Translator Comments: Son-con readers, I know you have been eagerly waiting for this series, and it is back with regular releases. If you haven’t been following Martial King’s Retired Life, you wouldn’t know that I’ve now got ads displayed on the site. I would really appreciate it if you could whitelist my site for that reason. The ads aren’t supposed to be intrusive or diminish your reading experience. However, if they do, just let me know where and how, and I’ll rectify it.
In other news, thanks to changes in Patreon making management slightly easier for me, I can now offer ALL PATRONS early access to chapters and exclusive artwork from the authors, yes, including those in the Peddler tier with $1 monthly donations. How many chapters ahead you’ll have access to depends on your tier. You’ll have immediate access to the early chapters as soon as you join Patreon, there are no gimmicks. To find out more about this, see this post: https://www.patreon.com/posts/yes-its-12099374
Chapter Start…
“We wish your majesty good health, and may your awe live on forever.”
“You may all rise.”
This is the conference chamber for the empire of humanity.
The chamber was like a large sports field. Wait, no. More like half a sports field. There were two rows of tables, one on each side and on another end was a semi-circular seating area. In the most prestigious place, in other words, where the king is seated is a small room. The design of the small room is very logical. Speaking from inside the room produces a loudspeaker effect, while the voices of those below will be louder.
The throne was much higher than the long tables below. A black veil which kept the sun out was hung in front of the throne. Right at this moment, the empress was sitting on her throne with one leg over the other. The retainers below were only able to see the empress’ military uniform, boots and body. The empress has always been a swordsman, so even after ascending the throne, she continued to scoff at loose and pretty dresses. As such, she’s always dressed in military gear. This also raised the prestige of the army to an all-time high.
“The empress is with us!”
That is what the soldiers believe.
The function of the black veil was to prevent the retainers below from seeing the empress face.
How come her personal lowly servants are allowed to see her appearance?
Only those retainers close to the empress are allowed to see her face. Those who see her face without her allowing the veil to be lifted or otherwise just seeing her appearance were to be punished. If they were punished lightly, they’d be exiled, if they were to be punished severely, it’d be the death penalty. The empress is considered the child of god, a representative of god’s greatness, so mere mortals weren’t qualified to set their eyes on her. Only those who’ve received the love of god and the empress permission may see her appearance.
The empress doesn’t cover her face because it’s ugly. A painter sighed after he finished painting her and said that humanity’s greatest loss was that humanity’s most beautiful face was hidden away. What’s said about her appearance isn’t groundless. Those who win her favour and are fortunate enough to see her face are all stunned by her beauty.
However, the empress has never been proud of the fact that she’s beautiful.
The people by the two rows of tables heard her and sat behind the tables where they looked at the person sitting across from them. The conference chamber is separated into two different parties very distinctly. This was the place for a decision to be made from the opinions of both sides. On one side were seated those in formal clothing, while seated on the other were those in military uniforms. Those in formal clothing all have a gold coloured pigeon pattern on their clothing, while those in military uniforms had a golden bear.
“You may begin your discussions. What opinions do you have on our neighbouring country, Castor?”
The empress shifted in her seat behind the black veil as though she was really bored. She rested her right arm on her throne with which she used to support her head as she looked down at her retainers below. The two rows of retainers turned to each other to discuss the topic. Not long after, one of them from the formal clothing party stood up, looked at the throne, bowed respectfully and shakily said: “I wish your majesty infinite happiness and eternal health. Edward greets your majesty.”
The empress nodded and said: “Oh, Count Edward. Please speak.”
“Yes, your majesty…”
Count Edward wasn’t old but he had lots of grey hairs and had bid goodbye to his youth. He held a sheet of paper in his hand. Numbers and letters were written neatly on it. He looked at the people across from him, softly cleared his throat and said: “Dear colleagues, there’s not much that needs to be said about our neighbouring country, Castor. They are an important business partner for us. Although our empire possesses a vast amount of territory, we don’t have two harbours. The location of Castor makes for perfect harbours due to their natural terrain. Moreover, if we control Castor, it’s the equivalent of controlling all imports and exports by sea. In other words, we’ll have complete control over the wealthy business in the river delta. The taxes they pay Castor annually are equal to the income of three of our cities. Further, if our businessmen want to do business across the sea, they must pass through Castor and therefore must pay taxes. As a result, our empire’s goods struggle to compete outside of our country. The empire needs to expand not only its land but also on the business front. Just as firepower and spears are used as weapons for conquest, so is money. Wherever money circulates, that is our territory. We must show those outside barbarians our empress greatness, intellect and power. Before we get ourselves warships, money is our greatest weapon. In order to conquer the barbarians, we must first have Castor…”
The empress seemed a little annoyed and said: “Count, everybody seated here understands the importance of Castor, including myself. If you have nothing to say besides this, how about you sit down?”
“Your majesty! Please hear me out for a little longer!!”
Edward was building up cold sweat on his forehead. He quivered as he wiped his sweat with his handkerchief. Those across from him let out cold muffled laughs. Edward fumbled around for another sheet of paper and softly said: “We’ve tried to negotiate with Castor, but their king rejected our kind offer to offer them protection and insisted on being left alone. I believe that we must control their finances if we wish to conquer them. First, we must limit the circulation of their currency in our country, limit its use and raise the price on goods from them. We must also forbid other countries from doing business with them…”
“Moron!!”
A young general across from him stood up. The medals and ribbon on his chest swayed with the movements of its owner angrily. It seemed that the empress was shocked but she didn’t say anything.
Nier who was hidden in the dark sheathed her sword.
“Your majesty! Please stop this clown’s pointless performance. Everything Count Edward has said is ludicrous. I don’t think he’s still even handling matters pertaining to business!” The young man looked at Edward and angrily continued: “Your majesty…”
“Young man, I’ve never heard your voice before. Is this your first time here?”
The empress cut him off. She seemed to be slightly unhappy. The general next to the young man frowned at him, shook his head and let out a long sigh. The young man paused for a moment before nodding and replying: “Yes, your majesty. My father is sick today…”
“Ah, poor Charlemagne. He’s getting on with age and is not very well. Send him my greetings when you return home. He’s a retainer who went through the ups-and-downs with me after all. I won’t threaten his descendants. Young man, remember well that this is the conference chamber, not some place for you to argue. I’ve got a tingling sensation in my ears today so don’t yell.”
“Understood…”
The young man lowered his head lifelessly. The people across from him laughed out loud. They mercilessly laughed at a young man who had come for the first time without knowing the rules. If it weren’t on the account of his father, his head would probably be rolling on the ground right now.
“Continue with what you wanted to say.”
The empress waited for the laughter to end before changing her posture. Her boots made a sonorous sound on the marble floor.
“Yes, your majesty. I am of the opinion that what Count Edward said was all wrong, because we cannot completely stop our business with Castor. Castor is close to the seas. Their salt and goods from the sea are warmly received by our people and their currency is comparable to our own in our country. If we forcibly remove their currency, lots of people will face losses. This will cause unhappiness with the people. Further, they will also retaliate while we cannot completely reject their goods and currency. As such, we will inevitably face losses ourselves.”
A person in formal clothing stood up and criticised the young man: “Young man, there’s no such thing as a win-win in business. We can replace Castor’s currency with our own and hand it to the people. Also, are you aware that we’re on the losing side right now in terms of business with Castor? We’re essentially donating money to them!”
The young man showed no hints of weakness and replied: “Since that’s the case, we can’t cut them off on the business front. We could conquer them with our strong army instead. Our army has never failed once. The might of our army can conquer any land. As long as we can put together an army, I’d stand our flag up on Castor’s city walls in a single week’s time!”
“How naïve!”
Another person from the formal clothing party criticised the young man and sternly said: “Is all that’s in you fighters’ brains battle? War requires monetary support. Do you know how much it costs to wage war for a week?”
“Our empire’s treasury is infinite. It’s only a week’s worth of warfare funds.”
“What a joke. Did you think about how to rule the place after we conquer it? We aren’t committing a barbaric robbery. We have to rule the place after we conquer it. If we were to defeat Castor and they used the scorched Earth tactic before fleeing on ships, we’d be left with nothing but dirt and thin air. Their religions and culture are different to ours. We reside in the mainland so we don’t have artisans to make ships. Without their artisans, how do we make warships? Furthermore, after we occupy the river delta, how many people will flee the flames of war? Do you know if the country will be able to flourish again like it is right now afterwards? When we rebuild Castor, fixing walls, ships, training troops and maintaining stability, we need money. Those things all require money! What about compensation for fallen soldiers and supplies for gear? Are you funding it?”
Edward looked at the young man who looked completely exasperated.
Another from the military party stood up and thundered: “Are you saying that her majesty’s concerns aren’t worth a pile of gold? Her majesty is grieved over the matter with Castor, but instead of thinking about how to help her, you’re concerned with make more money? Your sense of loyalty is messed up. That’s why I always say that those who haven’t seen blood, those who didn’t go through thick-and-thin with her majesty don’t understand true glory! You people aren’t remotely loyal! You’re worried about your own pockets!”
“What right do you have to be criticising us?! You keep calling us greedy but are you claiming you’ve never done anything shady with the military funds?! Do you people actually want to help her majesty? Isn’t it the case that you people just want a war to make a name for yourselves?”
Another from the formal clothing party stood up and loudly scolded: “You never spared a thought for the thoughts of the soldiers. Soldiers have family, but you don’t care about them dying on the battlefield, do you?”
The young man pointed his fingers at those across from him and swore loudly: “At least we aren’t like you standing here pointing fingers. You people have said mouthfuls, but have you provided any practical plans that can actually be carried out?! When war breaks out, we’re at the front, not like you people standing at the back drinking, partying and counting your money! You people are the shame of our empire!! You’re all fucking bitches!! Fuck you all!”
“Show some respect young man. All of us here are your seniors.”
The party in formal clothing didn’t back down. They pointed back at the other party and went off: “You people think you’re hot-shots, do you? You people are nothing but brutes! You people just don’t understand that it’s no longer an era where you go out and conquer lands anymore! We’re in an era of stability. We’re in an era of growth and development! The army now only has to protect the country. You people don’t understand the concept of development! The country will come to ruin under your control one day!!”
“Ruin?! You bastards are the ones that’ll be ruined! The empire was founded on our battles with her majesty! We’ll ensure its eternal prosperity! On the contrary, what have you people contributed?! What can you contribute?! We don’t have any good ideas, but we have a sure-fire method for success. You weak pigs don’t have any rights to stand in the same category as us. Get the fuck out of this land for warriors!”
The young man lost it. He grabbed the cup of water before him and threw it at them. The young man from the formal clothing party didn’t retreat and retaliated by throwing a cup back in their direction. The room immediately became chaotic with cups of water flying through the air and cussing over each other. Luckily, the empress remained unharmed.
“Cough…”
An extremely faint cough could be heard as the fight reached its peak. Normally, no one would’ve heard the cough amidst all the fighting. In fact, the guards probably wouldn’t have been able to pull them apart, but as soon as the faint cough was made, everyone froze in place, and fearfully turned to look towards the throne.
The empress stood up and threw a kick. Perhaps she was feeling uncomfortable after sitting for an extended period. Nier walked up close to the throne and slightly bowed, completely ignoring the people below. She softly said: “The prince has reached the outside of the walls. Let us be on our way, your majesty.”
“Uhm…”
The empress nodded, then turned to the people down below to say: “Are you done fighting?”
“We sincerely apologise, your majesty!”
Everybody in the room looked at the shattered pieces of porcelain on the floor and quickly knelt down. The water that was slowly flowing around carried blood with it… The empress looked and them and softly said: “This is the conference chamber. It’s a place for national affairs to be discussed. You are my trusted retainers and this empire’s managers. Yet you dared to act violent and use foul language in such a sacred place. You made me look bad. Further, I did say I had a tingling sensation in my ears today and yet you all were screaming and shouting, adding to my frustration. My son is coming back today. I don’t want him to see your corpses as soon as he’s back. He’ll criticise me for killing indiscriminately again, so punish yourselves. Don’t make me personally have do it.”
She aggressively waved her hands to pull open the black veil. Everyone present immediately lowered their heads. No one dared to raise his head. The empress’ beautiful face was in the open, her black hair swayed, and she puffed up her large breasts – by human standards – which looked like it would’ve burst through her military uniform. Her gaze was sharp as blades. She waved her hand majestically and called: “Let us be on our way! I want to go see my son!”
Translator Note: Before I let you continue on to the comments section, I want to give a gentle reminder to not pester me for chapters. I’m not talking about the people asking genuine questions. I understand your enthusiasm for the series, but do not spam my inbox by posting on every chapter with: “When’s son-con”, “do this”, “do that”. There were two people who actually took the time to do that during the recent hiatus. I made and make my end of the deal very clear and I’ve always made good on it. Battoth, Carlo, Daniel, Slayer Monk, Alexander, Simon, nightmares, Ming Xu, matosz, Chris P. Duck, Christian, Anarchy Smillo and the list goes on. Everybody here and everybody else who I didn’t get to list – because there are a lot of you, all contributed towards improving my efforts, displayed genuine support and enthusiasm in some capacity. They aren’t making demands left and right, so you can take your demands to another galaxy. Sitting there with your arms folded and legs on the table as you make demands of me doesn’t help me translate more or release them any faster. There are issues I need your support with which in turn allow me fulfill those requests, and believe me, nobody ever lost a pound talking about it or thinking about it. Those are the people who made my craft better, make the existence of this website possible and help make it possible to try and release more by looking after me. Comment, show your enthusiasm, discuss and whatnot, and yell out if you find a mistake, but don’t harass our eyes with your spam. Thank you again for reading and supporting me. See you in tomorrow’s chapter!
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