He Became The Most Insane Emperor Of All Time [EN]: Chapter 91

“Now that I think about it, you’re returning to the palace without even seeing the beaches of the Southern Territory.”

“What’s there to see on a beach with nothing on it?”

It might sound like a real buzzkill to anyone who romanticizes the world of swords and magic, but sometimes I felt like fantasy worlds were even less romantic.

What good is a beautiful beach with great weather? There are no cool drinks, no ice cream, and no one walking around in swimsuits.

What’s the point of going to the Maldives if there’s no mojito?

“If Your Majesty wishes, those things could be prepared immediately. But what is ice cream?”

“There’s no point in hastily making something when you don’t even know the concept. I’m not really in the mood for it right now. But ice cream is…”

On the way back to the Imperial Palace, I kept up a pointless conversation with Hendrik, who had finished his mission in the South, to pass the time.

But since there wasn’t much to talk about, we soon ran out of things to say and naturally moved on to work-related topics.

“Now that you’re returning to the palace, what will you do? The Northern Territory remains, so will you focus on that?”

“I have to. But it seems difficult to send troops right away.”

“That’s probably true.”

Hendrik nodded in agreement.

“If possible, I’d like to send troops in conjunction with the West, but…”

Even though the Greenskin threat has subsided, the Western Territory is barely managing to handle its own problems. It wouldn’t be easy for them to send an expedition to the North, which isn’t even their land.

“That’s right. But the Western Territory owes us, so they won’t simply refuse.”

“That’s true.”

As Hendrik said, I had personally suppressed the rebellion in the Western Territory.

The Van Horn Commander, who effectively rules the Western Territory, would find it difficult to refuse if I demanded an expedition to the North.

Of course, I wasn’t planning to force an unreasonable expedition. I was thinking of adjusting the conditions appropriately.

Besides, with the Duke of the North there, I believed the situation wouldn’t be too bad.

“Well, I’ll have to discuss the specifics with the ministers in the Imperial Palace. It would be good for you to attend as well.”

“Me? I’m not qualified to be in such a place…”

“Jurgen is in the Western Territory, right? It seems like he’ll continue to serve as Prime Minister there, so we’ll need a successor soon.”

Hendrik’s eyes gleamed at the word “successor.”

Lower-ranking officials sometimes feel burdened by sudden promotions, but Hendrik would never be that kind of person.

“If you entrust such a position to me, I will dedicate myself to serving you.”

“Just do as much as you’ve been doing.”

Later on, even if he wants to retire, I might grind him like Minister Hwang Hee [a famously overworked historical figure in Korean history], but that’s a problem between me and Hendrik at that time.

While chatting like that, we sped up our return to the palace, and soon the capital, Augsburg, came into view.

They say being away from home is rough, but even though there’s nothing special about it, I felt relieved to be back.

“No suspicious individuals are allowed to pass!”

“We are not suspicious individuals!”

“Then disarm and cooperate with the procedure to verify your identity!”

“I refuse! How can a warrior willingly disarm!”

…I was returning home in a good mood, but there was a commotion outside the city gates.

“What’s going on?”

“It seems the guards are confronting someone. I’ll go and find out right away.”

“No, I’ll go with you. But don’t reveal my identity for now.”

Something didn’t seem right, and if I revealed that I was the Emperor, I wouldn’t be able to find out exactly what was going on.

Hendrik nodded without a word and led me and a small number of guards towards the commotion.

“Hey, what’s going on?”

“Who are you? I don’t have time to answer right now.”

“I’m from the Imperial Palace. It seems like you’re in trouble, so cooperate if you want help.”

“Yes, yes! I’m sorry.”

The guards, who were confronting a suspicious group still wearing robes but whose large size couldn’t be hidden, immediately began to cooperate with Hendrik’s words.

Thanks to that, I was able to quickly find out what was going on.

“So, these people who appear to be Northern barbarians want to enter the city?”

“Yes, the North is still in the midst of a civil war, so it’s difficult to just let in barbarians who aren’t even ordinary Northerners.”

I nodded at Hendrik’s words.

If they were people with confirmed identities, it would be different, but I heard that their identities were uncertain.

The guards, who were faithful to their duties, naturally refused entry to the city.

They demanded that if they really wanted to enter, they would have to disarm and be detained until their identities were verified, but they refused, and that’s what’s happening now.

“They are obstructing official duties. It seems good to drive them out.”

“No, I want to ask what they came for first. It doesn’t seem like they came for a trivial reason.”

The guards’ response was a hundred times correct, so driving them out as Hendrik said would be a good idea, but I wanted to ask them why.

If they were really trying to cause trouble, they would have already caused a ruckus, but they weren’t doing that, so it didn’t seem like they were impatient people.

“You strangers from the North. What brings you to the capital?”

I pushed through the guards and the crowd and stepped forward.

I revealed my face, but even if the ordinary guards and the crowd saw my face, they didn’t know I was the Emperor.

They simply guessed that a high-ranking person had come out in disguise and stepped aside.

“We have come on important business.”

“All business is important to someone. But are you the representative of the group?”

Among the seven or eight Northern barbarians, only one who answered me was relatively small.

It wasn’t because she was suffering from dwarfism, but because she was the only woman.

Of course, even though she was small, she was quite tall for a woman, exceeding 170cm [approximately 5’7″], and her body seemed to be quite well-trained.

Still, thanks to her light blue hair, reminiscent of ice, and her pretty face, it was easy to tell she was a woman.

“That’s right.”

“You don’t seem to be from the common class. Did you reveal your identity to the guards?”

“……It’s not a situation where I can openly reveal it to just anyone.”

“That’s a very unfortunate thing. But it seems like the guards would naturally refuse entry? How about not making things too difficult for others?”

She, whose name I didn’t even know yet, twitched her eyebrows at my slightly sarcastic attitude.

The other barbarians with her also seemed slightly agitated.

They must be escorts; they can’t be commoners.

She slightly restrained them and opened her mouth again as if she had made up her mind.

“It’s a very important matter. There’s a story that must be told to the Emperor.”

The moment she mentioned the word Emperor, the atmosphere around her instantly cooled.

It was a bit of a problem in itself to mention the Emperor carelessly without any honorifics, but it was even more so because suspicious people were saying they needed to meet the Emperor.

I, the person in question, only felt a little more interested.

“Interesting. But don’t you know that saying such things only leads to more misunderstandings?”

“I know. But I think you can help us. Please help us.”

“Oh, suddenly asking me for such a favor? What reason do I have to?”

“I will repay you with anything.”

She promised to repay me, but honestly, there was no logical reason to believe her words.

She was presumed to be of noble status, but it wasn’t certain, and even if she was a noble, what could I get from the barbarian tribe?

But even so, I was intrigued. Of course, I had no intention of easily giving special treatment to unreasonable demands.

“Well, there’s nothing I can’t do. However, only if you disarm and obey the guards’ instructions according to the procedure.”

“I can’t do that. A Northern warrior does not take orders from anyone except those they acknowledge.”

Of course, that’s why the Northern Territory has often disobeyed the Empire’s rule for a long time.

It was a typical example of barbarian warriors, and their faces certainly looked like strong warriors.

Even she, who was talking, felt unusual.

I was planning to go to the North as both the Emperor and Shadow, so it seemed like an opportunity to explore the warriors there in advance.

“Then let’s do this.”

Swish-

“Compete with me. If anyone can defeat me, I will let you meet the Emperor as you wish.”

Of course, I will win… If they are insignificant guys, there is no reason to meet them as the Emperor.

“Are you sure?”

But she seemed genuinely worried about me, even though she was in a desperate situation. I chuckled and replied with a provocation.

“If you’re not confident, you can all attack me at once.”

“How arrogant!”

It wasn’t her, but the other barbarians who showed anger at the provocation.

They rushed at me all at once without hesitation, and the unnamed woman did not stop them.

“I’ll cut you in half!”

They wielded two-handed axes that could be held in each hand, and battle axes as tall as a person, pressing down on me.

But I wore a relaxed smile and dodged their axes like the wind.

The way I dodged quickly but naturally, as if water was flowing, was like dancing, and everyone watching exclaimed in admiration.

Whack! Swoosh! Thwack!

“Ugh!”

“They’re sturdy folks as rumored. Thanks to you, I don’t have to hold back.”

They were cut or kicked by counterattacks that stung like bees, and staggered from the intense blows that even pushed back their large bodies.

Everyone looked resentful because they were caught off guard, but their fighting spirit didn’t diminish at all, but rather soared even more.

Honestly, it would be easy to defeat them if I put my heart into it, but it was true that they had strength that was inhuman compared to ordinary humans.

“Stop. Everyone step back.”

“But, but…”

“You can’t beat him.”

As I was toying with them, she, who seemed to be in a leading position, stepped forward.

When she took off the robe she was wearing for disguise, she revealed a noble outfit that seemed to be made of Northern white bear fur, which was unusual for a barbarian.

Of course, even if it was noble, it felt very combative as it was barbarian.

“Are you going to step up yourself? But there’s something wrong with what you just said. You can’t beat me even if you step up.”

“Funny.”

Swish-

Unlike the other barbarians, she drew a sword at my provocation.

It was a crude rune sword unique to the North.

“Such arrogant words should be said after-”

“……!”

Clang!

And the moment she drew the sword, her sword rushed in front of me with intense coldness.

I barely moved reflexively and was able to defend against the sword.

“Do it after defeating the enemy, Imperial.”