Surviving As The 5Th Prince Of Hellman Kingdom [EN]: Chapter 151

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The Black Knight Order’s airship, the Black Wyvern’s command room.

『Shock! Imperial Army Suffers a Major Defeat Against a Small Nation』

『Red Iron Province and Silver Flower Province Suffer Devastating Losses. What Happened That Day?』

『Rebenes Hainan, the Heir of Red Iron Province, Brutally Murdered by the Leader of the Small Nation During the Knight Tournament』

『Evan Lionel’s Inexplicable Power. Imperial Mages and Priests are Certain He is a Contractor with a Demon』

“Whew, it’s quite a commotion.”

Klaus, sitting on the sofa and flipping through the newspaper, whistled softly.

Charles, who was looking at the map of the Hamel Empire hanging on the wall, spoke without turning his head.

“Idiots are everywhere. Klaus, even you predicted that the Lionel Kingdom would win overwhelmingly.”

“Haha, even me? Didn’t Your Highness also foresee the victory of the Lionel Kingdom?”

“Because we didn’t move.”

The Lionel Kingdom army and the invasion of the Khan tribe, followed immediately by the Emperor’s death.

The Empire was in extreme chaos.

The Black Knight Order alone received completely contradictory missions simultaneously.

First, before the Lionel Kingdom occupies Ironforge, arrive there first and defend it.

Second, stop the Khan tribe heading towards Azure Wave Province.

The Black Knight Order made a third choice.

They answered that they understood everything and then disappeared. To be precise, they enjoyed a vacation in Green Garden Province, which could be said to be Charles’ base.

Charles lightly touched his left eye.

He could feel the scar he received at Evan’s Crown Prince inauguration ceremony.

If he and the Black Knight Order had supported Red Iron Province and Silver Flower Province to stop the Lionel Kingdom, the contents of the newspaper would have been different.

“Are you disappointed?”

Klaus’ question.

Charles took his hand away from his face.

“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t.”

“You must put aside personal feelings for a moment. You mustn’t become a pawn that moves here and there at someone’s beck and call.”

“Isn’t moving according to your words also moving like a pawn?”

“Uh… Your Highness and I are, well… one body… Ugh, it sounds a bit weird when I say it like this. Right! We’re a community of fate.”

“You’re good with words as always.”

Charles scoffed.

-Whether it’s the Lionel Kingdom or the Khan tribe, us shedding blood only benefits others. The great general who punished the Empire’s invaders, His Highness Charles Han Hamel! We’d only gain such empty fame.

Even without Klaus’ persuasion, he had no intention of intervening in the war. He was smart enough to know that.

Shaking his head to erase Evan’s face from his mind, Charles refocused on the map of the Hamel Empire.

His gaze was fixed on Yellow Origin Province, where the airship was heading.

The three individuals whom the Imperials whispered had the greatest chance of inheriting the throne.

The 1st Prince, the 7th Prince, and the 11th Princess.

Currently, the 11th Princess, the only woman among them, had the weakest power.

There were two main factors.

First, the Emperor’s will.

Second, the Lionel Kingdom.

First, the will.

It contained the content that the throne would be entrusted to the 1st Prince.

Although it wasn’t stamped with the national seal, it still caused a significant ripple effect. There were bound to be old-fashioned people everywhere who valued tradition.

Thanks to that, the 1st Prince gained considerable power.

If Klaus hadn’t stolen the national seal, he would have been far ahead of the other two.

Next, the Lionel Kingdom.

The consensus was that if the troops of Yellow Origin Province, which had led the Gray Steel Mine development, had moved, the Empire would have retaken Ironforge.

It was a ridiculous claim.

If that had happened, the 11th Princess would likely not be alive right now.

In addition to various complex reasons, there were even opinions that the situation should be viewed as a two-way battle between the 1st Prince and the 7th Prince, excluding the 11th Princess.

‘She’d want to borrow even a cat’s paw [seek help from anyone, no matter how insignificant].’

Charles was on his way to extend a hand to such an 11th Princess. A hideous hand wearing a cat’s paw glove.

He glanced at the area occupied by the Lionel Kingdom.

‘Enjoy your victory for now, Evan Lionel.’

Ascending to the Emperor’s throne came first.

Revenge was best served on Evan Lionel, at the moment he was about to shine the brightest.

***

After the Ironforge defense battle.

The Royal Army, after taking some time to reorganize, gradually occupied the northwestern territories that had been taken by the Hamel Empire.

And.

Now, I was silently looking at the endless Great Wall from the deck of the airship, Black Wyvern.

The Great Wall of the World.

The largest wall in the world, which has been continuously expanded since the founding of the Hamel Empire. It was embarrassing to compare it to the flimsy border we crossed to retake the northwest.

We can’t cross it now.

Retaking what was lost and occupying new territory were different matters entirely. In reality, the kingdom’s capabilities were stretched to their limits just stabilizing the recovered areas.

“That’s amazing every time I see it. I heard they’re still expanding it even at this moment.”

Julian, who came up next to me, spoke.

I took my eyes off the Great Wall and looked at him.

“You’ve worked hard. When you return to the kingdom, you’ll be called Baron Julian.”

“I’m ashamed.”

His words and expression were different. He was wearing a faint smile. It wasn’t an ashamed expression at all.

“You’re so dishonest. I wonder what aspect of you Baron Ayra fell for.”

“That… I don’t know either. I never imagined that there would be a woman who would give her heart to someone like me.”

Now he had a somewhat embarrassed face.

Ayra and Julian, who had been traveling around the world together for over a year. I know there were many incidents and accidents.

I heard that they were caught on a deserted island alone after encountering a typhoon while on a ship. Maybe that’s where…

“Now, can you share your plans after retaking the northwest?”

Julian’s surprise question.

I hurriedly erased the absurd imagination from my mind and answered his question.

“For the time being, we won’t be able to move until the northwest, which we’ve reclaimed from the Hamel Empire, is stabilized. If Cliang and Ayra saw us looking at the Hamel Empire’s Great Wall from the Black Wyvern like this, they’d be furious, saying it’s a waste of money, right?”

“Certainly… But! The financial problem will be solved soon. The magic superconductor research complex, Director Isabel’s laboratory, and the basement of the Magic Department. Don’t you have a way to solve the funding problem in that top-secret area that I can’t even access?”

Julian’s eyes sparkled.

He seemed quite curious about the two places that even he couldn’t easily access.

“I’ve also been able to read the flow of funds to some extent while learning the work of the Aitz Merchant Association, following Baron Ayra. Unless the Hamel Empire offers a huge amount of compensation, there’s no way to restore the kingdom’s finances consumed by this war. Even if only a year passes, we’ll have to take the grain that the kingdom people eat and hand it over to the Khan tribe.”

Julian calculated quite closely.

To be exact, it was 1 year and 3 months.

“I don’t think His Majesty would have made such a promise to the Khan tribe without any calculation. Won’t you give me time to prepare?”

“Julian, what do you think are the things that must be possessed to be called an empire?”

My question seemed unrelated to his question. Still, Julian answered with sincerity.

“There are many requirements to be met, but if I had to pick the two most important, it would be vast territory and strong military power.”

“What about the current Lionel Kingdom? Be honest.”

“It doesn’t have either of them. Whether it’s territory or military power, it needs to be at least three times the current size for other countries not to laugh even if it’s called an empire.”

“Do you think the day will come when the kingdom will be called an empire?”

Julian looked startled.

He looked up at the sky and pondered deeply before slowly opening his mouth.

“If you lay the foundation in His Majesty’s generation, it’s definitely possible.”

“You mean it won’t happen in my generation? I’m a little disappointed. Can you tell me why you think so?”

“It’s the population. It will take at least two or three generations for those with the identity of the Lionel Kingdom to have a population suitable for an empire.”

That wasn’t wrong.

Population was also deeply related to the strong military power, one of the two elements of the empire that Julian mentioned.

It was only natural that the probability of a super-high magic awakener appearing in a country with a million people was much higher than in a country with ten thousand people.

But I smiled.

“Julian, do you know that when the Aimen Empire was a kingdom, its population wasn’t much different from the current kingdom’s?”

His eyes widened at my words.

There was a way to increase military power even if the population was insufficient.

That was overwhelming technology.

“You don’t mean something comparable to an airship…”

There might be spies eavesdropping on our conversation in this sky, but Julian looked around once and held back his words.

I turned my gaze and looked at the Great Wall of the World.

The kingdom’s Titan [a powerful, heavily armored war machine], which would break down the wall at once and bombard the empire’s airships, was naturally drawn in my mind.

A Titan that allows one knight to face ten or twenty knights of the same level.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

The footsteps of the steel giants echoing through the battlefield were clearly heard in my ears.

***

The war was virtually over.

There was no negotiation.

It was a tacit armistice [an informal agreement to stop fighting].

There was no one in the Hamel Empire right now to take responsibility for such a big deal as an armistice negotiation.

In fact, the 1st Prince, who was designated as the Crown Prince just before the Emperor’s death, or the lords of Red Iron Province and Silver Flower Province, who held positions between Duke and Grand Duke, could not be ignored, but… for various political reasons, they had given up.

For them to admit that they had lost to us.

To admit that on behalf of the Hamel Empire was a huge political blow.

Therefore, there was no particular need for me to be in the north anymore.

It was time to go back.

I toured the units stationed in the northwest and then visited the Noya tribe.

The first time I visited them was in the cold winter, but it was already spring. Although the new sprouts were just showing their faces, spring flowers would have already bloomed in the kingdom, which was much further south.

((Kuhahaha! Welcome, son-in-law.))

Nurgal, who had a few new scars on his face, greeted me happily.

The Khan tribe had recently occupied the eastern region of Azure Wave Province, much later than us. They seemed to have suffered a lot from the airships firing magic cannons from the sky.

((This time, the other tribal chiefs have definitely realized it because of the war. If we continue to scatter like this and stick to tradition, the Khan tribe will be wiped out.))

I had many conversations with Nurgal.

He seemed to have many concerns.

I gave him various advice.

Technology! Magic engineering! Those who don’t have the qualities of warriors or shamans should not be treated poorly. Well, things like that.

Honestly, I don’t know if it will work out.

It was something that wasn’t even working properly in the kingdom in the first place. It was only recently that magic engineers who couldn’t handle magic began to be treated even somewhat well.

Anyway, as a result.

((Sister Lanua! An airship is taking off!))

((Jaryan! Can you lower your voice a little? It’s a little embarrassing.))

In addition to Lanua, who would become the 2nd Queen, I also ended up bringing a frail-looking boy who was hard to believe was a Khan.

Lanua’s younger brother, Jaryan.

It was someone I was seeing for the first time.

-His name is Jaryan. He’s young, but he’s the smartest in the Noya tribe. He’s been hanging around with that envoy, and he’s become fluent in Lionel [the kingdom’s language].

If he could learn Lionel in three or four months, he certainly wasn’t lacking in intelligence.

-I thought it would be good for him to see a lot by your side. Please take him with you. If you think he’s useless along the way, just let him live there as a low-level manager.

As I recalled my conversation with Nurgal and looked at Jaryan, Lanua seemed to have misunderstood.

“Sorry for the noise, s-sorry. Your Majesty. Jaryan, you too.”

She, who had learned Lionel in a short period of time, spoke slowly and clearly.

“I’m sorry, Your Majesty. I will restrain myself. I was so curious about how such a big ship floats that I couldn’t help myself…”

Seeing him use the honorifics of Lionel, which foreigners find so difficult, so skillfully, he really seemed to be smart.

“It’s not your fault. Feel free to look around.”

But.

I was a little overwhelmed to take care of Jaryan right now.

Reina, who would be waiting in the kingdom. The thought of her soon meeting Lanua made it impossible for me to continue thinking about Jaryan.

A gust of wind blew, and my body trembled slightly.

Somehow, I felt more nervous than when I crossed the border to retake the northwest.