After that, they saw Takeru instruct Raphtalia and the others to stay and protect the village, then head to the battlefield.
As soon as he arrived, he brought the precarious situation under control. Then, with two skill releases, he quickly repelled the wave...
"Oh, Sword Hero! Sword Hero!" Seeing Takeru's final sword strike, the citizens cheered loudly. One reason was gratitude to Takeru for repelling the wave. Another was that with such strength, there would be no problem with future waves as long as Takeru was there.
"Alright, fellow citizens, please quiet down. I need to announce the second matter: the crimes of Acting King Aultcray, First Princess Malty S. Melromarc, and the Pope of the Three Heroes Church, Biscas T. Balmus!" After calming the crowd, the minister recounted the events of the previous night, also presenting video evidence.
Also, under the interrogation enforced by the slave crests, Malty, the king, and the Pope painfully confessed to their crimes.
Hearing their words, the citizens sighed, and many clamored that these people should no longer be king and princess.
"Due to the actions of these three, we nearly lost the Shield Hero and the Sword Hero. The Kingdom of Melromarc would have been close to destruction. Fortunately, the Sword Hero and the Shield Hero were magnanimous enough to continue protecting our country."
"We also hope that the Sword Hero will inherit the kingdom and continue to shelter us. After much deliberation, Nara Takeru-sama agreed to our request. Therefore, the third matter today is to announce that the Sword Hero, Nara Takeru, will become the thirty-third king of the Kingdom of Melromarc."
Hearing this news, the previously noisy crowd outside fell silent instantly. Some citizens felt it was somewhat crazy, but others cheered wildly.
Compared to obeying an ineffectual king by bloodline, they were more willing to submit to a powerful individual...
Then, led by some with ulterior motives, Takeru directly gained the support of eighty percent of the citizens outside. This meant Takeru truly had the support of the people...
Watching the cheers, Takeru stepped forward. After nodding to everyone, he began to speak.
"Thank you all for your affection and support. I am deeply pained by the actions of the previous king. Therefore, at the request of the ministers and many officials, after much deliberation, and unable to bear watching the many citizens being led into the abyss under his leadership, I have temporarily accepted the throne."
"I promise all citizens that I will work hard to lead everyone towards a better life, to protect every citizen, to judge unjust matters, and to prevent incidents like those of the Three Heroes Church and Malty from happening again."
"Also, from today onwards, the Kingdom of Melromarc will be renamed the Dawn Empire. Dawn signifies warmth and light. This is also the direction I hope to lead the country."
"Thank you, King Nara Takeru, for your deep consideration!" Inside the palace, all the nobles and officials knelt before Takeru.
After Takeru's speech, everyone formally recognized Takeru as king.
Afterwards, Takeru directly declared this day a national holiday, a statutory holiday established by the Dawn Empire.
Hearing about such a holiday, some were curious. Takeru further announced that a celebration would be held in the royal capital tonight, open to all citizens, lasting three days.
On these three nights, there would be programs prepared by the royal capital. Talented citizens were also welcome to participate.
As long as participants passed the preliminary selection, they could perform on stage. All participants would receive rewards, either gold coins or material prizes.
Also, at night, all citizens could receive a large portion of food for free from the shops established by Takeru. Additionally, identity cards would be issued for all citizens.
These food supplies were distributed based on population. That meant families with more members would receive more, but no one could claim twice. Those who did would have their eligibility revoked.
Leaving that aside, upon hearing about the free food, the crowd cheered excitedly. After all, many commoners in this world struggled daily for their meals.
The living standard of the royal capital's citizens was slightly better, but the conditions in some outlying villages were much worse.
Hearing they could get food, and for three days, many people from struggling villages decided to return and bring others to claim it.
For Takeru, ordinary food trained in his portable space was already stockpiled in vast quantities. With different time accelerations and thousands of Catalyst Slimes, catalyzing ordinary wheat, rice, sweet potatoes, and other grains was naturally very easy.
If Takeru wanted, he could single-handedly solve the entire country's food consumption.
However, Takeru wasn't their babysitter. He would occasionally provide some benefits and aid in critical moments. If they wanted a happy life, they needed to create it with their own hands.
Besides these benefits, there were also the trials of the knight captain and other knights who had neglected their duties.
Also, Takeru announced a recruitment policy.
Hearing the recruitment requirements and the benefits of military service, many people were eager. The policy was simply too good. Even many adventurers were considering switching careers to become soldiers.
After handling these matters, along with the trials of some nobles and officials, over four hours had passed.
The citizens watched the entire process without any intention of leaving. Seeing many nobles and officials confessing their crimes under the influence of the slave crests, they felt extremely satisfied.
As for Motoyasu and Itsuki, Takeru did not physically punish them. He merely made them experience Naofumi's ordeal in an illusion, then let them go.
As for Myne and the king, aside from the Pope being beheaded on the spot, Myne and the king were taken to prison.
Finally, Takeru announced the positions of Esdeath and the others.
Esdeath became the Empire's general, and Diablo as well. Having witnessed Esdeath's strength, the citizens cheered her appointment as general. Although they hadn't seen Diablo in action, they had no objections to Takeru's arrangements.
Of course, Takeru also informed everyone that they could challenge Diablo anytime.
Anyone who could defeat Diablo could take his position. Of course, Takeru thoughtfully added that Diablo's strength was second only to his own...
Takeru also granted positions to Emilia, Akame, Kurome, Chelsea, Miki, and the others.
After finishing everything, Takeru reminded everyone not to forget to attend the celebration, then declared the assembly over.
As the projection disappeared, the citizens outside reluctantly left the royal capital's vicinity, continuously discussing the events on their way home.
There were simply too many shocking things, leaving them overwhelmed.
After the national assembly ended, Takeru had people prepare the evening's arrangements. The identity card system was also designed for modernization, making management easier, as well as facilitating the establishment of banks and other facilities...
Of course, there wouldn't be just one or two shops.
Although this world's population didn't match his previous life's, the number of people in the royal capital and surrounding villages was still considerable. There was no shortage of manpower.
Shadow clones, puppets, or golems could all handle the work. Knights could maintain order, and Takeru could check in occasionally.
As for supplies, Takeru had already prepared them. He just needed to store them.
As for identity card specifications and production, he could simply manifest special tools.
After a busy period with the group, Takeru selected an open area within the royal capital. However, the space was still somewhat small.
Takeru then expanded the royal capital's area, violently demolishing the city walls, selecting a sufficient area, using earth magic to re-level the ground, and rebuilding the walls.
With enough space, the next steps were manifesting the stage and dividing shop areas. Miki and Chelsea had specialized knowledge in these areas. Ram, Rem, Beatrice, Akame, and Kurome could help with creation.
Raphtalia, Filo, and the others also followed Takeru, watching the entire process. Seeing it all, the three exclaimed in amazement.
In a few hours of busy work, they accomplished what would have taken others months to complete.