Chapter 5
I’ll translate the chapter into polished HTML, keeping the title line exact and formatting the special in-universe text with the required styled blocks. Then I’ll do a quick consistency pass to make sure names, tone, and paragraphing stay aligned with the glossary.CHAPTER_TITLE: The Damned Empire Bastards
“Then shall we begin the meeting?”
Tap, tap.
The sharp click of dress shoes echoed through the chamber.
The instant the Crown Prince appeared in the meeting room, a heavy silence settled over the hall.
In terms of raw force alone, the Crown Prince could not take on any of the people gathered here.
But beyond strength, there was something about him that words couldn’t quite capture—an aura, a gravity, a natural authority.
With a relaxed smile on his face, the Crown Prince seized control of the room’s atmosphere in an instant.
“……Greetings, Your Highness the Crown Prince.”
“Ah, there’s no need for everyone to stand. I didn’t come here to make you do that.”
Cassian said it with a smile.
Unlike what one might expect from a Crown Prince, he wasn’t the least bit overbearing; he had an easy, approachable air. But that didn’t make him frivolous. He also possessed the breadth and boldness fit for a ruler. That was precisely why his retainers held him in such high regard.
The Imperial 5 Swords hesitated for a moment before nodding.
And so the meeting began.
The first to speak was Adelia.
“……I’m sure you’ve all already heard, but one of the Seven Deadly Sins, the Sin of Wrath, Harkan, died yesterday.”
“I still can’t believe it. That monster died? And in such a meaningless way?”
“It’s true. We’ve already secured the body.”
The hottest topic of discussion was Harkan’s death, one of the Seven Deadly Sins.
True to his epithet, the Sin of Wrath, Harkan had been a living embodiment of violence.
Superhuman reflexes, skin as hard as steel that could bounce off blades, and monstrous strength capable of tearing a person apart with his bare hands.
He had been more monster than man.
If one judged only by physical strength, he was probably the strongest being in the Empire.
And yet that calamity had died so absurdly, so pointlessly.
Right in the middle of an Imperial city, no less.
“……Just who killed that monster?”
Every gaze in the meeting room turned to Adelia.
Who had killed a monster even the Imperial 5 Swords couldn’t have been certain of defeating?
This was a matter that could send shockwaves not just through the Empire, but across the entire continent.
“…….”
Adelia closed her eyes for a moment.
She had thought about it. A lot.
The guard Kael.
He was a hero who had saved the lives of countless Imperial citizens.
If he hadn’t stepped forward, there was no way to estimate how many casualties there would have been.
His merits should be known to all, and he deserved ample reward.
Yes, Adelia knew perfectly well that was only right.
But.
……I can’t say it.
The current Crown Prince, Cassian, was a dangerous man.
The moment Kael’s name reached the Crown Prince’s ears, there would be no guarantee of Kael’s safety.
That was the kind of person the Crown Prince was. If he judged something to be of benefit to himself, he would use any means necessary to get it.
With the Emperor bedridden from illness, Balmung missing, and the Empire already in disarray, the appearance of a holy savior who had brought down a major figure like Harkan was nothing short of a golden opportunity.
Cassian would never let such prey slip through his fingers.
Slowly opening her eyes, Adelia spoke.
“……By the time I arrived at the scene, he had already left. All that remained was Harkan’s corpse.”
A heavy silence fell over the room.
“……So what you’re saying is that some unknown person, with no name, no origin, not even an age, killed Harkan in the middle of the city and vanished without a trace……. Is that it?”
When Adelia nodded, the red-haired man slammed his hand down on the table.
Bang!
“And you expect us to believe that nonsense?!”
Kaiser was the hottest-tempered and most battle-hungry of the Imperial 5 Swords.
His beastlike eyes seemed ready to bore straight through Adelia.
“I know it’s hard to believe, but it’s the truth. The continent is vast. Can you honestly say there isn’t a single strong enough person out there to kill Harkan in one blow?”
“……Ha! You really do like piling on the nonsense, don’t you? Who do you take me for, an idiot?”
“Please calm down, Kaiser.”
Elena Valencia, the Knight of Azure Splendor, looked at Adelia.
“I don’t think Lady Adelia would lie about something like this. Nor do I think she’d have any reason to. But…… it is difficult to believe. As you yourself know, Lady Adelia, Harkan was truly a monstrous man. Even if there were a strong enough person somewhere on the continent to kill him in a single strike, the idea that person happened to be there at that exact moment is almost too absurd a coincidence.”
Elena narrowed her eyes.
It was a fair assessment. Harkan had been one of the continent’s strongest. To say someone killed him in a single blow was… not exactly easy to imagine.
But truth always surpassed human imagination.
The one who killed Harkan had been nothing more than an ordinary guard, after all.
“Yes, that was at least my conclusion. That was all I witnessed at the scene.”
Adelia said it evenly. Kaiser’s expression twisted badly.
Just as the atmosphere was growing rough, the Crown Prince, Cassian, who had remained silent all this time, finally spoke.
“I see. It is indeed a hard thing to believe. But that doesn’t mean we should turn our suspicion on you, Lady Adelia.”
“…….”
With an expressionless face, Cassian stroked his chin.
“The death of one of the Seven Deadly Sins is certainly a major event, but isn’t there something even more important? I understand there were injuries, yes?”
Cassian had driven the discussion into unexpected territory.
“……Yes. Two members of the Third District under the Capital Guard were injured.”
“Since they were hurt while protecting the Empire, I hope you’ll take special care of them. Status aside, can we really rank loyalty to the Empire? Naturally, they should receive proper compensation as well.”
At Cassian’s words, everyone in the room nodded.
It was something they had all been too fixated on the question of Harkan’s killer to properly consider.
“Let’s bring the meeting to a close here. If we keep going, all we’ll do is let emotions run higher.”
“……Understood.”
“I’ll also give proper thought to the treatment of the injured guards. Thank you all for your hard work.”
Cassian was the first to rise from his seat.
Adelia watched him leave the meeting room and thought,
……Did that slip by safely?
There had been a jarring moment in the middle, but the worst she had feared did not come to pass.
Still, for some reason, the uneasy feeling lodged in one corner of her chest refused to go away.
* * *
The bickering between Kael and Balmung dragged on without resolution, eventually settling into a temporary lull.
Taking Balmung with him, Kael left Adelia’s mansion and stepped out onto the street.
The sky was clear and cloudless, but Kael’s mood was grim.
[……So, are you ready to have a conversation now?]
“What the hell kind of conversation are you talking about? Is that how someone acts when they want to talk?”
[That is……! Hoo. I admit I acted emotionally.]
“That’s it? You apologize and that’s supposed to fix everything? Man, you’ve got it easy. Meanwhile, someone else was moments away from having their head chopped off on a guillotine.”
Balmung snapped back, indignant.
[Hah! And who do you think you’re speaking to? If you could wield even half my power—no, even a quarter of it—such a thing would never happen!]
“Yeah, sure. Right.”
None of that mattered to Kael at all.
This is complete crap.
What good was a great sword if you couldn’t use it? If it was useless, it was useless.
At a time when it was entirely possible to die at any moment, talk of some “hidden function” didn’t do a damn thing for him.
Even if Kael somehow learned to use Balmung’s power, there was still a problem.
What, you want me to cut down everyone coming after me?
No, I’m not some insane butcher.
Kael just wanted to avoid being executed after being falsely accused of theft. He didn’t want to casually slice apart complete strangers every time they came at him.
He just wanted to get rid of the nuisance in front of him right now.
If not for that thing, he wouldn’t have to have his peaceful daily life disturbed.
Can’t you just go back quietly? The whole country’s already in an uproar trying to find you. Stop making people suffer and—
[Hmph. As expected, you know nothing.]
“I may not know a lot of things, but I know you want to crawl into a privy right now.”
[Enough, enough! Must you keep bringing up that damned privy?!]
“Then don’t pick a fight with me first. Go bother someone like the Crown Prince instead. Sounds like his reputation’s been pretty good lately.”
Working in the guard naturally meant hearing all sorts of rumors.
Of those rumors, the one most often heard these days was none other than Crown Prince Cassian.
He was effectively regarded as the next emperor, and thanks to his generous temperament and overflowing charisma, he had won the Empire’s citizens over in force… or so people said.
I don’t really know much about him.
To a modern man dropped into another world—especially a lowly guard—talk of the imperial family was just news from another universe.
Still, there had to be a reason his reputation was so good. At the very least, he was better off than a guard like himself.
[The Crown Prince? Hah. How ridiculous.]
Balmung continued in a cold voice.
[Do you seriously think a mongrel with not a single drop of imperial blood in him could handle me?]
* * *
There was a saying that ignorance was bliss.
Kael had come to appreciate that very deeply.
Sometimes, it was better not to know than to know.
This was one of those times.
I didn’t hear that. Right, let’s just say I didn’t hear it. That should be fine, right?
It was too cruel a fate for someone who had only just begun to adjust to guard life. Truly, honestly, he wanted no part of this.
Forget it. Time to go back to everyday life.
Kael, who usually cursed out these medieval barbarians, now found himself feeling absurdly grateful for that very life.
So this was what it meant to understand the value of something only after losing it?
Turning over his little positivity engine, Kael headed for his home base, the Third Guard Office.
By the time he reached the guard post and was about to report his return to the captain, that feeling came again.
Hasn’t everyone had that sense before?
A moment that’s hard to put into words, but unmistakably wrong somehow.
First of all, the captain’s expression and reaction were extremely strange.
Normally the man would just sigh and wear that permanently constipated face of his, but now he was looking at Kael with eyes full of pity.
Yes, like someone looking at a cow being led to the slaughterhouse.
“Hmm… Kael, are you all right? Come to think of it, I may have been rather neglectful toward you all this time. I’m starting to feel bad about that.”
……What the hell is wrong with this guy all of a sudden?
He was doing things he had never once done before.
And from somewhere deep inside, a nasty premonition slowly began to crawl up Kael’s spine.
Did he come back after checking out a grave plot or something?
People said if someone suddenly started acting unlike themselves, they’d die soon.
Ah.
The stronger that ominous hunch grew, the more fiercely Kael began denying it to himself.
No way. It’s just my imagination.
No, really. I only just got back to the guard office. There’s no way anything’s happening, right?
But the thread of hope Kael had been clinging to was shattered to pieces not long after.
“……Kael, a member of the Third District under the Ascalon Empire Capital Guard, effective today you are being transferred out of the Capital Guard and reassigned to the Nox Special Security Force. Pack your things immediately and prepare to depart.”
Damn it.
The damned Empire had abandoned him.