Chapter 9

Since ancient times, people have used ceremonial occasions as a place for socializing.

It was probably because there weren't many interesting things to do.

The emperor's funeral was no exception.

Especially since the deceased was a person at the pinnacle of the nation, the attendees' lineup was also splendid.

Ministers of the central government, senators, master craftsmen of the capital's guilds, officers of the Imperial Army, the Grand Captain of the Royal Guard and a Duke, and even a royal.

If the people gathered in this place were to be massacred, the functions of the central government would be paralyzed that day.

I looked at them and unfolded a twisted imagination.

A ninja suddenly rushes in and the top brass of the empire are massacred…….

The sole survivor, a royal, is recognized for his right to succession and urgently inherits the throne…….

“What are you thinking about so happily?”

“I wasn't thinking about anything.”

“It's obvious just by looking at your face.”

Theo looked at me suspiciously, but I pretended not to know and looked around.

The crowd outside was returning, and there were sparse empty seats among the attendees.

“Some people are missing.”

“Yes, people with things to do must have gone back first.”

“That's not all, is it?”

Theo saw it simply, but my thoughts were different.

To me, who had more information, it looked not like noise but a signal.

“Zeta and Isak are on the move. They must be recruiting people by now.”

Of course, it was just a war of nerves for now.

If they moved too openly, the chances of being discovered would increase.

Both sides would be frantic, wondering who to recruit and who they could trust.

But when the time came, they would try to win them over to their side, whether by buying them with money, winning their favor with gifts, or through threats.

Or eliminate them.

It is said that if you gaze into the abyss, the abyss also gazes back at you.

Like a good adult, I decided to pretend I didn't see the darkness lurking in the capital.

“Oh my, how scary. A good person like me shouldn't be here.”

“What makes you so good, Your Highness?”

“I don't know. It's scary, scary. I didn't see anything.”

Even though it was a darkness I had created.

I chuckled and pushed Theo's back towards the exit.

I just ignored the gazes of the people pouring onto my back.

It had nothing to do with me anyway.

Unfortunately, I was not a suitable person to recruit people.

I felt it during the sickbed visits this time, my notoriety among people was too high.

So Zeta decided to take charge of recruiting people.

Zeta was highly respected by the people, so it was an appropriate choice.

“Prepare the carriage.”

“Understood. Where are we going?”

“To the hunting grounds.”

“Understood.”

Just as Zeta had something to do, I also had something to do.

Theo drove the carriage not to the imperial detached palace, but to the western gate of the capital.

I organized my thoughts while basking in the sunlight pouring through the window.

Currently, the situation seemed to be in Zeta's favor.

The capital was Zeta's territory, and she had influence over the Senate and the central government.

She even found out that Isak was preparing a conspiracy.

It was an unfortunate turn of events for Isak.

But I shouldn't be complacent.

Isak was a dangerous opponent.

I had to be wary of him as if he were a hungry wolf.

No matter how much Zeta didn't know, the capital's defense level couldn't have been lax.

But in the history that originally happened, Isak succeeded in capturing and burning the capital.

From the perspective of someone who had played , it was something that would make you exclaim, "He's crazy."

I threw a question to Theo, who was sitting next to me.

“Theo. If it were you, how would you conquer this city, the capital?”

Theo, who was suddenly attacked with a question, had a reluctant face.

“No, why are you suddenly thinking about that?”

“Why? Can't I?”

“It's such an irreverent thought.”

“There's no such thing in the world. It's not like I'm blaspheming God. I just asked how you would attack the city.”

Theo's eyes seemed to say, ‘That's a sound worthy of divine punishment.’

But who else would I ask something like this if not you?

The level of education in this world was quite low compared to the modern era where public education existed.

On the other hand, Theo was a warrior who had received professional military training, and was even a Royal Guard member belonging to the Emperor's Royal Guard.

It meant he was almost the only military elite I could meet.

It was hard to believe that this dazed and naive friend who hung around with me was a top 1 percent soldier in this world, but that's how it was.

Anyway.

No matter how much experience I had accumulated through games, there was a high possibility that a real battle would be very different from what I thought.

To me, Theo was a suitable person to seek advice from.

I urged Theo on.

“Just. Just try to picture it once.”

“Hmm. Since you need my thoughts, I will tell you. But would you give me a moment to think? I've never thought about something like that before.”

“Of course.”

Theo looked around reluctantly.

The huge triple city walls surrounding the city.

And ports on both the north and south sides that could receive supplies at any time through the sea route.

In addition, a long barrier was built along the seaside, making it difficult for the enemy to invade.

It could be called the worst conditions for a siege.

Theo shook his head after a long while.

“It would be difficult.”

“Really? But what if you absolutely have to?”

“If it were me, I would execute the person who proposed the plan and retreat. Or prepare supplies for a three-year siege.”

“Is it that bad? Is there really no other way?”

“Well. Unless there's an internal response. A frontal assault is a crazy act.”

Is that so.

Theo's answer was within the expected range.

The capital that appeared in was a base city that boasted the highest level of conquest difficulty.

It was like that even when it was in a state of ruin, so what would it be like now that it was intact?

Couldn't Isak, who had captured this place, be called a tactical genius?

Of course, it wouldn't happen like that this time.

Because I am here.

Because I will change the future.

Because I will survive.

***

The Snow Elf warriors who served in the Emperor's Royal Guard would retire after completing a certain number of years of service and return to their hometowns.

But not everyone returned home.

People who liked life in the capital chose to settle here, living in the foreign residential district and taking on private jobs.

The experts that Zeta had looked into were these retired Royal Guard veterans.

At this point, I began to suspect that there was a problem with Zeta's connections.

I wasn't expecting her to introduce me to a secret assassination guild or bring a legendary mercenary.

But to be surrounded by Snow Elves and have her outside connections be retired Royal Guard members, I couldn't help but think there was a problem somewhere.

I asked Theo with an anxious heart.

“How are the people we're going to meet this time? Are they really trustworthy?”

“Of course. They were all selected by the Grand Captain. Their skills are guaranteed.”

“But there's always a 'what if'. Could it be?”

“Don't worry. Once a Royal Guard, always a Royal Guard.”

This guy is saying something scary.

But thinking about it, the retired veterans didn't seem like they would be easily bought by other factions.

The retired veterans were people under Zeta's wing.

Trying to contact them would only expose their own movements.

Didn't they say that in modern times, retired members of the US special forces work as mercenaries, getting jobs through their military connections?

It would probably be something similar.

Of course, I couldn't quite understand the fact of living with a sense of belonging to a specific group for one's entire life.

The carriage, which had been running for a long time, stopped in a field far from the western gate of the capital.

There, about 10 Snow Elf warriors were waiting, having built a fire.

When the carriage stopped, one person stood up and approached.

He was a sturdy warrior with an eyepatch over his left eye.

“Mister Ryuba!”

“Theo!”

Theo waved his hand cheerfully at the sight of him, and the other man also smiled with his wrinkled face.

“You've grown a lot. It seems like just yesterday that you were crying after being kicked by me at the training camp.”

“Ha, you don't remember that I'm the one who took out your eye, mister?”

Do people normally use such words as greetings?

Or is that normal for Snow Elves?

Or is there a problem with the Royal Guard's character education?

While I was standing there blankly, Theo and Ryuba shared the touching moment of their reunion.

“But what's with your eye? Did you get beaten up by someone?”

“The opponent was bad. You remember Mister Rorick, right?”

“Rorick the fool? Of course, I remember him. Hasn't that guy retired yet?”

“This time, I fought against that mister and all his subordinates. It's a relief it ended with just a bruise.”

“Ha, you call that an excuse. It's a lack of training. If it were me, I would have knocked them all down easily.”

“You're still the same braggart. I see you're healthy.”

Ryuba hugged Theo once and then finally looked at me.

“And you must be the notorious royal. There's only one royal that Theo serves.”

However, his gaze was not kind.

It was a gaze that had not a hint of favor.

When I sent Theo a look that said, ‘Did you talk about me?’, he quickly shook his head.

“Do you know me?”

“I know you well. Who in the capital doesn't know the hooligan Leon? No one, I bet.”

Oh my, really.

This damned fame.

No, but that's not what's important.

“I am royalty, for goodness' sake, so why are you speaking to me informally?”

Ryuba came out with an almost shameless confidence.

“I don't know what you're talking about. I am a free man and you are a free man, so what's wrong?”

“Huh?”

“Besides, I pledged my loyalty to the emperor, not to you, so there's no problem.”

“What on earth is that sophistry?”

As a quarrel seemed about to break out, Theo stepped in to stop it.

“Your Highness, the customs of our hometown, Selan, are very different from those of Siberia. There are classes in Selan, but there are only two: free men and bonded men. So free men are considered equal in principle.”

“What? But you use formal language with me?”

“That's because I belong to the Royal Guard, and I'm from the capital, so I'm more familiar with the culture of the Siberia Empire.”

Ryuba chimed in.

“That's right. Theo wasn't born in our hometown, but in the capital. I've known him since he was born.”

“Then isn't his hometown the capital, not Selan?”

“What are you talking about? Your origin follows the bloodline and soul of your ancestors. Where you were born is not important.”

“Wow. Really. I. wanted. to. know. that. information.”

Now I see, it wasn't the language patch that was wrong, but the culture patch.

On top of that, seeing the other Snow Elves nodding as if that was right, I suddenly got a headache.

A disaster is imminent, and I don't have time to argue about something like this.

Ryuba gave me a piece of advice.

“I often saw you causing trouble when you were in the Royal Guard. It's a good thing you didn't cause any major accidents, but stop bothering Theo now and act quietly. Now that the emperor is dead, who's going to protect you?”

“Well, you don't have to worry about that. There were circumstances.”

“Circumstances?”

“Let's just say I was carrying out a secret mission.”

Theo said.

“Mister Ryuba, His Highness was deliberately acting for some reason. He's different now.”

“Now that I think about it, that's true. He's using formal language with me……?”

“……”

Ryuba looked at me with fearful eyes.

Seeing people get surprised just because I used polite language, I was now scared of what Leon had done in the past.

“Enough, let's talk about work. Tell everyone to gather.”

“Hey! Everyone gather around! Leon has something to say.”

When Ryuba called, the Snow Elves came rushing over.

They were a mix of men and women, but they all exuded the aura of seasoned veterans.

“Is he that guy?”

“The troublemaking royal?”

“I heard he caused trouble again?”

“Everyone be quiet.”

When I gave a look, Ryuba quieted the retired veterans.

As their gazes poured down on me, I opened my mouth.

“You were told that you would be going out for reconnaissance on the surface. But forget all that. Our real purpose is not reconnaissance.”

“Then?”

“We will now carry out a secret mission.”

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