That Time I Got Reincarnated As... (Book 1)

Ch31: Journal Entry #21

Dear Future Me,

It's been a little over a month since the last battle with the Eastern Empire but while our nations haven't signed a peace treaty, neither side has sought any additional territorial gains thus bringing the conflict to a standstill. Despite this, both nations have a large assortment of military assets near the border which has effectively kept both in check, for now. 

This period of relative peace proved useful for my Kingdom. With the assistance of Athena through the use of clones, I was able to fully establish the religion as she had suggested and the Solis Knights became the first devotees. Still, as per her suggestion, they operate outside the reach of the church.

While Athena was busy setting up the Children of the Light religion, however, I was hard at work alongside the Research Institute. It had become clear to me that the capital, while having an effective system for transporting people, lacked any real means of transporting goods. This became even more evident when we finally finished counting the refugees which had all flocked to Florence. We needed a reliable, quick system for hauling freight between provinces. This led to me suggesting we use trains. However, while the idea was simple in theory it proved hard to implement and in the end, it was Athena who had to resolve the most basic issue of how to get it moving. 

With her assistance, I created Crystals infused with the destructive power of Thanatos. This in turn allowed the crystals to have a near-endless supply of energy to rely on. With powering the machinery now out of the way, next came the design and to my surprise, the Institute provided me with many variants matching or exceeding my initial concepts. Their crown jewels were the InterCity Trains and the Solis Underground Monorail system. Both solved the issues I had wanted to fix and I quickly moved to implement them as quickly as possible. 

At present, we've finally finished work on the capital city's monorail network. However, with other things requiring my attention, I left overseeing the construction of the intercity network to my daughters. I'm sure they'll be able to handle it on their own. 

The Institute also surprised me by taking some of the crystals and using them to create a few different variants of a flying vehicle concept I had left them with. Honestly, I didn't expect them to take it seriously but in less than a week the initial prototype was brought before me. Following my approval, they quickly modified it to match the specifications I desired and produced a whopping 31,000 units which were collectively called the Astros due to their ability to fly ridiculously high. To think they were able to do this while working on the monorail system! 

With these Astros now sitting around unused, I decided to form a special military detachment for my own purposes. I named them the Sakura but the military added the word Rangers to better identify them within the larger military structure. After training them myself to the point where I was pleased with their progress, they were given the Astros as their exclusive vehicle and now operate at my beck and call. This, in turn, also finally convinced Camille to leave my side since now I'd have a 30,000 strong army of my own. Still, I didn't tell her that they weren't necessarily my guards. To be fair, who needs more guards anyways? I swear it's as though she forgets that I also have an entire Royal Guard. Not to mention, I am far from defenceless like jeez. Give me a break!

In other news, we've been receiving a constant stream of monsters, humans, elves and more. They are all seemingly congregating in Luna, Draconia and Florence though. We might have to begin regulating it soon but for now, at least, it seems fine and we are currently in the process of expanding Florence regardless. We've also established proper relations with Milim's domain thanks to Amelia's efforts. She's somehow managed to convince Milim and her subordinates to train recruits looking to join our military though I have a feeling it had something to do with providing them with food. After all, I remember Cecilia mentioning that she was surprised to see the people eating raw, uncooked food. I still feel nauseous just thinking about it. 

Speaking of Cecilia, she's taken control of Luna as I had given her permission to and have turned into a haven for vampires. The city operates almost somewhat outside of Allyria's laws and is the only city where it's effectively survival of the fittest as vampires can feed freely on anyone they are capable of subduing. Despite this, people still flock there in droves due to its infamous red-light quadrant which boasts virtually all species sexy enough to pass as pleasing to the eyes. 

The city is also home to a cult that first emerged after Athena created the Children of Light religion. They called themselves the Children of the Night and worshipped Cecilia but Athena wasn't having any of that and was about to purge them when I suggested that she simply take control. She followed my suggestion but to my surprise didn't change the cult's belief. Instead, she began promoting the idea of worshipping Cecilia as my herald. Even more shockingly, the people quickly accepted this change and began devoting themselves to both Cecilia and me. 

Despite all this and the popularity of both the cult and the actual religion, they haven't really extended beyond their founder cities. This is most likely about to change, however, as the beings Athena created to function as the head of the religion are starting to expand to cities such as Draconia and Telis. This expansion is moving slowly, however, as both are inhabited primarily by people that weren't created by me. Still, the High Priestesses are expecting this slow increase to accelerate within the coming months and they seem rather certain of this. I don't know what they have planned but as I know they won't do anything to piss me off, I can at least rest easy that it won't be anything outlandish. 

I forgot to mention, by the way. The CoTL religion, in particular, is quite straightforward. It is led by two High Priestesses. Second to them are the 12 Cardinals and beneath them are the Archbishops. The CoTN cult on the other hand operates slightly differently. Instead of two leaders, it has a single High Priestess and in the place of cardinals and archbishops, there are Matriarchs and Abbots. 

I'm not even sure why I am writing this. I doubt I'll ever actually come back and read this anyways. I suppose my grandkids can...grandkids. Hahaha. As if my daughters will ever have children. Speaking of my children, they are quite an interesting bunch. I had thought I knew Lucille's personality but I couldn't have been more wrong. Still, she's by far the most reliable of the bunch. Reign seems to have three different personalities that seemingly shift without warning. One minute she'll be the cutest thing, the next a bloodthirsty killer. Grimm isn't much better but at least she's consistent in her behaviour. They both seem to look up to Lucille which has drastically improved their relationship over the last few weeks. 

I still remember the first time we arrived back in the capital and Reign and Grimm wouldn't stop sneaking into my room at night to sleep beside me. Lucile had been fuming and I had initially thought it was due to something else but it turned out she was just jealous. I'll admit, I laughed so hard when I realised I perhaps embarrassed her so hard she lost the trait. Still, I don't think either Grimm or Reign realised what was happening at the time. I must admit though that I don't quite know how to approach Lucille. While Grimm and Reign are like little kids at times and rather simple to handle, I had always viewed Lucille as more of an adult so to find out that she was essentially a more mature teen was a bit of a shocker. In any case, I'll take them all with me to the Tempest Federation's opening festival. Hopefully, I'll be able to find the proper way by the time it's over. 

...this is why I never had kids. 

Back to the Jura Tempest Federation though. We've been delaying talks with them in favour of developing our own nation but I've finally decided that it's time. We'll make our alliance official in preparation for their opening ceremony. To that end, Amelia and I alongside a select few will be travelling there shortly. I've already informed them of our impending arrival but before that, we need to take a small detour. This war with the Eastern Empire is pointless and I think it's about time we resolved it especially since the angels seem to be content with watching for now. 

Well..that's about all I have to say, I think. If I can think of anything else I'll make sure to mention it in my next update. I have to say, this was actually pretty fun, recalling everything that has happened so far. Now, if only I had someone to share it with...ugh...who's idea was this again? 

Royal Journal
Entry #21