WeTried Translations
Translator: Coughing Baby
Editor: Coughing Baby
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◈ The Reluctant Imperialist
Chapter 150
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Exploring Prozen (4)
I thought about an assassination.
I considered the method.
The best option was a bomb. At least this time.
Because the other side was expecting the bomb to fail. I was only adding one variable, me, to an incident that had already been staged.
"...Not difficult."
Early dawn. Comere Boulevard in Prozen, under falling starlight.
I stood on the route Minister Louis Marceau would soon pass through. Before my regression, the failed assassination had happened around this road leading toward parliament.
I took a bomb out of my pocket.
A mana bomb made by Yukia herself. Palm-sized, but packed with several top-purity mana stones, enough destructive force to rival artillery fire.
"..."
I crouched and checked for people nearby. I split the asphalt with a dagger, then planted the bomb underneath.
Then I turned away and wandered the area quietly, watching for possible advance checkpoints.
“Hey! Get up!”
“Get out! I said get lost!”
From dawn onward, police and soldiers moved through and chased off vagrants, but security went no further than that.
Morning broke while that continued.
People began gathering along the boulevard.
Probably the welcome crowd prepared by Minister Louis Marceau.
Thump-
My heart beat.
Thump-
The virus reacted to well over hundreds of Izenheim signatures.
Thump-
I forced down the pounding and stilled both my mind and my mana.
Ebenholtz's unique movement method, concealment, erased even signs like breathing and body heat.
Thump-
I scanned the area from inside the crowd.
Plainclothes security was posted on nearby rooftops and throughout the streets, but there were no real experts capable of sensing mana flow.
A hole in the escort, deliberately left open by Marceau's side.
That too was likely part of the script for a failed assassination attempt.
Bwaaaaaaang-
A warship's horn echoed from the distant harbor. The roadside crowd kept swelling as time passed. In the end, not only the boulevard but the whole district became a tangled mass.
Thump-
On a distant hill, people holding signs welcoming the VIP and people holding signs cursing Socialist tax policy screamed at each other.
A chaos where people and ideology knotted together.
In this suffocating sea of people, he finally appeared.
The Izenheim playing the lead role in this fake assassination, Thomas.
Thump-
My heart gave an unpleasant beat and pointed to where he was.
Thump-
How do you kill someone in broad daylight, in the center of a city packed with tens of thousands?
Ebenholtz knew the answer.
Even killing should be done in the most elegant noble way, in silence.
Thump-
I pulled my wide-brim hat low and let my body move naturally with the raging crowd. I flowed like a current. Not even a hint of presence left behind as I closed in behind my prey.
Rustle-
In that instant when our collars brushed,
I fired, in sequence, at exactly two points: his lumbar ganglion below the spine, and his upper cervical spine, his waist and neck.
-.
There was no gunshot. Mana burst from the muzzle and severed his body.
With both spine and cervical spine cut at once, he could not even register what had happened. There was not even bleeding. My mana still remained inside his body.
His left knee buckled and he collapsed. His ganglion was severed, so he could not move. His cervical spine was pierced, so he could not make a sound.
Like that, his whole body paralyzed, he died.
Thud.
He dropped limp like a rag doll. Countless people naturally filled the space where he fell, and I quietly left the crowd. I hid in the shadow of a bell tower some distance away.
Waaaaaaah-!
Cheers gradually rose. I watched the approaching motorcade on the far boulevard,
the cars carrying the minister and the Yursled prime minister.
I gripped the detonator in one hand and pulled my hat lower.
Their script had been torn apart.
Now it was time for everyone to watch a new ending with their own eyes.
* * *
"...Do not offend him, no matter what. The state guest arriving today is extremely important."
Defense Minister Louis Marceau warned his aides again and again.
The prime minister of eastern Yursled would arrive very soon. It was a critical matter, talks on a western-eastern military alliance to check imperial expansion. They had to reach a deal. If they did, they could build the defensive line they wanted to block imperial ambition.
“He's arriving.”
The voice of the security chief came over the communicator from the harbor side.
Beyond the horizon, a warship from the Kingdom of Yursled was moving in.
Bwooooooo-
The horn rang out, and the warship docked at the pier. Prime Minister Bernard stepped out. Minister Louis Marceau welcomed him with an honor guard and mounted cavalry at full ceremony.
"Prime Minister Bernard, I sincerely welcome you to the Prozen Republic."
"Good to see you, Minister Marceau."
Bernard of the east, Louis Marceau of the west.
The two exchanged a light handshake.
"A luncheon and a grand welcome event have been prepared for you in Prozen's capital. This way."
Guided by Minister Marceau, they boarded a bulletproof vehicle side by side.
"Haha. I am honored by such a warm reception."
Prime Minister Bernard smiled with satisfaction.
"You are too kind. The honor is mine."
Mounted soldiers ran escort on both sides of their car.
"As you know, the Empire has been acting very suspiciously lately. Its intervention in Zerpa, and how all labor is focused on military production, all of it... what do you think, Prime Minister?"
Marceau started sounding out negotiations from inside the car. He hated wasting even a second.
"I agree."
Bernard answered with the same gravity.
As they spoke, the motorcade entered the capital's busy district, and Prozen citizens packed the streets, waving both countries' flags and cheering.
"Oh... such a welcome for Yursled."
Prime Minister Bernard watched with pleased eyes. Marceau let out a breath of relief. The troublemakers had already been cleared out with hired thugs.
"As you can see, Prozen likes Yursled very much."
Watching Bernard's reaction, Marceau spoke to the driver.
"...Can you slow down a little?"
He checked the agreed time on his wristwatch.
"I want the Prime Minister to enjoy the republic citizens' passionate welcome a bit longer."
"Yes, sir."
Marceau gave a hand signal out the window. The escort formation slowed to match. The spacing loosened as well.
"Still, I never imagined Prozen, pride of the west, would be the first to reach out to our Yursled."
Prime Minister Bernard smiled faintly. There was a slight intent to needle him, but Marceau accepted it willingly.
"Yes. There is no reason for west and east to fight now."
The continent was currently split into three major blocs: west, Empire, and east. Among them, Yursled was a small but strong state directly bordering the Empire's eastern frontier, making it the perfect partner for the grand anti-Empire encirclement Marceau championed.
"When the Empire's blatant expansionist ambition is this obvious, we cannot stay trapped forever in old matters of the past. As times change, should we not move in step together?"
The minister's expression turned firm. Even then, his eyes kept checking outside the window.
Soon, what had been arranged would happen.
"For humanity's peace. Also for humanity's survival."
Louis Marceau spoke of humanity's survival,
"The Empire is an axis of evil that must be stopped-"
The moment he declared it with conviction.
-----!
An explosion surged from beneath the asphalt in the middle of the square, right under the passing vehicle.
Kwaaaaaak-
The blast pressure that erupted in an instant blew apart the vehicle's underside. Steel fragments flew and tore the bodies inside to pieces.
Kugugugung-
The shockwave ripped the air. A thunderous echo shook the entire space, and the face of Louis Marceau, who had just spoken of an "axis of evil," split vertically. Flesh and bone torn from his body were swallowed by flame.
Leaving only traces that he had once been human, he burned down into ash.
......
Five minutes earlier.
Clara Magal watched the Socialist minister's motorcade from far away.
"That filthy bastard."
Louis Marceau. One of the biggest enemies of the Revision Society, and a core figure of the Socialist Party. Human trash, preaching tax hikes and snatching workers' money to hand it to parasites who loaf and feast.
If possible, she wanted to beat him to death with her own hands, but sadly they still lacked power. The Revision Society was still insignificant, honestly not even past the level of a campus club.
"This is seriously infuriating. Look over there."
A member standing in front of her frowned and pointed. [Tax hikes that suck the lifeblood of ordinary people-] The sign had just been smashed to pieces. Thugs had appeared and were beating them.
"...They deserve divine punishment."
Clara muttered through clenched fists, but a heavy helplessness soon washed over her.
From this far away, she could do nothing. All she could do was watch. Rage and curse, nothing else-
-Kwaaaaaaaa!
At that moment, lightning crashed from nowhere.
Or an explosion erupted from the ground.
At the bizarre roar that seemed ready to rupture their eardrums, Clara and her members flinched backward.
Kwaaa-!
Clara's eyes widened as she looked over there.
Kuuuuung-
With her pupils fully open, she saw the minister's vehicle crumple like paper and lift into the air in slow motion.
High into the sky, so very high. As if it had grown wings...
Kududududeuk-!
The world resumed a beat later. The vehicle lost shape in an instant.
Clara breathed out roughly. Mounted soldiers in the escort nearby coughed blood and collapsed, and the citizens who had been cheering moments ago mixed with shouting guards into total chaos.
Hwarrrrrrk-!
Red flames rose from the shattered boulevard. The fire quickly turned into stinging smoke, and people began shoving each other as they ran.
"..."
Clara looked down at the scene with unshaken eyes.
Minister Louis Marceau.
The real power of the Prozen Republic, and the Socialist prime minister's right arm.
Outwardly, he raised his voice, using the Empire as an excuse and pretending to protect the republic, but behind the curtain he tolerated finance networks and comprador capital that exploited people's lives, then repeated tax hikes that drove countless ordinary people to death.
"...Ha."
That beast had ended up like this.
A smile spread across Clara's lips, but then, suddenly.
“Chief. Will you hear me out?”
A man's voice from a few days ago, cold and steady as he stared straight into her eyes in a cramped rented room.
“I am preparing for an operation.”
The tone of Felix Renoir bloomed like a flower.
* * *
[ Unprecedented terror in the heart of Prozen's capital! ]
[ Shock! Defense Minister Louis Marceau dies in explosion ]
[ Yursled Prime Minister Bernard also killed in blast... Kingdom of Yursled issues strong warning over escort failure ]
[ Who is the culprit? Suspicion leans toward a far-right group ]
[ Public rage over brutal tax hikes finally leads to horrific explosion...! ]
Special reports flew everywhere across Prozen's streets.
The assassination succeeded. Bernard and Louis Marceau were both blown to pieces, and the escort troops, in total panic, sprayed gunfire at innocent civilians. Thanks to that, the scene, including mana residue, was completely damaged, and I returned calmly to my rented room.
One expected guest had already arrived before me.
"..."
Clara Magal. She glared at me with dark, sunken eyes.
"Did you do this?"
I raised my brows in silence, took off my coat, and sat down at ease.
For a moment, I considered what to say.
"...Yes. It was something someone absolutely had to do."
Clara hated the Socialist Party and Izenheim, and before my regression, that ideology developed further until she acted as the leader of an armed group that followed the Empire.
That meant she was useful to the cause.
Clara's fingers twitched once. She licked her dry lips. She looked like she was forcing her emotions down.
Understandable. Facing an unprecedented assassin would make anyone tense.
"What are you planning now? The whole republic is in uproar."
"I plan to disappear for a while."
"The borders will be controlled, and the police and military will search every corner, every rat they can find."
"Well, there is always a way."
I smiled calmly and asked,
"Chief. This should be enough to pass the entry test, right?"
"..."
Clara stayed silent for a moment. She stared at me for a long time, then let out an incredulous laugh.
"I feel like I should hand my position over to you."
"I do not have the talent to gather people. Being a member is enough for me."
"...Fine. I allow your membership."
I officially became a member of the Revision Society. It was worth celebrating, and I made my face serious again. I sharpened my gaze.
"Chief. I deeply agree with the cause of the Revision Society. Right now, everything is rotten. At this point, it might even be better to be occupied by the Empire. So this terror attack was only the beginning for us."
She listened without wavering. She nodded as if agreement were obvious.
"What position do you want?"
"...I will tell you later."
"Understood. Hide first. Once things quiet down around here, we will meet again."
Clara held out her hand to me.
"Yes."
I took her hand.
"See you again later."
Felix Renoir.
I had no intention of wasting this deadly identity, the one that assassinated Louis Marceau, Prozen's minister and Socialist power broker. I would refine it further and use it better.
"Right."
Clara Magal would grow into the leader of an armed group with plenty of value. Many people might die in that process, but if the result was good, means and methods could be tolerated without limit.
When the goal was "humanity's survival," that was truly the case.
"We will definitely meet again, Comrade Felix."
At the center of the west, I gained an ally.
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