WeTried Translations

Translator: Coughing Baby

Editor: Coughing Baby

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◈ The Reluctant Imperialist

Chapter 20

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In the End, the Problem Is People

Yan Novak trudged back home.

"......Oppa!"

"Hyung!"

The moment he stepped inside, his younger siblings clung to him. Small little kids, all of them. They must have been crying for hours, every one of them with swollen eyes.

"Oppa, what happened to your face......?"

"How, how did this happen, hyung?"

"Yan."

Their father appeared behind the worried children. His expression was complicated, and the first thing he did was bark at them.

"All of you, go inside!"

At his stern voice, the kids hurried into the tiny room. Their father looked at Yan's battered state and let out a sigh.

"......Are you hurt anywhere?"

"......"

Yan nodded in silence.

"That is a relief."

"......Yes."

"Get some rest."

He had always told him to stay out of politics and protests, all of it. But today, he said nothing else.

Yan climbed the stairs to his room on the second floor. He lay down on a bed hard as a plank and stared blankly at the ceiling.

That knight came to mind.

What he had witnessed was grace that forced those beast-like investigators to their knees, leaving them unable to utter even the smallest sound.

That was real strength, real authority.

'If you keep striving in your place, we will meet again someday...'

Yan's face hardened, and he sat up. He grabbed the envelope and shook out what was inside. Ten thousand dollars, a letter of recommendation, an ID card. He stared at them for a long moment, then strode downstairs. The steps, with chunks missing, looked ready to collapse at any second.

His father was sitting under the dim light in the living room with a sorrowful face. He was probably blaming himself.

"......Father."

Yan sat across from him and placed half the stack of bills he had received from the knight on the table.

"Yan, where did you get this-"

"I..."

No explanation was needed. It should not be given, either.

Biting his lip hard, Yan only conveyed his resolve.

"I will leave Gennen."

* * *

Catching the wrong person causes a bigger problem than simply creating one more victim of injustice.

It gives the real mastermind room to stay hidden and keep moving in the dark.

Izenheim would burrow deep into armed groups, including the Revolutionary Faction and the independence bloc, and I hoped Gennen's investigators, Zendo included, were capable.

That would at least lighten my workload.

"...Hmm."

I received new investigative records from Zendo at Gennen Central Police Station.

"Not bad."

I had Dieter investigate Zendo's background and class origins. He had his own reason to hate the independence faction.

If he could show that level of madness and aggression for no reason at all, then he would have been broken from birth anyway.

Zendo's parents had been slaughtered by the independence faction in the past.

"Zendo......"

I did not remember that name from before my regression. Meaning he had not been someone who stood out. He had probably spent his days as an investigator in Gennen until the Revolutionary Faction put a blade in him.

Still, if I only looked for people who were already proven, I would waste time.

Snap. Snap. Snap.

I flicked my fingers and thought it through.

Was he worth giving a chance?

More than that, was he worth backing?

"......I will know if I try."

Ebenholtz had plenty of money. I could raise him first, and if he still turned out useless, I could discard him without regret. I also needed subordinates like Zendo, men driven by resentment.

Most of all, if that place was not set right, the "Gennen Spring" would erupt. That incident would be very bad for the Empire.

I called Dieter.

"Dieter."

“Yes, sir.”

"Tell Zendo I read the records. Support him with equipment too, wiretap and eavesdropping gear, mana trace trackers, things like that."

Gennen Central Police Station was still just a station in an autonomous territory. Facilities, equipment, finances, all poor enough that even telephones had only been introduced a year ago.

“Understood.”

"Yan?"

“His new identity has been confirmed in the southwest of the Empire.”

Yan had moved south. Dieter had handled everything perfectly.

“Also, we finished the land purchases you mentioned, and the mana stone exploration found meaningful data, but a problem has come up.”

"A problem?"

“The local power brokers around that area are difficult. Protests against mining have already started under the pretext of environmental protection.”

"...Heh."

I let out a small laugh. I had expected that from the start. The south was full of local strongmen with heavy influence.

"Dieter."

Ironically, that was also why it could stay farthest from the Empire's worst corruption, but they had built up their own filth all the same.

"Ebenholtz is behind you now."

If money could solve everything, I could pay.

But in this case, paying would only make them latch on forever.

"It means you can wipe them all out."

I had no time to waste on those bastards. Money had to be made fast, then spent fast.

“Yes. Understood.”

"Good. If anything is unclear or bothering you..."

For a moment, I thought about Dieter's role model. Who did I want him to resemble? Which direction did I want him to grow?

Only one person came to mind.

"Ask Engi. He is the butler of our house, I will send you his contact."

Before my regression, Dieter had been a highly capable finance secretary of the Empire, and he had been executed as a mad, single-minded man who refused an offer from the inner cabinet.

“Yes.”

At the very least, he would live a better life by my side.

* * *

In Hermes, in the south of the Empire, five influential families gathered in a secret room.

They were there to respond to an uninvited guest that had suddenly encroached since last week.

"...Some company quietly bought land near the Rommilton Mountains."

From old times, imperial authority had never fully reached the south.

Because of the massive Vitar Mountains that cut across the Empire.

"I heard they started vein exploration right away. Not even a greeting to us. Just like those central bastards."

Now tunnels had finally been opened and transport had become convenient, but for much of the Empire's near-thousand-year history, the south had been cut off from the center.

"Absolutely unacceptable. We cannot let them damage the beautiful nature of Hermes."

"Of course not. Protecting the environment is all our duty, is it not."

Because of that, many southern regions had bureaucrats and local notables colluding to build their own authority. Hermes in particular had long been notorious for extorting huge "development funds" from outside companies, hiding behind one excuse after another.

"We already prepared protesters from among civic-minded citizens. Once they understand our sincerity, they will withdraw on their own."

That was how protests worked. They were part of a deal.

If the company showed sincerity, they accepted sincerity and stepped back.

And if a mana stone vein was discovered there, they would need to show even greater sincerity, one fitting that value......

“Withdraw at once from mining mana stone near the Rommilton Mountains and damaging its sacred landscape!”

“Withdraw!”

“Withdraw!”

Hundreds of protesters shouted slogans at the mountain entrance. They blocked the miners' path. They smashed the equipment and machinery being installed.

“Get out, you central bastards!”

“How dare you! You think you can damage nature shaped over thousands of years!”

“You sons of bitches! Step over my body if you want to pass!”

As they shouted at full force, something flew down near their feet. Thud. Clatter-clatter.

A few small cans.

The protesters flinched and stared.

Smoke grenades.

Pishuuuuuuuuk---!

The cans spun and spread gray fog. While the protesters panicked, assailants appeared.

They rushed in without a word and swung steel pipes.

Thwack! Craaack! Crunch!

Dull impacts rang out as metal crushed bone and flesh. The protest site became chaos in an instant, and screams of pain filled the area.

Aaaagh! Kraaagh!

One protester ran in panic and called someone.

Riiiing---!

In the secret room where the local bosses were talking,

a terminal rang.

"...Ah, this. My apologies."

One of Hermes's five notables cut the call. They were about to continue their meeting, but

Boom!

With an explosive crash, the door blew open. The entrance came apart and fragments flew.

Beyond it, revealed in violent force, stood armed Imperial police.

"W-what bastards are you!"

"Under Article 237 and Article 314 of Imperial Criminal Law, as of this moment we are placing 'Marcus Steiner,' 'Jin Yusef,' and four others under emergency arrest on charges of bribery, abuse of authority, and instigating an illegal assembly."

The police recited imperial law and subdued them. As handcuffs snapped shut, the local bosses shrieked like men in seizure.

"You insane bastards! Do you even know who I am!"

"This is the south!"

"The south is still the Empire. The same law applies."

"You pigs, did someone bribe you too?! Southern nobles will not stay quiet about this!"

They were hauled away in moments.

* * *

......Jensen, mayor of Hermes, received the news without delay.

He had formed tight ties with those local bosses, and he climbed into his car in fury.

"Those fucking bastards. What do they think they are backing, pulling this kind of stunt, I should at least see their fac- ugh?!"

Screeech!

The driver slammed the brakes. A man was standing right in front of the car.

"Who the hell is that!"

A man in rimless glasses. He slowly walked over and knocked on the rear window.

Knock knock.

"......"

Jensen rolled the window down.

"Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Mayor. I am Dieter Schmidt of Veritas Trade."

"What? Veritas? Ah, those guys mining mana stone in Rommilton? Was this your doing? You idiot, you do not know how the world works. You picked the wrong target. You think city hall is going to approve-"

"Recently, complaints were filed regarding bribery by you and several other local notables, Mr. Mayor."

"Complaints? Ha, you central people do not get it. In the south, that kind of custom-"

"Please read the details."

Dieter held out two documents containing indictments. While he did, suspicious new faces appeared around city hall.

Large men loitering nearby without any obvious action.

"There are two indictments. One is yours. The other... you know without me saying it."

"Ha!"

Mayor Jensen was about to rip them up, then without thinking he checked the seal on the envelope.

A silver tiger.

A silver tiger.

Something he had seen often somewhere, in textbooks to be exact...

the symbol of Ebenholtz.

"It seems everyone took too openly, calling it custom."

At Dieter's words, his mouth suddenly went dry. He felt the blood drain from his head.

Central nobles usually did not start trouble in the south, but Ebenholtz was not a typical noble house. Not an ordinary family.

"Would you like to make a call?"

Dieter held out a terminal. The mayor's body trembled.

"Or would you rather go back as you are and become our friend."

"..."

Jensen's lips twitched. With a shaking hand he swept his hair back.

But there was not much time.

The mayor wrestled with his decision, stared hard at the expressionless Dieter, then

"...How do I become your friend?"

he asked. Dieter gave a light nod.

"Stay inside and wait, and there will be an opportunity. At that time, please handle the cleanup."

"..."

Jensen got out of the car without a word. With his secretary, he headed back into Hermes City Hall.

As Dieter watched his back in silence, quiet praise reached him.

"Good work."

It was Engi, the one who had personally coached him. Dieter bowed his head.

"Thanks to you. This is my first time in a field operation like this."

"It is fine. For a first time, it was perfect."

In Engi's eyes, Dieter had genius-level talent for tracing money flow. On top of that, the way he removed emotion from work made him perfect as a practical operator.

Young Master Maximilian had a good eye for people.

Engi smiled softly.

"Mr. Dieter Schmidt. Do you know why a house is strong?"

"Why a house is strong......"

Dieter tilted his head as if he did not know.

"Because people are inherited. Sir Maximilian is probably trying to build his own people now, his own organization, right?"

Independence from the main house was the first step in breaking away from one's father.

Ebenholtz, Sebestian, knew all of it and still allowed it.

Of course he did. Sebestian was the master of Ebenholtz now, but in the end Maximilian would inherit everything.

"But Sir Maximilian is also Ebenholtz. So he has every right to the Link network this house built over generations. You only need to transfer it to him, one by one."

Engi looked at Dieter. Dieter looked back at Engi.

"Yes. Thank you."

"And one most important thing in that process."

Engi's eyes curved like crescents. More warning than smile.

"Never betray the young master. I am saying this for you, Mr. Dieter, not for him."

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