American: Native Empire

On a sunny day, the news of the crown princess’s death shook the empire.

She, too, could not escape the flow of time. 

She was fortunate enough to live a long life without any illness, unlike many others.

But no matter how much, her husband, the crown prince, could not accept his wife’s death easily.

“…”

His face was very dark as he attended the funeral. 

Kim Kiwoo approached him.

Then the crown prince looked at Kim Kiwoo and bowed his head.

“Thank you for coming, Dad.”

“Yeah. It’s a terrible thing that happened. Are you okay?”

“…I think I can understand a little bit of how you felt, Dad.”

“Hmm…”

At that, Kim Kiwoo let out a sigh without realizing it. 

He knew very well what the crown prince meant by that.

“I’ve never felt living so long as a curse as I do now…”

He shivered.

The crown prince’s body trembled, and tears streamed down his eyes. 

He remembered vividly how he had watched his wife grow old and die helplessly.

Kim Kiwoo hugged his son tightly without saying a word. 

His chest was soon soaked, but he didn’t care.

‘I never thought that my children’s lifespans would increase because of the treatment I received.’

Kim Kiwoo had thought that it only applied to himself.

Of course, he had some doubts. 

Even if they grew up in a good environment and had enough nutrition, his five children were all healthy and lived without any illness.

But until then, Kim Kiwoo had just thought that they were lucky. 

And this thought faded when his children reached their thirties.

If they were influenced by his genes, they would have aged slower, but his children aged normally.

But this changed when his children passed middle age and approached old age.

If he had stopped aging in his mid-twenties, his children stopped aging around middle age.

‘I still have to watch them more closely… but they are definitely affected by my genes.’

In fact, it was unknown how the anti-aging treatment affected the offspring because it hadn’t been long since it started when he came to the past.

But it didn’t matter much. 

Anyway, his children would also receive the anti-aging treatment.

But it was different for him who came to the past.

‘The important thing is that their age of aging stagnation is different from mine.’

This was a common phenomenon among all his children.

Judging from this, they would probably live longer than ordinary people, although not as much as the person who received the treatment.

In other words, it meant that his children were also experiencing the same pain as he did.

As expected.

The expressions of the other children who gathered around were also very gloomy. 

Their spouses had also reached old age by now, and they could only watch them helplessly.

“Brother. I’m sure your wife is in the arms of the great spirits. Don’t be too sad.”

“Hoo… I shouldn’t show such disgrace in front of you and Dad.”

The second child, Clear Raindrop, comforted the crown prince with his priestly words. 

The crown prince then got out of Kim Kiwoo’s arms and wiped away his tears.

And he bowed his head to Kim Kiwoo.

“I apologize for my rude words earlier. I was overcome by emotion. Please forget what I said, Dad.”

“No. Who knows your heart better than us? You can grieve as much as you want today.”

“…Thank you. But I won’t show any more disgrace.”

The crown prince kept his word. He didn’t shed a single tear until the funeral was over.

***

“Let’s eat.”

After all the funeral rites were over, Kim Kiwoo and his five children had a family meal for the first time in a long time.

They couldn’t meet often because of their respective duties, especially the crown prince who was still in charge of the governor-general of the Central Continent.

He had ruled the Central Continent for so long that he was practically the king of it.

Kim Kiwoo asked him a question on a whim.

“How is the Central Continent doing?”

Of course, he didn’t ask because he didn’t know. 

He had been receiving regular reports on the imperial situation, especially in the areas south of the mainland.

But he wanted to hear directly from the crown prince’s mouth about the situation.

The crown prince still had a somber face, but he tried to smile and answered Kim Kiwoo’s question.

“Haha. It’s developing fast with the support of the government. The imperial standard language is also spreading well. It’s all thanks to you, Dad.”

“Kid. Keep ruling like you are now.”

He was used to praise from others, so Kim Kiwoo just chuckled and moved on.

It had been a long time since the Central Continent joined the empire. 

And the Central Continent had a large population and abundant underground resources.

As a result, the Central Continent was quite developed by now. 

At least compared to the South Continent, which had a very small population relative to its size and joined the empire late.

And there was no doubt that the crown prince, who was the governor-general of the Central Continent, had contributed to its development.

‘That’s why he’s still in the governor-general position.’

In fact, from some point on, there were periodic proposals to dismiss the crown prince from his position.

The logic of those who raised such proposals was simple. 

The crown prince had too much power.

The governor-general’s office had not only the administrative power of the Central Continent, but also the military power of the stationed army, and the crown prince, who was the governor-general, held them all.

Of course, they didn’t think that the crown prince would really rebel. 

He couldn’t compete with Kim Kiwoo’s status in the empire. 

It would be hard for a rebellion to happen unless Kim Kiwoo met with an unjust accident.

But who could guarantee anything in this world? 

It was a common story in world history that a crown prince rebelled after gaining power.

‘How bitter it is to doubt even my own children.’

Kim Kiwoo trusted the crown prince. 

But he didn’t know the hearts of people even if he knew the water. 

Kim Kiwoo knew the temptation of power well, so he kept a close watch on the crown prince.

The crown prince also knew this.

‘Come to think of it, not only him but all of my children have taken over the leadership positions in various fields.’

The most successful one after the crown prince was the fourth child, Blue Earth.

He was appointed as the defense minister and was in charge of the imperial army.

He achieved his childhood dream of becoming a military minister. 

Of course, it wasn’t exactly the same since the military department changed to the defense department.

And the second child, Clear Raindrop, was one of the few high priests in the empire, and the third child, Yellow Flame, was performing the role of the imperial university president.

The youngest daughter, Brilliant Starlight, was a leading figure in the imperial art world.

The various arts she encountered on a family trip when she was young made her who she was today.

‘It must have been a big role for my children… but they must have worked hard to get to where they are now.’

The long lifespan that remained in middle age also played a big part.

***

After a short but valuable meal time, Kim Kiwoo had a private conversation with Blue Earth, who was serving as the defense minister.

He had something to discuss with him closely.

Kim Kiwoo started with some light talk.

“How is the tactical training of the army and navy going?”

“Of course, Your Majesty. As weapons change, we are constantly researching and applying new tactics. It is thanks to your help that things are going smoothly.”

“Haha. I’m glad to hear that.”

Tactics change completely when weapons change.

Until the muzzle-loading gun era, dense formation tactics were dominant, where soldiers fired in sync after intensive training.

But now, breech-loading guns were becoming common in the imperial army.

Breech-loading guns allowed soldiers to load and fire while lying down.

There were also six-shot revolvers that specialized in mobility and machine guns that poured out an enormous amount of bullets.

Fighting against such an army with dense formation tactics was equivalent to saying that they didn’t want to live.

‘We don’t have to worry about foreign countries having this kind of firepower yet… but we can’t slack off on tactical training for domestic security.’

It was necessary for Wakan Tanka Empire to maintain its current status.

Therefore, Kim Kiwoo ordered continuous research on tactics and gave advice if he was not satisfied.

He knew well the history of various countries’ armies in modern times.

As a result, infamous tactics such as barbed wire and trench warfare were quickly revealed in the imperial army.

‘If there are no problems with supply, there will be no army that can break through the imperial army.’

This was not an expectation but a certainty. With six-shot revolvers equipped gun cavalry and ironclads dominating the sea, the imperial army was invincible.

‘It’s time to draw a rough sketch.’

The time had come for Wakan Tanka Empire to modernize the world under its leadership. 

He was confident that he could win even if he fought against the whole world.

He didn’t intend to declare war against the whole world, but he was determined to show them a bitter taste if they resisted what the empire would do.

He organized his thoughts and brought up the main point.

“There is something you have to do for me.”

At Kim Kiwoo’s serious voice, Blue Earth’s face tensed up.

“Tell me what it is. I will do anything for you, Your Majesty.”

The man Kim Kiwoo trusted most in this world was none other than Blue Earth. 

He had faithfully served Kim Kiwoo by his side for a long time, always showing his loyalty beyond father-son relationship.

Blue Earth had never called Kim Kiwoo Dad since he joined the military. 

Sometimes he felt sorry for this, but it meant that he served him as an emperor, not as a father.

That’s why Kim Kiwoo decided to entrust him with something that could be his weakness.

“I’m going to create an information agency.”

“…Don’t we already have one?”

“Do you mean the inspection department?”

“Yes.”

It was reasonable for Blue Earth to question that. 

The main duty of the inspection department was to obtain information.

They dug up corruption in various departments and closely monitored the domestic situation. 

For this reason, many informants were scattered everywhere.

But Kim Kiwoo shook his head.

“The information agency I’m going to create is different from the inspection department. The new agency will never come to the surface.”

“I see.”

Blue Earth had a clue. 

He realized that the information agency Kim Kiwoo was going to create would do something shady.

And he answered without hesitation.

“What do you want me to do?”

“Many immigrants are coming to the empire and becoming imperial citizens. Your role is to select and train loyal ones among them and the mainland imperial citizens. They will spread throughout the empire and the world and operate in various places. Based on the information they gather, they will perform various missions. They will eliminate or capture those who oppose the empire’s will. They will make Wakan Tanka Empire the center of the world. For this, they will do very immoral things. You will surely feel guilty. What do you say, can you do it?”

Kim Kiwoo looked at Blue Earth with a sharp gaze. 

Of course, he would back off if he refused. 

But he didn’t think he would.

As expected.

Blue Earth’s answer was as Kim Kiwoo expected.

“For the great empire that you have built, I, Blue Earth, will do anything.”

Kim Kiwoo nodded firmly at Blue Earth’s resolute answer.

Then, the moment when a notorious agency that would cause many incidents and accidents around the world was born.