I Became the Commander in a Trash Game Who Copies Skills

Chapter 167. The Emperor (6)

‘When you see them on TV, you feel a different kind of atmosphere. An aura, I guess? They're just talking, but there's some kind of power in it…’

Reviews from people who have actually met chaebols, scholars, or heads of government seen on TV often include such comments.

It might be because they feel the person's status firsthand through the bodyguards, aides, and broadcast cameras they have with them, but I don't think that's the only reason.

They often say that luck is a necessary ingredient for success.

But success is not achieved by luck alone.

No matter how expensive the seasoning, it can't turn rotten meat into a high-end steak.

Don't even people who say that luck is necessary for success add that the main ingredients are ability, effort, and above all, experience?

In the end, what matters is experience.

It means that those who sit in positions that others look up to from afar have had countless different experiences than others to get there.

The collection of those experiences is what makes an inexplicable power emanate from the person's expression and words.

Some call it an aura, others charisma, but the conclusion is the power contained in the words themselves.

I also have such a power.

[Deploying [Lord's Unyielding Mind].]

A trait that I obtained irrespective of effort or experience, but which bestows a power on the tip of my tongue more potent than any experience.

“How about it? Have you ever thought of becoming emperor?”

There's a problem.

There is a person on whom that power does not work.

The emperor of the empire, right in front of me.

The reason is that he has the same eye level as me.

[Lord's Unyielding Mind]'s effect is nullified only on a target with the same trait.

Just as even renowned corporate chairmen would not bow to each other if they were chaebols of a similar scale.

“…….”

I hesitated to answer.

Normally, I would have given a suitable answer to grasp the hidden intention, and then used the power of eloquence given by [Lord's Unyielding Mind] to lead the conversation in a direction favorable to me.

I can't do that now.

It means I have to grasp it well from the beginning.

In a system that serves a lifelong, hereditary monarch, wanting to become king is generally another expression for treason.

But the fact that the monarch before me is the iron-blooded emperor, Lui Karlos, clouds my judgment.

What is the intention behind those words?

Is it a trap, or is it sincere?

“Hahaha! Why so tense? I was just asking.”

“…….”

“You can answer honestly without feeling burdened. I can ask this much, can't I? Between us.”

He and I are not lovers, and I have no intention of ever being in such a relationship, but this time, it seems necessary to reflect on the actions of countless lovers.

The phrase ‘between us’ is the next most dangerous sentence after ‘trust me, oppa’.

***

Even after the unexpected question, my visit to the Emperor's sickbed continued for a while longer.

Of course, I never answered that question.

Surprisingly, the Emperor didn't seem to be in a rush to hear it either.

‘I understand. It must be a difficult question to answer. Let's talk about it next time.’

However, I could sense a nuance in his tone that suggested he would demand an answer someday.

Whether it was a long-term plan to put me in a trap, or a question with truly pure intentions, I would have to think about it gradually.

Pushing aside my complicated feelings, I went to the site.

The factory complex, which was expanding in real time.

Clang! Clang!

Chiiiik-!

Smoke rising from the chimneys.

The noise of gears and cogs meshing and turning, and the clanking of conveyor belts.

The sound of hammering from all over, the heat felt on the skin, and the screams of the workers, close to shouts, made me feel that this city was also experiencing its own growing pains.

It meant that while I was fighting a desperate battle in the Ratman burrows, Wolfskrig had been fighting its own battle.

The expansion of the factory district was one of them.

Four factories had already been built, and three more were one or two months away from completion.

It was true that the expansion of the factory district had my full support.

Personally, I believed that an industrial revolution on the level of literally churning out steel, gunpowder, and weapons was the most important stepping stone to overcoming the approaching threats.

However, until I left, there were no plans for the construction to proceed this quickly.

I asked William for the reason.

As expected, there was unexpected help behind the abnormal construction speed.

“The King of Kings sent him.”

The dwarf Balkan.

The son of the King of Kings, Ungol, had come to Wolfskrig.

“He told me to get along with the humans. And to lay some groundwork for the dwarves to settle.”

Balkan said, scratching his tangled hair.

His hair was full of dust, including peat powder.

He probably came out after working all night.

Dwarves were a race that didn't need much sleep.

He had led the dwarves from the Everlasting Mountains Hold and had settled in the city as a group.

Their numbers were about four hundred.

From my perspective, there was no reason to refuse.

Each dwarf was a technician who could do the work of ten ordinary human artisans.

However, what I was curious about was why the ever-so-reclusive dwarves had sent their human resources here.

Especially with the talk of creating a foundation for settlement.

“The reason? I don't know. Is he planning a deeper alliance? He told me to teach any skills I could. Well, he didn't put any restrictions on it.”

“It's a bit surprising that there are no restrictions on teaching skills.”

“I know, right? No one objected at the Meister council either. Normally, what's a human, you'd be branded a traitor and kicked out for sharing a little technology with the hold right next door.”

The hand scratching his head went down to his beard.

No, was it his beard or his hair?

Due to his shaggy hairstyle, the distinction was ambiguous.

“Wasn't Duke Meister accused of such a thing? If he had just stayed in the hold, what other gifts would he have given us?”

“…….”

I should probably keep it a secret that one of those gifts was sleeping in the forest near the domain.

It might have been a stroke of luck that the aerial battleship hadn't been activated while I was away.

Anyway, what I came to see today was not the construction site that the dwarves were excitedly building.

With Balkan, I entered one of the factories, breaking through the various noises.

It was Factory No. 1, the first to be built in the domain.

Its name was ‘Duke Steel’.

The factory, named after William's master, Duke Meister, had gone through several upgrades and was now producing enough steel to supply all of Wolfskrig and then some. Follow current ɴᴏᴠᴇʟs on NoveIꜰire.net

Thanks to this, the entire Wolfskrig Viscount's army was armed with plate armor.

For reference, after the Eastern Expedition, the viscounty had become several times larger than before, and the number of troops had also increased proportionally.

Thirty-five thousand troops armed with plate armor was a scale that most nobles in the empire couldn't even dream of.

Honestly, with the exception of the Emperor, I was confident that I wouldn't lose to any noble in the empire.

‘If I take away their key pieces, I might not even lose to the imperial capital's defense force in a fight?’

I shook my head.

A useless thought.

I had to be on my guard, as the Emperor might be testing me in real time.

Pushing aside the stray thoughts, I looked for William.

“Ah, my lord Viscount! What you asked for is ready. Lord Balkan, you've come too?”

“Huh? Did you ask this friend for something?”

The dwarf looked up.

Smiling silently, I followed William.

We entered the passage leading to the factory's power unit.

Ten days ago, I had asked William for a favor.

‘You mean to run it on magic stones instead of peat? I think I just need to work on the power unit, I'll give it a try. It won't take long!’

The request was whether he could make the factory's engine run on magic stones as a power source, instead of peat.

The Emperor's advice was the catalyst.

He had explained in detail how he had used the sacred relic of ‘The Aphid that Consumes the Universe’, in other words, Crusty.

What kind of raw material was good, how long the magic stone processing took, and how the factory complex he had secretly built near the imperial capital was made.

Honestly, I didn't expect him to tell me in such detail.

I had personally expressed interest, and I knew the Emperor wanted me as an ally, but still.

Did he think that the sacred relic was a card he had already passed on?

Anyway, based on the information he gave me, I would build my own foundation.

“Huh? This is….”

We arrived.

Hearing the exclamation of the dwarf royalty who had gone one step ahead.

It was the very place where the steam engine using peat was first demonstrated almost a year ago.

“Isn't this a magic stone power engine? Where are you going to get the supply of magic stones…”

Seeing him grasp the core of the engine at first glance, I could tell his eyes were not ordinary either.

The ensuing question was probably due to his background knowledge that the empire itself produced almost none.

There seemed to be no need to explain.

“William? Is that sack you're holding by any chance magic stone powder? Wait, this quality is hard to come by even in the holds. Where on earth did you get this…”

“I don't know that much either. The Viscount just gave it to me.”

“The, the Viscount?”

“Well, I dug it up. Found a vein. It's a secret.”

A vein is a vein.

Although they probably wouldn't be able to find it even if they searched with their eyes wide open.

Among the gains from this expedition, in terms of personal military power, [Flame Spirit] would undoubtedly be the best.

However, if I calculated the overall benefits, including my faction, there were about two things that surpassed even a level 9 spell.

‘Omnyom?’

One was Crusty.

‘Now, now, this way! Hey, Tick-Tocky! As soon as Crusty moves it, you have to throw it over here right away. You're breaking the flow!’

‘Tick…Tick-tock!’

‘Don't complain too much. Aren't you the only one among us with all your limbs? Since you're able-bodied, you should bear a little more of the work.’

‘Tick…….’

‘Kiiiiing!’

And the other was the [Large Subspace] and [Extra Large Subspace] traits I had obtained in succession in the last battle.

That's right.

The [Extra Large Subspace] had now been transformed into a magic stone factory and warehouse.

This was possible because as I went from medium to large, and then to extra large, the size of the subspace became incomparably larger than before.

If the [Large Subspace] was the size of a fairly large logistics warehouse, now it was literally a field.

It wasn't to the point where I couldn't see the end, but it was vast enough to accommodate a harbor.

The sacred relics, who were tenants, were put to diligent labor every day in exchange for various sweets like candy and sugar.

And that's not all.

[Dreaming of a Skyscraper]

[Become the owner of the tall building you looked up at as a child! The stability of high-rise buildings of 10 floors or more in your ruling domain is greatly improved.]

[Government Efficiency Department]

[You’re Fired! Tax waste is reduced by half.]

[Happy Virus Host]

[If you're happy, that's all that matters, isn't it? Is there a need to find the source of happiness? The happiness level of your domain's residents…….]

[Voluntary Relief Trend]

[…….]

[…….]

As always, the names were strange, but the content was substantial.

Of the twenty-seven traits, half of a third were trash, but half of the remaining two-thirds were quite good governance-related traits like these.

GUUUUUUUUUUNG-!!

“Oh, it's running well! Just as expected of Duke Meister's disciple!”

“Haha, you praise me too much.”

Feeling the pleasant rumble of the engine transmitted to my eardrums and the soles of my feet, I left the factory.

The path to the mass production I dreamed of had been brought much closer than I thought.

Infinite magic stones.

Dwarven support.

A genius technician and the manpower of endlessly flocking immigrants.

All these things would mix in the cauldron of the domain and present a greater miracle than ever before.

“…….”

In the Ratman burrows, humanity and the empire had tasted bitterness.

I, too, had overcome a life-threatening crisis, and the pressure of the enemy, which came in the form of nightmares, was felt more strongly than ever.

However, I don't think it's time to despair yet.

Of course, it was also a time-honored feature of this game that a crisis would strike when hope appeared.

A week had passed since the magic stone factory began operating.

“…His Majesty is critically ill.”

The Archduke said with an ashen face.