Chapter 6: A New Nation (P1)

I awaken to the feeling of my body being caressed by something soft. Opening my eyes reveals I am in a rather massive bed in an even bigger room. Further analysis reveals that I am in white silky dress-looking clothing. As I sit up, I'm immediately aware of how much longer my hair is and how I am, in general, taller. Even without standing, it's blatantly clear as I look at my feet, now much further away than before. Just how long have I been asleep?

I don't immediately get out of bed. Instead, I continue looking around the room. It is quite extravagant. Everywhere I turn, there's gold and marble. As I continue taking in everything, however, there's a knock on the door. Before I can respond, someone enters.

 ????: Oh, forgive me, Your Majesty. I wasn't aware you had awakened.

I watch as the stranger who's obviously a maid falls to her knees and bows her head. I'm uncertain of what to make of the entire thing. By now I am used to people calling me many things but no one has ever addressed me as a royal before. Though I suppose Necron did when he said, my liege. Maybe she's one of his?

Me: What's your name?

Without looking up, she tells me that she hasn't yet been assigned one as I haven't yet given her one. It's the first time someone has assumed that I'd give them a name so it intrigues me and I decide to push further but her reply all but stuns me into silence.

????: You created me when you created this nation, its people, its buildings, its armies, its government and the other forty-two maids. When you created us, the maids, we were commanded to serve you in the palace. We were also made separately from all the other citizens so that we could serve as adequate guardians of the Royal Palace.

Me: I created you? The last thing I remember is blacking out after some voice asked me if I wanted to become a Demon Lord and I said yes...

She doesn't seem bothered by my reply. Instead, she looks as though she fully expected it. Still kneeling on the floor, she explains that at some point during my ascension, I created the forty-three maids through the influence of the entity known only as the Voice of The World. She also explains that the same voice tasked the maids with guarding the palace and serving as its maids per my will.

Then I apparently created a massive city, complete with massive walls, various districts and an enormous population. I also created its government and military branches alongside establishing myself as the undisputed ruler of the land. The Voice of The World thingy then named the new nation Allyria and granted it all the land which previously belonged to Jistarv but under the condition that I take/conquer the rest of the land myself.

According to her, the Voice also said that following the creation of Allyria my Genesis skill, now a sub-skill of a new ultimate skill, would be restricted to only being able to create single beings and clones going forth alongside aiding in me returning my existing subordinates. I guess this Voice of The World being figured having the ability to create and take life on a massive scale was simply too powerful a trait to have. I'm also apparently limited to now creating one being per year though this limitation doesn't affect clones or me recreating existing subordinates.

It's a lot to take in as she also explains that the Dragons I had named all evolved and gained new skills alongside many additional changes including the Blood Oath system now tying the 43 maids, 5 dragons and 3 vampires to my life force along with Amelia, Necron and Shaun. By the time she finishes explaining everything, I'm all but ready to just go back to sleep and not deal with all these changes today but instead, I stand. She rises as well and after I inform her of my plans, leads me to what she identifies as the place for me to wash my body. What I see before me, however, is nothing like the bathrooms I am used to. In fact, its main feature is more a pool than a bathtub.

As I continue to stare, I notice that the water is moving. I didn't think this world had the technology required to regulate water through any system, let alone on such a large scale. After all, everyone here uses swords and spells. Then again, I have read in the past that even the Romans had running water so I guess in a world where magic exists, anything really is possible.

Me: This is the bath?

????: Well, your bath to be exact but yes. Everyone else uses a separate bath in the palace which is built to facilitate multiple persons at the same time.

I look at her, then the "bath" before looking back at her. Is she serious? This "bath" can more than fit ten people with ease. Still, I am not about to complain about being able to bathe privately. Especially since although I have gotten quite comfortable with being a female, even I don't know what my own body looks like.

Sighing, I walk towards the bath. As I do, she excuses herself stating that she'll be back soon with a fresh change of clothes. The minute she leaves, I slip the dress off and step down the steps into the bath. The water is remarkably warm and relaxing and it doesn't take long before I completely forget about the fact that I am naked in a body I am not used to seeing. I consider actually scrubbing myself but there's nothing in here besides me, the water and the clothing I took off. Still, I do take some time to rub my hand over my skin, which feels remarkably soft.

Sometime later, the maid returns with the clothing. I ask her about getting something to wash with and she smiles before explaining that the water is enchanted so it cleans the body automatically. Apparently, all I need to do is lie down and relax and it does the rest. It also explains why my skin felt so clean when I started to try to wash it with my hands.

Standing, I am surprised yet again as my skin instantly dries as I get out of the bath. She brings the clothing and helps me get dressed before we head back out into the hallway where she passes my sleepwear to another maid who vanishes before our very eyes.

Me: I have so many questions right now.

????: Feel free to ask, Your Majesty. I am here to assist in anything you need.

Me: I think I'll have something to eat first.

????: Of course, right this way.

As we continue walking towards our destination, I tell her to have all the other maids meet us there alongside all my subordinates and the top government officials she told me about. She passes this on to the other maids who go about to carry out my instructions.

On the way, I stop at a balcony overlooking a portion of the city. From here, the city seems to stretch into eternity. There has to be easily over a million persons here if its population was truly filled out by my skill. The buildings all vary in colour and size but the general themes are blue, white, red, black and gold. It's like the paradise I have always dreamed of as a child.  As we continue walking, I try to imagine what it will be like to walk amongst the people. Will they accept me? Will they love and adore me like in the movies or will they think I am just a privileged person?

It doesn't take long for us to arrive. As I enter the room, everyone stands and bows. Looking around the room, I find that everyone's gathered around a rather large table. At one end lies what can only be my seat. It's both the only one empty and the largest and most luxurious in the room. The maids are standing against the wall and are also at attention. I wish everyone would simply relax though. It's not like I called them here to issue punishment or anything. As I take my seat, food is placed before me and I quickly notice I am the only one that will be eating. No matter, I intend to enjoy this meal to the fullest.

Me: You may all be seated.

????: We are all relieved to see you finally awake, Your Majesty.

????: Yes, the people have been dying for your first public appearance.

Others chime in from what I assume are the members of government that I apparently also created. They keep showering me with praises as if trying to butter me up and the fact that none of my prior subordinates are stopping them tells me something's wrong.

Me: Just tell me what's wrong already.

They all stop talking. Some even begin looking uncomfortable at each other before one guy clears his throat and speaks up.

????: It has to do with the remaining territories of Jistarv my liege. They have refused our demands that they cede control to us peacefully.

Me: Before you continue, how long have I been asleep?

Rose: Two weeks.

Two weeks? I have been out for two weeks? Well, at least everything in the city seems to be running smoothly. I suppose that means at the very least, those sitting before me are competent enough to rule even in my absence. That's good as  I can't have any incompetent leaders in my nation. Still, they have mentioned a problem that I'll no doubt have to handle but first I need more information.

Me: So, back to these cities that have refused our request.

????: Yes, well it seems those in the North have requested aid from the Eastern Empire who has eagerly moved troops into the area and annexed the cities there and the surrounding territories. Despite our claims and requests, they've dismissed us as nothing more than rebels and thus pushed into the territory we have claimed following our victory against the former Demon Lord.

Me: I see. And what of the others?

????: They have formed a coalition and banded together. It is believed that they'll appeal to neighbouring territories and by extension, neighbouring Demon Lord for assistance.

Me: So we've just started a war instead of ending it. Very well. What of the city, the people. How are they taking to this new life so far?

????: Morale is high. We have a strong economy and the city is fully self-sufficient. As our only stronghold, this is vital but even without a military to secure it, the barriers you have put up would protect this city to the end of time, my queen.

Me: Barriers?

Rose: They are referring to the barriers that were created when you formed the city. They seem to be a more advanced version of Seven Seals which allows all beings created by you alongside those that have formed a blood oath with you to pass through. Any other living thing that tries to get through gets repelled, even animals and summoned creatures. It doesn't seem to affect arrows or other forms of weaponry though but then it could be that it doesn't affect any form of weaponry used by us as we've only been able to test that aspect with our own forces.

Me: I see. So the only citizens here in the capital of my great nation will be those I created, correct?

Rose: Alongside the Dragons, Amelia, Necron and Shaun, yes.

Me: Splendid. We must ensure it stays that way, barrier or not. To compensate, we'll have to create a second intermediary capital where any who wish to join us can live and prosper. That being said, at all times our true capital must be fully self-sufficient, understood?

All: Yes Ma'am!

Me: Now, I believe introductions are in order. Gentlemen, ladies?

They all proceed to introduce themselves. After which we go over more details on how the nation will be operated and slightly rework the government system. As promised, Amelia was granted control of the Foreign Affairs Ministry. Apart from this, all my prior subordinates were incorporated as Nobles and given official titles as Lords and Ladies of my kingdom.

Rosetta was given command of the First Army. It consisted of the 120,000 men we attacked with. From my understanding, the few casualties we suffered were either resurrected during my Harvest Festival or replaced by others. Necron is in charge of our Second Army consisting of another 100,000 men. The third and final army we had was currently under the command of Cecilia and consisted of only troops capable of deploying and redeploying as quickly as possible. As such it only had 10,000 troops, all of which were various types of mounted units.

Our remaining forces were to protect the capital and to move in to maintain order in the areas our armies will take before moving on. In total, our army consisted of over 500,000 professionally trained, elite troops. Under normal circumstances, I'd be impressed with our numbers but our army is still comprised mostly of humans and in a world with dragons and magic, our numbers will count for nought unless we can significantly improve our position.

Despite this fact, not all the Dragon girls were assigned to the armies. Instead, some were assigned directly to me or another area entirely. The first, who I named Camille, has now dedicated herself to never leaving my side. She says she's my personal guard and I, having not yet thought about such things as security as yet simply agreed. She's actually turned into quite the beauty now that she's ditched the scales, wings and humungous green sword. 

The second, and the oldest, was given the name Morganna. I didn't think it was possible but she now looks even more mature but yet still downright gorgeous. Still, one look at her screams danger so I had her join Rosetta in leading the 1st Army. They will surely be an effective pair and at the very least I know Rosetta can keep an eye on her as something tells me she's pretty dangerous. 

The third, Emerald, joined Mai by becoming her second in command under one of the new departments we formed. They'll be responsible for gathering intel. I was actually surprised how many people Mai had gotten to work with her so far but something tells me her training methods will thin out the number pretty quickly. Under normal circumstances, I'd never consider putting the two together but it'd be far worse to have Emerald and her sister in the same group so...

The fourth, Amethyst, turned out to be quite the surprise. Still, I can't quite say which was more surprising, the fact that the one that was arguably the most human turned out to seemingly both backtrack and advance at the same time or the fact that she completely changed colour. While I could recognize everyone else, she was quite the hard one to figure out but by process of elimination, I was certain it was her. Then again, she's still the youngest so she may be simply changing much like humans change when they hit puberty. Still, she's said she wants to fight but I'm not sure about allowing her to do that so I've told her to practice for now. Really, though, I'm just stalling until I find something for her to do. Still, she does remind me of Camille. At the very least, she's now a member of the Royal Guard.

Lastly, there's Ruby, Emerald's sister. She's also retained her horns and tail, much like her sister but something tells me they only keep them out because they want to. I had her join Necron. While I am still not certain exactly what species Necron is, I'm sure he'll be able to control at least one of the sisters or at the very least, simply let her loose in the right direction.

Once I finished assigning everyone, I moved on to naming all forty-three maids. The one that had woken me up earlier was called Joanne. I placed her and Aika as the head maids. She seemed surprised but everyone else seemingly expected this. Once I finish giving all the others names, I dismiss everyone and they all leave. All, except Camille and Joanne at least. Seems Camille is really sticking to her "I'll not leave your side" proclamation. In any case, we have much to do but for now, I think I'll just enjoy the rest of my meal.