Chapter 56: Two knights
I left the Great Hall and returned to the Study with His Majesty.
I was the only one who was called to come with him.
His Majesty returned to his desk and sat down in his chair as usual, and I faced him across the desk.
“Well, Noah.”
“Yes”
“It’s about the hostages. What do you think about the idea of assigning one of the princesses as your concubine in order to give them a favor?”
“Concubine, sir”
” It would be better to have her as the wife of my son than as a mere hostage.”
It would be a political marriage. This is a standard procedure.
I thought about it for a while.
His Majesty said, “Give them a favor.”
That is the general policy that His Majesty thinks.
With that as the starting point – or rather, the unmoving endpoint.
He thought of something that would further benefit the empire, along with that.
After a number of things raced through my mind like lightning, I bowed to His Majesty and replied.
“I think it would be better not to take any hostages.”
“Hou? Do you have any interesting ideas?”
His Majesty looked at me with curious eyes.
“Yes. First of all, we don’t need hostages. Mother and sister. Not many people can hold those as hostages and completely split, no matter how much they know they need them.”
“Of course not.”
“So, let’s send them back. Instead, we will supply them with the food that we have discussed earlier. I’ll send it in weekly shipments.”
“Every week?”
“Yes, just enough to feed the people of the Rushi Tsar, every week.”
“And what will happen—–haa”
His Majesty was about to ask when he realized it.
He looked at me, first with surprise, then with a smirk on the corner of his mouth.
“That’s intense, Noah.”
With that one word, I was sure that he understood my intentions.
I nodded and continued.
“Yes, it’s all about baiting, sir. If we feed them, they will gradually become unable to stay away from this ration of food. Taking into account the fact that the supply will be cut off in case of emergency, this will become a de facto hostage.”
“Umu, that’s right.”
“Furthermore, if they become so dependent on this bait that they start to seek other sources of supply…”
“Double-dealing- the first sign of betrayal. Is that what you mean?”
I nodded quietly.
“We’ll send food, we don’t need hostages. It could be a way to kill two birds with one stone, to ingratiate ourselves and at the same time hold their lifeline.”
“Umu. That’s great, Noah. Okay, I’ll let you go ahead with that idea.”
His Majesty seemed to be satisfied with my proposal.
☆
The next morning, I was at the residence of the Thirteenth Prince next to the Royal Palace.
When I entered the fief, I left Dylan in charge of this place.
Dylan, who had served me – the Thirteenth Prince – for many years, had maintained the mansion in the capital without a hitch.
I had some business to attend to in the capital for a while longer, so I decided to stay here for the time being.
Waking up in the morning in the room I had been familiar with for more than ten years, I had the maids I had left here get ready.
Now, where to start today …….
“Call Shirley and the rest.”
I ordered the maids and they immediately went to call them.
As I headed to the living room, I waited while I sipped the tea the maid had made for me.
After a while, two women came into the living room.
Shirley Glans and Sheryl Hyde.
Shirley was the only knight I took when I was a judge for the first time. Sheryl was an aspiring knight I had met before I met Indra, and after that, she was ambitious and promising, so I went in as a guest judge at the knight selection and brought her up.
As soon as the two of them entered the room, they knelt down and bowed to me as I sat on the sofa.
“You wanted to see us, Your Highness?”
“Yes. I wanted to check out the results of your training. Checking your homework, I mean.”
“Yes!”
“I understand.”
The two exchanged glances, and Shirley drew her sword first.
“Aah, you can both come at me at the same time.”
“Ehh? But…”
“That is ……”
“It’s fine, come now.”
I said and stood up.
Stepping forward, I faced the two head-on.
They exchange another glance.
Nodding at each other, they shake off their doubts.
Sheryl, too, drew her sword and unleashed it.
“Hiyaaaaaah!
“Haaaah!”
Shirley and Sheryl attacked from both sides as if they were pinning me down.
I stood there and didn’t move.
Shirley’s slash went into my neck, and Cheryl’s went into my waist.
Ding!
A high-pitched metallic sound rang out, and sparks flew.
The two slashes were blocked.
“Come again”
“”Yes!!””
Both of them are knights that I selected myself as a selector.
There was no hesitation in their attacks because they used the same methods as when I selected them.
I didn’t even move to receive the attacks.
The Armor Ring and the “absolute defense” of Leviathan and the other five bodies.
There was only Leviathan who did this first.
The Water Demon Sword and the Armor Ring were linked together to create an automatic defense shield away from the body.
That method was something that I, and Leviathan and the others, were slowly getting used to.
Now, they could put up a protective membrane that was almost like a thin layer of skin attached to the body.
In addition, not only Leviathan, but also Bahamut, Fuwawa, Behemoth, and Apophis.
They all have different specialties, and now they are able to better repel the attacks they are good at.
Leviathan can accurately block water and slashes, while Bahamut can almost completely nullify fire and combat.
Because of the skin-like covering on my body, from the side, it looks like I’m being slashed by both of them one way or the other without me doing anything, but the truth is that I have quite a bit of leeway.
This can be seen from the fact that I’m standing there with a calm face, while the two who are attacking me are already drenched in sweat.
The ferocious assault by the two continued for five minutes.
It was like holding your breath for five minutes in a mad dash.
The two of them were completely out of breath and fell to their knees on the spot.
“Umu. Well done, both of you. Shirley has become more and more proficient with the weight of her blows, and Sheryl has become more and more proficient with her moves.”
“T-thank you, …….”
“Your Highness is becoming more and more …… amazing.”
“The distance between us just keeps getting further and further.”
“You guys still seem to have a lot of room to grow. You should work harder.”
“”Yes!””
The two responded in unison, putting their swords away and catching their breath.
I didn’t say that to comfort them, but both Shirley and Cheryl have improved since the last time I checked on their training.
There’s still room for them to get stronger if they continue to work hard, I really thought.
Clap Clap Clap.
Suddenly, I heard the sound of applause in the living room.
I looked and saw that my brother Henry had arrived before I knew it.
“Brother, when did you get here?”
“Just arrived. Oh, don’t blame the servants. I told them they need not report it.”
“I see. Please.”
I told Shirley and Sheryl to leave and sat down on the sofa with my brother.
As before, I let my brother sit on the top seat and I sat on the lower seat.
“It’s impressive, Noah. You said those two have gotten stronger, but I think Noah has grown even more.”
“That’s right, it may be s”o.
‘Fumu. That’s good, but isn’t that way of doing things really dangerous? You know, just in case.”
My brother asked the obvious question.
“The two of them are worth it.”
“Hou?”
“I want to be able to trust them when the time comes, so I want to know what they’re capable of ……. I believe the more you experience it, the more you understand.”
“You’re still amazing. I understand the logic, but if you were to ask me to do the same thing, I wouldn’t be able to.”
“I’m just putting up with it.”
“The privileges of the nobility, huh.”
”Fufu”, saying that Brother Henry laughed.
Join me on –>discord<– to get update notifications and release schedules.
“That’s right, it may be s”o. -> “That’s right, it may be so.”
Thanks.
want to be able to trust them when the time comes, so I want to know what they’re capable of ……. I believe the more you experience it, the more you understand.”
Interesting
I mean, to be fair Henry does have a point. Rather it was the obvious choice to avoid that type evaluation.
Of course, it’s fine if it’s Noah doing it based on his abilities (Cheat skills, duh). But any other person that tries this has a high chance to screw up and get a one way trip to see their ancestors.