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

Chapter 70

Sometimes when I read the <Future Diary>, I get that feeling. ‘This is a future event that hasn’t happened yet, but it feels strangely realistic.’

That was how I felt right now.

So I felt bad.

It might be a very simple and perhaps childish expression, but I literally felt bad.

‘……Elly gets hit by an arrow in a surprise attack in the gorge?’

The <Future Diary> didn’t go so far as to say that Elly ‘died’ after being hit by the arrow.

However, the very fact that Elly was hit by an arrow bothered me.

‘Moreover…… it said that Elly was hit by the arrow while trying to shield me. Trying to block the arrow that pierced through the carriage.’

It was a future that hadn’t happened, and one that I had to prevent from happening. But anyway, I had complicated feelings about Elly.

Elly, feeling my gaze, moved closer to the opposite carriage wall, that is, trying to get as far away from me as possible, and asked.

“Um…… Your Highness, is there something you wish to say?”

It might be an overreaction and too emotional, but the thought that I might not be able to hear that voice again made my chest feel heavy.

“……No, I was just looking. I’m sorry if it made you uncomfortable.”

“U-uncomfortable? It’s absolutely not that! I was just…… wondering if it was because I haven’t been able to wash properly for a few days…… I was a little worried……”

Elly’s voice was so small that I couldn't hear it well.

“Pardon?”

“Ah, it’s nothing! Your Highness, um…… I’m very sorry, but may I get out of the carriage for a moment? I think I’m getting motion sickness.”

“Yes, go ahead. I was planning to stop the carriage for a moment anyway.”

“Thank you!”

Elly nodded her head vigorously. Then, before I could even stop the carriage, she hastily got out.

Tatak—!

I didn't know why she was getting out of the carriage as if she were running away like a guilty person.

Was she really that sick? She didn't seem to have motion sickness.

Anyway, I decided to put aside my thoughts about Elly for a moment and opened the window to call Jereuth.

“Commander, please stop.”

“Yes.”

Jereuth immediately raised his clenched fist and shouted.

“Halt!”

At that word, the carriage stopped, and the sound of the knights’ and soldiers’ hooves and footsteps also ceased.

When the procession came to a complete halt, Jereuth asked me.

“Your Highness, is there a problem?”

“……”

I couldn’t answer Jereuth’s question right away.

‘……I was in a hurry, so I told him to stop the carriage, but I still haven’t thought of a plausible reason. A reason to say to be careful because there will be an attack in that gorge.’

It goes without saying that if you want to assert something, you have to provide evidence.

Asserting something without evidence is what ignorant people do.

But the basis for my assertion that ‘there will be an attack in that gorge’ was the <Future Diary>, so I couldn’t use that as evidence. Thɪs chapter is updated by NoveIＦire.net

“Um……”

I thought for a moment. But I couldn't think of a plausible reason.

‘……Let’s just say it simply. I’m the Crown Prince, so I don’t need to convince others.

Especially in an urgent situation like this.’

“I think there will be an attack inside that gorge.”

I said confidently, pointing inside the gorge. With a voice full of conviction.

Then Jereuth asked back in surprise.

“……Pardon? An attack, you say?”

“Yes. I have a ‘feeling’.”

To say that the reason for thinking there would be an attack was just a ‘feeling.’

I was a little worried about Jereuth’s reaction. Because I had just said, ‘I have a feeling there will be an attack,’ without any reason or evidence.

But contrary to my expectations, Jereuth seemed to be taking my words very seriously.

“If that is Your Highness' feeling, then we will certainly prepare for it. But an attack in the Ateras Gorge…… since monsters don’t appear in this gorge, it could be bandits.”

Bandits?

‘Wait, come to think of it, the <Future Diary> didn’t say that monsters would attack. It just said ‘attack’.’

Which means, as Jereuth predicted, there was a high probability that it would be bandits who would attack us.

Because in a wild mountain like this, only monsters and bandits would attack me.

‘But would bandits attack a carriage with the royal banner, escorted by knights and soldiers? Unless they are extremely confident in their skills and have guts of steel, they wouldn't do such a foolish thing, would they?’

As I was pondering these various questions, Jereuth called the knight at the front.

“Peralta!”

“Yes!”

Peralta came running. Jereuth gave him an order in a very stern voice.

“Turn the horses around and get out of the gorge entrance. And today, we will camp early at the gorge entrance and rest well. Feed the horses and soldiers well. But double the guard.”

“I understand. But the sun is still high in the sky, so if you mean to camp already, should I understand that you plan to pass through the gorge early tomorrow morning?”

“I will explain that later. And tell the Demian triplets to prepare for reconnaissance and come to me.”

“Yes!”

Peralta ran back to where he was and began to relay Jereuth’s orders.

Jereuth turned his gaze back to me and said.

“Your Highness, I will take a few knights and personally scout the inside of the gorge.”

***

Jereuth.

He was looking at the entrance of the Ateras Gorge with a heavy gaze. At the gorge that boasted a mysterious beauty and majesty.

‘Be careful as there might be an attack in the gorge…… is it.’

If it had been a warning from someone else, Jereuth would have not taken it so seriously.

But since it was Leonardo’s warning, Jereuth took it seriously.

‘Monsters do not appear in the Ateras Gorge. So it wouldn’t be monsters attacking us.’

That’s why Jereuth mentioned the possibility of a bandit attack to Leonardo.

‘That may be so…… but honestly, I don’t know if there are any bandits who would attack an escort of this size.’

It was an escort with over fifteen knights and nearly 200 soldiers. In a small battlefield, it was a scale that could change the tide of the battle.

Moreover, they were currently flying the royal banner. To attack that was beyond having guts of steel; it was something impossible unless one was mad.

Thus, Jereuth honestly did not think that bandits would attack the royal carriage. It was not carelessness, but a valid and rational judgment.

‘Still, if His Highness has an uneasy ‘feeling,’ I must certainly be on guard.’

Jereuth decided to trust Leonardo’s ‘feeling’ over his own experience and analysis. That was how great Jereuth’s trust in Leonardo was.

“Commander, you called for us.”

Three knights who were particularly short and thin compared to the other knights approached Jereuth. These were the ‘Demian triplets,’ the knights Jereuth had told Peralta to call earlier.

Being short and thin was usually a disadvantage in general combat. However, for stealthy operations like reconnaissance, a smaller build was much more advantageous, and they had excellently carried out reconnaissance missions even in the war against the demons.

That didn't mean that these three were any less skilled than the other knights. They had turned their physical weakness of being thin and short into a strength of agility, and they were men who had risen to the rank of high-rank knight.

“You’re all here.”

“Yes, Commander. But why are we scouting the Ateras Gorge? This gorge is a safe place where monsters don’t appear.”

“It’s not because of monsters. It’s because of an ‘attack.’ His Highness himself said there is a possibility of an attack. That’s why we are going on reconnaissance.”

“……His Highness said so?”

“Yes. He said he had a bad feeling.”

In other words, this reconnaissance was being done because of Leonardo’s ‘feeling.’

Reconnaissance was not an easy task. It was truly arduous and difficult. So, the Demian triplets might have been annoyed at having to do it just because of a ‘feeling.’

But none of the three triplets showed any sign of it. Because it was the ‘feeling’ of none other than Leonardo.

‘Someone like His Highness Leonardo, who cares for us, wouldn’t have sent us on reconnaissance without any reason.’

‘There must be a reason.’

‘If it’s His Highness' order, we must follow it.’

After a brief conversation, Jereuth took the lead and entered the gorge.

“Follow me. First, we will climb the gorge cliff and scout from above.”

Although he said it casually, climbing a cliff was a very difficult and hard task. But Jereuth began to climb the cliff. Jereuth had already taken off his armor.

The formidable muscles of Jereuth, unbecoming of his age, could be seen tensed beneath his thin cotton clothes.

The Demian triplets followed behind Jereuth and climbed the cliff. They too had taken off their armor.

***

Four hours had passed since Jereuth and the three knights began their reconnaissance.

Despite scouting for quite a long time, the Demian triplets and Jereuth had not found any monsters, let alone bandits. They occasionally found footprints or carriage wheel tracks, but most of them seemed to be the tracks of merchants who had passed through the gorge.

Hoo—.

One of the Demian triplets—the eldest—took a deep breath and quietly asked Jereuth.

“Commander, it seems there are no problems, so how about we first go back and report to His Highness—.”

In the middle of the eldest’s words.

Jereuth, who was in the lead, raised his hand and gestured for him to be quiet. The eldest immediately shut his mouth, and the second and third also held their breath and lowered their bodies.

Flick, flick—.

As Jereuth gestured for them to come forward and look, the Demian triplets came to Jereuth’s side in a crawling posture.

Then the knights could see what Jereuth had found.

‘It’s bandits.’

‘Looking at the size of the hideout…… it’s a large group of bandits with over a hundred members.’

‘Was His Highness' feeling really right? If it’s bandits of that scale, we might have been in danger in a surprise attack.’

Just as the three triplets were observing the bandit hideout.

—Kyaaaaaaaaaak!!

—Hey, catch that bitch!

—Ah, fuck…… I told you to tie her up! Or cut her heels!

A woman ran out of the hideout half-naked, and bandits came rushing out after her. A few of them shouted and chased the woman.

Perhaps getting annoyed while chasing, one of the bandits who had rushed out, one with a particularly flabby belly, picked up a bow that was hanging outside. —The man was wearing a white cloak. While being naked.—

The man shot an arrow at the back of the fleeing woman.

—Pyung…… thwack!

—Kkeuak…….

The woman who was hit by the arrow collapsed and rolled forward. She fell down the mountain, off the cliff.

The bandit who shot the arrow cursed.

—Fuck…… I treated her well because she had a pretty face, and this is what I get! Fuck, hey! Bring another bitch from the warehouse!!

—Yes, yes!

—Tie this one up properly! Or cut her ankles! If she runs away again, I’ll cut your ankles too and throw you off the cliff!

—I-I understand, boss!

A bandit who took a woman’s life and existence and casually ordered another woman to be brought.

Jereuth found it hard to contain his anger at the atrocity, but he maintained his composure once again and carefully analyzed the bandits.

‘Looking at his archery skills, he’s definitely a skilled man. Is that man the boss and the leader.’

As Jereuth was checking the skill level of the bandit group.

Something caught his eye. It was the identity of the white cloak the bandit boss was wearing.

‘Don’t tell me…… is he wearing a cloak made from the royal banner?’

With the feeling of ‘that son of a bitch—,’ Jereuth focused his sight on the cloak the man was wearing. Then it became certain. The cloak the man was wearing was indeed made from the royal banner.

‘To be wearing a cloak made from the royal banner means…… he must have plundered a merchant guild that was flying the royal banner.’

Jereuth pointed at the bandit boss and said.

“……Look at the cloak he is wearing. It’s made from the royal banner. He probably plundered a merchant guild that was flying the royal banner and is mocking the banner in such a way.”

“……”

“……”

“……”

The expressions of the Demian triplets hardened. It was a capital offense for mere bandits to attack a merchant guild flying the royal banner, but to dare to make a cloak out of that banner was an unthinkable and unacceptable act.

However, the anger of the Demian triplets was no match for Jereuth’s.

“……”

They say that when a person gets really angry, their face becomes completely expressionless.

That was Jereuth right now. He was not just greatly angered, but extremely angered.

Although he was that angry, Jereuth maintained his composure as befitting his career and dignity and checked the strength of the bandits.

‘Just what I can see outside is about 50 horses, enough bows and arrows for about 30 people. Enough swords, spears, and shields for 50 people comfortably. But there might be weapons or horses stored in the warehouse besides what I can see…… so it’s a fairly large-scale bandit group. 150, maybe even over 200.’

In terms of scale alone, it was more than the private soldiers of most nobles. Not only that, but they were surely quite skilled as well.

If it were bandits of that level, they could really attack them. Since they had a history of attacking a merchant guild flying the royal banner, there was a high possibility that they would attack Leonardo’s carriage this time as well.

But.

‘They are no match for me.’

That’s right. They were certainly quite skilled, but they were no match for him.

And the ones escorting Leonardo now were all high-rank knights or their equivalents, and elite soldiers.

“……”

Jereuth looked at the bandit hideout with a gaze so cold it was freezing, and thought.

He spoke to the Demian triplets who were glaring at the bandit group.

“We are returning. We will report the situation to His Highness and receive his orders.”

“Yes, I understand.”

Jereuth said he would first report to Leonardo and receive his orders, but.

He had already made a decision in his mind.

‘Those bastards who dared to ignore and mock the royal banner…… I will absolutely not let them live.’

And, the fate of the bandits had already been decided.

There are beings you should not have touched—such things exist in the world.