"The king had Lord Kelute killed and then declared himself True King Yulian, doing whatever he pleases. We've put Lord Kelute's son, Lord Yalute, forward as an Elector to oppose him."
In Lord Harold's private room, I listened to the current situation.
"But didn't the king abolish the Electors?"
"There was only one Elector who should have had a say in that decision at the time, and since Lord Kelute opposed it, the abolition should be invalid."
"What about the other vacant Elector seats?"
"No successors have come forward. It looks like the king made sure that no one would step up whenever an Elector position became vacant."
So basically, nobody's been able to stop the king up to now.
"Lord Harold, couldn't you use this chaos to return to the Raising Kingdom? You're a noble from a small country who was dragged here against your will, right?"
Spending five times the taxes to build what amounts to a tomb — the kingdom's headed straight for ruin.
What happens if they get caught up in a mob uprising and all the nobles get slaughtered?
"I know, but I've made a lot of friends here. There are plenty of nobles in this kingdom who want to make the country better. The late Lord Kelute was one of them, and so is his son, Lord Yalute. So..."
"So?"
"I suppose wanting to do something about it is partly my own selfishness. What about you, Alan?"
"I've always done things my own way. For now, I'm still just watching and letting things take their course. Either way, I don't think this situation can last long."
"I see. But be careful. True King Yulian has grown by absorbing two factions. Once the people who've been oppressed until now are set free, who knows what they'll do..."
"Is there really a nightmare worse than five-times taxes...?"
"That True King's Mausoleum worries me too. I don't think they'd go out of their way to build what's supposedly just a tomb for no reason."
◇◇◇
It wasn't just a tomb.
So you're telling me that in this fantasy world full of magic, they'd bother building a pyramid that's nothing but gilded?
Now I'm hovering in midair, looking down at a pyramid still under construction.
From above, it's a perfect square.
Alright, let me take a look with my [Divine Eye].
On the surface, it seemed like workers were bustling around putting the interior together.
And underground... there were white cocoon-like objects lined up in neat rows.
I've got a bad feeling about this.
I don't want to go down there, but I can't just walk away from what I've already seen.
Let me use a transfer spell to get down to the underground.
◇◇◇
"K-kill me... while I'm still human...!"
"Help me—my strength is draining away! What did I even do?!"
"My consciousness is dissolving... at first it felt awful, but now... it's starting to feel kind of nice..."
In the great hall beneath the ground, countless white cocoons stood upright as far as the eye could see, with only human heads poking out.
The cocoons were firmly attached to the floor, and from the point of contact, white roots stretched off in some unknown direction.
I need to cut open these cocoons and free them.
I drew my sword, but there were far too many.
"Wait—thank you for coming to help, but our bodies have already started fusing with the cocoons. There's nothing anyone can do now."
Among the people trapped inside the cocoons, one man who was gaunt but still had enough fight in him spoke to me.
"Why did this have to happen?"
"I don't get it, but people who were dragged here against their will and collapsed from the grueling labor on the surface were brought to this place and wrapped in magical cocoons. The king plans to squeeze every last drop out of us until we're completely spent!"
I figured that with the [Sword God] skill, I could at least slash through the cocoons and pull them free, but they've already started fusing with them.
◇◇◇◇◇◇
Skills: [Reverse][Divine Eye][Sword God][Fist God][Spear God][Blazing Magic][Frost Magic][Clear Gale Magic][Rock Iron Magic][Holy Magic][Dark Magic][Spacetime Magic][Thunder God Sword][Phantom Thief Gentleman][Ninja Master][Truth Seeker][Berserk][Vayu Sprint][Pain Dulling][Complete Status Ailment Resistance][Dark Spirit's Protection][Super Intuition][Heaven's Gate][Abyssal Contractor][Magic Hand][Treasure Search][Seduction][Incitement][Telemesmerism][Eloquence][Fortune Growth][10× Growth Speed][Growth Limit Breakthrough]
Rank: Orichalcum
Thank you for reading!