Chapter 24: The Beginning of the New Age (2)

Narrator's POV

"I salute you, witches and demons," Stan's voice rang out before he finally stepped onto the stage, accompanied by the coven leaders and the golden guard.

"People of the boiling isles, I am your new emperor, chosen by the Titan himself," he declared before the crowd of witches and demons.

There were several murmurs and stirrings of unrest, but the members of the emperor's coven quickly calmed the situation.

"I know that recent events have surprised and worried you, but I will restore order and provide a detailed communique tomorrow explaining the reason for these abnormal events."

"I stand here, not to explain these events, but to inform you of the power that the Titan has bestowed upon me and the new age that is dawning."

And so Stan Pines spent two precious hours explaining his regime and how it would benefit the boiling isles.

The situation can be summarized as follows:

From now on, the covens will become specialized departments in a magical field, but it will no longer be necessary to seal off those other magical paths to become a member.

Secondly, wild magic will be renamed primitive or ancient magic, as the term "wild" does not accurately describe the very nature of this magic.

Thirdly, several changes will soon come to the boiling isles. The people must support them, for they are necessary.

Finally, and most importantly, Stan has promised that Belos' mistakes will not be repeated.

...

"Lilith, I'm going to leave temporarily with Number 5 and the Collector, but I'll come back every evening to take care of the paperwork," explained Stan at dawn, sitting on his throne, reviewing the documents that Lilith had handed him.

He had designed his body to be able to go for long periods without eating or sleeping, subsisting on the bare minimum.

Since he emerged from the Titan's heart, he has lost several technological capabilities, but those related to his artificial organs have evolved.

Stan is almost certain that he could go for years subsisting on eating stones and meeting his water needs through air humidity.

He'll just have to rely on his magical energy to make up for the missing nutrients.

"But sire, the boiling isles have never needed a leader more than they do today, and the paperwork is colossal," Lilith responded, visibly concerned.

"I know, we are sorely lacking in competent management personnel," said Stan, remembering a minor antagonist who would sell her own family for money.

"Can you contact Odalia Blight and her husband, Alador? Oh, and I almost forgot, make sure those books are sold in the boiling isles and deposit the money earned in the vault." He could easily create money, but he didn't want to destroy the economy of this place.

'I hope stories like "One Shot" and "Diablo" will be well received, and I also want to find out who is pulling the strings in the shadows,' thought Stan, watching Lilith hurry off to her tasks.

With his super brain, Stan didn't believe his reincarnation or the recovery of his memories from a past life were due to chance.

He wanted to break the fourth wall and find out if there was an omniscient author behind this whole situation.

'I just hope I'm too paranoid and that there isn't a superior entity residing in a dimension beyond the laws of my multiverse,' he thought.

Stan remained confident thanks to his strength, but he knew this universe was not simple, and Ford Pines' notes confirmed it.

His desire to uncover the truth and enrich his knowledge risks attracting the attention of the guardian of the multiverse, but Stan believes it's a necessary risk.

"Well, you're starting to get boring," said the Collector, appearing above the throne.

He looked at the mountain of paperwork with a glimmer of fear in his eyes.

"This is the price to pay for eliminating Belos. I'm just cleaning up behind you," said Stan, glaring at the cosmic kid.

He hadn't planned to kill Philip, partly because of the paperwork and not just because of his principles.

He had simply wanted to neutralize him and use him as a puppet ruler, but his plan had changed due to Philip's own actions and the Collector's interference.

Stan didn't have the heart to let just anyone sit on this throne for now, and the Collector seemed to hate paperwork as well.

"I'll have to transfer Arlecchino here until The Wailing Star arrives." As for transferring Giffany here? Stan quickly dismissed the idea.

She could become a problem if he got too far away from her.

"Who is Arlecchino?" asked the Collector with curiosity.

"You can consider her as your older sister. I created her using science and a touch of magical elements," Stan explained without too much thought.

"You created your first child? You must have felt pretty lonely."

The Collector seemed to misunderstand and sympathize with Stan's situation.

"So, what's the reason for your visit?" Stan glanced at the recently disappeared kid.

After his speech, the Collector had disappeared. At first, he had panicked slightly, but he was theoretically incapable of controlling the whims of this cosmic being without sealing him.

For the moment …

"King left with that woman and Number 5 doesn't really seem to appreciate my jokes or my games."

"I see, I can take a break. Do you want to play a particular game?" At Stan's words, the Collector quickly took his hand before opening a portal leading to a huge game board.

"Let's play war!" No need to be a genius to understand why Number 5 doesn't enjoy this kind of game, unlike King.

...

Stan's POV

"Haha, that was fun," the Collector was in a good mood as he left his game dimension.

"Yes, I had a good time," I said honestly.

I didn't even know I had accumulated a bit of stress. Fortunately for me, the Collector's "extreme" game posed no real danger to me.

I was able to play without fear with him and, of course, I made sure to lose sometimes. It would be shameful for me to intimidate this child.

"Lord, I greet you." Upon my arrival, I was accosted by the Blight couple and Lilith, who was frowning slightly at me.

(Image)

It seems Lilith had heard me for some time.

"Rise, has Lilith informed you of my intentions?" I settled back on my throne casually, and surprisingly, the Collector sat on my lap.

"Yes, Lord, Lady Lilith explained that you wish to... absorb our company for your coven and the idea doesn't bother me, but... I'd like to know more about the salary," Odalia spoke for the couple in a slightly hesitant tone.

If I remember correctly, she is the boss of their company and her husband is her golden goose, a truly frightening woman.

I have to admit, though, that she has an interesting butt, Alador really has good taste in that department...

"Ahem, I was only going to recruit you, but Lilith seems to think absorbing your company is profitable, so I think the same. And for the salary... let's say double your current income." After coughing to remove my gaze from Odalia's butt, I returned to emperor mode.

I have to draw a line between private life and professional life. My little brother will have to wait a bit.

"Thank you for your offer, Lord, we will gladly work for the creation of this new era," I gestured for Odalia to leave the room.

I just stayed with Alador, who seemed slightly confused by the situation.

"I would like your expertise or more precisely your help on an urgent project." I picked up a scroll from among the paperwork brought by Lilith and threw it at Alador.

"What is this?" After catching the scroll, Alador questioned me.

"You see, some witches want to remove their coven mark, so I've created a theory about a machine capable of removing an individual's coven seal." Alador was amazed by the words and quickly glanced at my theories.

"Yes, I think I can do it, but I'll need help from the healing coven on certain details," he said enthusiastically after finishing his reading.

"Excellent, ask Lilith if you need any supplies." Alador left shortly after I waved him off.

"Lilith, stop frowning or you're going to get wrinkles," I couldn't help but roll my eyes at her accusatory gaze.

I summoned a guard coven member and ordered them to bring Number 5, who should have finished resting since I spent hours playing with the Collector.

"Whose fault is it that I might get wrinkles?" she said exasperatedly.

"Haha, sorry, but I don't just have the boiling isles to manage and I have to leave now." I stood up after watching Number 5 approach in her "human" form.

"Are we leaving already?" I nodded to her before opening a portal to Earth.

"Oh, I almost forgot Lilith. Don't worry, soon all the administrative functions of the boiling isles will be automatically transferred, and give this to your sister." I threw a scroll containing certain requests to Eda.

"Wait, Lord Stan!!!"

I left without looking back. Damn, how has Naruto been able to tolerate this stuff for decades without an AI?