The Hidden Blade
“I’ll tell you an interesting fact. Less than thirty percent of the Security Bureau investigators are human.”
The statement came out of nowhere. Why bring up the racial composition of investigators all of a sudden? Still, I was curious.
“And the remaining seventy percent?”
“Other races. Werewolves like Investigator Naikle, dwarves, elves, even orcs who naturalized from the Orc Empire.”
“I didn’t realize you valued diversity so highly, Chief.”
“Are you joking? I value efficiency.”
Chief Justin smiled coldly.
“As you know, humans are generally mediocre.”
“‘As you know’? I’ve never thought humans were mediocre.”
“No? Then listen carefully. Werewolves and orcs are strong, so they’re suited for wiping out violent criminals and gangs. Elves tend to be long-lived and wise, and above all, they’re fast—excellent at pursuits. Dwarves have great stamina; you can make them work all night for a week and they’ll still be fine.”
Just as he said, each of the other races possessed clear advantages.
“But humans? No need to mention physical strength or endurance. Except for the exceptionally intelligent, they fall short of elves. Barbarians are about as strong as orcs, but their emotional control and patience are lacking, so they don’t make good investigators.”
“Humans have excellent adaptability and versatility across many fields, don’t they?”
“That’s true. The innovators who changed the era were all human. But being good at many things also means being average at everything.”
He wasn’t wrong. Most humans, when judged solely on individual ability, tended to be average.
“And yet they demand so much. Weak and foolish, they still want higher salaries than other races—just because the first king was human.”
The Kingdom of Lumentea had been founded by its first king, who was human. In the early days it had been a human-only kingdom, but as it developed, other races flowed in until it became the multi-racial nation it was today. That was why humans were regarded as the privileged, mainstream race in Lumentea. Tradition, nothing more.
“In short, humans are poor value. Meanwhile, other races like dwarves—because of their stamina—are far more useful than the average human, yet you can hire them for less. How convenient is that?”
“For less…”
“That’s how we ended up with so many other races in the Security Bureau. I have no intention of changing the hiring policy, though. As long as someone is competent, I hire humans and barbarians without discrimination.”
He looked at me with a faint smile.
“Just as I’ve been steadily offering you a position.”
“…Are you sure you’re human, Chief?”
Justin chewed on my words, then narrowed his eyes.
“There’s malice in that question… but you’re asking about race, not character, correct?”
“Of course. You don’t seem particularly fond of humans.”
“I’m human, obviously. That’s precisely why I can think this way.”
He had a point.
“In any case, the Bureau’s hiring policy has nothing to do with the Draksan incident. I don’t discriminate against humans, and I certainly don’t discriminate against barbarians. We even have barbarian investigators. One of them was in charge of crowd control at the inauguration. Still, we can’t ignore the innate differences between races.”
“I agree, but… the protesters won’t see it that way.”
“That’s why I’m keeping my mouth shut.”
At that moment, Justin’s eyes flashed briefly. I finally understood why he had chosen silence.
“The Draksan incident was clearly our mistake. But if we admit fault and apologize, they’ll start attacking our hiring policy too—demanding barbarian quotas, fewer non-human hires, more humans. The usual nonsense. Barbarian discrimination is often tied to reverse discrimination against humans.”
“……”
“I know it’s wrong, but the board is already set. I didn’t even have time to intervene. So I have no choice but to stay silent.”
Justin spoke like a man confessing. I studied his face. As usual, he hid his emotional signals extremely well. At a glance, it was impossible to guess what he was thinking or feeling. Yet every so often, the muscles in his jaw twitched. Unconsciously clenching one’s teeth was a classic sign of stress and anxiety.
Was he stressed by the protesters and civic groups pressuring the Bureau? Or did he feel guilt toward Draksan? I couldn’t tell. Either way, I now understood why he remained silent.
I didn’t try to persuade him. He had his own reasons, and he wasn’t the type to listen anyway. More than that… my personal affection for him had cooled slightly. I no longer felt the urge to convince him.
“I heard you fought with Naikle.”
I voiced the question that had suddenly occurred to me on my way out.
“Naikle’s too kind. She’s practically an idealist. I get along better with Gwangrang.”
Justin gave a bitter smile.
“She said she’d still attend the inauguration. Will you be coming, Counselor Kain?”
“If I’m not busy, I’ll be there.”
“That sounded like you won’t come… Your pharmacist—her name was Erisa, wasn’t it?”
Justin tapped his desk.
“She’s quite a renowned mage. The magical academic community calls her a young genius. Why is someone like that working under you?”
“She’s not working under me. She’s my colleague.”
“Colleague, subordinate—whatever. Now that I think about it, I’m curious how you recruited her. Last time I saw you, you mentioned something about hypnotic therapy. Don’t tell me you—”
“Please stop with the nonsense. Do you think I’m the same as you, Chief?”
“Why are you suddenly dragging me into this?”
Justin grinned mischievously.
“Anyway, I’ll reserve seats for both of you. If you come, bring her along. We don’t know what might happen at the inauguration.”
“Understood. I’ll keep it in mind.”
Justin seemed to be expecting trouble as well—some kind of disturbance during his own inauguration ceremony.
“You should be more careful than I am, Chief.”
“Now you’re worrying about me?”
“I want you to get treatment, not die. The barbarian extremist group even sent a death threat. They said they’d kill you in a horrific way.”
“They did. I saw it.”
Justin nodded calmly.
“Aren’t you afraid?”
“Why would I be? If they kill me, it’ll actually be a good thing.”
“What do you mean…?”
“My death will prove that I was right all along.”
I looked at him with open disgust.
“Come get treatment someday. Please.”
Justin smirked.
“I’m perfectly normal.”
Time passed, and the day of Chief Justin’s inauguration as Director of the Security Bureau arrived.
It wasn’t a particularly busy day. All my scheduled clients had come in the morning, and there were no new intakes, so the afternoon was genuinely quiet.
‘The inauguration starts at four…’
Honestly, I didn’t want to go, but I couldn’t skip it. Setting aside the relationship I’d built with Justin, what if something happened during the ceremony? If he got hurt—or worse, killed—because of it?
‘It would weigh on me. Heavily.’
To me, Justin was essentially a client. Even without formal sessions, I’d known him long enough to understand his thoughts and emotions. I knew how twisted his way of thinking was. I couldn’t just let him die without treatment.
I spent the entire afternoon mulling it over. Once I finished my last session, I headed to the preparation room.
“Erisa.”
I tapped the shoulder of Erisa, who was dozing in the compounding room.
“Hup! I wasn’t sleeping.”
She jolted awake in alarm.
“I never said you were. Why do you always react like that…? Anyway, Erisa, let’s leave early today.”
“Where are you going?”
“Chief Justin’s inauguration is today.”
“Chief Justin…?”
Erisa rummaged through her drowsy memories, then frowned as something clicked.
“Isn’t he a controversial figure?”
“Very much so.”
Even Erisa, who normally paid no attention to such matters, knew about the recent controversies surrounding Justin. It really drove home how widely the news had spread.
Erisa rubbed her eyes and sprang to her feet.
“Let’s go.”
I nodded and slipped on my coat, fingering the concentrated pill in the pocket. I hoped I wouldn’t have to use it.
As expected, the inauguration site was even more chaotic than I’d imagined.
The ceremony wasn’t being held at the Security Bureau building but in Lumière Square. The square lay between the Security Bureau, the Administrative Bureau, the courthouse, and the royal palace, and was frequently used for high-ranking officials’ inaugurations. It was also a common venue for the kingdom’s annual events, so it was quite large. Even at a glance, at least twenty percent of the area was filled with protesters.
“Justin Dunham must resign!”
Whenever the man at the front with the microphone shouted, the crowd echoed, “Resign! Resign…!”
Their chants varied: “End human discrimination,” “Reform the Bureau’s hiring policy,” “Free Draksan.” Some demands were understandable; others were not. For example, the “human quota” demand—that fifty percent of investigators must be human, and half of those must be barbarians.
‘I still can’t respect Justin’s judgment. But…’
Looking at the scene, I could at least understand why he had made it.
If he had held a press conference to explain himself, or at least issued an apology, would things have been different? Even if he hadn’t accepted every unreasonable demand, he might have had to concede some ground. Perhaps the protesters would have made even more outrageous demands.
Besides the protesters, many people had come simply to watch the ceremony. The most noticeable were large, half-naked men whose crude tattoos covered their backs and chests.
‘Barbarians.’
Every one of them carried brutal weapons—axes, swords, shields.
I couldn’t tell if they belonged to the extremist group that had threatened Justin’s life.
‘But they’re clearly not friendly toward him.’
A strong scent of hostility wafted from the gathered barbarians.
“Weapons are not permitted. Please hand them over to an investigator or leave the square—”
“Doesn’t the square belong to all citizens? Or are you discriminating against barbarians?”
“It’s not discrimination. There’s an inauguration ceremony today—”
“I don’t care about any inauguration. We’re just here to enjoy the square. Why should I hand over my weapon? What if a magical beast appears? Are you telling us to die?”
“The area is strictly controlled by Security Bureau investigators and royal soldiers. The chance of a magical beast appearing is extremely low. We’d appreciate your cooperation.”
“You never know. Besides, how can we trust investigators who discriminate against barbarians and hand over our weapons?”
I passed the arguing investigators and headed for the VIP seats reserved for Justin’s close associates. As he had promised, seats for Erisa and me were placed side by side.
While I was sitting and trying to relax, someone tapped my shoulder. I turned to see a familiar face smiling at me.
“Counselor Kain!”
“Ah, Naikle. We meet often these days.”
“We do. Though never for pleasant reasons. The mage is here too?”
Naikle greeted Erisa, who responded with a silent nod. Despite clearly knowing each other, an awkward tension hung between them. Naikle gave an embarrassed smile.
“I’m not a guest—I’m here as an investigator controlling the scene—so I should get going. I need to check for any dangerous individuals while I’m walking around…”
“There’s a group over there carrying weapons.”
“Yes, the barbarians…”
“Is that really okay?”
Naikle sighed.
“Of course not, sigh…”
“For safety’s sake, it would be better to remove them. Is there no way?”
“Carrying weapons is legal with a hunter’s license, and if they claim they’re just passing through without malicious intent, there’s nothing we can do.”
Naikle glanced at the barbarian group. They had gathered at a distance that was neither too close nor too far from the ceremony. Investigators were keeping them from approaching any nearer.
“Keeping them from getting too close is the best we can do.”
“I see…”
“Still, we have investigators stationed everywhere and royal soldiers as well. They won’t start a riot unless they’ve completely lost their minds.”
She was right. No one in their right mind would cause violence here.
“Please be careful anyway, Counselor.”
Naikle turned and headed toward the barbarians.
—During his tenure as head of the investigative division, Director Justin Dunham contributed greatly to Lumentea’s security, including the suppression of the Castalnus gang…
The inauguration ceremony began.
Despite the tension in the air, the ceremony seemed to proceed more smoothly than expected. At least, it did in the beginning.
—In recognition of his outstanding contributions to the security of the Kingdom of Lumentea, we present this plaque of appreciation and appoint him Director of the Security Bureau…
The moment the host handed Justin the plaque—
‘…The scent of killing intent.’
A sharp, acrid smell of bloodlust stabbed at my nose.
It wasn’t particularly strange. The barbarians had been radiating the same stench since earlier. What made me frown was that this particular killing intent wasn’t coming from their direction.
‘…An investigator?’
More precisely, a particularly large investigator. A barbarian-looking investigator, to be exact, was emitting a thick scent of killing intent.
The barbarian investigator pulled something from his coat.
A throwing dagger.
His gaze was fixed on Justin’s torso—specifically, the abdomen.