Chapter 24
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 24
Chapter Title: Preparation to Become King
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Noah was dressed in light pajamas.
She seemed to be taking a walk because she had something on her mind, just like me.
"Noah, you're out for a stroll because your heart's troubled too?"
"Yes... Would you like to walk together?"
"Sure, let's do that."
And so, I walked around the campsite with Noah for a bit.
I really must have been feeling conflicted.
Normally, my eyes would be drawn to Noah's beautiful face and that ample chest, but right now, I didn't notice any of it.
At that moment, Noah seemed to be feeling cold, so I took off my outer garment and draped it over her shoulders.
"Th-thank you, my lord. Dreihart's nights... are quite chilly."
"Nights in the desert are chilly. Come to think of it, is this your first time in Dreihart, Noah?"
I remembered from World Archive that Dreihart was close to the desert, which made it chilly.
Then it suddenly occurred to me to wonder if Noah had ever been to Dreihart before.
I'd heard she'd been to pretty much everywhere...
"Yes... No. Actually, I came here once as a child."
"As a child?"
"Yes... I came once with my mother."
Noah spoke with a bitter expression.
This was a story about Noah I'd never heard before.
"You know, my lord... My mother was a slave in Dreihart."
"Your mother!?"
This was a part of Noah's backstory I'd never even seen in the setting documents.
I'd only heard that her mother had died young, but a slave?
"My father had a illness that kept him from having children for a long time."
I'd heard Noah's father had her late in life.
I hadn't known it was due to an illness.
Was Malek that guy impotent?
"So, to secure an heir, he bought a female slave and used magical procedures to impregnate her with his child. And the child born that way... was me."
I was at a loss for words after hearing Noah's story.
If Malek was impotent himself, why not just get himself treated? What kind of insane thing had he done?
I could somewhat understand why there wasn't much story about Noah in the settings.
The forums would have erupted in hell the moment this came out.
"Whether it was a side effect of the magical procedure or not, my mother passed away not long after giving birth to me. And seeing my father completely ignore her death anniversary made me think..."
Noah looked at me.
She gazed at me with sadder eyes than ever before and said,
"To him, I'm just a tool... A tool to carry on the family line..."
I'd heard Noah wasn't on good terms with her father.
From what I'd seen, it felt more like a business relationship.
And now I knew why.
If someone treated my mom like that and he was my dad, I'd probably punch him first thing.
"So when I met you, my lord, who treats people as people... I was truly happy."
Noah's smile shining under the desert moonlight was utterly unfair.
It was beautiful enough to bring to mind the phrase "a beauty that could topple kingdoms."
"My lord, I... I want to help them. People like me."
Hearing Noah's words, I felt a sense of kinship.
In my previous life, I was a slave to capitalism.
I worked myself to death at a black company and only felt any joy in life during those brief moments playing games.
They had endured even worse abuse and suffering up to now.
As a beloved lord and as a fellow human, if I could, I wanted to help them.
But no method came to mind.
"Me too. If I could, I'd want to help them. But I can't think of a way..."
In a way, this was the first time I'd opened up my true feelings to Noah.
Looking at me like that, Noah smiled and said,
"There is one way."
"Really?"
"Yes, there's a way to save them all."
Noah seemed to see something invisible to me.
She looked straight into my eyes.
Her jewel-like beautiful purple eyes drew closer to me.
"But to use this method, we'll need your resolve, my lord."
"My resolve?"
What kind of thing would require my resolve?
I thought I'd already steeled myself to some extent.
But her words made me reflect.
"My lord, are you prepared to become king?"
That evening, Noah and I talked a lot.
And I solidified my resolve.
After the rebels of Dreihart returned to the city victorious, Zarha and the slave soldiers reveled in their triumph.
They knew the first suppression force had just been a taste.
This properly prepared suppression force had been a real legion, and they'd crushed it.
As Zarha shared the joy with everyone, he approached.
"King of Dreihart, congratulations on your victory."
He was the leader of the assassins who had attacked Viscount Jeras, wearing a black mask. He approached Zarha and offered congratulations.
Zarha corrected him first.
"I'm no king! I'm just temporarily the leader because there's no one else in charge."
"The world calls that a king."
Zarha disliked being associated with the word "king."
But he let it slide for now.
They were valuable allies, after all.
"Fine. Thanks to you Black Masks, we gained our freedom and victory. Truly grateful."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
If they hadn't appeared out of nowhere one day, Zarha's rebellion would have failed.
They had actually been preparing the rebellion for some time.
But they had no way to deal with those Purple Iron Chains until the Black Masks slit the mages' throats and solved the problem for them.
That's how the slaves' rebellion succeeded.
Zarha was grateful to them, but also felt uneasy.
Because he couldn't read their intentions.
"So I'm really curious. You truly want nothing from us?"
"We truly want nothing. We only wish for your freedom."
"I see... Alright. Anyway, thanks."
They hadn't demanded money or any reward.
They just kept providing help and information to sustain the rebellion.
Zarha's comrade Uron watched the departing Black Mask and said,
"Zarha, what do you think those guys are really after?"
"I don't know either. But one thing's for sure..."
Zarha recalled the countless nobles who had oppressed him.
As those horrific memories surfaced, Zarha said,
"The more they seem like that, the worse they really are."
Zarha thought he needed to prepare to survive without them.
After that, days passed busily.
There was much to prepare just to survive.
They needed food to feed Dreihart's many slaves, and preparations to win the next war.
To that end, the slaves divided tasks and moved frantically.
"Captain Zarha! We looted their food supplies! It's southern barley—enough to last a week!!!"
"Well done, Maron!"
Among them, Zarha was the busiest, taking care of Dreihart.
From battles to internal affairs, Zarha was effectively Dreihart's lord now.
"Captain Zarha... Um..."
"Yeah? What is it?"
Then came shocking news for Zarha.
His son, Rakan Legion, had been captured during a raid. The enemy proposed exchanging him for the suppression army POWs from the recent battle.
"Who made this proposal?"
"It was Calix Cron, lord of the Cron Family."
His name was known not just to Zarha, but to many slaves.
They'd heard the bards' songs about the lord creating a paradise in the far southern lands.
But no matter the reputation, to them, he was just another oppressor.
"Captain Zarha, let's do the exchange. We don't have food to feed those bastards anyway."
"Yeah! Let's get Rakan back quick."
"Plus, they're offering extra food to make up the numbers. Let's take this chance to stock up!"
"Hmm... Alright! We'll do the prisoner exchange!"
With the chance to retrieve his precious son and offload the troublesome suppression POWs, Zarha agreed.
After that, things progressed quickly.
On Dreihart's plains, where both sides had killed and been killed before, the Cron forces and Dreihart rebels met this time to exchange living prisoners.
"So, you're the warrior Zarha?"
"That's right. And you're the famous Silver Dragon lord?"
They met inside a tent set up for negotiations in the center.
Zarha was a bit disappointed seeing the slender silver-haired lord compared to himself.
Given the rumors of him killing three assassins with a kitchen knife, he'd expected immense power, but he looked too frail.
Probably the type who killed with skill rather than strength, and Zarha didn't like that type.
"Indeed. I am the Silver Dragon of Cron, Calix Cron."
But he could respect the lord's spirit—at least he didn't cower and spoke boldly.
Zarha had a feeling this negotiation wouldn't be easy.
Though neither said it, they both knew.
This meeting wasn't just about prisoners—it would decide the direction of the coming war.
Calix got straight to the point.
"Warrior Zarha, have you no intention of surrendering even now?"
"Surrender?"
"Yes. I understand your pain. That's why I understand why you rebelled."
Zarha couldn't comprehend Calix jumping straight to surrender.
Then came words even harder to grasp.
"If you surrender now, I'll take responsibility and guarantee to wrap this up as the fault of the already-dead slave soldiers."
"Hahahahaha!!! As expected of the famous lord—you sure know how to make people laugh."
Zarha was honestly angry.
Calix's words carried a naive view of the world.
"Listen here, lord. How are we supposed to believe that?"
Exactly.
From the moment they rebelled, their path was victory or death—nothing else.
No third option.
"Say you're as kind as the rumors. But do you think the others will forgive us? And even if they do, why should we go back to being slaves like before?"
Zarha's voice, a head and a half taller than Calix, shook the tent.
But Calix didn't flinch.
Instead, he calmly replied,
"If not, you'll all be massacred in the end."
"Ha! We're already dead the moment we're born slaves. In that case, we'll live like humans, even if just for a little while."
Yes, that was the important thing.
To them, dying after living freely as humans was paramount now.
Listening to him, Calix said,
"Then, warrior Zarha. Allow me one proposal."
Curious at Calix's offer of a proposal, Zarha wondered what he'd say.
And what came next was even more shocking.
"Fight my Cron Knight Order and settle it that way."
"Settle it? What do you mean?"
"If my Cron Knight Order wins, surrender. But if they lose, we'll give you all our food, and I'll become your prisoner."
"You'll become our prisoner, lord?"
A lord becoming a prisoner was on a whole different level from a regular soldier.
"Yes. A baron with imperial succession rights as your prisoner. Even the Platinum Council won't be able to ignore that and launch a one-sided massacre."
Calix was right.
The moment he became a prisoner, the Platinum Council would have a massive headache.
If they massacred with mages and the lord died, they'd make enemies of other lords.
Zarha couldn't understand why Calix was offering such favorable terms.
"Just what is your reason for going this far?"
"I told you—I understand your pain."
Zarha's head hurt.
His creed was that those whose intentions you couldn't see were the worst.
That's why he didn't fully trust the Black Masks either.
Yet the lord before him clearly had hidden motives... but didn't seem all that bad.
Looking at such a Zarha, Calix said,
"What are you hesitating for? Backing out on me now?"
Hearing that, Zarha made up his mind.
Retreating now wouldn't be the act of a warrior.
"If you want to be our prisoner that badly, we'll take you... I'll personally give you a tour of Dreihart, lord."
"Appreciate it. Looking forward to it."
And so, unbeknownst to the Platinum Council, the second suppression battle was decided.