Published: January 4, 2026
"Do as you wish, huh."
I glanced at Raymond kneeling before me and thought for a moment.
"Do you respect your father?"
“Huh? ...Yes, of course.”
Though surprised by my question, Raymond clearly took pride in his father. He quickly returned to a serious expression and nodded firmly.
“Then inherit your father’s noble title as it is.”
“—! Thank you very much!!”
“What I want you to do is to continue expanding your territory as it is.”
“Huh?”
Again, Raymond blinked in confusion.
He wore that typical bewildered look of someone being tossed about.
“I mean, keep being a bandit and expand your territory.”
“With all due respect... why would you want that?”
“Are you aware that your way of doing things is unusual?”
“...Yes.”
I glanced briefly at the corpse of one of his disorderly comrades that Raymond had just slain. Noticing my gaze, Raymond gave a small nod.
“It would be easy to incorporate you all into the official army, but that would leave your territory a blank spot. The newcomers might operate in a completely opposite way.”
“Yes.”
“It’s better to leave you where you are. And if you push out those who do things differently and expand your territory...?”
“I see.”
Raymond suddenly understood and nodded.
He seemed to grasp my plan.
“What you’re doing is official army work, but publicly remaining a bandit gang, right?”
“Smart. That’s exactly it.”
“Understood.”
“I’ll grant you one honorary knight slot per year. You decide which of your subordinates receives it.”
“‘Oooh!?’”
Raymond’s kneeling subordinates murmured excitedly.
They all looked genuinely happy.
“I’ll also supply provisions. I’m not saying you can’t raid at all, but keep it moderate.”
“Yes, sir.”
“And here’s something else. Use this if you ever want to appeal directly to me.”
I handed over a pre-prepared Fuwawa’s Box.
Since becoming emperor, I had tweaked its exterior a bit.
It bore the imperial crest and looked a little more luxurious.
“Once locked, no one but me can open it. Handle it carefully.”
“To receive such a thing... thank you so much!”
Raymond was moved to the point of pressing his head harder to the ground.
To anyone’s eyes, he was clearly devoted to me.
☆
“Your Majesty, that was amazing.”
On the wagon, Shirley spoke again in an awestruck voice.
The matter with Raymond had been settled, but since we had come this far, we decided to take a little secret trip to look around.
Having parted ways with Raymond and Sheryl, we drove the wagon down the road.
Shirley, having witnessed everything earlier, was extremely impressed.
“Is that so?”
“Yes! Not just restoring his honor, but passing it on like that—that was brilliant.”
“It’s the dream of almost every noble: hereditary succession.”
Nobles (though they may put on a brave face) do not fear death.
What they fear is losing honor and status.
Therefore, nobles who have built their positions with their own hands desire to pass those along to their heirs.
A prince’s son is usually not a prince.
The only one who can truly inherit the position outright is the emperor.
Passing on a position means something equivalent to being emperor.
As a prince, I knew this well.
“I see. So that's why you did it. Truly impressive, Your Majesty.”
“Is that so?”
“He was smart, and judging by how he acted, he would throw away his life without hesitation at Your Majesty’s command. Your status must have risen again, hasn’t it?”
As my first knight, Shirley was one of the few who knew the details of my “+” stats.
“Yes, it went up.”
“I thought so! It’s amazing... commanding people and growing stronger—I think you were born to be emperor.”
Maybe so, or maybe not.
I do believe I have the aptitude.
☆
After traveling half a day by wagon,
we arrived at a rather large settlement just as the sunset dyed the earth red.
“It looks lively.”
“Yeah, maybe a festival or something?”
From a distance, it was a village, not a town.
Towns are usually bustling daily, but villages are peaceful for better or worse.