Five Time Regressor Walks the King’s Path - Chapter 47
Chapter 47
He seemed deep in thought before he looked back at me.
“Chun-Sung, have you always been this smart?”
“What, man? Haven’t I always been smart?”
“No, I just thought it would really be okay for me to be the emperor if I had you. I think you could protect me, whether I become an emperor or whatever else.”
When I saw Rush listening to me and slowly being convinced he could become the emperor, I clicked my tongue.
“Don’t trust me too much. What I’ve said are just events that are the most plausible. I’m not responsible for what’s going to happen in the meantime. Those things have to be dealt with as they happen.”
“Yeah, I know that. In the first place, it’s hard in many ways for me to become an emperor. But you need my bloodline, right?”
At that moment I heard some shrewd words.
He smiled awkwardly and I looked up at him.
“I’m not a fool either. I don’t know why you’re trying to make me emperor but I’m kind of the sidekick in your story. Chun-Sung, you’ve got some reason for putting me on the throne, right?”
I was going to make Rush the emperor to clear the Floor.
He reached that conclusion faster than I thought. I was going to reply to him, but soon stopped talking.
Enough with the lies. Let’s just be honest.
“Yes, Rush. I need to make you the emperor. You won’t understand why even if I tell you, but I do want you on the throne.”
“Haha… It’s ironic to hear that someone like me, having only enlisted today, will be the emperor.”
Rush smiled at me.
“If it’s your will, I want to follow it.”
Did the friendship I built up yesterday work out better than I thought?
Of course, there was that as well.
‘There was a reason why you purposely made Rush and I know each other.’
In addition, there was a reason for deliberately designating Rush as the person on the eve of enlistment.
Being put as the friend of someone who joins the army in a special situation, on the eve of enlistment, anyone would first try to comfort him in some way. It would naturally create a good relationship with Rush.
If I used the fact that we’d known each other for a long time, Rush would have trust in me. Based on that trust, the probability that Rush would accept the suggestion to become the emperor increases.
[‘Indolent Pleasure’ shows interest in your reasoning.]
When the message of the Constellation came to mind as if it had no intention of correcting my reasoning, I sighed inwardly.
Yeah, that’s what you’re all like.
They always lay down their own path and enjoy seeing how the participants forge their own way once they step onto that path.
Taking my eyes off the message, I looked back at Rush.
First of all, the direction I was going in wasn’t wrong.
Whatever it was, challenging this Floor involved Rush becoming emperor.
“Yes, become the emperor for me. Rush, you’re going to become emperor.”
I looked at the clock.
It was already time to go to bed, and noticing that Rush was also exhausted, I gave him a round of applause to evoke the atmosphere.
“Alright. Rush, that’s it for now. You go back and rest first. We’ll continue this talk later.”
“Okay.”
Rush got up from his seat and started to head outside.
However, as he stood up from his seat, he hesitated momentarily and then looked back at me.
“Hey Chun-Sung, can I ask you a favor if I become emperor?”
“Yeah? What is it?”
I asked as I watched him leaving.
He looked at me for a moment and soon smiled awkwardly.
“No. I’ll tell you later. I can’t call this a favor.”
I wondered at his behavior and scratched my head seeing Rush go, saying ‘I’ll leave now’.
What was he trying to say?
Well, more than that, I searched my pockets and turned on the network tool with the Numbers.
“I have something to tell you.”
– Yes, please tell me.
I heard No. 4’s answer.
“I’m sure you heard it from No. 7. I will make Rush the emperor.”
– Yes, I heard it. We decided to follow you. So we will help you make him the emperor.
It wasn’t bad for them either.
Since they decided to follow me, if I made Rush emperor now, there would be no greater support.
Besides, I showed them both wealth and strength at the same time.
It would have convinced the Numbers that if I did my best, I could make it happen.
Everyone basically puts their own interests first.
I’m sure they’ve done the math there, too.
“Okay. From now on, collect all the information I’m talking about. And if there’s a guy willing to sell his family name, somehow acquire it. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a baron or whatever. I need a status to disguise myself as an aristocrat.”
– To the headquarters.
I stretched after the communication was cut off.
With this, the foundations were set.
‘Should I get some sleep first?’
I decided to sleep.
* * *
The next day, when I participated in the conference of 100-Man Commanders, I heard that neighboring countries in the eastern region had begun to make suspicious moves.
As I thought, the Sotillia Kingdom attack was just the beginning.
The war was just to see how the empire responded. Soon the other countries would move in earnest.
‘First of all, I will only move in relation to the information and instructions.’
I was slowly preparing to turn Rush into an emperor while receiving information from the Numbers.
‘Sotillia lost the war, so that side will be quiet for now. In that case…’
It seemed that it was time to leave the training center.
I’ve told Rush what to do in the army until he’s properly prepared so he won’t be surprised if I leave.
‘Firstly, if possible, play a prominent role in the war a few times. You’ll be a hero that other aristocrats will covet, but only do so to a degree where they’re reluctant to knight you since you can’t use aura.’
The Numbers are doing well in creating dummy information.
‘It’s easy for soldiers to be tied up in one place. Now that I’ve checked Rush’s condition, I’ll give up my army status. From now on, I’ll enter as a mercenary.’
It was a good turn of events to be outshone by the Sword Master here.
There won’t be many people who remember me.
They won’t care too much if I leave.
‘For my face, I can cover it with a helmet or something. It worked out really well. Wearing armor makes it easier to hide the fact that I’m a woman. The armor should also be a distinctive color.’
Blue would be enough to stand out on the battlefield.
If I deliberately put magic that makes it so blood doesn’t get on it, it will stand out even more.
After that, I’ll disguise myself as someone hired by the noble family the Numbers acquire.
If the rumor is spread by mixing the past status with the history of a soldier, people will later learn that I, Tian, retired from the army to live as a mercenary.
‘Gilbert, the Sword Master, is likely to be involved again as long as he’s in the army. It wouldn’t be bad to make dummy information in advance.’
After thinking about it, I moved on to the next thing.
‘Another thing I need to acquire before that is a merchant guild.’
A war broke out.
If so, there will be merchant guilds that start to move war-related materials in significant amounts and a large sum of money would be invested in many of the leading merchant guilds in the name of aristocratic families.
Of course, from the standpoint of merchant guilds who are moving around at this time, aristocratic investors will do their best to wag their tails because they are a target that can never be missed.
And when you see the wagging tails, other aristocrats will start to be interested in the investing aristocratic family.
Where money is, flies will gather.
Naturally, the number of greedy people who want to get in contact for the money increases.
And the greedier you are, the more wealth and status you’ll have.
‘Of course, this isn’t enough to move the ones at the top.’
As an investor in a merchant guild, it raises the name value of the family. I’ll select those related to the army from among those who contact us.
After that, I’ll use the fact that we want protection from the army and show natural interest in the army.
Those related to the army would definitely welcome an investor who controls the merchant guild and shows signs of investing money into the army. The appearance of the investor will flow into the ears of their superiors.
Then, we will naturally have a connection with the army’s leadership. At that time, the family will actively invest in the army and firmly establish itself as a very important figure for them.
‘Even when investing in the merchant guild, if I deliberately invest in army-related industries, I’ll become a person that they cannot let go of.’
This is why money is important.
After all, if you have money, it can serve as a foundation for solving many things.
‘If you have the right amount of money, people will doubt. If you have too much money, they can’t doubt. If you move to a scale where the source of money doesn’t matter, they won’t even dare to.’
The war is going to get bigger
The peace-ridden superiors will not have time to care about the army, who are in a mess fighting for power with each other.
At that time, when the aristocratic family I create takes steady control of the army and when the war is ripe, with the importance of the army rising…
‘Our side will feature Rush as the emperor.’
As I imagined Rush as the checkmate, I slowly read a paper with related information.
After leaving the current army unit, the dummy information was well organized, stating that I officially retired.
“Where are you going, Sir Knight? Would you like to buy a rice ball? You have to eat a lot before the war.”
“I’m sorry, but I’m not a knight. Just a mercenary.”
“Haha, in our eyes, all those in armor look like knights.”
As I was passing through the middle of the market, an old man spoke affectionately.
“Didn’t you hear that there is a war here? Just run away.”
“Didn’t the state of the country become a mess for two years? Even if an old man like me leaves, it’s hard to survive in another country. I just sell rice balls to people like you, Sir Knight, and live like this.”
“Tsk, give me one.”
I bought a rice ball from the old man, put it in my pocket, and took a quick look around.
I was currently in Lyonnais, the frontier of the Gratia Empire, with the most signs of war.
Although there was an army assigned to Lyonnais, there were signs of war on the other side as well, so the capital was told to keep the number of troops assigned without reinforcements.
Therefore, the House of Lyonnais was urgently hiring mercenaries to endure the war.
“What is that blue thing?”
“Haha, it stands out, and it’s nice. Well, nice to die from an arrow.”
“In the past, people who wanted to play in wars often wore them. Those who haven’t even been to war.”
When I arrived at the place where the mercenaries gathered, the war-torn mercenaries pointed their fingers at me and laughed.
Looking around, it seemed only the empire enjoyed a long period of peace with no wars. Between other countries, war was frequent and these mercenaries were active there.
I simply walked up to the guys pointing at me.
“What, do you have any complaints?”
“Well, of course.”
As soon as I approached, I looked down at the mercenaries who were talking shit. I hit them on the head without hesitating.