Never Again a War? - 2

Unlike last year, I timed my movements perfectly to the memorial service. If I'd been alone I would have just holed up in the Audit Department and killed time, but with the Demon Duke accompanying me I had to restrain myself. Going to the Audit Department would mean a surprise visit from a Duke; going to the Magic Tower would mean the Tower Master herself was arriving; even heading to my own manor would mean one of the prospective mistresses of the house was dropping by. This was completely insane.

"You're here? I was starting to think you were dead."

Thanks to that, the moment I ran into the Minister at the memorial I got a survival-confirmation greeting.

"For someone who thought that, you never once tried to contact me."

"Figured you'd manage to come back to life somehow."

The Minister tossed out the bizarre joke with a short laugh, then bowed his head toward the Demon Duke standing beside me.

"Deber Briad of Blochen, head of House Briad and Imperial Minister of Finance, greets Your Grace the Demon Duke."

"It has been a long time, Minister. I am glad to see you in good health."

"It is thanks to Your Grace's concern."

The Demon Duke answering a mere Count so courteously made the Minister's body give a slight start, but he quickly composed himself and continued as if nothing had happened.

A wise response. The Demon Duke was only treating him with such formality because he was my direct superior; if the Minister had shown discomfort in that situation it would only have wounded her. The quick thinking he'd always shown on the battlefield clearly hadn't gone anywhere.

"His Grace the Duke of Victory is standing in the front row. The Inspector General and I are in the front as well, so please join us."

At the remark that a Duke naturally belonged at the front, the Demon Duke nodded and moved her feet. It was true that a Duke standing in the back would look bad.

A lot more glittering than last year.

As I walked toward the front I checked the faces gathered for the memorial. From the administration the Palace Minister and the War Minister were present, same as last year, but from the Diet the Speaker himself, Count Bardon, had come in person. Even from the military there were quite a few high-ranking officers visible.

The lineup grew grander with every passing year, and a faint smile touched my lips. At least those guys wouldn't become forgotten heroes.

The memorial ground, which had been buzzing with greetings, fell silent the moment the Palace Minister began reading the eulogy. In a place that demanded solemnity, and while reading the Emperor's own words, who would dare open their mouth?

"The Empire was not founded overnight by a single man. It stands today only because countless heroes wrote its history in blood."

The contents of the eulogy were not much different from last year. Mourning for the heroes who died fighting for the Empire, the highest praise that the Empire itself existed because of those heroes.

In truth it would have been stranger if the wording changed every time they mentioned something already finished. Unless the Imperial Family decided to treat the Great Subjugation War itself as a dark history and erase it, the content would always be like this.

"The blood shed by our predecessors, the legacy inherited from them. In order to pass that glory and sacrifice to the next generation, we must be wary of blood yet never fear it."

—Or so I had thought.

"The history of the Empire is built of devotion, duty, and glory. We ourselves are part of that history, and to sever it in our generation is a sin that cannot even be spoken aloud."

At the high-intensity remarks, agitation spread even among the nobles who had been maintaining silence. Blood, legacy, sacrifice. And the words that they must not fear blood in order to pass those things to posterity. What that meant was obvious.

Of course there were exceptions. The Palace Minister, who kept an expression so blank that no emotion could be read while he continued the reading; the Duke of Victory, who showed no reaction at all, as if he had already been given advance notice. The Emperor's closest confidant and the supreme commander of the military simply held their places and performed their roles.

Anyone with a brain could sense that this combination pointed to an abnormal situation. Wondering just how far the combination went, I casually turned my head and saw the Minister frowning and the Demon Duke wearing a complicated expression.

Those two are the limit.

If the second-highest ranking official in the administration and a sitting Duke did not know, then anyone below them was out of the question. This was a statement detonated only after thorough consultation with those two. At most the circle might widen to the Crown Prince or the Minister of Special Affairs.

And detonating it in a place ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠where high officials of the administration, the Imperial Diet, and the military were all gathered meant they intended to make it public in short order.

"—The sacrifice and will of the heroes shall be carried on by posterity through any hardship."

The reading ended amid the agitation, followed by a mechanical moment of silence.

Even for me it was a moment of silence that left my head a mess.

It had been a year—no, only about half a year—since I last stood before those gravestones, yet all I could do was quickly offer some Boyar Wine and leave. In the present situation, staying in front of the stones would only fill my head with other thoughts; better to come pay my respects next time.

"Chief."

"What."

The moment the Minister finished his worship and hurriedly left the grounds, the Second Section Chief carefully opened his mouth.

"I'll take ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠my leave first as well. By now the information control has probably been lifted."

He was right, so I nodded. Once it had been detonated publicly at the memorial, information would start leaking one by one. If the Second Section Chief moved immediately he would come back with some fairly useful intel.

"Go. If you need anything, use it first and report later."

"Yes, sir."

The Second Section Chief bowed and vanished at speed. Watching his back, I let out a small sigh. Today was already a day when my heart was bound to be complicated in several ways, and now my head was complicated too. Enough to drive a man mad.

After scrubbing my face dry a few times I turned my gaze to the remaining officers. These guys had heard the Emperor's eulogy as well, so their heads would be aching plenty. Better to send them off like the Second Section Chief than keep them here.

"You lot head out first too. I'll get some air and then come in."

"Understood. If anything comes up we'll report at once."

"Right."

Following the Deputy Chief who spoke for them, the other officers filed away one after another.

Except for the First Section Chief.

"Chief, want to sit somewhere for a bit before you go? Your face looks terrible."

"I'm fine. Beatrix is waiting outside too, so I should hurry."

I gave the First Section Chief a small smile and started walking. I was grateful for the concern, but with both my head and heart a mess I had already finished the memorial quickly. There was nothing good about lingering in the cemetery.

Besides, there wasn't even a decent place to sit. I couldn't exactly do something crazy like sit on a gravestone.

"Um, Chief. Are you going to stay in the Imperial Capital until club time?"

At that I looked at the First Section Chief again. Any other time I would have assumed she was just bored of being alone and trying to cling, but—

That would actually be better.

Unfortunately, given the current situation, doing as the First Section Chief said was the right call. The Second Section Chief would be scraping up the flood of information pouring out once the control was lifted, the Deputy Chief would find anomalies in his own way, and the Minister went without saying.

If I headed to the Academy under those conditions I would have to receive countless pieces of information through a communication orb instead of face-to-face. Staying in the capital all day was impossible, but I should at least remain until club time. With the Demon Duke here, the time needed to return was basically nonexistent anyway.

In truth, even without this incident I would have stayed to keep the First Section Chief company.

"...Let's at least have a meal together, the three of us. That all right?"

"Yes!"

First, avoid the Audit Department. If the Chief was hanging around while everyone was in the middle of scrambling, it would only make them self-conscious.

Watching the Chief drink water with a rather stiff expression, I casually shifted my gaze to Sister Beatrix. She too seemed to have a complicated head; she was slowly cutting her steak.

It had been a while since I saw the Chief and Sister, yet the atmosphere was thoroughly bad. And it wasn't the kind of matter you could force into lightness either.

Of all days.

I was holding it in because of the mood, but I wanted to sigh. Who would have thought war would be mentioned on the day we were supposed to comfort the fallen?

Well, of course it wasn't just any day—it was the anniversary of the end of the Great Subjugation War, so it was a day to emphasize the stability of the North even more—but still, it was far too sudden and shocking.

And if even I feel this way, the Chief...

I come to the memorial with the Chief, but in truth I've never seen the Six Swords myself. Different department, different areas of operation; before the Great Subjugation War I didn't even know their names. Only after the war ended did I hear that the team leaders of Audit Department Section Four had performed brilliantly, and that those team leaders were the Chief's closest friends.

That was why I worried about the Chief. Even I, who only knew the names, felt uneasy; how much worse must it be for him? The displeasure that a day meant for the Six Swords had been buried under uproar, and at the same time the anxiety over the anomaly that made such an uproar inevitable. Those emotions would be burning a hole in his gut.

He didn't express the complexity out loud, but this noona knows everything. I've been watching the Chief for years.

"Sister, among the wines here there's one made in Servette too."

"Ah, yes. It's not on the level of Boyar Wine, but Servette wine is decent. That's why it sells rather well in the capital region."

After checking the Chief's complexion I casually struck up conversation with Sister. First I needed to lighten Sister's mood, then the two of us could soothe the Chief.

Fortunately Sister seemed to understand my intention and answered with a gentle face.

"Well, Servette is close so transport is easy. The Golden Duke would be disappointed if he knew."

"Heh heh, the Golden Duke's fief is far, but it's that fertile for a reason. Where there's a shortcoming there's also a strength."

Once light chatter was brought up as a topic, the Chief's expression began to ease as well. More precisely he was only pretending to be fine, but for now even that was enou—

"Ah."

A faint light leaked from the Chief's chest. Someone must have contacted him through his communication orb.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

We were almost there...!

It was irritating. Just when the Chief's face was about to relax, someone had no sense of timing.

—Chief, it's me!

And the moment the Chief activated the orb, the urgent voice that came through made me quietly bite my lip. So the Second Section Chief was the culprit.

"What is it? I told you to use whatever you need and report later."

The Chief answered the Second Section Chief in a listless tone. Right—he'd already given the Second Section Chief free rein. Yet if he was contacting so soon after going to dig up information, then giving him autonomy was meaningless.

—Something urgent has come up that I must report!

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

I was a little surprised. The Second Section Chief had only been on the move for less than an hour and already had information worth reporting? Even for him that should be hard.

"You already found something?"

—I didn't find it—the Intelligence Department told us! They were just waiting for the control to lift and then blasted it out all at once!

At those words the Chief's brow furrowed. The fact that the Intelligence Department had handed over information without another department even requesting it first only happened when an important agenda had to proceed without wasting a single second. And if it was a matter to be delivered to every department, even more so.

Sensing that the severity of the incident was far worse than expected, the Second Section Chief spat out the information roughly.

—The gaps in the supplies flowing into the North, the sudden appearance of remnants of tribes that fought in the Great Subjugation War... it was all because of dungeons!

"What?"

—Those crazy bastards were using dungeons like barracks! The Ministry of Special Affairs wouldn't suddenly go insane and approach dungeons during a search, so no one knew until now!

Silence settled at the unexpected information. Just as the Second Section Chief said, unless the Ministry of Special Affairs lost its mind, there was no reason to go poking at dungeons while searching the harsh North. And the North was vast beyond measure; even if a dungeon formed in some strange place the Empire would never know.

The number of dungeons scattered across the North was immeasurable. In proportion, the supplies and troops that might be hidden in those dungeons were also beyond calculation.

—The Ministry of Special Affairs only found out because they discovered nomads who had just come out of a dungeon. They had no idea how many were being used as barracks and had no choice but to pull back.

The Chief remained silent. If the North—more precisely the Dorgon—had used the insane method of treating dungeons like their own homes, then the majority of the missing from the Great Subjugation War could turn into survivors. Those monsters who had harassed the Imperial Army under the Rebel of Heaven would once again mount their horses and ravage the North.

—...And I just learned this: the Palace Minister has summoned every minister. And His Majesty the Emperor has personally gone to the Imperial Diet.

At the Second Section Chief's added remark that something big would come by the end of the day at the latest, no one could deny it.

A few hours after the meal ended, something big arrived exactly as the Second Section Chief had said.

A communication orb glittering with a spine-chilling dark crimson, and a warning tone so unpleasant it felt like it was tearing my ears.

This is enough to drive a man mad.

The moment I checked the text that had flown into the communication orb, a hollow laugh escaped me.

Those fucking Intelligence Department bastards. They hadn't released everything after all.

They never said a word about a Khan.