The Water Magician

Two days later.

The fleet entered the Port of Von.

Since the port in this city is quite large, there was plenty of space even with twenty-one ships.

"This city is part of the Western Nations Federation, right?"

"Yeah, that's right."

"The head of state of the federation is missing, huh…"

"According to the report I received at the Royal Lodge, he's still missing."

Abel replied as he recalled.

"That means there's a chance he might already be dead, right?"

"That's a possibility in reality."

"Are there any regulations regarding this? Like, in the kingdom, if the king goes missing… how long does it take for him to be declared dead?"

"One year."

"So if Abel goes missing for a year, he won't be king anymore?"

"That's an incredibly unpleasant way to put it, but yeah, that's correct."

Ryo nodded while crossing his arms, and Abel grimaced as he answered.

"In that case, the next in line for the throne would be…"

"Noah, the first in the line of succession."

"But Noah is still young, so…"

"Rhea would act as regent in his place…"

"But?"

"The regulations about that aren't actually defined."

"Huh? They're not defined? Why not?"

Ryo was surprised.

He had the impression that while the kingdom concentrated a lot of power in the king, its legal framework was robust.

So he thought there would be clear guidelines regarding a regent when the king was a minor.

"If that person isn't around, it creates problems."

"What do you mean?"

"For example… let's say it was stipulated that 'the biological mother would act as regent.'"

"Okay."

"What if the biological mother passed away first?"

"Ah…"

The legal text would be left hanging in the air.

"For example… if it was stipulated that 'the chancellor would act as regent…'"

"There wasn't a chancellor appointed during the reign of the previous His Majesty Stafford."

"Exactly. There may be cases where there is no chancellor."

Even with that, the legal text would still be left hanging.

Even in high positions around the core of the government, there can be vacancies.

So strictly speaking, it isn't defined.

This might be one of the differences from democratic nations.

In a democracy, such matters are clearly stipulated.

"Well, that's how it is in the kingdom, but as the name suggests, the Western Nations Federation is a federation of various nations. I don't know how a head of state is chosen, but it seems like it would be tough to choose a new one."

"I somewhat understand that. Those who want power would say, 'A vacuum of power is bad! We should elect a new head of state.' But the supporters of the former head might say, 'We haven't confirmed his death! We should maintain the current state until he returns.'"

"That's right. I believe it would be really difficult to unify a federation formed by multiple nations."

"Thinking about it that way, the Handalu Federation in the Central Nations… well, it's a union, not a federation, but the Lord Aubrey, who manages it, is amazing. Because there are kings like His Majesty Robert Pirlo within that union, right? How do they manage to unite countries with such leaders at the top?"

"Yeah, I can't imagine it."

Ryo praised, and Abel shrugged.

"In conclusion, Abel's position is too easy."

"Yeah, I don't want to hear that from Ryo. Especially from Ryo, who is always sprawled out on my sofa."

"I represent the citizens of the kingdom and monitor whether the king is doing his job seriously. If I see him slacking off in state affairs, I will lead a revolution with the citizens and overthrow Abel from the throne."

"That sounds scary."

Abel nodded.

He wasn't taking it seriously at all.

"So after you overthrow me, you'll sit on the throne, right?"

"Huh?"

"You really want to drown in paperwork, don't you? What a wonderful first duke."

"W-Well, I would place someone more suitable on the throne and support them from the shadows…"

Ryo became flustered.

"Who is this more suitable person? If they are more suitable than me, I'd willingly abdicate the throne."

"...Noah."

"Alright, abdication decided. I'm going to retire as king and spend my time leisurely, so Ryo, please support Noah. Since Noah is still young, all the paperwork will fall to you."