Chapter 125
Chapter 125
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: uly
Chapter: 125
Chapter Title: The Emperor's Proposal
-----------------------------------------------------------------
I arrived at the imperial palace just three hours after receiving the summons.
This time, there was no need to wait in the antechamber.
The moment I set foot in the palace, the emperor's attendants escorted me straight to his office.
"Your Majesty, His Excellency Nikolaus Ernst has arrived."
The attendants opened the door and stepped aside.
The man sitting with the sunlight streaming into the office at his back looked up.
"Ah, you've come."
"It's an honor to see you."
I offered my usual greeting with a smile. The emperor gestured toward the seat in front of him.
"I've heard you've been appointed as Bayern's special envoy minister. Congratulations."
"Thank you."
This wasn't a place where humility was a virtue, so I simply nodded.
"So, do you have any guess as to why I summoned you today?"
"I suspect it's regarding yesterday's demon horse incident."
"Correct."
Unlike before, there was no trace of amusement on his face.
"Nearly a full day has passed, and victims continue to emerge across the empire. The death toll, which started at five hundred, has now surpassed a thousand."
"Yes."
"Since the Bayern government has placed you in charge of their task force, you must know something about this incident."
We hadn't yet announced Phleroma's involvement.
Unlike demons, which many dismissed as fantasy, Phleroma was accepted as a real threat by everyone.
Revealing their hand too soon could lead to even greater casualties, so we couldn't go public until our response framework was solid.
Of course, Phleroma likely knew that advantage themselves and would reveal it all soon enough anyway. With time so short, there was no reason to risk alerting the emperor unnecessarily.
When I didn't respond, he added an explanation as if understanding.
"I won't ask you to divulge that here. I know the weight of the position you've been given. So..."
His gaze turned deadly serious as he continued.
"I have a proposal for you."
"Please speak, Your Majesty."
"As emperor of the empire, I cannot stand by in this situation. Before tomorrow, the empire's Ministry of Magic and Ministry of Security will consolidate departments related to this incident into a countermeasures committee."
"..."
"I know your current duties are already burdensome, but I know no one more capable than you. Would you take the chairmanship here?"
I looked at him silently for a moment.
This was the imperial government offering a position far higher than Bayern's.
*Sounds good.*
Offers of more power and greater rewards were always welcome.
But I had no reason to take this seat.
"I'm sorry."
"..."
"That position is far too heavy for me, Your Majesty. I understand your gracious intent, but I have a prior commitment I cannot break. I hope you can understand."
If it were somewhere like Bayern, fully in my corner, that would be one thing. But in a place like this, waiting for my downfall, I couldn't shoulder such grave responsibility.
If they saw me as having put out the immediate fire or spotted even a minor flaw, I could be dishonorably dismissed.
It wasn't fundamentally different from the catacombs incident.
*But a gain is a gain.*
Especially with Adrian Ascanien now in the imperial government, I had no intention of discarding the opportunity entirely.
"That's a shame. I wanted to work with you. If only I'd been a bit quicker than Bayern."
His demeanor remained as affable and approachable as ever.
I met his eyes with a faint smile and said,
"I can't take the chairmanship, but what about an advisory role, Your Majesty?"
In that position, it would be hard for the imperial government to criticize me if they bungled things.
The emperor regarded me silently before speaking.
"Are you sure? Your schedule seems packed already, and advising could still burden you."
"If I'm just applying what I learned in Bayern to help Preussen, it won't create much new work. And if it safeguards the empire, it's my honor."
Only then did a warm smile spread across the emperor's face.
"Very well. We'll establish an advisory committee under the imperial household instead of the government. By convention, I'll serve as chairman, so would you take the vice-chairmanship? Does that work?"
I met his eyes without a word.
Surprisingly, he was lightening my load while still ensuring I got the credit.
With the emperor as chairman, any issues would be far less likely to fall on the advisory committee.
As trades went, this was fair.
"Of course."
* * *
[Imperial Magic Security Advisory Committee Established... Emperor Friedrich: "It Will Serve as the True Command Center for the Demon Horse Issue"]
[Emperor Friedrich Appoints Nikolaus Ernst as Vice-Chairman of Advisory Committee]
I read through the newspapers from various regions one by one.
After we signed the agreement, the emperor immediately notified the Imperial Gazette.
Newspapers across the nation soon followed with similar reports.
*Calling an advisory committee a 'command center,' though.*
It was laughable.
It might say advisory committee in name, but...
Unusually, he was fully crediting me with the information and ideas I brought.
No—he was openly promoting Nikolaus.
*Surprising, but inevitable.*
If he tried slyly claiming it as his own achievement like before, I'd have no reason to lend the imperial household my name.
So he had no intention of irking me.
He believed I'd successfully resolve things in Bayern and that Preussen lacked the capability.
*'Calculated on his end, but he trusted me too...*
Now I had to live up to that trust.
So far, I'd proposed two countermeasures.
Before heading to the imperial household, I'd added a filter to the public briefing broadcast.
[The task force has deployed patrols and barriers every 100 meters along all rivers and streams in the territory starting at noon today. Purification is complete, but please avoid approaching riverbanks for the time being.]
But this was just a preventive measure to curb future outbreaks.
Now we needed ways to handle those already contaminated—and those who would be soon.
Ways to subdue and treat those rampaging from the drug's effects.
*'The treatment method—I already told Leo the idea I had in mind...*
That was handled.
Now, I needed to figure out how to maximize suppression efficiency at minimal cost.
With wizards in short supply and reports coming in every ten minutes, we needed the most efficient team structure.
That's why I was rushing to every reported site.
*'Gotta clash directly to know optimal team sizes.*
Leo, out on this mission alone with me, perched on a rooftop overlooking the scene below.
"That one's in worse shape than expected."
"It's the strongest victim reported since afternoon. Makes sense."
Leo gave me a look and silently counted down with his fingers.
The moment he finished, I warped to the victim's location.
He spoke quietly.
"Heard you became vice-chairman of the imperial advisory committee."
"Yeah."
Not the most fitting topic for the situation, but there was no other time to talk.
I'd dumped a lot on him for the treatment drug development.
As Leo shattered the barrier, he continued.
"Good for you. You've snagged three positions today."
"Yeah."
"Your brother knows you can use magic. He made you take the drug to stop that, but..."
Boom—!
Vitriol slammed into the staff shield I extended.
I blocked the victim's attack and planted my heels.
Leo's blue magic sliced the sky. Dawn was breaking, turning the ashen heavens blue.
Slash—crash!
Pushed back, Leo rolled, channeling more mana, and continued quietly.
"But now, saying he supports you living normally whether you take the drug or not? That's way more suspicious than force-feeding it to you."
At dawn, when Leo and Elias kept prying about my brother, I'd given them a brief update.
"He probably knows you and I got close, Lucas. To recover while taking the medicine your steward brings, you'd need other magic drugs—and where would you get those? You haven't touched your bank account either."
"Yeah. Brother thinks acting rashly now would blow things up bigger... He probably suspects I've secretly built up my own faction."
Someone's helping me.
That was the most logical hypothesis my brother would come up with.
Leo thrust his wand at the victim and went on.
"Still, I don't think you need to worry too much."
"Why?"
"The positions you've gained say it all."
Leo grinned in satisfaction.
He was right.
Nikolaus's impression score had jumped from 7.6 to 7.9 in half a day.
With two governments appointing me, it seemed to trigger a trust bonus.
"Special envoy minister—love it, no matter how I slice it. Sure, it doesn't match an imperial minister's clout, but stacking all three? You're at least on Ascanien's level now."
"You're more excited than I am."
"After hiding this long, I can't let Ascanien kill you now. And even if he tries, Bayern won't sit idle. We can't lose talent like you."
Well, with the gains involved, Bayern naturally wouldn't let me die. Good.
I focused silently on subduing the rampaging victim.
Some time later, I aimed my wand at the core of the victim Leo had fully pinned down. The way its limbs twisted like it was possessed never got less eerie, no matter how many times I saw it.
[Aaaugh! Ack!]
—Thus saith the Lord: I will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight!
[Guh...!]
The black smoke pouring from the victim dissipated, and strength drained from its limbs.
Leo wiped his sweat and said,
"Took us an hour, just us two. Blocking collateral damage doubled the time."
"Hmm."
At this rate, we'd need support staff just for barriers.
I jotted notes in my notebook, crossing off one option among several.
Watching me, Leo said,
"Once you've sorted that, head to the lab, Lucas."
"Why?"
"Test the drug you mentioned. It's all ready."
* * *
I spent two full days perfecting the response framework.
School's disaster holiday had ended just in time yesterday, so I could finally attend classes.
*'Titles sound great but mean extra work.*
With the framework done, now came concrete execution plans. Plus trading Bayern's framework appropriately with the imperial household.
But above all, producing the drug was the real issue.
Making it drained my divine power, so I spent all day in the lab extracting it while receiving healing spells.
*'Gotta do it again today.*
Laughable.
Anyway, results were successful.
First, impression score broke 8.
[Nikolaus Ernst: "Over 100 Emergency Treatment Centers Set Up in Bayern Territory... Take Preventive Drug Immediately if Symptoms Appear"]
[Nikolaus Ernst: "Victim Grading System Cuts Processing Time by 3x"]
My name getting more play than the "Bayern Task Force" probably helped.
Operating in both Bayern and the imperial government made my name handy for headlines—or maybe it just sold more papers.
Second, I figured announcing it as Phleroma instead of demons would spike fear and casualties.
But reports stayed normal, thanks to the coverage of Bayern supplying emergency aid drugs nationwide.
I half-listened to class, scribbling notes.
As it wound down, the professor set down his chalk and addressed us.
"Class dismissed for today. The Education Ministry's inspector is visiting."
The school's mood was as grim as outside.
Inspector or not, with this atmosphere, we'd dodge any demerits for student conduct.
Everyone seemed to think so—no reactions.
But the professor's next words were shocking.
"It's not public yet, but the imperial household has issued a mobilization order."