“I wish we could stay here for a few more days, but we both have a lot of things to do, so it’s a pity that we don’t have time to relax.”

The joy of the festival after catching the beast was short-lived, and Eurius couldn’t afford to rest even if he wanted to.

He was saying goodbye to Nuada at the entrance of the mountain range with his knights.

“We had such an easy time thanks to you, but you must have a lot of work to do, so I feel sorry for you.”

“Not at all! Fighting Gundar and slaying the snake were things that I had to do sooner or later. As I said before, I owe you more as a friend.”

A few days had passed since they hunted the beast, and Nuada had come to trust him completely. It seemed that deciphering the White Tiger’s Protection had a big impact.

‘Friend…’

It was actually a strange word for Eurius.

‘But it doesn’t feel bad.’

Maybe it was a term that only Nuada, an ally of the immigrants, could use.

In his previous life, he was an emperor, and now he is a prince.

His criteria for classifying humans were very simple.

‘If they are mine, I take care of them. If they show hostility, they are enemies.’

It might be a twisted way of thinking, but his status was different from others, so he couldn’t help it.

Eurius smiled as he felt an unfamiliar sensation.

“Then I’ll look forward to seeing you again, friend!”

Perhaps by then they would both be in higher positions, as they were in their previous lives. He could see the knights and the warriors of the Thunder Rock tribe exchanging farewells with each other.

And Nuada grinned and said his last words.

“And when I see you next time, I’ll have to prepare a gift for you.”

‘No, that’s not what I meant…’

Eurius grimaced as he bumped fists with him for the last time. The gift he was talking about was something that they brought when they celebrated marriage according to their customs.

Of course, the target was Beatrix, who was saying goodbye to the warriors with the knights.

She was always by his side, so Nuada started to make jokes like this at some point.

‘How am I supposed to send her back?’

Eurius really wanted to sigh deeply inside.

She didn’t say much in the mountains either, so she seemed determined to stay in the empire even after returning to the capital.

‘And if there are rumors that she’s my confidant, it might be good for me, but she’ll be threatened by the great nobles…’

But he didn’t even have time to worry about that. He quickly entered Valdes Fortress again after sending off Nuada.

“His Highness Eurius has returned!”

“You’ve worked hard, Your Highness!”

“The officers who handled the aftermath worked harder.”

After a brief greeting, Eurius took out a map from his pocket and spread it on the table.

“This is the map of the distribution of the Dite mines that I told you about.”

“Huh… There really were mines in such a remote area.”

He didn’t just play around with festivals while he stayed there for a few days after catching the beast. He mobilized the knights and some of the tribesmen who were familiar with the surrounding geography and marked the locations of the mines and their distribution.

“But it’s too far and difficult for us to send our own miners there.”

“That’s why I made an alliance with Nuada, isn’t it?”

As he said, it was too hard for the empire to open up a mining route in such a rugged mountainous area, and they also had to consider the territory issues of the immigrants.

“Are you sure food is enough for trade?”

“Well, if we get some benefit from it, maybe we can also offer them some goods that are hard to get in the mountains?”

The count and his staff were cautious. They were military experts, not administrators.

“Hmm… We’ll have to consult with someone in the capital about trade.”“As I said before, I sent a message to Marius before leaving the mountain range.”

The mining issue needed more detailed discussion, but he didn’t have to worry about it. He had many competent vassals and Nuada was a wise ruler who was flexible.

They would probably find a common ground easily without him having to intervene.

“What about your preparations for departure?”

When he asked that question, the count and his staff smiled slightly.

“You can leave with the reinforcements from the capital. Or rather, you can call it an upgrade.”

The count recalled what happened a few days ago.

“What? You said the war was over?”

The head of the reinforcements from the capital, Count Perez of the Third Legion of the Imperial Army, looked at Count Anderson with a dumbfounded expression.

‘It’s understandable. We were exchanging urgent messages until a few days ago.’

The count held back his laughter and continued.

“You can go back with His Highness when he returns. He did such a great job that the situation was resolved easily.”

Count Perez had nothing to say. He had prepared himself for a fierce battle with the barbarians, but the air was gone.

More than anything, he lost the opportunity to earn military merit.

‘Instead of earning merit, I wasted my time. Now that it’s come to this, I have to impress the prince.’

He had nothing to do on the way except for a few minor battles with monsters or immigrants. Therefore, even if he claimed victory, the reward he would receive as the commander would be minimal.

He thought that he had to make a good impression on the prince, since he had come this far.

“I apologize for being too late and causing you trouble. I congratulate you on your achievement.”

“How can it be your fault? Rather, it was a great help to me that you sent the knights first.”

Eurius smiled and greeted Count Perez. And behind him, wasn’t there a familiar face?

“Devan! It’s been a long time.”

“It’s an honor that you remember me.”

Devan bowed his head deeply to Eurius with a happy face. Count Perez tilted his head.

“You know Devan, the staff officer?”

“We met at the academy.”

“Oh!”

He looked at Devan with new eyes. And he felt a little relieved inside.

‘I’m glad I accepted his opinion. Who would have thought that he was acquainted with the prince?’

In fact, it was a risky measure to send only the knights separately from the reinforcements. He hesitated when Beatrix first suggested it.

…

“I think we should send the knights to support the front line.”

“Hmm, I see your point, but…”

He was a capable military man, but he was too cautious for his own good. He wanted to avoid such bold tactics if possible, but Beatrix’s strong background was a factor.

‘What should I do?’

As he was wavering, one of the people sitting in the staff seat raised his hand.

“I agree with the knight commander.”

The one who strongly supported her opinion was Devan.

“Huh?”

‘Devan, was it? He’s young and a low-ranking staff officer, but he graduated from Savior Academy and he’s been doing well so far?’

Devan applied as a military expert for the military recruitment for the northern development of the empire right after graduating from the academy.

His status was a commoner, so he couldn’t get a decent position from the start, but he showed his worth by being included in this northern reinforcement.

During the march of the reinforcements, Devan’s situational judgment and leadership skills in battles with monsters or barbarians were not bad in his eyes.

“There’s less than a week left until we reach the fortress anyway. It’s a regularly maintained area, so there are few monsters and the barbarians from the mountains are gathered at the foot of the mountain, so we don’t have to worry about raids.”

‘That’s a reasonable opinion.’In the end, Count Perez agreed to send some of the knights first. As a result, he earned some merit that the prince praised him for, so his evaluation of Devan also increased.

‘He’s quite useful for a commoner. I should listen to his opinions more often.’

Eurius smiled and checked his stats.

‘I can see how it happened.’

Perez was a cautious type of commander who could be considered timid. He wondered why he didn’t advance carefully and sent only the knights, but it seemed that Devan had influenced him.

[Devan]

Job: Low-ranking staff officer

Strength: C+ Agility: C Intelligence: A+ Mental Power: B+ Force Aptitude: (None)

Disposition: Upright, Humble

[Traits]

Military Science (A+), Command (A)

‘He’s grown a lot.’

He showed a lot of growth in both personality and ability. But he was still far from the fame of Devan that he knew in his previous life.

‘I’ll have to make a stepping stone for him to grow further.’

Fortunately, Eurius’s position as a prince was much more solid than before he came to the north, and in this case, a simple word would suffice.

“Well, I’m sure you know better than me as his superior, but he was quite an outstanding talent since his academy days. I’m glad he met a good boss.”

“Ha ha, I was actually thinking of using him more.”

‘Did he have such a close relationship with His Highness? Do I have to line up well from now on?’

Count Perez sweated inwardly. From now on, he couldn’t ignore Devan’s opinions or steal his credit.

***

A few days passed and finally Eurius left the north.

When he first arrived at Valdes Fortress, there were only a few hundred people with him, but now there were almost ten thousand people following him, including the reinforcements from the capital.

His dignified appearance was no different from that of an expeditionary general who won a victory.

Count Anderson and his knights saw him off with a bitter expression.

“It wasn’t a long time, but the count and the knights of the north are honored to have served you.”

“I will never forget you and your officers.”

The eyes of the count and his staff who looked at him were warm and a little awe-struck.

‘He achieved so much in just over a year.’

‘His contribution to the end of the northern war is huge. He might even become the youngest crown prince in the history of the empire.’

Usually, the emperors’ external activities lasted for at least five years. But his achievement was so great that it could break that common sense.

There must be opinions about him in the capital as well.

“Linfield, you’ve worked hard too.”

Linfield looked at the Count with an indescribable expression. He was originally exiled to the north, but he had earned merit and returned to the capital with pride.

“I’m grateful for your kindness, count.”

The knight squad that Eurius had led was going to follow him to the capital. They would probably receive rewards and promotions for their outstanding performance.

But Linfield and his knights didn’t care much about that.

‘I’d rather stay by His Highness’s side if possible.’

That was their unanimous opinion. It wasn’t impossible. If Eurius was appointed as the crown prince, he would be allowed to form his own independent guard knight squad.

Unless they were designated as the next emperor or a great noble with an independent territory, it was forbidden for individuals to have a military group like a knight squad.

Even if Eurius was the favored first prince, he couldn’t make his own knight squad right now.

But Eurius had his own plan. He couldn’t let them go to waste after sharing a meal with them in the north.

‘I don’t know what the outcome will be, but I won’t abandon you.’

He glanced at Linfield and his knights with a warm look and gave the order to depart.

“Let’s go!”

Their destination was Stefan, the city at the entrance of the north. And there, the final piece of his plan that he had set up since a year ago was waiting for him.

‘I wonder what answer the Azure Dragon Guild’s higher ups will give me?’