How To Live As A Writer In A Fantasy World-Chapter 468: Democracy (1)

“I said I’d become a writing machine, but I’m a human who needs rest too. I can’t spend every single day just writing.

I overdid it up to volume 3 of Blood and Steel because the response was so overwhelming, but from volume 4 onward, there’s a lot more to think about.

Volume 4 will feature none other than the United States—a country that could be called the pinnacle of democracy.

To be precise, it’s scheduled to appear at the conclusion. Before that, I plan to give a rough introduction to democracy through Hitler’s pitifully pathetic antics.

The reason the Nazi Party rose to become the second-largest party was because of the Great Depression, so it fits with the story’s flow. As soon as the Depression hits, the focus will shift to America.

Ah, of course, I haven’t forgotten to shine a light on Hitler’s eternal rival, Stalin. Since it’s set before the Depression, it’ll be before he becomes General Secretary, so I plan to show just a brief glimpse of him.

Also, since the Great Purge happens after Hitler comes to power, it’s not needed for now. What’s important right now is Hitler’s pathetic antics before the Great Depression—in other words, elections.

Elections are the most basic and yet most essential part of democracy. You can’t explain democracy without talking about elections.

But in this world, the concept of ‘elections’ doesn’t exist. Kings rule countries, and nobles represent their territories.

Most importantly, elections are judged purely on political ability, regardless of class or social status, so it might be hard for people here to accept.

“Elections?”

“Yeah. It’s the core of the democracy I mentioned before.”

“You mean the one where monarchs give up their authority and commoners can also participate in politics?”

So it’d be better to consult someone involved. And that person happens to be none other than a princess of the Empire.

Rina, who accepted my invitation, tilted her head as she listened to my explanation. There’s something oddly charming about a sharp-eyed beauty reacting like that.

I nodded at her words and glanced to the side. Mari was sitting next to me to share her thoughts too.

Tink—Tink—

But maybe because Rina is sitting across from us, Mari’s mischievous side was acting up. Under the table, she was teasing me, fiddling with my thigh.

Of course, Rina had no idea, since it was all happening under the table.

As much as I wanted to scold her and tell her to stop, the situation didn’t allow for that. I just settled for quietly holding her hand, which kept her relatively calm for now.

“Hmm… I don’t know about this,” Rina said, her tone uncertain, resting her index finger on her chin in thought.

If even Rina was giving a noncommittal answer, then it really must be hard to judge.

Last time, when I explained constitutional monarchy, she accepted it without much issue. But this time, she wasn’t agreeing or disagreeing.

“You don’t know?”

“Yeah. Just from hearing it, it seems like it expands the role of commoners, which isn’t bad. But in our current situation, is there really a need to introduce it?

The country might be unstable because of the demon worshippers, but we’re managing the crisis.”

“I see. What about you, Mari? What do you think?”

“I’m with Rina. Right now, I just don’t see the necessity.”

Both Rina and Mari reacted similarly after hearing my explanation. Their response to implementing elections—democracy—was essentially, “Do we really have to?”

Honestly, I agree. Until World War I, most of Europe still had monarchies.

But Britain was the first to introduce the parliamentary system and begin democracy, while the U.S. started electing a president after its independence.

In other words, to forcibly end monarchy, there would need to be an event on the scale of World War I or the French Revolution.

Until then, the only path is to peacefully relinquish power, like Britain. But neither approach works in the Minerva Empire.

That’s what I think too. I only gathered their opinions because I wanted to hear them.

“Right? I mean, when things are peaceful, there’s not much motivation to push for change.”

“Exactly. And even if a monarch wanted to give up power, it’s not something they can do freely.”

“Huh?”

Just as I was about to start writing, Rina said something unexpected. That a monarch couldn’t freely give up power even if they wanted to—what did she mean by that?

She took a graceful sip of the tea Adelia had made, then calmly set it down. Looking at me, she continued in her typically mature tone: freēwēbnovel.com

“As you know, a monarch holds overwhelming power in a country. But that doesn’t mean nobles have insignificant power.

In other words, even if the monarch relinquishes power, there’s a high chance the nobles will resist. It would look strange if the Emperor gives up power while the nobles refuse to.”

“Hmm. I get what you mean.”

It made perfect sense. I nodded instinctively. Now that I think about it, France during World War I went through something similar.

Under the idea of noblesse oblige, during the Romantic era, all nobles enlisted as officers.

They were met with the horrors of trench warfare, and most never returned. Those who did often came back physically or mentally broken.

In short, there were hardly any noble heirs left, and the aristocratic system effectively collapsed.

Even during the French Revolution, they only stripped the monarchy and nobility of privileges—the system itself remained. If that weren’t the case, Napoleon could never have risen to power.

“Even though I’m currently working on stripping the nobles of their power… when it comes to elections, I’m not so sure.”

“But if Father hears about it, he might actually take an interest.”

“He might? His Majesty the Emperor?”

“Why would he? Isn’t the imperial authority pretty absolute right now?”

Mari wasn’t the only one shocked by that statement—I was too. Emperor Verit might seem gentle on the outside, but he’s still the Emperor of the Empire.

I felt his presence clearly when I visited the imperial palace. And despite the unrest caused by demon worshippers, he’s still governing effectively.

It was hard to believe that such a person would want to give up power.

Rina just shrugged and gave a very reasonable explanation:

“Do you know what it really means to have strong authority?”

“You mean… having strong power?”

“That too. But it also means having too many responsibilities. From administrative issues to the sensitive matters of the military—things that the nobles could handle still have to go through Father.”

Ah… overwork and burnout. That answer actually made a lot of sense. I nodded in agreement.

Although the trustworthy business partner, the Duke of Requilis, is assisting at his side, it is still extremely difficult to govern such a vast territory alone.

Therefore, dispatching lords to each region in a feudal system would result in a weakening of royal authority.

Especially in times like these, when the chaos caused by demon worshippers runs rampant, it could even lead to rebellion.

Fortunately, no rebellion occurred. On the contrary, the feudal system was further weakened, and as a bonus, Emperor Verit’s power grew stronger.

“Our empire’s territory is just too vast. And if we manage to drive out the northern barbarians completely, it’ll grow even larger.

Father is doing a fine job, but even he is starting to feel the need for something like a ‘parliament,’ similar to the Kingdom of Teres.”

“Now that you mention it, weren’t most of the past emperors overworked to death?”

I remember reading that. It’s been 300 years since the founding of the Minerva Empire, and in that time, there have already been 15 emperors.

In other words, each ruled for about 20 years. That wouldn’t be too bad in a previous life.

But in this world, thanks to the presence of mana, humans have longer lifespans. Even considering that, the reigns have been quite short.

Most of them died from overwork. Even those who lusted for power eventually collapsed from it.

For some reason, even the tyrants all seemed to work tirelessly. That’s kind of strange.

Also, it’s a miracle the country didn’t collapse despite a change in emperors every 15 years. I’ve heard that each time, the Duke of Requilis stepped in as regent.

“That’s right. Even my grandfather collapsed from overwork, which triggered a struggle for the throne. Maybe because of that, at first Father had no interest in hard work. That is, until the Zeros Revolution happened.”

“So he couldn’t exactly slack off anymore.”

“Well, even if not for the revolution, the emperors of history were so overwhelmed with work that making it past 60 was rare. It’s the same in other countries too. That’s just the nature of monarchy, isn’t it?”

Fair point. Even outside the Minerva Empire, there are countless monarchs in history who died young from overwork.

With great power comes great responsibility. It’s both monarchy’s greatest strength and weakness.

Democracy and elections stripped monarchs of their greatest power—authority—but they also stripped them of the burden of responsibility.

‘Is that why Queen Elizabeth lived almost to 100?’

Of course, I meant it half-jokingly. Still, they must be under immense pressure managing all this land.

“That’s why I plan to gradually reduce the concentration of power. That’s the project I’m currently working on.”

“I’ve been curious for a while—what project exactly are you working on?”

“It’s simple. I’m separating ‘law’ from the nobility.”

Rina explained: When a commoner commits a crime, the trial is usually handled by the local lord.

There might be witnesses, but no prosecutors or defense attorneys. The accused must defend themselves alone.

From this alone, you can imagine how things usually turn out. I myself was dragged to court after slapping Hiriya, wasn’t I?

There was someone who tried to help me then, but it didn’t make much of a difference. If I hadn’t been Zenon, I would’ve ended up on the execution block.

“I want to make the judiciary more systematic, to allow fair rulings regardless of status. Sure, some people will still slip through, but noble power will be significantly reduced. What do you think? Not bad, right?”

Rina smiled brightly at me as she asked my opinion. It wasn’t a fake smile—it was genuine.

Like a proud cat nudging for praise.

She probably saw me as a blue robotic cat or a clever little bag of tricks and wanted my take.

“It’s a decent idea. We have something similar in our world too.”

“Really? That’s a relief. I was a bit scared you’d think it was weird.”

“As I keep saying, I’m not sure if what I know from my world even applies here.”

Still, Rina’s reform has a good chance of success. The noble class is already weakening, and imperial authority is growing stronger.

With things going well, there’s no need to change the system drastically.

Of course, someday the Minerva Empire may face upheaval, but a parliamentary system would likely come first.

Emperor Verit isn’t very interested in the throne, and even Leort doesn’t seem to desire it strongly. They’re just taking what they’re given.

“Oh right—Isaac, did you know?”

“Know what?”

“Father’s growing a mustache like Hitler’s. He must’ve taken a liking to it.”

“……”

…We’re screwed.

That thought took over my mind, but I could only force an awkward smile. I really wanted to avoid any spoilers.

Still, if I just smiled, it might come off as suspicious. To dispel the awkwardness, I changed the subject.

“Uh… Rina? You do know that Hitler was sexually dysfunctional, right? Won’t people get the wrong idea?”

“For someone like that, he’s getting insanely popular right now. Besides…”

Rina stared at me quietly, then slowly lowered her gaze. Even though the table blocked her view, I knew exactly where she was looking.

Her pale face began to blush. This woman’s having dirty thoughts again.

“…It’s nothing.”

“What do you mean it’s nothing?”

Of course Mari didn’t miss the chance. She teased Rina in her usual sly tone.

Rina responded by lifting her teacup as if to say she wouldn’t dignify it with a reply. But then Mari…

“Curious? I could show you if you’d like.”

She hit back with a lewd joke. Normally, Rina would crumble at this point…

“No, I’m fine. I don’t need to see it.”

But for some reason, she stayed completely calm. Like that sort of attack no longer fazed her.

Mari was clearly caught off guard. She clicked her tongue and backed down.

But not completely. She glanced at Rina and muttered casually,

“Why don’t you need to see it? Don’t tell me you already snuck a peek?”

“Pfft! Cough! Cough!”

The princess let out a huge reaction to that throwaway comment. She coughed while sipping tea and sprayed it everywhere.

Mari and I stared at Rina in silence. She kept coughing, as if something had gone down the wrong pipe.

“Cough… cough!”

“…Rina?”

“Cough! I—I didn’t see anything! I said I didn’t!”

Yeah, sure. I frowned and glanced at Mari.

She just looked at Rina knowingly.

“Still as bad a liar as ever, huh? From way back till now.”

“I said I didn’t! Why don’t you believe me?”

“Try saying that while looking at your own face. Your mask is totally shattered.”

“Ugh…!”

Is this really a conversation between a princess and a duke’s daughter? I shook my head.

Anyway, volume 4 of Blood and Steel, which touches on the concept of democracy, was released a week later.

[The Arrival of Blood and Steel Vol. 4! What is the Concept of Elections?]

[A Necessary System, or a Peculiar Idea Unique to This World?]

Critics responded with a collective “Really?”, but let it slide.

But no one knew at the time—

That elections would emerge not in the Minerva Empire, nor the Kingdom of Teres…

…but in a completely different place.

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