The Death Mage that doesn't want a fourth time

156 The birth of the queen bee of purgatory, and the Battle-Demons in the way

Several remarkable things happened in January as Cuoco Ragdew, a former nobleman of the Amid Empire who had fled to Talosheim, welcomed the new year.

The first thing that happened was Vandalieu, the emperor, had formally granted him the position of baron. Not just Cuoco, but all of the other noblemen who had fled to Talosheim as well, had been given the position of baron to begin with... though this hadn't been made official yet.

Apparently, in the worlds that Vandalieu had lived in during his previous life and the one before that, there were systems of government that Cuoco couldn't comprehend, where no nobles existed. With that being one reason, Vandalieu felt no need to use an aristocratic system in Talosheim, a nation that didn't use an aristocratic system to begin with, and until recently, there hadn't been anyone desiring court ranks.

That was apparently why he had postponed making a decision on whether or not to adopt an aristocratic system.

But it seemed that Chezare, who was effectively a prime minister, and Kurt, who was currently Cuoco's superior, had managed to convince him.

For noblemen, their court ranks were not simply things that represented honor, authority and wealth; they were important guarantees of the social positions and well-being of their descendants. Vandalieu had apparently been told that with these guarantees, the defected noblemen's loyalty would grow stronger, and this would be a good point for persuading nobles of other nations as well.

And Vandalieu had apparently nodded, saying, "Well, there were second-generation politicians and entire families serving as elite bureaucrats, so I suppose it's fine."

There had apparently been some voices of dissention at the fact that a part of the emperor's authority would be taken by a group of newcomers, but... they soon disappeared after being convinced that nothing would happen to the ruler of this nation just from court ranks being acknowledged. Cuoco agreed with this as well.

He was someone who had given up on his children inheriting his court rank to begin with, so court ranks had little value to him, however.

The thing that was even more remarkable than this was the cake.

"Your Majesty, I believe that a steady supply of cakes with that white, fluffy, cream-like substance is truly necessary for this nation. No, I am sure of it!" Cuoco insisted, having come to the Cemetery Bee nest that was filled with the buzzing of wings.

"Cuoco, did you come all the way here just to tell me this?" Vandalieu asked.

"So, you like cake, Cuoco-kun," Pauvina said in a serious tone.

She was likely remembering the deeply-moved reactions of Cuoco's entire family as they ate the slices of cake at the party of her recently-celebrated sixth birthday.

"Yes, though that is not all. I have had an interest in this place since a long time ago," Cuoco said.

He seemed to take no notice of the fact that he was being called with the 'kun' honorific by a girl who was about nine years old if her age was converted to human years; his eyes were shining as he looked at the Cemetery Bees moving about busily and the breeding farm that had been built into the nest.

"In ordinary cities, this is very difficult to obtain. Even if one does obtain it, it is often already in the form of salted fish or candied chestnuts. If one wants to obtain it in a fresh state, they would need to make a contract with a specialized merchant or personally travel to the countryside. That is how high-quality this product is. But in Talosheim, it is sold as candied chestnuts, skewered meat and deep-fried food at carts for the commoners to enjoy at the price of a single Luna. The secret lies here!" Cuoco shouted.