WeTried Translations

Translator: Coughing Baby

Editor: Coughing Baby

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◈ The Reluctant Imperialist

Chapter 75

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What Bothers Me

An unnamed orphanage in District 42.

Entikkan stared at the single check on his desk in silence.

One thin sheet of paper, donated by Maximilian Ebenholtz. With this money, he could fix the leaking roof. He could replace the boiler that turned into an icebox every winter with the latest magi-engine. He could feed the children full meals with meat and fruit. He could even take in more children from the streets.

And after all that, most of it would still be left over.

"......"

Entikkan sat in quiet thought.

Imperial nobles usually despised all subspecies as one. The Yaken in particular faced especially harsh discrimination, to the point that even commoners visibly shrank away from them.

Maximilian had not been like that. He had personally brought them back after the police took them, and he had personally shown goodwill toward the Yaken.

How had Maximilian known that they had been arrested?

"......Was it you?"

Entikkan looked at Eric Tarik in the old frame.

Eric had been a quiet man. If someone said "Yaken," he fit the stereotype exactly, taciturn and rough. Just one among countless Yaken.

He was born in a nomad tent in the wilderness and grew up in those winds. He met his wife, a shepherd like him, and wandered all his life.

Things like borders or imperial annexation meant nothing to him, and after his wife died, they meant even less.

A wild man who never blended into civilization, whose whole life was nothing but carving paths where none existed.

If a man like that had moved pure-blooded Ebenholtz.

If he had planted goodwill toward the Yaken in a noble that high.

"That would be one hell of a comedy."

Entikkan muttered with bitter self-mockery. Eric was someone he both loved and resented. He had loved him as a brother, but he had always hated his irresponsibility, drifting through life and dying far from home while turning his face from reality.

Even so, was opening someone's heart still something only another person could do?

-Knock knock.

The sound snapped him out of his thoughts.

"Yes."

An orphanage staff member came in hesitantly.

"Umm, Director. The food supply tab is overdue again..."

Entikkan put the check in the drawer and looked up. The worry was gone from his face.

"It is fine. We will not worry about money anymore."

"Sorry?"

"Your wages were delayed a little this month, right. I am sorry. I will cover all back pay, and I can give generous bonuses for all your hard work too."

He had originally planned not to use this money.

A noble's money, especially money with unclear intentions, was poison. Entikkan himself carried instinctive hostility and suspicion toward imperial nobles.

Still, he found himself thinking Maximilian might be different.

There was nothing Maximilian could get from him anyway, and above all...

"If there are kids showing talent, make me a list."

With this money, he could do more than patch material problems.

"Starting today, I will give them a real education."

Even the children in this orphanage could dream, and make those dreams real.

That mattered far more than his pride.

* * *

A pitch-black space with no visible horizon. You could not even tell up from down. This place was Veil, a ghost-like coordinate that did not exist on any map, made by an unknown mage, a hidden point that carried the cause forward.

And inside that place, where only authorized shadows could step-

"Menci got picked as Maximilian's personal secretary."

A voice echoed.

It was Sensi, the comrade in the rabbit mask. She was the only survivor of the Gigantes demolition operation, and as a core operative, her standing in the organization had risen another level.

"Good news."

A shadow answered.

No one knew how long it would last, but being able to track even part of Maximilian's movements, the highest-priority surveillance target, was valuable by itself.

"That was Menci? The woman who kept sniffing around."

"Yeah."

"I thought she was just an ordinary Yaken girl. Not bad."

He nodded with satisfaction, then looked at Sensi.

"Sensi. Is your body all right?"

"......"

She said nothing for a long time. Instead, a thin groan leaked through her clenched teeth.

"......Might have been better if I'd just died that day."

Her memory of that day was blurry, but someone unknown had helped her. The Gigantes destruction had succeeded thanks to that man. But Eagle had been a traitor, and Tagan, who had been with them for so long, had died.

The scars were too deep, both mental and physical.

"Rest easy for a while. Do not give anyone a reason to suspect you."

"......Yeah."

She staggered to her feet and left Veil.

"......"

The man left alone, one of Veil's administrators, opened his desk drawer.

He created a new file labeled "Menci - Yukia Tarik" and slid it deep into the document stack.

* * *

I questioned the noble who had gone on that expedition with Eric Tarik in the past. With a steady mix of pressure and persuasion, I got an accurate account of that day.

Just as expected, the noble had rejected the route Eric suggested. Even under the noble's unreasonable demands, Eric had kept fulfilling his duty as a guide, then slipped and died.

This Empire had so many fucking bastards.

I secretly dispatched a search unit, though it would take some time. Even if his body was gone, getting at least the objects he had used in life would be enough.

It was not impossible. Mana-infused crafted items did not damage easily through the years, and they never rotted.

"......This is the place."

Anyway.

Today I arrived at a premium auction on the outskirts of the imperial capital, one that handled only pure-blooded animals. Schatz came with me as escort.

"Lots of dogs. Horses too."

Schatz looked a little flushed with excitement. I went straight to the large-dog section. One breed stood out above the rest.

Aran Shepherd.

As the name "Aran" itself suggested, it was an all-round breed beloved by the imperial family and nobles. Bravery, loyalty, intelligence, physical ability, they said it lacked nothing.

Yip! Woof! Yip-yip!

Inside the enclosure where newborn large-breed pups barked with solemn seriousness, I stared at one in particular.

One blue eye, one golden eye. An odd-eyed shepherd sitting calmly and looking up at the sky.

It was that exact one, the one that had made the front page before my regression.

-[Feature: Meeting Leo, the Miracle Dog Hero with Odd Eyes]

-

...During the terror incident, from beneath collapsed building debris, hero dog Leo accurately located New Cabinet State Minister Emilton and endured the collapse with mana, a story now moving the Republic...

-

Not only humans, beasts used mana too. It was rare, but creatures called spirit beasts used mana instinctively to strengthen their bodies or expand their senses.

"Oh! Sir Knight!"

Right then, the dog owner came running over. He brushed back his blond hair and smiled.

"Excellent eye, sir. These are top-grade Aran Shepherds with pedigree papers to prove it. Every pup here has incredible mana sensitivity, and their intelligence is at the level of a small child. They already understand simple commands."

Sit! Stand! Jump!

The young dogs obeyed his words immediately. Schatz's eyes widened.

"Oooh."

I pointed at the odd-eyed one.

"What about that one?"

"Uh... ah, Sir Knight, that pup is an auction lot-"

"That is a hassle. Write a suitable amount yourself."

I handed him a blank check. His eyes bulged, and Schatz started looking like she wanted other puppies too.

"Sir Knight. It might be good to place a few more as guard dogs at the Gennen branch office."

"Then do that. You pick them."

"Thank you!"

Schatz went straight into the enclosure to inspect puppies, and the owner wrote an appropriate amount and returned the check.

"Yes. This works."

"O-of course, I will prepare everything immediately!"

Leo. I planned to raise this one the Ebenholtz way.

Meaning I would feed him elixirs.

If he could already use mana, he should digest them just fine.

"......Huh?"

Then I spotted a familiar face. It was Yulian. Tucked at his side was a fluffy ball.

"Sir Knight Yulian?"

"Hm?"

Woof! Woof!

The white fluff tucked against Yulian barked at me. Not an Aran Shepherd, not a Davons, not a hound.

A tiny dog that looked cute and small, with not a speck of combat power.

Yulian said, "Pomeranian. A guard breed with lion blood. Excellent nose, wide territory detection range, perfect for an estate."

"Ah, I see."

"You?"

"Aran Shepherd. His name is Leo. Odd eyes."

I showed him Leo.

Woof! Woof!

The Pomeranian barked again.

"So you liked dogs?"

At Yulian's question, I smiled and nodded.

"Doesn't the Empire need hunting dogs too."

From now on, I would build the logic for protecting Yaken, the hound-like subspecies.

My power and wealth would be the foundation. My words and actions would be the justification.

"I see. Then enjoy your weekend."

"Yes. You too, Sir Knight Yulian, raise him well."

Yulian stroked the Pomeranian and left, and before long Schatz returned with five Aran Shepherd puppies. Her arms were full of wiggling pups.

"Schatz. Looks like some people have been tailing you lately?"

I glanced at a parked car not far away. There were bastards still following us even on weekends.

"Yes. Most likely the direct agency. Should I handle them?"

"No. Do not touch them for no reason."

I petted Leo and smiled.

"I heard Leutern II said he wanted to see me?"

"Yes. Probably money matters. He was one of the Gigantes shareholders too."

"I know. Tell him to meet me tonight."

I had a gift for that bastard I wanted to beat to death.

Well, there was an old saying, you feed one extra rice cake to the person you hate most.

"Time to start the design."

......

Private room in a high-end restaurant.

"Thanks to this, everyone's jealous of me. Even those knight punks in the imperial palace were drooling."

Leutern II bragged while cutting into a rare steak dripping blood. Around his neck hung the master-grade mana stone cube I had sent him, worn like an accessory.

It looked ridiculous, but I nodded like I was impressed.

"It suits you well."

"Right? By the way. I heard you are filling the gap from Gigantes this time?"

"Yes. It happened that way."

"You'll make a lot of money... ah, no, wait. I heard you lost a lot too from that bad investment?"

His face made me want to kill him, but social maneuvering mattered. There was no easier chess piece to move than this bastard. Of all the low-IQ fools in the palace, he had the best bloodline.

"Yes. It was a fairly large sum."

"Ah, I have cash going out everywhere these days too, real headache. Keeping up appearances is no joke."

Leutern gave me a loaded look. A clear signal to hand something over.

"You know, when you bid for Gigantes, I pushed hard from behind, right? You know how much I spent on drinks with those bureaucrat bastards?"

"I know."

To the bastard spewing nonsense, I took out the prepared document envelope and placed it on the table.

"So I prepared something. A bearer bond designed for Lord Leutern."

"...Oh?"

Greed lit up his eyes like drops of oil.

I repeated exactly what Dieter had explained.

"This is a bond issued by a special purpose corporation established in the Kanillan Independent State. On the surface, it looks like ordinary corporate debt from a trade company, but laundered funds routed through multiple shell companies are designed to gather there."

In short, I was handing over the full profit from laundering dirty money and cashing it out.

"As long as you hold this bond, any bank in Kanillan will exchange it for cash without identity verification. In pure cash per year, it should bring in about this much."

I spread my fingers. Leutern's eyes flashed with greasy excitement.

"...Huh."

Gulp. He swallowed, set down his utensils, and leaned forward.

"This is for me?"

"I came to give it to Lord Leutern from the start. Thanks to you, I won the munitions contract too."

Leutern's face brightened.

"Wow, Max. You really changed. Before, you couldn't even look people in the eye and you stammered like crazy. First time I saw you, I thought you were an idiot. Hahaha!"

I gave a bitter smile.

This fucking bastard talked like shit even when you gave him money.

"That Max grew this much. Makes me proud too. Need anything else from me?"

"No. I do not have many contacts in the palace, so maintaining ties with you alone is enough for me, my lord."

"Ah, you really know how to talk pretty. Love it, really love it. Then I will gratefully take it."

When Leutern reached to snatch the bond, I clamped down hard on his wrist.

"But, Lord Leutern."

"W-why?"

"There is one important point."

I lowered my gaze seriously and spoke in a low voice.

"Please keep this secret. It will be troublesome if people learn I gave you this bond. You know how palace people are."

"Ah, of course. You know my mouth is sealed, right? Do not worry."

I nodded lightly and released his wrist. Leutern shoved the bond into his inner pocket and downed wine in high spirits.

"Max, if any other bastard starts screaming for money, tell me. I will block them right away!"

Before long, this shell corporation and these bonds that Leutern would own would be leaked to the palace direct agency through an anonymous tip.

The tip would likely read something like this.

'Maximilian, knight of Ebenholtz, is laundering embezzled funds from the munitions business.'

Lutz, head of a department in the palace direct agency, would never ignore a suspicious flow of funds this obvious. With his eyes fixed on me, he would chase relentlessly, then end up facing not me, but Leutern II's side.

When that day came... I would only watch from far away.

"Max, have a drink too!"

"...Yes. Thank you."

We laughed together and clinked wine glasses.

Clink.

To burn something down, one matchstick was enough.

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