Chapter 24: Surrender
At that moment, the fighting stopped.
No one could fully believe that this massive object would actually fly through the sky.
However, in just a few seconds from the ear-splitting noise, the airship lifted off.
“Unbelievable. I thought it was His Majesty’s pipe dream.”
The Imperial Guards murmured among themselves. They had regarded the airship as the Emperor’s hobby.
And they hesitated in their judgment. Those inside the airship were probably bandits.
Prime Minister Garnets and his men had also entered, but this raised the possibility that the thieves’ talk of rebellion was actually true. So should they destroy the airship to stop them?
The castle had several powerful cannons installed. They could still target the airship now.
But knowing that Emperor…
“Don’t shoot! Absolutely do not shoot!”
The Emperor himself, Siegfried, arrived at the scene. He wore flashy golden armor that matched the metal of his hands and feet.
“Oh! My airship is flying magnificently!”
Siegfried watched the taking-off airship with delight.
(Why does he look happy? It’s in the middle of being stolen.)
The Imperial Guards wondered if he didn’t understand the situation.
However, after confirming that the airship had determined its direction and begun moving, Siegfried announced:
“I was wondering who to have do the test flight, but it was fortunate that Garnets did it. After opposing me, their deaths won’t be regrettable.”
Apparently the Emperor understood it had been stolen, but was resigned to it serving as a substitute for a dangerous test flight.
“I know where they’re headed. The Kingdom of Tates. The direction matches too. Prepare immediately! We must recover the airship at all costs!”
Completely changing from his earlier joy, Siegfried quickly issued orders. This Emperor had a quick mind and could switch his emotions instantly.
Then he noticed the existence of those surrounded by the Imperial Guards.
“…What are you lot?”
Claude and the others were completely cornered by the perfect coordination of the elite Imperial Guards. Even the formidable trio was at a disadvantage against the world’s strongest unit.
“Just petty thieves, Your Imperial Majesty.”
Claude answered resignedly.
“Thieves? Ah, the ones from the reports who fought the Black Knights at the burning mountain. Hmm? There are three of you. I heard one had died… well, no matter. I heard in the reports that all of you were troublesome opponents. Murakumo, called the knight among knights, the genius magician Yuri, and you are… I don’t know your name, but you’re a thief. The strange fellow who can transform into a wolf.”
Siegfried pointed at each one in turn, stopping his finger at Claude.
“It’s Claude. So what if it is? Shall I put on that show for you?”
Claude responded with a voice full of killing intent.
“I don’t mind if that’s what you want to do. However, even if they’re thieves, I don’t like treating people like circus animals.”
Siegfried flicked his arm with his finger, producing a high-pitched metallic sound. As if to show that he was a man without limbs who had been made a spectacle of countless times.
Claude was unexpectedly taken aback by this display.
Siegfried put his mechanical hand to his chin and pondered for a moment.
“Hmm, I’ll give you two choices. Be hanged, or become my subordinates.”
“Become your lackeys? I’d rather die than serve under the Empire!”
Claude immediately refused. Murakumo and Yuri nodded in agreement. For the three who had originally been united by their dislike of the Empire, that choice didn’t exist.
“What, I’m not saying you must serve under me for eternity. It’s limited until we capture Garnets. You also see Garnets as an enemy, don’t you?”
While watching Claude’s reaction, Siegfried gradually made the conditions more lenient. Making maximum demands first, then gradually easing the conditions, was a technique this Emperor often used in negotiations.
“…Is there compensation?”
Claude thought that if their goals were the same, temporary cooperation wouldn’t be bad. However, simply serving under him wouldn’t look good, so he demanded something in return.
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“I’ll give you your personal safety and as many gold coins as you can carry.”
Seeing that his opponent had softened, Siegfried immediately offered what could be called exceptional compensation. It was similar to cutting off the enemy’s retreat.
Claude was at a loss for words. He couldn’t refuse those conditions at this timing.
He looked toward Murakumo and Yuri as if seeking help, but both turned away.
Murakumo and the others understood that they wouldn’t be saved if things continued as they were, but they didn’t want to admit defeat, so they pushed that responsibility onto Claude.
“Fine. I get it, Your Imperial Majesty. You certainly are quite something. We’ll serve under you. But only until we deal with that bastard Garnets.”
Claude lightly raised his hand, showing that he had given up resistance.
“Very well. The Black Knights and their subordinate Grim Reapers are formidable. If we fought them head-on, the Imperial Guards would suffer great losses. Therefore, I’ll leave dealing with them to you lot.”
Immediately, Siegfried clarified the contract.
“Why negotiate with bandits?” The imperial guards around them, who had been thinking this inwardly, also realized the emperor’s true intentions and were impressed by his calculation. The Black Knight and Grim Reapers were not merely strong enemies—they were on a completely different level. They boasted impenetrable defenses and possessed tremendous combat power. If ordered to “go fight them,” they would fight, but they couldn’t see any path to victory. If the bandits would do it in their place, they were more than welcome to it.
“You’ve really stuck us with the nasty job, haven’t you?”
Claude made a bitter face but couldn’t refuse.
Either way, these were opponents they couldn’t avoid.
The contract between the emperor and the bandits was established. However, after witnessing this, one man stepped forward toward the emperor.
It was Murakumo. The imperial guards tensed, but Siegfried stopped them with a gesture.
“Do you remember the princess?”
With a heavy expression, the greatest knight asked only that.
“The princess of Ouka, you mean. Of course I remember her. She was the one I wished to marry.”
Siegfried answered with an expressionless face.
“Then why… why did you kill the princess!”
It was a voice filled with bloodthirsty killing intent, like coughing up blood. Even the imperial guards involuntarily cowered at it.
“In the end, you were just trying to use the marriage as a political tool!”
“I won’t deny that.”
Siegfried quietly accepted Murakumo’s anger.
“Royalty are human yet not human. They live for the people. Marriage cannot be decided by personal likes and dislikes alone. The same goes for decisions. It was by my order that the princess was killed.”
“You bastard!”
Seeing Murakumo reach for his sword, the imperial guards drew their blades. But Siegfried didn’t retreat a single step and continued to meet Murakumo’s gaze.
“If we hadn’t targeted the princess who was the priestess of the White Tiger, my soldiers would have died. In fact, hundreds of officers and men lost their lives before the White Tiger. Lives have no hierarchy of importance. There shouldn’t be one. That is what it means to be a king.”
After a moment of tension, Murakumo released his grip on his sword and asked with a sigh-like breath:
“…What did you think of the princess?”
“I only met her once at a diplomatic occasion. But… she was a beautiful and gentle woman. That is something rare to find among royalty. You who were by her side would understand, wouldn’t you?”
Seeing Siegfried’s fleeting smile, Murakumo squeezed his eyes shut.
“I see… I see… If I could hear that, then I’m satisfied.”
As Murakumo bowed his head and tried to step back, this time Siegfried called out to him.
“You who are called the ‘Knight among Knights’—can you defeat the Black Knight and Grim Reapers?”
At that question, Murakumo furrowed his brow.
“It would be difficult. Our blades can’t penetrate their armor. You’re free to order us to face the Black Knights, but there’s no chance of victory, you know? Let me tell you, no matter who the opponent is, I won’t be outdone in swordsmanship. But if the crucial sword can’t cut through, there’s nothing to be done.”
“Then if a sword could cut through, you could win?”
“Of course.”
Murakumo answered grimly.
“Then I’ll lend you this.”
Siegfried casually tossed the sword at his waist to Murakumo.
Reflexively catching the sword, Murakumo was surprised by the emperor’s unexpected action but drew the blade from its sheath.
“This is…”
It was a sword with magnificent patterns engraved on the blade. And it was clearly forged from a metal different from ordinary ones.
“It’s the ‘Divine Sword’ passed down through my family for generations. It’s made of Hihiirokane. With that, there’s nothing it can’t cut.”
Hihiirokane was a legendary metal said to possess the highest hardness, and this single sword handed down in the empire was said to be the only one in existence.
“You’re entrusting this to me?”
Murakumo’s voice was trembling. As a knight who had served the royal family, he understood its value better than anyone. To be lent a sword associated with the royal family was the highest honor. To give it to someone from another country—moreover, an enemy—was something that should never happen. Indeed, the imperial guards were speechless at the emperor’s extreme action.
“I’m poor with the sword, you see. You, being the greatest knight, should be able to handle it well, shouldn’t you?”
“…I might cut you down with this, you know?”
“In that case, it would simply mean I lacked the ability to judge people.”
At the emperor’s nonchalant words, Murakumo’s heart wavered. Though he had become a thief, he was a knight through and through. He couldn’t fail to respond to such trust.
“Then it should be able to cut even the Black Knight and Grim Reapers. ‘Knight among Knights,’ with this you can’t make excuses about not being able to win, can you?”
Siegfried showed a challenging, fearless smile.
“…This Murakumo gives his word. I swear on this name that I will surely cut down the Black Knights.”
Moved, Murakumo’s eyes moistened as he declared with the solemnity of pledging loyalty.
At this theatrical manner of speaking, Claude was half-amazed, wondering where all that earlier conflict had gone.
Incidentally, this too was within Siegfried’s calculations. By any means necessary, the Black Knights were opponents that had to be defeated. While the Divine Sword was certainly the finest blade, even if given to one of the imperial guards, they probably couldn’t defeat the Black Knights. Therefore, he judged that giving it to Murakumo, the greatest knight, was the best method.
And seeing that Murakumo clearly possessed knight-like qualities, he calculated that Murakumo would fully understand the significance of being lent the Divine Sword, and could eliminate the possibility of him becoming an enemy in the future.
“I’m counting on your strength.”
Seeing that his actions had achieved the calculated effect, Siegfried showed a smile that never failed to captivate people.
TLNOTE
While waiting for the next chapter, I encourage you, dear readers, to explore other masterpieces written by Daken-sensei :
- Monster Meat Led Me to the Throne
- Who killed the Hero?
- The Wicked Princess and 12 Eyes – The Strongest Squires and the Legendary Evil Woman, the Second Time in Her Life
- The Suspects of Necromancy
- The Exiled Merchant Saves the World with the Power of Gold (translated by my friend meerkat)
- The Last Magic (translated by my friend narwhal)
Also check out my friend Localizermeerkat for more LN translations!
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