WeTried Translations

Translator: Coughing Baby

Editor: Coughing Baby

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◈ The Reluctant Imperialist

Chapter 38

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The Logic of the Strong

House Listman was an imperial noble house. For centuries, they had pursued magical studies, building deep ties with magic towers and academic circles generation after generation. In recent years, they had laid a foundation worthy of being called a prestigious family.

The field that studied and analyzed mana, then applied it to everyday life: mana engineering.

Its current head, Valerius Listman, was a renowned mana engineer. He was also the inventor who introduced the innovation known as the mana coil.

But that glory had been built on the blood and tears of the man who had once been his teacher. The house's power had been cemented on betrayal, and false claims had shaken the world.

It had seemed like prosperity would last forever, yet declining performance in recent years had caught up with him. As time passed, mana coils became ordinary technology. Listman failed to create any new technology that could bring in greater profits. Countless ideas remained nothing more than ideas. It was the same for Valerius and for all the researchers under him.

In the end, Valerius had no choice but to admit it. He needed an even more "special brain."

That was why he had tracked his old teacher so relentlessly for years.

"So this is where you've been, Master."

At last, Valerius found his former teacher's mana shop.

Lorenzo glared at Listman and let out a rough breath.

"......Why did you come looking for me?"

"Calling me that? Your words are too harsh."

Valerius smiled as he brushed back his blond hair.

"It's simple. I came with a business proposal... hoping your talent hasn't rusted yet, Master."

"Hah. Trouble at your company?"

"......No-"

"Then again, you were never steady. Never patient. Mana engineering is scholarship. Scholarship has no shortcuts. The one who can stay planted in his chair, the one who walks the proper path, that one wins. No great scholar ever became great just to shine at parties."

"......"

A vein stood out at Valerius's temple.

"You still don't understand, Master. Right now, you are an officially wanted criminal in this Empire. A shameless thief who dared to steal my proprietary theory and run."

Lorenzo let out a hollow laugh. This warped disciple had come in person just to say that.

Valerius tore off a check and threw it onto the table.

"This is my offer."

The amount was an awkward 23,000 dollars. Maybe he thought 25,000 was too much and shaved off ten percent.

"I'll pardon your crime, and I'll pay you this much every month. Even decent researchers struggle to get this kind of annual salary. As for your deadline to answer..."

He raised his brows as he checked his wristwatch.

"How ridiculous."

"Don't even think about running. Our staff will watch you twenty-four hours a day."

Snap.

Listman flicked his fingers. In that instant, thugs stormed into and around the shop.

Wham! Bang! Craaash!

They swung steel pipes. They smashed the magic tools and display cases Lorenzo had cared for so meticulously. Lorenzo's face trembled as he watched his inventions shatter.

Bang! Craaash! Craaack-!

Amid flying shards, the old man stood alone. The disciple who had stolen everything from him.

And now, even now, he stared at the bastard who still coveted his knowledge. Beastlike breaths slipped through his teeth.

"What are you staring at? You had to tear this place down before leaving anyway. I only saved you the trouble."

Valerius met his gaze and smiled brightly.

"Then I'll wait for your wise answer."

Valerius left behind the miserable wreckage. The thugs also flowed out like an ebbing tide.

Tap, tap.

Armand came up from the basement.

"Um... Boss."

The buzz-cut boy looked at him with worried eyes.

"Go back inside."

"Ah... okay."

That was all Lorenzo could say.

That was his situation.

A faint, insignificant man who had grown old without managing even the smallest resistance...

* * *

I returned to the Order. While I had been gone, work had piled up like a mountain. Still, most of it was activated residue paperwork, so it was not hard to process.

My virus shows mana flow visually. So while I analyze activated residue, I sometimes feel as if my sight suddenly opens up. As if the flow of mana is decoding itself.

Knock, knock.

At that moment, my administrative officer knocked.

"Sir Knight. We received word from Mr. Lorenzo Carione that the items you ordered are ready-"

"I'm going now."

"Yes, sir. I'll have a vehicle waiting."

The administrative officer stepped out first. I changed into civilian clothes and came down, and he was already in the driver's seat.

"We are departing!"

He was passionate about everything. Maybe this was what happened when you paid someone well.

[Lorenzo Carione]

I arrived at the mana shop in Zestpol again. But the shop was nothing like before. It was a catastrophic mess. Windows were shattered everywhere, and the magic tools were all smashed.

"......"

I stood silently in front of the counter, and Lorenzo walked up with his cane.

He set down a box filled with items for me.

"These are the things you ordered last time."

Theoretical books by famous mana scholars, specialist texts on the ancient mana script called rune, and several other rare materials.

They could not have been easy to find.

"Have you considered my proposal?"

At my question, Lorenzo gave a bitter smile.

"You're telling me to borrow one noble's power and strike another noble."

"This is the kind of world where that is unavoidable."

"I can't trust nobles."

"Then will you run like this?"

I glanced at Armand, who was peeking out from the basement. The child's eyes were full of fear.

Lorenzo glanced at Armand, then spoke again.

"......Please take Armand with you."

"It's meaningless. A disciple without a master can't grow alone."

Lorenzo let out a deep sigh.

"But I am currently a wanted man. It will only bring harm to Armand and to you, Sir Knight."

In truth, Giorgio Kirico had ignored the court's damages ruling and gone into hiding. More accurately, he could not pay because he had no money.

"It's fine. Knights oversee everything in the Empire. That means a knight also has the authority to petition for a retrial in a case that has already been decided."

Pull out an old case file, stamp it for review, and the entire investigation restarts from the beginning.

Not every knight could do that.

But for a knight of Ebenholtz, reclaiming the truth was that simple.

"......"

Even so, Lorenzo hesitated. Frankly, it looked like a foolish hesitation.

"You're an old man who has trouble moving. Not just your body, your mind too."

I held out a blank sheet of paper and a pen.

"Write down the names of the people who can prove your innocence, Mr. Lorenzo."

"......Long ago, they already betrayed me. They sided with Listman and branded me a thief. There's no chance they'll take back their testimony now."

Lorenzo was a good person. Good people believed others could only be persuaded through good methods.

I was different.

"It's fine. I have my own method."

At that, Lorenzo seemed to understand what I meant, and he gave a bitter smile. He shook his head.

"My revenge will only create more revenge. I want to stop that chain of hatred now."

"Mr. Lorenzo. This isn't revenge. This is setting things right."

The head of Listman had swept up all kinds of awards this year: entrepreneur of the year, inventor of the year, scholar of the year.

Every one of those honors should have been Lorenzo's.

"This is about taking back everything that was stolen from you."

Listman ruled the mana engineering world with authority.

But authority had levels. Power and wealth limited to a mere industry could never reach Ebenholtz.

"Of course, this isn't free. In return, Mr. Lorenzo, you must become my strength."

Lorenzo looked at me. His eyes shook.

"You know this too. Goodness is only an illusion the weak create to protect themselves. Evil is the same. But strength draws no line between good and evil. The strong simply rule, and the weak choose good or evil to survive."

If the Empire became evil, that meant the Empire was becoming weak.

A strong Empire needed good and evil to stay blurred. In that blur, an opening appeared that could save the world.

"I'll grow strong for the Empire. And for me, and beyond me for the Empire, what we need far more than a thief like Listman is Giorgio Kirico."

Silence stretched as countless thoughts and emotions crossed through him.

"......Decide now."

At last, Lorenzo picked up the pen.

On the empty page, he wrote the names of the colleagues who had betrayed him.

* * *

In the blazing afternoon sun, I headed to the Sentio Magic Tower district.

Ezel had called me.

Since morning, she had been contacting me in a panic, saying it had to be today and could not be any other day.

"Do you even know how hard I had to work to persuade her?"

She wore a typical mage robe, and the dark circles under her eyes had dropped almost to her jaw.

"Looking at your face, yeah, you had it rough."

Anyway, thanks to Ezel, a meeting with Pexy had been arranged.

"......It's thesis review season, so I haven't slept for a week. That means today is my only opening. And even then, the way you talk makes me want to beat you up."

"That's why I booked a good place."

Delmon Arcadia, one of the top luxury restaurants in the capital.

Outside the window, the Arcadia River rippled like a painting, and inside, soft string quartet music filled the room.

A meal for two easily cost tens of thousands of dollars.

I heard same-day reservations were nearly impossible, but it worked when I gave my name. It was even a private room.

Knock, knock.

With a knock, the waiter opened the room door.

"This way, please."

"......Yes."

It was Pexy Arzen. Unlike Ezel in her shabby robe, Pexy had clearly put effort into dressing up.

I stood and offered my hand.

"Pleasure to meet you, Fifth-Rank Mage Pexy-nim."

She hesitated for a moment, then took my hand.

"Nice to meet you, Sir Maximilian."

Ezel looked back and forth between us and smiled with satisfaction.

The moment Pexy sat down, Ezel brought up the main point.

"The reason this meeting happened is, Max, you took the Head-Eater case this time, right?"

"Not just the Head-Eater. Recently, vicious crimes using magic have been increasing. Tracking these cases alone as a knight, I've started to feel my limits. I especially need a mage's help analyzing magical clues."

Pexy gave a bitter smile.

"My specialty isn't analysis and tracking. Of course I can help, but I'm not sure I'm the right person."

Thump.

My virus surged. This woman was almost certainly an Izenheim, a Head-Eater.

The problem was that I had no physical evidence.

Of course, even without evidence, I could kill her. Kidnap her and cut off her head. That would solve it.

But she had Jun Kandel backing her, she was Ezel's friend, and she was a fifth-rank mage of the Sentio Magic Tower.

She was not someone I could crush casually like a low-ranking soldier in wartime.

"Your appetizer."

Right then, appetizer soup was served. The chef came in person and explained something, but it barely registered.

"Hm? This is good. There's no shrimp in it, but it tastes like shrimp."

Ezel took a bite and guessed the ingredients.

"Did they... grind top-grade crystal shrimp?"

"Really?"

I took a bite too.

"Hmm, I think so. I can smell white wine too."

Pexy took a bite as well. Her eyes widened.

"It's delicious. Unlike you two, I'm from a small eastern house, so I'm not very good at describing flavors."

"Come on, you still rank first in magic theory all the time."

"Oh, first place?"

I showed interest on purpose. Ezel nodded.

"We had a really brutal magic analysis assignment this time, right? Ten mages were put on it, and she led it. Anyone would get cranky, but she never showed it once..."

Ezel kept the conversation moving. The mood stayed warm and friendly.

Pexy really felt human. I suddenly understood how the Revolutionary Faction and the new cabinet had been fooled by them.

Skin that looked too human, behavior that looked too human.

But they were our enemies.

A species from another world that had to be killed.

"This place tastes especially good today. Mage Pexy-nim, you're glad you came, right?"

"......Yeah. I am."

From appetizer to main dish, the dinner course was almost done.

I dabbed my mouth with a napkin and asked the real question.

"Mage Pexy-nim. I still haven't heard your answer to my proposal."

"Ah... if possible, I want to decide now too, but for outside activities I need permission from my advising professor."

"Would that professor be?"

"Professor Jun Kandel."

Jun Kandel. A damn familiar name.

"Tomorrow... no, I'll ask today and contact you right away."

Pexy held out her terminal. Ezel turned her head sharply to the side, trying not to laugh, and I pretended my hand was shaking as I took Pexy's terminal.

We exchanged numbers.

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