The first thing Kevin did after becoming the King of Atlantis was to meet with the human governments on the surface to discuss the Kingdom of Atlantis.
And also, the issue of compensation for the damage Atlantis caused to the land.
Yes, you heard that right, compensation.
Some countries, led by America, after learning that Atlantis had a new king, and that the new king did not want to invade the surface and was a 'pacifist', actually wanted Atlantis to pay compensation!
When Kevin heard this news, he almost laughed out of anger.
"I told you, land dwellers are selfish, despicable creatures."
Arthur, who had stepped down from the throne and was now serving as Kevin's guard, said coldly after learning of the matter.
He had shaved his beard and put on the armor worn by guards, and at first glance, it was truly impossible to connect him with the former Arthur.
He stood beside Kevin, coldly commenting on the land dwellers.
"You can't condemn everyone with one brush; there are still rational people, it's just that… most people aren't that rational."
Although Kevin also knew that land dwellers were insatiable, he still tried to defend the land to lessen Arthur's animosity towards them.
Arthur stopped speaking, either making a silent protest or pondering Kevin's words, standing as still as a statue.
Mera, on Kevin's other side, asked in a low voice:
"They've proposed such an excessive condition, should we agree to it?"
She was no longer Queen; she remained there as a 'Royal Advisor', offering Kevin advice.
"Agree? Agree to what?!"
Kevin said irritably:
"These people are crazy. Do they really think that just because there's a new King, everything will be fine? How dare they make demands?"
"Uh… I thought you would agree…"
Seeing Kevin's reaction, Mera was very surprised.
She had always thought Kevin was on the side of humanity, and she was even prepared for Kevin to represent Atlantis and agree to humanity's terms this time.
But she never expected Kevin to so resolutely reject humanity's conditions.
Kevin explained:
"If humans could be a bit more rational and propose some not-too-excessive conditions, such as offering condolences to the affected people, or helping them rebuild their devastated cities from a humanitarian perspective…
"These are things that can be settled with money, and I would agree. After all, Atlantis did indeed instigate this matter, so helping with reconstruction is reasonable and fair.
"But look, what kind of rubbish is on this list?!"
Kevin rolled his eyes, pointing at the text on the special material paper sent down by humans:
"They want Atlantis to apologize, compensate them for their losses, and also open up the technology of the undersea world for their research.
"Do they think they won this war? How dare they propose such outrageous conditions? They're getting too big for their britches! Do they really think that with a new King, they can enjoy peace without a care in the world? Bah!"
Kevin was also a bit angry at this point.
He had expended so much effort rushing around the world to save the hundreds of millions of ordinary people who were about to suffer, not to save that group of brainless politicians!
As soon as he softened his stance a little, these politicians dared to make such thoughtless demands. They really weren't afraid of Atlantis sending them another tsunami.
Kevin's attitude was very poor, but Arthur's lips couldn't help but curl upwards upon hearing it.
Compared to a King who was close to humans, a King with a bad attitude towards humans clearly aligned more with his wishes.
However, as the King's advisor, Mera had a different opinion:
"They want to bargain; this is a common tactic in negotiations."
"I know! But who gave them the courage to bargain? You contact them right now and tell them: either accept some monetary compensation and get lost, or we go to war again! Let them choose!"
Kevin said firmly.
Helping humanity was because he didn't want too many people to die, but if it meant the people of the undersea world suffered grievances and were suppressed by humanity, wouldn't that completely put the cart before the horse?
So, the land side either accepts compensation, or they get nothing and fight Atlantis again.
They only had these two paths!
And if the two factions went to war again, Kevin wouldn't care about anything this time.
He would immediately return the throne to Arthur and go back to his own world without looking back.
Anyway, the advanced class had already been successfully changed, so he had no need to stay here.
He stayed here purely to see if he could get more skill points.
If necessary, if he found this world too troublesome, too much for him to handle, Kevin could leave at any time.
Just some skill points; he could always make them up in the Marvel World.
Kevin's attitude was very firm, so Mera could only follow Kevin's orders, turning to connect to the surface network through undersea technology to negotiate with the human government.
Kevin, meanwhile, sat on the throne rather ungracefully, displaying his lazy demeanor without reservation.
He would be leaving soon anyway, so he didn't care about his image in others' eyes.
After Mera left, the area around the throne instantly became much quieter.
After a while, seeing that there was no one around, and the nearest soldiers were dozens of meters away, Arthur quietly said to Kevin:
"I also thought you would agree to humanity's terms."
"That depends on the terms. Didn't I say? Humans were too excessive."
"Indeed, too excessive. If it were me, I wouldn't even talk to them! I'd just attack! Let those land dwellers know what the wrath of a King is!"
"I say, Arthur, you're a bit too extreme… The whole world is essentially a business. Everything can be negotiated; there's no need to achieve goals through war."
Kevin said lazily, seizing every opportunity to change Arthur's stubborn ideas.
Arthur asked in surprise:
"From your tone, are you a businessman?"
"Hmm, I guess so."
The CEO of Vought, of course, was a businessman, or more precisely, a capitalist.
And although Kevin wasn't very skilled in business tactics, he still understood some principles.
When all resources were sufficient, and the resources they could obtain did not conflict with each other, there was actually no need for them to start a war.
And didn't war cost money?
Not to mention the losses on the human side, Atlantis, which actively launched the war tsunami, also deployed many devices capable of causing tsunamis and special mages.
The energy used by those devices, the tools mages used for magic—these were all consumables!
Just this single activation had already wasted a lot of Atlantis's resources.
If this continued indefinitely, who knew how many resources would be consumed.
Even if the seabed was vast and full of minerals, they couldn't squander them like this.
Even a rich landowner's foolish son wouldn't dare to be so wasteful!
So, if possible, avoid war. Wouldn't it be better for everyone to sit down, have a good talk, and develop together?
Humans and Atlanteans had no fundamental conflict of interest. One lived in the sea, the other on land. Neither could develop the other's territory. If they properly negotiated their respective domain divisions, they could live in peace.
This wasn't like aliens who had lost their homes and absolutely had to take over Earth.
That was a fundamental conflict of interest, unavoidable.
The dispute between Atlantis and the land dwellers, however, was avoidable.
"Oh? That's right." Kevin, feeling bored on the throne, suddenly remembered something. He said rather gossipy:
"I heard Mera say that you met the Queen of Themyscira? And then fell in love with her? Is there any truth to that?"
"Huh?"
Arthur looked at Kevin with a slight surprise, then subconsciously glanced in the direction Mera had left, and then he unhesitatingly nodded and admitted:
"There is some truth to that. Diana is very beautiful, and she is also the Queen of Themyscira. If we could form a marriage alliance with her, future attacks on the land dwellers would be smoother."
"So, your liking for her is based on political considerations."
"Not entirely. I did fall in love with her."
"...What about Mera?"
"I like her too, but now, she is your woman."
Arthur stated the fact calmly.
Kevin's mouth twitched, and he waved his hands repeatedly:
"No, no, no, I don't have a preference for NTR, and I have a fiancée. I don't want another one."
"...NTR... What is that?"
"...Nothing, just a special term used by land dwellers. Ahem, in short, there's no way I'd marry Mera."
"Because you already have a fiancée? What does that matter?"
"Huh?"
Kevin, who was talking to Arthur, heard this and had question marks pop up above his head. He looked up and met Arthur's gaze, only to hear Arthur say:
"Isn't it common for a king to have multiple beautiful women by his side? Even my late father, the King, had two wives. My brother Orm was born to him and a woman from the guard."
"..."
Wait… hold on? So, the previous King of Atlantis wasn't a Queen? And… in this universe, you two are half-brothers from the same father, not the same mother… It's a bit confusing, I need to sort this out.
Kevin's mind was muddled by the information Arthur had given him.
But before he could figure out the ethical relationships involved, he saw Mera running over frantically with an instrument.
"Kevin—Your Majesty! The land dwellers are in big trouble!"
"What trouble? Take your time."
Kevin soothed Mera, helping her relax.
Mera said nothing, simply handing the device that could broadcast land signals to Kevin.
Immediately, under the holographic projection, a large black-and-white face appeared before Kevin.
"People of Earth, greetings. You may call me… General Zod."
The owner of that face introduced himself thus.
Upon hearing the name, Kevin's expression also became solemn.
Kryptonian Zod.
He had arrived.
…
The story began half a day earlier.
While countries around the world were discussing Atlantis's 'compensation', they discovered a spacecraft from outer space entering Earth's atmosphere.
Everyone was certain it was an alien spaceship.
But their reaction was not as intense as before.
Even Atlanteans had appeared from the seabed, so what if some aliens appeared from outer space?
Although it was unclear why they seemed to be connected, one leaving the stage as the other entered, for the people of this world, aliens no longer surprised them as much as before.
Until Zod's appearance.
"Zod? Who is Zod?"
In a bar in Metropolis, two young men who appeared to be twins were conversing.
They were discussing the declaration being broadcast on television, from the one who called himself 'General Zod'.
One of the young men, with a hippie haircut, quietly asked his 'brother', who looked exactly like him.
The short-haired young man stared blankly at the television, murmuring in explanation:
"He's a very bad… very bad person… Damn it, what's happening to this world?"
The short-haired young man, Barry Allen, who had crossed the timeline from the future, now found his head almost spinning.
To save his mother, Barry Allen had traveled back from the future to prevent her inevitable death.
This was supposed to be a good thing. When Barry Allen 'returned', he found his mother was indeed alive.
And his father, who should have been in prison, was also at home.
This was the future Barry had always dreamed of.
If… it weren't for the guy beside him who looked exactly like him.