Chapter 176: My journey to Valtis City (1)
When I returned home, my father and mother were quite busy with their work. So I just greeted them lightly, before going to my room. Since my father is the viscount, he has to deal with a lot of things. I wonder how much of a burden it would be on a king or an emperor.
There is no way that a single person can oversee everything in an empire.
The tasks had to be assigned to various people. When the ruling area was small, the rulers could personally select the people who would oversee such matters but as the size of the lands increased, there was no way for them to do so.
After, even if the emperor is a good person, he wouldn't be omniscient. He wouldn't know everything. Though he may appear as someone who controls everything, he can't control everything.
Even though in this world there are awakeners, the emperors are not gods. Even gods wouldn't have control over everything.
There would be a lot of subordinates who oversee things in the empire.
With too much land to cover and too many people, many things would be handled by the nobles below the emperor and government officials who would be in charge of the various departments that deal with specific areas.
For example, there would be officials of the Agriculture Department, who deals with issues regarding the production of food. In order to properly do their duties, these officials should have proper knowledge not limited to plants. They have to know about the landscape, and weather in that region.
Without the proper knowledge, the solution might not be a good solution. This would lead to a decline in the economy. Moreover, if food production was affected, it would affect every other department, as people need food to survive. Without food, they would die sooner than later.
This is something that everyone knows but the emperor can't possibly oversee everything. So whatever the high-level officials of these departments decide, that would be how things work, even if they were against the laws.
When there is no proper oversight, then there is a high chance of corruption. In empires, the chances of that happening are very high.
No wonder there is a lot of corruption in large empires when compared to the small kingdoms. Though the small kingdoms may not have a secure life, the corruption in such states is usually very low.
Of course, usually, life in empires would be way better when compared to such small states. If you want one you have to leave another.
It also doesn't mean that small nations have corruption-free air. Here, there would be less complexity and the chances of that are very low and that was it.
---
Anyway, I am lucky that I wasn't born as a prince or something. If I was in that position, the stress on me would be high enough to kill off some years of my life. There would have been less familial love too.
The only pro was that I would have a lot of resources since birth and with enough talent, I could easily reach the sky.
If given a chance, I wouldn't exchange what I have.
Though there were a lot of parasites in the family when everyone was counted, I believe it would be far worse for the royal families.
Here the people are fighting just for a Viscounty but with royals, the interest is the ownership of kingdoms and empires.
Moreover, parents would be fully busy for most of your life. There would be not much time to spend with them. Most of the time would probably in court has to call your own parents, YOUR MAJESTY or YOUR HIGHNESS.
It's bloody ridiculous.
Sure they may be the King/Emperor and Queen/Empress of the Kingdom/Empire, but they are your parents.
When children address their children, it should be using the words that say you are their parent, not some job title. After all, being a king or a queen or any other noble is just a job.
You have to work hard to keep that and if you make any mistakes, there is a chance of losing it.
There is something called REBELLION. This is what is used to replace a king or emperor.
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Huh, why am I getting off-topic? With too much INT, I am thinking too much. I should stop that. It's a waste of my precious time and energy.
Since my parents were busy, I had to have my dinner alone. Though it appeared a bit different than what it used to feel when I had meals alone in the academy, the difference I feel is quite minute.
After having dinner, I returned to my room. I entered Nexus, not to practice but to enjoy some time with my fox, Asya.
With me back at home for the next thirty days, I may not be available much to accompany her. So whenever I find some time, I have to spend with her.
Speaking about my companions. It has been a year since Inari left for her home. I wonder how Inari is doing.
I miss her.
Hope, I will see her again.
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Early Next Morning...
"Valtis City? I have never heard about that?" I said to my father.
"Of course, you wouldn't have heard about it. It's a port city, and also a hidden city", my father said.
"Hidden, why?" I asked my father.
"Think about it?" my father replied instead of answering me.
What does the old man want me to find out?
I mean, the only reason why the city was hidden should be that there is a secret production or experimental house in that city. If not, there was no need for it to be hidden.
Since it is a port city, they should be either building a powerful naval fleet or experimenting on sea monsters. Except for those two reasons, I don't see any reason why a port city was kept hidden.
I mean there is another reason for that, but that just coincides with my two reasons a bit. The city would be used as a waypoint for attacking other nations. If that is the case, then it would be of no use in the long term.
Maybe the purpose is only for short-term usage.
"Well, I don't care. Why do you mention the city anyway?" I asked my father.
There shouldn't be too many reasons why my father who is only a viscount would learn about such a secretive city.
"It's because of your mother. Since she reached Tier-7, many eyes turned towards our house. These eyes are not those greedy eyes that want to make our family part of theirs or take away what is ours. Those greedy bastards are now afraid".
"The ones who are interested now are some of the top military members. You should know it was not that easy to reach Tier-7, especially as the promotional missions increase in difficulty as the rank increases. This takes a major turn for the Tier-7. the promotion mission wouldn't be easy to complete usually".
"For some reason, your mother completed it very quickly and now is considered the fastest to reach Tier-7 and also the youngest".
Why is my father praising my mother non-stop? Is there something he had to say and using this to smoothen things over?
What's the need?
"Father, stop. I asked why you mentioned the Valtis City. How is mother involved with this?" I asked him directly.
"Don't rush, I am getting to that. Your mother was invited to visit Valtis City and take a position there", he said.
"Oh, then shouldn't we congratulate her, and have a celebration, rather than having small now or did you call me here, so that we can plan a party in secret?" I asked my father.
"No...maybe we should plan a surprise celebration for her but that's not why I asked you here. When she got the chance to enter Valtis, she was also given a chance to bring one another as a temporary visitor", he said.
"Oh, you are leaving for Valtis City and probably won't be here. I understand", I said.
Well, they deserve a vacation. I mean, ruling over a viscounty and raising five children while trying to make sure that the family won't break up is not an easy task.
"No, your mother didn't choose me, rather she chose you to accompany her to Valtis City", he said.
"Wait, what?"
That was a surprise.
Why did my mother select me, instead of my father or any of the other four siblings that I have? Probably they are all busy now and at the moment, only I have enough time to waste.
Though it was not my schedule for the holidays, there is no actual schedule as of now. So I can waste a few days visiting this hidden port city. Maybe I can learn something new.
After all, the knowledge I have about this world is very minute compared to what I don't know.