The former great nobles of the Leaf Empire, now gathered in one place.
With the Emperor gone, the ones who hold the real power in the country, excluding the Demon King Mari and the Magic Tower, are the ones managing the affairs of the nation.
At this moment, they all wore uneasy expressions.
“The birthrate has dropped to less than half…”
“This is a troublesome matter. Right now, there’s no immediate problem, but if this situation continues for a long time, the entire economy of the territories will start to falter.”
“The birthrate is one thing, but the bigger issue is that people aren’t getting married. Even though the number of men has decreased because of the war, this is just too extreme, isn’t it?”
“Marriage is a problem, but the divorce rate is also skyrocketing. It’s gotten to the point where the main job of the clergy isn’t weddings, but rather divorce ceremonies.”
Even right after the war, the birthrate has not increased; in fact, it’s been decreasing.
At the moment, it didn’t seem to have a large effect on the entire country, but those who were concerned about the future, especially the nobles who could see the situation from higher up, couldn’t help but feel uneasy about it.
Population means national power.
It doesn’t just mean more soldiers for the army, but the larger the population, the greater the productivity and consumption, which directly leads to a stronger economy.
A decrease in the birthrate means a decline in future economic power.
Although the country is now completely occupied by the demon race, ironically, the concern for military strength has lessened.
However, the fact that humanity will slowly decline in the future was something that all the nobles present could easily guess.
But…
“So, what should we do about it? Do you have any special measures?”
“Umm…”
“How should we proceed… It’s just as it is…”
“There’s nothing we can solve by stepping in. The demons have already… They implemented policies, like equality and all that, from the top…”
Aside from that, none of them seemed eager to dig deeper into this issue.
The defeat in the last war.
Moreover, due to the policies and ideologies spread by the demons, the authority of the nobility had collapsed.
Those who still had personal guards were able to maintain their titles as lords in various regions, but it was said that some nobles in certain areas had been driven out by the common people or even killed.
In a situation where they had to constantly be aware of the common people’s sentiments, enforcing any drastic measures would be akin to walking into a fire with a bundle of kindling—it would be suicide.
What they could do was merely observe the people’s mood, minimize expenses, and focus only on quietly increasing their wealth.
“At least as long as we pay our taxes on time, the demons strictly prevent the confiscation of private property, so that’s a relief.”
“Even so, how long will this last? There’s only one way for us to survive in the end. We must execute what we’ve been talking about all along.”
“Umm…”
“Indeed… it seems there’s no choice but that.”
The nobles spoke in bitter voices.
They knew very well that this choice was not a good one in many ways.
However, sitting on a volcano that could erupt at any moment, for them, choosing the lesser evil was the only way forward.
“Even so… abandoning our pride as nobles like this doesn’t sit well with me.”
“What pride is there to speak of? The Empire is already destroyed. Furthermore, those foolish commoners no longer see us as nobles. Since they abandoned us first, we have no choice but to abandon them.”
“That’s the truth.”
“Now, now, there’s no point in complaining about something that’s already been decided. Let’s just focus on making sure everything is prepared. If the plans leak, things will become complicated, so make sure you’re careful.”
“Understood, Marquis.”
After finishing their discussion, the nobles dispersed.
On their faces, there was no longer any trace of hope.
Watching the situation through the magic she had set up in advance, Mari’s lips curled into a quiet smile.
It was always a pleasant feeling to see the expected course of events unfold just as she had predicted.
At that moment.
“They’re coming out.”
“! I’ll enjoy this.”
“Thank you for the meal.”
Before her, steaming spaghetti was placed.
With that, Mari and Irushil stopped the magic they were using and began to eat.
Looking at them, Karen’s lips formed a warm smile.
“It seems you’ve been very busy lately. Now that you’re back in the capital, it’d be nice if you visited more often.”
“Sorry, I’ve had a lot of work to do.”
Karen’s gaze was like that of a mother watching her hardworking daughters.
Despite looking this way, Mari was the Demon King who had taken control of the country, and Irushil was still humanity’s strongest warrior. But to Karen, they were just family who came by when they were hungry.
“Well, how’s that thing going? It seems like a lot has been changing within the capital lately.”
The various changes, big and small, happening within the former Leaf Empire’s territories, including the capital.
Among them, some changes had started to affect this small spaghetti shop.
Not long ago, there were only four-person tables, but now Karen had added many single-seat tables.
It wasn’t just because Mari had been throwing money around, claiming it was to cover debts.
It was because the number of customers coming alone had been steadily increasing.
It used to be that when people reached a certain age, they’d get married right away.
Now, seeing people living alone had become common, which was a small sign of that shift.
Though she wasn’t entirely sure, it meant that what Mari was doing was progressing well.
With a smile on her lips, Mari responded.
“Of course. And soon, something big will happen. Do you remember what I mentioned before?”
“You told me not to go into debt and to save a lot of cash? Well, I did what you said.”
“Good job. As for the details… it’s a bit early to tell you now, but you’ll find out soon enough on your own.”
“Really?”
Karen didn’t seem particularly interested in the complicated details, so she simply nodded and adopted an attitude of “we’ll see.”
Watching her, Mari smiled calmly and handed her share of the spaghetti to Irushil, who was sitting next to her.
“Ah… you didn’t have to do that…”
“You’ve lost some weight lately. If you want to be in good shape soon, you need to eat well and grow strong, right?”
“Umm… I’m not really interested in that… Actually, if we’re talking about marriage, it’s more likely for Master… sob”
“Hmm… stop talking nonsense and eat up.”
With a slightly awkward smile, Mari pushed the spaghetti into Irushil’s mouth.
Watching this warm (and somewhat awkward) mother-daughter-like scene, Karen smiled lightly and went back into the kitchen.
“You’re selling farmland?”
“Yes, that’s what the lord said. They’re going to sell all the land in the area ahead, and anyone interested can buy it.”
“Wait, that’s one of the prime areas in this region, isn’t it? Why would they suddenly sell such a place?”
The sudden announcement of farmland sales.
The news that good lands scattered throughout the territories were being sold for a fraction of their value began to attract the attention of the citizens of the former Leaf Empire.
“Didn’t the last war leave a lot of vacant land? It seems they’re doing this to organize those areas.”
“Heh, well, that’s perfect timing. I’ll use this opportunity to buy myself some land with the money I’ve been saving.”
“Umm… well, I don’t have much saved up, so it doesn’t really concern me.”
“Oh, don’t worry about that. I hear that if you pay a small amount, you can get the land on a lease. Apparently, it’s about half the original land price.”
“Half the price… That’s reasonable enough. If I borrow a little from the bank…”
In the overall atmosphere of stagnation, the tempting story was making its way through the crowd.
People started gathering their money and waiting for the day when the lord would sell the land.
“Let’s stick to the order!”
“Where are you cutting in line? I’ve been here since dawn, waiting!”
A loud crowd began to gather.
As rumors spread like wildfire, even more people showed up, and the local offices where the transactions were to take place became overcrowded.
“They said they’re selling cheaply, but will my turn even come?”
“If I don’t buy now, this opportunity might never come again. I’ll definitely get some land.”
In the tense and anxious atmosphere, the lord’s secretary, who was in charge of the transaction, finally appeared before them.
“Now, we will begin the land transaction organized by the lord. Originally, the land was to be sold on a first-come, first-served basis, but by the lord’s command, to give more people a chance, it will be done via auction.”
“Auction?”
“Umm… if it’s an auction, the price might go up…”
The crowd murmured, a little taken aback by the unexpected change in method.
The people who had come early, expecting a first-come, first-served system, visibly showed displeasure.
However, they had no grounds to protest.
After all, the method of the transaction hadn’t been disclosed to them in advance, and most of the people in the back were, for the most part, satisfied with the change to an auction format, which they thought would give everyone a fair chance.
Thus, the auction began in a “natural atmosphere.”
“First, we have land in the western hilly area. The starting bid will be 50 gold. Anyone wishing to buy, please raise your hand and name your price.”
“50!”
“56!”
“60!”
Since the original price of the land was 90 gold, 50-60 gold was already a reasonable price.
However, the competition didn’t end there.
“83!”
“88!”
“88, going once! Any higher bids? No? 88 it is!”
The obsession with the idea that this was their only chance to buy at this price consumed them.
Gripped by the thought that even a small profit was worth it, they ended up paying almost the original price.
And so, the transactions continued.
Once the competition heated up, it didn’t stop.
With each subsequent bid, the land was sold at prices not much lower than the original, and at times, driven by a strange sense of pride, some parcels were even sold at higher prices.
Meanwhile, watching the auction proceed smoothly, the lord, who was observing from the back, felt a deep sense of relief.
“Thank goodness… now, if we just get through the next hurdle…”