The Strongest Farmer in Another World ~I'm a "Farmer", Not a Demon King! ~ - Chapter 260

The Strongest Farmer in Another World ~I’m a “Farmer”, Not a Demon King! ~

Chapter 260   The surrounding situation and a request to the Demon King

Two weeks later, I found myself sitting across from my father and the other two bosses in the same place as before.

It might not just be my imagination that the chair I sat in was unnecessarily luxurious, but was this for the king?

Looking around to see who might be responsible, everyone was smiling, indicating that this was probably the mischievous work of these three.

“So, what’s the agenda for today, Your Majesty?”

Correction. Instead of thinking, I’m pretty sure this is definitely just a prank.

I don’t think the mastermind is the old lady, but she’s definitely involved. At the very least, she must have found it amusing and didn’t try to stop it.

“Hey, old lady, what are you talking about? Calling him ‘Your Majesty’ is a bit much, don’t you think?”

“Dad…?”

However, just as I was surprised and furrowed my brows at the old lady who was teasing me by calling me “Your Majesty,” my father interjected.

I was taken aback by this development. Did he stop the teasing? In my mind, I had thought my father was the mastermind behind this chair prank and the use of the “Your Majesty” title. If not him, then who? While I was curious to know who was behind it, it was presumptuous of me to jump to conclusions—

“What I’m saying is, he’s not just a ‘King,’ he’s a ‘Demon King’ now! He wanted to be called that.”

I didn’t say that.

…I hoped he would stop teasing, but it was foolish of me to expect that. There was no way he would stop.

“Huh!”

What’s with that “huh”? Should I punch him?

“Oh, is that so? Then it would be rude not to call you Demon King. My apologies, Demon King.”

“Well, it’s fine. I’m okay with just being a regular king… or, to be honest, I don’t even need to be a king—”

“More importantly, Demon King. Let’s proceed with the discussion at hand.”

“Even you… Whatever, let’s get on with it.”

My words, expressing annoyance with the playful old lady, were cut off by Edward’s matter-of-fact response, and I gave up on resisting.

But he was also mocking me. After all, my title had become “Demon King.”

“Now, as for today’s agenda…”

“Allow me to explain. While this city has set a new course as a country, externally, it still has the image of a criminal city. Well, we haven’t spread that information, so it’s natural. However, in preparation for eventually declaring ourselves as a country, we’ve made various arrangements. Along with that, we gathered information from the surrounding areas. Recently, there have been movements in one of the two eastern countries—Bastok.”

This country… not Karakas but Zaviet. This country is surrounded by other nations.

To the west, there’s a country where I previously invaded and reunited with my mother, and to the south, there’s a nation in chaos due to the appearance of the real Demon King of monsters, not me, causing trouble for a small group of nations.

As for the north, there’s a country beyond the mountains, but it doesn’t have much connection with us. Occasionally, people and things flow in, but there hasn’t been any major diplomatic exchange.

Now, to the east. In the southeast and northeast, there’s one country each. The southeast is a religious state related to heroes and gods, and the northeast is the not-so-friendly country called ‘Bastok.’

When I say not-so-friendly, it’s not like they’re constantly fighting like Zaft in the west. There haven’t been any major wars since I was born, or so they say. However, it’s all official information, so it’s uncertain how much to believe, and at least recently, there seem to be no minor skirmishes either. According to the official version, there hasn’t been any large-scale war since before I was born.

Well, it’s official, so it’s hard to say how much of the skirmish talk is trustworthy. Nevertheless, there seems to be a relatively easy flow of people back and forth, at least to the extent that relations are maintained.

Moreover, that last war mentioned was apparently fought to seize this place.

Originally, this city was built as a commercial hub, but before the city was established, the plains were used for wars. They gradually pushed the front lines, completely incorporated this area, and settled down before building the city. However, Bastok attacked to reclaim it.

Taking advantage of the chaos of that war, the city was taken over by criminals, leading to the creation of the present Karakas. So, that war was the very last war between Zaviet and Bastok.

According to Edward, there were movements in Bastok, and we couldn’t ignore that.

“Oh, what kind of movements specifically?”

“In simple terms, it’s preparations for war. Apparently, there was a fight in this city, two of the Five Emperors died, the city is in chaos, so let’s invade. That sort of thing.”

Even if there hasn’t been a war recently, it’s just because there hasn’t been an opportunity to invade. If there’s an opportunity, they’d surely want it.

“So, what? Does that mean we might have to deal with both Bastok in the east and this country… Oh, right, we’re not part of a country anymore. Do we have to deal with both Zaviet and Bastok in the east?”

“We’re still self-proclaimed, and no declaration has been made. Well, in the worst-case scenario. However, there shouldn’t be a problem regarding that point. Even if both countries attack simultaneously, if the two of you split up to handle each country, that should solve the problem.”

Normally, it would be unthinkable to entrust each person with dealing with the respective countries when attacked simultaneously, but if the two people are me and my father, it can be done.

“In addition, it’s also questionable whether they will actually invade. In Karakas, two of the Five Emperors died, but the military power of Zaviet, the ‘Eight Heavens,’ is still intact. Even if they take Karakas, it wouldn’t mean much unless they can sustain it afterward. I think the preparations for war are only surface-level. It’s a strategy to make others think, ‘We’re prepared for a fight,’ and to gather support from those who are more warlike.”

Even if something happens in Karakas, for Zaviet, it’s just an event that occurred in one city and its surroundings. It doesn’t affect the nation’s power, and even if this city is taken by another country, it can be recovered to some extent. So, there’s not much significance even if another country invades this place.

However, there are those who are warlike, and the hint of invasion this time is probably to garner support from such individuals.

“So, what I’m concerned about are various restrictions that may come with it. There’s a considerable possibility of restrictions on the movement of goods and people.”

I’ll have to leave that to him. It’s his responsibility, and he should be able to handle it somehow. In the worst case, I’m here, so food won’t be a problem.

“The immediate goal is to stabilize as a country. Since it originally started as a gathering of criminals, we can’t run it like a ‘normal town.’ There’s also the matter of the territories we took, so stability won’t come immediately.”

Well, that makes sense. It’s impossible to create laws and try to make it a ‘normal town’ now. If I said, ‘Let’s behave like good kids,’ there would definitely be riots. I can’t handle that. If I were to just kill everyone, it might be manageable, but I can’t do that.

“So, the most important thing now is productivity. This. Without this, if we’re cut off from food when we have to fight somewhere, it’s over.”

Food? Can’t I handle that alone if I’m here? I’m harvesting every month and doing business with it. Why is food the most important thing?

“So, for that, Your Majesty—oh, I mean, Demon King, I have a request.”

“You don’t need to correct it, you know?”

“Thank you for that… but for this, can you improve the land around this area indicated by these lines on the map so that we can grow crops?”

Edward corrected my title, but he doesn’t need to. I don’t even want to be called Demon King, let alone King. Just call me normally.

But my words were ignored, and a map was spread out on the table. Edward talked while running his finger over the map, or placing small gemstones to indicate locations.

… He really like valuable things. He’s not a nouveau riche, but he loves things with value.

“Is this what you were talking about with productivity? Are you planning to go not just around the city but also to nearby villages?”

“Yes. Since we’ve taken it as our territory, we need to provide benefits to them as well.”

Improving the soil by going around nearby villages, creating an environment for easy crop cultivation. Well, certainly, for the farmers, it might be more straightforward and understandable than listing profits and talking about taxes.

My current rank is the Ninth Rank. The Fertilization skill I learned at the Fifth Rank initially only produced unfinished, smelly, gooey fertilizers. But now, I can make decent fertilizers that don’t smell much. Of course, when I use them against enemies, I intentionally reduce the effectiveness and use the smelly one for psychological impact.

But well, I can make decent fertilizers. To what extent? Enough for the Sacred Tree to be pleased. If I make and spread such fertilizers with water, cultivate unused land, and maybe create a greenhouse-like structure with the skill ‘Pest Control,’ it would be quite advantageous for the newly dominated village. Maybe even a bit of overkill.

However…

“But honestly, if it’s just me, I can do everything from cultivation to harvest, you know?”

Certainly, it might be necessary to provide benefits to the villages in the controlled area, but that doesn’t mean we need to increase the production base for food beyond the current level.