Chapter 24

The cause of Duke Isak of Nikaea's defeat was that he had never negotiated with such a reckless opponent before.

Everything is relative.

Shooting a crossbow before negotiations even began was a crazy act, but in the face of true madness that threatened to blow up the entire city if its demands weren't met, it could only be fake madness.

This was all because Isak had never lived in a country under a truce.

Koreans learn from the dictatorial state above the ceasefire line that such things can just be ignored, but what would a simple medieval person know?

That didn't mean Isak had submitted to me.

To be described as submission, he would have to follow an order like ‘harm yourself’ without a word of complaint.

Instead of meekly listening to such an order, Isak would clearly try to fight again, so what we shared was merely a kind of gentleman's agreement.

Unfortunately, the Descendant of a Demon trait only made negotiations smoother; it didn't have the power of hypnosis.

“Let's be fair, let's be fair. Let's elect the next emperor peacefully without raising an army.”

“Do you not remember what you were about to do just a moment ago?”

“We were both trying to kill each other, so let's not speak of useless things. Honestly, what I did was in self-defense.”

“Fine. As you say, I shall withdraw for today.”

Isak gritted his teeth and accepted the proposal.

However, rather than making the decision himself, he was forced to choose, and so Isak's gaze towards me burned with deep-seated resentment.

Isak, a noble being from birth, would not let an opponent who had tarnished his honor go.

As expected, Isak vowed revenge.

“But Leon Akardi, you can only act high and mighty for today. I will never forget what happened today. I will make you pay the price for it one day.”

It was a cliché threat.

Of course, I wasn't worried at all.

Not because I didn't think the threat was scary, but because by that time, Isak wouldn't be able to remember me.

“Do as you please. But let me give you a piece of advice. You'd better watch your way back.”

“Hmph.”

Instead of heeding my advice, Isak snorted and gestured to his men.

It was the signal to withdraw.

Isak's men followed the order like well-trained dogs.

They had no complaints as I had given them a justifiable reason.

It was only natural, as no matter how crazy a person is, they wouldn't want to die in an explosion in some random city.

The sound of footsteps faded.

Isak's men completely disappeared from view.

“Are they gone? Are they gone?”

“Are they really gone?”

The people's murmurs soon spread into cheers of joy.

“The battle is over!”

“The rebels have retreated!”

As cheers erupted from all sides, citizens also poked their heads out from somewhere like meerkats.

A short while later, the cheers turned into chants praising me.

“Prince Leon has saved us!”

“Long live the Empire! Long live Leon Akardi!”

I looked around at the people chanting my name and smiling.

When I waved to them, a tremendous roar erupted.

For a moment, a thrilling pleasure, as if dopamine was being released in my brain, coursed through my whole body.

It was the first time in my life I had felt this way.

Then, I heard a notification in my ear.

「Achievement Over-fulfilled: Congratulations! You have saved the capital from a crisis. This is something no one has ever accomplished. Your name will be spoken of among the people for a long time. Your fame increases.」

「History Altered: You have twisted the flow of time. What was supposed to happen has returned to the void, and a new event will take its place.」

「Character Survival: The fates of numerous people have changed. Royal Guard Captain Zeta and Belius will remember this day.」

「Trait Evolution: You have successfully deceived Isak. Your trait grows.

Lacking Lineage → Novice Strategist

Your deception has reached a rudimentary level. A pursuer will be attached.

─ Intelligence +1

─ Increased Assassination Risk

─ Increased Initial Funds」

「May fortune be with you in your future.」

It meant only one thing.

I survived.

I, who had fallen into this world, had survived.

As a bonus, I had managed to protect the Imperial Capital, though I had almost blown half of it up.

The long tutorial was finally over.

With the sudden sense of relief and exhaustion that came over me, I almost collapsed on the spot.

That was how much pressure I had been under, knowingly and unknowingly.

“Hah, that really took ten years off my life.”

“I was so nervous that Duke Isak would ask you to set off another explosion.”

“It's a good thing Isak fell for the lie. If he had insisted on going all the way, we wouldn't be of this world right now.”

I faced Theo and grinned.

The key to a scam is to mix a little bit of truth with a lot of false information.

The victim is deceived by that small bit of truth.

That's what happened with Isak.

He naively believed my bluff.

It was a real relief that he underestimated my will to survive.

It was clear that the real Isak knew nothing about me.

I would run away if I had to, but why would I be crazy enough to self-destruct in a place like this?

In the first place, if you think about it, self-destructing doesn't even make sense.

How could it be possible to obtain so many flammable materials in this urgent situation?

The explosion in the south?

Of course, Zeta took care of it.

When I asked her to just make a big light and sound with magic, she looked at me very pathetically.

Another wound was added to my heart today…….

“So what will you do now? Are you really going to hold a peaceful election for the emperor as you proposed to Duke Isak?”

“Am I crazy?”

“I thought so. Knew you would say that.”

“Isak has no intention of keeping that promise anyway. He'll pounce the moment he sees an opening.”

A gentleman's agreement exists to be broken.

You can think of it as something like chivalry in the Middle Ages.

It exists, but no one abides by it.

Isak, if you really thought I'd let you go that easily, you are gravely mistaken.

But before proceeding with my conspiracy against Isak, there was something I had to take care of first.

“Let's put out the fire first.”

“Ah.”

The flames were still burning fiercely, brightly illuminating the sky of the Imperial Capital.

They might have even grown larger than before.

Still, this was a pretty good defense.

At least it didn't end up in complete ruins like at the start of the game.

***

Fortunately, there was no need to struggle with putting out the fire.

Because we had the all-powerful mage, Zeta.

“Prince Leon. A mage is not a firefighter.”

“I believe there is an ultimate spell in Green Magic called ‘Weather Change’.”

“How on earth do you know that when I've never even mentioned it.”

“Oh, come on, give me a hand. Are you just going to stand by and watch the Imperial Capital burn?”

“You didn't say you were going to blow it up like this, did you?”

“The one who set the fire was Isak, not me.”

I pretended not to know, and Zeta looked at me pathetically.

But the fire was not a situation that could be easily suppressed.

People were throwing sand and water on it, but the flames were only growing larger.

“Oh, oh, at this rate, the fire will spread to the royal tombs. His Majesty passed away not too long ago, wouldn't he be very sad if his tomb also burns down?”

“Your skill at wagging your tongue has really improved.”

“So you're not going to do it?”

“It's not supposed to be used like this, but I have no choice.”

Mages are usually like this.

As mages are rare, their pride in magic is immense.

Magic is not meant to be used for things like this, is what they think.

Moreover, ultimate spells are not something that can be used recklessly.

In fact, you could say they can only be used a few times in a lifetime.

However, when I pulled out the emperor card, Zeta had no choice but to act.

That's how great the political value of the Imperial Capital is.

Zeta let out a big sigh and soon demonstrated her skills.

She slammed her staff into the ground and chanted a spell, and dark clouds gathered in the sky, and soon, rain began to pour down over our heads.

Swoooosh.

As the rain soaked the Imperial Capital, the flames gradually weakened.

In an instant, we were looking at each other in a pathetic state, like rain-soaked puppies.

“With this, we don't have to worry about the fire.”

“Thank you for your hard work. But there is one more thing I'd like to ask of you.”

“A request? I won't be able to use an ultimate spell for a while.”

“Ah, it's not about magic. As the plenipotentiary representative, please convene the Senate. As you know, I don't have the authority to do so, right?”

“The Senate, in a time like this?”

“There's something that must be done.”

For someone who has worked in the heart of Imperial politics for a long time, Zeta's political sense was zero.

But when a person overcomes a crisis, their abilities suddenly improve.

Zeta understood my words and nodded.

“I will do so.”

***

The joy of survival was short-lived.

I soon had to run around busy with the aftermath of the rebels.

I was especially busy dealing with the treatment of those who had participated in the rebellion.

As Isak retreated, he diligently took the key participants, including the Patriarch, with him.

It was a matter of course.

What good would come of staying in the Imperial Capital?

They would be suspected as collaborators and executed.

Besides, they were all prominent nobles who held positions in the military or the Senate, so he couldn't just ignore them.

Even for someone like Isak, doing so would not only lead to gossip but also make it difficult to handle the aftermath.

But not everyone was so lucky.

Many people still remained in the Imperial Capital, and the traitors left behind even more property.

Perhaps they thought I wouldn't touch it because we made a gentleman's agreement, but no way.

The gentleman's agreement service ends here.

In the name of the central government, I confiscated all the traitors' property, and all the recovered property went into the national treasury.

They said what everyone had embezzled amounted to several years' worth of the Imperial government's budget.

This must be why the tyrants of history always shook down their vassals first.

To be honest, I couldn't lay a hand on it.

Frankly, I'm human too, so I was greedy.

But Zeta was watching with both eyes wide open, so I couldn't touch it.

It felt like my wrist would be chopped off if I did.

Still, the administrative power of this era wasn't so detailed, so I did manage to discreetly pocket some crumbs.

I have to make a living too.

And so, killing those who needed to be killed, exiling those who needed to be exiled, and imprisoning those who needed to be imprisoned, a few days had passed before I knew it.

It was time to decide on a future course of action.

***

Leon, Zeta, Belius.

The last loyalists of the Empire had gathered in one place.

Zeta, the key figure among the three, spoke first.

“We have gathered today to discuss the issues that lie ahead.”

The others nodded.

“It's a mess.”

“It's a shitshow.”

“Belius, if you would please be more careful with your words.”

“Why? It's the truth. Can't I even speak the truth?”

“That's not it, sigh.”

Setting aside Belius's language and temperament, his remark accurately pierced the current situation.

A rebellion had broken out shortly after the emperor's death, and a full-blown street battle had taken place.

Moreover, the person who started the rebellion was Duke Isak of Nikaea, the head of a prestigious Imperial family and a powerful vassal.

There could be nothing more fatal to the fate of the Empire.

In fact, they had been at death's door.

So there was no more accurate expression than 'shitshow.'

Belius licked his lips.

“We should have finished off that bastard Isak back then, but we failed.”

“We can't do anything about the past. Let's not think too deeply about it.”

“But all this time has passed and Isak is still quiet. It wouldn't be strange if he had already risen up, so what on earth is going on?”

“Don't worry about that at all.”

Everyone's gaze turned to Leon.

Leon gave a triumphant smile.

It was the same smile he had when he was bluffing to Isak.

“For the time being, we won't have to worry about Isak.”

***

“Leon, you son of a bitch, really.”

At that moment, Isak was spewing harsh curses, having thrown even his dignity away.

Surprised glances poured in from all around.

Isak was a figure who valued his dignity and rarely uttered profanities.

But Isak paid them no mind.

Because the situation was that dangerous and curse-worthy.

“Your Highness, please calm down.”

“How can I calm down in this situation!”

Isak pointed ahead.

A host of troops was blocking their path.

It was a coalition of local lords who had mobilized to punish the public enemy of the Empire, Duke Isak.

Moreover, there were more than one or two of these groups.

They were flocking towards them from all directions like hunting dogs eyeing their prey.

By the time he realized he had fallen into a trap, it was too late.

Isak could only curse Leon once again.

“Aaargh! Leon!”

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