Chapter 14

"Do you still not know the details, Your Majesty?"

"Noah."

"Yes."

"What do you think the scale of the rebellion is?"

The question was met with another question.

However, as a subject, I had to answer whatever the emperor asked. I thought for a moment.

The "+" in my status had dropped from SS to S.

The water portion had increased almost entirely when my fief was decided. That means all the SS portion was from Almeria.

If it had dropped just one level to S, then...

"I think it's small-scale at the moment."

"Correct."

I was surprised by the "correct."

It seemed the emperor wasn't seeking my opinion but testing me with a quiz.

"The military reports say there are five thousand so far. What do you think, Noah?"

"Huh?"

I was momentarily puzzled by the "What do you think?" but was quickly explained.

"As you know, it's small-scale, and it's in your fief. Do you want to lead the suppression yourself?"

I was surprised and thought for a moment before responding.

"I think it's beyond me."

"Hmm?"

"I'm young, and I haven't experienced battle. I'm not sure if the soldiers would follow my orders. If a prince needs to go, I think one of my older brothers would be better suited."

"Hmm... That's an unexpected answer. I didn't think you'd refuse so objectively."

The emperor smiled, seemingly enjoying the conversation.

"Very well, I'll choose someone else based on your wisdom. Who do you think would be good?"

"...Among the princes, I think Henry would be the best."

"Why?"

"Given the scale, a direct confrontation and suppression would be best. There's no need for a clever strategy, so I think Henry, who is the most cautious among the princes, would be the best."

"Excellent choice, let's do that."

The emperor decided immediately. He called for Cruise and ordered him to summon the fourth prince to the palace right away.

Despite the late hour, my brother appeared at the palace and was given the order to suppress Almeria.

☆

After receiving the orders, I returned with Henry.

Our carriages, side by side, moved through the night capital, illuminated by torches.

"Wasn't this a good opportunity?"

"Do you mean leading the troops?"

"Yes."

Henry nodded clearly.

"The empire is a land of warriors; military achievements will benefit you in the future."

"I'll pass this time. It's sudden, and I haven't studied for this."

"But you have a magic sword."

"Leading troops without knowledge is dangerous. I won't die, but the soldiers might die needlessly."

"...You're impressive, thinking that far ahead."

Henry was wide-eyed with admiration.

"That's why I'm asking you, brother."

"Understood. Well, I'm good with cavalry. I'll clean up your fief."

"Hmm, so the rebels are mostly cavalry?"

"Almeria is on the border, and I've heard agriculture and livestock are weak there."

"That's right."

"Huh?"

"The cavalry there is strong but foreign. They were introduced through horse traders and fit well, but they're not native."

"I see."

I chuckled a bit. It seemed my thoughts were showing on my face. I needed to be more composed.

"---!"

"What's wrong, Noah?"

"There's something, stop the carriage."

At my command, the driver pulled the reins, and the two horses neighed as they stopped.

"What's there?"

"..."

I jumped out of the carriage. Reacting was my loyal dog, Leviathan, which meant I was the target.

I jumped out to avoid involving my brother. Immediately, magic circles surrounded me on all sides, creating a water net that approached like a fishing net.

An attacker.

Feeling the killing intent, I jumped out of the carriage, and the water net tried to capture me.

The intangible water net contracted at a speed that solid ropes could never achieve.

Clang! A metallic sound rang out.

The water net was blocked by the armor from the Leviathan Link ring. Six shields appeared around me, blocking the water net.

The shields and the net pushed against each other for several seconds before the net collapsed and splashed to the ground.

A characteristic of this type of magic. As a binding spell, it fails if the capture fails.

Leviathan retracted the shields, confirming the spell's failure.

Water net—water.

From the rebels in Almeria. Even at six, I'm nominally a lord. Being targeted at this time is natural.

The question is whether to kill or capture—just as I started thinking about it, six figures in black emerged from the shadows.

"---Go."

After the command, they all lunged at once.

"Noah!"

I heard Henry's voice from the carriage. He was worried, but there was no problem.

I drew Leviathan and cut down all the attackers with expert sword skills.

"Wh-What?"

The cut attackers stared in disbelief before losing consciousness.

The battle was over in an instant, and Henry jumped out of the carriage.

"Wow."

"Huh?"

"You've gotten even stronger in just a few days. What were those shields?"

"A magic item I found on Cobalt Street. It works well with Leviathan, so I combined them."

"...That's an impressive answer."

Henry was momentarily confused but then laughed joyfully.

"Did you kill them? Even if you didn't need to interrogate, I wanted to know the mastermind."

"I didn't kill them."

"Huh?"

Henry was surprised. I approached the fallen attackers and checked their noses.

"Really, they're all breathing."

"I knocked them out with Leviathan's intimidation after cutting them down. These types might try to kill themselves."

"Ha, as expected."

"Brother, can I leave them to you?"

"Sure."

Henry nodded deeply and ordered his subordinates to capture them.

The rest is up to him.

☆

The next day, I summoned Byron in the morning. When he arrived at my room in the mansion, he knelt before me, fully accustomed to his role as a subject.

"Is there something you need, Your Highness?"

"I have a question. Do you do business near Almeria?"

"Yes, I do. That's why I attended the prime minister's party."

"Ah, I see."

So that's why.

He came to the party to get close to me, likely because he does business near my fief, Almeria. That's why I summoned him to confirm.

"Do you need something?"

"Hay."

"Hay...?"

"Yes, horse feed. Buy it all immediately. I have ten thousand lireen prepared."

I spoke in a commanding tone, leaving no room for argument. Byron had joined me under my crest, and this was urgent.

"Why?"

"Consider your life if you leak this—rebellion has broken out in Almeria."

"What?"

"The rebels seem to have strong cavalry."

"Cavalry... So Lord Kafun is involved?"

"To weaken their cavalry, I want to cut off their hay supply."

"Understood. I'll buy it all. What about human food? Can I handle that too?"

"Human food is fine."

"Ah..."

Byron clearly looked puzzled.

"Cavalry is powerful, but maintaining horses is more costly than humans."

"Understood."

"Almeria is weak in this area. They need to import hay. And horse feed is horse feed. Even if they try to forcibly take it from the locals, there's a limit."

"Ah... If it's human food, looting might occur, but not with hay."

"Exactly."

"Brilliant! I'll start immediately."

"Good."

I watched Byron bow and leave. This should make it easier for my brother in the battle.