The Martial Unity

Once enough time had passed, Princess Ru eventually returned to the Martial Sages, informing them about the compromise she had managed to arrive at.

An opt-out option, even if it was very unattractive, showed some willingness to honor people’s desire not partake in his regime, but ultimately, none of the Martial Sages were willing to go through with that option. The incentives that Rui had offered were powerful, and losing them just to maintain independence was not worth it, as far as Martial Sages were concerned.

On top of that, the second compromise, adaptively evolved penal standards, was also a significant concession and one that made his regime more bearable to martial supremacist states. It made Martial Sages relax a little. They would still be under the law enforcement of Rui’s regime, but it would not be as disruptive and intrusive.

Soon enough, a resolution was reached between the two factions, and Princess Ru officially announced the withdrawal of her bid for the throne and her membership in his administration.

The leader of the anti-Rui alliance among the princes and princesses had gone out of her way to join Rui Quarrier hand in hand, which meant that none of the other royalty had any chance of defeating him anymore.

He was officially the de facto Emperor.

Initially, the plan had been to gain stakeholder support, but he had already done that in his announcement after the funeral ceremony and later in his resolution with Princess Ru, who represented the recalcitrant forces of Panamic Civilization.

Now, he had virtually obtained a mandate from all the stakeholders of Panamic Civilization, especially the people, who loved the idea of law and order in the Martial World.

“However, Your Highness, while your support online has been intense, we have noticed an uptick in anti-Rui activity and pro-Martial activity,” Secretary Claris informed him with a serious expression. “There has been a slow, but steadily rising upsurge in heated push back emerging from the minority of people who are against your regime.”

In an office in the Royal Palace, Secretary Claris provided him with reports on the many reactions to the debacle that had unfolded in the royal ceremony. He furrowed his eyebrows as he read about reports detailing nascent online activity on the interweb in the Panama Continent.

He frowned. “Are there that many humans who hate the idea of not being oppressed by Martial Artists? I guess Martial Supremacy is still a very dominant force among people because of propaganda during the Era of Darkness, where Martial Artists were placed on a pedestal. It will probably fade with more time as human civilization understands that they have been living every day of their life in fear without even fully understanding that because of how normal it is.”

Once people lived their everyday life without fearing that they could get hurt or assaulted by Martial Artists who didn’t experience any consequences, they would never ever want to go back to a world where every Martial Artist around them was a potential life-destroyer.

“What about reactions from our stakeholders? Are you sure that we don’t need to take more effort into soliciting their aid for the throne?”

“Yes, Your Highness.” Secretary Claris nodded. “They have already publicly pledged their support for you, and those who pushed back have come around thanks to Princess Ru. I believe that it is fine to directly speak to the Cabinet of Ministers to arrange for the royal coronation ceremony and quickly ascend the throne. With each passing day that the throne is vacant, the instability in our nation and continent grows.”

“This is messy,” Rui heaved a sigh. “I’m not fond of the idea of ascending the throne this quickly when my administration is half-baked. I guess I’ll have to cannibalize the current administration.”

Alas, circumstances did not afford him the luxury of time where he could take his time with building up his faction organically. It wasn’t pleasant to be surrounded by people that he hadn’t chosen or taken the time to learn to trust himself, but it would have do, given how sensitive a state the Kandrian Empire was in.

“Very well then,” he continued with a serious tone. “Arrange a meeting with the cabinet of ministers and other high-ranking government officials. I want to slam dunk my way to the throne in one fell swoop.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Naturally, it wasn’t very long before Rui found himself walking to the conference room with all of them waiting for him. The moment Secretary Claris sent out invitations, even if they were on short notice, each and every single minister immediately accepted them without any complaints and even showed up ten minutes ahead of time.

CLACK

The door to the conference room opened as each of the seated members of government turned towards it, standing up promptly.

“Greetings to Your Highness!”

“Greetings. Take your seats.” Rui entered the room with Secretary Claris behind him. “We don’t have time for formalities.”

What surprised the standing government officials, even as they heeded his words, was his appearance.

Rui spent all his time in his Martial attire, no matter what he did. Whether it was sleeping, training, fighting, or even when he went on dates with Amare, he always wore five pairs of the same Martial attire: a white multi-layered gi with a black belt that tied it all together. The only distinction in his Martial Attire were the five chained circles signifying his Sagehood, the water drop crest of the Water Sect, and the royal crest of the Royal Kandrian Family.

For the first time in a long, long time, however, Rui wore formal royal attire and had neatly groomed himself in a manner befitting his status. So much so that they almost failed to recognize him.

His black hair was neatly combed, while his translucent face was clean-shaven, and his skin looked fresh and clean. His clothes comprised a formal button-up shirt and pants, underneath a vest, and a white cloak with the royal crest embroidered on it in gold that reflected the auburn light of the evening sun and chandeliers that illuminated the royal conference room.

His appearance, for once, matched his identity.

Rui himself looked and felt anything but comfortable. His Martial attire had become a second skin to him as far as he was concerned. Wearing anything but made him feel extremely uncomfortable, but this was one of the countless minor duties that he had accepted the moment he had decided to become Emperor.