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

Chapter 57

-Next!

At the knight's shout from inside the tent, a young man who had been waiting in line outside approached the front of the tent with a very tense expression.

‘I have to become a soldier! No matter what!’

The name of the young man making this vow was ‘Hans’.

A very common name, but unlike his name, Hans was burning with an extraordinary will.

‘If I get accepted into the kingdom army, I can feed my younger siblings. For the time being, I won't go to war and can work on a farm or construction site while receiving proper training! It's a truly great opportunity! I absolutely… absolutely cannot miss it!’

Not going to war for the time being, receiving proper training, and being deployed to various construction projects and policies of the kingdom.

That was the condition the royal family presented for recruiting new soldiers.

It was such a groundbreaking condition that if any noble had proposed it, the people of the royal capital would not have believed it.

But because the one who presented this unbelievable condition was none other than ‘Crown Prince Leonardo’, the people believed.

The people of the royal capital had a considerably high level of trust in Crown Prince Leonardo, who had eliminated the thugs and wicked merchants that had made their lives miserable.

There was one more reason why the people of the royal capital trusted the Crown Prince. It was because of the rumor—practically accepted as fact—that the Crown Prince had purged numerous nobles who had exploited the people.

The Crown Prince's relentless actions in purging the thugs, wicked merchants, and nobles who had sucked their lifeblood.

Through such actions by the Crown Prince, the people saw hope. Hope that they could live a better today than yesterday, and a better tomorrow than today.

Because humans are animals that can live on hope alone, the people's faces were filled with vitality.

Life was still hard and their stomachs were empty, but there was a bright light in the people's eyes.

-Next, aren't you coming in?!

At the repeated call from the tent, Hans snapped to attention.

“Yes, yes! I'm coming!”

‘From what I saw outside, it seems many are being rejected because the recruitment criteria are strict…… let's do well!’

Hans took a deep breath before entering the tent. Then he entered the tent confidently.

Behind Hans, who had vowed, ‘I will definitely become a soldier,’ numerous applicants were still waiting for their turn.

That number was clearly much larger than the number of new recruits to be hired this time.

***

Two days after the recruitment of new soldiers began.

“Your Highness, the recruitment of new soldiers is finished.”

Jereuth came to my room with a few documents and reported. I smiled as I read the documents Jereuth handed me.

“The recruitment finished faster than I thought. I thought it would take a few more days.”

“It was possible because many citizens volunteered to be new recruits. It's not an easy task to make citizens enlist voluntarily, but it seems Your Highness's achievements were the main factor.”

“My achievements…… I just did what had to be done. So, does the basic training for the soldiers start today?”

“Yes. In the morning, the lower-ranking knights and veteran soldiers will distribute equipment to the new recruits. After lunch, we plan to start with drill and physical training right away. I have organized the detailed schedule in the documents, so please let me know if there are any matters to be revised.”

Jereuth pointed to the documents he had just given me and spoke.

‘He asked me to check and revise the training plan, but it's probably better to just let Jereuth do as he intends.’

This training plan was meticulously crafted by Jereuth and the senior knights, who are far more proficient in training and military operations than I am. There was no reason for me to meddle.

“I'm sure you've done a great job with the training, Commander, so it should be fine to proceed as planned.”

“Thank you for your trust, Your Highness. I will do my best to train them into elite soldiers.”

“Haha, yes. Then the next agenda item is…… ah, we need to decide which knights to send as lords to each territory and city.”

I looked at the last page of the documents Jereuth gave me. On that document was a list of lord candidates recommended by Jereuth.

Senior Knight, Ray

Senior Knight, Jayce

Senior Knight, Robin

Senior Knight, Samson

…….

Intermediate Knight, Peralta.

These were the ‘lord candidate’ knights that Jereuth had recommended to me. A total of fifteen.

‘Since there are ten large cities and territories in the kingdom that need a lord, I have to remove five from this list.’

If I knew what kind of person each knight recommended by Jereuth was, it would have been easy to choose. But unfortunately, I didn't know anyone well on the list.

I had been so busy that I hadn't had a chance to get to know the knights personally.

‘But all the other candidates are senior knights, yet there's one intermediate knight mixed in.’

Tak—.

I put down the documents and asked Jereuth.

“What kind of person is this knight named ‘Peralta’? All the knights you recommended are senior knights, but he is the only intermediate knight, so I'm curious.”

“Peralta is a knight with a somewhat shorter career as a knight compared to the others. However, he has points where he excels over other knights, so I included him in the list. Though he has clear weaknesses as well.”

“A knight with outstanding strengths and weaknesses… what are they?”

“Hmm.”

Jereuth looked at the name ‘Peralta’ written on the document before continuing.

“Peralta is a knight who is unparalleled in strategy and tactics. In the previous war with the demons, there were several battles won through Peralta's tactics even in situations of absolute inferiority.”

Oh…… so he's great at strategy and tactics.

“To hear you praise him like that, Commander, he must be truly amazing.”

“That's right. However, Peralta's swordsmanship and horsemanship are quite lacking for a knight…… to be honest, his skills are terrible. A decent veteran soldier can handle one orc by himself, but Peralta can't even handle one orc. His horsemanship is even worse, to the point where it's difficult to include him in a cavalry charge.”

Orcs are among the stronger monsters in the small to medium category. Monsters that have the advantage of being stronger than humans, with tough skin and flesh and hard bones, combined with the human advantage of being able to wield weapons.

Unlike their excellent physical abilities, orcs have quite low intelligence and get easily excited. So, experienced soldiers can surprisingly defeat orcs easily by luring them into a fight that is advantageous to them.

However, the frightening thing about orcs is not their innate physical ability or their ability to use weapons freely like humans. The frightening thing about orcs is their overwhelming numbers. An old legend states that ‘a million-strong army led by an Orc Emperor has a record of hunting a dragon.’

‘—so it said in the I read before. But this knight named Peralta is so weak in combat that he has trouble dealing with an orc?’

If so, it was true that Peralta's skills were very lacking to be called a ‘knight’.

A knight should be able to handle an orc without much difficulty.

“Then how did he manage to become a knight?”

“Yes. As I mentioned, Peralta is very smart. His ability to judge the situation on a chaotic battlefield is amazing, and his ability to formulate strategies based on that is also outstanding. His only flaw, if any, is that he tends to overthink and be too cautious when planning strategies…… but with that ability, he saved the lives of many knights and soldiers on the battlefield, and in recognition of his merits, I appointed him as an intermediate knight.”

From what I heard, Peralta seemed to be a typical staff officer type of talent. The kind of person whose ability stats, if drawn on a hexagonal graph, would have a sharp peak towards ‘intelligence’.

Being weak in combat was a very big weakness for a knight. But if his strategic mind was so outstanding that Jereuth praised him like that…….

“For now, I will exclude Knight Peralta from the lord candidates.”

I thought Jereuth would ask me why I was excluding Peralta. After all, I had just said I would exclude a knight he had praised so highly.

But Jereuth did not question my words.

“I understand, Your Highness. Then I just need to exclude four more from the candidates.”

Jereuth's answer was so matter-of-fact that I was the one who felt awkward.

“Aren't you curious why I said I would exclude Knight Peralta? When you praised him so much, Commander?”

“I do not harbor any questions about Your Highness's words.”

It was gratifying that he meant he would obey my words absolutely, but it was a bit burdensome, to be honest.

“……Still, if Your Highness is okay with it, I would be grateful if you could explain why you excluded Peralta. I recommended Peralta as a lord because I thought he was more suited to be a lord than a knight.”

Seeing him say that, it seemed Jereuth was also inwardly curious and disappointed. Not very honest, are we.

“The reason I don't intend to send Peralta as a lord proxy is that I want to keep him by my side and use him.”

“By your side, Your Highness?”

“Yes. I believe that within a few years, the bandits lurking in various parts of the kingdom will cause a disturbance, and the kingdom will fall into chaos.”

“Yes. That's why you're trying to raise an army to prevent the bandits from causing a disturbance in the first place, isn't it? I remember you expressed it as ‘preventing the bandits’.”

“That's right. It would be good if things go according to my plan, but I want to assume the worst-case scenario for now. If we fail to prevent the bandits' disturbance, the most important thing is the ability of the ‘center’ to read the state of the war. The ability to read where to send support and where not to.”

Jereuth nodded his head.

“That the ability of the center to read the state of the war is important, that is a very accurate statement. Then, does Your Highness intend to entrust that role to Peralta?”

“Yes. Since you, Commander, have acknowledged Knight Peralta's strategy and tactics, I also intend to trust him and entrust him with a major role. Of course, in an emergency, I will give you full authority, Commander.”

“So that was your intention.”

Only after hearing my reason did Jereuth's expression relax again. It seemed he was pleased that I had listened to his words and decided to give Peralta an important position.

I skimmed the documents again and asked Jereuth.

“Then please tell me about the other knights as well. There might be a knight who is more suitable for other tasks than being a lord, like Knight Peralta.”

“I understand. Then I will start with Vice-Commander Hagen. First, Ray is a knight who is superior to the other candidates in all areas. However, he is a knight with a slightly complicated past—.”

Jereuth's explanation continued for about an hour.

***

After hearing all of Jereuth's explanations about the lord candidate knights.

I decided in my mind which knight to send as a lord proxy.

I stood up from my seat, stretched, and said to Elly who was nearby.

“Lady Elly, please summon the officials. I will appoint the lord proxies to be sent to each city and territory.”

***

The blood-soaked banquet hall on the second floor of the royal palace.

All the officials were gathered in this place, where traces of the Purge still remained.

Whenever Leonardo told the officials to gather in the banquet hall, they worried, ‘Who will die this time?’ or ‘What is he going to make us do now?’.

But this time was different. A small hope was added to the officials' expressions.

Because Leonardo had told them in advance that the reason he had summoned the officials this time was to ‘appoint lords to be sent to each city and territory’.

The officials did not show it on the outside, but inwardly, they all desperately hoped for this.

‘Appointing lords to be sent to each city and territory?’

‘If I'm chosen as a lord… can I escape from this hellish royal castle?’

‘Even if I go to the territory on the northern border, the cold and barren Zakar territory, it's fine! As long as I can escape the royal castle!’

‘I'll have a chance too. For sure!’

‘If I become a lord, I can be free from the fear of being purged like the Lous family at any moment! If I can get as far away from the royal castle as possible, really……!’

That's right. The officials were harboring the hope that they might be able to escape Leonardo's grasp.

Watching the officials run such hopeful scenarios, Heinshtangl shook his head. He even sighed as if they were pathetic.

Sigh—.

‘They'll be greatly disappointed if they get their hopes up like that. Do they really think that cunning tyrant will give the position of lord to former nobles? They know so little about His Highness Leonardo.’

Heinshtangl already knew that Leonardo would select a few knights from the 3rd Knight Order and send them as lords.

‘It would be better if they thought about how to carry out His Highness Leonardo's orders well, rather than struggling to rack their brains like that.’

Heinshtangl now acknowledged Leonardo's abilities and was finding some stability near him.

It was different from the past when he had simply feared Leonardo.

-It might be a form of ‘Stockholm Syndrome’, where a hostage feels affection for their captor.-

As the officials, except for Heinshtangl, were running their hopeful scenarios.

―Kuuung!

―His Highness Leonardo is entering!

The banquet hall doors opened, and a soldier's booming shout was heard.

Through the opening banquet hall doors, the highest powers of the royal capital entered in order.

At the forefront, the ‘Tyrant’ Crown Prince Leonardo, the ‘Tyrant's Sword’ Jereuth, the ‘Red-Haired Witch’ Seria, who had recently purged the Lous family and ten other families by herself and become a symbol of fear no less than Jereuth, and the Crown Prince's personal maid, Elly.

Not a single one of them could be ignored.

Even the maid, Elly, was not taken lightly by the officials. The reason was not only that Elly was one of the few people who could speak directly with the Crown Prince, but also because rumors were secretly circulating that she was the ‘next Head Maid of the royal castle’.

Inside the royal castle, there were also stories that Elly was receiving the Crown Prince's favor as a woman, and some of the officials believed those rumors.

If, as the rumors said, Elly was the woman favored by the Crown Prince, her power would be greater than that of Commander Jereuth.

―Tak.

The Crown Prince, who had slowly entered the banquet hall, sat down on the chair on the dais. He crossed his legs and leaned against the armrest, speaking in an arrogant posture.

“I believe you all have heard, but just in case, I will explain. The reason I have gathered you all here is to appoint lords to be sent to each major city and territory. I know you are all busy in various ways, and I don't like to beat around the bush, so I will call out the lords immediately.”

―……!

―……!

―……!

At Leonardo's words that he would immediately call out those who would become lords, the officials' eyes sparkled and their ears perked up.

But it only took a moment for their expectations to turn into disappointment and despair.

“Then I will call out the knights to be appointed as lords. Those I call, please step forward. 3rd Knight Order Senior Knights Ray, Jayce, Racklanson, Harold, Walter, Isaac, John, Marcus, Geoffrey, Heschan.”

―……?

―……?

―……?

“These are the ten.”

The ones Leonardo called out were ‘knights’. Not them, the former nobles.

At the Crown Prince's decision to select only knights from the 3rd Knight Order and send them as lords, a myriad of thoughts filled the officials' minds.

‘Th-That tyrant……! Does he intend to put even the local lords under his thumb?!’

‘The knights the Crown Prince just called out. They are knights loyal to Jereuth to the bone. To send such men as lords means…… he has no intention of sharing power, does he?!’

‘Never before has any king so blatantly sent his own faction as lords. A lord is ultimately a person meant to check the royal authority to make the kingdom prosperous. But if this happens……?’

‘Moreover, the knights chosen as lords are all formidable guys…… this is bad, really bad. Not just in my generation, but even in the next, we won't be able to stop the Crown Prince's rampage. The position of noble might not exist in the Plank Kingdom anymore……?’

As the officials' expectations turned to disappointment and their expressions quickly hardened.

Crown Prince Leonardo asked.

“You all look displeased, do you have any complaints or opinions?”

―…….

―…….

―…….

“If you have something to say, please speak freely. I will listen.”

All the officials were boiling with dissatisfaction. Why not share power? Have you no conscience? Sharing power with the nobility is the history of the Plank Kingdom! Do you dare to abolish that?!

But there was no fool who would voice such words. Life is precious, after all.

In the end, the officials could only say silently.

―……We will follow Your Highness's will.

With that, the foundation of Leonardo's centralized power was firmly established. Very, very firmly.