Volume 7 Chapter 4 Oath And From Now On
I was in the audience chamber of the Lord Karditsa, where Alex was conducting a ceremony to confer a title upon me.
On the throne sat Alex ―― Emperor Alexander ―― with Sieg and other vassals, my party members, and the Karditsa's family lined up on both sides.
I walked on the crimson carpet, bowed my head, and kneeled on one knee in front of Alex, just like I had practiced.
Alex stood up, kissed the ceremonial sword, and placed it on my right shoulder.
"Do you, Wade, swear loyalty to the Alexander Empire? Will you dedicate yourself to its development, regarding it as your motherland?"
"I swear."
Alex moved the sword to my left shoulder.
"Do you swear loyalty to me, Alexander the Emperor, and obey my commands as a vassal, fulfilling your duty?"
"I swear."
Alex sheathed the sword, then declared loudly.
"Then, I grant you the title of Marquis of Württemberg, and the surname Gravitas, symbolizing your magic attribute of gravity."
After a brief pause, Alex said.
"From now on, you will be Wade Gravitas Württemberg. Congratulations, Marquis Wade Gravitas Württemberg."
"I am grateful for the honor."
"Very well. With this, the simple ceremony comes to an end... Let's get along well, Wade."
The tense atmosphere relaxed, and Alex patted my head, saying "Don't be so formal." I brushed his hand away, feeling embarrassed.
The lord's mansion was bustling for a while.
As we prepared to leave, Lord Karditsa had prepared our supplies. When I thanked him, saying "Thank you, Lord," he shook his head.
"Come on, this is a crucial moment. And besides, I don't want to be called 'lord' or anything like that anymore. From now on, we're equals, part of the same family. Let's treat each other with respect and be close friends, okay?"
I was taken aback by his response, nodded vaguely, and sat down, lost in thought. After a while, I said.
"I'm a noble now!"
Whoa, I'm shocked I was suddenly swept away and became a noble What's going on? Am I the lord of some territory like Württem or something? Ha!
"It's too surprising..."
I let out a long sigh and blinked my eyes, feeling a bit stunned. I've really made it big.
"..."
I pinch my cheek to see if it's real. It doesn't hurt that much, but I can feel it. This isn't a dream. This isn't a dream at all....
"Life is full of surprises, you never know what's gonna happen, right?"
Well, whatever. There's no use crying over spilled milk. I slap my cheek to get pumped up, and Alex approaches me.
"Hey, Alex... Ah, should I start calling you something more formal from now on?"
"Nah, don't worry about that for now. We're still a barbaric nation that's only good at invading and taking over land. We can do all that later and settle down afterwards."
"Hmm, I guess that's true."
"You can just leave it to your descendants anyway. The first generation of nobles is like that. The territory I gave you is being managed by an administrator for now, so it's all good."
"I'll think about it later, after I've settled down."
"Haha, that's fine."
Alex sits down next to me without changing his tone. I think to myself, "This guy is really good at getting on my good side."
"Let's talk about what's to come."
Alex says.
"Wade, while we were training Ice and the others back in our country, I want to tell you more about what I want you to do."
"Was it 'Oath'? The platinum Sword adventurer?"
"That's right. Sieg was a bad match and couldn't beat him, the strongest person in the world. The ruler of all conflicts in this era. The winner of victories. The promised victor."
Alex takes a breath before saying his name.
"――The platinum Sword adventurer, 'Oath' Arthur."
"..."
I couldn't beat Sieg. Just hearing that makes my spine tingle.
"Can I win?"
"I don't know. But if Sieg goes, it'll be a huge disadvantage. He might even die. But you're pretty tough, Wade, so you might be able to survive and come back."
"I can't imagine Sieg being at a disadvantage... That's crazy!"
"Well, Roman will tell you the details. I'll give you a more general overview."
I was told with a shrug, and I curved my lips, saying "Is that so?" Alex nudged me with his elbow, saying "Don't be like that," and I pretended to be annoyed.
"Wade, what I want you to do is to make the Margrave Birk territory defect to the Alexander Empire."
I received his words, chewed on them, and asked.
"Make them defect, you mean like Sieg did to Karditsa, starting a war or something like that?"
"Ah, yeah. Right now, Margrave Birk really hates the Roman Empire. So, it's like persuading them to defect."
I tilted my head.
"Didn't the Marquis Karditsa also defect because he hated the Roman Empire? What's the difference?"
"Ah, I didn't explain it well. Well, the lord is a bit special... or rather, a genius. Birk territory is enough with that. The grand value of that place is because of the lord."
It seems they're highly valuing it. I thought for a bit and continued Alex's words.
"So, 'Oath' is going to get in the way of that, right? Is 'Oath' someone from the Roman Empire side?"
"You're quick to catch on. That's right, 'Oath' receives many requests from the Roman Empire. The reason is that the Roman Empire is wealthy and pays well."
"You're pretty wealthy yourself, Alex."
"That's true, I do have a lot. I'm even called an imperial, after all. But, I can not accumulate enough money to hire 'Oath' many times."
"By the way, how much does it cost per request?"
"About ten platinum coins."
"Whoa..."
One platinum coin is definitely worth 3 billion, so one request is 30 billion... and that's just for one war...
I said.
"That's a national budget!"
"Apparently, the Roman Empire has a massive budget for 'Oath'."
"Wow..."
It's ridiculous. What do they use that kind of money for?
"And, anyway..."
Alex turned to face me.
"I want to ask you to do something. As I said before, I want you to make Margrave Birk betray them. But, our negotiations will be led by Roman. You'll learn about politics by watching him."
And, Alex added.
"'Oath' is getting in the way, so let's reject everything from the start, clash directly, and eliminate him. If possible, kill him, or make 'Oath' betray the other instead. That's your top priority."
"Can I really make them betray?"
"If 'Oath' is on the enemy's side, he's a nuisance. But if we can pull him to our side, that's the best. Money is just a substitute for something else. Wade, who became friends with Sieg during the war, might be able to do it."
"It's just being bought off. I'm only being favored by Sieg because he's weirdly fond of me."
"That might be true. Hahahaha!"
Alex laughed and stood up, saying, "Well, that's how it is."
"Are you leaving already?"
"Yeah. While Wade is distracted, we've got our preparations in place. You should join up with my team properly too."
See you later. Alex left quickly, as expected. He's a busy guy, after all. The emperor. He's like a friendly older brother from the neighborhood. I muttered, "I don't get it..."
Then, I stood up too.
"Well, I'll do what I can. Who knows what'll happen?"
I stretched and walked away with a spring in my step.
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