WeTried Translations

Translator: Coughing Baby

Editor: Coughing Baby

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◈ The Reluctant Imperialist

Chapter 28

──────

The Utility of Law (4)

[Name: Pexy von Arzen]

[Birth: November 1, Imperial Year 1012, Arcadia, the capital]

[Status: Eldest daughter of House Arzen]

[Affiliated with the Sentio Magic Tower, fifth-rank mage]

Pexy von Arzen.

In the mages' nine-rank hierarchy, she was already fairly high up. There were only seven active eighth-rank mages, and at ninth-rank there were none currently active and only three in all of history. At this rate, she was an elite likely to reach at least seventh-rank before her career ended.

That was exactly why an Izenheim would, on average, handle mana well. Their method of communication mixed their wave patterns with mana in the first place.

"Ezel. The report...?"

Pexy tilted her head as she looked at me beside Ezel. Ezel introduced me.

"This is Maximilian, a knight from the Sentinel Order."

Pexy looked between us and smiled.

"Nice to meet you. Fifth-rank Pexy... Ah, I guess knights do not use this kind of greeting."

"I know it. Mages always put their rank first."

"It is our own little hierarchy habit. Kind of embarrassing."

She had a noble's tone. Even her speech was perfect.

I asked casually.

"By the way, have we met before?"

"Uh... have we?"

Not a flicker in her expression. She played dumb. Fine. I would do the same for now.

"Hm. Must have been my mistake."

"What brought you here from the Sentinel Order, Sir Knight?"

"I have a case I am handling these days, so I was wondering if there might be a mage willing to cooperate..."

"Huh? That was why?"

Ezel lightly punched my shoulder. Pexy gave a small laugh and asked again.

"I see. What case?"

That was the question I had been waiting for.

"I am tracking the Head-Eater."

I kept speaking while watching her expression.

"You know the Head-Eater, right? One of the victims was a mage."

"Yes, I know. It was a horrible case."

She really was calm. All she showed was a natural, everyday reaction.

Ezel beside me turned serious too.

"Head-Eater... Max, I think I can connect you with a mage who specializes in tracking. I happened to meet one last week."

"Oh, really?"

I did not actually need that.

Pexy checked her wristwatch and raised her brows.

"Ezel, upload the report once it is organized. I have somewhere to be. Sir Knight, I hope you catch them."

"Yes, ma'am."

I gave a short bow. Pexy left in a hurry.

Watching her from behind, I muttered on purpose.

"...She is beautiful."

Just loud enough for Pexy to hear.

Ezel snickered.

"So you do have good taste. She is pretty famous."

"Yeah? Are you close with her?"

"I got to know her after joining the tower, so about three months. Why? Interested?"

I nodded right away.

"Yeah. Put in a word for me."

A strange light flickered in Ezel's eyes for a moment, then she grinned and thumped my shoulder.

"You little punk... you finally became an adult?"

Our engagement had been erased cleanly, as if it had never happened. Her family had never liked me much, and Duke Sebestian had never cared about my private life in the first place.

"Yeah. I also want to talk with her more about the Head-Eater."

"Hmm. So you will use cooperation as an excuse?"

"Something like that."

With a sly look, Ezel tapped her chest.

"Good. Just trust me and wait."

She said it with a bright smile.

* * *

After I returned home from the magic tower, it was time for Freya's sword training.

One way or another, I had come back to the Ebenholtz path, but now I had no complaints. I absolutely needed to raise my own combat power. In a few years, I would become the Revolutionary Faction's and the Izenheim's top assassination target.

"Hoo..."

Repeating Ebenholtz breathing, I drew up the pure crystals that had settled in my body since childhood. I spread mana through my whole body and tempered bone, muscle, and blood vessels.

Thump-

The virus resonated with me too.

Thump-

Breathing was harder than expected. The mana particles clawed at my organs, and it hurt badly.

"Ugh..."

In pain that felt like my heart and lungs were burning away, I opened my eyes.

Freya was standing right in front of me before I knew it.

"Your breathing intervals are good. The mana circulating between inhale and exhale is purified very cleanly as well. You learned mana breathing very well."

"...Thank you."

"Get up now. If you keep going, your organs will tear."

I stood up. Swaying, I looked at Freya.

Honestly, this woman was still full of questions. Had someone like her existed before my regression? Probably an alias, of course, but I could not even remember anyone similar.

"Now show me. Your sword."

"Yes."

Time for a homework check.

I drew my long blade and swung it through empty air. The sword extended like flowing water. I did not force strength into it. I just cut naturally.

────!

The longsword's edge cut the wind, a clear ring as if it were slicing space itself.

Through that sound, Freya's dagger flew in like lightning.

Whoosh!

"Holy hell, what are you doing?!"

I recoiled in shock. The dagger skimmed my cheek and buried itself in the tree behind me.

"I told you not to move."

Freya replied coldly.

"Sorry?"

"Ugly. The Ebenholtz sword is an elegant sword. A sword that resembles moonlight in a silent night. You cannot move around that lightly, and you cannot swing it in that showy way either."

"..."

I brushed my hair back. I was getting irritated.

Freya kept framing the Ebenholtz sword in noble terms.

"But listen. What good is elegance in a sword? Are we swinging it so other people can admire-"

"Because only then can you reach the ultimate."

"...The ultimate?"

Freya extended her arm. The dagger stuck in the tree returned to her hand.

"I am not asking you for shallow style meant to impress people. That sort of style is just bluffing. Elegance, on the other hand, starts from the inside."

"What does that have to do with the ultimate?"

"Think about a mage's magic circle. Do they draw it carelessly? No. Stroke by stroke, they pour everything into completing the spell. Even a slight deviation destroys the magic."

As she suddenly started talking about mages, I realized something.

"The Ebenholtz ultimate is more than simple swordsmanship. A perfect swordsmanship formation completed by the sword's trajectory. That is the Ebenholtz Secret Sword. To do that, your habits must be perfect from the start."

Freya swept her sword. Light spilled from the clean arc. My eyes widened.

"When you hold a sword, keep your movements neat and unbroken at all times. Also, make no sound when you cut. That is your second assignment."

Make no sound while cutting.

It was harder than ten thousand swings.

"Try it."

"...Yes."

I swung first.

Whoooosh-!

It made noise. Of course it did.

Whoooosh-!

The more I fixated on the sound, the duller my sword became, and the louder it got.

"Use your whole body, not just your arms. Remove all unnecessary waste of force."

Freya's voice stayed calm.

I closed my eyes.

"Instead, focus on the tiny starting movement. Even if you move only your axis, your body will advance naturally."

The sole planting into the ground, the ankle kicking off, the hips rotating.

Through all of it, the Link of the sword form came together.

"Move your whole body like a sword."

My arms were only the endpoint where a swordsman's force arrived. You did not wield a sword as just another body part. You had to grasp the sensation of releasing the sword through the flow of your whole body.

Then the noisy tearing sound gradually faded.

I crushed every other thought down.

A noble did not reveal emotion. Did not display it. Only kept composure.

Only refinement remained.

...A [refined] sword.

I trained through the night until I collapsed on the ground. The rustling leaves felt like a bed. A full moon hung in the sky.

Then suddenly, blocking half that light, Freya looked down at me.

I looked up at her.

──When elegance reached its peak.

Her words spread far away. They shimmered in my ears as if I were underwater.

──A sword that resembles moonlight...

The blade flashed. Like quiet moonlight, dozens of silver strands bloomed as if layered in midair.

It was clear and deep.

It was brilliant.

Yet never gaudy.

A silent sword dance.

“It becomes the freest sword.”

Without a doubt, it was truly elegant.

At the very least, this woman did not lie.

I closed my eyes slowly.

Then I fell into a deep sleep.

* * *

The next morning, I went to work with an aching body and sat in the knight's office, where I received a document.

At the same time, I realized I had quite a few obstacles in my way.

"...Damn."

In Knight Court, a knight's sentencing recommendation half demanded the verdict, but the owner of the courtroom was still the judge.

Even in an empire on the decline, some people still tried to keep their conscience.

──[Notice of Judgment Deferral]──

Case: Charges of insurrection conspiracy at the paper mill and organizing a Revolutionary Faction cell

Defendants: Daniel Matteo and two others (Fatima Muller, Maria Schulz)

Court: Criminal Division 3

Judge: Klaus von Limperk

Order

- The judgment in this case is deferred, and the case is remanded to the assigned knight for supplementary investigation.

Grounds

- The charges against defendant Daniel Matteo are clearly recognized even from the submitted evidence alone.

- But for defendants Fatima Muller and Maria Schulz, the currently submitted evidence is significantly insufficient to prove insurrection conspiracy and organization charges beyond a reasonable doubt.

- In particular, the part that defines some defendants as members of the "Revolutionary Faction" and indicts them appears to rely entirely on the assigned knight's subjective judgment and interpretation, without objective documentary or physical evidence.

Therefore, unless clear and specific proof is established regarding the degree of these two defendants' involvement in that organization, this court cannot sentence the two defendants to death.

Accordingly, the court defers judgment and requests a thorough and complete reinvestigation of this part by the knight, along with submission of additional evidence.

────────────

The judge assigned to the case had rejected my death sentence recommendation.

"..."

I set the notice down. Then I roughly pushed my hair back.

I had no choice now.

I picked up the terminal and called Schatz.

"Schatz. Second mission."

“Yes. I have been waiting.”

Klaus von Limperk. Was he a member of the Revolutionary Faction? I could not know yet. At minimum, if he was a judge who rejected this even after seeing the Ebenholtz name, then even losing his job would not make him bend his will.

"Judge Klaus Limperk. Dig into his background."

For efficient negotiation, I first had to find what the other side valued more than themselves.

"Start with family ties... especially his children."

Then I had to grab those things and shake.

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