I Planned a Su*cide Mission and Got Kicked Out of the Party

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Jeongjae was busy fulfilling his new duties as a ‘Hero.’ Among them, the most critical schedule was to inspect the Northern Expeditionary Force stationed hundreds of kilometers north of the Royal Family’s Directly Governed Territory and to take over command authority from them.

After Walter’s death, the issue of who should take command of this vast army of 80,000 had become a tangled mess. In principle, succession of command in the event of the Hero’s death should be carried out by the Crown Princess, but Rose, who had become Emperor, was in no position to exert command over the army.

To avoid leaving the issue hanging in the air, the Emperor hastily passed the title of Supreme Commander to Alex Caprice, who was next in rank within the Northern Expeditionary Force. However, the problem was that Jenis Harker harbored quiet dissatisfaction with this decision. Baron Harker emphasized that he was one of the Hero’s effective successors and wanted to interfere significantly with Alex’s command of the central army.

Alex, lacking experience and confidence in commanding a large army, found himself relatively cooperative with Jenis’ demands. But then, Jeongjae, who had inherited the title of Hero, complicated matters significantly.

The decisive problem lay in the absence of an overwhelmingly authoritative figure among the three. Alex and Jenis were young newcomers who had risen to prominence around the same time, and while Jeongjae had somewhat more war experience than them, he had nearly no command experience. From the perspective of the veteran soldiers who had served nearly a decade in the Imperial Army, all three were untrustworthy.

This awkward generational transfer was unavoidable, and such generational changes always brought intense labor pains. Inspecting the northern camp, Jeongjae had no choice but to accept that he was not welcomed as the new ‘Hero.’

“Really? Are those two the Hero and the Prince assisting him now? The world has changed so much. Not long ago, the Hero and the Princess would have seemed like an unassailable stronghold.”

While slowly wandering around the barracks with Alex, Jeongjae paused for a moment upon hearing a snickering voice. It was unclear whether the voice was directed at Jeongjae, but the Grand Mage’s keen ears precisely caught the complaints of one veteran soldier.

Alex Caprice was sweating and observing Jeongjae’s complexion.

“Um, Hero…”

“Let’s listen for a moment. Don’t let them know we’re eavesdropping.”

Jeongjae whispered quietly to Alex. Another veteran chimes in.

“Damn it, what does the new Hero even know how to do? They say he’s supposed to be someone strong in battle, right?”

“I heard he charges in and sweeps everything away. At least he can stay alive, right? I wonder if a wizard who’s been a professor at the School of Magic can command an army.”

“Well, at least if he hides in the back, he won’t die. Winning the battle is a different problem, though.”

“I heard he has some experience commanding the Southern forces?”

“Is the Southern army really an army? Hey, come here. Didn’t you say you were conscripted from the South? How do you think all those mixed-blood fools from the South look? Speak up.”

“Southern army? What southern army? They were just kids who couldn’t pass the military conscription for the central army and were pretending to be soldiers in armor near their homes. Now, if there are Southern soldiers who returned after the war just to kill a few lackeys, I’ll just go home and beat them all up. I’ll just say come at me all at once! Can they take me on?”

It seemed more like a joke than a serious threat, but Jeongjae sensed the subtle superiority and resentment lingering in the minds of veterans from far-off provinces, having left their homeland long ago, looking down on the Southern Alliance army that had lived lives akin to guards not far from their hometowns.

These were soldiers of the Empire who had devoted their youth entirely to the war against demons, now stepping into an age where they were no longer young. Jeongjae didn’t feel anger towards being insulted, as it was an era where everyone felt wronged and suffered.

“Why isn’t His Majesty the Emperor taking action himself?”

“You fool, whether it’s the Crown Prince or the Crown Princess, it seems they’ve had a child.”

“That may be, but to have someone like that child, all armored up and wielding a spear, instead of stepping up to fight the war, are we really going to win?”

“Shh! Look, they’re right in front of us! If you speak in such a loud voice, they’ll all hear you!”

The soldiers’ banter filled the air, laced with insults. Ultimately, Alex couldn’t bear the overt insults, knowing they were at least somewhat audible, and reached for the hilt of his sword.

“Those idiots really…”

“Stop it, Your Highness. They have served the Empire for many more years than us.”

Jeongjae said as he held Alex’s hand. Alex shook his head.

“But there’s a point of discipline—and if it’s just an insult to me as Alex, that’s one thing, but the Imperial Army insulting me is also an insult to the Royal Family. How can we let it slide?”

“Let them win and survive. There’s no better way to control them than that.”

Jeongjae’s voice was resolute. Alex’s expression boiled with anger, but the young prince was in no position to ignore Jeongjae’s words. Eventually, Alex released his grip on the sword hilt and lowered his head.

“Do you feel at ease entrusting the battle to those guys? If they’re like this now, will they even listen to our commands when the enemy comes?”

“From my experience, the most grumbling veterans tend to fight most valiantly in battle. Complaining just means they’re capable of thought. When the time comes, those soldiers are the ones you’ll trust the most.”

“I’m not sure about that. Maybe I’ve been too involved with high nobles.”

“The members of the Royal Knight Order are generally noble. If you lack confidence in commanding the central army, focusing on what you do best is actually a viable option.”

Jeongjae’s words made Alex hesitate for a moment. The prince looked at the Grand Mage and asked.

“Can I take that to mean you’re suggesting I hand over the command of the Northern Expedition?”

“I have top advisors to support me. But it’s rare for Your Highness to have advisors who can counsel solely for you. You would feel a sense of responsibility in your position as royalty, but in reality, Rose, too, was led by Walter rather than leading him. It’s not shameful to be under command.”

“Ha…”

Alex nodded, as if he understood the meaning of Jeongjae’s words.

“If you and Baron Harker say so, that means I lack the capability to lead the army. What should I do? I can’t help the fact that I was born lacking. I don’t want to be a disgrace to the Royal Family. That’s all I desire.”

“It’s strange that people your age command armies. In fact, it’s a tremendous achievement to become a commander of a knight order at that age.”

“Too many strange people around, that’s the issue.”

“Yes, there are indeed too many strange people…”

Jeongjae agreed with Alex’s words. He could understand Alex’s ambiguous sense of inferiority. Before he even came of age, Walter and Rose had slaughtered countless monsters as young heroes, defending the Empire’s borders.

Now, Jenis, renowned as the Kraken Slayer, was barely five years older than Alex. In an era where great heroes seemed expected to slay a dragon by twenty, Alex, who had moderately good talent but no exceptional skills, felt significant psychological pressure.

“Let’s consider this. What was Princess Margaret of Eramenia doing at the age of twenty? I’ve never asked her directly, but honestly, I don’t think she did anything noteworthy.”

“Princess Margaret was twenty? Wasn’t that before the unification of humanity?”

“Is that so? The entrance of Caprice into the Audrich Kingdom…”

“That’s an event from about five hundred years ago, but the surrender of the Jeffrey Kingdom was even a hundred years later.”

“If that’s the case, then really, Margaret must have been around our age when the continent wasn’t unified yet. Can’t we take things a bit easier?”

“If my lifespan were around a thousand years, I wouldn’t be so anxious to accumulate achievements right now. Do you happen to know how to live about a thousand years as a human? As a Grand Mage, you probably have plenty of knowledge about extending lifespan, right?”

“If I knew how, I would have lengthened my life long ago. Lately, I’ve been feeling my lifespan is way too short.”

Jeongjae’s words were half-joking and half-serious. Coincidentally, both of the women who held affection for Jeongjae had the blood of longevity races.

As a half-vampire, Jenis wouldn’t have as long a lifespan as Margaret, but she was expected to live at least over 400 years. If Jeongjae truly formed a bond with one of them, he would have to endure watching his non-aging partner as he grew old and frail.

It seemed too luxurious a concern to think about it now, having not even defeated the Demon King, but in terms of life and future planning, it was indeed a significant issue.

“Well, I feel a bit better now. By the way, does taking command of the Northern Expedition mean I’ll continue the existing Northern campaign policies?”

“Walter’s strategy wasn’t wrong. He agreed with the idea that we need to pressure the Demon King’s Army from both fronts and refused to abandon the Northern campaign in favor of solidifying defense until the last moment. Moreover…”

The Moriarty Machine was not eternally destroyed. Jeongjae knew better than anyone what had caused the malfunction in the machine. Perhaps the life-energy-conversion magic circle mixed in with the Manhattan Scrolls had caused the machine to malfunction severely. However, it wasn’t damage that was completely irrecoverable; the Demon King would certainly seek a way to restore and reuse the machines.

Once the machines are completed again, they couldn’t simply block them in the same manner as before. This time, they must truly complete the Northern Expedition and bring down the Demon King’s Castle before the Demon King restores the machines. That was the precious time Walter had given, and Jeongjae had no intention of wasting it.

Jeongjae took out a pair of binoculars from his robe and put them on his face. Alex, curious, asked.

“Can you see something with those?”

“When you say something, what exactly do you mean?”

“Uh, you know… the future… those sorts of things.”

“I haven’t seen anything yet.”

Jeongjae tilted his head. While wearing these glasses, there was a clear performance as a magical artifact that made thoughts seem quicker and clarified his vision. But Jeongjae had yet to see ‘fragments of the future’ like Walter had through these glasses.

In fact, having seen those who wield the power of foresight grow more desolate day by day, Jeongjae found that ability burdensome, which was why he didn’t often wear these glasses. It felt like wearing another person’s clothes.

“Yet, there are things one can deduce without seeing the future. The brief ceasefire is over. Now, the side that takes the initiative will have the advantage. Prepare for an attack, Your Highness. The day after tomorrow, we will begin our grand offensive once more, after a long time. Now that I can’t use the Eramenia army as a hammer, I expect the Royal Knight Order to perform at their best, in prime condition.”

“Leave it to me. Crushing the enemy with Ironclad Knights is what I’m most confident in. If I can’t even do that, there’s no reason for me to be here.”

Alex said confidently. However, Jeongjae thought it sad that someone would consider themselves worthless if they couldn’t fulfill a role. Of course, he himself was also enduring day by day, being weighed down by the pressure of his own role.