Chapter 144: The Underground Rogue
Before I knew it, the magician Jerry had called was staring at me.
He was looking at me intently, with a face full of astonishment.
Realizing this, Jerry gave a stern warning to the magician.
“Hey, you.”
“Y-yes!”
“There was no one here. Your boss was doing morning exercises all by himself. You understand?”
“Y-yes!”
“If you tell anyone about this, I’ll stuff lead in your loose mouth and sink you, got it?”
Jerry’s threats were unique.
I couldn’t help but chuckle, while the young magician jumped and nodded vigorously in response.
Despite being threatened like that, the young man kept glancing at me.
It was clear he was thinking, “Why are you here?”
It seemed quite strange to him that the Emperor was present.
There was no need to explain the reason, Jerry had silenced him, and I decided to ignore my presence there.
“Well then, we’ve strayed too far off topic, let’s get to the main point.”
“—Yes.”
“How many soldiers do you have?”
“Eight thousand and seventeen, My Lord.”
“That came right off your tongue, is that the actual number?”
“Yes, that’s the actual number I can move immediately.”
“No falsehoods?”
I was a bit surprised.
It reminded me of a conversation I had over ten years ago about Rice Cake, who I had first talked about in that context.
Once you have a certain number of soldiers, it’s common for people to take cuts from the budget.
The Empire allocates budgets to each general in the form of “maintaining a certain number of soldiers.”
Many generals report nominal numbers rather than actual ones, pocketing the difference.
Back then, Henry had been furious at Rice, his retainer, for such deceit.
I had calmed him down by saying it was not unusual.
While I had calmed Henry back then, I couldn’t say that this was a good thing.
It’s not a good thing, yet in an empire of this size, such practices “never disappear,” and back then, it was most important to ensure that the quota was met, so I had managed to convince Henry.
However, that being said.
While these practices do not disappear, it doesn’t mean everyone engages in them.
Sometimes there are individuals with a strong sense of integrity who conduct themselves without any of that.
It seemed that Jerry was one such individual.
I felt a bit pleased to find that the person I discovered was like this, but I reminded myself that it was still too early to celebrate.
“Isn’t it tough for a leader of soldiers to not take any of those differences? Otherwise, they can’t provide decent rewards for their subordinates.”
“Even without that, the Empire is a Nation of warriors; if I report military achievements properly, the Empire will grant the rewards instead.”
“Ha ha ha, that’s true.”
“And besides, since the folks around me don’t do that much, by just ‘reporting those military achievements properly,’ I get a lot of gratitude. And those who appreciate that as fair tend to be more capable.”
“Hmm, that’s a valid point.”
“Those kinds of folks can think for themselves and move on their own; when I’m in trouble, they sense it and act appropriately without me having to say a word.”
“I see.”
“My punishments are therefore strict. I make sure there are no exceptions.”
“You mean you practice strict rewards and punishments?”
“Yes.”
“That’s exactly why I’ve been troubled about how to handle the gay soldiers.”
“Yes… that’s a headache.”
Jerry chuckled awkwardly.
I nodded and instinctively smiled.
If that were true, Jerry was not the kind of person to be a “nameless” general in such a remote place.
“Is that alright with you?”
“I’ve already received plenty.”
“Huh?”
“I’ve received a mountain of rewards from my lord. I can eat so much every day that my belly sticks out, and I’ve been given three wives, and I’ve had a pile of kids who look just like my silly face. I don’t wish for more than this.”
“Ha ha ha, quite lacking in greed.”
“I’ve received a lot.”
“In that case, let’s do what’s yet to be done.”
“Huh?”
“Have you made a family crest?”
“Uh, I suppose so.”
“I’ll give you a sword to add.”
“—!”
Shock, then joy.
A mix of emotions flashed across Jerry’s face in an instant.
The Empire is a nation of warriors, valuing military achievements above all else.
There are material and honorary rewards for military achievements.
The highest honor is to have “A sword in their crest”.
By the rules, a maximum of three swords can be added.
This is a design that cannot be used without the Emperor’s permission.
Although the previous Emperor, my father, treated me quite well, I had been in the Ministry of Justice all along rather than in the military, so I had only managed to earn one sword for my achievements.
As an aside, the strongest warrior in the empire, Damian Noble, has received three swords for his long years of conquests.
The family crest with a sword—this is more honorable than any title.
After Jerry had enough time to daze out, he suddenly came to his senses and prostrated himself before me.
“Oh, oh, I am so grateful!”
“Hahaha, you’re being overly dramatic. This is just a piece of paper; it costs me not even a cent, and my pockets aren’t hurting at all.”
“…”
Jerry continued to press his forehead to the ground in silence.
Then, he lifted his face and stared at me.
He looked at me with a straight, intense gaze.
This is what they call a tacit understanding.
Referring to our earlier conversation.
A capable individual who receives a joyful reward properly returns the favor to their benefactor at the necessary time.
I will do so—Jerry silently conveyed this powerfully with just his gaze.
So I simply nodded slightly, without saying much.
After thinking for a moment, I raised my hand.
I created a crest with Fuwawa.
I split it in half and handed one part to him.
Jerry accepted it silently.
He seemed to understand it as a token for emergencies.
“Well then, I should take my leave soon. By the way, no one knows I’ve come here. Keep it under wraps for a while.”
“Yes!”
“And—do you have a way to hide Muir and take it outside?”
“Yes, leave that to me. Uh… could you come with me for a bit?”
Jerry cautiously asked Muir.
Muir coldly ignored Jerry.
“It’s so we can go together. So listen to what Jerry says.”
“Mi-ki!”
As I said that, Muir immediately reacted obediently.
“What a troublesome creature…”
Jerry chuckled in exasperation.
Then he took Muir with him.
I didn’t know if I could direct attention effectively.
I could distract it, but it was possible that I might encounter humans reacting due to the “fear” of monsters.
Even if I could shift their focus, if something overwhelmingly present was right in front of them, it was conceivable that they would look there.
Since I didn’t have time to test things out now, I decided to leave it to Jerry.
“Hmm?”
Suddenly, I noticed a young man still standing a little way off.
The young man was the wizard Jerry had called.
Since it was the second time around, I assumed he thought it necessary to assess the level again, which was why Jerry didn’t send him away like last time.
So the man had been there the entire time.
Because my attention was on Muir, I didn’t say anything to the man and went somewhere with Muir.
I thought he might be left behind and confused—but that didn’t seem to be the case.
“…”
The young man’s eyes showed no signs of “confusion” at all. Instead—there was a flicker of determination.
…………Determination?
What does that mean? Why is such an emotion appearing on his face now?
While I was puzzled by this,
The man, with an even more resolute expression, unexpectedly charged at me!
“—!?”
Silently yet with wide-open eyes.
He rushed towards me, holding something with both hands around his waist.
It was—a knife.
The man charged at me with a knife drawn.
I was taken aback; I hadn’t expected an attack.
Could he really be doing such a thing to me, the Emperor? — I thought, but I also realized.
[Rude fool.]
This is the mad dog, Livyathan.
Just as Jerry had said, without waiting for my command, Leviathan seized the man’s consciousness with killing intent.
The man, charging with the knife still in hand, suddenly foamed at the mouth and collapsed headfirst into the ground.
“Well done. Hold on for now.’
[Yes, my lord.]
“Now then… what is going on?”
“Sorry to keep you waiting, my lord. Did something happen?”
“Ah… this man suddenly attacked me.”
“What!?”
Jerry, who had returned, was shocked and angry.
He quickly squatted next to the fallen man and flipped him over to inspect his face.
Seeing the knife the man held, Jerry’s expression grew angrier as he snatched the knife and slammed it into the ground.
Then, he started to check the man’s pockets.
“Nothing of value here… Has he been bribed? Hmm.”
“What is it?”
“This is…”
As Jerry said this, he pulled something out.
It was a folded piece of paper.
“Show it to me.”
“Yes.”
I received the stationery from Jerry.
It contained instructions to make it look like an accident during my upcoming campaign and to eliminate the Emperor.
Signed Yellow Cake.
He was Rice Cake’s brother and, unlike Rice, he served Oscar.
“…Ah.”
I nodded slightly, and then I remembered.
The incident at Alice’s establishment.
The information was brought by a young man who worked at Oscar’s house, despite being from Dosso.
It indicated that someone from Oscar’s household was planning to assassinate me at the opportune moment.
I looked at the young man.
If he were a retainer, he would likely have restrained himself considering Oscar’s current state of mind.
This meant that the man before me was likely not a true retainer.
He must be a subordinate of a retainer.
“The 8th bastard has been aiming for my Lord.”
“…”
I drew Leviathan.
Then, I thrust it into the heart of the man who lay unconscious on the ground.
The man let out no sound of agony and died on the spot.
“What!? In a situation like this, we should extract the mastermind’s name through torture—”
“Not now.”
“But…”
“Forget it. This is politics.”
“…”
“Right now—before the situation changes, we can’t stir the pot just because of a mere rogue hiding underground.”
That’s right… before the situation changes.
The paper bore a date, one that was almost immediately after I had decided on my campaign.
So this order was from before Oscar’s change of heart.
There is always a time lag in the transmission of orders.
Even the Empire’s fastest “super express” has unavoidable time lags.
This was a rather old order that had come out of the man’s pocket.
I couldn’t use this to provoke the current cooperating Oscar.
The political situation shouldn’t be changed.
“…I understand.”
Jerry said, and stood up.
Then, he drew his sword from his waist, and began to chop the corpse of the man into pieces.
“What are you doing?”
“Ah, I messed up. Since this little bastard was rude to my lord, I accidentally turned him into mincemeat. This way, there will be no way to identify him.”
Jerry put on an incredibly awful performance, like a bad play.
His wooden delivery was terrible, and normally I would have pointed out how he was trying to cover something up or who he was trying to deceive.
But this time, I played along.
“If the identity is unknown, so be it. In return, make sure to investigate thoroughly and report back in about a hundred years.”
“Yes, sir!”
It was an outrageous farce, and all I could do was give a wry smile at my own absurdity.
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