WeTried Translations

Translator: Coughing Baby

Editor: Coughing Baby

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◈ The Reluctant Imperialist

Chapter 79

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Before Spring Comes (2)

I arrived at Imperial Army Headquarters.

They had already grasped the situation in Gennen, and everyone expected a suppression force to be formed.

"Sir Knight Maximilian!"

I visited the office of Major General Maut, the very man who had handled Gennen's suppression before my regression.

"Good to see you. That Imperial Solidarity Dinner the other day was truly fantastic."

Blond hair, neatly parted two to eight. A wing-shaped mustache.

Even at a time like this, he started by talking about that banquet.

Feed someone well once, and things get this easy.

"Yes. It's good to see you, Major General Maut."

I sat across from him. The corner of his mouth twisted into a grin.

"So, it seems you heard the news and got angry too, Sir Knight?"

I watched him quietly.

"A protest at a time like this, the nerve. Gennen dares resist the Empire? Tsk. Unacceptable, right?"

"I don't think it's resistance."

I let my eyes drift around his office.

It looked luxurious and not luxurious at the same time. Decorations were everywhere, but there was no substance. It felt like someone trying to look impressive on a limited budget.

"The Gennen people probably know it too. How could Gennen possibly stand against the Empire? They're just venting frustration."

"Well, yes..."

"Do you happen to know who started this?"

"Started it?"

"Yes. The one who shot a Gennen civilian dead on the street."

That incident had not existed before my regression. It was a complete variable.

"Ah."

Maut awkwardly brushed back his hair.

"The second secretary of the Gennen Governor-General's Office. Youngest son of the vice minister of internal affairs at the Imperial Palace."

The reason he killed someone and was instantly released under self-defense.

The palace again. Just a vice minister, and this much power. Absurd.

"Where is he now?"

"I heard he went into the Imperial Palace."

I nodded. As expected, he had already run.

It did not matter. I would find him and slit his throat myself.

"The suppression force will be formed soon. The governor-general's office requested support, so we should crush this properly."

"I see. May I join as a commander as well?"

As I made that request, not really a request, I pulled out a small box. Maut's gaze naturally followed it, as if he had been waiting for this exact moment.

"Ah, that would be welcome, if anything. Seems you really are angry too... but what is that?"

Maut showed interest.

"Ah, it's nothing special."

A small gift, brought in case he refused to listen.

"A music box."

When I opened it, a flower bud bloomed elegantly and a beautiful melody flowed out.

More than the music box itself, what mattered were the components of that flower bud.

All jewels and mana stones.

Maut's eyes glittered.

"I heard your daughter is getting married soon."

"Oh my. You even remembered that? What an honor, hahaha."

Remembering family celebrations and condolences was the best way to earn favor.

It was also the best excuse for a bribe.

"Thank you."

Maut carefully placed the music box on his desk. We kept talking, but his eyes stayed glued to it the whole time.

He seemed to love it.

* * *

Kaimri Square, Gennen Autonomous Territory.

Hundreds of thousands poured into the square. They marched toward the governor-general's office as if spitting out pent-up rage. At the very front of that wave stood a middle-aged man.

The father of the woman murdered days earlier by a senior governor-general's office official.

He held a photo of his daughter from when she was alive, and behind him large words waved in the crowd.

[Investigate the truth behind Adeline's death!]

They demanded the truth behind his daughter's wrongful death, and punishment for the murderer. In their hands, instead of weapons, were candles.

"Stop!"

The garrison blocked them. Soldiers occupied the road and stopped the citizens from advancing.

"By order of the governor-general's office! Disperse immediately!"

A tense standoff. But no violence. The garrison was made up of soldiers who had lived in Gennen for a long time, so they still had understanding and sympathy for the situation.

The protesters knew that too. From the start, they had no intention of resisting the Empire. They only wanted injustice corrected.

Then, at some moment.

From somewhere.

"Someone" used this chance to drive in a needle-thin crack.

It could have been one person in the crowd, or one person among the soldiers.

Baaang!

A gunshot rang through the sky.

Screams erupted, and that single bullet multiplied into dozens.

Bang bang bang bang!

Young soldiers pulled their triggers before they even realized it. Some civilians released mana in return.

Unexpected gunfire, counterattacks, collisions. Chaos swallowed the whole area.

Panicked, the garrison hurriedly declared a retreat...

Clink!

"...This is working out very nicely."

In an old mansion in Gennen Autonomous Territory, standing in the same spot for 400 years, imperialists held a dinner while clinking glasses.

"If it's a riot, then we have perfect justification."

They laughed over top-grade wine and extravagant food.

"Suppression should be easy."

After crushing this unrest, they would use it as a pretext to demand stronger censorship and police authority for the governor-general's office from the Empire.

The Gennen Governor-General's Office was the imperialists' stronghold, so imperial hardliners could solidify their power there, and that also benefited the Empire.

"Luck could not have timed this better."

Erio, director of internal affairs at the governor-general's office, lit a cigar.

"Those bastards babbling about independence, autonomy, promises, all of them will be slaughtered this time. Perfect weather for thinning them out."

Smiles spread across their lips. Mouths chewing premium steak shone with grease, and greedy faces turned red with wine.

"Let's call it a night."

"Agreed."

"That was very fun, hahaha."

Tap tap. Director Erio crushed his cigar into the ashtray. The executives of the governor-general's office stood and left one by one.

After they all left, he remained alone in the room.

The director pulled a vibrating terminal from his pocket.

As he listened to the code relayed through the receiver, his smile twisted deeper.

......

Gennen Central University. That campus had shared the history of the Gennen Autonomous Territory, and now many college students and citizens had gathered there as the center of resistance.

Bonfires burned across campus, and classrooms became temporary clinics for the wounded.

"We need to strike back too! How long are we just going to take this?"

In the student council office under heavy shadows, student council officer Kasim slammed the desk and shouted. His eyes were bloodshot from days of sleeplessness and rage.

"Do you know how many people are dying outside even now? Those bastards from whatever Secret Police Bureau are cracking kids' skulls! Just yesterday my friend..."

"And if the Empire gets enraged? If the Emperor sends in a suppression army? You want everyone dead?"

Student council president Elias sighed.

"Who said everyone has to die? That's the only way negotiations even become possible. If we stay still, we just die like dogs!"

The fire was spreading. A spark that began with the unjust death of a woman named Adeline was now joining with anger over discriminatory treatment of Gennen people and exploitation by the governor-general's office, burning out of control.

But could they really win this fight?

No, before that, could they survive it?

Elias looked around the meeting room. Every officer looked exhausted.

"...Let's make one thing clear."

Elias spoke firmly.

"We cannot accept help from the Revolutionary Faction. If we take their hand, we become terrorists. That is exactly what the Empire wants."

The other officers seemed to agree. Kasim secretly bit his lip.

Then it happened.

Bang!

The door burst open and a courier team ran in.

"President! Urgent news!"

Terminal communications were completely dead because of the mana barrier, but this letter had been smuggled in from outside by human courier.

"The suppression force has been formed. It even includes the roster!"

Their worst fear had come true.

Elias took the document. Under lamplight, his face went pale as he read down the names.

"The suppression force commander is Major General Maut. And..."

His voice stopped. Kasim asked urgently.

"Who? Who is coming?"

No university student in Gennen could fail to know this name.

The knight who had cut down Sage, an independence leader in Gennen, in one stroke. The owner of the Gennen branch office, and one of the continent's most notorious imperialists.

"...Maximilian Ebenholtz."

The monster of Ebenholtz.

He was coming here.

......

The Gennen protests were getting worse by the hour.

It was total chaos.

Among the protesters, especially violent ones, and people who might not even have been protesters, some were injuring governor-general's office soldiers, while ruthless suppression by soldiers kept producing more wounded.

Mana was the problem. The moment people who could wield mana started appearing, both response and suppression escalated, and pointless firefights multiplied exponentially.

It almost felt like guerrilla warfare.

Leaving the city center, now turning into a battlefield, Zendo returned to the Central Police Bureau. Monitors in the situation room showed fires burning all over the city.

"...It's a damn mess, Zendo."

The deputy chief walked over and put a hand on Zendo's shoulder. Zendo gave a dry laugh.

"Sure is."

Maximilian's order had only been to wait, so all he did was wait.

Boom!

Then the front gate of the police bureau flew open as if it would break off. Plainclothes agents flooded in.

The smell of the Empire. Secret Police Bureau.

"W-what is this?!"

"Who are you people?!"

"Quiet!"

The police officers stood in alarm, then stepped back under the pressure of their momentum.

The leader of the Secret Police Bureau showed everyone a document.

"By order of the Imperial Security Special Act, as of this moment command authority and all investigative authority at Gennen Central Police Bureau fall under our Secret Police Bureau."

A one-sided notice.

"From now on, you will follow our orders too."

Someone stepped out from their group. Hands in his pockets, swaggering, he walked up and stopped right in front of Zendo.

"...There you are. So this is where you were."

A familiar face. The bastard from the alley, the one who had told him to watch his back at night.

"Anteater-looking bastard. I told you, I'd remember your face."

He smirked and tapped Zendo's shoulder, once, twice. Filthy mockery.

"Well, things turned out like this, so let's work together. It'll be rough if you're going to move around under me."

Smack!

He hit the back of Zendo's head hard. Zendo shut his eyes tight and swallowed his anger as dozens of agents streamed in and occupied the Central Police Bureau.

"Haa..."

For now, wait.

Because waiting was the order.

* * *

An order came down from Regular Army High Command, in other words, "Sebestian."

The Gennen suppression operation was finalized.

The Imperial Army moved fast. Every land and water route leading into Gennen Autonomous Territory was sealed. Checkpoints were installed at every major passage, and heavily armed troops were deployed.

"It is an honor. I am Major Osman, operations officer. I will begin the briefing."

In the temporary operations room, I sat there as a suppression-force commander.

A knight was the Empire's sword. Within the rank structure, a knight was treated as equivalent to a major, but in any situation a knight could be delegated authority appropriate to the task.

"Current conditions in Gennen are highly unstable..."

Still, the air in the room was oddly twisted.

The men seated around the table were star-bearing generals, brigadier generals and major generals. They had already achieved much in the military, yet their eyes kept returning to my face, a face with no stars at all.

Even while the operations officer briefed, even while someone offered an opinion, they kept glancing at me and reading my reaction.

If I frowned, they changed their words. If I nodded, they relaxed.

I understood. To them, suppressing Gennen was just work, but a connection to me was real reward.

"Sir Knight Maximilian. What do you think?"

Major General Maut, commander of the suppression force, finally asked me. Every eye in the room turned to me.

"A half measure will backfire. To prevent unnecessary clashes, we need to completely crush the movement as a whole."

"Hm. A concrete method?"

I thought of the Gennen Spring before regression. At the time, Imperial troops entered mostly as infantry. Soldiers and protesters became directly entangled, then the soldiers started spraying bullets, and a vision of hell opened up.

After that came a chain of revenge.

Just as Izenheim wanted, a massacre had broken out in Gennen.

"We deploy tanks."

To stop that horrific spring from coming, I pushed my stance.

"Tanks?"

Maut asked, puzzled. Tanks were included before regression too, but only three or four. Even those were rear standby assets, not a frontline threat.

The Empire had always overestimated human strength.

"Right now, violent protests are breaking out in Gennen. Citizens who have lost reason do not fear soldiers anymore. They only see enemies in uniform."

That approach was wrong. Human rage could not be calmed by other humans. If you tried to press it down with guns and blades, you only lit bigger flames.

"Most likely because we do not look as massive as we think we do."

So we should not face them as human against human.

"Also because we are not vicious or frightening enough."

The generals held their breath and watched me.

"As it happens, the new tanks from our factory, Aternum, are waiting for deployment."

Tanks were core assets in modern warfare, and especially effective machines against ordinary crowds.

My factory facilities had been built for tanks from the start, and the skilled workers from Gigantes adapted quickly and produced them day and night.

"Oh ho, that also gives publicity to your new factory. Then how many are you thinking of bringing? One or two companies should be enough?"

Maut asked in a positive tone. The other generals also seemed to expect maybe ten to twenty at most.

"Our factory currently has around 200 tanks that are immediately operational. If we also use older tanks under headquarters command..."

I threw out the minimum number in a dry voice.

"We can mobilize around 300."

"...?"

"T-three hundred?"

The generals went speechless for a moment. Their eyes went blank, lips moving silently. One even touched his ear.

Normally, three tanks made one platoon. Ten made one company, and one knight was evaluated as equivalent to a company.

So 300 tanks meant firepower equal to 30 knights, and if converted into troops, more than several infantry divisions totaling tens of thousands.

"T-that many?"

"Yes. Is there any reason to hold back? We should show the Empire's dignity on this occasion."

Deploying such a massive force to Gennen.

For protest suppression alone, it was almost insane overkill, but I knew what happened if we did not go this far.

"We must plant overwhelming fear in them."

No matter how many gather, humans are still human.

Beings made of flesh and blood were instinctively forced to shrink before steel bigger and harder than themselves. If hundreds of those giant machines lined up, looking at them alone would create helplessness, the feeling that resistance was impossible.

At least ordinary civilians' spirits would break. The ones who were not ordinary, those Izenheim bastards, I would kill myself.

"That is the Empire's way."

I looked around at the generals and gave a faint smile.

"Do you all agree?"

They traded glances. Their expressions were almost funny. Full-grown men suddenly looked like children.

But I expected no objection. My father, Sebestian, was in headquarters now.

"Please answer."

All of them nodded a beat late.

Stronger than the strong.

Before spring even came, I would silence them with the strongest method.

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