KR Translators:
・StarrySkySailor
・KawaiiKage
・ImmortalInk
・KingPotato
・SugoiSenpai
Chapter 9: Why Take the Long Way When You Know the Short Cut? (4)
He was currently listening to the Emperor’s speech with a solemn expression.
Damachi Ir.
Along with a solemn expression, he also had a proud look, fully prepared to preach the gospel of the ‘noble, beautiful, and incomparable Achuni’ to the ‘barbaric people of Azot who worship the lowly Lynin’. He’s a high priest.
Other than him, anyone else to watch out for……probably none. As for nobles, there’s only the Maltad Marquis’ second son……the guy whose name I forgot, and some Baron’s daughter who’s the cousin of the Bring Count’s eldest daughter.
Most of the delegation members aren’t in the important persons directory from the last 10 years. There might be some I don’t know, but I had access to confidential information held by the Dukedom and the military. Within the Empire, my directory is about 90% accurate.
The problem is that I can only remember about 90% of it.
Originally, I could remember everything, but lately, I’ve been hitting my head often, so I seem to be forgetting things. Woo-hoo.
“Huu, I’m bored.”
“Please bear with it.”
The culprit behind my amnesia was resisting boredom beside me, wearing a helm that obscured most of her face.
There’s no need to hide her face, but there are people who would recognize her among the Empire’s 7th Knight Order protecting the delegation and the knights accompanying the delegation members. Therefore, she had to wear an unwanted disguise, grumbling all the while.
Other than that, everything went as I expected. The Bring Count’s eldest daughter transferred her qualification to her cousin and went to recuperate, and Eri and Ed became guests of the Herduke Dukedom for two months, starting today.
Ah, when the news broke that the Bring Count’s eldest daughter was going to recuperate, my brother, with an expression that swallowed his humiliation, swore to grant my request. This was the most fun part of all. Hahaha!
After a while, the Emperor, intoxicated by the climax he had created himself, spread his arms wide and shouted loudly.
“I praise you all!”
Waaaaaaaaah!
The gathered crowd clapped and cheered in unison. The Emperor, greatly satisfied with their reaction, nodded and stepped down from the podium. I’d bet 10 years of my life that he’ll never know that the enthusiastic response was orchestrated by the Capital Security Force.
Bambarara! Bambaram!
With the loud sound of trumpets, the departure of the delegation began.
Levidian, Marlin, and I boarded a pre-prepared carriage. Everything except the delegation’s luggage was prepared by the Imperial government. As the Duke’s son, I was assigned a four-horse carriage.
Damachi? He has a six-horse carriage.
I don’t understand why a priest desires such extravagance. There’s a part in the teachings of the Sun God Achuni that calls for ‘frugality’ and ‘humility’.
Hmm. It seems that the man intentionally instigated friction between nations for his own position.
Ah, this is infuriating.
Thinking that he provided the foundation for the war in which I died makes me incredibly irritated.
Should I sneak in at night and break all his teeth?
“It’s quite fancy.”
Levidian, taking off her helm, said with a wry smile. What I learned while training with her is that she’s quite frugal.
I shrugged and said,
“It’s organized by the government. And Teacher, please use the alias ‘Ibi’ during this trip.”
“Ibi? I like the sound of it. But why the sudden alias?”
“Since it’s a matter between nations, I had to be precise about who was accompanying me. Marlin is fine since she’s a maid of our family, but your real name would be a problem. It’s not known that you’re with our family.”
“I see. I understand. But how did you know?”
Her sudden question followed. However, since I expected that question, I activated the skill I had prepared and practiced beforehand, ‘Feigning Ignorance’.
“Yes? What are you talking about?”
“Do you really not know?”
“Yes. I have no idea what you’re talking about……”
She stared at me intently, and I calmly pretended not to know. She nodded and said,
“What a coincidence. Actually, my nickname was Ibi.”
“Ah, is that so? What a coincidence. It somehow seemed like a fitting name for you. Ibi……It has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?”
“Hmm, well, I suppose so.”
Since I spoke as if I had no ulterior motives, she blushed slightly and turned her head away. Sometimes, it’s quite fun to intentionally create situations like this and observe her reactions.
Especially with this sixteen-year-old backdrop, it makes it difficult for her to think that I orchestrated the situation.
It’s not just her. Many people I’ll meet in the future will also dismiss their initial suspicions of me, simply because I’m young. As social norms dictate, all boys and girls under the age of 18 are just children.
I smiled and opened a book about the culture and customs of the Azot Kingdom. To avoid committing any faux pas and to score some points, I needed to systematically learn their customs.
“Young Master, I……”
“Ah, Marlin, you rest. You have nothing to do anyway.”
“Yes, Young Master.”
Marlin slightly lifted the curtain and looked out the window, enjoying her first overseas trip. As long as she’s within my sight, she won’t die.
For now, I’m also trying my best to prevent the war from happening so that I won’t die. I know that dying is a very unpleasant experience and leaves a lot of regrets.
Therefore, I can’t let the people around me die tragically. The reason I brought Sword King Levidian in is to survive until the end, even if a dangerous situation arises.
That’s the reason I joined this delegation.
If this goodwill mission succeeds, the possibility of war breaking out in 10 years will significantly decrease. Of course, significant events could occur in the remaining time, leading to war, but I’ll think about that when the time comes.
Even if that happens, I won’t worry.
Even though I know the future, it’s not fixed. I can change both the near and distant future through my efforts. I’ve already changed the present enough. There’s nothing I can’t do in the future.
In my opinion, major events, or events I haven’t interfered with, will happen as I know them for the next 3 or 4 years.
After that, many things will deviate from my memories.
The future I ‘knew’ will change into a future I ‘don’t know at all’. And eventually, a time I know nothing about will unfold. It’s not a problem I need to worry about seriously.
This is the first thing I realized as I recalled my memories.
The more I try, the more I move towards an unknown future. Maybe the war won’t happen in 10 years, or maybe it will happen in 5 years. The fact that I’m moving differently from the past alone increases the possibility of history changing.
However, just because it’s uncertain whether the war will happen in 10 years, I don’t want to just sit back and only focus on preventing the war.
Avoiding that war is simple.
Just run away before it happens.
But, this is a life I’ve regained.
Do I have to put away all the weapons I have now just to avoid a single event 10 years later?
No! I can’t do that!
I intend to use the future I know to gain everything I can.
Money, objects, information, and even the people who handle them!
This is what it means to dominate the next 10 years.
Assuming that the maximum time I can predict using my memories is 3 or 4 years, I’ll build a foundation during that time to control the future according to my will.
That’s why I’m going to Azot.
If this delegation’s mission succeeds, the future between the two countries will be different from what I knew. But in the meantime, I can gain ‘another power to prevent war’.
Honestly, it’s half a gamble, but it’s a bet I’m placing on my future. I’m confident that I’ll at least break even.
This time, I won’t be passive.
Never.
So, to make even a little effort, let’s gain knowledge.
Books! Let’s read books!
Crack!
“Oh my, my back.”
I unconsciously hunched over, and after being scolded by Levidian, I forced myself to straighten my back and read the book, which made my back feel like it was about to turn into stone. Ouch. The back is a man’s lifeline.
Approximately nine hours after departure, the delegation arrived in a city called ‘Monok’. It’s located at the southwestern end of the satellite cities of the Imperial capital, commonly known as the Imperial City, ‘Nek’.
The sun has already completely set and it’s dark. It’s around 10 pm, so it’s not strange if someone gets angry about being disturbed from their sleep because 200 people arrived as a group.
Levidian got off the carriage, looked around, and said,
“Monok. I’ve been here three years ago.”
“How was it?”
“It’s a city with exciting back alleys. There were some quite skilled individuals, so it was a good place to request duels. They used various unconventional tactics, so I was able to gain quite a bit of experience.”
“I, I see.”
I laughed awkwardly and turned my head. Come to think of it, she didn’t stop by anywhere else before coming to our family. Maybe traveling around looking for opponents to fight is her hobby.
Since it was already late, the delegation didn’t receive a grand welcome. The mayor came out and mumbled some words about being honored by our visit, and then guided us to the prepared lodgings.
About fifteen important figures and their entourage were invited to the mayor’s mansion. Levidian and Marlin also headed to the mayor’s mansion with me.
Since Monok is located within the Emperor’s territory, Baron Boten, the mayor, was a salaried noble. However, seeing that his mansion could comfortably accommodate about 40 people, I could immediately guess.
Teacher’s brief assessment, which shared my thoughts, was this:
“He’s a wonderfully corrupt mayor. I thought the black market was active for a reason.”
“I agree.”
Some of the servants and maids seemed to be temporarily hired, but that doesn’t change the fact that this is a magnificent house. He must be receiving a considerable amount of bribes from somewhere.
Well, I have no intention of bringing it up separately. Anyway, in just three years, a wind of anti-corruption will blow across the entire Empire. My father is a key figure in that, so I remember it well. This place probably won’t be able to escape that either.
Since it’s far from my immediate goal, let’s ignore this matter.
Thanks to the alias and disguise, Levidian was assigned to the same room as Marlin, a slightly less prestigious room. She didn’t expect to be treated well anyway, but Marlin made an uncomfortable expression. Since they’ll be spending the next three months together, it would be good for them to get closer during this opportunity.
I was assigned to the same area as the two other people who participated as ordinary nobles. We each got to use one of the three guest rooms in the southern section of the third floor of the mayor’s mansion.
They are the Maltad Marquis’ second son, ‘Turbo Se Maltad’, and Baron ‘Dakard Hind’s eldest daughter, ‘Sermaila Hind’. I didn’t know their names until we departed, but we introduced ourselves during dinner.
While walking up the stairs and down the hallway, I observed the two.
Judging from Turbo’s title ‘Se’, he seems to have been raised strictly as the ‘second son of a noble family’.
Generally, the eldest son of a noble family learns political science for governance, and if there’s a second son, he learns various general knowledge to support the eldest son. I wouldn’t have had the luxury of spending three hours a day on swordsmanship if it weren’t for my connection with the Sword King.
Because of that kind of position, some second sons of noble families solely focus on accumulating knowledge, and some of them even graduate from the Sage’s Academy. Turbo probably graduated from the Sage’s Academy. And in the top ranks, too.
The Sage’s Academy awards the title ‘Se’ to the top five graduates based on their overall grades.
And Sermaila……No matter how I think about it, there’s no one like her in my directory.
Turbo was a familiar name, having heard it once or twice, but I’ve never even seen Sermaila at my brother’s wedding. Even as a cousin, she should have attended as a guest on the bride’s side, but I don’t even remember seeing her.
Come to think of it……among the things my brother grumbled about after returning from the delegation, there was a story about her. He said there was an ‘eccentric woman who spoke in a way he couldn’t understand’. Could it have been Sermaila?
“This house’s glory will last three years at most, just like the others.”
Huh? What did she just say?
I looked at the girl of my age with long ash-gray hair.
It was definitely her voice.
And quite a meaningful statement, too.
However, when I glanced at her, she didn’t show any sign of having spoken. The servant walking in front of her didn’t seem to hear it either. Maybe I was the only one who heard it because I was close to her?
I carefully observed her without being noticed.
But she didn’t say anything until she entered the room.
I didn’t mishear.
All the servants who guided us were men.
If the woman’s voice I heard in a situation where there was only one woman wasn’t hers, does that mean there’s a ghost somewhere in this house? And a very tax-related and political female ghost who proclaims the end of corruption?
“Sermaila Hind……”
A name not in the directory, but it seems I need to keep an eye on her.
As I thought from the time we left, half of this delegation’s schedule is outside my prediction range. She’s definitely one of those types.
It’s a quick feeling, but finally, it’s here.
The ‘future I don’t know’.
“To show up from the first day, how interesting.”
I grinned.
Sermaila……Who are you?
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