Chapter 169: The Best Time to Reactivate the White Dragon Incarnation
"The Knights of the Round Table will surely grow in number as our future battles take us further. For now, however, I have decided to entrust Britain to Artoria, and Hibernia and Pictavia to Scáthach. As for Kay—I'm entrusting the Enforcement Knights to you. I will station the current structure of the Enforcement Knights here in Rome, so I intend for you to be its administrator."
When they heard Noah intend to entrust Britain to Artoria, many were surprised, yet no one spoke against it.
After all, they had known Artoria for a while now. Although she had some personality quirks in various senses, there wouldn't be any issues if Noah let her manage Britain.
She was capable of suppressing the Twelve Kings.
As for letting Scáthach manage Hibernia and Pictavia, that was also fine. In fact, letting Scáthach manage anywhere wouldn't be much of a problem.
However, Noah's decision to leave Rome to Kay was something many hadn't even considered—even Kay himself was caught off guard.
But Noah knew that Kay possessed administrative talent. Among the Knights of the Round Table in the original lore, those with truly excellent administrative abilities were arguably only Kay and Agravain. Since Agravain was not around now, only Kay remained.
Furthermore, Noah was currently in Rome, so all matters great and small still had to pass through him. He could use this time to mentor Kay. Under these circumstances, with Kay leading the Enforcement Knights, nothing would go wrong in Rome.
This was Noah's reasoning. Upon hearing Noah's words, Kay was first excited, then felt a heavy sense of responsibility from the trust Noah placed in him. Finally, he was the first to speak.
"My King... if I take the Enforcement Knights to Rome, then Britain..."
The current Enforcement Knights were the only elite force under Noah's command, so Kay's concern was entirely natural.
However...
"It's fine. Have a little more faith in Artoria. Besides, the Enforcement Knights need to expand. While our current number of knights is sufficient for now, it certainly won't be enough for the future. Plus, since you'll be managing Rome, you definitely won't be able to handle managing the expansion of the second and third cohorts on your own."
"My plan for the Enforcement Knights is to eventually have three to five Legion Commanders, with ten to fifteen cohorts on permanent standby."
"This unit will become the largest, most standardized, and most professional force in our territories in the future."
Hearing Noah say this, Kay clenched his fists in excitement.
Turning the Enforcement Knights into the future regular army... or rather, only elites like the Enforcement Knights would be worthy of being called an army in the future!
At this moment, Kay realized his own perspective was too narrow—it had been from the start!
Initially, he thought Britain was large enough. Later, he thought Rome was large enough. Now, he thought the current Enforcement Knights were strong enough... His eyes were always fixed on what was right in front of him, while the King—his gaze was always fixed on the entire world!
That was right. To a King of Britain, the Enforcement Knights were an elite force. To a Roman Emperor, the Enforcement Knights were more than qualified. But to a King of the World, if the ordinary troops didn't reach the level of the Enforcement Knights, wouldn't they be completely inadequate?
Therefore, after hearing Noah's words, Kay realigned his own perspective. After reflecting on his own shortcomings, he nodded to Noah with considerable fanaticism and fell silent.
If he was like this, the others were even more so.
From the beginning, Scáthach had never viewed the Enforcement Knights as the ultimate future elite. As a Lady of the Lake, Vivian's horizons were also very high. Morgan, meanwhile, was already working on the cultivation of the Fairy Knights.
It could be said that their perspectives had been high from the start. As for Artoria, she listened to whatever Noah said and had no objections to his words.
Since even Kay was on board, they naturally had no issues. Thus, the foundation of the Knights of the Round Table was completed.
"Very well. The structure of the Knights of the Round Table is settled. Furthermore, my goal for the current Enforcement Knights is to gradually develop them into our regular forces. Next, as for the current Maid Squad..."
Noah suddenly looked at Vivian, who had been standing to the side listening as if none of this concerned her. Vivian was startled before Noah spoke.
"The Maid Squad reports directly to me and is responsible for many daily affairs. Therefore, their numbers will gradually increase in the future. However, there will only be one Head Maid—Vivian. Do you understand?"
Hearing Noah say this, Vivian, who had always thought the so-called Maid Squad was just an empty promise Noah made to her—to the point she hadn't even tried to prophesy about it once—was clearly stunned. She truly hadn't expected Noah to actually intend to expand the Maid Squad and entrust her with his daily life and many other matters.
Thinking carefully, she indeed saw a future where she became one of Noah's queens... Until now, she hadn't understood how her future self had achieved that.
But looking at it now, if Noah really intended to use the Maid Squad to replace all the servants currently around him, then as the Head Maid, her opportunities to interact with Noah would only increase!
In that case... perhaps as time passed, that future in her prophecy would gradually come to fruition!
At the thought of this, Vivian broke into a smile and nodded to Noah.
Noah didn't know why this girl had suddenly started giggling, but he ignored it and turned his gaze to White.
"With the King at the core, followed by the Advisors, the Maid Squad, and the Knights of the Round Table—knights with strong individual capabilities like White will be handpicked by me to become Extra-official Knights. Each such knight will possess the ability to complete missions independently, and they will usually be tasked with missions that require independent action. I will keep most Extra-official Knights close at hand to facilitate the assignment of tasks."
Hearing Noah's arrangement, White nodded silently. No one else had any objections.
Finally, Noah summarized the model.
"Once everyone is performing their duties according to this model, I will issue invitations for a Round Table Conference, like today's, whenever there are important matters. By then, Morgan will have established Alchemy arrays in various locations. Even if you cannot attend in person after I issue the invitation, you can use remote arrays to join the meeting."
"The participants of the meeting will be the members of the Knights of the Round Table and myself—while the Advisors, Head Maid, and Extra-official Knights will have the right to attend as observers."
"That is all I have to say. Do you feel there are any parts that need revision?"
Noah finished speaking. Scáthach and the others pondered the overall structure and offered suggestions regarding several detailed issues.
For a normal dynasty, such a distribution system would actually face various problems as its territory expanded. Many details would need to be filled in; such a crude structure would definitely not suffice.
However, for these people who no longer had lifespans to worry about, and given Noah's extraordinarily strong individual power, many of those problems were no longer issues.
Still, Scáthach provided many suggestions for various areas, and Noah adopted them one by one.
They discussed until evening. This plan, which might not be finalized even after years in a normal dynasty, was settled in a single afternoon.
Afterward, the Advisors, the Maid Squad, and the Extra-official Knights remained with Noah, while Scáthach and Artoria were to return to Britain, Hibernia, and Pictavia.
But they didn't leave immediately; Noah kept them for a while. After all, he still had to check on Manaka Sajyou's side of things.
And then... he had arranged some things for Artoria and Scáthach... well, mainly just Artoria, to help her establish her authority.
Specifically, it was White's Vortigern Incarnation—the White Dragon—which he had driven away during the pacification of the North and had left idle ever since.
Since Noah had made these arrangements, and since he no longer needed the White Dragon to establish his own prestige, now was the perfect time to employ it once again.