WeTried Translations

Translator: Coughing Baby

Editor: Coughing Baby

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◈ The Reluctant Imperialist

Chapter 51

──────

Head-Eater

I sat in the mansion study, quietly writing my kill list.

───

1. Johann: Vice President of Golden Gate Trade.

2. Forn Sommer: Imperial Guard lieutenant colonel.

3. Gero Paten: President of Western Jefston Bank.

4. Mario Chalmer......

───

They were the Izenheim I had identified at this charity event.

I would rather they were Revolutionary Faction members. If they were, they would have left traces somewhere, and I could have purged them without much trouble.

Knock knock-

Right then, someone knocked on the door.

“Come in.”

It was Schatz. Her complexion was far better than before, and even her gestures carried refinement.

It looked like she had gone through very intense vocational training at the main estate.

I handed her the kill list.

“These five. Keep them under steady watch.”

“Yes.”

“How is the vocational training at the main estate?”

“It has been a huge help to us.”

Engi was fully in charge of that training. There was still no one in this world I trusted as much as Engi.

“Then go have some fun today.”

“I’m fine.”

“Not for you. For your team.”

I wrote a check and handed it to her.

“You lead a team now. You need to learn how to take care of your subordinates too.”

“......Yes. Thank you.”

A faint smile brushed Schatz’s lips.

“How is the branch office in Gennen coming along?”

“It is almost complete. We plan to begin official operations this week.”

Soon, the branch office would begin operating in Gennen.

It meant a forward base set apart under a knight's authority.

“Schatz. In a few years, your enemy will come there.”

Schatz stared at me. A strange light flickered in her clear eyes. Her desire for revenge had frozen into something very cold.

“Yes. I will wait for that day.”

“Good. You can go.”

Schatz left. I looked back down at the table.

My current work was a mountain of investment proposals from the Kanillan Independent State. Their desperate attempts to impress a major investor...... really, they were trying to get their hands on my money.

“Kanillan.”

Kanillan was a country worth using. Even before regression, they had insisted on strict neutrality. Their highest value was never ideology or honor, only money.

But for that exact reason, Kanillan would soon face a major crisis.

“What was it again.”

Compared to the Empire, Kanillan’s financial sector had grown in a warped way. Greed had given that capital an ugly ceiling.

An economic slump caused by human desire.

With the virus’s help, I searched my memory.

──[Kanillan Economic Review]──

The Tower of Greed Collapsed: Tracing the Root of Kanillan’s Financial Meltdown

Kanillan’s growth. The island nation that once dreamed of becoming the continent’s top financial hub eventually faced the nightmare of collapse......

(omitted)

......Kanillan’s banks all rushed to lend massive sums to tech ventures and real estate developers. The only collateral was intangible future patent rights, or empty development sites where the first shovel had barely struck the ground. High-risk bad loans, practically speculation.

Instead of holding those risky loan claims, the banks sliced and mixed them into smaller pieces. Then they cleverly repackaged them with safe bonds issued by blue-chip companies, creating derivatives with the polished name “corporate asset-backed securities.”

Investors poured in money without question. Endless circular trading and astronomical bonus feasts for finance executives. Under the banner of market autonomy, Kanillan stood by and watched all that madness......

Then everything collapsed. A chain of debt defaults broke out, and the bomb of derivatives, now worthless scraps of paper, swallowed Kanillan’s economy whole.

───

Right now, Kanillan was full of bubbles, and soon they would burst. That was also the biggest reason Kanillan claimed neutrality during the war.

They had to make money by selling weapons to the Empire.

I planned to take profit on Kanillan stocks at the peak, then bet on the crash.

Bzzt-

A text came to my terminal.

[Tomorrow night, 10 p.m. Garden outside the magic tower.]

[Come get your head back.]

It was Ezel.

* * *

A break room in the middle levels of the magic tower.

Ezel Runselot sat drinking coffee. She was waiting for someone.

“Oh, Mage Pexy! Over here!”

Pexy came over from across the room.

The way Ezel had kept Pexy close until now was simple.

“I found another new spell.”

While they worked in the same lab on the same research, Ezel slowly revealed details from the investigation.

If Pexy was the culprit, she would latch onto suspicious clues, and in fact she had kept circling around Ezel.

“A new spell?”

“Yes. Come this way first.”

They got up naturally and stepped into the elevator, and Ezel handed her a paper with the spell written on it.

“「Chimera Brain」?”

“Yes. I told you last time, right? There had to be a reason the killer ate heads at fixed intervals. This spell fits that exactly.”

Ding.

The elevator reached the first floor. Walking beside Pexy, Ezel repeated what she had told Max.

“......To maintain the body, they have to consume brain energy. Based on my calculations, another murder will happen within a month at the latest.”

She stepped outside the magic tower and turned her back to Pexy.

Anyone would tense up in a moment like this. Your head could get eaten.

“I see. That does sound convincing.”

But Pexy did not attack. She stepped forward instead and gave a gentle smile.

“Did you tell the police?”

“No. Not yet. It is still only a hypothesis.”

At first glance, she did not look like the culprit at all, but Ezel was already half certain.

In truth, one handwritten letter in the document Ezel gave Pexy had been made deliberately ambiguous.

「Camera Brain」

The first syllable had been written faintly, so in Imperial script it could be read as either “ki” or “ka.”

Camera and chimera. Which word felt more familiar? Even for a mage, camera would come to mind first.

Ezel tested ten people the same way, and all of them read it as the Imperial word “camera.”

Except for one person, Pexy.

“I can help with the calculations too. The error range might change.”

Pexy readily offered help, but Ezel gave a bitter smile and shook her head.

“......No. You do not need to.”

Another figure appeared from the dark. Streetlamp light fell over him.

A Sentinel knight, Maximilian.

Pexy’s eyes widened.

“Sir Knight?”

Maximilian arrived right on time, faced Pexy, and handed her a document stamped with the Sentinel seal. At the same time, he cuffed her wrists. Mana cuffs that interfered with mana flow.

“Pexy von Arzen.”

Maximilian called her name.

“From today, you are detained for 35 days.”

No further notice was needed. This was a unique authority held only by knights in the Empire.

......

I detained Sentio Magic Tower fifth-rank mage Pexy von Arzen in the Knight Order’s underground prison. Since this had never happened before, the magic tower immediately sent a letter of concern.

I heard Jun Kandel, her backer, was furious.

But he did not move recklessly. Was it because his younger sibling restrained him, or because he cared about his own dignity.

First, I had a meeting with Deputy Commander Anton.

“......”

Anton sat across from me with a grave expression.

“Knight Maximilian. No knight has ever ordered the detention of a Sentio Magic Tower mage. And without any reason.”

“There is a reason.”

“There is no evidence.”

I nodded.

“I understand. But she has already killed eight Imperials. Two were nobles, and one was a child. To prevent more victims, I had no choice but to take this route.”

“......Because you have no evidence?”

“Yes. Because there is no evidence, I chose to use a knight’s authority that can obtain evidence.”

“If you detain her, can you obtain evidence? Are you saying you will openly fabricate it?”

Anton looked angry, which was rare.

“That is not what I mean.”

I handed Anton the magic circle and formulas for 「Chimera Brain」.

“Pexy von Arzen is not Pexy von Arzen. Within the next 35 days, she will mutate into someone else entirely.”

“......Mutate?”

“Yes. She is a criminal who used forbidden magic and devoured the brain of the original Pexy von Arzen.”

Anton stared at me.

“Should I take this to mean you are not planning to fabricate evidence?”

“As a noble of the Empire, I have never even considered something that filthy.”

Of course, I had considered it.

A faint sigh escaped Anton.

“The magic tower is a massive institution. Even we cannot treat them carelessly. Nor should we. And she is a fifth-rank mage all but confirmed for promotion to sixth rank.”

“Reason?”

“Because I am Ebenholtz.”

Anton’s eyes widened in disbelief. He studied my face for a long moment, then asked:

“Is this also for the Empire?”

I met his gaze and smiled.

“......Deputy Commander.”

If I did not kill it now, this Izenheim would rise into the Empire’s upper ranks.

“My convictions and principles operate only for the Empire.”

So when the chance came, I had to kill it.

......

Craaash!

Porcelain shattered. It was a precious white porcelain Jun Kandel had won at auction for a huge sum. He screamed and smashed furniture. Mana rippled through the enraged mage’s body.

“Please do not get too angry.”

Jun flinched at the calm voice. He jerked his head around and glared at his younger sibling.

“How can I not be angry right now? That bastard Maximilian-!”

“There is no reason for us to be angry, at least not yet.”

“What? Are you-”

“Were you planning to marry that woman?”

Jun Kandel clenched his teeth. His younger sibling tilted her head.

“Were you really? Did you truly intend to marry a mere provincial noble mage?”

“......”

Jun’s mouth shut tight. His sibling asked quietly:

“Also, are you sure? They seem sure on their side.”

“Sure about what.”

“Sure she is innocent. You were beside her. Did you not see anything suspicious?”

Scenes flashed through Jun’s mind.

Sometimes she coughed up blood, sometimes she pressed her temples and said she had a headache, sometimes she secretly ran off to retch...... that fragile figure.

“She said it was a chronic illness. Because of that illness, she cannot stay locked up. Pexy is not just a marriage issue, she is the magic tower’s, no, our House Kandel’s asset-”

“Endure it.”

His younger sibling stopped Jun Kandel, who was looking for any excuse to run to her.

“If it is an illness that kills in just 35 days, she was never an asset in the first place.”

“Do you hear yourself?”

“It is a perfectly rational judgment.”

Jun was still heaving. His breathing had grown too rough. If she kept blocking him like this, he looked ready to explode.

“What is Father doing? This is practically a declaration of war by Ebenholtz!”

“Before that, can you tell Father you intend to marry an insignificant woman named Pexy?”

“You-!”

Jun screamed.

His sibling swallowed a sigh.

“If you really want to move, do not go yourself.”

She continued quietly.

“Use the media, Brother.”

“......The media?”

“Yes. Even for the magic tower, this is unprecedented. We can absolutely borrow the magic tower’s strength and use the media as a weapon.”

Sentio Magic Tower was fiercely proud. They would never stand by while their honor was damaged. Especially if the opponent was the Sentinel Order.

“......Right! That is it! Exactly that!”

As if struck by revelation, Jun Kandel rushed out.

Sonnet Kandel watched him leave and gave a bitter smile.

Using the media on our side was perfectly appropriate and effective. The real issue was how the other side would respond.

If the opponent got scared by the media barrage and stayed silent, or stepped back and only waited, then he was an amateur.

If he was not an amateur,

“He will not avoid it.”

Instead, he would enlarge the board and make his certainty clear to the whole world.

Maximilian Ebenholtz.

What kind of man was he, really.

Sonnet sat quietly on the sofa and closed her eyes, sinking into thought as she tried to trace the image of a man she had never met even once.

Why did he suddenly detain Pexy? What did he see in her? Where and how did he gain certainty strong enough to stake his knightly life on it?

......

[Sentinel Order overreach?]

[The Knight Order declares war on the magic tower!]

[Shock! Ebenholtz heir forcibly detains mage]

Sentinel knight Maximilian detained a mage from Sentio Magic Tower. As countless sensational articles flooded imperial media, Jemion Daily alone remained silent.

They too had received an offer of massive sponsorship from House Kandel, but Editor-in-Chief Celine did not move rashly.

“What the hell is going on.”

“Been a while since we had a story like this.”

“Enjoy it while it lasts.”

Inside the newsroom, reporters were fully hyped by the situation. The magic tower and the knight order, Ebenholtz and Kandel. Two huge powers looked ready to clash over a single mage.

“By the way, is it true that mage is Jun Kandel’s lover?”

“Rumors say yes. There is even bullshit going around that Maximilian made a move on her and got rejected.”

“Hey, that one is kind of funny.”

Editor-in-Chief Celine looked at Alphonse at the corner desk. Even amid all the noise, he sat alone, quietly writing with full concentration.

“What are you doing?”

“Writing an article.”

“......I thought we agreed we are not joining this war.”

“I was never interested in that to begin with. If nobles want to tear each other apart, they can do whatever crap they want.”

“......”

Celine glanced at Alphonse’s article. Just like before, it was about a factory worker injured in an accident and a company refusing to pay compensation.

“Fine. Keep doing that, keep going.”

His consistency was almost refreshing.

Then, at that exact moment.

Bang!

The newsroom door burst open, and a reporter ran in, panting hard.

“Editor-in-Chief! A message just came from Knight Maximilian’s side!”

The message was this: through Jemion Daily, he would publish his full position on detaining Pexy von Arzen without leaving anything out.

In other words, it was a life-or-death declaration from the knight named Maximilian.

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