Divine Kingship

Chapter 596 Preparing to Depart for the Elf Forest
In the spring of the Holy Calendar 340, Rand ascended the throne as king in 339, and a year has now passed.

To outsiders, Rand worked diligently throughout the year, eliminating internal and external troubles.

The newly established Moon Kingdom, which seemed somewhat unstable, gradually stabilized under the rule of King Land.

Those problems that seemed unsolvable to outsiders were gradually resolved in Rand's hands.

Perhaps the founding king was just that unreasonable; it's hard to imagine that RAND possessed such formidable military capabilities.

His political skills are also quite remarkable.

His Majesty Rand is also working today.

Today's task is to receive Viscount Red Rose.

This viscount, who came from a branch of the Rose family in the Frostmoon Kingdom, pledged allegiance to Rand with the support of his family.

Rand assigned him a piece of land and then asked him to fight alongside Tanl.

He has made many contributions to the war effort, and now Rand has decided to commend him and allocate him more territory to manage.

Rand has not completely abandoned the aristocratic model of rule; Rand does not want to become the antithesis of the aristocracy.

Moreover, the local rule system of schools and the aristocratic rule system did not actually have much conflict.

Furthermore, with the nobles who have now joined the Moon Phase Kingdom agreeing to accept the Church's control, Rand's rule is actually quite strong.

"In recognition of your loyalty and military achievements, I have decided to grant you another viscountry surrounding your territory." Rand marked a piece of land on the map.

Only then did Viscount Red Rose raise his head, looking at the king who appeared even younger than himself, and nodded to accept the sash representing the land.

If it is a newly promoted nobleman, then a more grand "sword-granting ceremony" will be held, but in this case, it does not need to be too complicated and grand.

"Alright, continue to be my sharpest weapon. I won't be stingy with rewards." Rand waved his hand, indicating that Viscount Red Rose could leave.

His merits and loyalty are not yet enough to earn him the title of earl, but perhaps there will be an opportunity in the future.
Rand didn't pay much attention to this; as king, his only task at the moment was to ensure fairness.

Because no land was arbitrarily granted when the nation was established, Rand still has a lot of land in its hands, so there is no need to worry about a situation where there are too many monks and not enough porridge.

After Viscount Red Rose left, King Rand, who still possessed a certain dignity, immediately reverted to his true nature.

He sidled up to Olena and complained, "Being king is so tiring."

“You’ve already dumped a lot of work on us, so stop complaining.” Olena poked Rand’s forehead.

Rand, on the other hand, was thinking about when he would have the opportunity to be a hands-off manager.

To outsiders, what appears to be diligent and hardworking is actually just working a high-intensity job every day.

Although you're working for yourself, it doesn't change the fact that working is essentially like being in prison.

Now, a year later, Rand has found another opportunity to travel.

Nidhogg has now gained some foothold in the Elven Forest, although it is still a very weak force there.

But they had already become a legitimate force, rather than just a few rebels.

At least in the elven forest today, everyone from nobles and royalty to ordinary elven villagers has heard of Nidhogg, the rebel force.

They also had some understanding of the ideology and demands of this rebel force.

However, the new queen supported by this rebel force, Lady Vanilla, has not yet made her appearance in the Elf Forest. Now is the time for Vanilla to make her presence known in the Elf Forest.

Meanwhile, Rand, the behind-the-scenes funder, also planned to conduct an on-site investigation of the Elf Forest.

After all, the secrets of the Elf Forest still greatly intrigued Rand.

According to Lysa, the Elf God must also be quite special.

Then maybe we can find the altar of the Elf God and try to take advantage of him.

Even if that didn't work, Rand was very interested in ancient history.

There may really be some problems in the South now, and RAND wants to find solutions by looking at some historical context.

"Let's go see Vanilla first."

Rand took Olena to Vanilla's place.

Vanilla has always lived in the residential area of ​​the resort.

Since becoming a full-time employee, Vanilla has moved into a more refined stone house.

Rand quickly found Vanilla's house by the house number.

After knocking, Vanilla quickly came out to open the door.

Vanilla was a little shy when she saw Rand and Olena. She said somewhat awkwardly, "I haven't finished tidying up yet, the house is a bit messy. Would you mind if I came in and sat down?"

Rand and Olena certainly didn't mind.

The two entered Vanilla's house.

It's the standard decor for a single-person apartment.

The room was decorated in a way that suited Vanilla's tastes, with several partitioned areas: a resting area, a small dining table and pot, a bathtub, some towels and clothes drying in the sun, and a small bathroom.

Overall, though small, it has all the essentials and still has a very warm and cozy home atmosphere.

Although the area is not large, it does not look cramped and is very distinctive, which shows that the vanilla has a good aesthetic taste.

However, it doesn't quite fit Vanilla's current role as the vice principal of a church school.

It also doesn't fit Vanilla's identity as the leader of the elven reform movement she is about to become.

It looks more like the residence of a migrant worker who has gone to a big city to work.

In a sense, vanilla is such a role in the resort.

But now Vanilla is completely part of the Sanctuary's forces, and she can afford a detached house, or even a villa.

Vanilla still hasn't paid to redeem herself, and theoretically, Vanilla's savings are already quite considerable.

Rand looked around Vanilla's house: "Where did you spend all your money?"

Vanilla looked shocked: "Will my money be confiscated when I return to the Elf Forest?"

“Of course not, I was just asking, after all, you can definitely afford a big house.” Rand reassured the shocked Vanilla with a helpless expression.

Vanilla breathed a sigh of relief. It turned out that she had a question about the place to live: "I have friends all around me, and Wind Chime lives nearby. If I buy a house and move to another place, it would be too lonely."

"Besides, I don't have the ability to manage a very large house, and I'm quite busy with work." Vanilla wanted to give Rand a resentful look, but she was afraid that Rand would cut her vacation time, so she could only stare at the ground.

Vanilla's busy schedule was naturally due to Rand's arrangements. "I've saved most of it in the port bank, and some has been used to help some poor people. My daily expenses are mostly spent on travel and food," Vanilla explained after a moment's thought.

Although vanilla doesn't seem to need to report her financial situation in such detail.

I can only say that I've gotten used to it.

"Alright, alright, I won't ask anymore, no need to continue reporting." Rand rubbed his forehead.

After Vanilla finished her report, she still looked at Rand with some trepidation: "Will my seniority, benefits, and... annual leave still be there after I go to the Elf Forest?"

Rand sighed and continued, "Don't worry, you'll have everything. This will be considered a business trip, and your benefits and seniority will be calculated normally, including your annual leave. However, the situation in the Elf Forest is quite serious, so sometimes you can't take leave and need to stay at your post. Is that alright?"

Vanilla nodded repeatedly to indicate that none of these were problems.

After Vanilla unpacked a few more boxes in the room, she looked somewhat awkwardly at Rand who was waiting for her: "I'm all packed, and we can head to the Elf Forest anytime."

Rand looked at Vanilla, who seemed a little uneasy and reserved.

He said sternly, "I need to ask you again: are you truly willing and eager to go to the Elf Forest to try and seize the Elf throne?"

Vanilla took a deep breath and said loudly, "Yes, I'm doing this voluntarily! I want to save those people! I want to change those things."

Rand felt that he was no longer suited to communicating with vanilla.

He felt he needed to reflect on whether he had been too harsh on Vanilla in the past, feeling that Vanilla was like a soldier in front of him.

"Am I being too harsh on you? Don't be so tense, just relax. If there's anything I've done wrong, I'll reflect on it," Rand said helplessly.

“No! I’m very happy working here. I believe your principles are the truth I believe in!” Vanilla answered loudly, still standing, her eyes very serious. “I’m very fortunate to be able to work under you!”

This made Rand a little embarrassed.

"Alright, let's go." Rand and Olena helped carry two of Vanilla's boxes, and Vanilla carried one for herself, which solved the luggage problem.

After locking her house door, Vanilla quickly caught up with Rand and Olenna.

Unlike other renters, Vanilla's house was bought outright by Vanilla, so she doesn't have to worry about rent if she leaves for an extended period.

Vanilla followed behind Rand and Olena, muttering, "Your Majesty, I can move the boxes by myself. It's really inappropriate for you to help me."

“A king’s dignity is not demonstrated by these things, at least the Moon Phase Kingdom does not need me to maintain such decorum at the moment.”

Maintaining proper etiquette is a form of respect.

Doing this in a formal setting would be a grave mistake and a major diplomatic error.

But in this private setting, it doesn't really matter. Maintaining a kingly demeanor might enhance one's authority, but Rand doesn't need to.

Even today, Rand still frequently goes to the fields to study agricultural production.

At this stage, increasing agricultural output is already very difficult, but agriculture is a matter of quantitative and qualitative change; without hard work and accumulation, there will be no results.

Along the way, Rand encountered Ms. Wind Chime, a famous star and director.

The high-ranking officials of the Holy Land, the regent Lysa, and some other elves and humans familiar with the elven forest.

"Our goal this time is to gain a better understanding of the Elf Forest and help Vanilla resolve some of the initial issues," Rand instructed.

This trip to the Elf Forest won't last long, and there are still many high-ranking officials in the Holy Domain who need to resolve national affairs.

Therefore, only Lysa and Olena were among the high-ranking members of the Holy Domain who went to the Elf Forest this time.

Elsa and Mrs. Ellie remained in the capital to handle national affairs.

"Let's go," Rand ordered.

The convoy then moved on.

Then they encountered slave traders.

They weren't the kind of slave trading groups disguised by holy forces to complete missions, but real slave traders, specifically elven slave traders.

It's hard to imagine elves selling elven slaves to humans.

These elves not only bought human slaves, but also captured some human slaves and sold some elven slaves.

These elves are likely members or subordinates of the third faction, the Restoration Faction, currently in the Elf Forest.

The people of Rand surrounded the elves.

In fact, selling elven slaves is beneficial to Land. Land desperately needs some elven population, and now that it has conquered the Kingdom of Bolun, Land is no longer too short of population in a macro sense.

This "not lacking" does not mean that there is no shortage of people, but rather that RAND is unable to govern a larger population, meaning that it lacks control.

The lack of elven population is because Rand now has plans for the elves; acquiring more elves would allow him to obtain more intelligence, and if he could persuade them to fight for the reformists, they could play a greater role.

However, in this situation, Rand would certainly not let these revivalist elves go.

The revivalist elf stared intently at Vanilla and the white-haired elf Lysa, then glanced at the other elves in the group, and... Rand.

"So you're the parasites who suddenly appeared... claiming to be reformers?" the leader of the Restorationist elves asked.

Rand shook his head: "Shut up, you have no right to ask."

The leader of the Restorationist elves wanted to continue speaking, but found that he could no longer even open his lips.

This seems to be Lysa's strange power; a similar power was also manifested when she interrogated the elven assassin.

In fact, Rand never knew the true nature of Lysa's power; it was probably not simply some archery skills or plant control.

The Revival elves, their veins bulging, picked up their weapons, ready to subdue Rand, who was at the forefront.

Three sword dancers, two rangers, three warriors, and one elven mage.

A very good combat team configuration.

It can handle most small-scale battles, but it is absolutely no match for Rand's team.

They might not even be able to defeat Rand alone, not to mention that Rand actually has a numerical advantage.

Olena, standing next to Rand, easily deflected the blades of the two approaching elven sword dancers, then punched each of them, knocking them completely unconscious.

As for the elven ranger's arrows, they were caught by Olena's gloved hand while she was dealing with the elven swordsman.

As for the rest, Ryza easily dealt with them.

The accompanying guards, Xiangcao, Fengling, and others didn't even have a chance to make a move.

"Alright, now answer my questions. Remember, you only have the right to answer." Rand was now quite arrogant.

(End of this chapter)