Chapter 16: Pre-Election Interview

"Your Highness!"

"Long live Your Highness!"

Amidst the cheers, Arthur calmly stepped out of the carriage, escorted by several guards, and entered the State Assembly building.

Inside the building, Arthur saw Governor Evan commanding his subordinates to tally the candidates' status.

As the state with the largest population in Australia, New South Wales also had the most fiercely contested elections.

Although it had the most seats in the Lower House of Australia's six states, the difficulty of the election was beyond compare. It was more difficult than finding a needle in a haystack.

As the current governor of New South Wales and a member of the interim cabinet, several governors were granted permission by Arthur to enter the Lower House directly.

Of course, this was only for this election. If the six governors fail to win in the upcoming gubernatorial elections or lose in the next Lower House elections, they will have to temporarily say goodbye to the Australian political scene.

"Your Highness!" Governor Evan, who had a keen eye, spotted Arthur's arrival and stopped his work to greet him.

"Your Highness!"

Everyone in the State Assembly greeted Arthur.

"Well, Governor Evan, how is the election going? Is everything proceeding smoothly?" Arthur nodded, looking at the stack of data next to Governor Evan.

"Of course, Your Highness. So far, everything is going smoothly. We haven't found any signs of cheating, which is good news worth celebrating." Governor Evan smiled.

Since the last meeting where Arthur confirmed his royal status, Governor Evan had already accepted his fate.

Rather than fighting with Arthur for power, it was better to use his abilities to gain Arthur's position. At least he could become a high-ranking official in Australia.

"Is that so? How many new candidates have registered today?" Arthur asked while walking towards the registration area for candidates.

"The number of candidates who registered today has significantly decreased compared to the first six days. Perhaps they realized that they have lost their advantage by waiting until the last day to register. So, these are the only candidates we have today," Governor Evan said, pointing to the people who were lining up.

Arthur looked around and saw that there were many people in the crowd, but not many of them were actually registering as candidates. It seemed like there were fewer than fifty.

Compared to the previous days of the election, the turnout had significantly decreased, as it was already the last day of the election. Even if someone registered today, they would not be able to gather many votes.

Arthur approached a man who looked very enthusiastic and asked, "Sir, what is your name?"

"K-Konlet, Your Highness," the fervent man said, visibly excited that Arthur was approaching him and even talking to him. He became a bit tongue-tied.

"Konlet, is it? Don't be nervous, this is just a normal conversation. Are you here to register as a candidate?" Arthur asked with a smile, not minding Konlet's nervousness.

"Yes, Your Highness. If it wasn't for the fact that Sydney is too far away from where we live, I would have come here earlier," Konlet replied, speaking more fluently after calming down a bit. However, he still couldn't look directly at Arthur and could only stare at his own feet.

"Good luck, sir," Arthur encouraged him, patting Konlet's shoulder before turning his attention to the other people.

"Are you all here to register as candidates?" Arthur asked the onlookers and noticed two middle-aged men who looked exceptional compared to the others.

The other people, facing Arthur's gaze, showed not only excitement and enthusiasm, but also nervousness and unease.

This was a normal reaction for ordinary citizens, after all, they were facing the supreme ruler of the country, Arthur.

Although these two individuals were a bit nervous, compared to the people around them, they were much more composed.

As Arthur confirmed that he was speaking to them, the two immediately answered, "Yes, Your Highness."

"Can you give a brief introduction of yourselves?" Arthur asked with a smile.

"Of course, Your Highness," Henrys was about to continue when Martin jumped in and said, "My name is Martin, and I am an official of the Sydney Municipal Government."

Seeing his friend take the lead, Henrys didn't mind waiting and then continued, "Your Highness, my name is Henrys, and I am also an official of the Sydney Municipal Government."

"Uh-huh. Can you tell me about your goals for running for office? Or what would you do if you became a member of parliament?" Henrys' calm demeanor and composure piqued Arthur's interest, so he asked a few more questions.

"Of course, it is to develop the country and strive to improve the standard of living of all Australians," Martin replied.

Although most Australians are descendants of Western immigrants, the country's standard of living is far behind that of developed countries such as the UK, Germany, France, and the US.

Therefore, when Arthur asked the question, Martin's first thought was to raise the economic income and standard of living of all Australians.

"Well said. And you?" Arthur turned his gaze to Henrys and continued to inquire.

Of the two, Arthur was most interested in Henrys and was eagerly anticipating his response to this question.

"Your Highness, in the decades since I became a municipal official, I have seen too many cases of people dying because they couldn't afford medical care and too many families going bankrupt trying to save loved ones. I know that solving this problem thoroughly is not something that can be accomplished in a short period, but I am willing to work for it," Henrys looked at Arthur's expression and found that he was very interested in what he was saying. "Of course, I know that all of this depends on the development of our country. All Australians should not be obsessed with short-term benefits. We should prioritize developing our country and becoming a prosperous and developed nation. Only then can the government have enough funds to help the poor and improve everyone's standard of living. When people trust the government, and the government protects the people, Australia can become a strong country, and Australians can improve their lives."

Clap! Clap!

Arthur was the first to applaud, laughing and saying to Henrys, "Well said, Henrys. As long as the people have full trust in the country, work together to develop our motherland. When our country is prosperous and has enough economic power, we can then give back to our people. The people and the country complement each other, and the goal is for the country to prosper and the people to become wealthy!"