Five Time Regressor Walks the King’s Path - Chapter 46

Chapter 46

I really wanted to curse the Constellation, but I suppressed that desire and turned to the side.

“Is one of the Numbers sticking around?”

“Yes.”

After giving out the order to protect Rush, and ever since the war ended, I noticed one of them following me.

So with my call, No. 7 appeared and kneeled. I ran my hand through my messy hair and spoke.

“What about Rush?”

“There’s no problem. I didn’t even have to make a move.”

“Alright. Good work.”

“Also, Ms. Ha Chun-Sung, the results of the investigation on Mr. Rush are out.”

The favor I asked him last night was brought up.

I stared at No. 7 and he immediately sated my curiosity.

“He’s a lineal. A bit on the far side, but he’s of direct descent.”

I smiled.

As expected. There was no way the Constellation placed Rush as my friend for no reason.

I was anxious for nothing. I let out a sigh of relief as I spoke.

“Good. Thanks for the information.”

“What do you plan to do next?”

He carefully asked me, and I fell deep into thought before perking up with a light smile.

“Should I make him the emperor?”

“Then we will help you.”

I wasn’t really serious, but No. 7 took it seriously.

I saw how he was all serious and shrugged.

“Do as you please about that. I’m going to wash up. Get out.”

“Yes.”

After No. 7 disappeared, I began to remove my military uniform, but…

“Uh, um, a-attention! Count Gilbert, your Excellency! Ah, yes. Sir is inside.”

I heard noise from outside.

I tilted my head at the name, Count Gilbert, and frowned upon sensing something strange.

I wondered what was wrong.

“Sir said he was going to change, so he should be out soon. Yes? You’re going in? He’s going to come out soon anyway, after he changes… Your Excellency, C-Count?”

I heard the sound of the door opening and someone entering at that moment, so I hurriedly raised my pants.

Then, as soon as I lifted the top half of my uniform that lay on the ground, the public bathroom’s door opened.

I was standing right where you could see me once the door opened.

The door opened and in came the Sword Master guy from before. Our eyes met.

I stood frozen, holding up the top to cover my upper body. He saw my stiffened form and tilted his head. His mouth opened as if he was going to say something, but instead quickly left, closing the door behind him.

“Shit.”

I felt oddly ashamed.

Besides, I learned that he was a Count.

He had a fairly high rank, and getting caught by such a guy was a headache.

‘Should I just make a run for it?’

I thought about it for a second, but immediately tossed that idea away.

He saw my face.

If he was a Sword Master, that meant he was an important character on this Floor, and if so, I didn’t know when I’d come across him again trying to clear the Floor.

‘Whatever. What’s done is done. Let’s just lie a little and move on. I wanted to be a soldier, but I couldn’t because I was a woman, which spurred me to disguise as a man and enlist. Anyway, it seems like this country doesn’t have a female military system at all.’

I made up a lie as I quickly washed up. I tied a compression wrap to my chest and changed into the uniform Iremic had given me.

I pulled up my hair and put on the military cap. I walked outside to see the count standing there.

“…My apologies.”

“It’s fine. It’s my own fault for entering the military while lying about my gender. I wanted to become a soldier, and that’s why I put on this disguise, but I guess today is the end of that. Since I was caught by Your Excellency, I will gladly receive any punishment.”

He seemed a little taken aback when I said something so dramatic.

But seeing my expression turning dejected, he hurriedly reassured me.

“No, don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone about you.”

“I can’t let Your Excellency lie on my behalf.”

“Everyone lies. I have no problem keeping my mouth shut about one of your secrets.”

“Are you sure?”

Gilbert nodded.

Haha, let’s add another idiot to the boat.

“Thank you. By the way, I’m sure you came here for a different reason. What brings you here?”

I asked the idiot carefully and he seemed to recall why he visited me.

“I saw you fighting the enemy. You definitely didn’t use aura, correct?”

“Yes, I did not”

“Can you not?”

“If I could use it, wouldn’t I have become a squire?”

I said the same thing as Iremic.

“But to be so skillful…”

“I was born with good stamina and strength. Of course, I also trained that much, so…”

“You were a 100-Man Commander. Where did you work?”

“I was somewhere in the west. Should I tell you the name of the region, too?”

“No, there’s no need. Let’s get back to business. Would you like to be my knight?”

Nope.

I was about to be honest, but stopped myself.

If I let my honest feelings out here and decline, it might look weird.

Judging from his attitude, becoming a knight must be a great honor.

“Even though you know I’m a woman?”

“I don’t care. My decision is based on your skills.”

That excuse didn’t work.

I started pretending to seriously ponder the proposal.

After acting like I was hesitating whether to speak or not for about three minutes, I looked up at him.

“I’m sorry, Your Excellency.”

“…You’re refusing?”

“I can’t handle aura yet. If I become a knight, there may be complaints or protests among the knights who can handle aura.”

“That doesn’t matter. If you can prove with your capabilities fair and square, they won’t be able to say anything.”

“I am not confident I can endure the turmoil. Instead, I have a favor.”

“A favor?”

“When the time comes that I can use aura, would you personally accept me as a knight? I saw you fight today and I really wish to work under you.”

If I say it like this, maybe he’d let it go.

I looked up at him, thinking my acting was superb. Gilbert stayed silent for a moment before nodding.

“I’ll do that. Come visit our family right after you discover your aura. I’ll tell them your name in advance… By the way, what is your name?”

“You can just call me Tian.”

With that said, I bowed to Gilbert before he could say anything more and quickly left.

Afterward, I met up with Iremic and attended the meeting. The Security Forces Chief blabbered nonsense and then I returned to the building where the trainees were staying.

“We have a separate room for you. You can rest there.”

“Thank you. Ah, I just remembered. Could you call the trainee Rush?”

“Rush… Oh, he must be the younger brother you mentioned before. Of course you’d be worried. I’ll call him here right away.”

Iremic led me to my room and went straight out to call for Rush.

I sat down on a chair inside the room, pressed down my military cap, and yawned.

It’s been a long time since I’d used my strength without the help of aura. That was probably the reason for my tiredness.

Knock Knock.

“It’s military trainee Rush, may I come in?”

“Come in.”

Iremic must have given him some brief training. Rush spoke in a tone befitting the military and hesitantly walked inside.

After going through a war, he looked much more exhausted than when he first entered the training center.

He couldn’t even look me in the face properly. Seeing him like that, I took off my military cap.

“Rush.”

When I turned off the artifact that altered my voice, Rush froze and looked up to meet my gaze.

He looked at me in wonder.

It took him a moment to realize who I was and take in the fact that I was actually in front of him.

“C-Chun-Sung? How are you here?”

“Happy to see me?”

“Wh—. The 100-Man Commander is you? Huh? What…”

“It’s my actual job. It’s quite a surprise, right? Kind of like a person from the underworld.”

Remembering the case of the Numbers, I tried cracking a joke with my lie, but Rush was so bemused that it seemed like he didn’t even catch my joke.

“Well, whatever. Rather than this, how’s the military?”

I wanted to talk about his military story to help him relax a little.

Rush finally realized that I was the Chun-Sung he knew, so he hurriedly told me a few stories.

It had only been a day, but Rush seemed to have a lot to let out. He gradually lost his confusion, and soon shed tears in relief.

“A war as soon as I’m enlisted? I really thought I was going to die. That really wasn’t right.”

“Yeah, good job.”

He curled up and covered his face with his hands. I patted him on the back.

A war as soon as he joined the army. As someone who was in the army, I knew that was worth cursing the world for.

“What would I do if I didn’t have you? I really might have died there.”

Depressed, Rush was staring at me like I was his savior.

I looked at Rush for a moment. Then I opened my mouth with a very serious expression.

“Hey, Rush. What would you do if there was a way you could leave the army?”

He looked me in the eye and saw how serious I looked.

He must have caught on that I had a way to get him out of the army.

“That means…”

“I found a way to get you out of the army. Although it’s probably not going to be immediate.”

“Can you tell me how you would do that?”

I decided to answer that question.

“You are a distant blood relative of the deceased emperor.”

“H-Huh?”

Rush tilted his head as if he didn’t understand. He was asking for more of an explanation.

That was because ordinary citizens did not know yet that the emperor, as well as all his direct descendants, had died because of the battle for the crown.

So I slowly began to explain the situation to Rush.

After my explanation, Rush looked at me with a shocked face.

“Chun-Sung, how in the world do you know such things?”

“I told you. I’m working behind the scenes.”

I decided to go with the concept from earlier.

“And you have the emperor’s bloodline. You can ascend to the throne.”

“Me? An emperor?”

I nodded my head to assure his still muddled brain.

“Now you know how to leave the army. The reason why the Sotillia Kingdom suddenly began a war must be related to the battle for the crown. This news must’ve reached their ears. Knowing the empire’s internal chaos, they started a war, and soon other countries will follow suit.”

I grabbed Rush’s shoulders.

“That’s why I’m telling you this. If wars continue to break out, it’ll become difficult for the aristocrats who are fighting over the throne to pay attention to the inside. Without the emperor, aristocrats will become more confused and fall into chaos. As a result, the empire’s internal power will decrease. That’s when you appear. You, someone possessing the emperor’s bloodline, will appear before the aristocrats. They, who fell into chaos from the internal conflict and wars, won’t be able to stop you from properly ascending the throne.”

“Huh, uh. Oh, yeah. But would anything change even if I become emperor in such a situation? War already broke out. I don’t think anything will get better even if I become an emperor. If I was an aristocrat, I would consider that sort of emperor an eyesore and try to get rid of him.”

“No. That alone could be solved if you have a firm standing. I checked the military’s condition in advance. Although the aristocrats are working the army to their liking right now, the military’s leadership is organized with a system so that the military listens to the commands of the one with the highest rank. The first thing you need is to grasp command of the military. The position and importance of the military rises the most in the face of war. So if you have the military in your hands, the aristocrats can’t touch you. In addition, other countries will try to aim for the empire’s insides, which are in disorder due to the emperor’s death and imperial conflict. In those times, if the position of a new emperor is established, the weaknesses caused by the internal conflict can be mended.”

“……”

Rush had been listening silently to my words. Then he pressed a hand to his mouth.