74 Tues. Iljinha and Manjinsang (1)
“Hey, Ernas-sama.”
Belid, from the white class 5, opened her mouth urgently.
“I have no intention of bragging about Ernas-sama’s name. How far am I… … .”
“Don’t say nonsense. Didn’t you come to the academy carrying the future of the Andrews family?”
This guy is the guy who started talking about what kind of family he came from when he introduced himself.
“Who should I follow to make the future of the Andrews family brighter? I must have always thought of that.”
“that… … .”
“Honestly admit it. You decided that networking with Ernas Landsstein would be a better thing for the future of the Andrews family. So this is how you came to meet me.”
“… … .”
“The same goes for the other guys.”
Not only Belid, but the other guys couldn’t deny it either.
Looking at their faces, I said quietly.
“I don’t mean to criticize you.”
“yes?”
“This empire is a country where elites exert overwhelming power. They should always think about which prestigious family they will have an advantage for their family.”
Looking at the students in embarrassment, I said slowly.
“Everyone has been that way for hundreds of years. So you are not doing anything wrong.”
“Ernas-sama… … .”
“But, I don’t have to respect that.”
I shot in a cold voice.
“I am thinking of breaking that structure.”
“yes?”
Several students looked perplexed.
“What are you talking about… … .”
“Did everyone ever think it was strange?”
I looked around them and said.
“This empire values swordsmanship. It is a system in which only those with excellent swordsmanship can lead society. It can be said that it is a thoroughly meritocratic society.”
“Yes, of course… … .”
“But in practice, it’s not.”
“yes?”
“After all, power is concentrated only in certain families. Because only a prestigious family with powerful power like the 6th great swordsman can seize power.”
Everyone’s eyes widened at my remarks.
Even Serine and Chloe looked surprised.
“Look at Professor Jols Callesius. He is an academy graduate. But, is he in charge of leading the country now?”
“… … .”
“After subjugating monsters in the West, I am now teaching students at the academy. Of course, nurturing talented people is important, but it cannot be said to be the role of leading the country.”
It can’t be said that Yoles’ skills are inferior to Henry or Calleon.
But Yols doesn’t have the power to mobilize hundreds of graduates like Henry or Calleon.
At best, he has only two assistant professors, Claude and Matthews.
“It is said that if you have skills, you can be recognized at the academy, but in the first place, the more children of a prestigious family, the easier it is to improve their skills. In the end, children of prestigious families compete with each other, and ordinary people only follow them.”
“… … .”
“Sometimes there are guys who burn their ambitions to reach the top by beating the children of prestigious families, but eventually they hit a wall.”
Schmitz, who is now following me, also falls into this category.
There will be many cases like Schmitz in other classes as well.
“This cannot be called proper meritocracy, and it goes against the will of His Majesty the Iron-Blood Swordsman who founded the empire.”
“Hey, Ernas-sama.”
Belid asked cautiously.
“So, Ernas-sama, what are you going to do?”
“I’ll tell you my goals clearly.”
I looked around.
And I put into my mouth what I had been thinking about since I heard Lester’s last words.
“To dismantle the six major swordsmanship masters, that is my goal.”
Hearing my words, everyone held their breath.
It was the same with Serine and Chloe.
“We will build a new system by breaking the structure in which some prestigious families dominate imperial society.”
“Hey, Ernas-sama!”
Belid exclaimed urgently.
“The 6th greatest swordsman… It is a tradition of this country that has been passed down since the days of the iron blood sword system. Are you talking about changing the structure?
“Yeah, that’s right.”
“Hey, this is absurd.”
He looked at the students around him and said.
“If Ernas-sama rises to the top of the academy, the status of the Landsstein family will be very high. That doesn’t mean you’re going to have that much power.”
“Yeah, yes. You are dreaming too big.”
“Will the other swordsmiths stand still?”
Other students also helped.
“Everyone seems to think it’s nonsense.”
“Yeah… Yes.”
Belid said cautiously.
“I am looking forward to Ernas-sama’s rise to the top of the academy. But if you say such nonsense… … .”
“You look unreliable.”
“Yes, there is no way to be given that kind of power just because you reach the top of the academy. You seem to have no sense of reality.”
He sighed.
“If you have such thoughts, honestly, I don’t think I can follow Ernas-sama.”
“I respect your judgment, Belid.”
I answered briefly and walked towards the dormitory.
Serine, Chloe, Schmidt and Viola followed me, but the rest of them just stood there.
Everyone has given up on following me.
“Ernas, just talking about that… … .”
Serine was talking to me next to me.
“Are you serious about disbanding the 6th Great Swordsmanship?”
“The Lancaster family has already been destroyed. One-sixth is done.”
“… … !”
Not only Serine, but the other guys also swallowed their breath.
“It’s something I’ve never heard before… Since when have you been thinking like that?”
“Before entering the academy.”
To be precise, before entering this world.
Akandel, the protagonist of the novel, realizes the contradiction of this empire as he gets involved in the political battle of the six great swordsmiths.
and… The goal is to dismantle the six great swordsmanship masters.
‘This is the final conclusion drawn only at the end of the novel.’
I revealed the final conclusion reached by the protagonist at a fairly early point.
As long as I’m Ernas, not Arcandel, I had to make sure my stance is clear.
‘This is the best way for me to survive to the end of this world.’
For Ernas Landsstein to survive, it is not enough to simply become stronger.
This is because the fight against the 6th great swordsmanship does not end simply by defeating the chiefs.
If you can’t provide a clear vision of how to change the imperial society as Grand Duke of Lichtenauer… I will fall in the middle stage.
“Serine, if all goes according to my plan, the Bastian family will not be able to maintain the same status as before.”
“Yeah… It would be.”
The Bastian family is a prestigious marquise just below the 6th master swordsman.
Destroying the system centered on the prestigious family will inevitably lower the status of the Bastian family.
“If you can’t accept that, you can leave my side.”
“… … .”
Serene was silent for a moment.
However, he immediately spoke in a calm voice.
“no. I will always be by your side.”
“Why?”
“Because I agree with Ernas’ argument.”
“… Thank you.”
Actually I was expecting this answer.
In the novel, Akandel came to such a conclusion after a long discussion with Serine.
“How are you?”
“I… I honestly don’t know yet. Because it was so sudden.”
Schmitz scratched his head and said.
“But, let me clarify one thing.”
“what?”
“I will continue to follow Ernas-sama no matter what.”
There was not even the slightest tremor in Schmidt’s voice.
“Ah, I… In fact, all you need to do is successfully graduate from the academy. Our family is a family that lives only on hunting monsters in the northern periphery, and there is no such thing as power… … .”
Next to Schmidt, Viola scratched her head and said.
“I simply said, ‘If you just follow Ernas-sama, graduation will not be a problem.’ It’s just a bit of a thought. To be honest, I have no idea.”
“Yeah, that’s it for you.”
As I was smiling at Viola’s usual carefree remarks, I heard Chloe’s cold voice.
“If you had that thought, I wish you had told me sooner.”
“Chloe… … .”
In fact, Chloe is in a similar position to those guys earlier.
Because I expected that I would win and win, and you stayed by my side.
“Still, not bad.”
“What?”
“According to Ernas-sama’s words, instead of dismantling the 6th Great Sword Mastery, you are saying that you will take over all power, right?”
“… … .”
Hearing Chloe’s words, Serine was startled.
“Ke, Chloe, Ernas didn’t really mean anything like that… … .”
“To reform a society centered on the elite and create a truly meritocratic society, we need a strong central power to control everything. Of course, Ernas-sama, who dismantled the 6th Master of Swordsmanship, should take that power.”
“Is that so?”
surprisingly… Chloe pointed out exactly what I purposely omitted.
In order to realize this ideal, it is necessary to have the mighty power of one person or one person.
“If Ernas-sama is to wield power smoothly, he will need an assistant. I should aim for that position.”
“Chloe… … .”
“If you have time later, please tell me what Ernas-sama is thinking in detail. I can come up with a lot of ideas.”
Chloe was ambitious.
Read at noblemtl.com
Maybe Chloe expects me to become a dictator wielding great power.‘However… To be honest, I don’t even know what the future holds.’
Why?
I couldn’t write the novel until the end and I was brought to this world, so I couldn’t write what the empire would be like after all the battles were over… … .
So, eventually, you’ll know when you go.
I may or may not be the dictator of the empire.
‘The specific part should be made slowly while discussing it with people like Chloe and Serine.’
You don’t have to worry about what will happen after all the fights are over.
The important thing now is to survive the fight that will happen in the future.
“By the way, Ernas-sama, I want you to tell me about this as soon as possible.”
“what?”
“Have you thought about how you would get that power?”
Chloe’s words were still sharp.
“Like those people said before, it won’t be easy for Ernas-sama to gain that kind of power.”
“It is. Even if it makes it to the top of the academy.”
Serine also nodded next to her.
“Ernas, do you really think this is feasible? To be honest, I don’t think it’s easy.”
“No, it is not.”
I shook my head.
“You will soon find out about that.”
“yes?”
“Ernas-sama, what do you mean by that?”
Everyone was bewildered.
But now you don’t have to say it out loud.
“Wait, the information will be released soon.”
“… … ?”
As I expected… It won’t take a few days.
* * *
‘Damn, since this is the case, I have no choice but to stick with Heinrich Agrippa.’
Belid Andrews thought as he headed to the Valentiano class.
After being disappointed by Ernas’s false perception of reality, Veled was contemplating who to stick with.
‘I didn’t know that Ernas would be obsessed with such vain ambitions.’
There is no doubt about Ernas’s ability.
He deserved to be at the top of the academy.
But, if you’re caught up in such absurd ambitions… It will inevitably collapse in the future.
If that happens, the families that lined up for Ernas will inevitably suffer damage as well.
‘Dismantle the 6th Great Swordsmanship? That’s really nonsense. Who the hell would give Ernas such power?’
You can’t serve a person without a sense of reality as a master.
With that in mind, Belid entered the Valentiano class to take regular classes.
However, I stopped when I saw the assistant professor and assistant professors gathering and shouting.
“How could that… … .”
“The unexpected happened… … .”
“Professor Calleon seemed to know… … .”
Unlike the Valentiano class, where the strict atmosphere was always maintained, it was too cluttered.
What happened?
“Teacher, what the hell is going on?”
I approached an acquaintance of the teaching assistant and asked a question.
“You know Henry Lancaster is being investigated at the Academy right now, right?”
“Yeah, I know.”
“There’s one piece of information leaking from there, and that’s what turned everyone upside down.”
“What kind of information are you looking for? … .”
“Have you heard of Archduke Lichtenauer?”
“Are you Grand Duke of Lichtenauer?”
grandee?
Wasn’t the highest title right now the ‘duke’ of the 6th master swordsman?
“This time, the best student at the Academy will be awarded the title of Archduke Lichtenauer.”
“yes… … ?”
Give the title of Archduke Lichtenauer to the student with the best grades?
What does that mean?
“It is said that the imperial family decided to entrust the role of taking care of the princess, who was still young.”
“… … .”
“Because he’s the ‘Grand Duke of Lichtenauer’, he has a higher status than the Dukes of the 6th Masters of Swordsmanship. Besides, if I do well, I can become the husband of the next emperor… As a partner in running the state, you will have tremendous power in your hands.”
As he listened to the teaching assistant’s words, Belid felt his mind wander.