Julius Amidonia

Julius Amidonia (ユリウス・アミドニア, Yuriusu Amidonia) later renamed as Julius Lastania (ユリウス・ラスタニア, Yuriusu Rasutania), is a recurring character of Genjitsu Shugi Yuusha no Oukoku Saikenki series. He is the exiled, unofficial ruler of Amidonia before its annex. He is the son of the late Gaius Amidonia and older brother of Roroa Amidonia. Later on, he marries into the Royal Family of Lastania and adopts their surname.

Appearance
Julius is shown with light, short hair in the manga and with brown hair in the light novel.

Personality
Julius was a vain, egotistical individual, and had dreams of grandeur and conquest. Though not as hot-headed as his father, he did share the same ideals. However, his ability to govern a country was severely lacking as he did not understand the needs of the Amidonian citizens, nor was he able to solve domestic issues, since like his father, he followed a 'military first' outlook.

His personality becomes a bit more subdued after the disastrous invasion of Elfrieden and the annexation of his country. He initially held a large grudge against Kazuya for his defeat, and against his sister for taking away his country and birthright.

However, due to leading the forces of the Kingdom of Lastania and his relationship with Tia Lastania, his attitude has changed for the better. He now supports his sister's engagement to Souma and even presses his sister into having a heir soon to continue the Amidonian bloodline.

History
During the rebellion of Georg Carmine and Castor Vargas, Gaius and Julius launch an invasion of the Elfrieden Kingdom in order to reclaim the territory Amidonia had lost a half-century ago. The goal was to take back the farm-able lands or the 'bread-basket' areas. This was crucial to Amidonia since the country was mostly mountainous and had little in terms of food production. With nothing but mining as revenue, the country was constantly suffering food shortages. However, since the people had been indoctrinated by anti-Elfrieden propaganda for three generations, it seemed that the entire population of Amidonia was fully supporting a war with the Elfrieden Kingdom.

The aim was to annex those valuable lands with no fear of reprisal from the Gran Chaos Empire. Since Elfrieden had never signed with the Mankind Declaration Treaty, and therefore would not be able to use the first clause of no border changes due to military action, both father and son felt they could take back their country's former territories with impunity. Like his father, Julius ignored the pleas of the Financial Minister Gatsby Colbert, who pointed out that such an invasion would bring ruin to Amidonia.

However, both father and son were outwitted by Weist Garreau's deception tactics, and the Amidonian Army soon found itself being forced to withdraw, once Kazuya declared war on Amidonia. By the time the Amidonian Army reached the capital city of Van, it had already suffered massive casualties and was forced to conscript peasants to rebuild their ranks. During the One Week War, Gaius Amidonia met his end in a suicidal charge, in an attempt to kill Souma. Julius had managed to escape, but could do nothing for Van as it was already fully occupied by Elfrieden's forces, and the Amidonian Army had neither the strength, numbers or resources to retake the city.

With Julius now the ruler of Amidonia, (unofficially, since a coronation ceremony was never held after his father's death), he was forced to appeal to the Gran Chaos Empire in order to invoke the first clause of the Mankind Declaration Treaty, in order to get Van back. Incidentally, his haughty attitude and hatred toward Elfrieden did not help in the negotiations, and he was later removed from the discussion and made drunk, courtesy of the maid Serina. After a lengthy negotiation between Elfrieden and the Empire, Amidonia was able to regain the capital city, but much to Julius' consternation, was forced to pay enormous war reparations for invading Elfrieden in the first place. He was further frustrated to learn that his nation's only Jewel Voice Broadcast orb would be held as collateral, and that a great deal of the nation's armory had already been sold off to improve the infrastructure of Van.

Julius' troubles did not end after the occupying forces left Van. Due to the citizens enjoying the entertainment, food supplies and overall freedoms granted during the occupation, they were very resentful of their ruler, once Julius began restricting them in an attempt to return things to the former status quo. He needlessly destroyed important bridges, just because they had been built by Elfrieden. He was also not respected by the region's nobles, who saw the new ruler as inexperienced and incompetent. It wasn't long before rebellions and riots began appearing throughout the country, many of which demanded that the whole of Amidonia be merged with Elfrieden. In an attempt to put down a major rebellion in the northwest, Julius led his army to combat the threat. However, that allowed the people to revolt in Van, declaring allegiance to Elfrieden and giving Souma a reason to occupy the city again.

With no way of fighting the rebellions, the nobles, the re-occupation of Van; and the Amidonian Army being further weakened by massive waves of desertions, Julius was forced into exile. The whole country of Amidonia was eventually annexed by Elfrieden, following the invasions of the Republic of Turgis, and the Orthodox Papal State of Lunaria. Julius and his retinue were later seen in the Kingdom of Lastania of the Union of Eastern Nations. With his position of ruler of Amidonia seen as an empty title, he is now just a refugee.

At this point in time, Julius is a volunteer in the Union, defending the border against monster attacks from the Demon Lord's Domain. He leads a small force of soldiers and is seen by the Union as a capable commander. His efforts have earned him the admiration and affection of the Lastanian's princess, Tia Lastania. He would later have a reunion with his sister Roroa, after petitioning for reinforcements.

Swordsman/Soldier
Julius is trained to lead men on the battlefield and has been shown to think things through in terms of tactics.

Weaknesses
After assuming the title of crown prince after the death of his father, Julius shows he has little to no experience in properly overseeing his nation. He shows himself to be ignorant of the wills of the people and has no economic sense. Furthermore, since he did not consolidate his foundation of rule, most if not all of the nobility did not respect him, and saw him as an unreliable and inexperienced ruler.