This world really pays a lot of attention to appearance.
Especially the appearance of the princesses of various kingdoms. If the princess, who is the face of a kingdom, is not beautiful, she will be ridiculed by other kingdoms and even by her own people.
However, the five girls standing before Leon at that moment were very beautiful—more so than most of the princesses Leon had met so far—so Leon thought that Anise and the others were there to help him choose a wife.
[To be honest, this is not impossible. If they're subordinates, then of course there's no problem accepting them. But if you really chose a wife for me, then… ahem, it's not impossible for me to accept.]
Leon thought a little irrationally.
After all, he is a normal man. He finally traveled to a world where he can legally have a harem. So he could conquer all women who match his preferences.
Is there a problem with a king having a harem?
No way, right?
However, this thought only lasted a moment. After Leon evaluated them, he no longer doubted their authenticity.
On the contrary, he admired Sylphine's judgment.
"As expected of you, Sylphine, you helped me find five unique talents at once. This is really great."
"Huh? Leon, can you really tell?"
"Hmm, they all have very good talents."
Leon showed satisfaction.
With his current strength, it was difficult for anyone to attract his attention, but the five women in front of him had the potential to become a great help in the future.
Jean, Noelle, Asuna, Alice, and Esdeath—looking at their stunning talents, Leon could already imagine their great achievements in the future.
But that's for the future.
What they need now is understanding.
"Ahem, I have some questions for you three now. Since you want to be my subordinates, I need to understand you better first."
Sylphine had said earlier that, to prevent them from betraying him, they would be captured and eliminated. Although it sounded a bit extreme, it was indeed a good idea.
Leon didn't mind. Isn't it wonderful when a beautiful and capable girl surrenders to his charm and offers her loyalty?
He looked at the girl with silver hair—Noelle of Mondstadt—and questioned her first.
"Why do you want to join me?"
"Your Highness, my dream is to become a knight who can help people."
"When I left Mondstadt to train, I heard the story of Your Highness defeating the dragon, and I found it very amazing."
"I also heard that you were recruiting subordinates, and I… I couldn't help but sign up."
"I understand. That's a very pure reason."
Leon nodded in approval.
The pure and beautiful ideal was almost like a knight from a fairy tale.
Also, after hearing that he had defeated a dragon, she felt inspired to join him. It was so classic and sincere—no problem! Approved~
Leon also clearly saw that Noelle's talent, [Magical Stone Attribute], was very special compared to the norm.
Other people's stone magic could be used to create rocks for destruction, but Noelle's stone magic could be used to strengthen herself.
Although she looked delicate, Leon had heard from Sylphine that this girl's weapon was a greatsword—taller than she was!
[What kind of strange contrast is this?]
Although she was not yet mature, when Noelle grew stronger in the future, there might not be many people in the world who could break through her defense.
And a knight holding a greatsword in one hand could also turn solid defense into offense. When that sword comes down… few could survive.
Leon shook his head and looked at the next girl.
"Jean Gunnhild. I remember this is one of the three noble families of Mondstadt. A family of wind-attributed knights for generations. Why do you want to join me?"
"Your Highness, I want to save Mondstadt."
"Ah? Interesting reason."
"Do you know what the current situation in Mondstadt is?"
"As a prince of this country, how could I not know that there are so many nobles in this world who like to cause problems?"
When the word Mondstadt was mentioned, Leon couldn't help but sigh.
This was probably the only major problem in the kingdom at the moment: the territory was free from royal control and was being dominated by an evil noble.
Due to its vast area, Mondstadt was a rare region that required three noble families to govern together.
The royal family had arranged for the Gunnhild family, the Legenfeld family, and the Lawrence family to govern jointly.
The goal was to keep the three nobles in check, preventing anyone from making bold moves that could threaten the kingdom's stability.
But while the idea was good, the result was painful.
Mondstadt's three nobles should have shared equal control, but now only the Lawrence family remained dominant. The Gunnhild family had fallen into a weak position, and the Legenfeld family had been exterminated.
"As Mondstadt is surrounded by the sea, it is well-suited for city defense, making it difficult for the Lawrence family to send troops out."
"In addition, the Lawrence family has many contacts with various kingdoms."
"If the situation isn't handled properly, it could easily become problematic."
Leon narrowed his eyes to hide the killing intent in them.
Sylphine also seemed to have a headache.
In a certain drawer in Leon's office, the Lawrence Family Destruction Plan had already been formulated. Leon would not allow this cancer to remain in the kingdom.
"The Lawrence family is bringing disaster to Mondstadt. They do whatever they want in that beautiful land, basing their freedom on everyone else's suffering. As the daughter of the Gunnhild family, I must stop them."
Jean's eyes shone with a sense of mission.
She was truly a noble and beautiful knight.
However, with her family's current strength, they could barely resist the Lawrence family's advances.
To change the current situation, Jean, as the eldest daughter of the Gunnhild family, had come to the royal capital to become Leon's subordinate. Her goal was to gain power!
"I hope to become Your Highness's knight, to receive some of your power… That way, my family can hold on longer, and I'll have time to grow stronger. Then, someday… I will liberate Mondstadt!"
Jean lowered her head as she spoke. Seeking the prince's power—this wasn't something a true knight should say.
She tensed her body nervously, worried that Leon would be displeased and send her away.
In that case, her family might really be destroyed by the Lawrence family, and Mondstadt would lose its final resistance.
"I'm sorry, Your Highness."
Jean couldn't help apologizing, but the next second, she heard a warm and appreciative response.
"Why are you apologizing? Isn't your goal standing right here in front of me?"
Leon lifted the corners of his lips and handed her a medal—a coat of arms representing his identity.
Jean looked at the medal in his hand. She understood what it meant. Once she accepted it, it meant she would become the prince's—ahem—subordinate.
"Do you want this?"
"Yes..."
"Then I'll leave this with you. Work hard for your kingdom. I'll also review the plan here and try to complete it in half a year without causing more problems."
Leon said, taking out the Lawrence Family Destruction Plan via space magic. All the girls were shocked when they saw the thick file.
Especially Sylphine, who almost fainted.
How many terrifying plans has this boy secretly prepared…? Well, aside from his plan to take over two kingdoms, he even formulated a plan to conquer four kingdoms. This time it's not that bad.
"For your hometown and my ideals, will you swear loyalty to me, Jean Gunnhild?"
"I swear on my life that I will offer you my total loyalty, Your Highness."
"Excellent."
Leon showed a satisfied expression and watched Jean kneel on one knee before him, lower her head, and offer her longsword with both hands.
In knightly etiquette, this meant dedicating total loyalty to one's monarch.
Leon took the sword and tapped Jean's shoulder with its blade, signifying his acceptance of her loyalty and the sharing of some of his power with her.
(End of Chapter)
Give me some power stones there you go~😉
Author's Note:
I want to apologize for not posting anything yesterday—something unexpected came up, and I had to drop everything to deal with it. I won't go into detail, but to put it simply, last week my company opened some job positions, and I was the supervisor in charge of the interviews.
Anyone who's ever gone through a job interview knows how many questions the examiner asks. Anyway, I conducted six interviews that day. As expected, two people got the job. However, yesterday morning, something bizarre happened.
Someone showed up asking why they hadn't received a call confirming they got the job (during the interview, we said we'd call the selected candidates within two days—and six had already passed).
I calmly explained it was because they weren't selected...
My God… you have no idea the chaos that followed.
The person left—and returned minutes later with four other people.
For some reason, they claimed that I, as the interviewer, and the company were homophobic and racist—throwing wild accusations at us for not hiring that person. Long story short, they and their companions are now facing a lawsuit for defamation and false accusations.
My God, it's like I attract this kind of nonsense. This is the fourth time something like this has happened since last year…
Sigh.