well.”

“……Aren't you going to go broke from this?”

“Hoho, not at all. Thanks to you, Lord Polarin, I've become the richest person on the continent, so this much is a piece of cake.”

I had heard that Ims was pouring hundreds of thousands, even millions of Fel into the coronation preparations.

But Ims didn't mind.

The generosity of the one who had become the continent's top merchant guild leader was hard for me to fathom.

“If there was one best investment in my life, it would be giving pocket money to you, Lord Polarin, whom I met during the coming-of-age ceremony escort. Thank you so much.”

“Hey, not at all. Thanks to you, Lady Ims, I've lived without worrying about money once.”

“There's a lot to prepare for in the future. We'll be paving roads for now. Instead, we'll use wood that easily corrodes when it touches the ground to make the roads, and we also need to build houses for those gathered for the coronation to stay in……”

But as I listened, it was also true that it was becoming burdensome, so I bid farewell to Ims and left the place.

And I went to many people, humans and Inoe alike, and thanked them for their help.

Just as Ims had said, everyone smiled brightly in response.

***

The coronation preparations were not on a scale that would end in a day or two.

And unlike the Lizardfolk's territory, I couldn't freely unleash my power and have a sparring match in Kipaso.

This was because the trees that the Elves and Fairies cherished were scattered all over Kipaso. I couldn't damage them carelessly.

Nevertheless, my daily routine was busy.

I tried sparring with my companions using only our physical abilities while suppressing our mana usage, and I repeated meditations to find a clue to ascend to the stage beyond the 8th-Rank.

Besides that, I did countless other activities and did not just let time pass by.

Among the many things I did, the task I put the most effort into was learning Dragon Speech.

As the former Lord's heart rim was completely transplanted into me, his enlightenment was also transferred.

I also came to know how to use Dragon Speech, but just knowing how to use it didn't make it possible for me to open the World of Recurrence like Hike.

It was not a level that could be created by using Dragon Speech for a day or two.

So, I focused on practicing Dragon Speech in only two directions.

One was the task of creating a subspace that I could enter, and the other was the work of adding the power of Dragon Speech to the skills I possessed.

If I could perfectly construct a subspace, I could create variables in various situations.

I could suddenly move into the subspace during battle, and I could train to my heart's content in my subspace.

Besides that, the subspace had many advantages, and if I continued to develop it, I could aim for things like entering my subspace with others.

The second direction was simple but effective.

It was to maximize the power of the many weapons, Tunes, and Fourfold Transformations I possessed by adding Dragon Speech to them.

When I swung my sword, when I used a Tune, I began to add Dragon Speech.

– Burn even larger.

When I gave a command to [Black Flame], the flames grew larger, and,

– Block everything.

When I added Dragon Speech to [Intangible Armor], its defensive range and durability increased.

While I was engrossed in learning Dragon Speech like this, my companions also shed beads of sweat by my side.

They didn't waste their time, either accumulating mana while enjoying the mana-rich atmosphere of Kipaso, sparring to the extent that it didn't disturb the forest, doing strength training, or checking their respective skills.

But we didn't do everything together.

“Lord Keldric, Lord Everchen. Let's go to the northern part of Kipaso today. The most fragrant mushrooms in the world grow there.”

“Oh, really? Let's go right away!”

“I have already finished my preparations to leave.”

Bea took Keldric and Everchen, who were new to Kipaso, around and showed them the sights.

I asked Bea, who was all excited about the thought of introducing various parts of Kipaso.

“Take me with you today.”

“Ah, O King of the Inoe.”

“No, don't say it like that, just take me.”

“I can't. If I go around with you, Lord Polarin, too many people will follow. There are too many things to worry about and it's complicated.”

“……”

“Don't tell me you're sulking? It's not your first time in Kipaso, Lord Polarin.”

The last time I was here, we were in the middle of a war, so I was too busy fighting to even think about sightseeing.

Now, Keldric and Everchen probably knew every nook and cranny of Kipaso better than I did. But I understood Bea's words, so I didn't insist.

“Tell me all about it when you get back.”

“Right, Polarin! We'll be back!”

“Yeah, see you later.”

But I had a friend in Kipaso too.

If I just went to the outskirts of Kipaso, there was a village of humans that I had visited before.

During the war, the humans had fled, but when the situation in Kipaso stabilized, they also returned.

‘I should go see Akson after training.’

With that resolve, I practiced Dragon Speech again.

I activated ‘Ghost Eye’ and looked at the forest.

Numerous colors intertwined, revealing the information of the forest in detail.

But I was not satisfied with that and recited a Dragon Speech.

– So that I can see through even more.

Then, the number of colors that came into view increased even more.

The color of each and every tiny insect was distinguishable.

Among them, I focused on a single beetle.

Then, I saw a minute red dot on the beetle's torso.

I casually threw a stone and hit the red dot.

Then the beetle trembled and died.

By adding the power of Dragon Speech to Ghost Eye, I could easily find the opponent's weakness.

As I was looking into the forest through Ghost Eye like that, a crowd of colors I had never seen before rushed in from one side of the forest.

‘What are those? Those blackish things?’

They were different from demons, and from Beastkin.

But before I could even wonder about their identity, they showed off their own presence.

Kung! Kung! Kung! Kung!

The sound of them stomping on the ground with all their might echoed.

“Dungdungdungdung!”

For some reason, they were a group who held drums but didn't beat them, instead mimicking the sound of drums with their mouths.

‘Barbarians.’

The Eastern Barbarians, shirtless and with their brawny muscles fully exposed, were entering the forest noisily.

“Who is the King of the Inoe! Who is the King of the Inoe!”

“I am the King of the Inoe! I am the King of the Inoe!”

The Barbarians, singing at the top of their lungs, had arrived in Kipaso.

“I will kill the King of the Inoe and become the King of the Inoe!”

What terrible lyrics.