“…”
Indefinite silence filled the room immediately after I uttered that question. The seriousness of my sudden question really made them think. We had not talked about it yet, so it really got them to a certain extent.
“Before we stumbled across that topic,” I said, since no one spoke. “Can you talk about what this dungeon will become? You know, like becoming a city or something?”
“Isn’t it already decided to be a city?” Big Sis asked. “If not, what are you up to then?”
“If this dungeon would become a city,” Mother pondered as she held her chin. “Then our territory would have two cities. Wouldn’t that make us more than a city state? Like an administrative region?”
In addition to the new city or town, the Viscounty of Raevender would be administrating two cities, which might promote us to a higher position and a greater level of responsibility. Now that I thought about it, why wouldn’t I use this opportunity to make our domain broader?
“Say, are two cities sufficient enough for a nation?”
“Raphael, what are you trying to imply…”
I smiled at Mother’s concerned face.
“I have been thinking about it for a while, and now that we have been there, I am going to tackle it. As all of you have guessed, I am planning on making our territory a nation—a sovereign state in which it is entirely unaffiliated with nobody. What can you say?”
Everyone silently stared at me after I confidently stated my suggestion. They seemed to be digesting my words. I told them I would make our viscounty into a nation, so they would take time to process it.
“Hmm. Establishing a nation was not actually a bad thing. If we did that, we would gain independence from the empire, and the Raevender would have its own government and freedom. Isn’t that a good idea, Mylene?”
“Well, I guess building a country wasn’t that bad. But we have to think about it thoroughly before we can make our final decision.”
Mom immediately agreed with me, but Mother seemed to have doubts about the idea. Her worries made sense for some reasons. For example, if the empire recognized our independence, it meant that we were no longer part of the Dixon Empire, which made us widely vulnerable to invasion.
Most of the nations on the continent knew that the empire was the most powerful one, in terms of military prowess and economy. So laying a finger on its domain, which includes Raevender, was like something akin to a declaration of war.
“Your concerns are understandable, Mother. We are family, and we will face every problem together if one ever comes. That is why you have to trust me, Mother.”
“…Fine, Raphael. I am rooting for you.”
Mother smiled warmly at me as she remarked that. Soon after, Mom asked a question.
“Hey, Raphael. If this dungeon would become a city, its size in terms of area would be larger than our city. That is the area inside the Inner Wall alone…”
“About that, Mom, due to the vastness of the land above, I want this dungeon to become the capital city of our nation.”
Once the nation was established, I wanted to set the dungeon city as the capital of our nation. Since it was a city with a hundred floors, it had the potential to become one of the major cities on the continent or even the whole world.
With a vast area for both agriculture and the city itself, the dungeon city could thrive even more than the Imperial Capital. But there is a major problem with the dungeon right now.
“Are you certain about that, Raphael?” Big Sis asked. “The settlement above is not a town yet, and you are already planning on making it the future capital?”
However, no matter how big a settlement was, if there was a few to no population, the opportunity for it to thrive and develop was close to zero.
Population was the most important pillar of a civilization, and the people were the ones to complete the definition of a settlement. With a small population, the collection of taxes would obviously be low. Hence, there is little to no budget for the development of the settlement.
“It is true that it currently lacks people. But we could solve it by making the announcement of our successful conquest to the public. With that method, an influx of people, merchants and adventurers, would occur here. What can you say?”
“Well, if I were to hear about a 100-floored dungeon being conquered, I would immediately pack my things and relocate there. And as a former adventurer myself, I think it would be an effective way to promote the dungeon.”
“I agreed with Mylene. Any adventurer would be interested in a newly discovered dungeon and motivated to conquer it. Also, it would help our own city to solve the problem of overpopulation in the future by the movement of a portion of the citizens to this new city.”
“If everything is on the right track,” Big Sis added. “The simple village above would eventually develop into a busy city in a few months—a metropolis.”
“Yeah, but the road must be constructed before anything.”
Oh, yeah, it seemed that my family agreed with the method. By publicizing the discovery of a 100-floored dungeon, many people would come here to venture out or do business.
With that said, a huge influx of people would come here, so the demand for temporary and permanent shelters would spike. A meeting with my uncle must take place as soon as possible, as well as the start of road pavement.
“It seems like we are done tackling that matter.” Sitting on my seat, I straightened my back and turned serious. “So can we go back to the governing thing?”
“So who would be the ruler of this future nation?” Crossing her arms, Big Sis straightforwardly asked. “Since you are the master of this dungeon, Raphael should be the ruler.”
“Don’t be hasty, Sis, but I actually don’t want to become a king or something.”
“What?” 𝐞𝗼𝘃𝐞𝐥．𝗰𝐨𝗺
“That’s really surprising, Raphael.”
“To be honest, I personally don’t want to rule something as large as a nation. I am satisfied with being the lord of our territory.”
“So who would lead the nation?” Big Sis’s question raised anew.
“To answer that, I think we should think about what kind of realm this nation would become. Hey, Sis, do you want to have a son in the future?”
“Ha?” Big Sis’s face contorted upon hearing my question. “Of course not! I’d rather have cute daughters than a man ever born in the family again.”
“Same thing as I will do, Sis. The one and only man in this family must be me. The reason why I asked you is that I want a survey for the chance of this nation to become a realm ruled by a queen.”
“Raphael, do you mean that…?”
“Yes, Mom. I want to declare this nation a queendom.”
That’s it. This might create the concept of feminism in this world, while Mom and Gabrielle would become her queen consorts.”
“Oh, Raphael… are you willing to do that for us?”
but I would make this nation a queendom, the first on this continent or probably in the world.
“A queendom, you say?”
“Yes, Sis. Meaning, I want Mother to become its queen regnant while Mom and Gabrielle would become her queen consorts.”
“Oh, Raphael… are you willing to do that for us?”
“Yes, Mother. And for you, I want to be the crown princess.”
“Huh?! Why does it have to be me?!”
“Duh. It’s a queendom, so the next in line must be a woman. You are the only girl and the eldest child, so you are the most suitable for the next queen. And I know you are a capable woman, Sis. So I know you can do it.”
After telling her that, I gave her a thumbs up to cheer her up in the slightest.
“But…!”
Before Big Sis could explain herself, I raised my hand and instantly drew out a reverse card. I was literally holding an Uno reserve card right now.
“Oh, a card?” Mom tilted her head. “What does it mean?”
And that card had a meaning to us, which was the favor my sister owed me for bestowing eternal life upon Mary. That means that I finally used up my hidden technique for making Big Sis yield.
“Ugh! Okay, you win this time, Raphael! I will be the crown princess! But you cannot do it anymore.”
“He he. I know you will eventually agree, Sis.”
Upon seeing the card, Big Sis went 180 and immediately agreed to become the next queen of the future queendom, saving me from the hustle of managing a nation. With that, the future of the dungeon had been decided.