WeTried Translations

Translator: Coughing Baby

Editor: Coughing Baby

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ The Reluctant Imperialist

Chapter 98

──────

Your Faith

The front yard of the mansion.

Under the warm spring sun, two dogs were running around. More precisely, one was disciplining the other.

"..."

Schatz wore an odd expression as she looked back and forth between them.

"..."

After staring in silence for a long while, she finally asked me,

"...Sir Knight. What exactly did you feed him while raising him?"

"That is all you are curious about?"

"The size difference is way too big."

They were about the same age, but Leo was much taller. He was also far more composed. His fur gleamed, and his eyes were deep, like a scholar's.

"Woof."

Leo barked once as he lightly pinned down Shaun's fidgeting neck.

A stern kind of dignity, teaching manners.

"He was born that way."

He had exceptional talent from the start, grew up drinking elixirs like water, and eventually digested them too.

Shaun was clearly a genius dog as well, but Leo was at a level comparable to a "talented human."

"I see. Since things turned out this way, I hope Shaun can learn a lot before we leave."

Schatz squatted on the lawn and watched the two for a long time.

"...Schatz?"

I held out the envelope I had prepared. She blinked and tilted her head.

"I have thought a lot about this, from the day we first met until now."

She opened the envelope. Inside were drafts of policies I intended to propose to the Empire.

"You are still a limited-pardon holder. A death-row inmate with a stay of execution, brought out under a knight's authority."

1. Fully ban all overseas remittance of profits by companies within the Empire. Capital must circulate only inside the Empire.

2. Restrict corporate dividend payouts to a fixed ratio. Surplus profits above a certain threshold must be devoted to purchasing imperial bonds.

3. If major economic crimes such as embezzlement, breach of trust, or tax evasion are uncovered, or if a core industry is not run by imperial Aran, enforce immediate Aranization.

And in addition, a single sheet recording one person's profile.

"..."

Schatz's face hardened.

"Mason Industries"

It was the company chairman's family-background record, the target of her vengeance.

I whispered quietly.

"He was not a pure Aran. He was of mixed Mer blood."

Of course, these policies were exploitation that might have been implemented anyway.

Still, Johann said propaganda was ultimately about meaning. Give meaning to every action, then frame it in a way that benefits me.

I turned part of my war-preparation policy into a gift for Schatz.

"The time will come soon."

Schatz's hand trembled.

Fortunately, this one seemed to feel like a proper gift.

"...Yes."

I could not take my people for granted. Dieter, Johann, Schatz, all of them were outsiders who could betray me at any time.

The only person I could fully trust at every moment, regrettably, was still only Engi.

"Thank you."

She lowered her head. Right then, the chef dedicated to the dogs brought out the meal. Leo tied a napkin around Shaun's neck while Shaun drooled all over.

"Then, shall we spar?"

I smiled faintly and picked up a wooden sword.

"A skill check."

"Yes. Sounds good."

Schatz raised her mana with confidence. Blue sparks burst over her whole body.

Flap.

Leo stopped eating in a hurry. His eyes locked onto us.

The attitude of wanting to learn what must be learned. A dog with real drive to improve.

"Are you ready?"

"Anytime."

I closed my eyes. I calmed my breathing and refined my mana.

Ebenholtz mana was quiet. Like flowing water, like reflected moonlight. Flawless, colorless, scentless pure waves that even Yukia could not detect. They rose inside my body.

Schatz, on the other hand, ignited like a severed fuse. Her mana was like sparks, waves with electromagnetic properties. The moment it burst, her form vanished.

Pazzzzt-!

It was not that my field of vision narrowed. It felt like space itself had been erased.

She tore through the air and rushed in. My body reacted before my mind caught up. I thrust my sword on instinct.

Ebenholtz Link.

Like wrapping rough waves in a soft brushstroke, I tried to redirect her violent trajectory.

But the medium was the problem.

Crack-!

Before my mana could touch and neutralize it, the ultra-high-voltage current around her burned through the wooden sword.

The blade screamed and burst apart. Carbonized sawdust and splinters scattered like sparks. I stopped with only a broken hilt in my hand, and Schatz had already passed far beyond me.

"..."

Silence.

The presence behind me stopped. Schatz slowly turned to look at me.

A thin line of blood ran across her neck.

A wound from my sword aura grazing her at the instant the blade broke.

"If that had been a real blade, my neck would probably have been cut."

It was not just lip service. Half her expression was genuine admiration. I gave a bitter smile.

How did this woman become this strong all by herself?

Still, there was no need to be too jealous. Talent was unfair by nature.

"...Let's go eat."

"Yes."

"Any allergies?"

"None."

Schatz followed me and swallowed hard.

"Sss... I am looking forward to it."

I laughed softly.

The dining at my mansion was already this famous.

* * *

The next day.

I went to work at the Order. While handling activated residue as usual, Kairon came in humming.

"Looks like one staff member is missing?"

That was his greeting.

"And that one is Yaken too."

He sat down across from me as he said it.

I answered briefly.

"I sent her on leave."

"A long leave. Nice timing."

Kairon interpreted my words however he wanted.

"Sir Kairon."

"Hm?"

I took an envelope out of the drawer and held it out to him.

"It was not the original."

Kairon raised an eyebrow.

"What?"

"It is highly likely a manipulated document. It has Veil's seal, but the mana wavelength is slightly different."

It was a highly elaborate forgery, commissioned through Lorenzo of Lorenzo Academy. Even an appraiser would be impressed, but in the end they would still judge it fake.

"Take it and run a detailed appraisal."

"..."

Kairon looked deflated for a moment.

"It is not the fault of your informant, Sir Knight. I also thought it was real at first, but... it was very cunning."

I added with a deliberately serious expression.

"Thanks to that, we learned those bastards are targeting my close staff. Their goal is probably to drive a wedge between us."

Kairon clicked his tongue and picked up the document.

"I will appraise it anyway, just in case."

"Yes."

"Good work."

After Kairon left,

and some time passed,

Schatz entered at the promised moment.

Her line was fixed.

"Sir Knight."

I looked at her.

"Eric Tarik's reburial has been completed."

She gave the expected response.

"...That is a relief."

Yukia's wiretap method was quite clever.

She had installed two bugs. One was hidden very cleverly, but not impossible to find. It was a decoy. We found it and already disposed of it.

But the other one was real.

A lump of mana hidden like circuitry in the Order's wall, with no physical object to detect. My virus sensed it.

In other words, she was still listening to what was said in here.

"Did the cleanup go well?"

"Yes. The remains were intact. We buried him at Windy Hill in the western Empire."

Windy Hill, overlooking the western border in full view. For a Yaken who had wandered the roads his whole life, there was probably no better resting place.

"Good work."

"Yes."

Right then,

Ding!

A new news alert appeared on the Order's computer.

It said the Zerpa Kingdom, beyond the western border, had requested support from the Empire.

At last, it was time to use Kai Han, whom I had planted in Berton.

* * *

Civil war broke out in the Zerpa Kingdom. The royalist faction trying to defend royal authority, and the republican faction trying to overthrow the old regime, collided.

In truth, fighting had probably already been happening under the surface for a long time.

The royalists, pushed onto the defensive, belatedly requested support from the Empire, and the Empire accepted.

But the royal family requested knight forces, and specifically asked for Sentinel. Imperial Army Command was reluctant.

Sentinel was a strategic imperial asset. Not a card to spend freely in someone else's civil war.

Because of that, before regression, Lotus was dispatched instead of Sentinel. But I went directly to the deputy commander's office.

"I will deploy."

"..."

Deputy Commander Anton looked like he had expected it. Among Sentinel leadership, my image might have already hardened into that of a war maniac.

"I cannot send you alone. Even knights need to move as a group in this kind of operation, so I will inform you after the meeting."

"Yes. Understood."

The meeting result was approval.

The meeting itself was heated, but surprisingly Kairon pushed hard enough to put his own name down as overall commander of this operation.

As expected, he had an excellent eye for reading the situation.

So we selected personnel internally within the Order.

Team leader Maximilian, Leon, Hanna, Royce, Dare Tan. All Year 1 and Year 0.

Imperial Command also preferred not to deploy forces above Year 3, and they trusted my experience commanding Gennen.

We assembled that same day and boarded the latest model military transport aircraft from the Kanillan Republic.

The Year 0s looked tense, and Leon's eyes were shining.

"Wow. This is an awesome plane, Max?"

He looked around the transport and marveled.

"It is my custom build."

"Wow, lucky. Can you lend it to me later? For assault practice."

"...Sure."

"Yes!"

That was not the face of someone heading into battle. The Year 0s were pale, while Leon looked excited like a kid on a field trip.

Understandable.

He was a lunatic.

I did not know about the three Year 0s, but Leon was definitely reliable combat power.

Rumble.

The transport crossed the western sky and landed at Berton on the border.

"Loyalty."

Major Kai Han, no, Lieutenant Colonel Kai Han, came out to the runway to meet me. Before I knew it, he had become commander of this rough frontier Imperial Guard unit.

"Preparations?"

"Solid."

I scanned the lined-up soldiers. Even in the freezing wind that cut through flesh, their eyes were alive.

This place had originally been an exile post for castoffs within the Imperial Guard, but now there was no defeatism left in them.

It was the result of Kai Han's capability and the piles of money I had backed him with.

"You have definitely taken control."

"...Thank you. It was all thanks to your support, Sir Knight."

"A bonus."

I handed over the bag I had brought.

Han would not waste this money. For someone who would not waste it, I could hand over any amount.

"Please guide us."

"Yes. This way."

We moved straight to the command and control room. A map of the Berton region was spread over the table.

"Do you have an operation in mind?"

I asked as if testing Kai Han's ability.

"Yes. The biggest obstacle is entry into Zerpa territory itself. The republican side likely obtained intelligence that the Empire is intervening, so they probably raised border security posture to the highest level."

The royalists were trapped in the center, and everything outside was republican territory.

"But upper command sent instructions that overly aggressive operations are not possible."

"So?"

We were going to support the royalists, not invade. Pulling in tanks and forcing our way through like in Gennen was impossible. It could trigger escalation.

The Empire was still not ready.

It needed time to build the weight class required to fight a war.

"We plan to bypass this mountain range and enter."

Kai Han pointed to rugged mountain terrain.

"It will take more marching time, but it is optimal for avoiding enemy surveillance and infiltrating quietly."

It was a good route. Safe and solid.

At least, that was how it looked.

But the enemy would be waiting there. An inevitable standoff between camps would follow, and it would drag on for a long time.

We had to enter Zerpa much faster.

I looked back at my past self.

Back then, I was a fugitive. A bystander. Traumatized by Dune Kan, I avoided battlefields completely and hid in the rear, reading military histories and battle reports.

It was a pathetic hobby.

So what happens when that shut-in life continues?

At least on a battlefield, you become the worst kind of person.

The so-called desk strategist. The shut-in armchair commander.

I know this from books, according to military treatises, they should not do that, there was a similar case before, if you look at past battle records...

A fool who knows nothing about real combat but talks big.

I once despised men like Leutern, but in truth, I had been no different.

Still, ironically, the war histories, case studies, and enemy commander profiles I devoured back then became major assets after regression.

"...I will leave the operation itself entirely to Lieutenant Colonel Han."

I signaled to him with my eyes.

Clear the room for a moment.

"Everyone, you flew here in a hurry, so please rest. I arranged private rooms as best I could."

"Sounds good~"

Leon smiled brightly, while Hanna and the Year 0s still moved out stiff and tense.

When the other aides also left the conference room,

"Lieutenant Colonel Han."

Now I wanted to propose a different method.

Based on my pre-regression experience, this was the operation that would work.

"I recommend this route."

The place I pointed to was a narrow, deep gorge cutting through the mountain range.

"It is the shortest path into Zerpa. We need to reach the kingdom capital quickly and link up with the royalists."

"Sir Knight. This terrain is too favorable for enemy ambush."

Kai Han firmly rejected my proposal.

"We also obtained intelligence that enemy ambush teams are actually deployed in that gorge."

"That would be expected."

He was right.

Even if it were not Han, almost any commander would avoid using this gorge.

Leutern might have charged in without thinking.

"But if we respect the opponent, the story changes. The enemy commander is General Richter."

I tapped the red point on the map, the republican camp.

"He graduated top of his class from the Western Military Academy, and over the past twenty years he has never lost in multiple border conflicts. An exceptional man. On the battlefield, he has always used the opponent's psychology very well."

Knowing the future was a tremendous asset.

It was not just knowing outcomes. It meant seeing through enemy commanders' personalities, habits, and tactical preferences.

"He would have factored in that we obtained ambush intelligence. So he expected the Imperial Guard to trust that intel and bypass through the mountains, then redirected his main force to that route. That is what I think."

So if we worked hard to bypass those rugged mountains, we would meet another front there.

It was practically a fixed future.

"Then I will reconfirm whether that intelligence is valid."

"No. Then we lose timing. If our movement looks suspicious, they will change plans too."

I looked at Kai Han with certainty.

"We push through the gorge while only confirming that there is an ambush there, and we break the enemy's expectations."

"..."

Kai Han met my gaze steadily.

I smiled faintly.

"I know. You are the commander in the end."

From my side, I wanted Lieutenant Colonel Han to rack up achievements. Only then could he grow into one pillar of the Imperial Guard.

And I wanted him to have the ability worthy of that position.

"The decision is yours."

"..."

Kai Han stared at the map and thought intensely. It almost sounded like gears turning in his head.

"...May I take a little more time?"

"Of course."

He would not decide easily. That was far better.

If he had blindly worshiped my "foresight" without his own judgment, I would have been more disappointed.

I left Kai Han in the conference room and stepped out.

After that, I followed an aide to the best room.

How many hours passed as I sat there reading?

Knock knock.

Just before dawn turned to morning, someone knocked.

I opened the door.

It was Lieutenant Colonel Kai Han.

As he stepped inside, he said,

"Sir Knight. We will move part of our forces into the mountains as a deception maneuver to tie down their main force, then the main body will rapid-march through the gorge."

He was saying he would follow my plan.

A dry laugh slipped out.

"All of a sudden?"

"Seven years ago."

Lieutenant Colonel Kai Han held out a document.

"Seven years ago, General Richter used a similar strategy during a border dispute with the Kario Kingdom."

I took it and read.

Exactly as Han said.

He had dug up the proof for this operation himself.

"If he used it seven years ago, he can use it now too."

I nodded.

In fact, before regression, the Empire also supported this civil war and still lost in the end. The royalists were terribly incompetent, but the republicans also had too many outstanding heroes.

An excellent strategist, a brave general, revolutionaries who led the people.

They were people ahead of their era, trying to overturn a corrupt monarchy.

"I will not tell the soldiers this intent."

But there was no helping it.

"Still, because of the gorge's geography, even a small force can meaningfully delay our advance. As insurance, General Richter likely placed very troublesome long-range marksmen in the gorge."

They were excellent and worthy of respect, but in the future war they would become too great an enemy of the Empire.

"So the knights need to cross both slopes of the gorge and remove the obstacles."

I would try to win them over, but if that proved impossible.

For a better future.

For humanity's survival.

"Leave it to me."

I would personally behead them with my own hands.

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