A few weeks before Eurius left Valdes Fortress.
"What? You failed again?"
A slightly hoarse voice was heard from the temple in the south.
Jamir frowned slightly.
"I think we have no choice but to report this to the Archbishop."
It was a blow to the pride of the Order to fail an assassination not once, but twice. No matter how influential he was, he would face a lot of criticism.
'But the first prince is really lucky, isn't he? How come timely reinforcements arrived in that situation?'
Of course, he didn't think that Eurius had hidden his skills. But it was too late to send another assassin, and once he entered the palace, it was almost impossible to secretly kill a royal.
'What should I do?'
He wrote a report to send to his superiors, accepting the blame. Then he sank into deep thought.
"Eurius, the first prince of the empire?"
He muttered to himself repeatedly, then suddenly got up and prepared to leave.
"Priest?"
"I think I'll be away from the temple for a while. Take care of any reports that come in while I'm gone."
He smiled and patted his servant's back, and the servant sighed.
'He seems to have taken an interest in that first prince or whatever.'
Jamir was a person who rose to the high priest position of the Order at a young age with the favor of the Archbishops. His initiative was well-known within the Order. And more importantly, his identity!
The order had spread its influence like a spider web across the world, but especially in the southern continent, it had many connections with powerful people.
He had another identity besides being a high priest of the Order.
'I should take this opportunity to meet that Wallace guy and see if he's worth using, and also meet the first prince.'
It shouldn't be too hard with his apparent identity.
He grinned and walked out of the temple.
***
"Lord Wallace, it's been a long time."
"You must have heard the recent rumors about His Highness Eurius. You must be proud as his guardian."
"Haha, how can I take credit for that? It's all because His Highness is brilliant."
The faces of the emperor's faction officials were full of smiles these days.
Marius had been away for several years because of the road construction, and the pressure from the Grand Duke's faction was increasing.
If it weren't for the emperor's power that supported them firmly, they would have been pushed out of the center of power long ago. But Eurius' recent achievements had greatly boosted the position of the emperor's faction.
"Then let's see you tomorrow. I'm happy to think that I'll see His Highness soon."
After finishing his work at the palace, Wallace returned to his mansion and slumped into a chair.
'Proud as his guardian? What nonsense! I'm risking my neck here!'
Wallace felt like he was sitting on a bed of nails every day.
First of all, there was the news that Eurius had made a great contribution in the north, and more importantly, those damn assassins (or whatever they were) failed.
'Those bastards must have taken my money and ran away!'
He had requested an assassination twice, but there was no news. No, they even locked their doors and didn't answer properly.
[There will probably be other measures from above.]
That was the last message he received, and Eurius was on his way back after making a huge achievement.
He had committed a crime, so Wallace felt like his blood was drying up every day.
But today, he had other worries for a moment.
"My lord, a guest has arrived from the southern desert."
"From the desert kingdom?"
It was not uncommon for him to have contact with the desert kingdom as he ran a business. But it was rare for someone to come all the way to the capital to find him.
If they had something to report directly to him, they must be of considerable status. Wallace got up from his seat with a curious expression.
'Did they bring some good deals from the desert?'
***
Count Perez was busy pleasing Eurius today as well.
"Your Highness, is there anything uncomfortable on your journey?"
"Well, we're almost at Stefan. There's no big problem."
The north had stabilized a lot now, and there were quite a few cities where they could stay in between. The travel speed was slow because of the large number of people, but it gave him more time to train.
And the more he trained, the more he felt.
'The deal with the Azure Dragon Guild was more important than I thought.'
What he offered in exchange for reading the legacy of Lee Cheongmun, the Azure Dragon's Breath, was a stake in the distribution of the Dite mine. By now, even if their headquarters were far away in the east, they should have some answer.
Eurius had not been lazy before, but now he devoted most of his personal time to training.
[The proficiency of the White Tiger Protection Technique is increasing.]
[The proficiency has increased. Current proficiency of the White Tiger Protection Technique: 15%]
He had gained a new technique, the White Tiger Protection Technique, which was not only as the system described, enhancing his senses and defense, but also contained information about the martial arts of the player Lee Cheongmun.
Eurius was amazed as he deciphered the secret.
'Now I understand why he was called the King of All Weapons. He's amazing!'
According to his interpretation, the Four Divine Techniques, including the White Tiger Protection Technique, were pieces of Lee Cheongmun's martial arts that were split into four parts.
Each piece had a significant effect if one mastered it perfectly, but if he mastered all of them, he would gain an unimaginable advantage over ordinary martial artists.
'I have to collect all the legacy pieces, no matter what.'
With those thoughts in mind, he finally arrived at Stefan with the 3rd Legion of the Empire that he led.
"The first prince has arrived!"
"Wow! Long live the first prince!"
The city gate was crowded with citizens who welcomed him. His achievements in the north were known to everyone in the northern part of the empire.
'The scale of the welcome is much bigger than I expected.'
Stefan had developed dazzlingly in the year he was on the northern front. It was understandable, since it was a city that connected the central and northern parts of the empire.
As the development of the north progressed, it grew to a size comparable to any major city in the central part.
Eurius passed through the cheers and flowers on the street with a sense of pride. He was executed in the central square of the capital after being cursed horribly just a few years ago in his previous life's memory.
'I guess it's not a bad feeling. I think I understand why my father cared so much about the people.'
He had never received such a passionate welcome even when he was an emperor.
Eurius waved his hand to the citizens as he headed to the center of the city at the head of the procession.
"I'm late, but I'm really grateful, Your Highness!"
"Marius! It's been a long time!"
When Eurius arrived at Stefan's official residence, he jumped off his horse and hugged his old man tightly.
It was a light (?) greeting from the northern knights who had adapted to it, but he seemed a bit uncomfortable.
"Ouch, you're going to kill this old man, Your Highness!"
"Come to think of it, you have more wrinkles. Tsk… Isn't it time to retire?"
Eurius joked good-naturedly with Marius who was acting coquettish, but his inner feelings were different.
'But you have to work for me for another five years… no, ten years, right?'
But Marius surprised him with an unexpected remark.
"That's true. My body is not what it used to be these days. It's time to choose a successor."
'Huh? What are you talking about?'
Eurius was quite taken aback. He remembered that this old man would squeeze him for another five years or so. What was he talking about?
"Anyway, let's go inside. I've prepared what you asked me to do."
He didn't have much time because he had to report to the capital. The contact would be tomorrow night.
Eurius nodded without questioning and Mareus led him into the official residence.
"I've prepared accommodations for the 3rd Legion that you brought with you inside the city."
The conversation about his knights and soldiers ended first and finally they got to the main point.
"The development of Dite mine is being discussed by the administration, but that's not a big problem. The mining itself is up to the immigrants."
"Of course, distribution is the key."
"The problem is that Wallace is lobbying a lot of people."
'Well, that greedy fox must be desperate.'
Most of the northern trade was already taken by Azure Dragon Guild, but Wallace was not a weak person in imperial trade. He must be using all kinds of means to get back what he lost to Azure Dragon Guild.
"I'll take care of that problem when I go to the capital."
He had an assassination case as well, and he had a lot of grudges against Wallace.
"If Your Highness solves it, this old man will trust and wait."
Marius moved on from that issue easily.
After all, the development of the north itself was Eurius' idea. He believed that he would find a solution somehow.
"And I have someone I want to introduce to you on this occasion."
"…?"
Before Eurius could ask anything, Marius called someone and brought a young man.
"He's someone I hired through Dipetra's recommendation. Greet His Highness."
The young man was unfamiliar to Eurius. The only thing that stood out was his calm attitude as he bowed politely to him for the first time.
"It's an honor to meet Your Highness. My name is Bryan. I'm a commoner, so I don't have a surname."
'Bryan?'
Eurius was surprised by the unexpected name of the young man.
"Are you from Simon Kingdom by any chance?"
This time, Bryan's face showed a hint of surprise.
"Yes, I am."
'Wow… Is he really that Golden Merchant Bryan?'
"Haha. I heard rumors about you when I was at the academy. You were the most prominent talent in the administration department."
"I'm honored that Your Highness knows my humble name."
'This is an unexpected gain. Who would have thought that the famous merchant Bryan would work under Marius?'
He mumbled, but Eurius was quite surprised inwardly.
"I see you know his name, Your Highness. He's someone I hired on Dipetra's strong recommendation. He's young, but his ability is undeniable. I guarantee it. Haha."
Bryan, the Golden Merchant!
He was from Simon Kingdom, a small country in the Western Union, and he would later become one of the renowned merchants in the continent.
True to his title of Golden, his skill was excellent financial management! He could squeeze out a budget and create wealth from any poor household.
With his skill, Simon Kingdom, which was a weak country in the Western Union, would rise to become the richest country in the union in about ten years.
'It would be great if he became my subordinate.'
But there was one question.
'Even if the dean liked me, was it necessary to send someone like Bryan here?'