Chapter 154: Turning Point (4)
Chapter 154: Turning Point (4)
“Guaaargh! Haaah!”
Deep within the underground abyss, groans thick with agony echoed.
It was a place where faces were submerged in water, high-voltage electricity seared skin, and bones were snapped—a place where sadism and torture were carried out relentlessly.
This was the temporary headquarters of the Special Guard Battalion, an organization formed for the 'proper' enforcement of the Imperial Citizenship Act.
It was still a temporary installation, but if their performance proved sufficient, they might be promoted to an official battalion and secure a proper headquarters building.
“Hmm~”
Special Guard Battalion Commander, Lieutenant Colonel Lorenz, leaned back in a comfortable chair. He filed his nails for a moment before blowing away the dust with a sharp Phew!
“How was Maximilian?” he asked.
“Yes, sir. We learned a very useful forensic method from him for distinguishing forged documents.”
Just as his subordinates were about to explain the investigation techniques they had acquired in Maximilian’s office in detail, Lorenz furrowed his brow.
“No. Not that technical crap. I’m talking about that bastard’s attitude. What kind of look did he have in his eyes when dealing with the Guard? Was he actually sincere about enforcing the Citizenship Act?”
“Ah, yes... He seemed quite deeply engrossed in the investigation, but... he didn't say much about the Guard.”
“...Is that so?”
Lorenz came from a commoner bourgeois background. Most of the platoon members under his command were also commoners. In fact, the Special Guard itself was an organization built on that foundation.
“I guess he’s so high up there that he doesn't even see us.”
Of course, there were many nobles among the higher-ups, but the barrier of bloodline wasn't as insurmountable as it was in the Knight Orders, Magic Towers, or the regular army. Rather, it was a place where even a commoner could wear an armband if they proved their individual ability and loyalty to the Emperor.
It was a very desirable institution indeed.
“You guys keep watching that bastard from now on. For now, we're the ones in charge of enforcing the law.”
“Yes, yes, sir. Understood.”
“And when you report to me about him...” Lorenz tossed the nail file onto the table and scowled. “Stop groveling and calling him 'His Lordship' this and 'His Lordship' that.”
“Pardon?”
“Just call him 'that bastard' or 'that punk.' Ah, right, I hear they call knights 'His Honor' these days. Just use that.”
An inferiority complex flickered in Lorenz’s eyes.
“Anyway. If you live your life bowing too much in front of those noble bastards just because you're commoners, you'll really turn into dogs and pigs meant to be trampled on forever.”
He stood up and looked over his subordinates.
“Hey, you guys. You know Rodriguez, right? Major Rodriguez.”
Instantly, his subordinates' faces stiffened. Lorenz let out a snicker.
“You know him. You, Captain Hans. Captain Gunter. He was your senior. The guy who did all sorts of fucking dogshit work just to pull you guys up to the center.”
That Rodriguez had been killed at some point. No, not even his corpse could be found. He had suddenly gone missing.
“Maximilian, that bastard, killed him just to steal Rodriguez's house.”
Major Rodriguez, who had made distinguished contributions as a member of the Guard, was gone all because of a mere 'house.'
“You know the house that bastard lives in? That originally belonged to Rodriguez.”
Hans and Gunter’s complexions turned a deep shade of red.
They were getting angry. They felt the exploitation suffered by a commoner as if it were their own... Of course, Rodriguez wasn't exactly a commoner, but a Viscount from the East was practically a commoner anyway.
“Keep this in mind, you two. We're no longer commoner trash; we are the blade of His Majesty the Emperor, members of the Special Guard.”
Lorenz roughly patted his subordinates' shoulders and whispered.
“And that bastard Maximilian isn't some invincible noble either. He's someone whose head can roll at any—”
—This is a clear case of illegal detention! Open this door at once!
Suddenly, loud, barking nonsense echoed from outside the office.
“...What the hell.”
Lorenz’s brow fiercely contorted. I was right on the verge of dropping a great line, fuck.
He walked outside with his adjutants.
“To suddenly drag away a student without any charges! This goes against Imperial Law! They are Aranians!”
An old man was surrounded by Guard members, pointing his finger and yelling, while the guards looked completely at a loss.
He wore a neat suit, possessed intelligent eyes behind silver-rimmed glasses, and a well-groomed beard. Just by looking at him, he was clearly a noble.
“Who's that old fart?” Lorenz asked a nearby sergeant.
“Ah, yes, sir. He is...”
A pureblood Aranian noble of the Empire. A mage from the Sentio Magic Tower and currently a professor at the Zestpol Magic Tower. His name was Oswin of House Mason.
“He apparently even has a law license.”
“...Fuck, does he have too much time on his hands? He should just stick to learning magic.”
Lorenz forced his threatening expression to relax as he approached.
“Let's calm down first, Professor Oswin.”
“Do I look like I can calm down right now?!”
“Well, I heard things on my way out. Didn't he perhaps distribute subversive books or conduct ideological training?”
“Nothing of the sort! I am a citizen of the Empire to the marrow of my bones!”
“No, not you. Your students might have taught other people something strange, couldn't they?”
“He is a magic scholar! He teaches magic to students, what else would he teach?!” Professor Oswin shouted, veins bulging in his neck.
Lorenz took off his hat and swept a hand through his hair. “...Fine. What is the name of the person who was taken?”
“Oliver. Oliver Muller.”
A commoner. You could tell just by the name.
Honestly, Lorenz didn't know who that was. They hauled in dozens, hundreds of trucks full of people every night.
“It's a shame, but there is no man by that name here.”
“But the people in the city all saw—”
“Man, you really don't understand words, do you? If I say he's not here, then he's not here. Hey, what are you doing! Send him back—!”
Only then did the hulking soldiers chase Oswin out.
“Let go! Let go of me! I said let go...!”
Forcibly pushed away, Oswin glared at the headquarters building and gritted his teeth.
Honk, honk—
A vehicle sounded its horn from the side.
“How did it go?”
Reporters, Oliver’s classmates, his students, friends, and family flocked to his side. Oliver was a good student and a kind son. That was why people had gathered to save him, regardless of their status or position.
“First, I will file a formal petition for a writ of habeas corpus with the Imperial Court, and I will try mobilizing my connections.”
Oswin looked at them, especially at Oliver’s mother, and gestured to reassure them. The middle-aged woman, tears still in her eyes, repeatedly mumbled her thanks.
“Jensen! You guys go meet with the reporters. I'll make my own way.”
“Yes, sir!”
The tear-jerking sight of the students splitting up into several vehicles and Oswin hurriedly running off on his own two feet...
"What a load of bullshit. Absolute fucking bullshit."
From a distance, Lieutenant Colonel Lorenz watched them closely.
These days, the Empire was seething because of the newly proposed Imperial Citizenship Act. This was especially true for Zestpol.
However, the atrocities there couldn't be helped. There was nothing I could do about it either. It was an area with many immigrants and Sub-species to begin with, and naturally, it would be swarming with Izenheim as well.
—Ready!
This was the prison in the center of the Empire.
It was the hanging gallows, newly built and expanded after tearing down the existing facilities to accommodate the recently increasing number of executed prisoners.
—Execute!
Thump. The floor opened up, and the death row inmates dropped. Thick ropes snapped their necks.
Thump—
My heartbeat paused for a moment. It was the death of an Izenheim. But there were also those who were not Izenheim.
Among those being executed, there were likely many true Imperial citizens and other Sub-species as well. The madness of the Empire could not distinguish between races.
“...I almost died there, too.”
From behind me, Schatz muttered quietly.
“If it hadn't been for you, Sir Knight.”
It was a grateful sentiment, but she wouldn't have died even without my intervention. The future before my regression proved as much.
“Schatz.”
“Yes, Sir Knight.”
I spoke while gazing at the gallows that had already been emptied.
“Why didn't they leave the Empire sooner? Why did they try to hold on so desperately, even going so far as to forge their identities and family trees?”
Schatz remained silent for a moment before answering.
“Perhaps it was because they had nowhere else to go in the first place.”
Come to think of it, she was absolutely right. Simply for being Sub-species, they were people who weren't treated as full humans anywhere on the continent, let alone in the Empire, having lived through a long history of persecution.
“...Are you perhaps saddened by their deaths?” Schatz asked carefully, observing my expression.
I shook my head.
“No, rather than sadness...” Suppressing the murderous intent boiling up from the pit of my stomach, I spat out the words. “It is a deep, bitter anger.”
My voice grew slightly louder. The prison warden and guards lined up not far behind me flinched and trembled.
Izenheim.
Because of that single race, too many innocent people were shedding blood and dying. They had no choice but to die, and I had no choice but to kill them. All for the most righteous cause: the survival of humanity.
“...Is that so.”
If I succeed in exterminating the Izenheim, how will I be viewed in the future? How will our descendants perceive this blood-stained extension of life? These were questions that popped into my mind from time to time.
“Schatz.”
Before my regression, this world knew my frailty.
“Yes.”
“The me who was once so weak is now standing here to save the world.”
I had now become a prophet who witnessed the continent's future.
“And I have experienced what the continent has not experienced.”
I had become a pioneer seeking the path to the answer.
“...And what is that?” Schatz asked me.
I met her clear eyes and gave a faint smile.
“Later. I'll tell you when you can trust me completely.”
“I trust you enough even n—”
“No.” I pulled an envelope from my inner pocket. “Right now, this comes first for you.”
I handed it to Schatz. She tilted her head in confusion and opened the envelope.
“...!”
Her eyes widened as she checked the document.
“...Mason Industries.”
The enemy she hated most on this continent, the one who killed her father and tried to send her to the gallows.
“That bastard's family tree.”
Now, finally, she could sever his head using the justification of race and bloodline alone.
“Turns out he wasn't a pureblood Aranian. His grandfather was a Merin. He struggled frantically to hide it, but it seems he couldn't erase everything.”
She stared at the family tree for a long time before dropping to one knee before me. It was the etiquette of a knight swearing loyalty.
I asked her, “Schatz. Do you think revenge will be sweet?”
Schatz remained silent for a moment with her head bowed.
“...No. The pleasure will be nothing more than fleeting.”
It was the voice of someone who already understood the futility of revenge.
“However.” She lifted her face and looked straight up at me. A steadfast resolve dwelt in her transparent eyes. “Through this revenge, I will finally be able to fully connect with my father, who died an unjust death.”
She used the word 'connect.'
“...Connect, you say.” I rolled the word around in my mouth.
The meaning of connecting a severed life, a trampled will; connecting one's family and oneself.
“That has a rather nice ring to it.”
Right. I intend to connect humanity with humanity. To do so, I will have to kill tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands—no. Millions of people in the future.
*
“It is a request from the Oswin Family.”
In the office of the Sentinel Knights, I looked at the unannounced visitor with an incredulous expression.
“There is an innocent person?”
“Yes.”
Sonette Kandel. The woman who controlled a faction of the Guard and was the de facto power behind Kandel was making such a request.
“He's a pureblood Aranian magic scholar who didn't spread any subversive words at the night school, nor did he criticize the recent Imperial Citizenship Act.”
She pulled out a file and placed it on the desk. I briefly skimmed through the identification document. The person in the photo had blond hair and golden eyes; his appearance, at least, was undeniably Aranian.
“Well... But what is your connection to this Professor Oswin?”
“He was my law instructor,” Sonette answered in an unwavering voice. Emotion was thoroughly absent from her eyes. “He was also a colleague of my brother, Jun Kandel.”
“And Oliver Muller is his student?”
“Yes. That's right.”
Oliver Muller. Looking at the face and the name, I asked, “Then, do you want me to meet with this prisoner personally?”
“No. I'm just asking you to grant permission so that Professor Oswin and the family can visit him in person.”
“The name of the Kandel Family should be more than enough.”
“This is not a request from the Family, but my personal request.”
She was a person I simply could not understand.
“Professor Oswin simply wants to know the truth of what exactly went wrong for his student to be locked up in such a place.”
As the core financial backer of the Guard, a pillar of the underworld, and the de facto owner of Kandel, what exactly did she want to gain, and what did she want to destroy amidst the bloodbath of this Imperial Citizenship Act?
“You will be owing me a debt for this.”
She quietly pushed forward the visitation request form she had prepared. It contained no other details—just a simple document requesting a visitation.
“...A visitation.” I let out a small chuckle.
Sonette Kandel was asking a favor of the Knight of Ebenholtz. Honestly speaking, before my regression, I wouldn't have even been able to look her in the eye.
“Alright. I'll open the channel for you.”
I scribbled my signature.
Meanwhile, in the outer garden of the Imperial Palace, where flowers bloomed gracefully despite the winter chill, Kents Bertem requested a private meeting with Reutern II. It was more of an outing than a private meeting, and it was too political to be called a mere stroll.
“Reutern. What do you think about the current agenda?” Kents casually brought up the topic while walking around the garden's fountain.
“Well.”
Right now, Reutern II’s inner thoughts regarding Kents Bertem were exactly this:
Wow, this bastard is unbelievable. The guy who's been secretly looking down on me all this time comes looking for me now just because I have a Lilac Vita reservation ticket. Haha. Sorry, but you're already out. But what agenda? What agenda is he talking about? Whatever it is, fuck off.
“F... Flowers sure are pretty.” He almost swore out loud.
“They're pretty.” Reutern let out an ahem and looked out at the garden.
There were many Aran Shepherds in the Imperial Palace. They were guard dogs presented as tribute by Ebenholtz. Ever since they were brought in, the security guards and royal guards loved them. They said internal security had become twenty times easier.
Anyway, lately Ebenholtz—no, Maximilian—was particularly serious about the Shepherds. He had been spreading their pedigree breeding and training methods everywhere.
“...”
Kents Bertem’s inner thoughts while observing Reutern II were exactly this:
This bastard knows everything but is playing dumb. Even though his true face has already been completely exposed, he's still constantly playing dumb like a snake, just like before. How ridiculous. When most of his life is all thanks to his daddy... Ah, there is one thing. The Lilac Vita reservation ticket.
He was planning to get a ticket off him if the conversation went well today. As expected, Reutern was not an easy mark.
“...You must have some thoughts on it, though?”
Just as Kents was about to subtly feel him out again—
Woof! Woof woof woof! Grrrrr!
In the peaceful garden, two Aran Shepherds suddenly started fighting each other.
“Ooh. The dogs are suddenly going wild.” Reutern II watched the fight as if it were entertainment. “The servant must have let go of the leash instead of holding it tight. Irresponsible, isn't it?”
“...”
Kents Bertem quietly listened to his words. Normally, it would just sound like complete nonsense. One might wonder if the man had Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, but not anymore. All of his words and actions hid highly calculated political metaphors.
“...Hah.”
The dogs. They represented the Special Guard. The Guard running rampant because of the Citizenship Act. And the Emperor's servant who failed to control those dogs was... him, the Bertem Family, and Kurt Grossman.
Kents wiped his face dryly through gritted teeth.
“Hey, Ken. But I noticed you've been hanging out a lot with the Guard guys lately.” Reutern II blurted it out without much thought, just to get on his nerves. “Doesn't your older brother say anything when he sees that?”
In an instant, Kents’s face froze. His features seemed to crumble like grains of sand.
“...What?”
Has this snake bastard lost his fucking mind?
Kents’s face contorted hideously. Reutern, on the other hand, chuckled in amusement.
“You...” Kents paused. He detected a sinister plot lurking beneath that smile.
“Why? What? Tell me~”
“...Fuck.”
Kents Bertem’s older brother, the eldest son, was Kents’s reverse scale. Reutern II was just babbling whatever he wanted because he wasn't interested in the first place, but to Kents, it felt completely different.
—My ambition to collude with the Guard and oust the eldest son. My will to swallow the Family whole.
Did Reutern see right through even that? Is he threatening me by bringing it up?
“...”
Kents suppressed his surging rage. In the end, without saying another word, he abruptly turned around and marched out of the garden.
Exposing myself is not a good thing. Reutern is not the complete retard I think he is, so I must hold it in...
“Tsk tsk. Retard. No matter how much you frown and glare at me, I'm never giving you a Lilac Vita reservation ticket. Never ever~”
At the sight of Kents’s retreating back radiating murderous intent, Reutern II let out a refreshed "Mwahaha" laugh.