_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Inside the meeting room.
Edgar lounged back in his chair, casually flipping through the documents Freya had prepared.
Most of it was intelligence reports on neighboring countries and different racial factions.
…Way too much useless stuff.
Edgar skimmed a few pages, then gave up entirely.
Sure, he'd watched Cautious Hero back in his previous life,but this was a real world now, full of messy details and unpredictable variables.
After thinking for a while, he decided it was enough to just grasp the general direction.
Norn was the strategist anyway. Why bother overworking his brain?
He tapped a finger on the table and said, "Next, I plan to begin the world conquest phase."
"Starting a war… but…"Crush hesitated, wanting to speak but holding back.
Her body and heart already belonged to Edgar,but her inherently gentle nature still resisted the idea.
Once a war starts, the people are the ones who suffer.
And no matter how she looked at it,invading another country wasn't exactly righteous.
"Your perspective needs to be a bit broader." Edgar smiled faintly, flicking her forehead before explaining:
"Even if your former king tricked you, you still understand this world well enough."
"Conflicts between nations happen all the time. Within every country, slave trading and senseless slaughter are everywhere."
"But if we bring the whole world under a single will, then we can enforce our policies."
"Think about it. What great nation in history wasn't built atop mountains of corpses?"
Hearing his reasoning, Crush's expression shifted, and she eventually nodded.
She cared about the people,but she wasn't naïve.
If it was for a better tomorrow, she was willing to swing her sword.
Besides…
From what she knew, all the neighboring countries were trash anyway.She wasn't going to lose sleep over cutting down that kind of scum.
"Master, I understand."
Norn paused to think, then began her analysis.
Waging war wasn't simple—destroying a country would ripple through everything.
First problem: food and money.
Then: manpower.
Because of certain events, a huge portion of the kingdom's elite troops had already been turned into experience points.
Even if Edgar crushed everything with brute force, countless messy issues would follow.
In the end…
Unless they killed everyone,humans would always have voices of their own.
Rebellions, scheming nobles, territory management…
Norn calmly listed out all the points that needed attention.
Edgar chuckled. "So the core problem is: not enough people and not enough money?"
"That's… basically it."Norn scratched her cheek. "But if you give me time, I can develop the kingdom enough to support your conquest."
"No need for that much hassle." Edgar shook his head. "I can handle it."
As soon as he spoke,a small magic circle appeared in front of him.
"Master, what's that?" Crush asked.
"Oh, it's a cross-world communication array."
It used his demon contracts as anchors, connecting across worlds through summoned demons.
Soon, someone received the call.
"Master, do you need something?"
"Yeah. Leave the necessary staff in the Empire. We're about to conquer another world."
After introducing the Cautious Hero world, everyone immediately got interested.
Esdeath: "Heroes and demon kings? This sounds fun. I'm absolutely coming."
Najenda: "Master, the Empire's finances are stable. We can support this."
Leone: "Hah! A new world? Think they've got any special alcohol?"
"My lord... I've missed you."
"All right, prepare yourselves. I'll summon you soon."
"Yes, Master."
His subordinates from the Akame ga Kill world all responded in turn.
The next morning.
Inside a wide, empty hall—
A flash of light from the summoning array.
A whole group of imposing figures stepped out.
"So this is the new world?"
"Looks kinda similar to ours, honestly…"
Esdeath and the others looked around, mildly disappointed.
Compared to the modern world,the decor here really wasn't that different.
But soon, their eyes all locked onto Edgar.
Every gaze brightened instantly.
No matter what world they were in,as long as their master was there, that was all that mattered.
Come to think of it, their levels hadn't gone up in a long while…
"All right, since everyone's here, I'll assign things quickly."
Edgar clapped his hands to get their attention.
"You all have plenty of experience with war."
They all nodded confidently.
"But this world has some weird magic systems. Go find Freya to learn about them…"
"For tactical arrangements, talk to Norn."
"Oh, and I need to head back to the main world for a bit—"
Everyone froze.
What?
They had just arrived and he was already leaving?
So they came here just to… work??
A wave of silent frustration filled the hall.
But… he hadn't left yet, right?
In the next second—
Esdeath and the others stepped forward in unison and stood right in front of him.
"???"
Edgar blinked.
What was happening?He wasn't even done talking.
Then—
All of them spoke together:
"Master, please grant us breakthrough potions."
Ah.So that's what they were after.
On the other side, the Star Spirit opened her mouth to say something, then froze.
Of course.Subordinates were the same no matter the world.
Which meant…her chance to get ahead was slipping again.
Back in Edgar's villa.
A flash of light, and Edgar stepped out of the magic array.
He'd wasted a little more time in the Cautious Hero world—but if it made his followers happy, it couldn't be helped.
"Master, you're back."
Shiho Miyano walked out of the kitchen holding a ladle.
Instantly, Edgar's eyes lit up.
She wore a thin, gauzy apron that traced every curve perfectly.
Feeling his gaze, Shiho straightened her posture slightly, smiling.
Her eyes softened as she spoke in her cool, gentle voice:
"Master, I'm trying out a new eastern recipe."
"It's almost done. Want to check the seasoning?"
"Sure."
He stepped into the kitchen, took the ladle, and tasted it.
Not bad—she was improving.
Satisfied, he nodded and pulled out the "Level Breakthrough Potion Maker."
He intended to repay her feelings with action.
Seeing that, Shiho hurried to help him assemble the setup.
"Eh? Master's back?"
"Hold on—we need to level up too!"
The other followers, who had just noticed Edgar's aura, rushed downstairs…only to find Shiho secretly trying to get stronger first.
Their cheeks puffed out in indignation.
Without hesitation, they all leaped forward—
determined to snatch their rightful share.
"..."
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________