I Have an All-Purpose Vassal!
The coalition army commander was spouting absolute nonsense. “If you cede the Greyton Territory, including Grey Garden in the Belhart Territory, to our allied nations, we will withdraw peacefully.”
The distance between Greyton Territory and the imperial capital was a mere fifty kilometers. Handing it over would mean they could strike straight at the heart of the empire at any time. There was obviously no reason or need to give it to them.
“I refuse.”
Calian rejected the demand without hesitation. The coalition commander began to snicker.
“Kuhahaha! I had a feeling you’d say that! It was only a joke on our side, so please don’t take offense.”
That arrogant attitude. It was the one Calian hated most.
“Your joke went too far. I nearly drew my sword.”
Though Calian spoke calmly, fury simmered beneath his even tone.
“I never understood why His Majesty is called a tyrant, but now I see it clearly. He’s far more hot-blooded than I imagined.”
“…If you wish to return alive, you’d better watch that mouth of yours. I’m barely restraining myself from slicing off your head to decorate my tent.”
The tension between them was razor-sharp. Neither yielded an inch.
The coalition commander rose first. “Well… if you won’t hand it over, we’ll simply have to take it by force.”
“You think the likes of you can do that? Do you truly believe that pathetic army of yours can defeat the imperial forces?”
“There’s an old saying: there is no such thing as a fair fight when you’re outnumbered. Look forward to it. The soldiers His Majesty looks down on will utterly crush the imperial army in the end.”
With those words, the coalition commander leisurely left the tent.
“Tsk…”
Calian already knew, deep down. Even if the empire won, it wouldn’t be a true victory for Varshain. He couldn’t even begin to guess how many soldiers and knights would lose their lives in this war. Every soldier lost was a blow to national defense. This conflict would deal devastating damage to the Varshain Empire, which had long held continental supremacy through military might.
“Legion Commander, Margrave. Come in. If they refuse to move, it seems we must strike first.”
The Varshain Empire had reached a state where war could break out at any moment.
As soon as dawn broke, I summoned Diana. Liana… was still sprawled across my bed, scratching her stomach in her sleep because Loclear was away.
‘It’s the weekend, so let her sleep in. Just stop bothering me already!’
The mere thought of Liana pawing at me like a newlywed every night made my hair stand on end.
“Your Highness, what is it?”
I had called Diana for one reason only: to discover what suited her aptitude best. For the past four days, she had followed Liana around, learning the general duties of a vassal. But!
“My vassals cannot limit themselves to mere vassal work!”
Diana tilted her head with a look of utter confusion. “Huh…? What do you mean by that?”
“Since today is the weekend, let’s try all sorts of things together!”
Originally, I would have been drowning in hellish work even on weekends. But—
‘I don’t want to work on weekends! From now on, all ministers will handle only simple tasks on weekends and rest!’
‘Pardon…? But if we don’t work every day, how will the empire stand straight…’
‘Nonsense! If everyone works every single day, efficiency will drop and the department you belong to will have to wear maid uniforms!’
‘H-huh?! I-I’ll inform all the ministers at once!’
Hehe. The Weekend Rest System had finally been implemented in the empire! It was absolutely not because I wanted to rest. It was purely for the ministers’ sake.
‘The ministers get to rest, and so do I.’
I grabbed Diana’s hand without warning.
“Y-Your Highness? Why are you suddenly holding my hand…”
“Didn’t I tell you to follow me? Let’s go! Weekends are precious, after all!”
Hmm… where should I start? Maybe check her swordsmanship first?
It wasn’t intentional, but all my vassals were knights. And at minimum Expert rank. If Diana turned out to have talent with the sword too, that would mean I’d have six knights total: Liana, Cal, Dias, Jack, and the newcomer Diana.
Thanks to my short legs, I was already out of breath by the time we reached the training grounds. Wiping away the beads of sweat on my forehead, I summoned the Training Instructor, who was relaxing lazily.
“Training Instructor, do you have a moment? It’s extremely urgent.”
The muscular Training Instructor was reading a book in the lounge. The title was… Please Make Me Your Slave, Miss?
Well, okay. Even grown adults can read romance novels.
“H-Huh?! Y-Your Majesty the Regent? Y-You didn’t see anything, right…?”
“If you’re referring to the book titled Please Make Me Your Slave, Miss?, then unfortunately I did see it.”
“Please forget about it… So, what brings you here?”
“I’d like you to evaluate Diana’s swordsmanship.”
“That’s no trouble at all!”
About five minutes later, the Training Instructor returned with two practice wooden swords.
“You’re Dame Diana, correct? Have you ever swung a sword before?”
Diana shook her head. “Only a wooden club…”
“Haha! Excellent! Give it everything you’ve got!”
Her stance when holding the sword was surprisingly decent.
‘Could our Diana have talent with the sword too?!’
After taking a deep breath, Diana charged at the Training Instructor.
“Hiyaaap—!”
“Good! Keep applying pressure like that!”
Oh. Her form was excellent, and she was holding her own against the instructor. Sharp, flawless strikes aimed at openings. The instructor casually blocked them all. It was turning into quite an entertaining match.
After exchanging several blows, the two bowed to each other. The Training Instructor laughed heartily.
“Wow, Your Majesty the Regent has brought in yet another incredible talent!”
“How was Diana’s swordsmanship?”
The Training Instructor couldn’t hide his excitement. “What more is there to say? If she trains properly, she’ll definitely become an outstanding knight!”
“Thank you for the compliment…”
Under the barrage of continued praise, Diana blushed and lowered her head in embarrassment.
Swordsmanship? Talent confirmed. Pass!
“Diana. Stay with me a little longer.”
We still had magic and academics left. If she had talent in everything, she’d truly be an all-purpose genius.
With light steps, we headed to the magic training grounds next.
The imperial family didn’t nurture many mages. As a result, the budget allocated to magic was pitifully small compared to the imperial knight order. Because of that, the magic training grounds weren’t in great shape. They’d been so neglected that dust and spiderwebs covered everything.
Though it was in this state now, our beloved Finance Department had generously filled the imperial treasury, so we planned to remodel the entire facility and focus on training mages. No matter how obsessed the empire was with chivalry, I was one of the people who believed mages were absolutely necessary.
Even if only a few agreed that mages were needed, it didn’t matter. If they had a problem with it, they could go possess a member of the imperial bloodline instead~ Since no one could argue with me, I took the lead in planning it.
This time, I went to find the Magic Instructor.
“Magic Instructor. Do you have a moment?”
“Y-Your Majesty the Regent? What brings you here?”
Unlike the swordsmanship instructor, the Magic Instructor was reading a relatively normal book. The title I Became the Eldest Son of a Prestigious Swordsmanship Family was a bit questionable, though.
I couldn’t help myself. In the end, I went ahead and asked.
“A so-called Magic Instructor longing to be a swordsman?”
“N-No, that’s not it! I was only reading it to think about how to raise awareness of mages!”
At least come up with a more convincing excuse, man.
“If you’re free, I’d like you to check whether Diana has talent for magic.”
“…Your Majesty surely knows that only those chosen can use magic.”
“What I’m asking is whether Diana is one of the chosen. If she is, I’d like you to guide her as well.”
The Magic Instructor scratched his head and brought out a red magic stone.
“Dame Diana. While holding this magic stone, could you shout ‘Fire’ toward that target over there?”
Diana nodded readily.
Going by my intuition… Diana would probably be able to use magic. After all, in countless fantasy stories, elves were said to be proficient in magic.
‘Diana is also an elf from those fantasy novels.’
There was at least some possibility.
Standing at the marked line on the floor, Diana extended the hand holding the magic stone toward the target.
“Fire.”
Just as expected. Diana was a versatile combat prodigy who could even use magic!
“But Instructor, was Fire always supposed to be that big of a spell?”
The size of the flame that bloomed from Diana’s hand was enormous, enough to fill the entire magic training ground. Even someone from this world with no knowledge of the otherworld could instantly tell this was ridiculous.
“W-What?! Your Majesty the Regent! To have found such a talent! You must raise Dame Diana as a mage!”
The Magic Instructor, unable to contain his excitement, was showering Diana with mindless praise when—
“U-Um…! W-What do I do with this…?!”
One thing the Magic Instructor and I had overlooked: once a spell was cast, it had to be released. Forcibly stopping it would overload the mana circuits and cause the body to explode.
“D-Diana! Just fire it nicely!”
“B-But if I shoot this, the training ground will…!”
“Ugh! Who cares about a little money?! We’re going to remodel the magic training ground anyway, so just let it rip!”
“Here it goes…!”
Boom—!!!
After that, with a tremendous roar, the magic training ground completely collapsed.
“M-My magic training ground…”
I lightly patted the instructor’s shoulder as he sobbed like a mother bird that had lost her nest.
“I’ll renovate it to be as splendid as the knight training grounds, so don’t worry. We’ll also begin large-scale mage training here.”
“I-Is that true?!”
“Of course. The empire needs powerful mages as well!”
“Indeed! Training only knights would upset the balance of power!”
He was surprisingly easy to talk to. He might make a good conversation partner.
“Huff… Huff…”
Diana was drenched in sweat and breathing heavily, apparently exhausted. I gently placed a towel on her head.
“Diana, we’re not done yet. Wipe your sweat. We still need to test whether you have talent in academics too!”
“Y-Your Highness, please have mercy on me…!”
Without complaint, Diana followed me straight to the Chancellor, where she took a comprehensive knowledge test ranging from basics to advanced topics. The test was out of one hundred points, with fifty questions. Since Diana was illiterate, it was conducted orally. The Finance Minister asked the questions and read the options aloud while Diana chose from them.
“Your Majesty the Regent…! Dame Diana answered every single question correctly…!”
Wow. She really was an all-purpose character.
“Your Highness, I’d like to rest now…”
Seeing Diana’s pale face, I said, “You did very well. I’ll be counting on you from now on!”
I gave her a warm hug and a head pat—the double combo that would leave Liana completely helpless.
“Y-Your Highness…!”
‘…….’
She smelled like Liana and Loclear… Must be my imagination, right?