I, Asuna, don't want to travel around the world

The little emperor nodded, then touched the golden scepter in his hand, as if he felt that this was not enough, so he continued:

"As a reward for your defense of the empire for so many years, I will give you another 100,000 taels of gold as a reward, and... well, as a general, the mansion you live in now seems a little unsuitable for your status. How about this, I will give you a bigger mansion as a reward?

As for the gold, someone will deliver it to you in a little while."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

For Asuna, as for the reward, as long as the money was in place, it would be fine. As for the mansion? If it could be sold for money, she might be happier.

Seeing this, the minister smiled and looked at the little emperor, stretched out his hand and said, "It's time for dinner, Your Majesty, let's go have dinner."

"Hmm? Is that so? Then let General Bud and General Mask have a good chat. I will be leaving first."

Bud: “…Yes.”

Asuna: “…”

Could it be that the fat guy wanted to train this little emperor to be a fat guy like him?

Seeing that the little emperor listened to the ministers in everything and relied on them so openly, Asuna didn't know what to say.

This child has completely become a puppet in the hands of the ministers, right?

No matter what he does, he is always under the guidance of the minister and has no opinions of his own. Such a child, in the hands of a man like the minister, is just a complete tool.

Asuna looked at Bud who was nodding beside the little emperor and couldn't quite understand his loyalty.

28【Night Raid】

Given his old-fashioned and stubborn personality, it doesn't seem strange that he doesn't get involved in politics.

However, while interfering is one thing, the most basic persuasion should be acceptable, right?

Even if your status in the little emperor's heart is not as high as that fat man, you are still a general in the little emperor's heart, enjoying the "equal trust" as Minister Ernest!

If you had advised and guided the little emperor a little, he might not have been as obedient to Minister Ernest as he is now.

However, looking at his current attitude, it seems that he is just completely indifferent?

No intention of intervening at all?

How is this going?

Was he too rigid? Or was it because his previous admonitions had been ineffective, so he gave up on admonition and allowed his ministers to instill wrong ideas into the young emperor?

Or does this conservative old guy have other plans?

"Bud, is this your loyalty?"

After the little emperor and the ministers left, Asuna asked bluntly to Bud who was walking down the stairs.

Bud's rock-like face remained calm as he said, "Protecting this country has been the mission of my clan for thousands of years, and military commanders cannot interfere in politics. This is our ancestral precept."

Asuna raised her head slightly, and the mask on her face reflected a faint light under the light.

Looking at the man who was much taller than her, Asuna continued, "Although it is the ancestral teaching, the current situation is no longer a matter of interfering in politics, right?"

General Bud lowered his head, looked at the girl in front of him who looked very petite compared to himself, and said: "Perhaps you also think that I am an old stubborn person, but if I interfere with your Majesty's life and your Majesty's choice now, then my descendants are likely to follow the minister's example.

Moreover, the safety of the imperial capital has always been controlled by my clan, which means that the loyalty of our clan is of vital importance to Your Majesty!

If someone like the minister appears among my descendants, then no one will be able to stop him!"

However, if you do not interfere with the little emperor now, it is still a question whether this empire can survive until your descendants appear.

Asuna looked at Bud helplessly and continued, "Although you are indeed thinking long-term, given the current state of the empire, we don't know how many years it can last. Do you still have time to think about the future?"

After hearing Asuna's words, Bud closed his eyes and finally said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty is still young. When he grows up, he will be able to distinguish right from wrong."

Until the end, this old-fashioned old man still chose to believe the little emperor.

I believe that when he grows up, he will be able to break away from the control of the ministers and bring the empire back on track.

"Yeah...."

Asuna nodded. She knew that she really couldn't get Bud's support.

"In that case, just wait patiently... I hope you can wait until that day comes."

She waved her hand casually and turned to leave.

In this magnificent imperial city, there was no one or anything worth Asuna's nostalgia.

The young emperor might still be saved, but as long as the ministers were still alive, he would subconsciously obey them and would not have any opinions of his own, let alone rectify politics and govern the empire.

Although he could kill Minister Ernest now, that would violate the ancestral precept that "military generals cannot interfere in politics."

By then, given Bud's old-fashioned personality, he would definitely lead the imperial capital's guards to attack me.

Although he was not afraid of their siege, Bud would definitely not give in, and the final result would be a fight to the death.

By then, both the civil and military sides of the empire would have collapsed, and the impact on the empire would be absolutely catastrophic.

Apart from anything else, the rebels within the empire alone are enough to be the last straw that breaks the camel's back.

By then, even if Asuna transferred troops from the north and west, the entire empire would have been ravaged by the rebels.

It was precisely to maintain this fragile balance, to prevent the people of the empire from continuing to suffer the hardships of war after experiencing the darkness of the empire, that Asuna had always tolerated Minister Ernest.

However, although he could not do it himself, General Bud did not say that he could not let others do it.

For example, the assassination organization that has been circulating in the imperial capital recently and has frightened most of the dignitaries is Night Raid.

By then, even if General Bud wanted to cause trouble for me, there would be nothing he could do, right?

After all, by then, who could produce evidence to prove that it was Asuna who paid and hired Night Raiders to assassinate the minister?

Although the group of assassins was formed by the rebels, both sides had the same goal in dealing with Minister Ernest.

At worst, after those who raided at night have dealt with the minister, Asuna will go and personally attack those who raided at night in front of General Bud to prove her "innocence".

Then, send troops from the north and west to encircle and suppress the rebels within the empire and get rid of them in one fell swoop. By then, the empire should be a little "cleaner", right?

However, although Asuna's idea is good, there is still an unknown factor.

That is the empire’s new general——Esdeath!

With her special personality and fetish, she will definitely not sit idly by and watch the empire become peaceful. By then, there is a chance that another war will break out.

"It seems that I have to find an opportunity to meet Esdeath."

"---etc!"

Asuna whispered, and just as she reached the door of the meeting room, Bud suddenly called her from behind.

Asuna stopped and asked without turning back, "What's the matter?"

"Military attachés should not meddle in politics."

“Yes, I know, but in such an extraordinary period, even military commanders should not forcibly intervene in politics, right?

After all, if you don't intervene at this time, what serious consequences will result, you should know this, right? "

"I know, but I hope you can remember this.

Defending this country is the mission that my clan has inherited for thousands of years!

Any traitor who dares to disrupt the stability of the country will be eradicated by me personally—no matter who they are!"

Asuna knew that Bud was not just talking about the minister, and that he was naturally warning her by saying this to her.

However, she wanted to interfere in the politics of this empire from the beginning to the end.

Therefore, Asuna did not take Bud's words to heart.

"Is that so? I see. Then I'll wait and see how you eradicate the culprit that is causing this country to rot."

"..."

29 Newly arrived boys and girls

The empire that had lasted for thousands of years had basically rotted away in just five years because of Minister Ernest.

During these five years, a large number of citizens became impoverished due to the ministers' ever-increasing taxes. Some people even sold their children because of this. For them, life became just about staying alive.

Under such circumstances, people continued to flee to the north and west, areas outside the ministers' sphere of influence.

At the same time, there were also people who held out hope or were unaware of the truth of the incident and flocked to the imperial capital, attempting to save their village through their own efforts.

However, in this imperial capital that was completely unfamiliar to them, the fate of these people who came from the countryside or remote towns was extremely miserable.

And today, this imperial capital filled with evil spirits and monsters has once again welcomed two hopeful newcomers.

"Ha! How magnificent! Is this the imperial capital?!"

The one who made such a remarkable exclamation was a young man with a white headscarf on his head.

Judging from his carefree tone and astonished expression, those who have lived in the imperial capital for a long time know that if this kid has no acquaintances in the imperial capital, he will definitely not live long!

"Ugh."

Next to the boy, a girl with long black hair covered her face helplessly, as if she felt helpless and ashamed of her friend's behavior.

"Hahahaha, if we succeed here, maybe we can just buy our village! Shayou!"

boom!

"Keep your voice down! Iyeas!!!"

Looking at Iyeas who was still carefree even after coming to the imperial capital, a number sign suddenly appeared on Shayou's forehead.

This is not our countryside, how can anyone feel at ease with you like this!!!

Shayou thought helplessly in her heart.

We all agreed to come to the capital to make a name for ourselves and save the village.

The results of it?

The original team of three got separated not long after they set out because they were attacked by bandits on the road.

His other good friend, Tatsumi, is also a little unreliable like Iyeas, but at least that guy is strong enough. Even if he encounters other dangers on the road, he should be able to deal with them easily.

Moreover, even if he really cannot defeat him, with Tatsumi's strength, he can still escape.

And, more importantly, Tatsumi is not a person with a poor sense of direction!

That's right!

It is because Iyeas is a person with poor sense of direction that Shayu followed Iyeas and brought him to the imperial capital with great effort!

However, even with me leading the way, that guy Iyeas often took the wrong path and almost led me astray, causing them to take many wrong paths along the way and wasting a lot of time.

Now, Sau only hopes that Tatsumi has arrived in the imperial capital and is waiting for them here to sign up for the army together.

However, what she had to do now was naturally to teach Iyeas a good lesson!

She clenched her fist and hit Iyeas on the head without mercy.

"Ah! It hurts! Why did you hit me, Sau? I'm the future celebrity...ah, I know, I know, please stop hitting me!"

Suddenly being hit, Iyeas immediately covered his head, then boasted to his friends in dissatisfaction.

However, before he could finish boasting, Shayu's fist once again enlarged in front of him and hit his head with unstoppable force.

After Shayu vented his anger, Iyeas was no longer the passionate young man he was just now.

He followed behind Shayou timidly, with several big bumps on his head, looking very scary.

"Excuse me, uncle, where is the recruitment office here?"

On the way, Shayou and Iyeas stopped a middle-aged man who looked rather amiable and asked softly.

"Hmm? Are you guys going to join the army?"

The old man looked at Sayu and Iyeas and shook his head.

"The imperial capital is not as good as you think."

"It's okay! We can endure any hardship to save the village!"

Iyeas waved his fist fiercely and said with high morale.

"Save... the village..." The uncle looked at him with a complicated expression, and finally told them the address of the imperial capital's recruitment office.