Hold over Myriad of Worlds

Riveria's lecture continued for some time. She focused her attention on the role that mages play on the battlefield. Advising on what kind of abilities to train to be safe when magic can't be used.

Baldr also added some comments, expanding on what he found most important. He also asked Riveria to show some of the things she spoke of.

I listened by the side in Ais's arms as she was petting me with relish. While the subject was not relevant to me, I agree with the importance of knowing what your responsibilities are.

When Riveria ended her speech, students started asking questions.

-"Lady Riveria, what is the strongest spell you have ever seen?"

-"Seen personally, then that would be teleportation. While it doesn't possess great firepower, possibilities offered by the ability to freely travel in space can't be underestimated."

-"What is the worst mistake a mage can commit."

-"Waste all his magic power."

-"How can one grow stronger?"

-"The first step is to understand your strength. Next, you correct your weaknesses, and only then you should focus on your talents."

After a few more questions, Baldr ended the lesson. Most students left, leaving only Lefiya behind. Baldr then addressed Riveria.

-"I'm thankful for you accepting Lefiya under your wings. She is a shy but capable child."

-"I can see her potential. I'll be sure to take care of her."

-"Good. Do you have any questions?"

-"Not right now. I'll take Lefiya to Orario after she bids farewell to her classmates."

-"Then I shall leave."

~"Would you mind answering my one question, Baldr?"

When I spoke, god looked surprised and looked at me.

~"Excuse me for appearing like that, but I want to avoid commotion."

-"I see. Please ask, I'm curious about what are your doubts."

~"Should gods rule and advise mortals?"

-"Hmm? Why ask such a question?"

~"Gods don't place themselves in mortal shoes. They can't understand the hardships of mortality. How can they be considered fit to teach how to live, let alone control it."

-"I think that your reasoning has a fundamental error in it. Teachers do not choose their students, the same as rulers and their subjects. It's people who follow your word that chose you."

~"But don't you teach, even if it were the others that chose to listen, how can you be sure that you are best fit to instruct them."

-"I don't. I can only do my best."

~"Do your best, huh..."

-"If that helps you, I can give you a little advice. True leaders don't choose to become one. They walk the path that others think is worth following. But it is in their power to decide how to lead the way."

After the talk, we left and sat on the bench near the bridge, waiting for Lefiya.

-"You have seen the plans, right, Yue?"

-"Yes. As everybody already voted, I didn't oppose the decision."

-"But that choice is not something you want."

-"Exactly. I never had any experience in leading. Always traveling alone, not caring how others see me. I don't want to mistakingly ruin what others have built."

-"While the main author of those plans was Loki, I was mostly involved in Monarchy. I'm a child of royalty who lived in the palace for most of my life until I left for Orario. I understand the downsides of being king."

She looked at the sky while sighing softly.

-"My father was never a good leader. Many under him used his indecisiveness to their advantage, while blame fell on his head. Familial love is something I have longed for my whole life, but power overshadows bonds."

~"Then why did you help to push Hold in a direction you clearly hate?"

-"Because you are not my father. In my eyes, you possess one quality I believe makes you worthy of the throne."-Riveria looked at me sitting next to her.-"You listen to the advice of others while not being swayed by their words."

She stopped for a moment before continuing her explanation.

-"When I was younger, I believed that gods should rule over mortals. Wisdom, Justice, and many other divinities would fit the role better than mortal kings, but after meeting those gods, I understood one thing. Arrogance of higher being."

Riveria shook her head.

-"Only after I joined Loki familia and learned from the goddess I understood one thing. The ruler does not need to be infallible. His job is to know what he lacks and find ways to amend that."

~"You truly believe that I can be like that?"

-"Yes. I also know that everyone in Hold will help you."

Lefiya arrived sometime later, and we left the School District. I returned to Hold, where I found Ningguang. She was talking with Zhongli and Loki. Turning back to human form, I entered the room.

-"Oh, Yue, you are back."

-"Yes, sorry for me leaving like that, Ningguang. I just needed some time."

-"I understand, after all, we pushed you for something you were opposed to."

-"How are you feeling now?"

-"It's all god now, Loki. I wanted to hear more about the exact plans you have from now on."

-"So you fully accepted our idea."

-"You may say so."

-"That's ideal. For the rest of this year, we will organize everything, and on the anniversary of Hold's creation, we will turn it into an empire."

-"Half a year then. What needs to be taken care of?"

-"Lots of things. Laws, culture, positions, names, titles, personnel, public opinion. Basically, we have to finish laying the foundation for future Hold."-Loki counted on her fingers.

-"Then do you need any assistance from me?"

Ningguang answered my question.

-"Yes. I would like you to go and bring the rest of the Xianzhou Alliance to Hold. You slew Yaoshi and completed what they required to join us."

-"I'll get this done. Something else?"

-"We will need your input on some customs and rites that will be used inside the Hold in the future. There are also some decisions for you to make."

-"I see. What is most pressing right now?"

-"Those decisions. I'll call everyone who needs to be during the discussion. Let's meet in the reception three hours later."

-"Good, I'll make some meal for everyone in the meantime."

I moved to the kitchen and started preparing some dishes. Deciding to use cuisines from every world, I started working. As the time arrived, I moved all the dishes to the meeting room.

Inside, many places were already taken. Aside from five thrones, there were fifteen chairs. Aside from deputies joining this meeting were Jing Yuan, Yae, Keqing, Ayato, Ayaka, Aranyani, Zhongli, Fu Xuan, Riveria, and Otto.

-"Yue, you are the second to last person arriving. Only Nobunaga is still absent."

-"Sorry for making you wait, Elysia. But in my defense, I brought food. Will that be enough to earn your forgiveness?"

-"Yes! There is nothing that can compare to your food. I'll do anything for it!"-Elysia jumped to her feet after hearing about the food.

Those who didn't know me well were surprised by me cooking food for the meeting, but that surprise soon turned into one about the taste of the dishes.

-"Oh my, I've never eaten such a delicious meal."

-"Thank you for the praise, Yae."

-"But to think that Emperor would cook for us."

-"Just call me Yue. You are Kamisato Ayaka, right? Elysia spoke about you."

-"It's an honor. I'm Kamisato Ayaka, daughter of the Kamisato clan. This is my brother."

-"I'm Kamisato Ayato, curent head of Kamisato clan."

-"I'm Yue. No need to be formal with me. Feel free to speak as you wish."

-"I'll do so. I must say that at first, I didn't fully believe that someone would be reluctant to become the emperor, but after this short meeting, I can see that you don't want that position."-Said Ayato with an astonished expression.

-"Does he need such a position? Even among the gods of Orario, he would be one of the stronger ones. If he wanted to become ruler, no one would be able to stop him."-Spoke Hephaestus.

-"It's hard to imagine the strength of god after all. I was a child last time the gods of Teyvat used full strength."

-"Yae, you can't compare our power to that of gods in Orario, let alone Yue's."

-"Buer is right. If Hephaestus were to unseal her power, even as an artesian god, I would bearly be able to withstand her aura."-Said Zhongli.

-"Power of such magnitude is beyond the understanding of mortals."

-"You still underestimate him, Ayato."-Spoke Jing Yuan with a serious face.-"Yue, in cooperation with Nanook and Lan, killed Yaoshi. Aeons are beings that imbody the rules of existence. Yue absorbed such a being."

This made everybody silent. I became the center of attention as all eyes fell on me.

-"OK, I'm here. Hmm? Why is everybody so quiet? something happened?"

-"No, just a slightly awkward subject. As Nobunaga arrived, we can start."

-"Then allow me to lead this meeting."-Started Loki-"Today, we have a few things on the agenda. Let's start by laying the basic framework for empire. We need to consider the royal court, positions, and most importantly, the role of each Principle."

-"Allow me to make something clear. Even if I'm to become emperor, I won't allow you to make Principles unequal."-I spoke calmly.

-"There are ways to tackle that, but we will have to differentiate you as emperor and as Principle."-Loki acknowledged my demand.-"You will have to pick a representative to act in the name of Principle during situations where both your identities are required to attend."

-"I think that placing each Principle in charge of ministry will allow them to remain equal."-Riveria suggested.-"Ministry of Interior, Exterior, Economy, War, controlled by respectively Duty, Hope, Avarice, Domination. That way, turning Progres into the center of the empire won't be so impactful."

-"While that would allow them to act as equals, to outsiders, Progress would still appear as most important."

-"I agree with Ayaka. For that to work, Progres must become neutral in the eyes of people. If we want to portray that, Progers must be responsible for Justice and Wisdom."

-"Justice and Wisdom, huh? Otto has a point. But Progres already has an image fitting those. Aside from establishing a Ministry of Justice, I would also add the Ministry of Culture."

-"Yae, I think you want to earn yourself a position with that suggestion."

-"Yue, a beautiful woman is trying to be closer to you. Just accept it."

-"Never said I won't. You would have to transfer from Duty, though. I don't know if Astraea will let you go."

-"Well, stopping mutual love would get me smitten, and as a god, that would be doubly shameful."

-"Ehem, guys. Stop the flirt."

-"Sorry Riveria. So, to sum it up, each Principle will establish a Ministry, while Progress will establish two."

-"You can't forget being the core of the royal court, Yue. As emperor, you are head of the royal court, and as such, Progress is automatically in charge of it."-Zhongli corrected me.-"You have any nomination for the Ministers?"

-"Yae is a good fit for culture. For Justice, I will leave it in the capable hands of Fu Xuan."

Fu Xuan nodded in acknowledgment while Yae smiled.

-"We also have to fill some additional roles. Chamberlain, Royal Guards, Master of Ceremonies, Heralds."-Riveria reminded us.-"I know that you don't want to be restricted much by your position, but you will have to keep the image of hold in mind, and because of that, you will need some people to act in your stead."

-"I'm aware of that."-I sighed.-"Guards are obvious. Jingliu, Sakura, and maybe Shenhe will take those roles."

-"I can suggest someone for the role of Chamberlain."-Ningguang interrupted me and looked at the person sitting next to her.-"I believe that Keqing is a perfect fit for that."

-"I'll do my best."

-"For Master of Ceremonies, we need someone knowledgeable in how the court works. Riveria is the best pick for the position."

-"I won't be able to take that role, Loki. I suggest that Zhongli take that post."

-"Hmm. I don't mind."

-"Then only Heralds are left."-Spoken Astraea.-"Fu Hua and Durandal are who I recommend."

-"Durandal is not bad, but Fu Hua lacks presence and is too shy."-Rejected Nobunaga.

-"Aside from Durandal Yukong, and Alhaitham can be nominated."

-"While Alhaitham fits that role, he won't agree to it, Aranyani."-I spoke-"But, Otto, why don't you take that function?"

-"I can do that. Just don't forget your promise."

-"Don't worry about that. After all pressing matters are done, I'll go around keeping my promises."

-"That's good."

-"Then this can be considered as the draft of ministries and court roles."-Loki returned the talk to the main subject-"Now we have to address how to treat worlds under the influence of Hold."

-"I think that dividing them based on how much influence we hold in them is necessary."

-"Jing Yuan is right. Three categories would be enough. Direct control, limited control, and free, for example."-Added Nobunaga.-"Earth of Elysia is definitely under direct control. Teyvat, Orario, and Nobunaga's Earth are under limited control. Lastly, Yue's World is free."

-"To those worlds under direct control, we will appoint someone to act as ruler. Representatives can be sent to those under limited control."

-"No need to consider what to do with free worlds, Tingyun. Our world is too big to be considered controlled. Even IPC can't claim to control our world."

-"You are right, Yue."

-"Then, we will have to individually consider situations of the worlds and accordingly integrate them into Hold or act as one of the forces in it."-Ningguang summarized.

-"True, we should also consider creating nobility."

-"I don't think those are necessary, Ayaka. Putting them inside the Hold would only create divisions, while outside, it would be meaningless."

-"While you are right, Yue, I remind you that if we have an emperor but no nobles, it would make your position stand out more."-Loki spoke to me-"You have to rise status of some people to show that you are not only special person in Hold."

-"Do you have any plan for that, Loki?"

-"I do. Just make you special."

-"Are you joking?"

-"No, I'm dead serious. Making you an emperor already puts you before everyone. We won't be able to change that, but we can use that to our advantage to show the unity of Hold."

-"Elaborate, please."

-"If we want to create the empire, we need the cause. Our cause right now is your popularity and the need for reform, but that won't be enough for some. We need to create a reason for the change in nature of Hold beyond practical ones."

-"I see. You want to create circumstances that make creating the empire understandable to the average person who doesn't know about internal matters of Hold."-Said Astraea

-"It's as you said. I want to make a reason that would be irrefutable, even for the most skeptical person."

-"But what can achieve such a thing?"

-"You see, Elysia, among Principles are gods, leaders of countries, generals, and powerful warriors. When we establish an empire to rule over worlds, it will surpass those identities, and the emperor will be the highest-ranking person in every world."

-"You plan to do something that requires me to have a greater identity than the rest? Don't we want to keep those equal?"

-"Think about it from a different perspective. Astraea, Nibunaga and Ningguang are quite tradicional. If you want everybody to be equal and united, you must have a higher rank than them."

-"Wait, Loki, are you insinuating..."-Astraea was first to understand Loki's plan

Nobunaga and Ningguang also realize what Loki is talking about. They looked stupefied for a while but then fell into deep thought. Elysia and I were still bewildered about the meaning Loki was alluding to.

-"You three know what I'm thinking. What is your opinion?"

-"I agree.-Ningguang was first to speak.-"While not long time has passed since our first meeting, I won't find anyone better."

-"He checks all my boxes."-Nobunaga was second to speak.

-"I believe that we need more time to get to know more about each other, but I'm not opposed."

-"Then can I consider my plan approved?"

-"This time, it is not something that the majority need to agree. It has to be unanimous."

-"I know Astraea. Then, Yue, have you understood what we are talking about?"

-"No, I'm totally lost."

-"Marige. I want you five to marry and establish the royal family."

When Loki spoke those words, everything became silent.