bookpower Chapter 197 : Chapter 197
Chapter 197 : Chapter 197
The room of the Angla Empire’s Emperor, Caturos.Someone knocked on the door of the Emperor’s bedroom, a place where even his family could not enter frequently.
—Knock, knock.
—Your Majesty, King Leonardo of Plank and Sir Knight Jereuth have arrived.
The Emperor, who had been meditating with his eyes closed, replied calmly.
“Enter.”
At the Emperor’s permission, the door opened immediately.
And through that open door entered a young man—or rather, a mere boy in the Emperor’s eyes.
Behind him was indeed the hero who had not lost his former glory, Jereuth.
‘But… hmm, I see.’
Even the Emperor himself found his gaze drawn to the ‘young whelp.’ His interest was more on the young whelp than on Jereuth behind him.
‘And I also understand why Konstan said he saw him overlapping with me.’
That young whelp had confidence.
Daringly, in front of him, the Emperor.
That was not something anyone could have. Even Jereuth had bowed his head when he first saw him.
‘A useless battle of wills is unnecessary. It would be a waste of time.’
“I apologize for summoning you at such a late hour, O King of Plank.”
“I accept your apology, Your Majesty the Emperor.”
The two spoke as if it were nothing, as if they were friends talking.
But Jereuth and Konstan, who were listening to the conversation between the Emperor and the King, were honestly nervous. The atmosphere flowing between the two was unusual.
It seemed as if they were glaring at each other, yet at the same time, it also seemed friendly.
“First, have a seat. Do you need something to drink?”
“I am fine. Sir Jereuth?”
“Ah, I am fine as well.”
“Konstan, you.”
“Ah… I-I am also fine.”
Konstan thought the Emperor would naturally send him out of the room.
But since he asked, ‘Do you need something to drink?’ it meant he was to stay, so he was a little flustered.
After a moment of silence.
The Emperor spoke first.
“What is that box?”
“It is a gift I brought for Your Majesty.”
“A gift? The gifts were supposed to be given at my birthday banquet, did you not hear?”
“I did. The reason I brought it nevertheless is to save face for the people of other kingdoms.”
“Hoh… You brought something that precious?”
“Yes. Since Your Majesty allowed me into your bedroom, I felt I should also prepare a gift of corresponding value.”
“Does that mean… you predicted that I would meet you alone in my bedroom?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because I showed you. That our Plank Kingdom, a small kingdom not even one-twentieth the size of the empire, possesses a strength that is not inferior to the empire.”
As Leonardo spoke, both Jereuth and Konstan’s eyes widened.
“…!”
“…!”
Jereuth already knew that Leonardo would act ‘confidently’ in front of the Emperor.
But he did not expect it to be to this extent. Of course, he had staged a grand show of force at the port, but that was at least in a place where the Emperor was not present.
But to say to his face like this, 「“You and I are equals.”」… that was a completely different story.
Konstan was just as flustered.
‘…Was it not confidence but arrogance? Maybe I misjudged the King of Plank.’
No matter how confident one was, this was in front of the Emperor.
Moreover, this was the Imperial Palace. To speak so arrogantly here, wasn't that being far too thoughtless?
Just as Jereuth and Konstan were flustered.
“Pfft… hehe… hahahahaha!!!”
The Emperor suddenly burst out laughing.
He laughed so loudly that it was difficult to grasp the meaning of his laughter. Konstan had never seen the Emperor laugh so loudly before.
Not once in the more than 30 years he had served the Emperor.
The Emperor, unable to wipe the smile from his face, asked.
“Equals? The Angla Empire and the Plank Kingdom are equals?”
“Yes. Isn't the Plank Kingdom the only one the Angla Empire is reluctant to attack? To attack us, the empire must cross the sea or pass through the ‘Wasteland of Ruin,’ and the empire cannot defeat us at sea. The Emperor’s envoy has told you what kind of weapons we have, so you should understand what I mean.”
“Hmph… yes, you are right. It would be difficult for me to catch you at sea. But the story changes if we attack by land after crossing the ‘Wasteland of Ruin.’ No matter how great a knight and weapons you have, my army is tens of times larger. Are you confident you can block that?”
“Yes. Because I have already fought such a war.”
The King of Plank dared to cross his legs in front of the Emperor and spoke.
“In our kingdom, there is the ‘Monster Mountains.’ A monster mountain range on a similar level to the one in the west of the Angla Empire. How many monsters do you think are roughly there?”
“Over 300,000.”
“That’s about right. But for the peace of the kingdom, I annihilated all the monsters in the Monster Mountains. In a single war.”
“…”
“Do you think we, who have fought such a war, would be afraid of the Angla Empire breaking through the desert? A quarter of your forces would collapse from exhaustion while crossing that desert.”
“Well, it’s not to that extent. I heard that at some point, the sandstorms in the Wasteland of Ruin stopped blowing. If there are no sandstorms, breaking through the desert is a piece of cake.”
“If there are no sandstorms, breaking through that desert is a piece of cake… haha, do you really think so?”
The Emperor smiled back at the King of Plank who asked with a laugh.
“The Giants are dangerous, it’s true. That desert is under the control of the Giants. But the Giants do not interfere in human fights. I can explain it to them sufficiently.”
“That won’t work. Because the Giants are already my ‘friends.’”
“…What? You became friends with the Giants?”
“Yes.”
“How? Even when I tried so hard with all sorts of treasures, I could barely even talk to them.”
“That is a trade secret, so I cannot tell you, but to give you a hint, it was thanks to my father and Sir Jereuth here. They built a bridge with the Giants.”
As Leonardo spoke, the Emperor looked at Jereuth.
He was asking with his eyes if what Leonardo had just said was true.
Nod—.
As Jereuth nodded, the Emperor took a deep breath and let it out as a sigh.
*Hoo…….
‘A man like Jereuth would not lie. That means… that young whelp really did join hands with those savage Giants.’
“Alright, I admit it. The Plank Kingdom is a very troublesome entity to attack.”
At the Emperor’s words, Konstan’s pupils trembled.
He had never heard such words from the Emperor before. How could he not be shocked when the great emperor and conqueror, called the ‘Emperor of Iron and Blood,’ directly said that something was a troublesome entity to attack?
“However, you are now in the Imperial Palace. Which means I can kill you at any time. Does that not worry you?”
“It does not worry me.”
“And why is that?”
“If you were going to kill me, you would have done so already, wouldn’t you? You wouldn’t have granted me a private audience like this either.”
“I would have killed you already?”
“Yes. If it were me, I would have. But the reason you did not is because you thought keeping me alive would be more beneficial than killing me. And you must want something from me.”
The Emperor no longer seemed to have any intention of hiding his expression.
He was smiling so widely that his gums were showing, and the corners of his mouth were at his ears.
“Heh… hehe… hahahaha! Yes! That's right! If I were to kill you, I would have done it already! You are right!”
“…”
“Konstan sitting there is one of my most trusted vassals! And Konstan told me. That you and I seem to overlap! I wondered what that meant, but now I know! You are indeed like me. Indeed!”
The Emperor grabbed Leonardo’s shoulders and looked into his eyes as he spoke.
“I like you. To the point where I want to make you my son. Then many of my real sons would be displeased, but I can take care of those clumsy fools.”
At these words, Jereuth and Konstan were also surprised.
Ever since they entered the Emperor’s bedroom, they had been in a continuous state of surprise.
And the King of Plank’s subsequent reply was even more of a spectacle.
“I appreciate your words, but I do not wish to become the Emperor’s son. I have only one father, and I promised to dedicate myself to him and the Plank Kingdom.”
“Hmm… hmmm…!”
“And, as I said, the Plank Kingdom is on an equal footing with the Angla Empire. But if I, the King of Plank, become the Emperor’s son, then we would be subservient, wouldn’t we?”
“You don’t like that?”
“Yes, I do not like it.”
“This is driving me mad. I like you so much.”
The Emperor, who had stood up, sat down in his chair again and said in a passing voice.
“I have never once in my life failed to obtain what I wanted. People, land, wealth, everything. But in my later years, I am unable to obtain you, whom I truly want.”
*Hoo…….
The Emperor smoked the pipe he had lit a few times and then asked Jereuth.
“Jereuth, I was curious what kind of person the master you follow was, but he is truly worth following. If I were you, I would have followed him too.”
“Yes.”
“In that sense, I have one more question. What is your master’s swordsmanship skill like? Is he at least capable of protecting himself to be so confident in my palace?”
The Emperor thought Jereuth would be reluctant to answer.
Because it is a difficult thing for a subordinate to evaluate their master’s skills.
But.
“His Highness Leonardo is the strongest in the Plank Kingdom.”
“…A prompt answer. Yes, the strongest in the Plank Kingdom… wait, does that mean even more than you?”
“Yes. The current me cannot even reach His Highness Leonardo’s heels. We have sparred over thirty times recently, and I have not won once.”
“…!”
“…!’
This time, both the Emperor and Konstan were surprised.
Who was Jereuth?
A hero. And not just an ordinary hero, but a man whom heroes call a hero.
He was the person who made the small kingdom at the edge of the continent, the ‘Plank Kingdom,’ known, and a knight who saved humanity in the war against the demonkin.
His prestige was so great that there was no one who did not know Jereuth, even if they did not know the Plank Kingdom.
The knight order he led and his battles would be the subject of bards now and in the future.
But for such a Jereuth to be no match for him? No matter how old Jereuth was, that was not a story to be taken lightly.
The Emperor looked at Leonardo and asked.
“I truly trust Jereuth, but this one thing I cannot believe. To be frank, you look weaker than I was when I was young. I hope you don’t take offense.”
“It does not matter if you do not believe me. It is the truth.”
“Hoh… you seem really confident.”
The Emperor crossed his arms and thought for a moment.
He carefully proposed to Leonardo.
“Tomorrow, the start of my birthday festival will be announced to the entire empire. And in the arena in the center of the imperial capital, there will be a swordsmanship tournament. Skilled individuals from all over the empire come for wealth and fame. Do you know of it?”
“I have heard of it.”
“Yes. If you are alright with it, I would like you to show your skills in that tournament, how about it?”
Leonardo’s eyes sparkled.