Opportunity (1)
Aiden was certain the moment he saw the man’s eyes trembling uncontrollably.
'Torture, my foot.'
How fortunate it was to have things wrapped up so cleanly, without the need to pull out anyone’s fingernails or brand them with hot irons.
"The Center? You mean the capital?"
"Someone sent from the capital to the North?"
Realizing their slip-up, the masked men wiped the expressions from their faces, but the trio of adjutants standing behind Aiden like bodyguards had already caught on. They each chimed in, having realized the truth in an instant.
"The power struggle between the princes... oh!"
Roland, who had been in the capital until recently, hit the nail on the head.
Though it wasn't the top-tier academy, Roland had graduated with honors, placing well within the top ten of an institution that was at least considered a respectable, if not elite, school. His seniors had told him that with grades like that, he would be on the fast track in a central government office or scouted by a powerful territory. But his first job after graduation had been ruined by the power struggle between the two princes that had ignited just as he entered the academy.
It seemed that even in this other world, political strife could ruin the life of a graduating student just the same.
"Did the princes have a go at each other?"
"Who won?"
"Well, the one with the stronger fist must have won."
"Ugh, you idiots. They’re princes, for heaven's sake. You think they’d fight with their bare fists? They aren't street thugs."
"Then how do they fight?"
"...A duel?"
'Duel, my foot. Give me a break.'
The castle staff who had come out to watch seemed to have intended to whisper, but they were loud enough for everyone to hear. Every single word.
"I suppose we need to have a little talk, don't we?"
Aiden made the executive decision.
These masked men weren't going to the dungeon; they were going to his office.
They hadn't exactly been polished up before being dragged in front of the Lord (acting), but at least the layers of dirt and dust had been cleared away. Now, they finally smelled a bit like actual intelligence agents.
"Which side?"
"......"
Thwack!
"Ugh!"
Aiden had asked, and when there was no answer, Jamie immediately smacked the man on the back of the head.
"I told you, if we just start by breaking one leg, they talk much faster. Our Administrative Officer is just too generous."
It seemed this was the sequel to the 'hanging' incident. Ever since earlier, Jamie had been insisting that breaking a limb would turn a three-day interrogation into a thirty-minute one.
"You're just bored, aren't you?"
"...A little?"
He muttered something about how there hadn't been any 'official hanging events' since the Administrative Officer arrived, but it wasn't exactly a conversation worth taking seriously, so Aiden decided to ignore him.
The leader of the masked men swallowed a dry lump in his throat.
'I haven't failed the mission yet.'
Their mission was to confirm why the 'Canary of the Battlefield' was in the North. If a war was about to break out in the North, it meant the Second Prince and the Empress had started taking an interest in this barren land. And that meant there was something in this northern territory that would catch their interest...
"Are you ignoring the Administrative Officer's question to daydream?"
The masked man, who had been organizing his thoughts, snapped back to reality at the growling voice in his ear. Why were these adjutants so terrifying?
"The First Prince? Or the Second?"
"......"
Faced with the casual, downward gaze of the Administrative Officer, the masked man couldn't answer.
"It doesn't really matter which side it is, anyway."
"......"
"What's the mission?"
"......"
"You'll have to tell me that much."
Seeing the man keep his mouth shut like a clam, Aiden clicked his tongue.
"I can't help you if I don't know what the mission is."
"...Pardon?"
At Aiden's follow-up, the masked man's tightly sealed lips finally parted.
'Why do people make things so complicated?'
Aiden had no intention of hiding anything, nor did he want to get caught in the middle of a petty squabble between high-ranking officials in the capital and end up crushed like a shrimp in a whale fight. So, after extracting a confession—or something close to it—that they were from the capital, he made his decision.
Give them what they want and send them back quickly.
If he just assumed they were auditors from above, it wouldn't be anything strange. After all, he was an official receiving a salary from the Empire; if the First or Second Prince needed something, it was only right to give it to them and be done with it.
"You're just doing what you were told by your superiors anyway, right? Just tell me quickly what you want. I'll cooperate as much as I can."
On one hand, it was the result of a salaryman's unique sense of empathy. What could a wage earner do? If the boss says jump, you jump. 'Hey, you too? Yeah, me too.' It was that kind of bitter, everyday camaraderie.
Aiden had spoken with sincerity, but the masked man seemed to be searching for some hidden motive behind the words. After explaining several times that there was no such thing, Aiden’s patience finally snapped.
"Just tie him to that chair for now. He'll talk when he feels like it."
"What about hanging him—"
"I said shut it, seriously."
"Yes, sir."
Jamie quickly tied the masked man up and shoved him into a corner of the office. Glancing over, he saw his superior was already buried in a mountain of paperwork.
When the snow melts, spring will come. Then, the work that had piled up during the deep winter would have to begin in earnest. The North was a land with too much to do to keep staring at the mouth of a masked man who hadn't even made up his mind yet.
Scratch, scratch.
Before long, the only sounds in the office were the turning of pages and the scratching of pens.
The masked man felt a sudden sense of disillusionment. He was a captured intelligence agent, so what was this? He hadn't expected to be locked in a cold, damp dungeon, heroically vowing not to open his mouth under any torture, but being left neglected in the corner of an office while others worked was so absurd he wanted to slap himself in the face. Just in case this was all a dream.
Knock, knock.
"Your meal is here."
A moment later, after a knock, a maid entered and familiarly set out sandwiches and simple drinks on the table.
"Um... the kitchen sent an extra sandwich, just in case."
"Hm? Ah. Tell them thank you."
Kalisa stared at the sandwich, which had one more serving than usual, nodded, and then picked one up and placed it in front of the masked man. She even untied one of his hands.
"We all have to eat to live, don't we?"
Then, she took another sandwich for herself, walked to her desk, took a bite, turned a page of a document, took another bite, and turned another page. The other adjutants and the Administrative Officer did the same.
The masked man was field staff, so he didn't have much contact with office-based administrators, but this was the first time in his life he had ever seen officials work like this. After a moment of hesitation, he bit into the sandwich. Even in this chaotic situation, he thought the lunch was quite delicious.
"Listen while you eat."
At that moment, Aiden spoke. It wasn't directed at the masked man, but it seemed he was about to hold a meeting with his adjutants. The masked man, who had felt a flicker of hope only to be crushed again, felt a little hurt.
"This is a cooperation request sent by Lapisha."
But at the name that left Aiden's lips, the masked man immediately focused and pricked up his ears. The four workaholics, oblivious to the masked man's pounding heart, seemed to have nothing but work on their minds.
"Lapisha did?"
"Yes. She says quite a few of her colleagues will be coming to the North once spring arrives."
"Colleagues... you mean healers? Or disciples?"
"That doesn't seem to be the case."
The adjutants naturally gathered around Aiden's desk to check the list.
"Hmm."
"Ah."
"Oh?"
The adjutants let out short exclamations as they checked the names, then suddenly realized one fact. The list was full of people who were now proper imperial citizens but were still referred to as 'strangers.' In other words, they were second-class citizens.
"Yes. That's why she sent the request for cooperation."
"How about we separate their residences based on their origin?"
Roland offered an opinion, but—
"That's nonsense."
Aiden's brow furrowed. If they separated residences, it would truly look like they were treating them as second-class citizens. Although a Myo-tribe village already existed, they had simply formalized a village where they had already settled, so the situation was different.
"Since we don't have enough to build a new village for everyone arriving, let's cooperate as much as possible so they can settle in the villages they want."
"I'll check the inventory of construction materials."
"I'll also contact the village chiefs. We need to confirm the capacity."
"If there are significant cultural differences, I think we should start with adaptation training."
Once the general direction was set, the adjutants offered their opinions without hesitation. It was the method Aiden preferred, and it was now the foundation driving the bureaucratic culture of the North. A rigid, stiff bureaucracy was a term that simply didn't fit the North.
A few days passed. During that time, the leader of the masked men slept in the guest bedroom at night and sat in a chair in the corner of the office when the sun rose. Jamie, who had been diligently wrapping the rope at first for fear he might escape, eventually got lazy and just went through the motions of tying him up.
The masked man wondered how he had been downgraded to the status of 'annoying baggage,' but he chose to listen in as much as he could rather than escape, in order to fulfill his mission.
Bang!
"Administrative Officer!"
"Just break the door, Jamie. Winter is almost over; let's live a little freely, shall we?"
Jamie, who had gone out for field work to visit the Administrative Welfare Center, burst into the office. From the masked man's perspective, it really did look like the door had cracked slightly.
"The Dwarves have arrived! They're Dwarves! Dwarves, I tell you!"
He added, "They're only this tall, but their hands are incredibly thick."
"They arrived sooner than I thought. Did they register their family status?"
"They said they would do that after looking around the North a bit."
Aiden wasn't overly surprised. He had already finished confirming the list of friends Lapisha had mentioned. Only the masked man, who hadn't seen the list with his own eyes, had his eyes widened as if they were about to pop out.
Dwarves. And even Dwarves registering their family status.
Then, a thought occurred to him.
'Then, all that talk about origins...?'
The masked man, who had simply thought that Lapisha's acquaintances from other regions were coming and that the Canary of the Battlefield was just trying to gather her scattered friends to settle down, concluded that those 'friends' might not be ordinary imperial citizens. When he thought about it, wasn't Lapisha herself from a desert tribe that had now vanished?
'It's certain.'
He had finally completed his mission. He had found the reason why the Canary of the Battlefield had come to the North.
At that moment, for the first time in days, Aiden's gaze turned toward the masked man huddled in the corner.
"Did you complete your mission?"
"......!"
"I think you did."
With a slight nod, Jamie untied all the ropes he had used for formality.
"I told you, if you had just threatened to cut off a leg, it would have been over in five hours instead of five days. Honestly, Administrative Officer."
"Thanks to waiting a few days, we didn't have to cut off a perfectly good leg for no reason."
"Still, though."
Only then did the masked man realize. Ah, these people had known all along.
He felt a little humiliated, but he stood up unsteadily. No one blocked his path.
"...It was the First Prince's order."
Perhaps he was a failure as an intelligence agent. But the masked man chose to repay the mercy shown to his leg.
Whoosh.
The masked man leaped through the open window and disappeared. His two legs were still functioning perfectly.
"...Why go through the window when there's a perfectly good door?"
Aiden shook his head as he watched the man's rapidly receding back.
"For now, tell the Dwarves the location of the mine. We have our own smithy there, after all."
"I'll take care of it immediately!"
While waiting to see what choice the First Prince would make upon learning of the North's changes, Aiden decided to deal with the things that needed to be done right away.