Volume 7 Chapter 3 Part 1
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Translator: Kell
Later that night, a knight came to us as we were taking a break in Mitas.
“Lord Eld, His Majesty wishes to have an audience with you.”
“All right. Where do I go?”
“Please follow me.”
I was ushered into a reception room in a local lord’s mansion.
“It’s been a while, Eld,” King Rapha greeted. “I appreciate you taking the time to talk to me.”
He looked somewhat tired, but it was probably not from busyness, but more from traveling. Getting from the royal capital to Mitas in just a day would require sending the horse to a gallop for hours.
“Sorry about this,” I said. “A subject should answer the king’s summons, right?”
“That’s true, but if you’re headed to Raijis, I don’t want to get in your way. In fact, I welcome it.”
Hmm. So the king already knows that we’re headed to Raijis. Then again, there’s not a lot of reasons to be moving in a hurry at a time like this.
At any rate, I’m relieved because it doesn’t look like he’s going to stop us or anything. If he did, I would have had to disobey his orders.
“So, why did you want to talk to me in person?” I asked.
“I was hoping you’d become commander of the kingdom’s knights.”
A commander on an Order, huh? As the name suggests, it’s the commanding officer, the leader of the kingdom’s knights… right?
I’m not sure it’s a position you just offer someone out of the blue. Leading a large group requires a different skill set than fighting. While I have the ability to lead a small group of elite adventurers, I have never studied how to lead a big group of thousands of people, nor do I intend to.
“Why me?” I asked. “What happened to the current commander?”
“Ah, I should have explained myself. I’m not asking you to lead the existing Order, but an Interim Royal Knights. What I’m saying is, I want you to lead the new band of knights that will be created to fight the Empire.”
“A new one? What about its members?”
“So far, it’s only the Count’s army. If you want more men, I can arrange it, but it may take some time.”
Hmm. Create a new order of knights that I will lead, then absorb the Count’s forces.
There’s no difference from our current setup. Right now, I’m basically leading Count Meigis’ army, and I’m currently heading to Raijis with select troops.
“How is it different than what we have now?” I asked.
“Not different at all. You can keep doing what you’ve been doing so far.”
“Except officially we’ll be part of the kingdom’s forces.”
“Exactly. If there’s a difference, it will be your status.”
I see. I was kind of worried about going to war without telling the government. But if we’re officially recognized as part of the kingdom’s forces, I won’t have to worry about anything.
“If I become a commander, do I have to follow the king’s orders?”
“Yes, I suppose. But I would only have one order: Do as you see fit.”
“Is that even an order?”
“It will be an official royal decree. Nobles, regular knights, and even the commander of the Order can not interfere with your work. Interfering with you means going against royal decree.”
I get it. I could do whatever I want whenever I want and no one could stop me, since I’m officially carrying out the king’s orders. That’s quite a tempting proposition.
“Oh, and the government will bear the expenses as well,” the king added. “If you and your men are fighting on the orders of the kingdom, it’s only right that the expenses be paid by the government. Apart from that, you’ll also be rewarded for your results.”
Leaving nothing to be desired, huh? Myna said she would send the bill to the king, and now it looks like that might actually happen. It’s too good to be true, it makes you wonder if it’s a scam or something.
“Why do all this?” I asked. “Sounds like a waste of taxpayer money.”
“It’s necessary to protect our land and our people. It’s not a waste of taxpayer money. I don’t know of any means of national defense that’s more cost-effective than paying you.”
“We were gonna fight without your orders, though.”
“If nobles or their army interfere with your battle, it would be bad for the kingdom. We won’t have to worry about that, though, if I grant you official status.”
Hmm. He thinks too highly of a troop of twenty-or-so people. Then again, his proposition could be the right way to go, depending on the nature of our enemy.
Numbers are nothing in the face of enemies that can use powerful Skills. If the enemy is likely just an elite few, then the best way to combat them is also to bring a select few elite troops. A larger army is better suited in taking control of a territory after the elite force is crushed.
“Well, to be honest, turning you into an official army is also to make me look good as king. I just ascended to the throne, and people are doubting my abilities as a ruler. I want troops that are most likely to achieve victory to carry the name of the ‘Royal Army’ on their backs.”
“I see. You must have it tough.”
“You can say that again. Though things are much better than it was a year ago.”
A year ago…
At that time, the royal palace was occupied, and the king himself was held hostage. Back then, there was a possibility that the Empire would take over the entire kingdom. Compared to that, invading from the edge of the kingdom’s territory is much better.
“I’d like to know the situation in Raijis,” I said. “How much does the army know?”
“We know almost nothing. The only thing we know is that 500 local troops were annihilated by just a few opponents and that the occupied city is covered in sand.”
“Covered in sand?”
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