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

Chapter 35

After my first meeting with the officials, I returned to my room from the banquet hall.

When I returned to my room, Elly asked.

“Your Highness, what would you like for your meal? It is quite late. You haven't even had breakfast……”

I looked at the clock and it was past two.

Time has passed so quickly.

"I would appreciate it if you could prepare it as I usually eat."

"As you usually eat, you mean, what I prepare?"

"Yes."

"Um……."

Elly trailed off her words, then took a step closer and said.

"Your Highness, I think it would be a good idea for you to start paying attention to your meals as well."

"Pay attention to my meals?"

"Yes. How about eating in the grand dining hall, receiving the recommendations of the chefs, instead of in your room? ……The splendid meals of the chefs, not the humble meals I prepare."

So now that I'm in power, I should eat delicious food like a Crown Prince without worrying about the nobles' opinions.

Of course, I want to eat delicious food too. I want to tear into juicy meat prepared with all the chefs' sincerity, and I want to indulge in the luxury of taking a few bites of fresh, good fruit and throwing it away.

But unfortunately, I have a conscience as a human being. At the very least, I am a person.

"With so many people starving to death in the kingdom, I cannot have a splendid meal by myself. Now is not the time for such luxury."

“……”

"And I've told you before, haven't I? That the food you make is more delicious than what the chefs make."

At my words, Elly lowered her head slightly, avoiding my gaze. Her face was a little reddish, perhaps because of the lighting.

"Ah, I understand. Then I will bring it as I always prepare."

"Thank you."

After a short conversation, Elly left the room to get my meal, and I decided to check the right away.

‘I entrusted the 'war on crime' plan to Jereuth and Heinshtangl. Considering the skills he has shown so far, Jereuth will probably have no problems. But Heinshtangl's skills are not certain, so I should first check how he prepares for the work.’

Swish—.

Thinking, I opened the and read it. It was the future closest to the present.

…….

One week later, at two in the morning. A time when everyone was asleep.

Based on Jereuth and Heinshtangl's plan, the 'war on crime' began.

Creek—.

The gates of the royal palace slowly open, and heavily armed knights quietly infiltrate the royal capital. It's like a secret raid on an enemy city.

Soldiers follow behind the knights. The soldiers are not as heavily armed as the knights in full plate armor. However, the soldiers are also armed to the maximum, as if to show they are going to 'war'. Their old armor, with iron plates attached to leather, and well-maintained spears catch the eye.

The simultaneous movement of 60 knights and 2,000 soldiers gave off an even greater sense of intimidation than imagined. It was much more magnificent than the advance of tens or hundreds of thousands of troops in a movie.

‘…….’

I watched it all silently from the walls of the royal palace.

Seeing the troops move with my own eyes, it finally sank in. 'Ah, this is really a war.' That feeling.

It was the content that the 'war on crime' had begun. It wasn't very detailed, but the prelude to the 'war on crime' was described in quite some detail.

I decided to continue reading the following content.

…….

Previously, Jereuth had said that subduing the thugs of the royal capital was an 'easy task'.

As if to prove his own words, the knights and soldiers led by Jereuth began to clean up the thugs of the royal capital in an instant. Really, so easily.

The number of thugs scattered throughout the royal capital was large, but they were only large in number and were no match for the army.

—Catch them all! Hey, that bastard is running!!

—Don't let a single one escape!!

—K-knights, why?!

When the army suddenly raided the thugs and wicked merchants at dawn, a commotion arose in the royal capital. At the commotion, the kingdom's people hid in their houses in fear.

Only a few people looked outside through the windows and cracks in the doors to understand the situation.

At the sudden appearance of the army, the people of the royal capital were initially scared and flustered, but they soon learned that the knights and soldiers were arresting the thugs and wicked merchants. Then, the kingdom's people came out of their houses at dawn and began to cheer for the knights and soldiers.

The thugs and wicked merchants, tied up in a rope like a string of candies, were dragged by the knights and soldiers and entered the royal palace. The kingdom's people followed the procession and cheered for Jereuth, who led the knights.

—Jereuth! Jereuth!

—The guardian of the common people! Head Knight Jereuth!

—Thank you, Head Knight!!

Of course, the thugs and wicked merchants were still rampant in other cities besides the royal capital. Also, there were bandits swarming outside the cities.

Nevertheless, since we succeeded in cleaning up the criminals of the royal capital, the largest city in the kingdom, I think it's okay to be a little relieved.

That's right. Until then, I thought the 'war on crime' had been a complete success.

But…… there was a problem.

Hoo—.

Reading up to this point, a sigh escaped.

‘Damn it, why does the always say there was a problem when things are going well?’

The is always like this. A future that was going well suddenly has a problem, starting with 'But……'.

There are never any easy cases.

Still, I decided to continue reading the for now.

…….

After the 'war on crime' in the royal capital, I compared the 'thug/wicked merchant list' confessed by the nobles with the actually arrested thugs and wicked merchants. Because there shouldn't be anyone wrongly arrested.

But what do you know, when I checked, a considerable number of thugs and wicked merchants had not been caught. Although the operation was perfect, the actual results were poor.

I told Jereuth to find out why so many thugs and wicked merchants were missed.

…….

A few days later, Jereuth explained to me the 'reason for the failure of the war on crime' that he had investigated himself. The reason for the failure was surprisingly shocking...... the knights and soldiers had let the thugs and wicked merchants go.

“……The knights and soldiers let the thugs and trashy merchants go? Why?”

At my question, Jereuth sighed and replied heavily with a voice that couldn't bear the apology.

"……No matter how much this 'war on crime' was for the sake of the kingdom, it seems the knights and soldiers felt a sense of burden in attacking the commoners of the same kingdom."

"A sense of burden in attacking the commoners of the same kingdom, you say? The thugs and wicked merchants are cowardly bastards who clung to the nobles and oppressed others, yet they felt a sense of burden in catching them?"

"Yes, it seems so. I am sorry, Your Highness. It is my fault for not properly commanding the knights and soldiers. I will take responsibility."

That's right. As Jereuth said, the knights and soldiers, unlike when they purged the nobles, couldn't help but feel a burden of heart in attacking the commoners.

That led to a drop in morale, and they let go of the criminals who begged to be spared.

I was honestly disappointed that the 'war on crime' had failed. But I couldn't just be disappointed. Because the thugs and wicked merchants who had escaped from the royal capital had hidden in other cities.

The bastards who escaped from the royal capital told the thugs and wicked merchants in other cities that I had declared a 'war on crime'. Then, the thugs and wicked merchants in other cities fled the cities and joined the bandit groups, and with that, the size and power of the bandit groups began to grow in an instant.

With this, I learned something new again. That no matter how good the operation, policy, or plan is, it is useless if the morale of those who carry it out is not high.

The price paid for that, the 'growth of the bandit groups,' was very painful…… but there was no way to put the spilled water back.

In any case, as we had driven the thugs and wicked merchants out of the city, the 'war on crime' was a success on the surface.

The people also cheered for Jereuth, who had driven out the thugs and wicked merchants.

But in reality, it was a failure. The price of that failure will be borne by my future self.

This was the newly written content.

‘……The 'war on crime' failed.’

I thought it would naturally succeed. Because Jereuth had said that the difference in strength between the knight order and the thugs was large.

Strictly speaking, Jereuth's confidence was not wrong. In fact, the stated that the army easily subdued the thugs. It was just that the finishing touch was regrettable.

‘But besides the fact that the knights and soldiers let the thugs and wicked merchants go, there's something else that bothers me.’

The purpose of this 'war on crime' was to clean up the thugs and wicked merchants and at the same time, let the kingdom's people know that I had become the real power in this kingdom and reveal my presence to them.

To put it simply, I was trying to gain popularity among the kingdom's people. To prevent the rebellion that would happen in the future.

‘But from what I saw in the , it seems the kingdom's people cheered for Jereuth's name instead of mine and thought that he had led this operation.’

To be clear, I'm not jealous of Jereuth's popularity. I'm not the type to like receiving attention in the first place, so I really didn't care.

It's just that I'm disappointed that I didn't gain much popularity among the kingdom's people through this opportunity. If I gain popularity among the kingdom's people, it will be a great help when I rule the kingdom in the future.

‘To reveal my presence to the kingdom's people in this operation…… should I also go catch thugs with Jereuth?’

But if I show myself just standing in the back while the knights and soldiers attack the thugs, it might have a negative impact on my image.

Not only that, but if I participate in the operation with the army, I don't know what kind of variables might arise. I could get into something unknown by unnecessarily stepping forward. From my experience using the so far, it's better not to create variables if possible.

‘So I have to think of a way to reveal my presence to the kingdom's people without creating the 'variable' of me personally participating in the operation…… should I just have the knights and soldiers tell the kingdom's people that I ordered the 'war on crime'? Then the kingdom's people would also know of my existence.’

Having them shout my name and my command while catching the thugs and wicked merchants.

A very simple but definitely effective propaganda method. If they say, 「”We arrest you in the name of His Highness Leonardo!”」, wouldn't everyone know that I ordered it?

‘Good. Let's let the kingdom's people know of my existence that way. Then how do I solve the problem of the knights and soldiers' morale dropping and them letting the thugs and wicked merchants go?’

According to the , the reason why the knights and soldiers let them go was because their morale dropped because they 'felt a burden in attacking the commoners of the same kingdom'.

Honestly, I couldn't understand why the knights and soldiers felt a burden in punishing those trash. No matter if they were from the same country, they were just dealing with trash...... wait.

‘No. Perhaps it's because I'm not actually a person of this kingdom. I'm not a person of this kingdom, but a 'Korean'. If I had to attack people from the same country as a soldier, I might have felt a burden of heart too.’

Anyway, to prevent the knights and soldiers from letting the criminals go, I have to remove their burden. That's the only way to keep their morale high.

If so—.

‘A speech to boost morale. That seems like the best way.’

A speech. It is one of the most powerful weapons of a ruler throughout the ages. An effective speech can unite supporters and accomplish greater things with it.

The problem is that I have never given a speech before.

Honestly, what chance would a university student who was barely attending university while working part-time have to give a speech? It's not like I had any political ambitions.

‘Still…… if I have to, I have to. I'll have to think about the content of the speech.’

Tak.

With that thought, I closed the and put it on the bookshelf. Then, I looked at the unusually clear sky outside the window, unlike my complicated head.

‘……Surviving as a king is really difficult. There are so many things to worry about. Even though I know what will happen in the future with the .’

As I was silently thinking, the sound of a knock and Elly's voice were heard at the perfect timing.

—Knock, knock.

—Your Highness, I've brought your meal.

Food. Everything I'm doing is to make a living, so I'll put my worries aside for a moment and eat.

"Yes, come in."

***

The 3rd Knight Order barracks.

In the Head Knight's office on the top floor, all the key knights of the 3rd Knight Order were gathered.

The knights sitting around an oval wooden table were at a glance having a very important meeting, and indeed, they were having an important meeting.

Vice Head Knight Hagen pointed to the map of the royal capital on the blackboard and said.

"The most important thing in the 'war on crime' instructed by His Highness Leonardo is to prevent any of the thugs and wicked merchants from escaping the royal capital. In other words, we must achieve a 'complete sweep'. To do that, from the moment the operation begins, we must block and occupy all escape routes, including the castle gates—."

Jereuth listened intently to Hagen's words. At the same time, he wrote down what came to his mind and revisions to the operation on paper. The other knights, like Jereuth, were also writing their opinions on paper.

In this way, the knights in the meeting room all seemed to be used to this atmosphere, but among them, there was one person sitting rather awkwardly.

It was Heinshtangl.

‘I don't think this is the place for me……?’

Heinshtangl, who had been given a heavy task by the Crown Prince by chance, was somehow attending this military meeting. But for him, who was from a merchant family, such a military meeting was bound to be awkward.

While Heinshtangl was thinking, Hagen's presentation continued.

"Another point to note is that this 'war on crime' is urban warfare, so damage to other commoners is inevitable. However, the reason why His Highness ordered this war is for the sake of the commoners, so the knights and soldiers who carry it out should not cause them harm. Therefore, by raiding the eight identified thug bases at once—."

After that, Hagen presented the contents he had prepared for a long time. When his presentation finally ended, Hagen sat down again, and Jereuth got up and said.

"Good work, Hagen. You prepared well."

"Thank you, Head Knight."

Jereuth, who had spoken briefly to Hagen, now looked around at the other knights and Heinshtangl and continued.

"As you all know, this is a 'war'. And the enemy in this war is the thugs and wicked merchants who are eating away at the royal capital, the heart of the kingdom. So, if there is anyone who feels a burden in attacking the commoners of the same kingdom, throw away such thoughts."

—……Yes, understood.

Most of the knights nodded at Jereuth's words. All the knights of the 3rd Knight Order were of commoner origin, so they all knew the evil deeds of the thugs well from their childhood.

However, there was not much strength in the knights' voices. No matter how much trash the thugs and wicked merchants were, there was some burden of heart in attacking the 'commoners' of the same kingdom.

Jereuth noticed the awkward reaction of the knights. But he did not mention it. Since the Crown Prince had already declared 'war,' his job was to lead that war to victory, whether the knights' morale was low or high.

"Hagen, urge the knights and soldiers to complete all preparations within a week. If there is anyone who is lazy in preparing, you may punish them by military law."

"Yes, I understand."

And so, the moment of the full-scale 'war on crime' was approaching. With some concerns.