Noble Reincarnation-Chapter 115

TN: It’s a start of the new volume

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Chapter 115: Livyathan’s Dissatisfaction

AN : I’ve written up to episode 128, and will be updating it sequentially.

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“I have arrived in response to your summoning, Your Majesty.”

“Umu.”

In the office, I glanced at the man across the desk, a face I knew well.

Don Oats, the Fourth Minister. 

Once a subordinate of the First Prince, he later came under my command. 

With considerable loyalty and ability, I promoted him to Fourth Minister when I ascended the throne.

Although Evelyn is the most successful in terms of an upbringing, in a broader sense of ‘household,’ Don has advanced the most. Now, he could be considered one of my closest confidants.

Summoned to my office, Don arrived.

And stood waiting while I focused on the documents before me. 

These were letters to local governors, unrelated to our current primary concerns but crucial administrative tasks nonetheless, so I focused on it first. 

After about a minute, during which Don waited silently on one knee.

I was able to concentrate without interruption so I finished slightly earlier than expected, I set down my pen.

And looked up at him.

“At ease.”

I said.

“Yes, sir.”

Don stood up, but because he was in the Emperor’s presence, he didn’t straighten up completely but rather kept a slightly hunched posture. 

Not only Don, but 90% of the ministers who frequently dealt with the Emperor directly are like this. 

Only those at the level of Princes could afford to act differently. 

So, without touching on that, I went straight to the main issue.

“There is something I want you to do.”

“Yes. Whatever it may be.”

“Does it make sense to you if I say ‘candidate knights’?”

“Candidates, you mean…”

Don pondered briefly while tilting his head, his brow furrowing. 

After about ten seconds, he looked up and responded.

“Are you referring to those whom you have supported since your time as the Thirteenth Prince?”

“That’s right.”

I nodded and stood up. 

Touching the desk, I slowly walked around its edge.

“It started with Shirley. Meeting her made me realize that there are individuals who have not passed the knight selection but are not without skill or ability, just buried among the commoners. Some of them can’t even afford travel expenses to return home, let alone prepare for next year’s exams.”

“Yes…”

“That’s a waste. Therefore, I’ve been gathering such individuals, ensuring at least their basic needs are met.”

“Your foresight always commands my respect, Your Majesty.”

Praising me, Don looked up, eager for the actual topic, reflected in his expression that said he understood the preamble.

“I want to gather them for a sort of martial tournament.”

“A martial tournament…?”

Don furrowed his brows.

His expression was like, Why now?

A martial tournament is essentially a ‘game’. 

At a time like this, when I am about to lead an expedition. 

It would be normal to think that there shouldn’t be time for games like a martial tournament.

But of course, I wasn’t proposing this out of frivolity or mere entertainment.

Facing Don’s gaze, I continued.

“Yes. If possible, I want to hold it within three days and finish it on the same day.”

“If you could enlighten me about your intentions, despite my limited understanding…”

“It’s just a whim.”

I smiled lightly. 

Hearing it was a whim, Don’s eyebrows twitched again.

“Knight Candidates. Some have failed the official selection once or twice.”

“Yes.”

“Each knight selection varies depending on the preferences of the examiners. I don’t interfere there. For example, Shirley, whom I first appointed as a knight, wouldn’t have passed if the criteria had been ‘command capabilities in the military.'”

“As you say.”

“So, it’s not that they are completely without merit if they’ve failed once or twice.”

“Yes, they are essentially the cream of the crop gathered from various places.”

Don stated, looking at me.

“I want to take them.”

“You wish to form a unit from those who succeed in the tournament?”

“That’s right.”

I smiled faintly.

“If it weren’t for times like this, I would have preferred to summon them before me and have them duel one-on-one, giving titles to the winners and then organizing them.”

“So it will be done covertly?”

“Yes, that’s why a martial tournament. Arrange it in the background, the format doesn’t matter, just gather those who can win at least once.”

“Understood.”

Understanding the plan, Don bowed his head. I walked to the window, hands clasped behind me, and looked outside.

“If I may speak freely, Your Majesty?”

“Hmm?”

“Wouldn’t it be simpler to recall the Imperial Guard without doing something like this?”

“No, they can’t be recalled.”

“Eh?”

I stated firmly, leaving no room for objection, surprising Don with the decisiveness.

“They must remain separate from me.”

“I see…”

Don seemed not fully to grasp.

I sent the Imperial Guard to Jessica for one reason only.

Because she was the only one outside the capital who was capable and trustworthy enough to manage them. 

Even if something strange happens in the Imperial Capital, she could use her forces for me without being swayed.

I glanced at the status at the corner of my vision.

――――――――――――

Name: Noah Ararat

Imperial Emperor

Gender: Male

Level: 17+1/∞

――――――――――――

The status confirmed that Audrey passed the interview.

Jessica is a woman who is infatuated with me.

It’s been a short time since my ascension, and there are few subordinates who can confidently say ‘I will never betray you.’

I understand if they have no intention of betrayal at this moment, but with humans, you never know when their feelings might change.

However, there are indeed people I can trust absolutely. 

Jessica was such a woman.

That’s why I sent the precious Imperial Guard to Jessica. 

I isolated them from the Imperial capital, foreshadowing the events in the future to keep them as a trump card in case of emergency.

Don doesn’t quite understand this. 

He is a confidant and intelligent in domestic affairs, but his talent for military strategy is limited.

He often struggles to understand military deployments like this. 

But, that’s unavoidable.

“Anyway, it will be a rushed job, but I want to secretly assemble a unit using that method and take them with us.”

“Understood,” 

Don nodded in agreement.

“If that’s the case, indeed, it seems the best strategy. Remarkable, Your Majesty.”

I chuckled softly.

“It’s just a selection of soldiers instead of knights, something anyone could think of.”

“Yes, but being able to implement it immediately is only possible because Your Majesty has been cultivating talents all along.”

“Yes.”

I nodded slightly. It felt a little rewarding to continue saying that people are treasures.

“We’ve gone off topic. Anyway, I’ll leave the organization of this martial tournament to you. It doesn’t have to be a tournament; the format is up to you.”

“Yes.”

“Make sure to gather and fight, but keep the final ‘assembly into a troop’ secret.”

“Secret, you say?”

“Yes.”

I nodded slightly. 

That was the most crucial part.

There’s no need for such actions for a mere campaign.

This is also part of the strategy against Oscar. 

I want to keep it hidden from Oscar as much as possible.

“….Understood, Your Highness. I will inform the Princes that it’s a personal initiative of mine.”

“Do that.”

I turned around and looked at Don with a gaze of admiration. 

He might not understand military matters, but he understands politics.

Secretly—because I said “something I want to hide,” he could associate that. 

Currently, if I mention “something to hide,” my confidant understands it’s mostly about Oscar.

Therefore, Oscar must be kept in the dark, but if we hide everything, it might arouse suspicion.

So I took the better approach to open up discussion from my side to a certain extent

“I’ll leave it all to you.”

I trusted Don enough to leave it in his hands.

☆

At night, I was looking up at the sky alone.

Without anyone around, I was gazing at the sky in the garden.

The night of the new moon, the stars shone competitively, beautifully like a myriad of blossoms.

With my hands clasped behind me, I admired them when…

{Lord… is this acceptable?}

“Hm? What is it, Leviathan? It’s rare for you to initiate a conversation.”

I shaped a smile with the corners of my mouth as I responded. 

Livyathan, who is loyal to me, usually doesn’t speak up.

It responds immediately when I call but doesn’t speak on its own.

{Why is Lord doing such roundabout things?}

“Roundabout?”

{Everything the Lord has done is pointless. There is no need to form such a unit if Lord simply wields me.}

“True, even if we gather those who aren’t knights, they won’t match your power.”

I chuckled softly.

Leviathan, once the cursed sword, has now awakened as Livyathan.

Even more powerful than before.

If I wield Livyathan, he can exert the power equivalent to at least 100 soldiers.

{Then—}

“Leviathan, do you ever get hungry?”

{—I have no such biological concerns.}

Leviathan responded faithfully to my question, though the tone dripped with dissatisfaction.

Its response was a bit amusing.

Although it says that it has no biological concerns—yet it showed his emotions.

I thought that those feelings were biological, but I didn’t point that out.

But instead, explained the real meaning behind my question.

“Most people find that the first bite after feeling hungry is the tastiest.”

{…}

“Similarly, the first strike when underestimated is the most effective. Certainly, wielding you, I alone could take down a hundred—no, a thousand soldiers. But, the battle does not end there.”

{If a thousand is not enough, then I will slay ten thousand.}

“It’s just a figure of speech.”

I chuckled lightly.

From Leviathan’s tone, I sensed that it might escalate it further to “ten thousand, no, a hundred thousand—” and it seemed the conversation might veer significantly off course, so I preemptively stopped it.

“For instance, during the Almeria rebellion, I used your power to snipe the leader. That was an effective way to end the rebellion instantly. And it shocked everyone around. In terms of today’s discussion, it’s as if I had taken down ten thousand people.”

{…}

“However, as a result of their shock, they developed countermeasures against long-distance sniping.”

{…}

“If you hadn’t done that then, I could have resolved this time with your sniping too.”

Livyathan fell silent.

That incident when I was six years old was shocking.

It was back when Livyathan was still before his awakening, known as Leviathan.

One day, a rebellion broke out in my territory, Almeria.

The ringleader of the rebellion sent an assassin after me.

The assassin was equipped with a weapon that had been significantly enhanced.

That showed they were serious.

However, Leviathan detected the “malice directed at me” from the enchantment and sniped the ringleader of the rebellion.

He struck down the target hundreds of kilometers away with pinpoint accuracy using magic, suppressing the rebellion.

It was incredible, unprecedented.

Because it was too shocking, countermeasures were developed.

And naturally. 

If they let such a method of sniping from anywhere continue unchecked, they wouldn’t leave it be.

Anyone would be scared and take measures.

It was a kind of loophole, and loopholes, once discovered, are closed.

“Sniping will no longer work on the rebel army; this time we must go directly. It’s the same thing. When you first cut down a hundred people on the battlefield, it’s surprising, but cutting down ten thousand people a second time isn’t as shocking. I want to use that first surprise at the most effective moment. For that time, I want to be surrounded by strong soldiers.”

{Yes, Lord. I deeply regret my shallow consideration.}

“Don’t worry about it.”

I clasped my hands behind my back and walked a little.

I was no longer looking at the starry sky, just ahead.

Although I was looking ahead, I wasn’t actually looking at anything.

“Also, I can’t make a move on Oscar now.”

{I understand, acting now would tarnish the Lord’s reputation.}

Technically, it’s my father’s reputation, but there was no need to strictly delineate that, so I let it slide.

“And unless Oscar sincerely submits, I will face various trials ahead.”

I took a deep breath and continued.

“You are my trump card, at least I have not wielded you on the battlefield. That’s why I want to save the first use for when it can achieve the greatest impact—have you understood now?”

I asked Livyathan.

After a brief silence, Livyathan replied.

{As expected of the Lord. Despite holding me, your profound strategy deeply impresses me.}

Livyathan seemed to have accepted it.

It’s hard to judge what it actually thinks, but Leviathan is much more intelligent than it appears, so I thought it would be fine.

I shaped a smile at the corner of my mouth and took out a piece of paper from my pocket.

It was a message from a spy I had sneaked into Oscar’s residence.

Following my father’s example, I have planted spies here and there, building an information network.

It was a report from one of those sources.

It stated that Oscar’s house servant, Iska, had secretly visited Oscar.

Just the visit, nothing more.

{Utterly incompetent.}

Leviathan spoke up again.

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