WeTried Translations

Translator: Coughing Baby

Editor: Coughing Baby

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◈ The Reluctant Imperialist

Chapter 135

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Your World (3)

Zerpa, Crown Prince Alonso’s main palace.

The crown prince summoned the aides he trusted most.

“Is everyone here?”

“Yes.”

Chief of security, chief secretary, deputy finance director, legal deputy, personal physician, and more...... they were now entirely his own power base.

They were a sturdy shield that protected him from the opportunist nobles in the royal palace and the rotten military, and the most reliable sword at his side.

“First, fill the glasses.”

At the crown prince’s order, the butler poured clear white liquor for everyone.

“As you predicted, Sir Maximilian tried to intervene in personnel authority.”

“Yes. The Empire likely asked for it.”

“Right. The Empire would never leave that kind of interest alone. But.”

The crown prince raised his glass high. Everyone looked tense.

They had all expected him to demand personnel authority as the price of this support.

“......I refused him clearly, and Sir Maximilian understood my position.”

At that moment, all the aides rose to their feet and applauded.

Clap clap clap clap clap-

Their joy was so sincere that the crown prince felt his own chest swell.

“It is all thanks to you.”

His voice caught as he spoke.

Clap clap clap clap clap-

Only half a year ago, he had been completely isolated in the palace.

Clap clap clap clap clap-

“Enough, enough. I might show a side unfit for my dignity. Raise your glasses first.”

A puppet crown prince, drifting around without real power, with only his critically ill father beside him.

But these people had saved him. Yes, Maximilian had lifted the siege around him, but even so, they had rushed to this troubled place and sworn loyalty of their own will. Now, they were his most precious assets.

“For Zerpa, salute!”

Clink-!

Their most important and most delicate diplomatic crisis had ended safely. They clinked glasses and drank a toast.

“Now let us prepare the meal.”

Alonso sat back down, but his face suddenly turned quiet and still.

He sank into thought.

“......”

The conversation he had just had with Maximilian kept echoing in his ears.

The knight’s voice had sounded dry, almost rusted, worn down by fatigue.

Maximilian must have had troubles of his own, yet he had understood Alonso’s firmness and accepted it with that bitter smile.

“......Did something happen to Sir Maximilian in the Empire?”

Alonso could not stop thinking about him.

“Yes. According to rumor, a high noble in the Imperial Palace embezzled Gigantes weapons and sold them on the black market.”

Alonso’s eyes widened.

“Good lord. An imperial noble dared to do that?”

“Yes. Because of it, the palace was swept into political infighting. Sir Maximilian was briefly caught up in it as well.”

“So that is why he looked so tired......”

Alonso found himself worrying about Maximilian instead.

Had his refusal wounded the man who still chose to devote himself to Zerpa, even while trapped in a vicious internal power struggle in the Empire?

Had he been too cold to someone who trusted and respected him this deeply?

“Your Highness.”

The chief of security stepped forward.

“The best way to repay Sir Maximilian is with the heads of the military bastards who dared siphon off his support and deceive Your Highness.”

“Yes. That is exactly what we must do.”

Alonso nodded heavily.

“But all of you, what do you think about our relationship with the Empire?”

“We need to go further.”

The chief secretary spoke at once, as if he had been waiting.

“That is exactly what the Republican faction fears most right now. Our monarchy becoming irreversibly close to the Empire.”

“A pro-Empire line...... is that what you mean?”

“Yes. If, even by chance, we build ties with the Empire close to autonomous territory status, the Republicans will lose their will to fight and collapse.”

“......Autonomous territory?”

Alonso’s brow tightened sharply. He had rejected even Maximilian’s proposal to protect Zerpa’s sovereignty. Yet now they were discussing autonomous territory status, practically handing over the country?

“What are you saying......”

The crown prince was about to explode in anger, but he froze.

Every single aide in the room reacted the same way.

At the words autonomous territory, they showed no resistance at all. They accepted it as if it were obvious.

“Ahem.”

Alonso coughed and forced his tone down.

“Did we not protect personnel authority precisely to avoid being subordinated to the Empire? Think about what happened in Gennen......”

“No, Crown Prince Alonso. Have you heard the latest news from Gennen?”

The legal deputy interrupted gently.

“They say that if you call Gennen a massacre site, the Gennen people themselves are offended.”

Alonso listened in silence.

“After the corrupt Governor-General’s Office in Gennen was purged, Gennen has seen remarkable growth as the Empire’s core logistics base and eastern trade bridgehead. Social infrastructure was renewed, and citizens’ lives are now far more prosperous than they were under the autonomous territory. In fact, massive capital from the Imperial center keeps pouring in. When the situation settles, Your Highness should visit Gennen in person.”

The chief of security beside him added,

“And Your Highness, do you know who is the leading candidate for the next governor there?”

Alonso looked at him, unsure.

“A Gennen native. Not an Imperial, but a pure Gennen.”

“They say that was the promise made when Gennen gave up its protests.”

This time the deputy finance director spoke.

“Knight Maximilian always keeps the promises he makes. We all know that for a fact.”

Alonso listened as his aides spoke in turn without pause, like they were reading from a script.

“......You said Knight Maximilian looked lonely. He probably is.”

All of them were people Maximilian had planted.

They were tied to him by contract, paid by him and promised huge rewards.

Every piece of information and every judgment from their mouths was calibrated to Maximilian’s intent.

“He is walking a very lonely road even inside the Empire.”

The crown prince sank into deep turmoil.

The advice of these capable, loyal retainers around him.

And Maximilian’s eyes, always respectful, sometimes cold but undeniably kind.

“......Yes. He told me, if not him, who else could understand me.”

Maybe embracing the Empire was also one path for Zerpa.

Of course it was still too early, but if the Republican faction tried to burn the monarchy to the ground, then preserving the royal house might require it.

“Maybe he is in a situation like mine. Like I was before you stood beside me......”

Alonso gave a faint smile, even feeling a sense of kinship.

Right then, neatly prepared dishes were brought into the reception room.

“Let us eat first. You must all be exhausted from the tension.”

They enjoyed the banquet together and discussed Zerpa’s future.

* * *

Outskirts of the Zerpan capital, Durkon Legion field camp.

Lieutenant Colonel Kai Han visited Major General Schweitzer’s tent. He wanted guidance from a master of mobile warfare.

“...Well, since you asked, I will tell you. In the end, what matters is force organization.”

Schweitzer was famous for being eccentric, but he seemed energized by Han’s respectful attitude.

“Are soldiers all the same parts? No. Some are stronger, some shoot better, some read situations better, everyone has different traits.”

Schweitzer jerked his chin toward the tent floor.

“Out of all that, I focused on legs.”

Legs.

In other words, mobility.

“Do you think ordinary soldiers can never handle mana at all? No. Keep training, keep trying like hell to run faster so you survive in battle, and even if it is a tiny amount, mana starts sticking to their legs. Very little, but it does.”

Even ordinary people born without mana could still strengthen one part enough.

“So I filter out only the fast-footed ones and deploy them in the first line. Later, when tanks are supplied, tank units will probably take that first line.”

He picked up a chess piece from the operations map and shoved it deep into enemy territory.

“But if you send them forward blindly, you know what happens. The fastest bastards die first.”

Schweitzer grinned and snapped his fingers.

“So before the first line charges, I project firepower from the rear. I bombard the whole route they are going to break through.”

Magic artillery, or a ruthless shell barrage. First punch holes in the enemy defense line, then send the fastest first line sprinting through those gaps.

“After that, the second line thickens the formation’s depth and advances heavy. But the first line is insanely fast, so by then it is already deep at the front. Much faster than enemy scouts expect.”

In the end, scouting reports and real battlefield conditions completely diverge.

The first line, made up only of fast movers, pushes at an abnormally high speed from the start.

“Then the enemy thinks, what the hell, they are already here? In that split second, their defensive formation falls into confusion. They panic.”

Schweitzer stabbed another chess piece straight into the center of the enemy main force on the map.

“The first line pierces the enemy defense at a single point. Then it runs wild in the middle of enemy territory. The second line arrives behind it, and once the two link up naturally, how does that look to the enemy?”

Schweitzer pointed at his own eyes and opened them wide.

“It feels like our whole army, every unit, came crashing in all at once at insane speed. You know what that is called?”

Lieutenant Colonel Han answered quietly.

“Blitzkrieg.”

“Right. That smart knight bastard took that vague concept that was only in my head and gave it a perfect name in one shot.”

Schweitzer laughed loudly, clearly in high spirits. Han shook his head as he watched.

“......Major General Schweitzer.”

“Why?”

“It would be better if you spoke more carefully about him whenever possible.”

“Spoke? Did I say anything wrong?”

Schweitzer frowned.

“Calling him that bastard. You never know where or when his ears might be listening.”

“......”

Schweitzer’s eyes narrowed.

“Hey.”

He leaned toward Lieutenant Colonel Han.

“The one sitting with you right now is me. Stars far brighter than yours.”

“Yes. I know. Major General Schweitzer, you are the officer I aspire to become.”

“......”

The major general clicked his tongue in annoyance, but he nodded and leaned back, as if he liked hearing it.

“...Anyway. That is why I was obsessed with new weapons and new technology. To execute this tactic perfectly, you need firepower first. If you struggle to break the line and the first line gets surrounded in the middle of enemy ground, it is all for nothing. I wanted to test that here, but that guy, fine, ‘that gentleman,’ dragged me here by force without knowing a damn thing.”

At that moment, the tent flap lifted, and that gentleman appeared.

Maximilian.

“Loyalty.”

Lieutenant Colonel Han rose instantly and gave a crisp salute. Major General Schweitzer stayed slouched in his chair and lazily lifted a limp hand to his forehead.

Maximilian stopped mid-step as he entered.

“Major General Schweitzer. I do not like that angle. The Knight of the Empire has the right to be respected by all soldiers in wartime.”

“......”

Schweitzer gave a short laugh of disbelief, stood, and slapped on another rough salute.

“Is this good enough now?”

“Drop the unnecessary word at the end, and take off that ticking wristwatch.”

“No, timing is critical on the battlefield, so what do you mean take off the watch-”

Maximilian pulled a square case from his coat and set it on the table.

“It is a mana stone watch. It measures the current time far more accurately.”

Click. He opened the box. Inside was a watch with a numeric display.

“Try it. Mana flow is far more accurate than gears.”

“Oh......”

Schweitzer stood and picked it up.

The moment he looked it over and turned around, Maximilian was already seated arrogantly in the head seat of the tent, Schweitzer’s chair. Schweitzer froze mid-step.

Maximilian spoke flatly.

“Sit down.”

He had no intention of loosening the reins once he had tightened them. The only way to control Schweitzer was to push harder and more openly.

“......”

Schweitzer’s lips twitched, and he dropped into the chair across from him. He seemed to like the watch and had already switched it onto his wrist.

“Major General Schweitzer. I heard you requisitioned a Zerpan civilian village this time.”

“Ah, that was nothing. We needed a special winter meal, and the residents would not cooperate-”

“Disciplinary action.”

“What? Are you serious?!”

“I told you clearly. I do not permit civilian requisition without proper compensation. This is foreign territory, Major General Schweitzer.”

Maximilian slid over a document. Schweitzer picked up what had landed in front of him.

[Disciplinary Order for Violation of Imperial Military Law]

Recipient: Major General Schweitzer
Sender: Sentinel Order / Imperial Army High Command

Under wartime operational control authority, this knight severely reprimands your unauthorized requisition of food and supplies from civilian residential areas inside Zerpan territory. This conduct caused friction with civilians and damaged Imperial military discipline.

1. Full three-month pay cut of legion commander duty allowance and base salary.
2. Record this disciplinary action in the personnel file.

As an imperial overseer, he was issuing a disciplinary order to a military major general. It normally required approval from regular army command, but the seal was already stamped.

The civilian requisition had happened only a month ago. This knight needed only one month to discipline an Imperial Army major general.

“In addition, I plan to execute several Durkon soldiers as an example.”

Veins rose on the back of Schweitzer’s hand as he gripped the paper. Maximilian added calmly,

“If you tear or crumple that official order, one more line will be added at the bottom.”

“......”

Schweitzer folded the disciplinary document neatly and put it in his inner pocket.

“I already compensated the civilians, but if this happens again, it will not end with something as mild as a pay cut. Be careful.”

“......”

“Answer me.”

Maximilian’s golden eyes shone coldly.

“......Understood.”

Schweitzer forced out the reply and lowered his head. Only then did Maximilian seem satisfied enough to move to the main point.

“Durkon received an order to advance from high command. The strike point is here.”

Maximilian pointed to the map. The Zeronica Mine region, Zerpa’s core industrial zone and a major source of Republican funding. It was the fiercest battlefield that would decide the civil war.

“Let me hear your plan, Major General.”

“Yes. Blitzkrieg. To explain simply-”

“I already know that. But Blitzkrieg is only an operation type. What I am asking is your strategy to annihilate Zeronica.”

A scope broader than operations, strategy.

Schweitzer’s face stiffened. Behind him, Lieutenant Colonel Han coughed to hide a laugh.

“...Ah, yes. If you know so much, why not command the unit yourself then, Sir Knight?”

Schweitzer shot back with a sneer.

Maximilian calmly shook his head.

“That would ruin the military command structure, and above all.”

He looked straight at Schweitzer.

“It would waste your outstanding leadership, Major General Schweitzer.”

“......Leadership?”

“Yes. How do you think I learned the concept of Blitzkrieg? I read your past battle records and countless merits in full detail.”

Maximilian’s lips twisted coldly.

His words were praise, but his expression was not. He looked more like he was delivering an insult.

“I truly dislike saying this kind of thing.”

A strange sincerity flickered in his eyes.

“Major General Schweitzer, you are a military prodigy.”

“......”

For a moment, Schweitzer forgot to breathe. His words died in his throat, and he pressed his lips inward hard. He was clearly trying to suppress a smile, but his twitching nose bridge and flushed cheekbones only made him look ridiculous.

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