I Didn't Want to Become the Emperor of This World

Chapter 154 : Chapter 154

At Chomsky's excited emergence before the King, his fellow elders smiled awkwardly and let out a sigh.‘He’s incredibly excited.’

‘He’s a guy who researches attack magic, especially things that explode.’

‘But is it really okay for Chomsky to research it?’

‘I acknowledge his skills, but he’s just… not a normal person.’

‘He’s a guy who doesn’t care much about the stability and accuracy of his magic.’

It was just as the elders thought.

Chomsky, he was an elder who had researched only ‘explosion magic’ from the time he first learned magic until now.

The words he always had on his lips were—

“An explosion is an art! King Leonardo, do you finally understand that?!”

That’s right. 「“An explosion is an art.”」, that was what Chomsky always said.

As such, Chomsky's magic was truly powerful in terms of ‘potency.’ So much so that he had distinguished himself in the war against the demon tribe.

But as one of the elders had assessed Chomsky.

Chomsky's magic had very low ‘stability.’ In the war against the demon tribe, there were many times when his magic fell in the wrong place and caused damage to our allies.

The saying 「“The number of demons and allies Chomsky killed is about the same.”」 was not just a joke.

“…Chomsky, calm down. Nothing good ever came from you getting excited.”

At Benjamin's words, Chomsky's bright expression hardened slightly. He understood the meaning of his words.

His pride was hurt, but Chomsky did acknowledge it. That his magic was not a very complete form of magic.

Keum—.

Chomsky cleared his throat and stepped back. He seemed to have lost his spirit at Benjamin's single remark.

However.

“Chomsky-nim.”

To that very Chomsky, Leonardo handed another piece of paper. It was a simple schematic of the ‘new weapon’ he had given to Benjamin just a moment ago.

“Actually, I was already thinking of entrusting the development of this weapon to you, Chomsky-nim.”

—…?

The elders showed a look of incomprehension. Of course, they acknowledged Chomsky's skills, but he was too dangerous to create a ‘weapon’ for the army to use.

Chomsky's magic was one that had abandoned stability for the sake of power.

Benjamin carefully spoke to Leonardo.

“Um… King Leonardo, you do know what kind of magic Chomsky primarily researches, don't you?”

“Yes, I am aware. I know him as the one who is best at ‘explosion magic’ in our kingdom.”

“Well, that’s true, but…”

Benjamin was troubled. Should he openly state Chomsky's problems or not?

If he did, he would be hurting his colleague's pride, so Benjamin had to be cautious.

“Are you sure? Is it okay to entrust it to Chomsky?”

“Yes. Entrusting any task to an expert, that is the wisdom my late father, the King, left for me.”

“…”

“And the other elders will help as well. With Chomsky-nim's shortcomings.”

“Well, of course, that's what we'll do, but… hmm.”

Benjamin was still worried. Whether it was okay to entrust the responsibility of this ‘weapon’ development to Chomsky.

He was concerned about Chomsky's disposition, but above all, the ‘weapon schematic’ Leonardo had given them was truly complex.

‘From the looks of it, he wants us to design it so that when this ‘safety pin’ is pulled, an explosion is prepared inside, and then the magic shell explodes after 3 to 5 seconds… Can we even make such a complex magitool?’

Making a magitool is different from simply digging a trap with magic or casting spells.

It requires much more complex and advanced research than ordinary magic.

So, making the magitool itself was difficult, but a magitool that explodes through such a complex process?

Benjamin had no choice but to approach it cautiously and carefully.

‘Still… if the King says he trusts Chomsky, there must be a reason. It seems he knows what kind of person Chomsky is, to some extent.’

“I understand. Then we will return immediately and begin our research. Chomsky, do you have nothing to say? The King has placed his trust in you.”

“…”

“Chomsky?”

When there was no response despite being called, Benjamin turned to look at Chomsky.

But there was a reason Chomsky was not responding.

“T-This… this is true art! It doesn't just end with an explosion, but it increases the range with its fragments…! This is a work of art! A cruelly beautiful piece of art!!”

He was completely engrossed in Leonardo's ‘weapon schematic,’ trembling, unable to contain his emotion.

At the muttering Chomsky, Benjamin and the other elders smiled awkwardly and sheepishly.

They knew that for a while, nothing would get through to the deeply engrossed Chomsky.

“It seems Chomsky likes it too. We will take our leave now. We will report on the research progress to Knight Commander Jereuth through Seria from time to time, and we will report to you when the research is nearing completion.”

“I will be waiting.”

“Mm.”

Peolleok—.

Benjamin turned around, his robe swishing loudly. Then, he dragged out Chomsky, who was looking at the ‘weapon schematic’ Leonardo had given him so closely that it was almost touching his face.

The elders closed the door and left.

The once bustling room was now left with only Elly and Leonardo.

Hoo—.

Leonardo let out a sigh and sat back down in his chair, leaning his neck back.

He closed his eyes and thought for a moment, then straightened his posture and spoke to Elly.

“Elly, I need to think alone for a bit, so please leave.”

“Ah… Yes, I understand!”

Elly, who had been watching Leonardo persuade and command the elders in a daze.

She came to her senses and was about to leave the room when she quietly asked Leonardo.

“Your Majesty. You look very tired… are you alright?”

“Tired? Hmm.”

Leonardo thought for a moment.

Then, he immediately smiled confidently and said.

“I'm not tired. Not at all.”

It was a lie. Leonardo hadn't slept a wink since seeing the new entry in the yesterday.

It was because he had been constantly thinking about what to say to the elders.

Thanks to the ‘Health Necklace,’ he wasn't physically exhausted, but mentally, he was quite tired.

The reason he said he wasn't tired despite that was—

‘Because the King, my father, said so. Never show weakness to anyone. That is what a king is.’

A moment ago, after saying to Benjamin, 「“Entrusting any task to an expert, that is the wisdom my late father, the King, left for me.”」

Leonardo kept thinking of the King.

The King who had to overcome a fate even harsher than his own.

***

“Then, Your Majesty, please call for me if you need anything.”

Click—.

Elly left the room.

I immediately took out the from the bookshelf and opened it.

Chwarak—.

‘…Please, the grenade development has to go well.’

The last thing I saw in the last night did not show the results of the grenade development.

It only went up to 「The elders felt a sense of rejection towards creating a new weapon.」

‘So I focused solely on persuading the elders somehow. Developing the weapon is not within my capabilities anyway.’

But since the grenade research had officially begun today, the results should be in the diary.

No, they had to be.

‘The war is a year away. So the grenade development must be completed within at least half a year. That's the only way there will be time for the soldiers to train or for the weapons to be mass-produced.’

Thinking, I began to read the ‘part closest to the present’ in the diary.

As I had hoped, new content was written.

…….

After I asked the elders to develop a ‘new weapon’ with Chomsky as the person in charge.

Four months had passed.

As they say, it's calm before the storm?

As the war approached day by day, the kingdom became quiet and peaceful. Truly.

I should have been happy about such peacefulness.

But I couldn't help but enjoy that peacefulness fully. As the war approached, my heart grew anxious.

What made it even harder for me might be the weight of being a king.

The weight of a king, who cannot confide in anyone about his many worries.

I had colleagues I could rely on, like Jereuth, Barut, Paras, Seria, and Grondar, but as a king, I could not show a weak side.

The crown grew heavier as the crisis approached.

…….

This was the first part of the new content.

There wasn't much to it. I didn't check the diary to read my future self's complaints.

Chwarak—!

I roughly checked the next page.

Another two months passed. The war was six months away.

The gryphon unit led by Jereuth had also completed its final training and was now worthy of being called the ‘Gryphon Knight Order.’

Jereuth confidently said, 「“At this level, they can be called a knight order, so I would like Your Majesty to hold a founding ceremony.”」, and proposed a ceremony to me.

Thus, as the war approached, the kingdom was peaceful, and everything was proceeding as I had hoped.

…Except for one thing.

[Final Report on Madan Research: Seria]

I had been waiting for this report for the past six months. Even praying, please let it be developed successfully.

But… the research results were not good.

It was impossible to create the ‘hand grenade’ that I had hoped for. That bomb, with its immense killing power that anyone could use just by pulling a pin, was impossible.

In other words, the development of the new weapon had failed… something like that.

However, in the process of making that hand grenade, an ‘unexpected byproduct’ was obtained.

I don't know how I should use it, though.

This was the end of the newly written diary.

I felt a tightness in my chest the whole time I was reading the new content.

It was obvious from the tone of the diary that it wasn't positive.

‘But this last paragraph, this has a slightly different feel to it?’

The last part of the diary.

It said that Chomsky and the elders had failed to create the ‘hand grenade,’ but they had created an ‘unexpected byproduct.’

I don't know what that ‘unexpected byproduct’ is, but…

‘This isn't a bad nuance. It feels like an unexpected discovery—something like that.’

From ancient times, great inventions have often been made unintentionally.

The nuclear bomb, that was developed as an extension of research into using atomic energy to supply electricity.

Penicillin, the first antibiotic, was discovered from the fact that mold inhibits bacterial growth.

The microwave oven and Post-it notes are similar. They were not originally researched or developed for that purpose.

Viagra, a good friend to middle-aged and older men, is also like that. It was originally intended to be a cardiovascular treatment, but a side effect occurred.

…A 'wonderful side effect.'

Anyway.

‘If that's the case… for now, it's right to trust Chomsky and the elders and let them research.’

Even if this ‘new weapon development’ fails, the war against the monster army will be won one way or another.

So there's no need to be too anxious. If the development is successful, that's great, and if not, it's just a shame.

Yes, that's all it is.

“…Still, I hope it succeeds.”

My true feelings slipped out of my mouth unconsciously.

If the ‘unexpected byproduct’ mentioned in the diary is something that will help in the war, if it is something that will help protect this kingdom.

‘Then my future will definitely be very different from my future self's. This ‘new weapon development’ is not something that has appeared in the until now, but something I thought of on my own.’

I have high hopes. For the appearance of a game-changer that can turn the tide of the war.

No.

‘A game-changer… that will change my ending.’