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The Crown Prince Wants to Retire

38. The Gradually Starting Revolution! (2)

Kariel’s face brightened at the Attendant Hall’s words. The attendant then handed him a letter with a smile.

“This is a letter sent from Salem.”

Kariel quickly read the letter written directly by Markus.

“Your Majesty, I am sending my disciple.

He may have many shortcomings, but I hope he will help a little with our manpower shortage.

His name is Luther W Bismarck.”

As he looked at the short letter, Kariel’s eyes widened in surprise.

“This guy…”

Kariel was unknowingly astonished because this was the same person who had been an immense help to him in governing the Empire in his previous life, and he was now coming to the capital.

“He must still be young…”

If it’s the person he knows, then indeed he is still young. Knowing this, Kariel had initially planned to take his time finding talented individuals, despite the urgency.

But he had not expected him to arrive like this.

“Your Majesty, someone sent by the Mayor of Salem has arrived.”

“Let him in.”

Following Kariel’s command, the office door opened, and a young boy appeared, looking quite nervous.

“Y-your Majesty, I greet Your Majesty!”

Seeing the visibly anxious young man, Kariel couldn’t help but chuckle.

‘How cute.’

In his previous life, that guy had always worn a sulky expression, but now he was sweating bullets out of fear, looking adorably bashful.

“Are you Markus’s disciple?”

“I… I am honored to be so.”

“Hmm… While I appreciate your intention to help, you’re still too young.”

At Kariel’s words, Luther’s expression drooped.

Seeing this, Kariel chuckled and continued, “If Markus sent you here, it means he believes you’re worth considering, despite your youth.”

At this, Luther’s expression brightened again.

“Are there others among you who are as young as you?”

“I… I am the youngest, but there are others with a difference of no more than five years.”

Upon hearing Luther’s words, Kariel had an amusing thought.

‘It’s time to reform the Academy as well.’

Thinking this, Kariel addressed Luther.

“Even though Markus recommended you, it’s not easy to appoint you right away. You’re just too young.”

Kariel gave a warm smile to the now glum Luther and said, “Prove it.”

“P-prove it?”

“Yes. Show that you are capable, even at a young age.”

Having said this, Kariel called for the attendant.

“Gather everyone who came with this guy and send them to the Academy.”

“Yes.”

With Kariel’s orders, the attendant responded and hurriedly left.

“You know the Academy is in disarray, right?”

“…Yes.”

“Reform that Academy for me. Create an institution where only abilities are recognized.”

As Kariel gave a clear objective, Luther’s eyes started to shine.

Just like in his previous life, clear goals changed Luther’s expression. The nervousness vanished, replaced by a determination to achieve his aim.

“Even if you have talent, it won’t be easy without support. I will cover all your tuition fees. Additionally, I will send someone to assist you in reforming the Academy.”

“S-someone to assist?”

“Yes. Those who will join you in the Academy and lead the reforms are my younger brothers.”

Luther’s eyes widened in shock.

“The two Crown Princes…?”

“So do well. If the Academy reforms successfully, I will value you highly.”

“…I will surely meet Your Majesty’s expectations.”

Seeing Luther grit his teeth and respond earnestly, Kariel nodded slightly and sent him on his way.

He then immediately summoned his two brothers.

Even now, they were working hard in their respective departments, but their positions were still ambiguous. While they were princes, they still lacked experience.

They might think they were doing just fine, but there were still many areas where they fell short and needed to learn.

In the past, they had been forced to work to determine who would ascend the throne, but now it was different.

Since Kariel planned to cast aside thoughts of retirement for a while, he needed to give his younger brothers time to truly ‘grow.’

“Did you call for us?”

“Your Majesty?”

As Kariel smiled just by calling them, Rufiel and Seriel tilted their heads in confusion.

“You want to escape from the hell of paperwork, right?”

At Kariel’s question, his younger brothers flinched.

Knowing their feelings well, Kariel stood up and patted their shoulders.

“Shall I help you escape this hell, even if just for a moment?”

Seeing Kariel suggesting this in a subtle tone, his younger brothers nodded vigorously.

“Go to the Academy.”

“W-what?”

“Suddenly the Academy?”

Rufiel and Seriel tilted their heads at Kariel’s statement.

Now, the Academy?

In fact, their skills had already surpassed the Academy level. Holding the title of genius princes, they had both built considerable abilities.

Having experienced war, both had reached levels comparable to knights or formal mages, and they had also become far more skilled at administrative tasks than novice bureaucrats.

However, they only seemed less capable compared to the highly competent officials working in central departments that Kariel managed.

“I’m not saying you can just go. I have a mission for you.”

“A mission?”

Seriel looked puzzled as Kariel nodded.

“Seriel, you need to reform the Imperial Academy. Assume the role of student council president and expel all the rotten teachers and students.”

Upon receiving Kariel’s command, Seriel swallowed nervously as it was a much larger task than he expected.

“You understand the seriousness of this mission, right?”

“…Yes.”

“You must succeed.”

“Yes, I will absolutely succeed.”

Seeing Seriel nod firmly, Kariel shifted his gaze to Rufiel.

“Your mission is even more important than Seriel’s.”

“More important than the Academy reform?”

Rufiel tilted his head as if disbelieving. Was there anything more critical than that within the Academy?

“Go and take control of the Department of Magic Studies.”

“That should be doable…”

“You must control it perfectly, to the point that even the teachers can’t intervene.”

Kariel’s words made Rufiel realize the weight of this task.

“Are you saying to overcome the restraints of the Magic Tower?”

“Yes.”

Since many teachers in the Department of Magic Studies were from the Magic Tower, they would likely obstruct Rufiel every time he tried to do something.

Rufiel needed to completely dominate the department amidst all that.

“Controlling it is just the beginning. Come up with ways to advance magical engineering and technology. I will send you capable individuals from the Academy you can use.”

“Are you suggesting… that you’re planning to strike at the Magic Tower?”

At Rufiel’s question, Kariel subtly nodded.

The Magic Tower had a profound influence on the Empire’s industries due to magical engineering.

Having maintained a thorough neutrality, it had been able to profit from any faction struggle without sustaining any damage. Its influence grew so large that it had become a malignant presence in the Empire.

“You can involve your maternal family, ask me for help, do whatever it takes.”

“…The easiest way would be to bring the professors onboard.”

“If you can do it.”

“Huff… I will give it a try.”

Rufiel, who looked uncertain at first, soon clenched his fist and nodded.

“Your missions are important. In the future, the talented individuals graduating from the Academy will take control of this country.”

“Are you really planning a revolution?”

“If necessary.”

Kariel replied with a serious expression to Seriel’s remark.

“A far greater crisis is approaching. At our current state, it will be difficult to overcome that crisis.”

“…A greater crisis…”

“Huff…”

The thought of an even larger crisis weighed heavily in their minds, prompting Seriel and Rufiel to sigh in disbelief.

“What that crisis is, I’ll tell you later. So for now, focus solely on the Academy.”

“Yes.”

“Understood.”

Seeing his younger brothers respond with serious expressions, Kariel nodded slightly while patting their shoulders.

“I trust you both.”

The two took a slightly droopy stance, bowed, and left the room.

However, Kariel had intentionally piled on the pressure, and he let out a sigh while looking up at the sky.

At that moment, a small fireball appeared in the air.

“Are you almost done?”

“Not quite yet.”

Seeing Surth, who had appeared after a long time, Kariel sighed.

“Tsk! You should have started already, stop dragging your feet…”

“I can’t help it.”

As the Emperor, he could not afford to pull his hands away just yet. At least until the system stabilized to some extent, he had to continue issuing orders to his subordinates while managing everything personally.

“After all, I can’t handle it all by myself. The Empire needs development to have at least a glimmer of hope.”

“Sigh… Don’t think about it as easily as Skoll or me. Garum is just sleeping right now.”

“I know.”

“Even if you try to forge a pact with him in your current state, it won’t hold. You need to meet at least the minimum criteria first.”

At Surth’s advice, Kariel nodded slightly.

The minimum conditions to gain Garum’s recognition required immediate training.

He needed to ignite the primordial fire and perfectly stabilize that power within his body.

“Just give me a little more time.”

“Sigh… Fine.”

With that, Surth vanished from the air again.

Kariel gazed at the spot where he had been, smiling wryly while looking up at the sky.

Is this what it feels like to be approaching destruction?

Walking slowly along a path illuminated only by a dim light, completely blinded by uncertainty.

“Still, I have to do it.”

Muttering this, Kariel gritted his teeth.

He couldn’t help but recall Miriel from his previous life.

Miriel, who fought till the end to protect humanity.

Glen, who had protected her, had fallen, and Miriel had crumbled as well, bringing the Empire down with it.

He needed to prepare more firmly to prevent such a catastrophe from happening again.

“…Should I pay Miriel a visit after such a long time?”

Just then, he heard the attendant’s voice from outside the office.

“Your Majesty, the Chancellor wishes to see you.”

‘So today too, I can’t see Miriel.’

Knowing he would probably be buried in a mountain of reports, Kariel sighed softly, realizing another night of overtime awaited him.

Returning to the seemingly endless paperwork hell, Kariel found Winston following him with his old, weary body.

In the midst of their sacrifices, the Empire continued to function somehow today.

*

While Kariel, his ministers, and bureaucrats worked tirelessly day and night, those who passed their examinations began to be assigned to various departments one by one.

Simultaneously, talents from the East who also passed their own exams began to emerge.

It was so urgent that bureaucrats hired them on the spot, dissuading even the nobles who had attempted to raise objections, making them cough awkwardly.

“Your Majesty, we are short on people.”

“Still?”

“Yes.”

Kariel frowned as he glanced at the Chancellor, who had come to report the personnel shortage yet again.

“What tasks can we transfer to the Noble Assembly?”

“Um… let me see.”

With commoners and revolutionary forces now appointed, there was no longer a need to exclude the Noble Assembly as before.

Even after appointing everyone that could be hired, there was still a shortage of personnel?

Then they would have to utilize those who were slacking around.

The Chancellor seemed to agree, ready to transfer as many tasks to the Noble Assembly as possible from the various departments.

What confused the nobles was that they had never anticipated Kariel would reduce their workload.

They rushed to find Kariel, only to discover that their tasks had increased instead.

“You want to keep the Revolutionary Forces in check, right? Well, if you want to maintain the nobles’ authority, you’ll have to put in the effort. Wouldn’t you agree?”

At Kariel’s words, the nobles fell silent in shock.

“Then how about you take this as well?”

Smiling, Kariel extended his hand, offering them more work.

Despite being a magnificent Emperor, there was something wicked about the smile on his face that intrigued them.

 

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