chapter_0024

24 – Preparing to Be King

24 – Preparing to Be King

Noah was dressed in light pajamas.

Like me, she seemed to have something on her mind that prompted her to take a walk.

“It’s you, Noah. I was just taking a short walk because my heart is troubled.”

“I feel the same… Would you like to walk together?”

“Sure, let’s do that.”

So, I walked with Noah for a while around the campsite.

It really seemed like my heart was in turmoil.

Normally, I would be captivated by Noah’s beautiful face and her chest, but right now, I couldn’t see any of that at all.

At that moment, Noah seemed a bit cold, so I took off my outer garment and draped it over her.

“Th-thank you. My lord, the night in Dreyhart is chilly.”

“The nights in the desert are indeed cold. By the way, is this your first time in Dreyhart, Noah?”

I remembered reading in the World Archive that Dreyhart was chilly due to its proximity to the desert.

Then I suddenly wondered if Noah had never been to Dreyhart before.

I had heard that she had been to most places…

“Yes… No. Actually, I came here once when I was a child.”

“When you were a child?”

“Yes… I came once with my mother.”

Noah spoke with a bitter expression.

This was a story about Noah that I had never heard before.

“You see, my lord… My mother was a slave in Dreyhart.”

“Your mother!?”

This was a story about Noah that I had never even seen in the setting book.

I had only heard that Noah’s mother had died early, but she was a slave?

“My father was ill and couldn’t have children for a long time.”

I had heard that Noah’s father had gotten her at an old age.

I hadn’t known it was due to an illness.

Was Malek that gentleman a eunuch?

“So, to have an heir, he bought a female slave and magically impregnated her. The child born from that is… me.”

I was at a loss for words at Noah’s revelation.

If Malek was a eunuch, he should have treated his own condition instead of doing something so insane.

I began to understand a bit why there wasn’t much information about Noah in the settings.

The moment this setting was revealed, it would have turned the bulletin board into hell.

“The side effect of that magical procedure was that my mother passed away shortly after giving birth to me. And seeing my father, who didn’t care at all about my mother’s death, made me think this.”

Noah looked at me.

She gazed at me with a sadder expression than ever before and said,

“I am just a tool to this person… a tool to continue the family line…”

I had heard that Noah didn’t have a good relationship with her father.

From what I observed, it felt more like a business relationship.

And I began to understand the reason.

If my father treated my mother that way, I honestly felt like a punch would be the least of his worries.

“So when I met you, my lord, who sees people as people… I was very happy.”

Noah’s smile, illuminated by the moonlight in the desert, was truly unfair.

Her beauty was so striking that the term “a beauty that could topple a nation” came to mind.

“My lord, I want to help those like me.”

I felt a sense of kinship with Noah’s words.

In my past life, I was a slave to capitalism.

I worked until the moment I died in a black company, and the only happiness I felt in life was during those brief moments of playing games.

They had suffered even worse abuse and pain until now.

As a beloved lord and as a human being, I wanted to help them if I could.

But I couldn’t think of a way.

“I feel the same. If I could, I would want to help them. But I can’t think of a way…”

In a way, it was the first time I had opened my heart to Noah.

Seeing me like that, Noah smiled and said,

“There is one way.”

“Really?”

“Yes, there is one way to save everyone.”

Noah seemed to see something invisible to me.

She looked directly into my eyes.

Her jewel-like beautiful purple eyes drew closer to me.

“However, to use this method, my lord, you will need to be prepared.”

“My preparation?”

What kind of thing would require my preparation?

I thought I had my own resolve.

But her words made me reflect.

“Are you ready to become a king, my lord?”

That evening, Noah and I talked a lot.

And I made my resolve.

After the rebels of Dreyhart won, Jarha and the slave soldiers returned to the castle to revel in their victory.

They knew that the first suppression force was just a taste.

This time, the properly prepared suppression force was a real legion, and they had defeated it.

As Jarha was celebrating with everyone, someone approached him.

“Congratulations on your victory, King of Dreyhart.”

The leader of the assassins who had attacked Zeras, wearing a black mask, approached Jarha and offered his congratulations.

Jarha corrected him at once.

“I am not a king! I am just the temporary leader because there is no one responsible.”

“In the world, that is called a king.”

Jarha disliked the word “king.”

But he decided to let it go for now.

They were precious allies after all.

“Right, thanks to you black masks, we have been liberated and achieved victory. I truly appreciate it.”

“Thank you, my king.”

Had it not been for their sudden appearance, Jarha’s rebellion would have failed.

In fact, preparations for the rebellion had been underway for some time.

But they had no way to deal with those purple chains, and then they had cut off the necks of the magicians, solving that problem.

Thus, the slaves’ rebellion could succeed.

Jarha felt grateful to them, but at the same time, he felt uneasy.

Because he couldn’t read their intentions.

“So I’m really curious. Do you truly have no ulterior motives for us?”

“We truly have no ulterior motives. We only wish for your freedom.”

“Is that so… I understand. Anyway, thank you.”

They didn’t demand any rewards, whether money or anything else.

They simply continued to provide help and information so that they could keep the rebellion going.

Uron, Jarha’s comrade, looked at the retreating black masks and said,

“Jarha, what do you think their true intentions are?”

“I don’t know either. But one thing is certain…”

Jarha recalled the many nobles who had oppressed him.

Recalling that terrible memory, Jarha said,

“The worse they are, the more likely they are to be the worst kind.”

Jarha thought he needed to prepare to survive without them.

After that, each day passed busily.

There was much to prepare to survive.

They needed food to feed the many slaves of Dreyhart and to prepare to win the next war.

To that end, the slaves divided their roles and moved frantically.

“Captain Jarha! We’ve raided their food supplies! It’s southern barley, and this will ensure a week’s worth of food!!!”

“Good job! Maron!”

Among them, Jarha was the one moving the most frantically, taking care of Dreyhart.

From battles to internal affairs, Jarha was essentially the lord of Dreyhart.

“Captain Jarha… um…”

“Hmm? What is it?”

Then the shocking news reached Jarha.

His son, Rakan Regon, had participated in the raid and was captured, and there was a proposal to exchange such prisoners for the prisoners captured in the last battle.

“Who proposed this exchange?”

“It was said to be Calix Crone, the lord of the Crones Family.”

His name was known not only to Jarha but also to many slaves.

They had heard the bard’s song about a lord creating a paradise at the far southern end of the land.

But no matter how high his reputation, he was ultimately just an oppressor to them.

“Captain Jarha, let’s exchange. After all, those bastards have no food to feed him.”

“Right! Let’s quickly find Rakan.”

“Moreover, they say they will give us food equivalent to the number of prisoners they lack. Let’s take this opportunity to get some food!”

“Hmm… sounds good! Let’s proceed with the prisoner exchange!”

Thinking that he could bring back his precious son and deal with the troublesome suppression force prisoners, Jarha agreed to the exchange.

After that, the discussions progressed quickly.

In the plains of Dreyhart, where both sides had killed each other, this time, the rebels of Crone and Dreyhart met to exchange living people.

“Are you the warrior ‘Jarha’?”

“Yes. Are you the lord of the Silver Dragon, as rumored?”

They met in a tent set up for negotiations.

Jarha felt a bit disappointed seeing the slender silver-haired lord compared to himself.

He had heard rumors that he had killed three assassins with a dagger, so he expected immense power, but he looked too light.

Perhaps this lord was the type to kill with skill rather than strength, and Jarha didn’t particularly like that type.

“Yes, I am Calix Crone, the Silver Dragon of Crone.”

However, he could acknowledge the spirit with which he spoke confidently without being intimidated.

Jarha had a feeling that this negotiation would not be easy.

Neither spoke, but they both knew.

This negotiation was not only about the prisoner exchange but also about determining the direction of the war ahead.

Calix got straight to the point.

“Warrior Jarha, do you have no intention of surrendering even now?”

“Surrender?”

“Yes, I understand your pain. Therefore, I understand why you have revolted.”

Jarha couldn’t comprehend Calix’s immediate mention of surrender.

But then even more incomprehensible words began to emerge.

“If you surrender now, I will take responsibility and guarantee that this matter will be concluded as the responsibility of the already deceased slave soldiers.”

“Hahahahaha!!! Truly, as the rumors say, you have a talent for making people laugh.”

Jarha was honestly angry.

He felt a brightness in Calix’s words that viewed the world too optimistically.

“Listen, my lord. How can we trust that?”

That was right.

Once they became rebels, there were only two paths: win and live or lose and die.

There was no third path.

“Let’s say you are as kind as the rumors say. But do you think the others will forgive us? And even if we were forgiven, we would have to live as slaves again, so why should we do that?”

Jarha’s words, which were one and a half times larger than Calix, shook the tent.

But Calix didn’t flinch.

Instead, he calmly replied,

“Otherwise, you will ultimately be slaughtered.”

“Ha! The moment we were born as slaves, we were already dead. So, we would rather live as humans, even if only for a moment.”

Yes, that was what mattered.

Living freely as humans until death was the most important thing for them right now.

Listening to his words, Calix said,

“Then, warrior Jarha, let me make a proposal.”

Jarha was curious about what Calix would say.

What could this lord possibly propose?

And the words that came out were even more surprising.

“Let’s have my Krone Knights fight, and let’s settle it that way.”

“Settle it? What do you mean by that?”

“If my Krone Knights win, you surrender. But if my Krone Knights lose, we will give you all the food we have, and I will allow you to take us as prisoners.”

“You, a lord, would become a prisoner?”

For a lord to become a prisoner was a story on a different level than a common soldier becoming a prisoner.

“Yes, a baron with the right to inherit the throne will become a prisoner. Even the Platinum Council would not be able to ignore me and carry out a one-sided slaughter.”

Calix was right.

The moment he became a prisoner, the Platinum Council would have a huge headache.

If they slaughtered the magicians and the lord died, they would have to prepare for the possibility of alienating other lords.

Jarha couldn’t understand Calix’s intention in offering such favorable terms to them.

“Why on earth are you going this far?”

“I told you, I understand your pain.”

Jarha’s head hurt.

His creed was that those who couldn’t be seen through were the worst.

That was why he didn’t trust the black masks either.

Yet the lord in front of him didn’t seem to be as bad as he surely had hidden intentions…

Seeing Jarha like that, Calix said,

“What are you pondering? Are you really trying to back down now?”

The moment he heard those words, Jarha made a decision in his heart.

If he retreated now, he would not be a warrior.

“If you want to become our prisoner, I will gladly take you… My lord, I will personally show you Dreyhart.”

“Thank you. I look forward to it.”

Thus, the second suppression battle was decided without the Platinum Council’s knowledge.

A word from the author (author’s note)

Thank you, [MISSOURI]!!!!!

I will continue to repay you with good works!!!!!!

??? : Are you scared?

??? : Bring it on! You bastard!!