— — — — — —
"Mhm."
Kazuma gently comforted Erza for a bit, then gave her several matters to take care of. After that, he turned his attention to checking his system rewards.
[Shadow Kingdom: Wherever shadows exist, that place is your kingdom.]
[You may summon fighters from the shadows. Their strength has been greatly enhanced.]
[The Shadow Kingdom can contain all forms of life. Even the dead may enter. Once they join, they become your soldiers and fight under your banner.]
"So basically, I can not only summon shadow soldiers directly," Kazuma muttered to himself, "I can even convert the dead into shadow soldiers."
"They retain their original strength, gain the traits of shadow soldiers, and can be commanded to fight for me."
"That's pretty nice."
He nodded, then suddenly paused. "Wait a second. It says all forms of life. That means it's not limited to humans."
"Does that mean dragons count too?"
Kazuma recalled something from the original Fairy Tail world. Beneath the kingdom, there was a place piled high with dragon skeletons.
If he went there, could he turn those long-dead dragons into residents of his Shadow Kingdom?
"Not bad, but wouldn't be much help against Him."
He shook his head. Those dead dragons would be extremely useful against most enemies. At the very least, they would massively boost his combat power.
But against Acnologia, the Black Dragon, it still wouldn't be enough. Those dragons were ultimately defeated by him once before.
Even if they were revived, they might not be able to kill Acnologia. In the end, Kazuma would still have to do it himself.
After confirming his new abilities, Kazuma began collecting the souls still lingering in the world.
The progress was slow. He gathered many experts to research the nature of souls. After a long period of study, they reached a conclusion.
"When a person dies, their soul can enter one of two states," one report explained. "The first is when lingering feelings remain. Obsession, attachment, an unwillingness to leave the world. In this case, the soul stays behind."
"If a powerful mage dies while holding strong obsession, they can even use magic to form a body, creating the illusion that they never died."
"The second state is when the person dies without strong attachment. Their soul is drawn away by a special force to another world, possibly an afterlife."
"One more thing. Ordinary people don't have strong enough willpower. Their obsession fades quickly, and they are soon pulled away by that force."
Demons, dragons, and mages spent a long time researching together. In the end, they compiled their findings and reported them to Kazuma.
"I see. Time and strength of will. Got it," Kazuma said thoughtfully. "From now on, build mausoleums across the country. The dead must be buried in designated locations."
He intended to treat the people of this nation as reserve citizens of his Shadow Kingdom.
While alive, they were citizens of the Fairy Tail Kingdom.
After death, they would enter the Shadow Kingdom and become residents of the shadow world.
His order was carried out immediately. In just one month, cemeteries were constructed everywhere.
Each one was guarded by a shadow soldier personally assigned by Kazuma. After mourning rites were completed, the soul would be absorbed into the Shadow Kingdom.
Later, the deceased could be summoned back from the shadows.
Their faces remained the same. Some elderly people even returned to their younger appearances.
The only issue was their pale skin after revival. Some found it unsettling, complaining they looked too ghostly.
On the other hand, some girls thought their snow-white skin was incredibly beautiful.
Once word spread that the kingdom had mastered the power to revive the dead, the news reached everyone.
People were ecstatic. At the same time, they worked even harder for the country.
After all, if you worked hard while alive, you could be reborn as a citizen of the Shadow Kingdom after death.
Youth restored. Eternal health.
Who wouldn't be tempted?
Of course, there were always idiots who insisted on rebelling.
The result was simple. They were killed.
Kazuma couldn't even be bothered to let them enter the Shadow Kingdom. He erased them completely, body and soul.
"Your Majesty, breaking the boundary between life and death is a good thing," Erza said worriedly, "but if this continues for too long, I'm afraid something will go wrong."
She had already taken off her armor and changed into a dress, trying to adapt to her identity as a woman.
"I know," Kazuma replied calmly. "Not everyone can endure immortality. Endless time brings deeper mental strain."
"That's why I plan to assign revived people to different worlds to work. Visiting their spouses and children from time to time will be enough."
"They can't be idle all day. Too much free time leads to problems. Staying busy is the most efficient way to keep things stable."
As Erza walked over, Kazuma pulled her into his arms. He laughed after giving her a shameless squeeze.
"Mm… not now," Erza huffed softly. "Wait until tonight."
Their relationship had progressed rapidly during this time, especially as the nation continued to improve.
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