Having traversed countless realms, can you possibly be as clever as me?

"Ouch, that hurts! Stop talking!!!"

Subaru, feeling a pang of soul-wrenching pain from Tsugumi's vivid and lifelike descriptions, cried out.

The pain that Tsurugi brought him during this period far exceeded the sum of all the other people's pain combined.

He has experienced the pain of almost every kind of death, or at least pain equivalent to this level.

Most people would have had a mental breakdown by now. In fact, he had broken down many times, but he always recovered.

To be honest, he didn't resent Tsurugi because of this. Even though Tsurugi had caused him so much pain, he had also given him a way to become visibly stronger.

Although he had to endure so much pain, his physical body had only reached the level of a relatively strong knight in the other world. After all, the pain he experienced was in his soul rather than his body, but the accumulation of pain was by no means a waste of effort.

At least when experiencing the same pain, or other terrible situations that torment him, he won't break down so easily. Instead, he'll be able to endure more pain in exchange for a chance and hope to turn things around.

So, despite being tormented to the point of near death, Natsuki Subaru felt only gratitude towards Tsugumi!

Look, we tortured him to the point of near death, and that's how we got iAngTV working. He even thanked us!

Natsuki Subaru didn't ask himself how much he had satisfied the invisible crown of arrogance at that moment, because deep down he didn't really consider himself an arrogant person.

Being arrogant without realizing it is itself a manifestation of arrogance.

However, no matter what the answer was, it wouldn't make him too happy, so he decided to just forget about it.

Having escaped the painful illusion and returned to reality, Natsuki Subaru saw a 'carriage' parked in front of the mansion—no, should it be called a lizard carriage? Or a dragon carriage?

Seated in the car was an elderly man who perfectly embodied the image of an 'old gentleman' in every way. He meticulously smoothed his dyed white hair back and straightened the sleeves of his finely tailored black tuxedo. It was clear that despite his advanced age, he was still physically fit. He exuded an aura that made people unconsciously straighten their backs.

"The messenger's message has already reached the manor. He is currently meeting with the Border Earl of Messus." The old man was speaking with Emilia.

"Just as Lady Emilia thought, it is related to the selection of the king."

The word gave Subaru Natsuki a jolt of excitement, but Tsugumi remained uninterested.

He was only interested in plots where he could thoroughly humiliate and torment this saintly guy; in short—

Let's fast forward and ignore these third-rate political dramas and character introductions; let's just press the fast forward button.

907>>>>

The King Selection arc, fast forward!

The disordered chapters are urgent!

908

627. [Re:0] Politics in Japanese Novels = Elementary School Students Electing Class Monitors

Months before Subaru Natsuki was summoned to another world, an unknown plague broke out in the Kingdom of Lukenica, causing the death of all members of the royal family. This catastrophic event created a severe predicament:

Lukenica is a 'pro-dragon kingdom' that signed a contract with the dragon Polkenica. The core of this contract is the royal bloodline, which has now been severed in public. This has resulted in the country lacking basic legitimate power to rule.

Within the kingdom, the largest religious organization, the Divine Dragon Church, essentially monopolizes the nation's faith. In other words, without the royal family, the foundation of its rule has crumbled.

The resulting power vacuum left the country in a precarious situation, on the verge of collapse and disintegration. Considering the watchful eyes of the neighboring empire, if the problem could not be resolved quickly, annexation would only be a matter of time.

Therefore, this semi-religious nation decided to follow the guidance of the Dragon Stone and convene a so-called King Selection Conference to select a new ruler for the kingdom from among others.

However, the resulting Royal Selection, while logical in principle, is quite ridiculous.

First of all, the election of the king is not a no-holds-barred election, but a new king must be selected with the support of the five noble families—but most of the five candidates have absolutely no connection with the royal family or the nobility.

Secondly, as long as enough support is gathered, the selection process is essentially barrier-free—this can be seen from the fact that Emilia was able to participate.

"What do you mean Emilia-chan can run for election? You're seriously underestimating her!"

Inside the inn in the royal city, Natsuki Subaru was somewhat dissatisfied with his prison cell, engaging in a heated debate.

Then Tsurugi's words silenced him.

"You know the story of the Witch of Jealousy in this world, right? Let me give you an example to show you how outrageous it is to let this silver-haired half-elf participate in the selection."

"It's like a guy in the 21st century who looks exactly like a shampoo boy, claims to be a shampoo boy, and walks down the streets of Berlin with someone who comes from the same background as the shampoo boy, publicly declaring that he's going to run for the 21st-century German Chancellor."

Do you find this funny? Or inspiring?

Natsuki Subaru opened his mouth slightly; Tsugumi's words left him with no way to refute them.

"In the end, this little girl was never prepared to be a queen. She was just pushed into this election by that clown. How can someone like that run for the ruler of a country? Isn't that a joke?"

Tsugumi laughed at all of this, then suddenly changed the subject.

"There is only one way for her to become the so-called queen: to eliminate all other candidates. Otherwise, she will never become the so-called queen."

"Hey, you're at it again..." Natsuki Subaru lamented. Tsugumi truly lived up to her reputation as a devil, tempting him to commit massacres almost every moment.

"Then why don't you guess what that half-elf girl is going through right now?" Tsurugi teased.

"Come on, I'll show you."

Although Emilia and the others came to the royal capital, they didn't take Subaru Natsuki to the ceremony, and he wasn't in a hurry to go either. This thwarted Roswaal's plan to secretly order Rem to let Subaru through.

Tsugumi could tell that this clown was provoking Subaru Natsuki to do something impulsive almost all the time, even turning a blind eye to Emilia being besieged, and even fanning the flames.

But didn't this guy even consider the slightest possibility that he might have messed things up?

After all, if Subaru Natsuki hadn't shown up, that half-elf would most likely have collapsed and withdrawn from the election on the spot.

This is the outcome we see now.

Tsugumi, with a mocking tone, explained to Natsuki Subaru while livestreaming.

There are currently five candidates, the most upright and righteous of whom is the green-haired, cross-dressing beauty Crusch Karsten, who is also the master served by Wilhelm, the sword demon who came to greet Emilia at the mansion. It can be said that both the civil service group 'Sages' and the noble groups of this country are very fond of her.

She was the head of the Karlsten family, with blood ties to the royal family, making her arguably the most perfect candidate, but—

The only problem is that she publicly declared that the Dragon Pact should be abolished and an independent and powerful kingdom should be established. In other words, she wanted to expose the foundation of this semi-religious country, which is equivalent to promoting atheism in a country where there is a true god.

Besides her, the second candidate, Priscilla Baliel, with her blonde hair and mature beauty in a black and red dress, is also a good choice. Her knight, Aldebaran, is an 'otherworldly being' like Subaru Natsuki.

But this woman was actually a princess from the neighboring Holy Kingdom of Phlavia. She came to this kingdom after losing the competition for the throne, and participated in the election by taking the name of her deceased husband's family. In a sense, she was a replica of Catherine II.

908 >>

Theoretically, she was the most qualified to be elected. Although it sounds absurd to let the royal family of a neighboring country be the king of one's own country, it was commonplace in ancient Europe and could be ignored. The only problem was that she was not powerful enough and had a reputation as a Black Widow who married eight husbands at the age of nineteen.

"Wait a minute, did you just casually let slip some incredible information? There's also a time traveler..."

"Shut up and let me finish."

The purple-haired girl is named Anastasia Hessin. She is a merchant from Kararaki, who rose from humble beginnings in the slums to her current status. She is wealthy and has a mercenary band that obeys her orders. The knight under her command is the purple-haired Julius.

With money, power, and troops, Dongjiang sees him as the most normal candidate in this election—whoever has the strongest army wins!

But the problem is that if a merchant is appointed as king, and a notorious one at that, who can guarantee that she won't sell out the country as soon as she takes the throne?

However, these three can only be said to have their own problems, while the remaining two are truly outrageous.

The council of sages and nobles responsible for the selection clearly didn't want these two to participate in the ceremony. After all, one was a thief from the slums, and even if the Dragon Balls acknowledged his royal blood, that was one thing. As for the other...

Following the speech by Mycroft, the leader of the Sages, Emilia was quickly seated as the first to speak.

Book Club Forum – Your private mobile library, accessible anytime.

Emilia, who was nervously walking up to the platform, was extremely nervous, but Roswaal, who was standing next to her, also had ill intentions.

"Nice to meet you, esteemed members of the Sages' Council. My name is Emilia."

"Let me also introduce myself—I am—the Border Count Roswaal L. Mezas, who was recommended by Lady Emilia—that is all."

"To be personally recommended by the court's foremost archmage, Lady Emilia must possess something special. Lord Roswaal, please explain this to the public, especially regarding Lady Emilia's background and origins."

He spoke kindly, but his words clearly carried ill intent, and Roswaal seemed to say something on purpose at that moment.

"Well, it's self-evident from her appearance—Lady Emilia is undoubtedly a beautiful woman who inherited the bloodline of fairies."

These words were like a bomb going off instantly. Everyone—from the Sage's Guild to the Knights led by Commander Max, and even the noble representative, Li Keert—spotted fierce glares at Emilia, as if they wanted to tear her to pieces.

Silver-haired half-elves are a symbol of disaster, an ominous sign, and how could such a person be chosen as a candidate for king? Thus, voices from all directions poured in.

Whether they were civil officials, military officials, or nobles, they all looked at Emilia with disdain and rejection, even shouting for her to get out of the hall, feeling that it was already a blessing that she hadn't been killed on the spot.

Emilia stood rooted to the spot, her hands clenched tightly, her face pale. The words from Li Keert were a fatal blow.

"What are you thinking, bringing this half-elf—an ominous silver-haired half-demon—to this sacred and solemn hall?"

"I can't imagine how our people will view us, or this country, if such a person were to sit on the throne of our land of slumbering witches?"

The harsh verbal attacks and insults were to be expected, given that Emilia had the exact same face as the Witch of Envy. As Tsugumi said, no one in this country with any sense would allow someone like that to run for office.

"What are that bald guy and those Mediterraneans saying?" Natsuki Subaru, who knew absolutely nothing about politics, yelled, waving his arms and roaring.

"If nothing unexpected happens, your Emilia-chan will have to withdraw from the election here."

Tsugumi looked at Emilia, whose face was growing paler, and said with a playful and mocking tone.

"Do you know why? Actually, all that stuff about identity is bullshit. Look at why they don't attack Felt? It's because Reinhard is standing next to her."

"No matter when or where in the world, elections are all bullshit. There's only one universal truth."

"Lord, please help Emilia!" Ang said earnestly.

"Hmm...are you sure?" Tsurugi stroked her chin, teasingly.

"Are you sure you want me to get involved in this to achieve her dream? Let me make it clear beforehand, I'm capable of making a complete mess of things."

"...It's alright. If things get too serious, I'll just return to the origin through death." Natsuki Subaru hesitated for a moment, then patted his chest and said.

"Have you been getting a little cocky lately?" Tsugumi asked, looking at the confident Natsuki Subaru with a playful expression.

908>>>>

"And—the most recent save file I made for you was when we left the manor, so be prepared."

"So reliable, so trusty!!!" Natsuki Subaru cheered, raising his hand in great joy.

Even the location of the save point is where he can be kind. Who else could be Subaru Natsuki's best partner but him!

So let's set off.

bump!!!