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

Chapter 45

Phew—.

Heinshtangl let out a continuous deep sigh as he followed the crown prince’s maid, Elly.

‘Why has His Highness summoned me again…’

Since the absolute ruler and tyrant, Leonardo, had summoned him, he was going. But Heinshtangl had many worries.

‘Could it be that he summoned me because I opposed his conscription plan yesterday?’

Currently, among the nobles, no, the ‘former nobles,’ the crown prince was considered an enormous tyrant.

Because of this, Heinshtangl couldn’t help but worry about being summoned by the crown prince.

Of course, when he had opposed the crown prince's opinion yesterday, the crown prince had said, 「“That’s the kind of thing I wanted to hear.”」 with a smile.

However, Heinshtangl did not trust the crown prince's smile. Heinshtangl was not foolish enough to take a tyrant's smile at face value, purely.

‘An absolute ruler would not look kindly on someone who contradicts his words. Never. That is the nature of an absolute ruler. To end up in this state because of one unnecessary word at a banquet… my later years are truly complicated.’

Sigh—.

Heinshtangl sighed again.

Before long, Heinshtangl arrived at the crown prince’s room. Powerlessly, like livestock being led to a slaughterhouse.

But in front of the crown prince’s room, there was someone who had arrived before him.

It was Commander Jereuth.

‘Did His Highness summon Commander Jereuth too? …Why?’

With the appearance of the Tyrant's Sword, Heinshtangl's worries only grew. Still, he tried to greet him calmly.

“Good morning, Commander.”

As Heinshtangl greeted him first, Jereuth responded with a slight nod.

“Good morning. But why the long face?”

“Pardon?”

“I asked why the long face. You look like you’re being led to the gallows.”

“Ah.”

At Jereuth’s observation, Heinshtangl hurriedly fixed his expression.

“I, I apologize. I didn't sleep well—.”

“Is it because you’re worried about seeing His Highness?”

“N-no, that’s not it.”

At the old general's direct hit, Heinshtangl waved his hands. But seeing Jereuth’s gaze that seemed to know everything, he couldn't help but nod.

“…To be honest, yes. How can I not be worried?”

“Is His Highness still so difficult for you? I believe I told you at the banquet that His Highness is a good person. Didn't you feel it yesterday when he thanked you for providing a counter-argument to his words?”

“I did feel that His Highness is a good person. But he is still a bit difficult for me. His Highness has, what should I say… an aura that doesn’t match his age… and because he is so ‘decisive,’ from a subordinate’s perspective, one can’t help but be worried.”

Heinshtangl used the positive term ‘decisive,’ but its real meaning was that Leonardo was a merciless tyrant. It was natural to feel that way, as he had executed not only the nobles but also the thugs who were eating away at the royal capital in one fell swoop.

Jereuth, understanding Heinshtangl’s meaning and worries, smiled lightly and patted his shoulder.

“Don’t worry. The fact that His Highness summons you often probably means he thinks well of you.”

“Is that so?”

“It is. Isn’t the fact that you are alive proof of that?”

“…The fact that I am alive is proof that His Highness thinks well of me?”

“That’s right. Otherwise, having seen His Highness so often, you wouldn’t possibly be alive.”

It was a chilling remark.

“It’s a joke.”

—Jereuth said with a hearty laugh. But of course, Heinshtangl could not laugh along.

“Then let’s go in.”

“Ah… yes.”

Jereuth knocked and entered Leonardo’s room. Heinshtangl, following behind him, couldn’t even manage an awkward smile at Jereuth’s ‘joke’ from a moment ago.

***

Jereuth and Heinshtangl, who entered Leonardo’s room.

The first thing that caught their eyes upon entering the room was Leonardo’s meal on the table.

A sandwich, a few fruits, and milk. A piece of half-burnt bacon was sticking out pathetically from the end of the sandwich.

‘…This is the first time I’m seeing His Highness eat. But does he always eat so simply?’

‘Is that… a tyrant’s meal? It’s worse than the meal of a lower-ranking noble, isn't it? Isn't it worse than that of a noble who survived the purge?’

Next to the meal, documents and a pen were scattered rather messily. The documents were all filled with sentences that contained traces of Leonardo’s contemplation.

But among the letters written on the documents and memos, there were some that Heinshtangl and Jereuth could not understand. Even though Leonardo’s handwriting was quite neat, they couldn't make out those few letters at all.

It was like a different language.

On the desk, besides the documents, there were a few books placed on the table. Most were books about armies or military tactics. Just a moment ago, Leonardo must have been reading a book titled , as that book was open and overturned.

Leonardo took a sip of milk to wet his throat and spoke.

“I apologize for calling you in the morning. I wanted to talk about the army reinforcement, the conscription we discussed yesterday. Please, have a seat.”

“Yes.”

“I will gratefully sit.”

As Jereuth and Heinshtangl sat down, Leonardo roughly pushed the things on the desk to the side to clear a space. For a meeting of a knight commander, a crown prince, and an official in charge of all internal affairs, it was admittedly rather informal.

However, the absolute ruler, as if such things didn't matter, calmly began the conversation.

“I thought about it all day yesterday, and I think I will have to proceed with the conscription as I originally planned.”

“I will prepare for it as such.”

“Yo-Your Highness, conscripting now is…! Ah, I understand, Your Highness. Let’s do it that way.”

Heinshtangl tried to object to Leonardo’s words but covered his own mouth. As if finding Heinshtangl’s reaction amusing, Leonardo smiled lightly and said.

“I am also aware of the concerns you have regarding the conscription, Sir Heinshtangl. But I have also thought of a solution for that, so please listen to me first.”

“Ah… yes.”

“As you mentioned yesterday, Sir Heinshtangl, our Plank Kingdom is currently in a dire situation with both agriculture and commerce. So you said that if we conscript new soldiers now, the number of people who should be working in agriculture and commerce will decrease, causing problems. Besides that, I also fully understood and empathized with the points that we currently lack knights to train new recruits, and that if we suddenly raise an army when it hasn't been long since the war with the demons ended, the people will worry about being dragged into war again.”

“Yes, yes.”

Heinshtangl hurriedly nodded his head.

This time, Leonardo looked at Jereuth and spoke.

“So, Commander.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“I would like to ask you to postpone the 'war on crime' in other cities for a little while and first focus your efforts on training new recruits in the royal capital. I would like the basic training to be finished within about a month, is that possible?”

“If we have to finish the basic training within a month… we can train about 2,000, no, 3,000 soldiers.”

“Then please proceed with that for now.”

“Understood. But, Your Highness. I apologize for saying this, but I don't know if that many people among the citizens of the royal capital will volunteer for the army. As Heinshtangl said, most of the people have not yet shaken off the nightmare of the war with the demons. So not that many people will volunteer to be soldiers.”

“I will speak on that point as well.”

Leonardo searched for a piece of paper on which he had written various things, then picked one up and read it.

“When promoting the recruitment of new soldiers, please spread this rumor. 「“This conscription is not for war. It is a conscription to gather heroes to rebuild the kingdom.”」”

“Conscription to rebuild the kingdom? What does that mean?”

“It’s literal. I intend to use the army to restore the kingdom’s agriculture and commerce, and at the same time, prevent bandits with that army.”

“You mean to rebuild the kingdom by mobilizing the army… are you by any chance saying you will make the army farm?”

“That’s right. Not only farming, but I will also have them work on rebuilding the market. I read in this book that soldiers do various construction work when they go to the battlefield, so if we put them to work on building the market, it might also serve as ‘construction training.’ Things like building temporary bridges or fortifications, you know.”

“…”

Making soldiers do farm work and construction?

Jereuth had never thought of such a thing before. Not just Jereuth, but Heinshtangl as well.

Because for them, the perception that ‘the army is a group that fights for nobles or the king, risking their lives’ was strongly ingrained.

Jereuth thought deeply as he looked at Leonardo.

‘There must be a division of occupations. A farmer must farm, a merchant must do business, a noble must do politics, and a king must reign. That division must not be broken.’

The division of occupations. That was the common sense of this world, not just the Plank Kingdom.

Of course, when the kingdom was in peril, they would conscript any farmer and use them as soldiers. They couldn’t be farming when the kingdom was in immediate danger.

But soldiers do not farm. Their role is to train and protect the king and nobles.

‘But His Highness… is he trying to change that? He’s going to make the soldiers farm?’

Making them cross the division of occupations.

Breaking that common sense was somewhat confusing, but on second thought, it was a pretty good proposal.

‘If the army farms, the speed would be incredible.’

Having been in the military for a long time and experienced all sorts of wars, Jereuth knew how strong a group the ‘army’ was.

The army builds temporary forts during a war. They also gather earth to create mountains and hills.

Not only that, they even fill up rivers to cross them. The ‘army’ is capable of doing such brute-force tasks under control.

What would happen if an army capable of such things farmed? They would be able to farm on a scale incomparable to ordinary farmers.

It would truly become ‘combat farming.’

‘Of course, if the soldiers farm, the time for training will decrease, which is a downside. But since we don't have to send the army to war right away, that's not a big problem. …As expected of His Highness. His way of thinking is different from not just me, but anyone else.’

While Jereuth was admiring him internally, Heinshtangl was thinking the same thing Jereuth was thinking.

However, unlike Jereuth who was a ‘knight,’ Heinshtangl, who was from a ‘merchant’ family, had a slightly different assessment.

Heinshtangl was not just admiring Leonardo's opinion; he was feeling fear.

‘If we put the army into agriculture, we can develop the land very quickly. It is certainly an effective method. But the core of using the army to farm is not just that it’s fast.’

Heinshtangl calmly continued his thoughts.

Let’s say the army successfully farms according to Leonardo’s plan. Then, from now on, all ‘agriculture’ in this kingdom will go through the army.

In other words, the master of the army, Crown Prince Leonardo, will hold all of the kingdom’s agriculture in his hands.

‘Then what will happen? Before long, everyone in the kingdom will have to ask for His Highness’s permission even to ‘eat bread.’ Because both the land and the manpower for farming will belong to the crown prince. If someone doesn't listen to his words… he could take back the land or use the army to prevent them from farming. Since it’s an army that can farm, they can just as easily make it impossible to farm.’

In summary, that young tyrant meant to make the kingdom’s agricultural infrastructure his own.

‘…He is a truly dangerous person. Truly.’

Fearing that terrifying stratagem, Heinshtangl tried to remain calm and asked Leonardo.

“Your Highness. You mentioned earlier that you would also use the army to restore commerce… what does that mean?”

“It’s simple. To restore commerce, that is, to rebuild the market or to transport goods, we need people, right?”

“Yes.”

“The army will handle that as well. Just like farming, we will replace the manpower needed for commerce with the army. Of course, it will be impossible to replace all the manpower with the army. But I intend to use the army for as many parts as possible.”

“I, I see. Th-that is an excellent idea.”

Heinshtangl managed to smile as he spoke, but he couldn't smile inwardly.

‘…Using the army to build buildings is like a warning and a threat to the merchants. A threat that since he built the building, he can tear it down at any time if they don't listen! Entrusting the transport of goods to the army has a similar meaning. It probably means that if you don't listen, your goods won't be transported.’

Holding the buildings and transport hostage. That meant the merchants’ leashes would all be held in Leonardo’s small hands.

Any reasonably experienced merchant would not fail to see the crown prince’s heinous method.

But.

‘…Can the merchants refuse the crown prince’s proposal? When the royal family is offering to use its money to mobilize the army to build buildings and transport goods for them? Who can refuse that sweet poison?’

Building management and goods transport were the most troublesome things for merchants.

But who could refuse when the royal family offered to do it for them?

‘To tempt the merchants like that… at least to the merchants, Prince Leonardo is not a tyrant. He is a demon. An incubus, a demon who tempts humans, steals their souls, and leads them to death! Surely everyone will praise the crown prince. Before they understand his scariness.’

Scary. Ah, so scary.

One person holding and wielding all the power, and that person happens to be a tyrant with terrifying stratagems who drew the sword of purge at the age of twelve!

An executioner without blood or tears who arrests dozens—hundreds of thugs and wicked merchants overnight and executes them all at once without a second thought if they don't please him!

‘I must stop Prince Leonardo from becoming king, no matter what. But I have no power. The only one who can stop the crown prince is Commander Jereuth…’

The problem was that the only hope, Jereuth, was placing infinite trust in the tyrant. In fact, he was even giving more power to the tyrant.

‘…There is no answer.’

—Heinshtangl thought, but.

‘Still… that person thinks of the kingdom as his own body and is a tyrant who cares for the people. He is even resolute and annoyingly wise. I am also curious to see how a kingdom ruled by such a person will change.’

To think such thoughts, Leonardo’s proposal was that shocking to Heinshtangl. However, in Heinshtangl’s opinion, there were two crucial problems left in Leonardo’s policy.

“Uh… Your Highness. The policy you mentioned, ‘developing agriculture and commerce by mobilizing the army,’ is indeed a very good idea, but I think there will be two problems.”

“Problems?”

“Yes. First, Your Highness said that the reason for reinforcing the army is to prepare for a possible rebellion by the bandits someday. But I don't know if they can fulfill that role if the army is put into farming or commerce.”

“I did not say that the reason for reinforcing the army is to ‘prepare’ for the bandits. I said it is to ‘prevent’ them.”

“Prevention, you say?”

“Yes.”

Leonardo paused for a moment to organize his thoughts and then continued.

“The army I want right now is not an elite force with formidable skills. It is enough to have an army trained to the extent that the bandits will be concerned and afraid to dare start a rebellion. That is why I asked the Commander for only ‘basic training’ earlier. It’s enough if they have the basic form. That much should be able to prevent the bandits from running rampant.”

“…Ah.”

“Also, I believe that having the soldiers clear farmland, build buildings, and transport goods according to orders can also be a form of training. I think the greatest strength of an army comes from the collective action of the group rather than individual skills. Therefore, I think we can cultivate the army's cooperativeness through things like farming and construction. Well… of course, combat training with swinging spears and swords would be more effective, but farming and doing construction together will also be helpful.”

Jereuth, who had been listening silently to Leonardo's words for a long time, nodded in agreement.

“Your words have a point. In fact, the most difficult part of training soldiers is getting them to internalize group action, so if the soldiers repeatedly perform the same task together according to orders, they will receive a lot of training in that area.”

“Thank you for your agreement. Then, Sir Heinshtangl, what is the second problem?”

Heinshtangl cautiously stated the second problem.

“It is a budget problem.”

“A budget problem, you mean a money problem?”

“Yes. I apologize for saying this, but the royal family currently has no money. The royal family’s treasury is—.”

“The royal family’s treasury is empty, yes. But the assets gained from purging the nobles are substantial, and the assets confiscated from the thugs and wicked merchants in the recent ‘war on crime’ are also quite a bit, so we can use that. Besides, we will also be confiscating the assets of thugs and wicked merchants from other cities in the future, so we can turn that into the budget.”

“Th-the assets gained from the purge are Your Highness’s personal property. Are you saying you will use all of it for the kingdom’s budget?”

“Yes. All of it.”

Heinshtangl was at a loss for words at Leonardo, who answered so matter-of-factly and easily.

“To use the confiscated assets for the kingdom and not for yourself… you are truly amazing, Your Highness.”

“I’m not using it for the kingdom. I’m using it for myself. If the kingdom falls, I’m as good as dead, so what use is money then? I have to use it where it’s needed before that happens.”

This time too, Leonardo spoke as if it were no big deal, but.

Heinshtangl began to dig for meaning in his every word.

‘If using money for the kingdom is using it for himself… then His Highness is saying that the kingdom and himself are the same thing.’

The kingdom is him, and he is the kingdom.

‘An absolute monarch… is that what he is? Himself?’

Phew—.

Heinshtangl let out a light sigh of complete resignation and bowed his head.

‘This tyrant is too clever. I cannot stop him. There is nothing I can do but follow. I can only hope that the tyrant’s blade is not turned towards the people…’

“I understand, Your Highness. Then, as you have said, I will organize the assets confiscated from the nobles, thugs, and wicked merchants into the budget.”

Today’s conversation brought about a great change in Heinshtangl. He decided to give up on fearing that young tyrant—no, that demon.

For a reason similar yet different to Jereuth’s, Heinshtangl had decided to follow Leonardo.