WeTried Translations

Translator: Coughing Baby

Editor: Coughing Baby

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◈ The Reluctant Imperialist

Chapter 49

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Papers

Late at night, I was writing in my study.

-[Strategic Methods for Using Knights Through Aerial Descent]-

I. Concept and Utility of Knight Aerial Assault

Knight aerial assault is an operational concept in which a high-altitude transport aircraft carries a knight above a target point, then deploys them by free fall directly into the enemy core or onto key personnel. It can provide the following strategic advantages.

1. Overcoming time and space constraints: regardless of a ground force's advance speed, a knight can appear on any battlefield within imperial territory in a matter of hours. This imposes an unpredictable threat on enemy command, and......

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I was writing material that could become an Empire Point textbook with my fountain pen.

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II. Methods of Knight Assault

......Knight aerial assault must be applied flexibly. Making every knight descend in one standardized way is as inefficient as swinging every famous sword like a hammer.

Descent methods must be subdivided and specialized according to each knight's temperament, talent, unique mana properties, and mission objectives.

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There are many approaches. Like me, a knight can cut through enemies in a single instant assault, or infiltrate in silence and maneuver by disrupting the enemy rear.

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......To find the optimal strategy for each knight's traits and execute it perfectly in real combat, a systematic training program over many years must come first. It is not enough to teach only how to jump. They must master mana and bodily control in high-altitude environments, along with specialized tactics for each type.

[Usage reference: Beheading of red-grade wanted criminal Dune Kan]

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I put down my pen for a moment and stretched. On one side of my desk, application forms for the Aerial Assault Club were piled up. Most young, low-seniority knights had submitted one.

Clearly, this case had created a decent response.

"You look tired, Sir Maximilian."

Lorenzo appeared between the tall bookshelves in the study. He looked exhausted too, and held out a thick stack of papers.

Paper again.

Paper, paper, paper. These days, my work is buried in paper all day long.

"The theory text on 「Spherical Aura Guard」 is complete."

I took Lorenzo's paper.

"These mana formulas... there are a lot of them."

It was fascinating. Lorenzo had perfectly organized the mana flow of 「Spherical Aura Guard」, formed by the virus, into precise mana formulas.

"You've worked hard."

"It was hardly work at all. I only translated the concept you created, Sir Maximilian, into proper language."

Lorenzo gave a faint smile.

"To construct a single formula, you need hundreds, even thousands, of mana formulas. They are methodologies for drawing circuits. Still, there are knights who move mana by instinct without this logic. Like you, Sir Maximilian."

I listened quietly.

"We scholars call that intuition. I simply explained your intuition as clearly as possible so others can understand it."

Lorenzo adjusted his glasses.

"Then, Sir Maximilian, why not go outside and test it once?"

"...Let's do that."

I went outside.

Late at night, I stood in the training ground, gripped a mana stone, and poured mana into it.

──.

In that instant, the mana stone emitted Aura Guard and formed a transparent sphere beside my body.

"According to the calculations, the sphere is determined not by the area of the human body, but by the purity of the mana stone and the knight's own mana capacity."

That meant taller, bigger knights needed larger, more expensive mana stones.

I nodded, satisfied.

"Where should this paper be submitted now?"

"If it is a formula for knights, then to the Imperial Central Mana Graduate School. Mana scholars will analyze it."

Imperial Central Mana Graduate School. At first glance, mages and mana scholars seem similar, but they are clearly different.

Magic is the art of creating phenomena by interpreting and converting fundamental mana through one's internal mana circuits. A mage uses mental strength and imagination as catalysts, then reconstructs mana inside the body according to specific formulas and magic circles.

In other words, magic is a fusion of mana and the human mind, an extremely personal and internal domain. That is why magic towers handle only magic.

Mana studies, by contrast, are an academic discipline that digs into how mana itself operates.

It studies only the principles of mana.

That is why the virus inside me is closer to mana studies. It responds only to mana itself, and delivers only intuition about the essence of mana as pure energy.

"...There are many scholars there who spend their entire lives buried in theory, men who are almost mad. True mana scholars. If they certify its value, it can be formally published as a theory text."

"I see. Then."

I handed Lorenzo a check.

"A bonus."

"It's all right. What more use do I have for money now? But... in the city you are building, please let me open one small school. For children who have talent but never get an opportunity."

Lorenzo seemed sincerely devoted to training future generations.

"Yes. I'll make it happen."

"Thank you."

Lorenzo stood straight with his cane in hand. I stood beside him and looked up at the night sky.

For a while, we just stared at the view.

"...Mr. Lorenzo. The Empire is preparing for war."

Suddenly, I felt like saying it.

"I won't avoid that war either. Rather... I will cleanse one race."

Lorenzo looked at me with startled eyes. I gave a bitter smile.

"As an intellectual, you may find that impossible to accept."

After a short silence, Lorenzo asked,

"...Sir Maximilian, do you believe that is the right thing?"

The right thing.

Any value is meaningless in the face of survival.

Those who choose death to protect morality and human ethics are worthy of respect, but the stakes raised without our knowing are not as small as one person's death.

It is the extinction of humanity.

"Yes. It is right. It will be right forever."

Lorenzo looked at my certainty. In the eyes of that aged genius scholar, stars still shone.

"Even so, if one day a scholar named Lorenzo cannot justify the actions of a knight named Maximilian and can no longer bear them, tell me honestly. I will explain every basis for why I am right. But in return."

"At that time, you must believe everything I say."

* * *

I had a special engagement today.

A charity event hosted by imperial nobles. But charity is only a facade. In truth, it is a party where social leaders, including nobles, knights, mages, politicians, and soldiers, gather to build connections.

I accepted the invitation and decided to attend, but my purpose was not petty networking.

Izenheim.

I would identify the bastards hiding here.

"We've arrived, Sir Knight."

I got out of the car in my knight dress uniform. The guards at the entrance did not even bother checking my identity. They looked at my face and uniform once, then bowed politely and opened the way.

In the vast garden courtyard of the estate, several charity booths were set up. They had dressed the place up to look like a real charity event. "Disabled Veterans Support Foundation," "Child Rights Protection Group," and other booths with names like those lined the grounds.

I gave them a quick look and walked inside.

"Max!"

A familiar voice called out to me. It was Ezel. She ran over with a cocktail in one hand.

"...Take care of your skin. Those dark circles are-"

"Shut up and come here. I need to tell you something."

Ezel pulled my arm toward a quiet corner of the garden.

"I secured a reasonable hypothesis. About the Head-Eater."

"Then you should've contacted me first."

"...It wasn't that easy. I've been in the magic tower this whole time, and I ran experiments too. I might've been noticed."

"What are you talking about?"

Ezel glanced around and whispered.

"I mean I might be under surveillance."

I paused too. With my senses raised, I swept my gaze across the party.

There still were not many people. It was not peak time yet.

"First, listen as if we're just talking about ordinary things."

I took Ezel's cocktail from her and nodded.

* * *

Meanwhile, on the 10th floor of the Imperial Central Mana Graduate School, where an entire floor was used as the [Theory Paper Review Room], one scholar finished analyzing a paper.

Tap tap- He struck the corners of the hundred-page stack into neat alignment, stood up, and faced the sorting bins.

│Highest│High│Upper-Mid│Mid│Lower-Mid│Low│Lowest│

Without hesitation, he dropped it into Lowest.

It meant, "not even worth re-reviewing."

He dusted off his hands and turned to leave, when:

"A newly submitted paper."

A new paper arrived right on cue. It was an uncommon hardbound volume wrapped in fine cloth.

The scholar asked,

"From a prestigious house?"

Children of prestigious houses usually liked flashy packaging like this. Young minds wanted everything to look impressive. Truly innovative talent obsessed only with theory did not care about outer wrapping.

"Yes, from a prestigious house. Look at the name."

The scholar checked the name. Maximilian von Ebenholtz.

「Maximilian Ebenholtz's Knight Formula Proposal: Spherical Aura Guard」

Knights are usually experts in handling mana. That means they are usually on the application side when scholars create theories and formulas. Of course, even among them are some with scholar-like dispositions. They should not be underestimated.

"Hm."

As a reviewer, he was curious.

It was because of the weight carried by the name Ebenholtz.

He opened the paper. He did not even bother returning to his desk.

Tick-tock- tick-tock- tick-tock-

The scholar turned one page after another.

Contrary to expectation, his reading speed was not fast. Instead, he realized this paper demanded time and care.

Tick-tock- tick-tock- tick-tock-

Countless scholars and graduate students passed around him, but he stayed rooted in one spot, eyes fixed only on the paper.

"..."

Suddenly, he moved to the copy room. He fed the paper into the copier and injected mana. The single copy quickly multiplied into dozens.

He was about to turn back at once, but then stopped and counted the copies.

"Ten, twenty, thirty..."

He was predicting demand.

There were hundreds of graduate students living on campus, but there was also constant traffic from scholars of other nations with entry permits, and sometimes mages...

"Hm."

He went back into the copy room. He made exactly one hundred more copies.

Then he returned to his desk with the stack. At the many desks in the open space, other scholars were absorbed in their own work.

He piled the papers in front of, behind, and beside his desk.

"Ahem."

Then he picked up a loudspeaker.

"I am distributing 「Spherical Aura Guard」, a knight formula theory text submitted by Maximilian, a rookie knight of House Ebenholtz."

Most scholars seemed uninterested.

"It is a theory text on the concept of implanting a knight's Aura Guard into a mana stone and emitting it as a transparent sphere."

He did not want to explain at length. He did not want to waste time.

He sat down at once and resumed analysis.

A scholar's immersion. Focusing only on the circuits that formed the formula, and the mana formulas that formed those circuits-

"One copy, please."

Another scholar suddenly approached. He could not remember the name, but the face was familiar. The man looked terribly bored.

Had he come just to kill time because there was no paper worth analyzing?

"Take one."

After that, he focused on the Ebenholtz formula text again.

Scratching his pen across paper, running all kinds of calculations in his head-

"One copy. Is that possible?"

A third scholar came and asked.

"Yes. Take one."

He handed over a copy and tried to dive back into the formula, but not long after, again.

"Can I take one?"

A fourth scholar broke his concentration.

With a frown between his brows, the scholar finally grabbed the loudspeaker.

"Announcing again. Sir Maximilian's 「Spherical Aura Guard」. Do not ask, just take one."

"Yes."

Only then did interruptions from other scholars stop.

He poured all his concentration into 「Spherical Aura Guard」. It was more than worth it.

Tick-tock- tick-tock- tick-tock-

How many dozens of minutes had passed like that?

Or had it been hours?

"..."

He stood up from his seat. No matter how much of a scholar one was, a human still could not ignore bodily needs.

He rushed to the bathroom and relieved himself.

He came back quickly without even washing his hands, but there was a problem.

His desk was empty.

"Hm."

Someone had stolen the paper he had been analyzing in depth.

More than anger, the scholar felt dismayed.

"Ah."

He picked up the loudspeaker again.

"To the person who took the paper from Desk 108 without permission, please return and give it back. I repeat. I can make as many copies as you want, so if you took the paper from the desk without permission, return at once and give it back. If you do not return it, I will proceed under the Mana Graduate School's internal procedures......"

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