WeTried Translations

Translator: Coughing Baby

Editor: Coughing Baby

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◈ The Reluctant Imperialist

Chapter 103

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Your Faith (6)

This victory broke part of the encirclement around the Zerpa Kingdom.

The Royalist faction could finally breathe again, but the country had already split into east and west.

The civil war was going to last a long time.

During the time that remained, I stayed in the royal palace and shared daily life with Crown Prince Alonso.

Meals. Riding. Reading. Golf. Through all of it, I spoke with him in Zerpan. It was my way of trying to grow closer.

"...Just as expected."

The palace garden. An open, transparent space free of wiretaps.

That was where the Crown Prince summoned me. Lately he seemed much more at ease with me, and he had a lot he wanted to say.

"As expected, the generals want more now. Since the encirclement has been lifted, they are demanding priority rights over supplies and food."

The Crown Prince let out a sigh.

"I wonder if I... if I took this position far too early..."

The King of Zerpa was already beyond hope due to severe illness. That was why the civil war had broken out in the first place.

"Haa..."

I placed a hand on his shoulder.

"...Your Highness Alonso. Please do not burden yourself with too much worry."

Still, I could not move the Empire any further than this. It was a matter of justification.

Countless eyes from the western kingdoms were already fixed on Zerpa. The moment the Empire showed open ambition, they would form an alliance at once.

"You are the sole heir to the King of Zerpa. While everyone tries to use Your Highness's power, only the Empire worries about the loneliness of Your Highness, who must sit on that throne alone."

Instead, I worked on him gently.

Just as I had done this whole time, I did not treat him like a puppet. In front of him and behind him, I treated him with the highest respect.

"The Empire, and the Empire alone, holds you in honor."

The Crown Prince looked at me.

His eyes were exhausted by the times and bruised by betrayal. He was someone raised like a flower in a greenhouse, far too gently to carry this age of chaos.

"Whenever things become hard."

I held something out to him. The Crown Prince grabbed my hand by reflex.

"No. Not my hand."

"Ah."

I brushed his hand away and placed the object into it instead. It was a leather notebook about the size of a palm.

"This is...?"

"This is what we call a Twin Notebook, made by flattening the highest-purity mana stone as thin as paper."

A crafted object made by cutting one massive raw mana stone into two and processing both halves.

It looked like a notebook, but in truth it was practically mana stone.

Because the mutual mana synchronization rate was 100%, if you wrote something or left a trace in one notebook, the same thing was reproduced in the other.

In other words, it made perfectly secure communication possible without any risk of mana-wave theft.

"If you write in this, I can see it immediately from the Empire."

Its range reached from the center of the Empire all the way to the royal palace of Zerpa. It was insanely expensive, but still.

"I will write once as a test."

I wrote a sentence in the notebook.

[You are Zerpa's true root and a friend of the Empire.]

The same words appeared in Crown Prince Alonso's notebook too.

"...Sir Knight Maximilian."

His eyes filled with moisture. I met his gaze directly and nodded.

"Do not worry about supplies. Even if I have to empty my personal fortune, I will make sure the people of Zerpa do not starve. Your Highness only needs to trust and wait."

At the words personal fortune, the Crown Prince finally cried. He held the notebook to his chest like treasure.

"Always remember this. This Empire is by Your Highness's side."

"...Thank you."

Crown Prince Alonso of Zerpa looked ready to break into full sobs.

That was the kind of man he was, far too powerless, soft, and weak-hearted to control the military's greed.

"Why are you crying? There is no reason for Your Highness to cry."

"No... it is not that... in a way... it feels like my father, who cannot even open his eyes now, sent me a knight like you..."

Put simply, he was a man who would willingly sell his country.

......

After parting with the Crown Prince, I met Leon in a palace corridor. He was in a combat uniform dusty from training.

"Max. How did it go?"

"Who knows."

I shrugged.

A major turning point had hit the front. The encirclement was broken, and the future had changed.

But knights were not soldiers. From here on, it was for the soldiers.

"Then what about us?"

"We leave tomorrow. I need to write the report."

"Report?"

"Yeah. I am the one in charge."

I had participated in this mission as a knight. I was also the person in charge of this expedition, so I had to write the report for headquarters.

"Hmm... but hey, will Major General Schweitzer be okay? He looked really pissed. Kept muttering all kinds of curses to himself."

At Leon's words, I smirked and nodded.

"It is fine. Get some rest."

"Okay~"

I returned to my room and sat at the table. I spread out blank paper and thought for a while.

From now on in Zerpa, Lieutenant Colonel Kai Han and Major General Schweitzer would be the central pillars.

Kai Han was my man, but there was no way to predict what sort of things Major General Schweitzer might do. He was not the type to sit still in the first place.

So I decided to give him a carrot.

I quietly closed my eyes and recalled memories from before regression. The countless books I had read as a fugitive after the Empire fell. I brought parts of them back through the virus's memory.

[Schweitzer was not a strong man. If anything, he was deeply dependent. A monster who craved others' approval for everything he did, raised on praise...]

Excerpt from Faces of the Imperial Era.

Schweitzer was practically the founder of Blitzkrieg.

Yet inside and outside the Empire, what he was recognized for was civilian slaughter and brutality. Even when he was executed, he emphasized "the battlefield" as his last words.

Of course, his exceptional military sense was reevaluated only after Schweitzer was executed, but I needed that talent right now.

I picked up my pen.

In this report, I would fill it with the words he wanted to hear most, recognition and praise for the "combat" he craved so badly.

[Result Report on the Zerpa Encirclement Strike Operation]

Author: Sentinel Knight Maximilian

1. Operation Overview and Results.

(omitted)

...The success of this operation came above all from the swift and bold maneuvering of the Durkon Legion. Major General Schweitzer broke through the front at a speed beyond enemy expectations, and this can be called a model speed offensive that should remain in Imperial military doctrine as a reference case.

I would like to describe this as maneuvering as fast as lightning, and call it "Blitzkrieg."

Also, Major General Schweitzer showed excellent judgment and decisiveness in reading the flow of the battlefield. In particular, his tactical decision to identify the exact moment when the enemy encirclement was weakest and concentrate firepower there was impossible not to admire...

4. Recommendation

This knight highly evaluates Major General Schweitzer's military competence and recommends actively utilizing his experience and knowledge when establishing the Imperial military's future mobile tactical framework.

.........

The next morning.

We finished preparing to leave Zerpa. With the encirclement in the Alcantara sector lifted, safe airspace had been secured, and a Kanillan transport aircraft would soon arrive to pick us up.

Knock knock.

While I was packing, I heard knocking.

I opened the door and saw the Year 0s standing there awkwardly.

"Ah, Sir Knight."

Royce, Dare Tan, and Hanna each held out a large duffel bag.

"?"

I looked at them in confusion. Royce nudged Hanna's shoulder.

Hanna opened the zipper of her bag.

"Uh, well..."

Inside were the pieces of equipment issued for this operation, neatly arranged.

"This is the expansion backpack, this is the ultra-compact communicator, and this is lightweight leather armor. And various other items. We cleaned and maintained everything thoroughly."

Hanna reported in a clear voice.

"...?"

I still did not understand and tilted my head.

Seeing that, Royce hurriedly added,

"No matter how hard this girl had it growing up, she would not do something like swapping out gear."

"W-what? What do you mean hard life?"

Hanna exploded first at the phrase hard life.

"Ah."

Only then did I understand. They had mistaken this equipment for temporary mission rentals.

Fair enough. Each item cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. Altogether it was close to millions. That meant about three to four years of after-tax salary for an average knight.

I answered shortly.

"No need to return them."

"...Excuse me?"

"Keep them. They are your gear now."

I zipped Hanna's duffel bag shut and pushed it into her arms. She hugged it stiffly.

"As your superior, I am awarding them. You fulfilled your roles in this operation, so you deserve at least this much."

They would have to cross much harsher battlefields ahead, and to me this money was not even pocket change.

"...A-are you serious?"

The Year 0s' eyes went wide. Hanna's face was especially worth seeing. She looked like she had gained the whole world, her arms trembling.

The corners of her mouth would not stay still. Twitching, wriggling like a spasm.

"Finish the rest of your preparations before the transport arrives."

I turned away. Behind me, I heard a shout of "Thank you!" and then late bickering noises.

What do you mean hard life, of course she had it hard, then are you rich, that kind of argument, but laughter and joy were mixed into it.

* * *

Meanwhile, at a field tent of the Durkon Legion.

"Wow..."

Major General Schweitzer stared outside from inside the tent.

The environment had flipped 180 degrees. From a comfortable luxury penthouse to a rough battlefield thick with dirt and gunpowder smell.

"...Boring."

He muttered blankly.

The fighting was over, the enemy had retreated, and the Durkon Legion had been assigned the lame task of guarding Alcantara Road for the rest of the civil war.

"Run myself ragged like hell, and I still cannot beat one commander's son."

He gave a bitter laugh as he remembered his talk with Maximilian.

At that moment, his adjutant entered.

"Sir. A report on this operation has arrived from the homeland."

"Report? What report."

The adjutant held out a thick file.

"Well, that is..."

"Forget it."

Schweitzer was about to wave him off in annoyance, then noticed the author's name on the cover.

[Author: Sentinel Knight, Maximilian Ebenholtz]

"...A knight report?"

"Yes, sir."

Knight reports went up to Sentinel first, then straight from Sentinel to central command.

Meaning it was damn unpleasant. Knights were "the Empire's sword," so the concept of overreach did not apply to them.

"Give it."

He sighed and took the report.

A knight from House Ebenholtz. Even if he was the hero who suppressed Gennen, the method had been very authoritarian. It proved Maximilian himself was that sort of person.

A high noble who lived drunk on his own greatness.

So this report probably stuffed full of his own achievements too.

Thinking that, Schweitzer opened the report.

1. Operation Overview and Results

After the outbreak of the Zerpa civil war, in response to the Crown Prince's request for support...

At first, he planned to read a few pages and throw it away.

[...The success of the operation came above all from the swift and bold maneuvering of the Durkon Legion.]

"Hm?"

But suddenly some lines caught his eye.

[Major General Schweitzer broke through the front at a speed beyond enemy expectations, and this can be called a model speed offensive that should remain in Imperial military doctrine as a reference case.]

"What the hell."

He frowned. His head pushed forward a little.

The report described his achievements in detail.

The knights' guerrilla warfare, including Maximilian's participation, had been reduced to a supporting role, while the offensives of the Durkon Legion and the Berton Battalion were described very heavily.

[I would like to describe this as maneuvering as fast as lightning, and call it "Blitzkrieg."]

Blitzkrieg. A single word describing how Schweitzer handled a legion.

"Blitzkrieg?"

Schweitzer rolled the word in his mouth and tilted his head. As he read on, he checked the knight's name at the top again.

[Author: Sentinel Knight, Maximilian Ebenholtz]

It was really written by Maximilian.

"But..."

Schweitzer opened it wider.

Line by line, he started reading more carefully.

Before he noticed, there was a pen in his hand.

[In particular, his tactical decision to identify the exact moment when the enemy encirclement was weakest and concentrate firepower there was impossible not to admire...]

He underlined passages like that.

"He does separate public duty and private feelings well."

Maximilian had accurately identified the reason for victory, and he did not shrink or inflate merits just because he liked or disliked someone.

Schweitzer kept nodding as he read, then suddenly stopped.

[...This knight highly evaluates Major General Schweitzer's military competence and recommends actively utilizing his experience and knowledge when establishing the Imperial military's future mobile tactical framework.]

"..."

Schweitzer fell silent. He had read to the final page, but naturally went back to page one.

As he reread it from the beginning, one phrase he especially liked glittered like gold dust.

"'Blitzkrieg'..."

Because it advanced at lightning speed, Blitz.

This was the first person who had seen through his combat style this accurately and praised it.

Other bastards had just called him a speed specialist because he moved fast, and talked nonsense.

Scratch, scratch.

The ink in his pen ran dry from underlining. Schweitzer ordered his adjutant to bring ink.

"Here it is, sir!"

"Yeah. Did this report already go up to command as is?"

"Yes, probably. Is there a problem with the content...?"

"No. Nothing like that. Get out."

"Loyalty!"

He refilled the ink and kept underlining.

No, he even took out a notebook and copied down lines he liked.

Maybe because he was a high noble's son, his writing was fairly elegant.

"...Hmm."

After reading it a second time, Schweitzer closed the report and twisted his mouth.

He caught the strangely fragrant smell of soil drifting in from outside the tent, then opened the report again.

Rolling the pen in his fingers, he read from the first page, scratch scratch scratch.

"Hmm~"

After the third read, Schweitzer closed it with twitching brows.

He smelled the oddly pleasant soil drifting in from outside the tent again, then opened the report once more.

Rolling his pen again, he read from the first page, scratch scratch scratch.

Like enjoying a novel, he kept repeating and savoring Maximilian's report.

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