Returning home after an expedition was always a pleasant feeling. It was something I had experienced a lot when I first drew Caliburn from the stone, and had to travel around Britain and unite the land and lords under me.
Coming back and seeing how the land had changed was a balm on the heart.
Yet, I admit Camelot had changed little in my absence.
This wasn't the age of the original Camelot, where people would slowly build houses outside the walls, and new farms would appear along the roads.
No, the outside area of Camelot had already been filled up with buildings, and no new farms appeared; the city seemed no different than when I left.
Well, the pile of work I had left behind for Sir Agravain to handle had grown noticeably larger, despite his clearly being out of the work I left behind and much of what came later.
Indeed, ruling over a nation of a million people, and sixty is very different, not to mention, I doubt there was even a million back then, and now… There are so many people, and they aren't as simple as the dirty peasants back then.
They didn't really need much, just needed to be safe, and have food, and even those two things were hard to handle. With foreign invaders and demons and monsters hiding in the forests, as well as the fact that the land itself was growing more inhospitable day by day, worsening the famine that had gripped the kingdom for decades.
Today, the fields were more fertile than ever, and that is even before I used the grail to help things along a little. The same lands that once struggled to feed a hundred people could today easily feed tens of thousands.
Modern crops were just different.
Not to mention cattle farming, and other animals, one farmer and his farm could produce massive amounts of meat, far more from a single large farm than all of Britain produced back then.
Still, despite all this… the people weren't happy, weren't fully content.
I protected them from foreign invaders, and the forests hid no demons; they had lots of food… well enough, but it was never truly enough.
The people of Albion had come a long way since then. They had entirely new needs.
Back then, roads were mostly something made by people moving over the land, their feet pressing the earth together, trampling grass and weeds until there was a path, but today? People need concrete roads, and they need to be smooth.
The people needed so many things, and I had to deliver. Sure, my partnership with Stark and Phastos solved the energy problem, allowing people to fill their homes with light and keep warm in winter, but that was only the beginning.
I understood that it felt like the old government never did anything useful, they had a lot on their plate, a lot of responsibility.
Not that it was an excuse, they had been given that responsibility, had accepted it, and so they had to fulfil it.
No matter how difficult that might be, the people demanded it, and so… I was buried in work, trying to solve complex problems.
Though I had to admit, many of those problems could just be solved with money, a surprising amount of them really.
Worn-down roads and bridges? Just repair or replace them.
Teachers or parents complaining about too many children per classroom? Just make more, hire more teachers.
Did it take too long to receive medical aid? Just build more hospitals and hire more doctors.
Many problems might seem complex, but they could simply be solved with money.
Not enough people are cleaning the streets? Pay street cleaners more, and the problem is gone.
Money really was the magical solution for all modern problems.
That and hard punishments for crimes, a few thousand death penalties had really cleaned the streets. No more pickpockets in London, no more stabbings, and yeah, people respected the law once again.
Plus, letting people fight… really helped things as well.
Maybe it was just because I was used to duals and such, but the idea that someone can act like a total idiot towards others, and not expect getting hit for it… just felt wrong.
So I made laws that allowed for drunks to start a fight, because… if you expect people who are drunk to not make a fool of themselves… You are clearly in the wrong.
So if you annoy a drunk person… one shouldn't be surprised if they decked you one, and that would be allowed.
If you shouted into someone's face… they could assault your face with their fists.
Even then… the amount of laws I still had to review was beyond measure. I had already redone the tax laws to something more reasonable. Not that it was anywhere near enough, the amount of money I got in taxes didn't cover the costs of everything.
So I still had to supplement things with gold and silver, but that was fine. I would solve those problems soon enough. For now, I just wanted my people to be happy, to live fulfilling yet simple lives.
With a sigh, I took another document from the top of the pile.
"Another one concerning Ireland," I muttered as I leaned back in my chair, my fingers idly drumming on top of the paper.
It was interesting to say the least. When I took over Albion, I had no desire to bring Ireland along, as it wasn't part of my original domain.
So out of respect for the people living there, I let them remain free of me, and offered the former democratic government to move out there and rule Northern Ireland.
And generally, the people of Ireland weren't too unhappy with that arrangement. Ireland itself was rather happy, as it pretty much meant unification with the north. Something they did want.
Now, however… things have changed.
For one, people have a better idea of what it means to be under my rule, and while some still doubt whether or not it can last, those smart enough understand that as long as I remain, so will my order.
Because they understand that power… strength is supreme.
As long as I was strong enough to take on the rest of the world, nothing could shake my order, my will. Because even if I couldn't afford what I was doing, even if giving everyone so much money while taking so little in tax couldn't be sustained.
So what?
Didn't I have the rest of the world to rely on?
While I didn't think it was needed, I couldn't see why Albion alone couldn't work while paying people reasonably. I did have that backup.
I could just tax the rest of the world, I could demand tribute.
And people knew it.
They might not like it, but they knew that if I demanded it, they would have to pay.
Ireland too saw the writing on the wall, living in Albion, was good.
I wasn't some cruel demon; my people weren't slaves. Sure, some of my laws might seem barbaric to them, but in the end, it was for the greater good.
And Ireland… they were feeling envious, in particular Northern Ireland. They felt cheated, that they lost out, that the rest of the United Kingdom benefited while they were left behind.
Beyond just jealousy, there was another reason they wanted to get under my protection, because they needed it.
Ireland was close to Albion and was the perfect staging ground for an assault against my lands, or… the perfect place to hide in my shadow.
So many had an interest in Ireland's future, and not all of them cared about what the people there wanted at all.
The paper before me was about one of those, Magneto in particular.
The king of Mutants sought a nation of his own; he had a people, but no lands.
And since a lot of his people were living within mine, he sought one that was close and friendly. He understood that no matter how strong mutants might be, few could withstand or stop nuclear weapons.
Something that would be a real threat and risk towards a new mutant nation, as none wanted to see such a thing appear in the world and further upset the world order.
So to him, placing his kingdom somewhere nuclear weapons can't be used would be important. And that could be by placing it close to me. Because he knew, and he understood, that I wouldn't allow anyone to use such weapons, to send poison with the wind into my lands.
Something that made Ireland the perfect place to settle his people. It was close to his only ally, me. It was close to where his people currently lived, and it wasn't some lifeless rock and desert. It was a modern nation, with everything his people would need.
He just needed to get rid of the current population, the only problem.
All this put me in a difficult position. What should I do?
I tapped the document with the back of my finger, the quill resting idle.
Magneto's offer was as dangerous as it was tempting. A sovereign mutant homeland, nestled under my shadow, would bring stability to his people — and chaos to everyone else. The humans would never accept it. America would lose its mind, France even more so after recent events. Russia… well, Russia always had its own opinions.
And Ireland itself… the people would not go quietly. No amount of Magneto's posturing could erase the fact that a nation already lived there. Families, histories, graves older than even my first reign.
To uproot them would be monstrous.
But then again… it couldn't be denied that Magneto needed land for his people; the mutants had suffered so much, and still did. Something had to be done to end their suffering.
Mutants were innocent; they had done nothing to earn the hate and pain they received. Those poor souls I had seen in France, the ones Mordred and the others saved from secret facilities, government, military, and private.
Everyone treated mutants as something less than human, like animals, like… worthless things.
But if not Ireland… then where?
Where could the mutants call home? What part of the Earth wasn't already someone's home?
The few remaining islands without populations were too small for the Mutants. And mutants would only grow in number, so one needed to take into account their future needs…
Though I also couldn't deny that by doing this, there would really be no path left for peaceful cooperation between human and mutant… but that was likely already too late, with Magneto's stunt at the UN meeting…
And yet the truth remained simple. Ireland's people wanted protection. Magneto's people wanted a home. The world wanted me to do nothing.
The last time someone tried to do something like this was when the UN gave land to the Jews after World War II, and look at what that caused.
With a sigh, I scribbled a note to myself on the margin: Summon Magneto. Summon the Irish delegation. No decisions without their voices present.
"If only the grail could answer my wish and do all this work… then I could enjoy myself a bit more… Yet… work is never-ending… is it?" I asked my guest.
"Do forgive my interruption, Your majesty, but I didn't know how else to approach you." Kaecilius said as he stepped out of the Mirror dimension.
"Does your master know you are here?"
"I didn't inform her, yet she still has a habit of knowing such things." He said with a small shrug.
"Very well, I'm sure this will be more entertaining than more of this," I motioned at the pile of work still needing my attention. "So tell me, what do you seek?"
(end of chapter)
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