An Uneasy Routine (1)
Major Kai Han entered the interrogation room. With a stern face, he looked back and forth between Lorenz and me.
“……Major.”
Lorenz relayed to the Major what I had just said, and as a knight, I delivered my definitive conclusion.
“First Lieutenant Lorenz was, in fact, a long-time victim of blackmail by Jeremy Keshun. Since Jeremy Keshun was an Ajong Izenheim coveting the Praetorian Guard’s internal intelligence, this murder is more than deserving of extenuating circumstances.”
Major Han and First Lieutenant Lorenz exchanged glances. A strange mix of confusion and vigilance swirled in their eyes.
“That is my conclusion.”
“Then, what is it that you, Sir Knight, desire from us…?”
Major Kai Han asked.
“A faction.”
My own faction, to be planted within the Praetorian Guard—more precisely, within the military.
It was feeble and insignificant for now, but for that very reason, they were trustworthy.
The other, already powerful factions would betray me for their own gain at a moment's notice, no matter how many tens of millions of dollars I sponsored them with. Thus, these untainted men were far more reliable.
Kai Han, in particular, was a deeply impressive figure, even in my hazy past.
He gave a bitter smile.
“……Our standing is not firm enough to become a source of strength for you, Sir Knight.”
“It doesn’t matter. We just have to build it up from now on.”
With the support of House Ebenholz, even a mere commoner could earn his stars. My father, Zephestian, was the supreme commander of the Imperial Army, after all.
…Though I had my doubts about whether he would actually help me.
“……Yes. Please, speak freely, Sir Knight.”
Major Han accepted my proposal.
I immediately changed my tone.
“Major Han. Then from this moment on, there is a mindset you must adopt.”
Will you live as a commoner, trampled like a weed in this rotten organization, or…
“Ambition.”
…will you climb to greater heights and seize power for yourself?
“If you’ve decided to stand with Ebenholz, you must discard any thought of remaining a mere soldier. A half-hearted scramble will not satisfy my standards.”
I glanced at the clock on the interrogation room wall.
Tick-tock—
“Major Han, do you know the difference between a commoner and a noble?”
Tick-tock—
The sound of the second hand was still grating.
“……It is that they are different by birth.”
I shook my head.
“No. What’s different is not birth, but time. The power of a house, of wealth, of people, built up layer by layer over long ages.”
It was something I had felt while watching the decline of the Empire and its ruined nobility before my regression.
“But the abilities of individuals are not like that at all. On the contrary…”
It was a realization that had dawned on me while living the life of a fugitive and a vagrant.
“On the contrary, a single rotten noble causes more harm than thousands, even tens of thousands of commoners. If one truly cares for the Empire, trash-like nobles are unnecessary. Nobles who fail to earn respect do so because their own conduct is at fault.”
“……”
The breathing of Han and Lorenz hitched in unison. Their eyes trembled.
Did my words seem radical to them? Or contradictory?
“I don’t care if you are a commoner or a noble. If you have ability, if you can be of use to the Empire.”
I would raise these men, who were nothing more than nameless weeds in the Praetorian Guard, to a high place.
At the very least, I would make them a force comparable to the Praetorian Guard’s secret police—the “Executive Office.”
“What do you two think?”
Major Han was a resource I had already vetted, and Lorenz Tilman was also a very promising mage. They were more than sufficient to be my first pieces on the board.
“……”
“……”
Major Han’s lips were sealed. Lorenz was the same, but only for a moment. Soon, they both let out heated breaths and answered with their actions.
They shot up from their chairs so forcefully it seemed the seats might break and saluted me.
I nodded with a small smile.
“Good. Now, you may return to your duties as if nothing happened.”
Their faces grim, they left the interrogation room.
The Knight’s Office. A peaceful afternoon.
“……Excuse me, Sir Knight. I believe there’s been a mistake with the deposit.”
Two administrative officers, formerly of the Western Penitentiary, requested a meeting with me, their expressions baffled. The reason was that they couldn’t believe the number printed on their salary statements.
“What’s the problem?”
“It’s just so different from the base salary you mentioned. Could there have been an error—”
“The base salary of six thousand dollars is correct.”
Even if I wanted to give more, my knightly budget was 600,000 dollars a year, which limited the salaries I could pay my administrators.
“However, bonuses paid from my personal account are a separate matter.”
“S-So, this is all our monthly salary…?”
“Yes. In essence, you can think of your salary as fifteen thousand dollars a month.”
Considering their salaries as prison guards had been three to four thousand dollars at most, this was more than four times that amount. The administrators stared at each other with blank faces.
I gestured to them.
“You may go back to your work now.”
“Y-Yes, sir! We understand! We pledge our loyalty!”
Unable to hide their joy, they left the office.
Money, the Imperial Dollar, was indeed the most certain and simple reward. People would risk their lives for it, and pledge infinite loyalty for it.
Therefore, I needed money.
I would pour humanity’s greatest invention into the preservation of humanity.
Bzzzt! Bzzzt!
In the well-polished training hall, Schatz relentlessly honed his magic. Through diligent effort, he had now achieved perfect control over his innate electromagnetic magic. By firing mana at his feet, his body could shoot forward like a bullet, and by emitting electricity, he could easily melt steel.
“……Agent Schatz.”
Just then, someone called out to him.
It was Jendo and his investigators from Genen, the new colleagues Schatz had been assigned by order of Maximilian.
Jendo spoke.
“We’ve caught the tail of the revolutionary group.”
From now on, they would work with Schatz to monitor the interior of Genen and carry out the mission of exposing the ‘Ajong’ who sought to incite the populace.
“This is the location where, according to our wiretaps, the Genen independence faction and the revolutionary group are set to make contact.”
Schatz looked at the box filled with evidence.
“The volume of records is immense.”
“Yes. We’ve reviewed tens of thousands of minutes of footage.”
As he spoke, Jendo’s face contorted. He clenched his fist as if in disgust.
Schatz shook his head.
“Set aside your personal feelings for now. They are of no help to the mission.”
It was the very first thing he had learned from Ebenholz’s nature.
When carrying out any mission, even if it were a matter of deeply personal revenge, one had to keep a cold head.
Dieter moved quickly. He began construction of a refinery for the magic stones mined from the Romilton Mountains, securing the initial funds from the Lord of Hermes. Furthermore, he maintained the workers’ wages at the highest level in the industry and invested generously in safety equipment and welfare facilities.
“To think this country bumpkin town of Romilton would change so fast! It’s truly astonishing. Hahaha.”
Mayor Jenson came to visit, fawning over him. The economic effects of the mine’s development—not only the creation of jobs but also the paving of new roads and the opening of shops and restaurants—had made his popularity soar within Hermes.
“By the way, Administrator. Did Sir Knight Maximilian happen to say anything else…?”
“……Perhaps there will be those in this land who will complain or agitate, saying that the magic stones are being monopolized by nobles or the bourgeoisie.”
Dieter’s expression suddenly turned cold.
“Those who say such things are our enemies.”
He said, looking Mayor Jenson straight in the eye.
“So Sir Knight said.”
“……Ah, yes. Of course. Of course. But, must we really provide those… masks, was it, to every single worker? I heard the cost is quite significant.”
The masks were safety equipment that filtered out the fine magical dust generated during the mining of magic stones.
“He said not to spare any expense when it comes to the safety of an Imperial citizen.”
“……As expected! Sir Knight is a true noble, through and through! Hahahaha!”
Ding— Ding— Ding—
At 8 p.m., the bell rang, signaling the change of shifts. Their workday did not exceed ten hours.
Families stood at the entrance of the mine to greet the workers pouring out of the shaft. The exhausted miners smiled brightly and warmly embraced the children, wives, or husbands who ran toward them.
“It’s a fine sight, isn’t it?”
Dieter replied to Jenson’s sentimental words in a business-like tone.
“There are probably Ajong among them.”
“……Pardon?”
“Sir Knight Maximilian despises the Ajong, especially the Izenheim. So, that part.”
Dieter relayed in a low voice.
“Pay close attention. It means to thoroughly analyze the workers’ origins.”
“Ah, yes. Of course. I will be sure to keep that in mind.”
His face now serious, Jenson took out a notepad and jotted down the details.
Thud, thud.
As usual, Major Kai Han arrived at the Praetorian Guard headquarters for work.
Thud, thud.
His military boots echoed as he strode down the hallway and sat in a chair in front of someone’s office. He glanced at the nameplate on the door, a fruit basket he had brought as a gift resting in his arms.
[Praetorian Guard Command, Deputy Chief of Staff’s Office: Jens Joachim]
He waited five minutes.
He waited ten minutes.
He waited thirty minutes.
He had made an appointment in advance, but the time stretched on endlessly.
This was the station of a commoner named Kai Han.
“Major Han?”
About an hour later, the Deputy Chief of Staff’s secretary finally called him.
“Yes.”
“You may enter.”
Major Han straightened his uniform before stepping inside.
“Salute.”
After saluting, he sat down across from Deputy Chief of Staff Jens.
For Major Han, who had secured a new patron, his work began here.
Jens was not far from retirement age, but he was well-respected, and many of the general-grade officers he had mentored were involved in personnel decisions.
“What is it?”
He asked while cleaning between his teeth with floss, as if he’d just eaten meat. It was the demeanor of a man who didn’t even consider his former subordinate to be a subordinate anymore.
Major Han knew why. It was because until now, he had never been able to give the man what he wanted.
“Brigadier General Jens. I heard the news that you will soon be retiring from active duty.”
“……I still have six months left. Are you here to mock me?”
Jens frowned, stroking what little hair he had left.
“No, sir. I’ve come to give you a gift.”
“A gift?”
Han lifted the fruit basket he had brought. As soon as he saw it, Jens scoffed.
“Get that out of here. Do you think I need things like—”
“Please, take a look.”
“I said get it out.”
He tried to roughly shove it away, but the basket didn’t budge.
“……?”
Thump. Thump. He pushed at the basket with his palm, but its weight was unusual.
Jens looked at Han with a questioning expression.
“They’re fruits.”
At Han’s words, Jens finally picked up one of the fruits. The moment he did, his expression changed.
“They’re quite yellow. I made sure to procure only the finest ones.”
They looked like ordinary apples on the outside, but inside the peel, they were filled entirely with gold. The work of a skilled alchemist, they were far more valuable than their weight in gold.
“I… How did you get your hands on something like this?”
“It is merely a symbol of my respect for you, Brigadier General. Something I have saved up, little by little, until now.”
“……”
Jens’s expression suddenly turned serious. He abruptly crossed his arms and let out a solemn breath before asking.
“Alright. What is it you have to say to me?”
“Ah. It’s nothing much, but I heard there’s an opening for the commanding officer of the Praetorian Mage Division’s direct-control Phrom Company. It’s really no big deal, but I believe there is a soldier who is extremely well-suited for the position. A man named Lorenz Tilman……”
Jens’s face hardened. Han, too, grew tense for a moment.
Was his approach wrong? It was his first time making a solicitation, and he was nervous.
“……”
“……”
After a moment of awkward silence, Jens suddenly burst into a roar of laughter.
“Hahahaha! Look at this fellow.”
“……Haha.”
Han laughed along.
“Don’t you worry. Who doesn’t know how much you care for your subordinates? I was already thinking he was the perfect man for the job. Lotzran Talso, from the Mage Tower, wasn’t he? Correct?”
“Yes, Lorenz Tilman, that is correct. As expected of you, Brigadier General Jens—”
“Hahahahaha. My goodness. On another note, I don’t know how you’ve managed to become so successful. I hear the price of land in the capital is rising these days; did you manage to get in on that?”
“Ah, that is—”
“No, no. No need to say. It must be your secret, you have to protect it. Of course. Hahahahaha!”
“Hahaha……”
Major Han forced a smile as he looked at Brigadier General Jens.
He looked at the noble.
He looked at the man who was laughing until sweat beaded on his bald head, his wrinkled hands endlessly stroking the golden apple.
Suddenly, his voice echoed in his ears.
‘If one truly cares for the Empire, trash-like nobles are unnecessary. Nobles who fail to earn respect do so because their own conduct is at fault.’
Brigadier General Jens was already sixty years old.
But age is not experience. Nor is it maturity. Nor is it wisdom.
The personal assets this sixty-year-old noble had accumulated over his life weren’t worth the dirt under the nails of the man barely past twenty.
“Well then, I shall take my leave.”
“Ah, yes, yes. I was feeling disappointed that I hadn’t seen your face in a while. It was good to see you. Feel free to stop by anytime.”
“……Yes. Salute.”
Major Han saluted without showing any change in his expression and quietly exited the Deputy Chief of Staff’s office.
—Ah, this is great, hahahahaha……
Laughter leaked out from inside, even through the closed door.
Listening to that laughter, Major Han’s expression turned frigid.