He Became The Most Insane Emperor Of All Time [EN]: Chapter 87

Clang, bang!

The magic-powered musket spat fire.

The round bullet shot out of the barrel and accurately pierced the target 50 meters away.

Given the primitive structure with no rifling and even the bullets being rudimentary, hitting that distance alone was impressive, but…

Whoosh!

The bullet fired from the gun didn’t stop there; after penetrating the target, it bent freely, piercing the other targets set up around it in succession.

It didn’t stop until its power was exhausted, penetrating a total of four targets.

“A magic bullet, quite useful, but the cost-effectiveness is a bit lacking.”

Based on the treasures Duke Orlant desperately provided, expanding influence in the Southern Territory was going smoothly.

The navy was also being salvaged and reorganized, and ports were being reclaimed one by one.

Naturally, the next step was to increase armaments, but while it was difficult to find excellent knights in the Southern Territory, it was easy to obtain magic guns like this.

“But the gun is picky about its user. This negates the gun’s advantages.”

Magic guns had the advantage of being able to reproduce guns even in this world with insufficient technology.

However, there was a significant disadvantage compared to Earth’s guns.

Using magic power instead of gunpowder had the advantage of enabling magic bullet shots like just now, but conversely, it had the disadvantage of being affected by the user’s talent.

Even simply firing ordinary shots without using magic bullets like just now required the user to be able to handle magic power to some extent.

On average, they could fire less than three shots, and beyond that, they couldn’t shoot unless they had trained considerably.

“The advantage of a gun is that it doesn’t discriminate against the shooter’s inherent talent, but this is no different from training knights. Besides, the price is too high.”

The fact that talent is needed to shoot better dilutes the advantage of firearms, and even the price is too high, making it not cost-effective.

If mass production is desired, gunpowder guns would be 100 times better.

“But there’s no reason to bother making them.”

It would be better to just use cold weapons [non-firearm weapons like swords and spears].

Moreover, there was no reason for me to develop gunpowder weapons that enemies could copy.

It was better for me to be active, at least for the time being, by leaving firearms powerless.

Of course, gunpowder might be developed in this world someday, and the technology related to magic guns might improve, but there was no need to think about that right now.

“Your Majesty.”

“What’s with the ‘Your Majesty’ now? You can just call me Franz.”

After getting off the ship for the first time in a while and leisurely shooting, Sarah approached me.

Sarah hadn’t called me ‘Your Majesty’ for a while after escaping from Millania, but recently, she started calling me that while being mindful of the other nobles.

It wasn’t that the Southern nobles and Sarah suddenly developed respect for me; it was because they calculated that the South would remain under my influence even after the ‘Pirate Duke’s Rebellion’ was over.

The nobles, who were remarkably good at sniffing out power, couldn’t possibly not know that, so it was a ploy to look good to me even a little bit.

“I get enough insincere respect from those who aren’t even blood-related.”

Of course, even if we were blood-related, it was on my mother’s side, and being Duke Orlant’s granddaughter meant we were sixth cousins, so the blood wasn’t that thick.

“But…”

“And I’m not giving special treatment just because we’re relatives, so don’t hesitate.”

Rather than giving special treatment because they were relatives, it was closer to our interests aligning because they were relatives.

“After the war, I will appoint a governor-general to the South.”

That meant that the position of elector, like in the Eastern Territory, would disappear.

This was an uncomfortable fact for Duke Orlant, one of the two electors of the South.

Similarly, it wasn’t entirely good news for his granddaughter, Sarah, a member of the Orlant family.

“But I will put Duke Orlant in charge of that governor-general position. Well, that’s if he’s still alive.”

“…So you’re maintaining the family’s prestige?”

“Half of it is like that. The other half depends on how you do.”

“Why? You just said it’s not because we’re relatives?”

“Because I can’t entrust it to just anyone.”

The empire I envision after the civil war is a centralized absolute monarchy.

However, considering the empire’s vast territory, having governors-general is unavoidable.

This is even more true if the empire expands further by conquering the lands of other races after the civil war.

Strictly speaking, a governor-general is not a noble title but an official, and I can dismiss and reappoint them at any time, but I can’t appoint someone who has no stake in me.

Of course, it’s a priority to look at their abilities as a governor-general, but if possible, it’s right to have someone who is less likely to betray me.

The reason I put Stella as the governor-general of the Eastern Territory was because of her abilities, but also because she showed me fanatical worship.

“The Duke and you have both proven your abilities to me.”

Duke Orlant, who had been in step with me since before the civil war, goes without saying.

Although he was backstabbed by the Pirate Duke, Duke Orlant had proven his abilities without regret until then.

Even now, while captured, he was using schemes to provide me with funds.

Sarah also greatly helped in uniting the nobles who were the resistance, and she showed ability in organizing and leading the navy.

Since she showed abilities above the average noble, Duke and Sarah are both useful afterward.

“And since you are connected to my mother, the Empress Dowager, through blood ties, it’s natural to consider you before others. But at the same time, that’s all it means.”

As I said that, I reloaded the magic gun and aimed at the target.

“Do you understand what I mean?”

Before firing the gun, I asked Sarah.

Sarah answered with a determined look that she could never have shown if she had grown up like a flower in a greenhouse, like an ordinary noble lady.

“You mean that only the Duke and I are useful.”

“That’s right.”

Bang!

The magic bullet was fired along with the gunshot. This time, the magic bullet flew around even more violently after piercing the target.

Whoosh!

In the end, it narrowly brushed past Sarah, but Sarah was not afraid at all.

“Only you and the Duke are valuable. I don’t care about the others. Especially the Orlant family is just a tool to me.”

Since we have some blood mixed, they are prioritized, but noble lineage and family have no value to me.

If they are politically useful, I will use them as tools, but I will not give meaning to it itself.

Even after the war, I will leave the nobles and use them, but it is because they are the only intellectuals of this era, not because their family or bloodline is precious.

If they misunderstand that, I will mercilessly cut off Sarah and the Duke as well.

“The era of relying on bloodlines and the estates that the family has given is over. The nobles in the empire I rule will have to work like slaves.”

It is absolutely impossible to create a world without nobles, but at least it will be difficult for those who have no ability to live comfortably with only their bloodline.

More than any other reason, I have to do that to avoid suffering. Yes, that’s right.

“In that sense, what do you think you should do right now?”

Click.

I reloaded the magic gun and handed it to Sarah, saying.

Just as I handed her the gun now, she would receive the gun called ‘opportunity’ from me.

It was up to her to make the most of that opportunity.

The question I was throwing at her now was also to test her by seeing her choice.

“Of course, I have to save the Duke.”

Bang!

Sarah fired the gun and answered my question at the same time.

Like me, she shot a magic bullet, and she controlled the magic bullet as freely as I did, penetrating several targets.

“Save the Duke, are you saving him because he’s your grandfather?”

“Of course not, how could that be.”

Sarah did not show any humility in saving her blood relatives.

“He’s like Franz, my brother. The Duke, no, my grandfather is still useful to me.”

“Really? But if you save him, he will take the governor-general position.”

Although I help the Duke and Sarah, that also meant that Sarah could get the governor-general position because the Duke was not there.

But soon Sarah shook her head.

“Unlike the Eastern Governor-General, the governor-general position is a white elephant [a possession unwanted by its owner] to me. Unlike her, I don’t have my own base.”

Stella, who has deep influence in the Purification Church and the entire Eastern Territory, has no problem being appointed as governor-general right away.

But what about Sarah’s case?

She was just the Duke’s granddaughter, at best, the person who led the family’s navy.

Even if she, who was young, became the governor-general, it was unlikely that the remaining nobles and merchants of the East would sincerely follow her.

“So it’s better for my grandfather to take the governor-general position. My grandfather also needs me to maintain his prestige.”

“You have more insight than I thought. But that’s a meaningless assumption if you can’t save the Duke.”

Everything is good, but Duke Orlant is still captured by the Pirate Duke.

Of course, I don’t even know where he is being held. It was also difficult to track down the Pirate Duke because he didn’t seem to stay in a specific base.

“So, I have a good plan.”

But Sarah smiled slyly, as if she knew I was going to say that.

The scheme she was about to tell was bold and amazing, as if blood could not be deceived.

If Duke Orlant knew her scheme, he wouldn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

* * *

“How is the preparation for luring those guys going?”

“It’s going smoothly. We are slowly luring them to the Bosphorus Islands as planned.”

“That’s a great place to trap and ambush them.”

The Pirate Duke, looking at the map while listening to his subordinate’s words, smiled cruelly.

Of course, it took some cost and sacrifice to lure them there.

The cost was naturally the treasures of the Orlant family that should have been his, and the sacrifice was the small-time pirates who were thrown away to let appropriate information flow.

Of course, the Pirate Duke didn’t care about the latter, let alone the former.

“New report! Their fleet is sailing towards the Bosphorus Islands.”

“What is the size of the fleet?”

“There is no big change. It doesn’t seem like our plan has been exposed.”

“Good. Let’s move right away.”

The Pirate Duke’s lips curled up at the thought of sweeping away the guys who had been bothering him so far.

If he gets rid of them, he will really become unstoppable. He might be able to defect with more assets than planned.

“It’s not the end of defecting. I’ll come back proudly later.”

Although he is pushed out by the pro-imperial faction now, he will come back and challenge them later with the support of other races.

There are many enemies of the empire, so it was not an absolutely impossible plan.

“Chief, Chief! Something terrible happened!”

“What’s going on? Why are you making such a fuss?”

One of his subordinates rushed in, panting, while things were going well.

It was hard for the plan to go wrong now, so he wondered what was going on.

But soon that wonder turned into shock.

“Betrayal! The allied pirates have sided with those guys! They are attacking us!”

“What, what? Why?”

The Pirate Duke was surprised by the sudden betrayal.

Of course, it was not surprising that a pirate, whose daily life was betrayal, betrayed, but it was unexpected that they sided with ‘them’.

The opponent was the nobles of the Southern Territory that they had ruined and killed.

Even if it wasn’t for this incident, they were a group that pirates could not associate with.

Siding with those people and betraying us?

It would have been understandable if it was an internal strife aimed at the head position, but it was absurd to side with them.

“T, that’s… because of this.”

“This is…?”

The Pirate Duke immediately received the slightly antique parchment that his subordinate handed him.

“T, this crazy!”

And as soon as he confirmed its identity, he had no choice but to utter profanity.

“[Official Imperial Decree]
The following titles or positions are given to 000, who has made the following contributions to the Empire.

-Emperor of the Empire, Franz Ludwig von Rosenkranz.

Joint guarantor, Sarah Johannes von Orlant and the Southern Aristocratic Union”

“Who is the crazy bastard who sells titles to pirates for money!”

It was Sarah’s idea and approved by the Emperor, a certificate of merit in this world.