Chapter 41
Chapter 41
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 40
Chapter Title: Recruitment Competition
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Roughly six years had passed since Rex naturally succeeded to the marquisate by devouring the marquis's territory.
"I just wanted to be a salaried worker..."
Rex, still unable to let go of his dream of a carefree office job, was melting away in his office.
As Ari stroked such a Rex and satisfied her selfish desires, Duke—the true culprit behind all this...
"Hm. No issues today, either?"
"Nope! All clear, sir!"
was in the middle of a patrol duty.
One might question whether the territory's number two should be out on patrol, but there was a valid reason for it.
The knights of this world were obsessed with accumulating feats.
In other words, they dumped duties like patrols, which didn't help build feats, onto the rookies.
To correct this common practice, the top knight, Duke, needed to lead by example...
That was the official reason.
The real reason was that sitting in the office meant paperwork.
Once the patrol ended, he would assist with training the knights who had patrolled that day.
He made up for the time wasted on patrols by giving them personal instruction as their master—a stroke of luck for them.
As a result, the knights lined up to add their names to the patrol roster just for one-on-one time with Duke.
It was truly a virtuous cycle.
However, watching this scene, Duke had one complaint.
'Hm. Feels like I'm working too much these days.'
The territory had expanded to include the marquisate, but since he'd killed off all the manpower that came with it, his workload had doubled.
On top of patrols and training, he occasionally had to go on undercover knight missions, leaving him no time to spare.
Of course, it wasn't exhausting.
He was just bored by the fact that, unlike when he conquered the marquisate, he had no leisure to create new personal content.
'This isn't why I conquered the marquisate.'
It didn't matter that he'd dumped work on Rex, his superior.
What mattered was that his workload had increased.
To Duke, who sought responsibility-free pleasure, the situation felt unreasonably unfair.
'I need to quickly supplement the manpower to share the workload.'
But recruiting star heroes like Ari was always Rex's role.
Until such heroes arrived, Duke and the Honor Guard had to protect the territory.
After years of patrolling, training successors, and occasionally sneaking into the records office to refine his concept by reviewing his own entries...
Rex finally launched a hero recruitment event.
[Now that the territory is stable, I think it's time to reorganize the Honor Guard.]
Duke cheered inwardly at the message he'd been waiting for.
Finally, things are proceeding as in the original story.
Rex explained the need for reorganizing the Honor Guard.
[According to the informant sent by Lady Sneria, several territories now view ours as a threat.]
It was only natural for the world to be wary of a Superhuman who grew so rapidly. After all, Rex had devoured a marquisate in just ten years.
In such circumstances, they couldn't keep sending the Honor Guard out indefinitely.
The Honor Guard was Rex's final shield.
Unlike other lords, Rex lacked personal combat prowess, making it essential to keep his protectors close.
Until now, he'd dispatched them to fuel the territory's rapid growth, but continuing that gamble was too risky.
Especially with regular knights who might betray him for a single elixir—he could easily picture himself hanging in the square if they rebelled.
Thus, they decided to form a new Honor Guard.
To split it into one for his personal protection and another for dispatch across the territory.
[First, we need to select a new Honor Guard captain.]
In his previous life, they would have formed the unit first and then picked a captain.
But in this world, one hero-grade knight was worth more than hundreds of regular ones.
Hence, they would select the captain first and then fill out the unit beneath him.
Conveniently, a few hero candidates appeared on Rex's interface.
[Hedonius, Sagas, Remesis. I'd like to choose the Honor Guard captain from these three.]
They were the three company commanders under Duke—friends he secretly called the "Red, Blue, and Yellow Trio" based on their magic affinities.
At Rex's proposal, the three straightened up.
"I'm sorry, but I'm Duke's adjutant."
"I lack the caliber for that."
"I'm already overwhelmed managing my company."
All declined.
Normally, they would have jumped at the promotion to Honor Guard captain.
But the three brothers, bound tightly by responsibility and loyalty, rejected it without a second thought.
Rex's head began to ache upon hearing their responses.
The territory still needed to grow, and the Honor Guard had plenty of external duties like undercover knight work.
Yet keeping his shield away was like leaving his heart exposed.
At that moment, Head Maid Ari, reading his distress, raised her hand.
"Lately, there's been rumors among the maids about a mysterious ronin swordsman wandering the marquisate. How about recruiting him?"
Why a maid was in a military meeting wasn't important.
(It was because defending the lord's mansion and combat were also maid duties.)
What mattered was that, as if triggered by her words, golden dots began appearing on Rex's interface window.
'Oh. Recruitment quests.'
Rex realized the golden dots marked the ronin swordsman.
The dot was located in the mountain range at the border between the marquisate and Sneria's territory.
[Alright. Let's propose recruitment to him first.]
The decision was swift.
Just like with Duke before recruitment, the golden dot confirmed it was a hero.
Though Rex disliked attention, his gamer collector instinct kicked in.
Ari smiled warmly at her master, who was itching to snag this golden dot quickly.
"Then I'll prepare for the outing."
"Huh?"
Rex let out a dumb noise.
Fortunately, the bunny-eared scribe didn't hear and record it.
[Why do I need to go out?]
"To recruit someone, the lord must go personally. You're not thinking of sending someone else, are you?"
[What about Duke?]
Rex turned to Duke.
Maybe Duke can handle it without me?
But despite ten years together, Rex and Duke hadn't reached the level of communicating via glances.
"Don't worry, Lord Rex. I'll accompany you."
Rex froze like stone at Duke's misunderstanding.
Or perhaps it wasn't a misunderstanding—he knew and said it anyway.
Either way, Rex not going wasn't an option.
Rex's heart began pounding wildly.
Over the past ten years, he'd grown somewhat accustomed to moving within the territory—thanks to his ability's range.
(One hour a day max.)
But this journey required leaving the territory.
And it was a long trip, demanding overnight stays—no way one hour would suffice.
Whoa! New place! New journey! New encounters!
Drdrdr!
His body trembled at 2500Hz at the thought of leaving the territory after ten years.
Even as he sweated coldly enough to worry about dehydration, Ari neatly packaged Rex and led him to his room.
"I'll help prepare for the outing."
She had learned how to handle him over the ten years.
Of course, through the power of rose-tinted glasses and illusion, to her he just seemed a bit reluctant and whiny but reliable master she adored.
As the head maid escorted her lord, the remaining knights exchanged glances.
Who would accompany Duke as his aide?
Sensing the mood, Duke addressed the company commanders.
"I didn't tell the lord, but lately I've sensed an ominous air."
Of course, it was a line straight from the original story knowledge.
"For this journey, I'll take Jane as platoon leader. You all guard this place and keep your blades sharp for any contingency."
There it was! The number two's foresight!
The company commanders' eyes lit up in unison.
Duke's words had never been wrong, so they accepted the order with near-fanatical faith.
"Understood, sir."
"Good."
Finally, Duke muttered as if for the scribe beyond the wall to hear.
"And I'll take the scribe at my discretion."
Leaving his subordinates' salutes behind, Duke exited the room.
'Time to meet the next comrade.'
Two weeks later.
The party—Rex, Ari, Duke, and Jane—reached the mountain range where the ronin swordsman was said to be.
(The scribe was following while maintaining prayer concealment.)
"Ugeeeeh..."
Rex was dying in the carriage with the mountain range in sight.
As Ari nursed the dying Rex and indulged her damp desires, Duke quietly gazed at the range from horseback.
Then, Elf Jane rode up beside him and tugged his cloak.
"Captain. What're you staring at?"
"I told you to mind your knightly conduct."
"Ehh~ Aren't you too stiff? No one's watching anyway~"
"Am I not watching myself?"
"Ugh. You sound just like when you're butler-ing."
"Hm."
Of course, Duke was doing this because of the scribe hidden in the woods over there.
She wasn't even a Superhuman—a Hierarchy 0—yet her ability to evade a Hierarchy 4's senses and record was astonishing.
Anyway, Duke continued staring at the mountains until Rex recovered.
A few minutes later, Rex disembarked the carriage, healed by Ari's pat-pat therapy and over his motion sickness.
[We walk from here, right?]
"Shall I carry you, Master?"
Ignoring Ari's offer, Rex sighed deeply at the mountains.
They'd come this far; turning back wasn't an option.
As Rex moved to step forward, Duke—who had been silently watching the range—spoke.
"Two powerful presences nearby."
"Two?"
Rex puzzledly checked his minimap.
One golden dot still shone brightly, as if awaiting him.
But aside from that, no notable markers...
'Huh?'
No sooner had the words ended than a new marker appeared on the minimap.
A crimson dot, wavering between faint hostility and neutrality.
Location: right behind them.
'How?'
It was a first.
His interface missing a person.
Normally, it displayed all hostiles, friendlies, and neutrals in his territory and surroundings.
But as in games, exceptions existed.
'Assassin!'
Stealth-type magic users like assassins were examples.
As his thoughts reached that point, Rex whipped around in shock.
Preparing to command Ari and Duke.
But unlike Rex, Duke didn't even glance behind.
As Rex wondered at Duke's demeanor, a figure rose from the shadows under the trees.
A woman in a uniform with black hair and blue epaulets bowed to Rex.
"I trust you've been well, Lord of Providence."
"Lady Sneria?"
Rex greeted her blankly.
The crimson dot on his minimap remained.
As he puzzled over why she showed faint hostility, she also greeted Duke.
"Long time no see."
"It's been three months, Duke."
"Three months, exactly."
They had planned monthly meetings, but schedules clashed, skipping two.
A subtle tension flowed between them.
Jane, seeing Sneria for the first time, disliked the vibe for some reason.
As Jane glared at Sneria, Duke spoke again.
"You've come here for the same reason as us, I presume?"
"Probably."
Only then, hearing their exchange, did Rex realize why Sneria was marked crimson.
Sneria smiled faintly, weary yet happy at the reunion.
"Sorry, but we need this person in our territory too. I'm afraid we can't yield easily."
She was the rival in the recruitment competition.