WeTried Translations

Translator: Coughing Baby

Editor: Coughing Baby

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◈ The Reluctant Imperialist

Chapter 39

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The Logic of the Strong (2)

"That worked out, huh? You even exchanged numbers."

On the way back from the restaurant, the night market lights glittered along the street.

I shrugged at Ezel's words.

"What worked out? This is just the beginning."

"Come on. That Head-Eater thing is fake too, right?"

"It's real. I really got assigned to it."

Ezel pattered ahead and pulled up her robe hood. She darted off somewhere, then popped back up with a candy-coated fruit skewer in one hand.

"And you're still more interested in side stuff than the case?"

"Well... yeah."

Crunch. Ezel bit into the fruit. The candy shell cracked. She chewed like a squirrel, then covered her mouth and snickered.

"...So should I keep pretending to be fooled?"

That made me flinch.

"What are you talking about?"

"Hey. You think I don't know you?"

"I said, what are you talking about?"

Crunch. Crunch. Craaack. Candy shattered in her mouth. She waved the empty skewer and said,

"Max. When you like someone, or when you're happy or excited, your hands don't shake. You actually look calmer on the outside. But you stop hearing what other people are saying. Like your ears close up while you're trying to cool down."

"..."

My steps halted. Ezel stayed one step ahead, then spun back toward me.

I was honestly speechless.

"So you knew all along?"

"Knew what?"

"That I liked you."

"Anyone who didn't would be an idiot. Anyway, that's not now. More importantly."

Ezel asked,

"Why are you approaching Pexy?"

Her eyes suddenly sharpened.

I thought about my answer, but I felt like I could tell her what I really meant.

"I'm suspicious of her."

"...As the Head-Eater?"

"Yeah."

Ezel stayed silent for a moment. Arms folded, she sank into thought.

She never jumped to conclusions. That was just how she was. She never said no way, and she never said definitely.

"Do you have a reason? I really don't see it."

"A hunch."

"...Excuse me?"

Her eyes narrowed. I gave a short laugh.

"Pexy von Arzen first came to the capital three years ago. Coincidentally, that's when the murders started."

"That's all? It could've been a coincidence."

"The murder method was too unusual."

At that, Ezel nodded quietly.

"So the head was severed in such an abnormal way that a mage was likely, and since mages are a small population, narrowing down suspects should've been relatively easy?"

"Yeah."

"It still could've been a swordsman, a mercenary, or a drifter who learned mana on their own. Especially swordsmen, if they use Sword Aura or whatever, that level of cutting-"

"I'm a knight. Sword-energy residue is distinct from magic and mana, easy to identify. And it wasn't a drifter either. The cross-sections of the corpses changed from the first murder to the recent ones."

"Cross-sections?"

"At first it was messy, like a beast had torn it off. Recently it got sharp, like it was cut with a razor."

"So the killer improved while killing."

"Yeah. Drifters who learn mana in the underground city have a hard time improving. Their mana traits get fixed as they are... and if it were that kind of drifter, it'd actually be much easier to identify. No way they stay hidden for three years."

"Fair point."

As we kept walking down the street, I went on.

"And there are no eastern nobles with the name Arzen."

"Huh? You sure?"

"There were, but they're all dead. Of course, on paper Pexy von Arzen is listed as the only bloodline left in House Arzen, and her parents' birth and death dates match perfectly."

"But?"

"That much can still be manipulated. In the end, all the family who could verify her identity are dead."

Ezel rubbed her chin and muttered,

"...Honestly, I can't believe it."

"Of course not. She would've been completely different from the Pexy you know."

"No-"

Ezel frowned.

"Who said that's what I can't believe? Not Mage Pexy. The evidence."

"...Evidence?"

"Does it make sense that nine people were killed and not one piece of evidence turned up? There had to be something. Even a tiny clue. Regular detectives or knights just didn't catch it."

Then she suddenly spread her palm toward me.

"Share it. The case file."

"You said you were busy with your thesis."

"Friends can help each other this much."

Friends.

The moment she said that, I suddenly started doubting her. If we got close enough to share case information like this, would she try to use it for the Revolutionary Faction?

"If Mage Pexy really is a killer."

There were people in this world who endured imperial pressure and forged stronger convictions. People who stood up for a greater cause.

Like Yulian, Edmund, and Ezel.

If not for Izenheim, they would have gone down in history as pioneers and heroes.

"Then she's someone who shouldn't be in the Magic Tower."

I nodded.

"I'll send it. Come to my knight office later."

"Okay. I'll send my secretary-"

"Come in person."

"..."

Ezel looked at me quietly. A wind that had risen out of nowhere blew her robe hood off. Her black hair, tinted with blue, swayed.

In a scene that looked almost like a painting, she raised her middle finger.

I smiled.

"I'll snap that finger."

"...No, I'm seriously busy with my thesis. Why would I come in person? Do you still like me?"

"Fine, just get lost."

We were already in front of the Sentio Magic Tower.

I asked Ezel, who was about to leave with a bright smile.

"But will you be okay?"

"About what?"

"I'm almost certain it's her. You could be upset."

Ezel gazed at me with clear eyes, then slowly tilted her head.

"If Mage Pexy-nim is a killer, why would I be upset?"

"...Weren't you close?"

"Come on. We only knew each other for six months, how close could we be? We just..."

Ezel gave a bitter smile.

"pretended to be close."

Fair enough, she wasn't ordinary either. An ordinary person wouldn't be born into a great house like Runselot and dream of revolution in the first place.

"Right. We all live by pretending. I'm going."

I waved and turned away.

"Max."

Ezel stopped me.

"But you're different. With you, I'm really close."

She said that with a bright smile, and I smiled back at her, gladly.

Then I raised my middle finger.

Ezel's face instantly turned foul.

"...I'll snap that finger."

I quickly turned away from her, looking like she might cast a spell at any second. Even while hurrying off, I couldn't stop smiling.

I learned one more thing from Ezel today.

You should never judge people too easily. Even if that person is Ezel, always doubt. Never let your guard down.

Because we walk different paths.

Ding-

Right then, a message came from Schatz. It was an encrypted text.

[Lorenzo rescue successful. Escaping south.]

* * *

"How dare they! Which fucking bastards!"

Valerius of Listman got an urgent message while away on business. Lorenzo had escaped.

"We're pursuing with everything we have right now, but all the hired mercenaries..."

The mercenaries had all collapsed, combat-incapacitated. It was very clean work.

"That worm. It dares touch Listman?"

He shot to his feet, rage boiling through his whole body.

"Send word to Akarius."

Akarius. A mercenary corps that operated across the whole continent beyond the Empire.

"Y-yes. And the mission details..."

"One million if they bring him in alive."

He had no idea where that old washed-up fool got his confidence from, but it was a stupid choice.

This was exactly what happened when you coddled people. They mistook you for a tree and tried to climb. He should have crushed him from the start. He should have kept him locked up and made him do research.

"Tell them his limbs don't need to stay intact."

"Yes. Understood."

Maybe he had gotten too soft with age. He had no need to show this much mercy.

Valerius bit down on a cigar and tried to cool the heat rising inside him.

"..."

Then he suddenly noticed a photo crumpled in his drawer. It was from his researcher days, taken with his academic advisor, Giorgio Kirico.

"...No."

Valerius stared at it, then changed his order.

"Tell them both arms and one leg should stay intact. If the body suffers too much, the head can get stupid."

* * *

Before starting the reinvestigation into the "Giorgio Kirico" case, I summoned the witnesses from back then first.

The first was Jerome, a mage who had once worked with Lorenzo.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Jerome."

"Yes. Hello."

He was living a wealthy life in a very nice mansion in District 4 of the capital. He had left the Magic Tower, but as the head of a solid magic business, it looked like he had gotten the wealth and glory he wanted.

"What brings you to me, Sir Knight...?"

"Nothing special."

Nothing special.

Not yet.

"Do you remember the name 'Giorgio Kirico' from fifteen years ago?"

"..."

Jerome's expression stiffened at once. I handed him a document with Giorgio Kirico's profile.

"He should have been your colleague at the Magic Tower."

"Yes. Of course I remember. But he..."

Jerome gave a bitter smile.

"He was disgracefully expelled after trying to steal the theory of a mage scholar under him. I don't really know where he is or what he's doing now. We haven't had any contact even once since then."

It looked like he had mistaken this for me chasing Lorenzo.

"No. I have no interest in Mr. Giorgio Kirico's whereabouts. I'm planning a reinvestigation of that whole case."

"...A reinvestigation?"

"Yes. Looking closer, the witness statements from back then and the internal Magic Tower records just don't line up."

Jerome blinked. He looked very flustered.

"There were records that Mr. Giorgio had researched and experimented with the [Mana Magnetic Field Induction] theory, directly tied to mana coils, long before Valerius Listman announced it."

"Ah, well, those are records that can be forged any time, aren't they."

He was shamelessly lying right to my face, but I had expected that.

I dropped a file folder onto the table. Thud. Then I pushed the thick documents toward him.

"What is this?"

"Mr. Jerome, you've done a little money laundering recently."

"...What?"

His face went dark and stiff like stone. My administrative officer, Dieter, was an expert at tracing funds. Maybe when he looked at documents, those flows simply visualized and diagrammed themselves in his head.

"Looks like life got better for you, in exchange for selling out your old colleague."

"S-selling out? I only testified to the truth-"

"You were probably jealous too. A mere commoner who was always above you."

I leaned back in my chair and gestured at the papers.

"Read."

"..."

Jerome did not move. He just sat there, still as a snowman.

I frowned.

"I said read."

Only then did he reach out and take the documents.

The Empire was desperate to secure tax revenue, and money laundering was one of the most dangerous crimes in times like these.

"You set up paper companies, made it look like you were buying overseas artwork, and siphoned funds out. A classic method. But if one of the many companies involved in that laundering had even a slight connection to a 'subversive group.'"

Money laundering was complex. Even the person who ordered it could not know exactly which firms the money passed through. You found out only by digging.

Because of that, there was one method the Imperial Guard loved to use.

"For example, if your funds passed through a company that secretly supports the Revolutionary Faction."

Jerome's face went pale.

It must have felt good when he sold out his colleague. He must have been happy when he pocketed the money. He probably even felt relieved, thinking a mere commoner had been too full of himself for too long.

"I swear on the name of Ebenholtz."

I said to him,

"You won't be sent to prison. You will quietly disappear from this world."

Now it was time to pay his debt.

......

Thump-thump-thump.

In southern Hermes Province, inside a factory where machines refined mana stone with heavy rhythmic noise,

Dieter guided Lorenzo and Armand through the facility and asked,

"Do you see any way to raise the efficiency of this refining process further?"

Lorenzo examined the machine structure in detail, while Armand ran around bursting with excitement.

"The current method is focused only on increasing mana purity. If we apply the 'Phase Conversion Catalyst Theory,' we can reduce mana loss by over 30 percent and double production speed. Of course, we'd still need more detailed research."

"Yes. I'll relay that exactly to the boss."

Ding-ding-

A call came from Maximilian right then.

"Yes. Yes, understood."

After exchanging a few words, Dieter handed the terminal to Lorenzo. Lorenzo cleared his throat, looking tense.

"Yes. This is Lorenzo."

“How is the factory? Do you see room for growth?”

"I think I need to inspect it more closely, but-"

“Do anything you want freely. There are no limits. Millions, tens of millions, hundreds of millions, spend as much as you want.”

Hearing Ebenholtz casually discuss hundreds of millions left Lorenzo dazed for a moment.

"Wow! Woooow!"

Armand's shout snapped Lorenzo back. He had no idea why that little guy loved machines so much.

"Ah, right, and there was something you said before, Sir Knight. Armand's invention, the mana stone waterwheel. It seems like we could use it in the mines here to some extent... is there any chance it violates the law?"

A soft laugh came through.

“No. It won't violate the law. Research and install it as much as you want. I'll also have a workshop made for both of you very soon.”

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