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

Chapter 162

It was now the second week since we had departed from the royal capital.

I led the army and arrived at the Ness Plains.

'I've been here once before, but...... it feels different from back then.'

Was it because this was the battlefield where the fate of the kingdom would be decided?

A strange current flowed through the Ness Plains itself. It was unusually solemn. I also felt a sense of pressure bearing down on me.

Why did I feel this way?

'In the <Future Diary>, it was already confirmed that we would win the war against the monster army.'

I didn't bring the <Future Diary> to the battlefield. It would have been a huge problem if I had lost it amidst the chaos.

Still, before I departed from the royal capital, the content of the diary that I had read most recently had definitely promised me victory.

''A victory like a miracle or a lie. However, it was not a victory without any damage.' - it was written something like that.'

The phrase in the diary, 'it was not a victory without any damage,' did bother me.

But in truth, there was something that bothered me even more.

It was the fact that my ending was still 'blank'.

'It's been almost two years since my ending became blank.'

Until now, even if my ending had been blank, it was always rewritten soon after. Of course, a good ending was never written, not even once, but at any rate, the content had been there.

But for that ending to be empty for so long, I couldn't help but feel frustrated.

'Well...... anyway, what's certain is that after the war with the monster army, two more wars will break out. The war with the Jerpan Archipelago, and the war with the Angla Empire.'

Those two consecutive wars would surely affect the fate of this kingdom.

And my fate as well, of course.

After pondering for a long while, I lifted my head and looked at the sky.

'What I can do now is to win this war with minimal damage, just as it was in the <Future Diary>, no, even more brilliantly. That's the only way I'll be able to stand against the Jerpan Archipelago or the Angla Empire.'

"Hagen."

As I called, Hagen, who was riding his horse beside me, slowly guided his horse over.

"Yes, Your Highness."

"We will set up a temporary camp around here. The battle will start in a few days, so let the soldiers and horses rest sufficiently before then. As for everything else, prepare it as you see fit."

"I understand, thank you for entrusting this to me!"

Clank—!

Hagen bowed his head as if he was genuinely grateful. ......I just delegated it to Hagen because I didn't know much about it myself.

'Jereuth said Hagen is a guy who can be trusted in any situation, so I suppose I can trust him with this.'

After watching Hagen for a moment, I also dismounted from my horse, Kartum. Since Jereuth had gone to the southern fortress on a Gryphon, I was borrowing Kartum.

Snort—!

Kartum flared his nostrils wide and snorted, perhaps excited about coming to the battlefield.

He was a rough and strong horse.

'But somehow...... it feels like he's thinking that this is the place where he will die.'

If I were a pure-blooded elf, I would have been able to read the animal's mind completely.

However, because I was a 'half-elf', I couldn't completely read Kartum's mind.

It just felt that way.

"Don't worry. You're not going to die here."

Snort—! Latest content publıshed on novel✶fire.net

Kartum snorted again, as if it didn't matter, as if he had lived long enough.

Perhaps because he was a horse that had been with Jereuth for a long time, their personalities seemed similar.

'They do say that an animal's senses are superior to a human's....... Never mind, let's not think about useless things. These kinds of thoughts plant seeds.'

While I was lost in thought, the soldiers had already begun to set up camp. My soldiers had been consistently deployed in various construction projects, so their movements were all very coordinated.

It was as if everyone was a skilled construction worker.

'I should help with something too.'

—Just as I thought that and was about to head among the soldiers.

"Your...... Highness?"

Yoanna spoke from behind me.

"Are you trying to help the soldiers?"

How did she know?

"So what if I am?"

"N-no, you mustn't!"

What was this now? Mustn't?

"Why not?"

"Commander Jereuth said so. He said to stop you if Your Highness tries to do any 'work' with the soldiers...... yes."

"......?"

Yoanna seemed to be very flustered herself for having told me 'no'.

"C-Commander-nim also said that work on the battlefield greatly depletes stamina! Your Highness's well-being is more important than anything else, so please rest as much as possible—."

"So you're saying the Commander-nim told you to make me conserve my stamina, is that it?"

I summed up Yoanna's rambling words.

Yoanna nodded awkwardly as if I was right.

'To be concerned about me even while going to a different battlefield...... that's just like Jereuth.'

However.

"The soldiers' stamina is just as important as mine. No, in fact, the soldiers' stamina is even more important."

I stated my thoughts as if it were a matter of course.

***

"If I help even a little, it becomes easier for the soldiers. Then the stamina of the entire army is conserved, and that will make it easier to win."

"......"

"And I'm really confident in my stamina. You saw it when we went to the Foothill's Rest, didn't you?"

"Ah......"

Yoanna nodded her head, recalling the past.

'Come to think of it, His Highness didn't get tired at all even during that forced march......'

"Th-that may be so, but! I received a direct order from the Commander-nim, so—."

"Don't worry, I'll tell the Commander-nim that I was being stubborn."

Thump—.

Leonardo lightly punched Yoanna's shoulder. Then, as if there was nothing more to say, he went to where the soldiers were working.

Watching Leonardo's retreating back, Yoanna let out a sigh mixed with various emotions.

Haa—.

'He truly is an amazing person. A lord one can't help but respect.'

As she thought, Yoanna touched her own shoulder where Leonardo had just punched.

Her face reddened for no reason.

It was common for a superior to pat a subordinate's shoulder. In the military, it was as common as a greeting.

Naturally, Yoanna had experienced it many times during her time in the military.

But why was it?

When Leonardo did it, even that trivial act felt different to Yoanna.

Ssk—.

Yoanna preciously touched the part of her shoulder pauldron where Leonardo's hand had landed.

A playful voice was heard from behind Yoanna.

"Yoanna, what did His Highness mean when he said he 'knows you have good stamina'?"

"Wh-what?! Ah, yes!"

Yoanna, who had been staring blankly at Leonardo, snapped to attention and turned around.

Behind her was the high-ranking knight, 'Tros'.

"I'm sorry! I didn't hear you correctly!"

"You said you found out when you went to the Foothill's Rest with His Highness. That His Highness has 'good stamina'."

"Ah...... yes. That is correct, but?"

"What does that mean? What kind of 'stamina'?"

Tros grinned a playful smile that felt lecherous.

At that smile, Yoanna realized her superior was making a crude joke and her face turned red.

"N-n-no! It's not like that! How could I possibly with His Highness!"

"Hahahaha!"

Thump—!

The high-ranking knight lightly punched Yoanna's shoulder.

"I was just joking to help you relax. Why are you so tense?"

"I-I'm sorry."

"There's nothing to be sorry about, but a knight shouldn't be tense. The soldiers gain confidence by looking at a knight's back, but if that knight is tense, do you think the soldiers will feel courageous?"

"......Ah."

"His Highness working together with the soldiers is probably in a similar context. He's showing his composure, working with the soldiers as usual even on a battlefield like this."

"St-still, isn't it important to be tense on the battlefield?"

"It is. But a well-trained army like ours never lets its guard down. Especially soldiers who are with a king they respect. On the contrary, excessive tension in a situation like this becomes a poison. So you should also try to ease the soldiers' tension."

"Y-yes, sir!"

Tros finished speaking as he walked toward Leonardo.

"If you don't know what a knight should look like on the battlefield, follow Vice Commander Hagen-nim. That man is the most similar to Commander Jereuth-nim. Well, as for looks, I'm more handsome than Vice Commander Hagen-nim, though."

The serious voice from a moment ago vanished.

Tros spoke playfully again.

Another high-ranking knight who heard him chuckled and shouted to Hagen.

"Vice Commander-nim! Tros, that bastard, says he's more handsome than you!"

"What?"

Hagen, who had been surveying the camp construction, turned his head and looked at the high-ranking knight.

Then he spoke dismissively, as if it were absurd. However, his expression wasn't bad, as if he knew the knights were joking.

"Tros. You're more handsome than me?"

"Of course!"

"Alright, everyone has different tastes. That's possible. Keep up the good work."

—Pfft!

A soldier who had been quietly listening to Hagen's words burst out laughing. Hagen's words, which lightly dissed Tros, were funny.

"Wh-which bastard was it! Who laughed!"

—Hey, Tros! Stop spouting nonsense and come work! Don't pick on some poor soldier!

—His Highness is working too, so what are you doing? You slacker.

—Yoanna! Aren't you going to help out quickly either?!

"Ah, yes! I'm coming!"

Yoanna hurriedly ran toward the direction she was called from.

Watching the junior knight's figure, Tros gave a faint smile.

'She seems to have relaxed a bit. Yoanna also has a not-insignificant mission in this war, so she needs to do well. More importantly......'

Tros sent his gaze to the other side of the Ness Plains and continued his thoughts.

'This is going to be a difficult battle. The atmosphere I feel from the plains is unusual.'

Tros was also a knight who had distinguished himself in the war against the demon tribe alongside Jereuth. This meant he was one of the most renowned knights not only in the kingdom but on the continent.

In fact, he had received offers from royalty and nobles during the war against the demon tribe.

But even for such a Tros, the tension flowing from the Ness Plains was unusual.

"......"

Tros's eyes scanned somewhere on the vast land of the Ness Plains.

'The trap's range is from the end of the plain visible over there to right here in front. The role of us 'bait', including His Highness, is to feign defeat after a surprise attack from the Monster Mountains and lure them in by fleeing. Then, at the right moment, the mages will collapse the ground and drop the enemy into the trap.'

That was the role of the 'bait' unit.

However, Tros had another mission. A mission he had received from Jereuth, just like Yoanna.

'If His Highness tries to remain in the trap's range to save other knights or soldiers...... at that time, I was ordered to forcibly escort His Highness away.'

That order was a secret command Jereuth had given only to Tros and Hagen. A secret that not even the king knew.

It would be best if such a thing didn't happen, but—

'The Commander-nim was certain. That His Highness would surely not leave a single knight or soldier behind him.'

After thinking for a long while, Tros withdrew his gaze from the Ness Plains. Then he moved his feet to where his respected king was sweating alongside the soldiers.

—Hold that tight!

—Hey! Are you holding the central pillar properly?! ......I-I'm sorry! I didn't know Your Highness was holding it!

—Y-Your Highness! I'll do it! Hey! Get over here quick!

The king was helping to set up the soldiers' tents.

Watching the king, Tros once again wore a faint smile.

'For that man's sake, I could die in his place at any time.'

To serve a lord for whom one could die in their place.

That was the dream and wish of every knight.

And the knights of the Plank Kingdom were all achieving it.

***

A week after the Plank Kingdom's army established its position on the Ness Plains.

The sky, which had been dazzlingly clear for a whole week, became dark as if it were a lie.

Not rain clouds, nor dark clouds, but black, eerie clouds covered the sky of the Ness Plains.

It might have been black clouds and sky created by a trick of nature rather than magic, but the kingdom's army, which greeted it, couldn't help but be tense.

As if to match those clouds.

A scout delivered an important report.

"Your Highness, we have confirmed that a part of the monster army is moving from the south of the Monster Mountains to the north. They seem likely to arrive at the entrance of the Ness Plains by tomorrow, and they appear to be a part of the force that was attacking the southern fortress. We have confirmed a 'black orc' who appears to be the commander and numerous chieftain-level monsters."

As soon as he heard the scout's report.

The king, Leonardo, spoke to the other knights who had heard the report with him.

"Prepare to sally forth. We will ambush the bastards according to the plan."