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

Chapter 97

‘A snake sound, and a huge shadow covered my head.’

—So it was written in the <Future Diary>.

‘So what happens next?’

With that natural question, I immediately turned to the next page. But.

There was nothing written on the next page. In other words, the content up to “A huge shadow, obscuring the setting sun, passed over my head.” was the last future foretold for me so far.

A huge shadow that made a snake sound covering my head. It was obviously not a good future.

Because, thinking about it with common sense, it would mean a ‘giant snake’ passed over my head.

‘I don’t really like it… but come to think of it, there’s something strange about it as I read.’

Until now, whenever a crisis was foretold in the <Future Diary>, the result was also mentioned.

For example, when the ‘villainy of the nobles’ was the crisis, the result was ‘I was hanged to death,’ and when the ‘rampage of the bandits’ was the crisis, the result was ‘the royal capital was besieged and I died.’

But now it’s different. Even though there was a crisis of ‘a huge shadow passed over my head,’ there was no result like ‘I died’ or ‘I was injured.’

‘Does that mean this giant snake isn’t a crisis? Maybe Jereuth, who was with me, takes care of it… but if so, it would have been written in the diary that Jereuth took care of the giant snake.’

But this time, there was no such content in the <Future Diary>.

‘Hmm… I don’t know.’

After thinking for a while, I decided to organize my thoughts for now.

‘If Jereuth or the King got hurt or died because of the snake, it would have been in the <Future Diary>. But since there’s no such content, it must mean nothing major happened.’

Of course, that didn’t mean I could take the ‘giant snake’ lightly. The events in the <Future Diary> were all important ‘events’ for me, so that ‘giant snake’ would surely have a big impact on me.

‘Let’s check the diary frequently from now on. I need to find out what changes happen because of that giant snake as soon as possible.’

If by any chance, no new content is written in the diary, then I would have no choice but to forcibly warn Jereuth in advance.

Even if it was just something like, “I heard a snake sound from somewhere. I think we should be careful.”

Thud—.

Finishing my thoughts, I closed the <Future Diary> and put it on the bookshelf.

‘……I should sleep. I’m so tired.’

While reading the <Future Diary>, my body was tense so I didn’t feel tired, but as soon as I relaxed, fatigue washed over me.

It felt like the fatigue from the long journey, the stress from dealing with the banquet the former nobles had unnecessarily prepared, the appointment of Olivia as the head of internal affairs, and receiving the sword from the King all poured in at once.

Plop—.

I roughly took off my outer clothes, threw them on a corner of the bed, and collapsed onto it.

My head felt really heavy.

The scent of my bed, which I hadn’t smelled in a long time, enveloped my mind.

“……”

I felt like I was about to fall asleep without realizing it, but before I did, I quickly organized what I had to do tomorrow.

‘For now, it’s best to stick to the schedule of the <Future Diary> as much as possible… so I should depart for the Wasteland of Ruin tomorrow. Before I go, I should also write down some guidelines on how to manage internal affairs while I’m gone.’

But I also wondered if I really needed to leave guidelines on internal affairs. Honestly, it was because Olivia seemed much smarter than me.

‘Continue with the current policies, but if a variable arises, have Olivia respond appropriately—it would be best to write it that way. I think that would be better than me writing everything down in detail.’

As I was thinking that, Elly also came to mind.

‘Come to think of it, I also have to tell Elly that I’m going to the Wasteland of Ruin tomorrow.’

I had no intention of taking Elly on this trip. Still, it would be better to tell her in advance today rather than suddenly leaving tomorrow without a word.

‘She went out to talk to Olivia earlier and still hasn’t come back, so did she just go home? I’m too tired to wait long… should I just sleep?’

It was at that moment I was thinking.

—Knock, knock.

—Your Highness, it’s Elly. May I come in?

Just in time.

“Yes, come in.”

I roughly brushed my disheveled hair, which had fallen below my eyes, and answered. Elly slowly entered the room and approached me.

For some reason, Elly seemed to be in a pretty good mood.

“My conversation with Lady Olivia went on a bit long. I apologize.”

“It’s alright. By the way, I have something to tell you.”

At my words, Elly bowed her head towards me and focused more.

“You know I’m planning to go to the Wasteland of Ruin, right? To meet the Giants.”

“Giants… yes, I overheard it at the banquet today. To seal the Minotaur, right?”

Elly, who had a bright expression, hardened her face and spoke in a rather worried voice. It seemed she was worried about me going to a dangerous place like the Wasteland of Ruin.

‘She’ll be really surprised if I say I’m leaving tomorrow.’

“That’s right. I talked about the schedule with the Commander earlier, and we decided to depart tomorrow.”

“……What?! To, tomorrow?”

It was just as I had expected.

“I, I’m sorry. It was just so sudden.”

Elly bowed her head as if blaming herself for her loud voice and spoke in an apologetic tone.

“It’s alright. Anyway, we will be departing tomorrow. That’s what I wanted to say.”

“I understand. Then I will also prepare.”

“No, this time it will be just the three of us: the Commander, my father, and me. We’ve decided not to take any knights or soldiers.”

“Just His Majesty, the Commander, and you, Your Highness…?”

“Yes. My father said he wanted to spend time with me alone. So, to keep the escort to a minimum, only Commander Jereuth will be going.”

“……”

“It will probably be a long time before I return from the Wasteland of Ruin. So, Elly, please rest well while I’m gone. You must be very tired from going through all sorts of things because of me. It would be good for you to go on a vacation to your family home.”

“……”

“Elly?”

Elly didn’t answer.

So when I asked again, Elly barely managed to speak in a heavy voice.

“……I understand. Then I will prepare Your Highness’s travel luggage for today.”

Elly’s voice sounded as if she had a lot more to say. But she kept her mouth shut without saying anything else.

“Then I’m tired, so I’ll go to sleep first. I’m sure you’re tired too, Elly, but please take care of preparing the travel luggage.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

After a short reply, Elly closed the terrace window and even turned off the room light.

Click—.

As soon as the light went out, I felt a wave of sleepiness. If I were to directly inject a sleeping pill into my brain, it would probably feel like this.

As I was about to fall asleep, I vaguely heard Elly’s voice.

—…I wish you would rest a little more. But since you’ve already decided, I’m sure you’ll leave tomorrow no matter what I say…….

I was too sleepy, so I couldn’t hear her words clearly.

I fell asleep.

***

The next morning.

Jereuth adjusted his armor while looking at himself in the mirror in his office.

On the outside, Jereuth seemed to be preparing for the day as usual.

But Jereuth had been feeling unsettled since last night, remembering Leonardo’s words.

‘His Highness said he was happy that Philip was healthy. Even though he was so incompetent and caused him so much trouble, does he wish for his father to be healthy just because he is his father?’

Truly, Leonardo was a reliable lord and an admirable person.

‘It was the first time I saw His Highness so genuinely happy. He was happy like a twelve-year-old boy.’

But the problem was.

‘The King… is actually not healthy.’

That’s right. The King looked fine on the outside, but he had a terrible, indescribable scar on his abdomen.

The King had said that the scar was some kind of ‘disease,’ and because of that disease, he only had about a year of his lifespan left.

‘If His Highness finds out that the King will die within a year… what kind of reaction will he show?’

In any case, even if the King didn’t die of illness, he had decided to become a living sacrifice for the Minotaur’s dungeon himself.

In other words, the King was certain to die within a few months. Absolutely.

‘No matter how strong His Highness Leonardo’s mental fortitude is, his father becoming a living sacrifice would be a great shock. If His Highness is so shocked by his father’s sudden death that he neglects state affairs… that would be a really big problem.’

Hoo—.

Jereuth let out a deep sigh.

‘It seems my mind was more at ease back then when I had to charge into a demon army of tens of thousands.’

Jereuth, who was continuing his complicated thoughts while looking at his eyes in the mirror.

Vice Commander Hagen, who was behind him, looked at the clock and spoke.

“Commander, I think you should be heading out soon. It’s time for you to depart.”

“Alright.”

Jereuth had told Hagen in advance yesterday, “I have to go see His Highness early in the morning, so if I forget, please remind me.”

“How is the King? Does he seem to have finished his preparations?”

“Yes. When I checked on him earlier, the King seemed to have finished his preparations on his own. But just in case, I told him to be ready to depart at any time.”

‘Seemed to have finished his preparations on his own.’ and ‘told him to be ready to depart at any time.’

As could be seen from his tone, Hagen did not respect the King in the slightest. It probably wasn’t just Hagen who had this attitude.

Hagen added a few words in a displeased tone.

“The King, who was pretending to be dying until just a short while ago, suddenly wants to follow His Highness Leonardo all the way to the Wasteland of Ruin… I’m suspicious.”

“Suspicious? What kind of suspicion?”

“The suspicion that the King is trying to regain power. Isn’t this a ploy to show that he is well by going on a journey with His Highness Leonardo?”

“……”

“I’m also suspicious that he only wants to take the Commander as an escort. Perhaps the King is planning to secretly assassinate His Highness Leonardo during the journey—”

As Hagen was speaking.

“Stop it.”

Jereuth cut him off.

“I will be by His Highness’s side at all times, so no one will be able to touch a single hair on His Highness’s head.”

“Still—.”

“Are you doubting my skills?”

“……No, sir. I apologize.”

“I understand your concern. But that’s too much of a stretch. The King… Philip is by no means that kind of man.”

When Hagen backed down, Jereuth grabbed his sword one last time and left the room. Read full story at novel~fire~net

Hagen followed silently behind him.

***

On the way to Leonardo’s room with Hagen.

Another thought crossed Jereuth’s mind.

‘Come to think of it, Philip said something like that. That I too will be able to know when and how I will die when my time comes.’

To be able to know one’s own death, it was a strange thing to say, but for some reason, Jereuth couldn’t just dismiss Philip’s words lightly.

It was because all of his words felt like the truth.

‘Fortunately, I don’t feel like I’m going to die yet. I think I’ll be able to assist His Highness Leonardo for a few more years. But if I do die… just as Philip left His Highness Leonardo, it would be good for me to decide in advance on a talent who will succeed me.’

“Hagen.”

Jereuth, while thinking, called out to Hagen who was following him.

“Yes, Commander.”

“Do you remember what I said before?”

“If you mean what you said… are you talking about the next Head of the Knight Order?”

“Mhm. I would like you to take the position.”

“……You are still well, Commander. So please do not say such things. If other knights or soldiers hear it, their morale could be greatly shaken.”

“……”

“And even if the time comes when you have to put down your sword, Commander, I cannot even follow in your footsteps. Not your skill, career, honor, or anything.”

At Hagen who was refusing his offer again, Jereuth let out a silent sigh.

“Then who would be good to take the position besides you. In terms of rank, career, and honor, you are next after me.”

“How about Ray?”

“Ray, that boy is also a fine knight. But Ray is better suited for a role that moves secretly and cautiously rather than a role that stands in front like the Head of the Knight Order. Like the role of blocking Diego’s escape route in advance and waiting during the previous ‘war on crime.’”

“That is correct. Then—”

“The other boys also have their own roles. You are the only one suitable for the Head of the Knight Order.”

“……”

At Jereuth who was once again entrusting him with the position of the next Head of the Knight Order, Hagen also let out a silent sigh.

Jereuth was not one to not notice such a sign.

“Is becoming the Head of the Knight Order that much of a burden?”

“It is. And… you also know, Commander. I doubted His Highness Leonardo’s plan and intentions when he said he would purge the nobles.”

“……”

“Of course, I now trust and follow His Highness Leonardo unconditionally. But since I doubted His Highness Leonardo even once, I am fundamentally a rotten person.”

Hagen, who was blaming himself for the past, continued to speak.

“Commander. How about entrusting the role of the Head of the Knight Order to the next generation?”

“The next generation? Are you talking about the children who are currently training as squires?”

“Yes. To be able to protect His Highness Leonardo until the end, it would be good for them to be of a similar age to him. That way, won’t they be able to serve His Highness longer than anyone else?”

“Hmm.”

“Of course, it will take a long time for any of the squires to acquire the skill, career, and honor of a Head of the Knight Order. But wouldn’t we, the ‘old generation,’ be able to fill in and help with that?”

“Entrusting it to a new generation of a similar age to His Highness… that’s a good idea. Is there any outstanding squire you would recommend as a candidate?”

At Jereuth’s question, Hagen answered without hesitation.

“Yoanna, I recommend that child. I watched her closely when she went with us to Misty Port this time, and Yoanna has great loyalty to His Highness. Not only that, but when all the other squires were collapsing from exhaustion from the chores, she would force herself to find time to train with her sword.”

“Yoanna… that child.”

Jereuth remembered Yoanna. She was the girl whose life was saved by Leonardo’s grace after being caught trying to pickpocket him in the market.

“Yoanna is still lacking in many aspects because she has only recently become a squire. However, her learning speed for anything is very fast compared to the other squires. Especially her speed in learning swordsmanship is amazing.”

“She has a talent for swordsmanship.”

“That is correct. I had the time to guide her once, and her learning speed was faster than an ‘Anakros’ swallowing a person. Since she is a girl, she lacks strength, but I can confidently say that her talent for the sword is great enough to more than make up for it.”

‘Anakros’ was a giant snake monster. Its maximum length was known to be 5-6 meters.

That monster was not just big. It was very difficult to deal with because of its strength, which could easily crush an ogre, and its terrible regenerative ability, which healed no matter how much you cut it.

It was not for nothing that there was a legend that the Anakros was one of the nine heads of the mythical monster, the ‘Hydra.’

Although it was such a powerful monster, it was not a great threat to humans. This was because the Anakros was born, lived its entire life, and died in a cave or a deep underground nest.

In other words, as long as you didn’t do the foolish thing of stepping into an Anakros’s nest, you would not die by an Anakros. In fact, for most humans, goblins that frequently attacked villages were a more fearsome and troublesome existence.

But in any case, the Anakros was still a fearsome monster to humans. Naturally.

Jereuth smiled faintly.

‘For Hagen to praise her using the Anakros as an analogy. It’s not an easy thing for a boy of his personality. There must be a good reason for it.’

“I understand. Then I will keep an eye on that child. And… as I said yesterday, I might depart for the ‘Wasteland of Ruin’ with His Highness and the King today.”

“Yes.”

“If we go to the Wasteland of Ruin this time, we will be away from the royal castle for quite a long time. We might be gone for at least half a year, and at most, a year. During that time, you will serve as the temporary Head of the Knight Order, take ‘Yoanna’ as your squire, and have her watch and learn the role and responsibilities of the Head of the Knight Order. You will teach her the sword yourself, and also horsemanship. Above all, have her read many books. A Head of the Knight Order who protects His Highness, who loves books, should be wise.”

“I understand.”

“Also, to strengthen her mental fortitude, have her engage in actual combat sparring with the knights every day.”

“Actual combat sparring, not guided sparring? With real swords?”

“Actual combat sparring. To strengthen mental fortitude, going through moments of life and death is the most certain way. You would know what that means.”

“Of course. I… also became strong that way.”

Hagen listened to Jereuth’s instructions without missing a single one and inputted them into his mind.

With this, the early education of the next Head of the Knight Order of the Plank Kingdom began.

Nurturing a ‘knight’ was a common practice in any knightly family, but for elite knights to decide to nurture a ‘Head of the Knight Order’ itself was a first in the Plank Kingdom.

No, it was a first anywhere on the continent.

Generally, the Head of the Knight Order was usually a skilled knight who was good at politics.

***

While Jereuth was on his way to Leonardo’s room.

Leonardo was sitting at his desk, busily reviewing various documents and adding various contents.

Elly watched Leonardo’s side profile silently.

‘He said he’s going to the Wasteland of Ruin today… but he’s working like that since morning? It looks like he didn’t get much sleep either.’

Yesterday, Leonardo had fallen asleep at around one in the morning. And today, he was sitting at his desk working even before she came to wake him up.

‘He’s not going to collapse again like that time… right?’

Elly, who suddenly remembered Leonardo collapsing from overwork before.

But since Leonardo’s complexion was much better than back then, Elly thought that Leonardo would not collapse.

Leonardo was still a frail boy, but he was much better than back then.

Thud—.

Leonardo, who had been busily handling the documents for a while, put down his pen. Then he gathered the scattered documents neatly in one place and handed them to Elly, saying.

“Elly. Please deliver these documents to Lady Olivia. Lady Olivia will know what they are about even without an explanation.”

“I understand.”

“And have you thought about what I said yesterday? About going on a vacation to your family home.”

To think that he would care about such a trivial thing as her vacation even in such a busy situation.

Elly was grateful to such a Leonardo, but at the same time, her heart felt uneasy. It was because she couldn’t help the absolute ruler who was working day and night for the kingdom as he was about to embark on another difficult journey.

‘I want to follow and assist His Highness. But since he already said he wouldn’t take anyone, that won’t be possible. It would just be an argument that would waste His Highness’s time and energy.’

“I plan to study rather than go on vacation.”

“Study?”

“Yes. I want to cook better food for Your Highness. I can’t just keep giving you the same simple dishes every day. And… since I am now the ‘Head Maid,’ I think I should learn basic etiquette and demeanor.”

At Elly, who was answering while recalling the conversation she had with Olivia yesterday, Leonardo smiled faintly.

For some reason, that smile was like the ‘how admirable’ smile a very old person would give to a young girl. That’s how Elly felt.

“Please don’t overdo it. I am really satisfied with your cooking right now. And I don’t care about things like etiquette. Really.”

For the person who was overworking himself the most in the royal castle to say ‘don’t overdo it.’

Elly was grateful for those words, but her heart felt uneasy again.

But this time too, she didn’t say anything. Because she knew that no matter what she said, Leonardo would proceed with the plan he had decided on.

‘Still…….’

“I hope Your Highness doesn’t overdo it either. And if I may say one more thing, no matter how much His Majesty wished not to take any other personnel, I think it would be better to take someone to at least take care of your basic needs—”

Just as Elly was subtly hinting that he should take her.

—Knock, knock.

—Your Highness, it is Jereuth.

Jereuth’s upright voice was heard. At that voice, Elly stopped talking without realizing it.

Leonardo spoke towards the door.

“It seems the Commander has come because it’s time to depart. Yes, Commander. Come in.”

Leonardo, who was getting up while speaking.

He was heading towards the place where the travel luggage Elly had prepared and the pure white short sword were.

Click—.

“Excuse me, Your Highness. I came to ask if you will be departing today, but…. Looking at that luggage, it seems you have decided to depart.”

Jereuth said, looking at Leonardo’s travel luggage and sword.

“Is that a sword that Your Highness had separately?”

“Ah, this sword was given to me by my father. It was originally a black longsword, but when I held it, it became a short, pure white short sword like this. Isn’t it amazing?”

At Leonardo, who lightly lifted the sword and showed it to him, Jereuth thought silently to himself.

‘If it’s Philip’s black longsword… it must be Grombrindal’s masterpiece, ‘Cardania.’ They said it was a sword that changes its form to match its owner, so that must have been true.’

“Isn’t it heavy? Even if it’s a short sword, it must be quite heavy to wield freely.”

At Jereuth’s words, Leonardo lightly lifted the sword into the air.

“It’s not that heavy. It has a moderate weight to it.”

“A moderate weight…. I see.”

‘As expected of a masterpiece by Grombrindal, the master of master Dwarves. But the fact that Philip gave that sword to His Highness Leonardo… does that mean that boy is really entrusting everything to His Highness Leonardo?’

As Jereuth was thinking silently, Leonardo spoke to Elly, who was watching him from a distance.

“Then Elly, I’ll be off.”

Leonardo, who spoke with a smile, not understanding her feelings in the slightest.

At such a Leonardo, Elly also had no choice but to force a smile and reply.

“……Yes, Your Highness! Please be careful, and I hope you return as soon as possible!”

Elly’s words, filled with sincerity in every syllable.

With those words behind him, Leonardo left the room.

It was time for Leonardo to head to the ‘Wasteland of Ruin.’