Dark Warlock in the Apocalypse

In some ways, it was a rather ridiculous matter.

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Despite having acquired the city quite some time ago, no one had bothered to give it a name.

And yet, until now, not a single person had pointed out this fact.

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But Justin had his excuses.

"The world’s scope was too narrow to bother coming up with names."

More accurately, there was no need to distinguish between cities.

After all, it was only natural for one leader to have one domain.

Rather than naming the land, simply knowing the name of the ruler in charge was enough.

The same logic applied to the land Justin ruled. There was no need to distinguish his domain from the others when all other lands were, in essence, someone else’s territory.

"Up until now, we didn’t have enough land or power to make naming territories necessary, so it wasn’t inconvenient. But that’s no longer the case."

Seemingly reading Justin’s thoughts, Zachary spoke up.

"With the discovery of other large territories through this quest, and the surrounding small lands now integrated under our control, it’s become increasingly difficult to differentiate whose land is whose."

"Well, it’s all mine, anyway," Justin replied casually.

"Yes. But now that one leader controls multiple lands, it’s necessary to establish a name for both the country and the city."

"Hmm."

It made perfect sense, leaving Justin with nothing to say. He scratched his cheek awkwardly and looked around at his officers.

"Anyone got any good ideas?"

"…"

The officers all kept their mouths shut. None of them had ever considered this before, and the importance of the matter seemed to leave them hesitant to speak.

After a brief pause, Zachary spoke again.

"I don’t have any specific suggestions, but there is one thing we should be cautious about when choosing names."

"Cautious? What do you mean?" Justin asked.

"It’s best to give the country a serious, weighty name, while the city should have a more approachable, friendly one."

"And why is that?"

"If the country’s name sounds too light, people won’t take it seriously, but if the city’s name is too heavy, people might be reluctant to come."

"I see."

Justin understood the reasoning. Names inherently carry an image, after all.

Even if someone knows nothing about a person or place, a name alone can evoke certain biases.

People would question why a name was chosen in the first place.

"So, you’re saying we should give the country a name that won’t be taken lightly by rival pioneers, but choose a city name that makes common folk want to move there?"

"Exactly. It’s important to be serious when necessary, but we can’t afford to drive people away because the name sounds uninviting."

Indeed, if the name was too grand, it might even evoke a dystopian image.

After a brief moment of thought, Justin quickly made a decision.

"Well, the city name is simple. Let’s just call it Washington."

The officers were silent for a moment in response to Justin’s suggestion.

They all looked like they didn’t know how to react.

The first to speak up was Derek, who hesitantly asked, "Washington? You mean that Washington, as in the capital of the United States?"

"Is there any other Washington?" Justin replied.

"Uh… isn’t that a bit too lazy?"

Derek’s remark made the other pioneers nod in agreement.

Sure, Washington is known as the capital, but wasn’t this just recycling an old name?

Shouldn’t there be at least a little more thought put into it?

The others seemed to share this sentiment, though their expressions said more than words could.

But Zachary’s eyes lit up at Justin’s suggestion.

"No, I actually think it’s a good idea," he said.

"What? But it’s a complete reuse."

"It works precisely because it’s familiar. People will immediately recognize it as a capital, and the name has a friendly sound. Plus, it gives off the impression of being a developed city."

According to Zachary, the name itself was enough to attract new residents, and that was exactly what they needed. As long as the name didn’t make people hesitant to move, it was a good choice.

"After all, the city’s name only needs to be something that doesn’t make people laugh. The key is that the name should not create a sense of rejection for reasons unrelated to the actual city itself," Zachary explained.

"Really?"

"Yes."

Zachary’s firm tone silenced any further objections.

It also helped that no one could come up with a better alternative.

Derek scratched the back of his head awkwardly and looked at Justin.

"Well, if that’s settled, what about the country’s name? You’re not going to name it the United States, right?"

"Of course not. That’s the one name I should avoid, given that it’s so tied to democracy."

"Oh, right. So, do you have something else in mind?"

"I do, actually."

A name that would represent the greatest strength of his territory.

A name that would, every time it was spoken, serve as a show of force to other regions.

With a sly smile, Justin revealed the name he had been thinking of.

"Black Dragon. From now on, our country will be called Black Dragon."

The final decision was to name the country Black Dragon and the city Washington.

Some found the name Black Dragon a bit old-fashioned, but once again, Zachary supported Justin’s choice.

"Just hearing the name makes it clear what’s in our territory. It will reduce the need for overt displays of power."

"Yes, it’s a bit blatant, but if we can intimidate enemies with just a name, that’s a huge advantage," added Ethan.

With that, the decision was made swiftly.

As soon as the names were finalized, Justin immediately informed the citizens of the decisions.

The reactions from the residents of "Washington" were mixed.

"Black Dragon for the country and Washington for the city?"

"I like it. Easy to understand. This really is our Washington now."

"But isn’t Black Dragon a bit… tacky?"

"It’s probably because of the dragon, Fafnir. Makes for good propaganda."

"Shh, the lord named it himself, so be careful what you say."

"I wasn’t criticizing! I was just… Never mind, I’ll stop talking."

Most found the names interesting but didn’t dwell on them too much.

Even though the world had been turned upside down, some people thought, "What does a name even matter at this point?"

There was a sense of resignation mixed in, as if they believed they would spend the rest of their lives within the walls of this name.

"A country? Is he trying to pretend he’s some kind of head of state now?"

"This is insane. People who were nothing back on Earth..."

"But... we’re not really going to live here for the rest of our lives until this place actually becomes a country, are we?"

"Living here, growing old, and dying without ever returning to Earth..."

"Shut up! Stop saying things like that! I’m already anxious enough!"

A few displayed negative reactions.

These were the ones who still clung to the hope that the world would be restored to its original state, allowing them to return to Earth.

However, they were a very small minority, and their complaints didn’t carry much weight, as they did nothing beyond grumbling.

In fact, whenever a pioneer appeared, they would quickly fall silent and become subservient.

The most dramatic reactions came from a third group.

"A country? Come on, we barely have enough people to call this a country."

"Is that really the point? What matters is that we’re growing little by little."

"Exactly. At this rate, we could actually become a country in ten years."

"Wait, if this place turns into a country, does that mean we’ll end up as commoners for the rest of our lives?"

"That’s how it’ll go. For now, there’s still opportunity, but once things stabilize..."

Some of the younger men began whispering, growing anxious about their social status.

Up until now, they had focused solely on surviving, not knowing when they might die.

But now that they could see a potential future, their anxiety grew.

The idea of living as a commoner for the next fifty years was unsettling, especially since the bigger estates grew, the more noble families they would have to bow to.

"I can’t let this happen. I need to get my hands on some weapons and head out to the hunting grounds."

"And what if you die? Isn’t it better to be alive, even if you’re crawling in the mud?"

"Then you crawl in the mud for the rest of your life if that makes you happy."

"..."

While this was still only a small group, the word "Country" had stirred a desire for upward mobility in a few individuals.

For Justin and the leadership team, this was an unexpected benefit.

Unlike the external pioneers, these individuals had a clear sense of belonging, having fought in the defense and earned their titles of nobility.

"Fine, go ahead and die then. I’ll keep crawling in the mud," one man sneered.

"Like I’d let my children live like this? Get real. Can you even have children?"

"Exactly. Get killed by a monster and your corpse will just be eaten."

Of course, most people chose to remain content, even with the clear changes.

Not everyone could make the life-risking decision to step out for the sake of their future, especially when the odds of success were slim.

And so, with just a simple public announcement, the city of ’Washington’ found itself in a quiet stir.

Back in the meeting room, the regular reports from each officer continued as usual.

Sometimes, there was nothing of significance to report, but today was one of the more important sessions.

Ethan, who gave the first report, looked at Justin with a bright smile.

"Thanks to the dimensional portal you opened, the problem with high-level hunting grounds has been completely resolved. Now, the pioneers can easily cross through the portal and hunt monsters with a lot of experience points. The feedback from the pioneers in their 20s has been overwhelmingly positive."

"Well... that’s great news."

Justin scratched his cheek, unsure of what else to say.

He had only intended for the portal to serve as a temporary outpost, but this was an unexpected benefit.

Not that he was complaining, as long as it was useful.

Ethan shrugged, as if he had more to add.

"It’s more than just great news. We’ve had two additional pioneers reach level 24."

"Really?!"

Justin jumped up in surprise.

This was truly unexpected.

Reaching level 24 meant they were on the verge of their second class advancement.

No matter how much ambition they had, he hadn’t thought they would reach that point so quickly.

"Yes, it’s true. Although the experience required to reach level 25 is enormous, so it’s uncertain when they’ll actually advance."

"That’s incredible. But while these two reached level 24..."

Justin’s gaze briefly flicked to Zachary.

Zachary, startled, turned his head away to avoid Justin’s eyes.

"Ahem, I’ve been working hard too," Zachary mumbled.

"I didn’t say anything. I definitely didn’t say how surprising it is that you still haven’t reached your second class advancement."

"You just said it..."

Zachary, feeling a bit guilty, grumbled but didn’t offer much of a rebuttal.

It was hard to blame his duties as the chief administrator, given that Emily had become so efficient at managing the states in his absence.

She was more than capable of handling things while Zachary focused on leveling up.

"Ahem! I’ve been thinking about advancing to Bishop in my second class. I didn’t notice while I was fighting goblins, but as the enemies get stronger, I realize that my current class isn’t well suited for combat."

"Yeah, I agree. But maybe you should actually advance to your second class first before talking about it."

"..."

Once again, Zachary avoided Justin’s gaze and fell silent.

It seemed he had realized that saying any more would only put him at a disadvantage.

Justin shook his head and was about to move on to the next report when it happened.

"Ding! Main Quest: ’Second Great Migration’ has begun."

"...!"

For the first time in a week, a system message appeared before Justin’s eyes.