(Not) New Kingdom!

Six weeks had passed since Cien's return to Death Valley. During these six weeks, Cien's workload had piled up to the point where he felt overwhelmed.

Fortunately, Ethel's presence was a great help. As the Director of C-Owl, Ethel was accustomed to overseeing such a big organization, not much different from this nameless village.

The first thing Ethel did after resting and hearing about the village's situation from Cien and Mia was to establish a structured organization within the village.

With more than three thousand people now residing there, it could truly be considered a small town.

Even for Ethel and Mia, Cien's village could be called a small kingdom. Hence, an organizational structure was needed to facilitate its development.

Cien, Ethel, and Mia held several discussions over the course of a few days to create this organizational structure.

As a result, seven divisions were formed: the Finance Division, the Legal and Defense Division, the Logistics Division, the Social Division, the Administrative Division, the Agriculture and Livestock Division, and finally, the Development Division.

Each of these divisions would be overseen by a Prime Minister who would work under the orders of the King (Cien).

However, despite being referred to as the King here, Cien vehemently rejected the title. He still believed that this place was not a kingdom, perhaps a town, but not a new nation.

So, Cien requested that they continue to address him as usual: Lord Millard, not King Millard or Your Majesty Millard. Hearing Mia utter that title sent shivers down his spine.

Unfortunately, even though Cien didn't want to be addressed that way, the majority of the residents now called him "Your Majesty".

So, the new ruler of the town/kingdom was Cien Millard, and of course, Ethel Millard would act as the queen.

Although Cien himself saw Ethel more as the vice mayor, well, that was only his perspective. In the eyes of the people, Cien and Ethel were their King and Queen.

For the position of Prime Minister, Mia would take the seat.

One day after the organizational plan was formed, she returned to Huntara to resign from her position as Princess Sravati's aide and chose to stay in Death Valley.

Initially, Cien felt guilty towards Sravati for taking one of her trusted aides away. But when he heard Mia's reason for resigning from Sravati, he didn't know whether to cry or laugh.

"There are no political sharks in Death Valley, so I can work more comfortably without worrying about enemies behind my back. And the best part! I can sleep in until noon! So, sorry, Your Highness, I'm resigning."

That was the silly reason Mia gave. Surprisingly, Sravati immediately approved.

For Sravati, seeing Mia's brighter face was better than keeping her by her side with a constantly worried and wrinkled expression.

"I'm sorry, Sravati. I'll repay this favor someday. Just let me know if you need help."

"Hmm. I accept your promise, Lord Millard. Receiving assistance from Death Valley is really precious."

And so, Mia officially became a resident of Death Valley and, of course, became the Prime Minister of the new country (Cien still reluctantly refused to acknowledge it as a kingdom, but he had to give in).

For the knights brought by Mia, they bid farewell once their wounds had healed.

These knights had sworn their loyalty to Huntara, and while they enjoyed their time in Death Valley, they remained true to their knightly vows.

All the knights returned to Huntara. Their services were no longer needed as there was plenty of manpower to build the new kingdom. They left behind one fallen knight.

The fallen knight was buried in Death Valley. Feeling guilty, Cien gave Sravati a Fire Sword, an Ice Wand, and one hundred liters of dragon blood.

Cien knew that life couldn't be measured in material possessions, but his guilt compelled him to offer compensation.

Furthermore, Cien learned that the fallen knight had two children, a girl and a boy aged eleven and seven, respectively.

Their father's body couldn't be brought to Huntara as it had been gruesomely destroyed by demons, so it was buried in Death Valley without being sent to his family.

Therefore, as a form of compensation, similar to before, Cien gave the daughter a Moon Rabbit monster core and the son a Blackwood Stag monster core.

Cien asked Brook to deliver the compensation to the related family, referring to it as a gift from their late father, not from Cien himself. This way, they might be more willing to accept it.

After the knights' return, activities in Death Valley continued.

As for the seven divisions, each one was now led by several individuals. First, the Finance Division would be led by Binya, with a man named Polim, one of the Marina survivors, serving as Deputy Head of the Division.

Secondly, the Legal and Defense Division. Luis Grenhall, who had already resigned from his position as Duke in Westya, agreed to take on the role of Division Head.

The elderly man was delighted to meet Cien and enthusiastic about participating in the construction of the new kingdom in Death Valley. But, because he is still considered a big influence in Westya, Luis will take the position just for a few years, until Cien found a great replacement.

Luis felt his youthful spirit surging once again. The person who would assist Luis as Deputy Head of the Division was Reiss.

He was eager to decline the position, but Cien wouldn't allow Reiss to escape and live a relaxed life.

As Cien's first friend in Death Valley, he'd drag Reiss into hell if necessary. Reiss could only cry. And Cien hopes that Reiss can learn many things from Luis to replace the Old Man in the future.

Thirdly, the Logistics Division. Leading this division was Sienna, who happened to be Niles' daughter-in-law, the heir to Niles' company in Ashur.

Sienna was reluctant to return to the business world in Mandora. Her in-laws had sent her and her child to Death Valley, so she wanted to take on the responsibility of building her new home.

The person who would assist Sienna as her deputy was none other than Grandfather Sid.

Cien had a headache when he saw the seriousness in Grandfather Sid. The old man said he would haunt Cien if he didn't give him a job in the new kingdom's administration.

Cien, as someone who could see soul/ghost, instantly felt that this threat would be very disturbing.

With a heavy heart, he had no choice but to include Grandfather Sid in the Logistics Division. He just didn't expect Sienna to choose him as her deputy.

Fourthly, the Social Division. This division was somewhat unique because its scope of responsibility was quite broad, dealing with both internal and external kingdom matters, including education, culture, and healthcare.

For now, all these areas were combined into a term called "Social."

In the future, as the kingdom's development progressed, these fields might be divided into several new divisions.

Leading the Social Division was an unexpected choice: Lilinette Millard!

The person known for being the most frugal with words was appointed as the Head of the Social Division. Cien was at a loss for words.

This decision was made based on Ethel and Mia's considerations. Why? Cien couldn't understand. Not only was Lilinette a bit strange in the head, but she was also still a teenager!

Unfortunately, Lilinette happily accepted the position. The person who would assist Lilinette as her deputy was none other than Casey.

"Will this division... be okay?" Cien was anxious. Very anxious.

Fifthly, the Administrative Division.

There was no need for further explanation. Their task was to manage the kingdom's administration.

The person in charge was a man named Findorr. He was a former guild secretary in Marina who chose to go to Death Valley in search of a new life after becoming disillusioned with the leaders of Farnodt during the Blackwinter War.

The person who would assist Findorr as his deputy was Lisbeth. She was one of Ethel's servants who had joined Death Valley.

Lisbeth was also a first-generation member of C-Owl, just like Arl and Rondo. That's why she wanted to go and reunite with Cien, as he had saved her when she was young.

Sixthly, the Agriculture and Livestock Division. The leader of this division was Balmut, with Padi as his deputy. This division was the only one that hadn't changed from the initial village structure.

Finally, the seventh was the Development Division. They would be responsible for constructing every facility in Death Valley.

The person who would oversee each construction project in the new kingdom was an elderly male immigrant introduced by Shiwa.

The old man's name was Cedric, a well-known architect in Huntara. However, for the past three years, he had chosen to live a peaceful life with his family and had stopped working.

When the Development Division was proposed, Cien felt the need for someone truly qualified to lead it.

Currently, among all the residents, including the three thousand from Marina, there was a lack of knowledge about architecture.

Even the village buildings themselves had been designed and laid out by Cien. If he had to think about the future of his kingdom, Cien felt he wasn't capable of doing so. Therefore, he needed someone who could.

Cien contacted Sravati and Shiwa, asking if there was anyone they could recommend for this position.

Less than three days later, when Cien contacted Shiwa to inquire about the progress of his request, he was surprised to learn that Shiwa had already found the person he needed.

Cedric, a fifty-eight-year-old man, would be relocating to Death Valley with his family, accepting the position offered by Cien as the head of the Development Division.

Cedric also brought along one of his students named Lotte, a woman in her late twenties, who would serve as the Deputy Head of the Development Division.

They had all arrived in Death Valley about a week ago, blending into the new environment and adapting to their new roles.

Cien gladly welcomed Cedric and his family. With their arrival, construction began in earnest.

One last important detail about this New Kingdom: its name.

Since the beginning, the village created by Cien had no name, and even now, after the organizational structure had been established, it remained nameless.

Everyone still referred to the area as Death Valley.

Cien didn't mind using the name Death Valley for the town or kingdom, but Mia and the others were reluctant to accept it. They urged Cien to give a name to his new kingdom.

'Sigh... I didn't even want to build a kingdom.' Cien thought.

Taking the opportunity, he contemplated a fitting name.

"Arcadia. Hm, let's call this place Arcadia."

And so, a new kingdom settled in the cursed land of Death Valley was born: the Kingdom of Arcadia.