Chapter 41

The Shadow Moon Road ran a little north from the center of Ryukoku.

If it continued upward during a Great Shift, the damage would be great.

However, knowing about it before would allow us to prepare.

Crowsert was one of the seven great cities, and so the people that lived there and in the neighboring areas would have to move.

But it was a much different matter in Makoku.

For them, the Shadow Moon Road ran along the south side.

If it traveled up north, then their capital would perish.

And it wouldn’t end there.

The south and west sides of Makoku were mostly rocky mountains, which meant they were ill-suited for planting crops.

It was the granaries in the north that fed the country.

If those granaries were destroyed, then the country would lose much of its food source.

“Makoku would lose its capital and the whole country would starve.”

“Indeed. If they know that this will happen in four years, what do you think they will do?”

What would Makoku do?

Quickly try to cultivate the south and west lands… No, it’s impossible.

Such sterile land would not yield them anything.

It was unthinkable that that would be their reply to a Great Shift.

They could acquire food through trade.

But this was also difficult. It would be one thing if it was a temporary disaster, but they couldn’t rely fully on trade for hundreds of years.

So there was only one answer left.

“…Take land by force?”

“Yes, I believe so.”

The Queen said light-heartedly.

If it came to that, Shoukoku had wealth, but not a lot of cultivated land.

In the first place, that country was at the base of the mountain ranges.

It was the smallest of the four countries.

Then what about Gikoku, the southmost country?

Gikoku was prosperous.

It was far away from the Shadow Moon Road and the threat of the Moon Beasts.

However, there was something to consider.

Makoku would be thrown into great chaos.

The Great Shift would occur, and many Moon Beasts would come down.

It was obvious what would happen.

Even if they were able to take parts of Gikoku, the ensuing chaos four years later could easily result in them losing it again.

Also, Gikoku was a clan state.

It would not be easy to conquer them. It wasn’t as simple as defeating the capital city.

Could they subjugate all of the clans?

They didn’t have the time or resources for that.

So, where would they target?

A country that would also be thrown into chaos during the Great Shift.

In other words, Ryukoku.

We were already on bad terms, so there would be less guilt.

Well, at least, they might feel that way.

As both countries would be affected, we were on equal footing.

So it would not be surprising if they took the gamble.

“It seems that you understand.”

“I understand that Makoku has a reason to want our lands.”

“Yes. Our Dragon Masters have enough on their hands with having to fight the Moon Beasts on the Shadow Moon Road. And now, a war with Makoku? How bothersome.”

The queen called a war where the survival of two countries was at stake, ‘bothersome.’

Ryukoku’s future was in danger.

“Long ago, there was the country of Jukoku. Didn’t it fall because…”

There was once a country south of Makoku that was called Jukoku.

It was west of Shoukoku and Gikoku.

“Yes, it fell during the last Great Shift. One of Gikoku’s cities had declared independence and created a trade area. And it was this city that Jukoku targeted when the Great Shift occurred. Back then, no one was able to predict the shifts.”

I didn’t know too much about it.

But apparently, the number of Moon Beasts that fall will increase right before a Great Shift.

As the Moon Beasts were becoming a problem, Jugoku had attacked the independent trade area as a way of dealing with it.

Unluckily for them, that was when the Great Shift happened.

Jukoku had no way of dealing with the numerous Moon Beasts that appeared in their lands.

Their soldiers frantically returned to their country.

However, when they arrived, their capital city was gone without a trace.

Jukoku fell, and the lands were divided among Makoku, Gikoku, and the newly created country of Shoukoku.

The people of Jukoku that survived then scattered and were absorbed by the other countries.

Such a Great Shift was about to begin again.

This was a terrible thing.

“Your Majesty, will it really come to war?”

“I think it will. I don’t see any other way for Makoku to survive.”

I agreed.

A Great Shift was just the moon changing its trajectory, but according to the records, it was always moving very slowly over the years.

That’s why the steel shells constantly fell—in other words, the Moon Beasts continued to appear.

The entire route of the moon was a landing point for the Moon Beats.

If a town happened to be there, it would fall. Cities were no exceptions.

Same with farms and fields of crops.

I didn’t know how far the moon would move, but the last time, it was 3 or 4 days travel by carriage in terms of distance.

Regardless, there was no escaping the fact that Makoku’s very center would be destroyed.

“Now that they know, we can expect their interferences to increase. So I will depend on you.”

“Yes… Everything for you, Your Majesty.”

And like that, I became a Right Hand of the Royal Capital, just like I was at Sol.

I could hardly object. The country’s survival was being threatened.

“I’m so glad that you came to the city during this time, Leon.”

The queen said with an easy laugh. I would never understand her.

However, it was perhaps a good thing that she was able to stay calm, even in such times.

“I will devote myself to my duty wholeheartedly.”

“I will send you a linker. So do your best.”

I bowed deeply.

Linker?