Chapter 9
After patting my head for a while, His Majesty looked at the demon sword at my waist.
"So that's Leviathan now, I see, it really has shrunk."
From the way His Majesty spoke, it seems that the Leviathan's shrinking was also a source of information.
That means there's someone in my mansion who delivers information to His Majesty in a timely manner.
I guess that's only natural.
" Noah."
"Yes"
"Can you make it big again?"
" I guess … um … what do you think?"(TN: Noah is asking Leviathan here)
I know His Majesty would have heard the words, but the Leviathan didn't answer until I asked it in person.
I thought it was more and more of a loyal dog, and reported the reply directly to His Majesty.
"It appears that I can do it,"
"Show me."
" Right away."
I pulled out the Leviathan and thrust it to the ground.
I put my hand on the top of the hilt and reminded Leviathan to be bigger.
Then the Leviathan grew steadily.
It went from a length appropriate for my six year old body to one that was easy for an adult to wield when I first met it.
"Oh…."
His Majesty marveled at the changes that took place before his eyes.
"I see, it is indeed unheard of. Besides,"
"?"
"It's perfectly accurate, isn't it, the Demon Sword Leviathan? Considering the abominable history of this, I have to say, it's amazing."
Abominable history, huh?
Well, I'm well aware of this guy's mad dog nature.
If I hadn't been there to stop it, the man who spoke uselessly at the party invited by the third vizier, Reydok, might very well have killed the man-or worse, all the people present.
I was convinced that if there was no one to stop the Leviathan, then surely 'abominable history' would be made one after another.
"That's enough."
"Okay."
I nod and put the leviathan back around my waist, sizing it up for my own use.
"It looks good on you, too. Yes, I need to get Noah a master."
"A master?"
"He's a master of swordsmanship. You'd better learn the art of wielding the Demon Sword. Cruz."
When His Majesty called out, the gutted eunuch, where he had been until then, appeared without a sound.
"You wanted to see me, sire?"
"Go get Noble, right now.
"As you wish."
Cruz took his orders and left without further ado.
I waited in the garden, making small talk with His Majesty in the garden.
About twenty minutes later, a middle-aged man in knight's armor arrived.
The man dropped to one knee before father.
"Damien Noble, I am honored to serve you."
"Mm, good to see you. I need you to do something for me."
"Anything you command, sire."
"You know Noah. I want you to teach him to use a sword."
"Yes!, I'll do my best."
At the command, Damien stood up and turned to me.
He bowed his head to me to the point of a bailout, whereas he kneeled to His Majesty.
"My name is Damien Noble and I have been appointed to be your highness' instructor. Henceforth, I hope that you will be familiar with me."
"Noble is the best swordsman in the Empire and is claimed to be unmatched in swordplay."
"I feel honored".
Damien bowed his head lightly as he said that.
I'm not sure if he's happy or not, he puts on a stern face.
Maybe that's always been the case, but His Majesty didn't mind it either.
"Be encouraged under Noble."
"Yes, sir."
"Let's get right to it, Your Highness. Let us see what you have to offer."
Damien drew the sword from his waist and pointed the cutting edge at me.
His Majesty was surprised by this, as expected.
"He's a child who hasn't been taught anything yet."
" Rest assured, I am not looking for skills, just character."
"Hmm."
His Majesty was easily convinced.
I didn't know if he could be convinced so easily, but maybe that was his faith in 'the best in the Empire'.
"You can come slashing at me from anywhere."
"Okay."
I pulled out my leviathan and slashed at Damien.
My slash, swinging down from directly above, and Damien took a stance to catch it, holding his sword horizontally.
Keen!
Right after a light metallic sound.
"…eh…"
Damien was astonished.
The sword he had held just a moment ago flew in the opposite direction, whirling around and stabbing into the ground.
My slash, which I haphazardly swung down, wrapped around and twisted just as it struck Damien's sword.
The sword blade wrapped around each other as if it were sucking, and Damien, whose wrist bent in a way it shouldn't if he held it as it was, couldn't help but let go of the sword.
The sword flew far away from me with the momentum of being wound up.
Damien stared at me dumbfounded, looked at his sword stuck in the distance and looked up at the heavens.
And finally, he turned to His Majesty and got down on one knee.
"I'm sorry, Your Majesty. I have nothing to teach His Highness."
"What is this all about? You gotta help me understand."
" His Highness's strength and speed, they are all of a child's nature, but his sword skills have already reached the level of a master."
"Mastery?"
"The one before, he hoisted the sword from me with only the right technique."
"…."
"I can't teach you anything. I've lost."
"…Oh."
As expected of His Majesty, he was pouting for a moment, or even ten seconds, unable to swallow the situation, but when he came back to himself, he looked happier than before.
"I see…"
"Ha!"
"Well, hhha. You're doing great, Noah, that's great, Noah."
"Ha! You are indeed His Majesty's son."
"Hahahahahahaha!"
His Majesty looked extremely happy and smiled broadly to the heavens.
"Good, good. That's right!"
His Majesty clapped his hands as if he remembered something.
Visit readel.me for extra chapters.
"This year's knight selection, let's have Noah be the main selection officer.
I could not have picked a better person."
Damien agreed with His Majesty.
The knight selection, it's the big annual event of the Empire.
Now, the term Empire on earth means our Empire, and although no one calls it that anymore, the official name was originally 'Meeres Empire'.
Meeres is an old word for warrior, or the Empire of Meeres means 'Land of Warriors'.
The empire has a tradition of valuing the warrior, and it is even said that warriorship is the only way to get up and running on merit.
This is determined by the annual selection of knights.
People who have won from all over the empire fight to the death in the imperial capital, and the winner is given the title of knight and at once joins the upper class.
He wants me to be that selector.
I thought about it for a moment.
This is very, very convenient for me.
The reason being, the knight who wins in the end is the first to become the selector's subordinate at that time.
I looked at the status out of the corner of my eye, a status I normally don't pay much attention to.
Name: Noah Ararat
13th Prince of Ararat Empire
Gender: male
Level: 1/∞
HP F MP F Strength F+F Stamina F+F Intelligence F Spirit F Speed F Dexterity F+F Luck F+F Fire F Water E+SS Wind F Earth F Light F Darkness F
For some reason, I have a unique "+" ability that other people don't have.
It depends on my subordinates, the people in my domain, to build it up.
In other words, if I have strong subordinates, I will become strong myself.
The knight selector is a welcome decree.
I stepped forward and got down on one knee.
"As you wish, I will faithfully execute the selector's duty."
"Hmm. Then we should make one quick decision. What kind of selection will Noah make?"
His Majesty's question. This is another right of the selectors.
Since the last person to be selected is to be your subordinate, you have the right to decide how the selection process is conducted.
For example, in a league and a tournament, the tendency of the people who survive to the end is completely different.
I thought about it for a minute.
It's nothing, because I want the stronger person.
" Just one."
"Yeah, say it."
"I want all the qualifiers from all over the Empire in the Imperial City. I want it done right in front of me."
"What? Why is that?"
"I don't want to miss out on any talent. I want to see everything for myself and decide for myself."
The empire is big, and with a big event like this, I can't completely control it at the local qualifying level.
It would be a shame if there was someone there who was worthy of being under my command and they were dropped for something weird.
So I wanted to see the whole thing with my own eyes.
"Oh, ooooh,"
"Your Majesty?
"Your Majesty."
Turning to His Majesty, who was looking up to the heavens in ecstasy, Damien explained.
"He is impressed by your splendid thoughts,"
Chapter end