WeTried Translations

Translator: Coughing Baby

Editor: Coughing Baby

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ The Reluctant Imperialist

Chapter 84

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Before Spring Comes (7)

Crackle, crackle.

In the Governor-General’s office, the fire in the hearth burned through the silence.

I looked at Governor Fabian across from me. We were alone, just the two of us. A longsword rested at an angle beside my chair, while Fabian had come unarmed.

Even if he had brought one, it would not have mattered.

“......I heard all the directors were executed.”

Fabian spoke heavily.

“Yes. It was unavoidable.”

With a deliberately regretful expression, I set a torn newspaper page on the table.

“This is the Jemion Daily. It will be distributed across the Empire soon.”

The paper still smelled of fresh ink. The governor’s eyes scanned the page. It carried photos taken by Alphonse.

Columns of tanks filling Gennen’s main avenues. Soldiers standing in perfect order. Formations under strict control.

Flawless discipline, nothing like a disorganized rabble.

And Alphonse’s tone was tightly restrained. So the photos did nothing but display the Empire’s military power and standing, still fully intact. They were also a product of censorship, emphasizing only decisive suppression and restored order.

[Incompetence and Corruption in the Governor-General’s Office!]

The full truth behind the Adeline incident. The murder of a secretary in the governor-general’s office. Multiple criminal allegations against its officials.

Alphonse’s trademark scathing criticism, untouched and unsoftened, filled the page.

“As you can see, punishing those directors was absolutely necessary.”

I dropped the stack of documents I had prepared next to the newspaper.

Evidence of embezzlement, exploitation, and abuse of power committed by the executed directors.

“They were too much to tolerate...... yes, people far too base.”

Page one restored imperial authority, and page two exposed corruption in the governor-general’s office.

That contrast justified their deaths as punishment for incompetence and corruption.

“......”

The governor let out a deep sigh. With a bitter look, he stroked his mustache.

I asked him,

“What do you want, Governor?”

He said nothing. He only stared at me with deep eyes.

No, that silence itself was his answer.

He really was a smart man.

“Yes.”

I smiled at Fabian.

“That is enough.”

All the governor had to do was stay still.

Like now, all he had to do was hold that seat and wait for the person who would replace him.

“Then.”

I flicked my fingers. Schatz came in and handed him a small gift.

A statue made of mana stone. Costly enough to soothe a wounded heart.

“I look forward to your continued cooperation, Governor Fabian.”

Threats and coercion alone were not enough. It was no great expense for me, but it might keep me from earning pointless hostility.

* * *

At Gennen Prison, Elias nodded at the student council officers who had come to visit.

“That is right. Kasim was an ideological criminal.”

Elias bared his chest. The necklace’s Protective Aura had blocked the blow, but dark bruises still remained.

“Then......”

“Kasim wanted Gennen reduced to ashes. He tried to contact armed groups and drive a wedge between Gennen and the Empire. Their goal was to inflict severe damage on the Empire’s prestige and finances.”

As Elias spoke about Kasim, who had betrayed him, his heart ached.

“President...... what about you?”

“I will be fine. And just in case, do not protest.”

“What about a petition?”

Elias gave a short grin.

“That might work.”

“Oh, right. Did you hear? Every single director in the governor-general’s office got their head cut off!”

“......”

Elias listened quietly.

“Those bastards did not just lose their jobs. They lost their actual necks!”

They chattered wildly, faces lit up. Barely twenty or twenty-one, and to Elias they looked almost cute.

“What did they say again? That they were being held responsible for the incompetence that let Gennen end up like this? That they were unworthy of the Empire? Anyway, the rumor is everywhere that Maximilian personally beheaded them.”

Using one enemy to kill another. Killing with a borrowed knife.

Even so, the university students were afraid. They feared another noble, just like before, would fill Gennen’s leadership.

“Guys.”

Elias beckoned quietly. When they came closer, he whispered his plan for his career.

Shock and disbelief spread across their faces.

“......A lot of people may be disappointed in me. They may curse me. No, they definitely will. But.”

Elias met their eyes and clenched his fist.

“Gennen has to become the Empire’s friend. That is how Gennen can truly get better.”

* * *

Before spring came, I suppressed Gennen.

Before history from before my regression could repeat itself, I crushed that sprout under steel.

But the world, unaware of the truth behind my actions, now called me one of the most dangerous imperialists.

Beyond the Empire, professors from many countries and universities analyzed my actions and wrote papers, while imperial weekly magazines acting under orders poured out editorials praising me.

The man who mobilized hundreds of tanks to suppress protests in an autonomous territory.

Maximilian, who unleashed the Empire’s rage over the Gigantes terror incident and crushed the autonomous territory to display imperial might.

The bloodstained warm wind no longer blew.

Instead, my image was carved in violence and fear.

Perhaps because they did not know that spring day when tens of thousands died.

Perhaps because they did not know the massacre in Gennen from that past that had now vanished.

The dead in this suppression numbered only in the hundreds. More than half were ideological criminals, so even the Izenheim who had spread there like a tumor were wiped out.

I gained the chance to keep Gennen within my sphere of influence.

Gennen would be a crucial region in future war. Its location was ideal for striking the Eastern Alliance......

Click. Click.

Meanwhile, I walked down the long marble corridor of the Imperial Palace.

High ceilings, ornate decorations, cold air. A place that made people tense just by walking through it.

“Those idiots who know nothing were really running their mouths. Me, I think everything you said was right, Max.”

Still, there was one man beside me I wished would disappear.

Leutern II.

“You did great, really great. And that Internal Affairs director or whatever, he was a subspecies too?”

“Yes. According to the autopsy, Internal Affairs Director Erio was a subspecies. There were also subspecies in the Secret Police Bureau.”

Soon, Kasim Ekin and the other Izenheim would be executed, and an announcement would be made that they were subspecies.

Still, among the radicals were quite a few who were not Izenheim. Some had been brainwashed, others truly embraced revolution.

They would either be executed alongside the Izenheim, or if their crimes were light enough to spare their lives, sent to northern camps for forced labor.

Unfortunately, I did not have time to consider every one of their circumstances.

“Right. Ha, those bastards always felt filthy somehow. Even their faces. A subspecies bastard dared to fake his identity...... and the noble who sold him that identity is a problem too. We should hunt him down and kill him.”

Leutern actively shielded me regarding the summary judgments in the Gennen suppression. Of course, not for free. The bearer bonds and mana stone cube I gave him were probably what loosened his tongue.

“......Max. I have some people in mind for appointments in the governor-general’s office.”

Again, Leutern slipped into his real point in a suggestive voice.

“No. I am fine.”

“Come on, do not be like that. They are really good people. I guarantee it.”

As Leutern’s expression started to harden, I changed the subject.

“Duke Leutern. I heard a pink diamond is coming up at this Januk Auction.”

Leutern still had value I could use. He gave as much as he took.

“......Oh, Max. You knew that too? I have had my eye on it as well.”

Diamonds were natural mana stones. They were among the highest-grade mana stones, but their processing methods were not as versatile as ordinary mana stones, so they could not be made into cubes and were usually used as artifact cores.

“Why? You want to buy it and use it for an artifact?”

Leutern asked impatiently.

“It seems decent as a New Year gift.”

When he understood what I meant, his face slowly opened up. His lips twitched, then spread into a dirty grin.

Leutern cleared his throat and quietly backed off.

“Wow, Max is really acting like a noble now. Right. Who cares about Gennen? You will handle it yourself. Do not flinch, do it well. I am off.”

I looked ahead.

In front of the massive doors arranged by the imperial butlers, the attendants waiting there pulled both doors open with solemn faces.

Creeeak-.

Beyond them stood imperial ministers in rows. Every eye in the hall turned to me.

It was the imperial medal ceremony.

I stepped toward the Emperor’s proxy and bowed.

Kurt von Eus Grossman. The Emperor’s closest aide, and a sycophant who would become very famous later.

“His Majesty has seen your achievements. He was deeply impressed by the march of tanks that covered Gennen and the orderly bearing of your troops.”

Kurt placed a hand on my shoulder.

“He says your display of force washed away his concern over the destruction caused by Gigantes.”

The Emperor liked displays that showed the Empire was still strong. He also loved strict order and military discipline.

The Emperor I knew was that kind of man.

“It is an infinite honor.”

“......As expected of Maximilian, son of Sebestian.”

Kurt took the medal from its case. I turned, and he hung it around my neck.

Imperial Gold Lion Second-Class Medal.

Meanwhile, at a high-end restaurant in the Kanillan Independent State.

Ren, commander of the Akarius Mercenary Corps, read the morning paper and looked incredulous.

“Wow. This guy is completely insane.”

On the newspaper’s front page, hundreds of tanks occupied Gennen’s main roads. That one photo alone felt brutally oppressive.

“The Empire was already on edge because of that Gigantes thing, and those Gennen bastards got caught in it. Why even hold demos or protests? They should just immigrate.”

Across from her, Russell, vice president at a securities firm, sipped wine as if it were nothing. Ren frowned.

“Hey, idiot. You do not know the Empire? Immigration procedures are insanely complicated. You also have to stuff officials with bribes. That place is a complete shithole.”

“Anyway, do not worry about those barbaric brothers over there. Making money matters more for us, right?”

“......True.”

Ren snorted and folded the paper.

“It is imperial business, in the end.”

“Right, right. Ren, how many years has it been since you immigrated?”

“Ten-something? I do not remember.”

“That was the best choice.”

Russell pointed his fork at Ren and chuckled.

“How can anyone live in a place that closed off? Then again, it is very Empire-like. Dropping hundreds of tanks on an autonomous territory...... damn. Civilization is here in Kanillan.”

He chewed his steak, then suddenly set down his fork as if remembering something.

“Oh, and......”

He glanced around and leaned in. Ren leaned in too.

“This spring.”

Russell whispered in a secretive tone.

“A historic technology demo is happening.”

“Historic?”

“Yeah. A technology that will go down in continental history. Something that will raise Kanillan to rival the Empire, no, surpass it.”

Russell pulled a small object from inside his coat.

A transparent rectangular crystal about the size of a thumb. Inside it, hair-thin golden mana circuits were densely engraved and glowing.

Kanillan’s newest information storage medium, a mana chip.

“The blueprint is in here.”

“......What is it? Tell me.”

“Hah. I do not usually tell people this...... but you helped me, so I am making an exception.”

Russell lowered his voice even further.

“It is the Community Land Protocol led by Ransom.”

“What protocol? Land protocol?”

“Land Protocol. Simply put, a technology that creates land.”

Ren tilted her head.

A technology that creates land. The words were too broad.

“Land?”

“Yeah. What is Kanillan’s biggest weakness? Landmass. We are born with narrow territory. Compared to the Empire, we are not even a handful. So no matter how advanced our technology gets, if physical space is lacking, growth has limits. So.”

Russell tapped the crystal chip.

“An artificial continent-generation technology where magic studies, mana engineering, and arcane studies fuse perfectly. Use mana to stabilize foundations over the sea, then build cities on top. Unlimited territorial expansion.”

Ren stared blankly as she repeated his words in her head.

Creating a continent artificially. It sounded absurd, but this was Kanillan. A nation of miracles that turned the impossible into reality.

“This is insane...... can I invest?”

“You already are.”

Russell chuckled and put another piece of steak in his mouth.

Ren jolted in surprise.

“What? Me? Since when?”

“CDO, idiot. Ransom is in there too. You just need to sit tight.”

A smile spread across Ren’s lips.

Kanillan really was Kanillan, and even guys who looked like scammers could have real ability.

Still, Ren wanted more.

“Even so. Can I not do more through individual stocks?”

“Hm? Your cash is all tied up in our CDO.”

“......There is a bank.”

Ren’s eyes flashed.

“Hey. You know that new bank that just opened? I asked, and they said a mercenary corps can count mercenaries as human assets.”

“Oho? Then do not tell me...?”

“We take out a loan with our mercenaries as collateral.”

Russell clapped, impressed.

“You got smarter, Commander Ren?”

“I was always smart, bastard.”

“Buy securities through our firm, all right? I will pull proper leverage for you.”

“Fine, bastard. Let us drink.”

The two laughed and clinked their wine glasses.

Clink-

A clear, lively sound. Hahaha. Hehehe. Laughter like the dreams of future billionaires rang out. In restaurants, on the streets, and beyond that, in nearly every securities firm and bank.

Borrowing debt to make more debt, sucking up bonuses from the cycle, levering those bonuses to invest and speculate again, and on top of that swelling bubble-

They were dancing.

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