I Didn't Want to Become the Emperor of This World

Chapter 54

3rd Knight Order Barracks, Jereuth's office.

In the middle of a meeting, Vice-Commander Hagen looked over a document and spoke.

“The number of new recruits His Highness has ordered us to gather this time is 1,500. It is not a small number. So, before the recruitment, I did a preliminary survey to see how many citizens would volunteer for the army.”

“How is the atmosphere? Do you think many people will volunteer?”

When Jereuth asked, Hagen nodded his head.

“Yes. A minimum of 4,000, and at most, up to 6,000 people are expected to apply. No matter how good the conditions His Highness presented for recruitment are…… this is a much larger number than expected.”

―Hah.

―Hoh…….

―Hmm!

For 4,000 to 6,000 people to apply to be new recruits was, as Hagen said, a truly large number.

The knights were so surprised by the number that they gasped.

The conditions for recruiting new soldiers presented by Leonardo.

There were three main ones.

First, the soldiers will not go to war for the time being, and in the future, they will never go to a war of aggression.

Second, new recruits will receive a monthly salary of 8 silver and be provided with three meals a day. Thereafter, their pay may be increased according to their skill and ability, and soldiers with exceptional ability and conduct may later be allowed to take the knight examination.

Third, the soldiers will be deployed to the construction of large farms and construction sites to learn farming and construction skills. This will allow them to make a living by working on farms and construction sites even after being discharged from the military.

―These were the three conditions.

‘They're groundbreaking conditions. Truly.’

Hagen, thinking to himself, smiled faintly.

“It may sound disrespectful to say this, but…… honestly, I was doubtful we could recruit 1,500 new soldiers. So I wondered if we'd have to use forced conscription, but looking at the current atmosphere, it seems we'll have to filter out a large number instead.”

“His Highness also told us the selection criteria for the new recruits, so we just need to filter them accordingly.”

“To select soldiers who have families to support as much as possible. And the condition to select based on strength rather than height, you mean.”

“Yes. We filter those to be selected as new recruits based on those two conditions. It's a little different from the criteria the kingdom has used to conscript soldiers so far, but we will simply do as His Highness says.”

“I understand.”

One of the knights listening to Jereuth and Hagen's conversation asked, as if curious.

“But Commander. I understand selecting soldiers based on strength rather than height, but I don't quite understand why we have to specifically select those who have families to support.”

“It's simple. If we select soldiers who have families to support, their families can feed themselves with that soldier's salary. That's why His Highness set a considerably high salary of 8 silver for new recruits.”

“If the families can feed themselves with the soldier's salary…… ah, that makes sense. Did His Highness have that in mind when he set such a condition?”

“Of course. Every one of his decisions and actions has a profound intention. So do not be curious or have doubts.”

“Yes!”

As the knight who asked the question nodded in understanding, Hagen continued the meeting.

“Then for the next agenda item—.”

The meeting continued again.

***

Amidst the long-running meeting, Jereuth silently thought to himself.

‘Come to think of it, His Highness said he would send 'lord proxies' to each city and territory. And he asked me to recommend trustworthy knights for those positions. Hmm…… who should I send?’

The reason Jereuth was contemplating was not because the knights were lacking in ability. It was because they all had their own personalities and were quite capable.

‘Hagen's skills and character are more than enough to be a lord proxy. But Hagen has a lot to do in the royal capital, so it's better to exclude Hagen from the candidates. Ray should be sent. His loyalty to His Highness is great and his abilities are excellent.’

The Plank Kingdom had a total of ten cities and territories that needed a lord. The remaining cities and territories were small, so there was no need to appoint a lord.

So, Jereuth was thinking of recommending about fifteen knights to Leonardo. Then Leonardo could choose freely from among them.

‘Who else should I recommend as a candidate?’

Just as Jereuth was contemplating while observing the faces of the knights focused on him.

Caw— Caw—.

A single crow entered through the open window. It was unusual for a bird to come in through a window, but no knight was surprised.

Because it was Seria's familiar, a crow.

Tak―.

The crow landed on the desk and spoke. Seria's voice flowed out.

「“I'm sorry to visit so suddenly when you're busy, Jereuth.”」

“It's fine. What brings you here?”

「“I have something to tell you about the elders of the Mage Tower.”」

At the words ‘elders of the Mage Tower’, the expressions of Jereuth and the other knights hardened slightly. They all knew that the elders would leave after the Purge.

‘Did she come to tell me that the elders will be leaving soon? I knew they would leave someday, but… it's a shame.’

Jereuth couldn't help but feel sad and regretful that such great mages as the elders of the Mage Tower were about to leave the kingdom. It was only natural for Jereuth, who loved the Plank Kingdom and supported Leonardo.

“Did you come to say that the elders are leaving today?”

Jereuth said, as if he already knew.

But the words that came out of the crow's mouth were completely different from what Jereuth had thought.

「“No, the elders have decided to stay.”」

“They decided to stay?”

「“Yes. His Highness Leonardo persuaded the elders. He told them he needed their help to rebuild and rule the kingdom.”」

“His Highness persuaded the elders……? Hah!”

Jereuth let out a sigh of disbelief, in a good way.

‘To hold onto those stubborn old men who were dead set on leaving… the more I learn of His Highness's abilities, the more surprising they are.’

Jereuth had experienced several battles with the elders of the Mage Tower in the war against the demons. So he knew how formidable the skills of the Plank Kingdom's Mage Tower elders were.

They were so formidable that the armies of other kingdoms and empires would wonder, 「“Which kingdom are those great knights and fearsome mages from? The Plank Kingdom? How could such… isn't that a small kingdom we didn't even know existed?”」.

Here, the ‘great knights’ referred to Jereuth and the 3rd Knight Order he led.

The ‘fearsome mages’ referred to Seria and the elders.

Anyway.

However, the elders were as famous for their ‘stubbornness’ as they were for their skills.

There was no need to say more, as rumors had spread to other kingdoms during the war.

But Leonardo had persuaded such elders. Jereuth couldn't help but be surprised.

“For His Highness to persuade the elders… I never would have thought.”

「“I thought so too. Truly, His Highness is an amazing person. It's hard to believe he's only twelve years old.”」

“He is like a griffin who hid his claws since he was young, without anyone knowing. He cannot be judged by his age.”

「“That's right. Age is just a number. Hoho……”」

The crow on the desk— 'Seria'— spoke in a peculiar tone and then toddled back to the window.

At some point, the crow was holding a bag of star candy. It had secretly taken it from one of the knights.

Perhaps one of the knights would have to eat hardtack without star candy.

The crow spoke with the bag of hardtack in its beak.

「“Oh, and one more thing.”」

“What is it?”

「“His Highness ‘requested’ that the new recruit schedule be moved up as quickly as possible. He said that since all preparations for the kingdom's reconstruction are complete, it is time to press forward. I repeat, His Highness definitely said ‘request’.”」

“He requested that we press forward……”

For Leonardo to use the word ‘request’ meant it was an ‘order’. Leonardo always spoke politely even to his subordinates, so Jereuth knew exactly what Leonardo wanted.

“Tell His Highness that I will finish the recruitment as quickly as possible.”

「“I'll tell him that. Then, I'll be going.”」

Flap―.

The crow flew out the window with the bag of star candy in its beak.

Jereuth immediately turned to Hagen and said.

“Hagen. His Highness has ordered us to press forward with the recruitment. Therefore, finish all preparations within two days and complete the recruitment within a week. Anyone who is lazy will be dealt with by me personally under military law.”

“Yes, I understand!”

Things were about to proceed much faster than Leonardo had intended or expected.

In the midst of this, Jereuth asked the knights.

“……Who took my star candy?”

***

The Lous family.

This family, which barely survived the Crown Prince's bloody Purge, held the title of viscount before the Purge.

The Lous family was a family of mages. Not a particularly great mage family, but a mage family of a level that would occasionally have one or two members pass into the Kingdom Mage Corps.

Of course, that in itself was quite an achievement.

Such a thunderous piece of news arrived for the Lous family.

“……Wh-What?! The elders decided to stay?!”

The head of the Lous family, ‘Lous’, shot up from his desk and shouted at the vassal who brought the news.

Kwang―!

“Didn't those old geezers say they were leaving the royal castle soon?!”

“Th-They did. But just now, I heard the crow of the ‘Red-Haired Witch’ Seria going around saying things. The crow of Seria was going around saying, 「“His Highness Crown Prince Leonardo persuaded the elders, so the elders are staying”」……”

“Shit, ‘His Highness’ Crown Prince?! I told you not to use honorifics for that bastard in my house!!”

“S-Sorry—.”

“Because of that bastard, we nobles were shattered! Our family was shattered too! And you use honorifics?!”

Clang!

Lous threw a glass cup at the vassal. The vassal fortunately managed to dodge it, but the glass cup hit the wall behind and shattered.

“Shit!”

Lous, unable to contain his anger, let out a deep sigh and sat back down in his chair.

‘Damn it…… if those elder bastards stay, my plans are all ruined?!’

Lous had a rather grand plan. Since the ‘Kingdom Mage Corps’, the core of the kingdom's mage forces, had been completely eliminated by the Purge, he intended to fill that power vacuum with the mages of his own family.

‘No matter how much that fearsome Red-Haired Witch Seria stays by the Crown Prince's side, she alone can't fill the entire kingdom's mage forces. So I thought our family would soon be able to take the place of the Mage Corps, but……!’

In other words, to put it simply, Lous intended to fill the kingdom's mage forces with people from his family.

But that was just the superficial plan; the real plan was separate.

‘Fill the kingdom's mage forces with my family. Then pledge false loyalty to the Crown Prince to make him trust me. After that, when the opportunity arises, eliminate the Crown Prince and I will become king!’

That's right. Lous's real goal was to stage a rebellion and seize power for himself. By making his family seep into every corner of the royal palace.

But that plan went up in smoke with the news that the elders had decided to stay in the royal castle. The power of the Mage Tower elders was more than enough to fill the void left by the original Mage Corps.

Lous, who had seen the elders' magic during the war against the demons, knew better than anyone that he was no match for them.

‘If rumors start spreading that not only the former Mage Tower Master Seria but also the elders of the Mage Tower have sided with the Crown Prince, even the mages holed up in the Mage Tower might crawl out and pledge allegiance to the Crown Prince. That bitch Seria alone was a handful, but now the elders too…… damn it! Shit! Shit!!’

As Lous feared, if the mages from the Mage Tower pledged allegiance to the Crown Prince, it was a given that the Lous family would become a useless fifth wheel.

And that meant Lous's rebellion plan would fail before it even began. For his rebellion plan to succeed, the mages of the Lous family first had to take up key positions in the kingdom.

Lous bit his lip and continued his thoughts internally.

‘The Crown Prince also said he would be recruiting new soldiers soon. More than a thousand of them. That means the Crown Prince's power will grow stronger with time…… won't it become even more difficult to stage a rebellion?!’

A Crown Prince whose power was solidifying with each passing day.

Lous simply could not tolerate that. He couldn't live on, having everything taken away by the royal family he had treated as fools, and by Crown Prince Leonardo, whom he considered the most insignificant of that family.

Not only that, Lous did not want to let his family, which had barely survived the Purge, fizzle out and end. As the greatest mage in the history of the Lous family, Lous had the ambition to make his family prosper.

‘Who do I think I am…… Who do I think I am! I can't die living like a fool like this!’

If there had been no opportunity at all, Lous might have reluctantly accepted that the Crown Prince had taken everything and lived on.

But Lous had seen an opportunity. The opportunity for the elders to leave the kingdom and for his family to replace the kingdom's mage forces, and further, for a successful rebellion to make himself king.

But reality was in the gutter. It seemed there was nothing Lous could do but tremble.

“Damn it……!”

As Lous was muttering curses, the vassal cautiously added one more thing.

“Th-That…… My Lord. I heard another rumor, about the new recruits being gathered this time?”

“What about it now?! Don't drag it out, just say it!”

“Y-Yes! After the basic training for the new recruits is over, the 3rd Knight Order will lead the soldiers to another city for a ‘war on crime’!”

At the new information provided by the vassal, Lous's mind snapped to attention.

“Say that again. What? The 3rd Knight Order is going to another city?”

“Yes. Once the basic training of the newly recruited soldiers is finished, the 3rd Knight Order will lead the existing soldiers to another city for a ‘war on crime’. The exact schedule hasn't been released yet, but—.”

“So you're saying the 3rd Knight Order will be vacating the royal capital?!”

“Th-That's right!”

Lous saw what seemed like another opportunity for rebellion.

‘If the 3rd Knight Order vacates the royal capital, Crown Prince Leonardo will have almost no one on his side. Just the elders of the Mage Tower and a few palace guards.’

In other words, it meant that the Crown Prince's power would be temporarily very weak.

‘The nobles who survived the Purge. Their vassals are all intact. So if we raid the royal castle when the 3rd Knight Order is away from the capital…… we can definitely kill the Crown Prince. Seria and the elders of the Mage Tower could be a problem, but if we ambush them first at the same time as we attack the palace, we can deal with them without much difficulty. No matter how great a mage is, they are helpless against a surprise attack. And an ambush will be easy since they won't expect to be attacked in the royal palace.’

A rebellion plan to raid the royal castle when the 3rd Knight Order was away from the capital, kill the Crown Prince, and seize power.

It was a much more radical method than the rebellion plan Lous had originally considered.

But Lous was convinced that if he missed this opportunity, another one would never come.

Lous vaguely thought that this was the heavens giving him a new opportunity.

‘But even if the 3rd Knight Order leaves the capital, my family alone cannot stage a rebellion. We lack the forces. So I must gather nobles who will carry out this great undertaking with me. Nobles who won't betray me, and who will be easy for me to handle when I seize power.’

Lous quickly organized his thoughts and said to the vassal.

“I will write a letter now, so deliver it to each family. Quietly and secretly, so no one knows.”

“Yes? Ah, I understand.”

Lous quickly wrote the letter, with the bewildered vassal standing before him.

I am planning a small party at the Lous family estate tomorrow. I am only inviting a few people I trust, so I hope you will attend.

I have prepared interesting gifts and enjoyable conversation.

The time is…….

For security, Lous wrote nothing about the rebellion. But the nobles who received this letter would sense something was up and would quietly visit the Lous family.

As Lous continued to write letters with the same content, he brainwashed himself.

‘I am the most outstanding mage in the history of my family. I am blessed by heaven. The fact that the Crown Prince's core force, the 3rd Knight Order, is leaving the capital is a sign from the gods. A sign for me to become king and rule this kingdom!’

I am a man who will become king! Me! I, Lous!

―Lous kept thinking.

As such, Lous's plan was quite meticulous in its own way. And it also had a sufficient chance of success.

Because, as Lous thought, if the 3rd Knight Order left the capital, the Crown Prince's forces would be greatly weakened.

Also, it was certain that there would be quite a few nobles who would agree to help him.

Because, as Lous thought, this opportunity was unique and sweet.

But what Lous did not know was—

***

Tak.

I closed the . Then I recalled the content I had just seen in the diary and let out a sigh.

Hoo―.

‘So if the 3rd Knight Order leaves the capital, a guy named ‘Lous’ will start a rebellion……. Just when I thought things were finally starting to go smoothly, another guy doing foolish things pops up. But this kind of content wasn't in the originally, why did this happen? It wouldn't have happened without a reason… could it be because I persuaded the elders to stay in the kingdom?’

As I was thinking.

I suddenly remembered, one by one, the things I had seen in the before.

‘Wait. Come to think of it, the did mention that one of the former nobles tried to start a rebellion. Was that guy Lous?’

Anyway, what's important right now isn't the 'reason' the Lous family is starting a rebellion.

The fact 'itself' that the Lous family will start a rebellion is what's important.

Lous probably has no idea that I know he's preparing a rebellion.

But what can you do, when I already know.

I closed my eyes gently and thought about the impact Lous's rebellion would have.

‘It's annoying that this guy named Lous is trying to do something foolish. But come to think of it, it might be for the better. I needed to do some internal house-cleaning to run the kingdom comfortably in the future, and I can use the Lous family as an example.’

I decided to think as positively as possible.

‘So how should I deal with this Lous guy? If I'm going to crush him, I need to crush him completely. I thought I did that with the Purge…… but I guess not.’

It seemed necessary to show them clearly so that other guys wouldn't get any funny ideas in the future.

What happens when you mess with me, the absolute ruler who sees the future.