Chapter 90
Chapter 90
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 90
Chapter Title: The Mayor's Atonement
-----------------------------------------------------------------
One of the identities Sion had brought(?) with him on this expedition was that of the Handler's proxy for the Dukedom.
Since the Handler himself was the "Duke's proxy," this made for the bizarre position of a proxy's proxy, but in any case, no one in the Dukedom would dare complain or object.
More than that, Rozin had already pulled off its "Big bro! We'll smash our heads in! Just spare us!" routine through the tax collector it had sent.
So now the Monster Hunting Corps elite unit and Sion had arrived, and someone was going to throw a tantrum in front of them?
Not to mention shoving aside the mayor, who had suddenly turned subservient overnight after who-knows-what had happened—though no one knew the details?
That kind of thing could never happen.
"Something... something's going down!"
"I-I gotta get outta here!"
Unable to defy Sion, unable to plead with the mayor, and with even the Yajan natives—who were supposed to be their greatest shield—turning their backs, the bribe-taking officials tried to flee first.
But breaking through the furious residents surrounding City Hall was impossible.
From the moment Sion arrived in Rozin, they had fallen under his control, caught one by one by the guards who had received his orders.
"Hey! D-do you know who I am!?"
"Guard Captain! Me and your uncle, we're tight! We ate stew together! Went to the brothel yesterday too! We've done it all!"
Some tried to hold out by flaunting their positions and connections.
"Yes. We ate the bribes together. That's why we arrested my uncle too."
"Ah!"
It was futile.
The chain of events over the past year had already soured public sentiment in Rozin.
Even the guards, who usually bullied residents under the pretext of maintaining order and flexed their muscles, couldn't help transforming into the kind, reliable pillars of the people—Po Doli—when faced with thousands of residents whose eyes were rolling with rage.
And so they were all tightly bound and hung from poles.
"Um... Handler proxy. We've caught them all, so wouldn't it be better to process them through a formal trial?"
The bribe-free officials cautiously suggested this amid the barbaric scene reminiscent of medieval witch trials (though to Sion, this world had always been medieval, then and now).
But Sion shook his head.
"You're saying that after seeing the residents? If I open a formal trial and tell them to disperse, you think they will? If you're so dissatisfied, go out there and tell them yourself."
"As the saying goes, the people's will is the will of heaven."
Looking at the thousands (perhaps even tens of thousands) of residents swarming outside the City Hall terrace, the official immediately switched tactics.
Upon closer inspection, quite a few—many, even—seemed to be clutching sharpened spears.
It was only because the entire Monster Hunting Corps was mounted on Gou and guarding the City Hall's main gate with an intimidating aura that things hadn't escalated; otherwise, City Hall would have been reduced to rubble long ago, and they themselves skewered.
"For now, leave them like that and give them a lashing. Just don't kill them."
"Understood."
At Sion's order, the guard captain stepped forward with a solemn expression and whipped the traitors.
Crack!
"Kyaaaaak!"
Fine clothes tore, blood and flesh splattered, but a whipping wouldn't kill anyone.
Yet no punishment short of dismemberment offered such a spectacular show as a whipping, so the crowd cheered wildly each time the guard captain's whip danced.
Of course, the other officials watching from the terrace turned pale and sweated profusely.
'He's doing it on purpose. Showing us that if we step out of line, we could end up like that too.'
'It's fine. I didn't take any bribes... Oh, but I did from the others. Shit. Still better than the mayor, right?'
'But where's the mayor?'
Noticing that Calvert, who absolutely needed to be here, was missing, the officials scanned around for him.
At that moment, someone appeared, escorted by Monster Hunting Corps members, heading toward the City Hall entrance.
"M-Mayor?"
"No way, what's he doing over there...?"
The officials' eyes widened.
Creak—
City Hall's iron-barred main gate opened, and Calvert stepped outside.
The Corps members stood guard like an iron wall, but they couldn't block the icy glares and murderous intent pouring down on Calvert from the enraged residents.
"H-Handler proxy! The mayor's in danger!"
No matter how massive the Gou or how skilled the Corps members were, they were helpless against thousands charging at once.
Fearing an unprecedented tragedy where the sitting mayor—a direct subordinate of "Sion Rozin"—would be trampled to death by residents, the officials fidgeted anxiously.
"H-Handler proxy!"
"Just watch."
"Yes...?"
The officials flinched at Sion's cold voice.
Gazing down at the descendant of his third son with chilly eyes, Sion said,
"It's up to him to resolve it. No one can do it in his place. He has to face it himself."
"......!"
The officials gathered on the terrace were all those who hadn't taken Yajan bribes.
Not particularly talented, but not incompetent either.
Yet they had upheld their loyalty to Rozin and the Sion ducal family.
Of course, it might have been pride rather than loyalty.
But whether loyalty or pride, the fact that it leaned on the name "Sion" was true.
Thus, the officials on the terrace understood Sion's words from the depths of their hearts.
Their mayor—dressed not in his usual luxurious finery but in simple pants and a shirt like a commoner—was stepping up to take responsibility as one of Sion's own.
"You incompetent fool!"
"Are you really Rozin's mayor!?"
"Mayor! What the hell have you been doing to let things get this bad!"
They refrained from outright curses, but piercing glares and harsh voices erupted nonstop.
Calvert's legs trembled.
Faced with this actual crowd of thousands, he wanted nothing more than to turn back.
But the image of their living ancestor flashed in his mind, and he gritted his teeth.
Was he afraid of the founder?
Of course he was.
Just recalling those eyes made his legs go weak.
But Calvert's refusal to flee wasn't solely out of fear of the founder.
Yesterday, those eyes had held anger and "disappointment."
Calvert couldn't bear that disappointed gaze.
He couldn't face it again.
No, he didn't want to.
To him, it was as good as a death sentence.
"Residents of Rozin."
His voice cracked and shook from extreme tension as Calvert finally spoke.
Countless eyes of different shapes and colors turned toward him.
Calvert bit his lip, the illusion that every gaze belonged to the founder overwhelming him.
Without even wiping the blood trickling from his mouth, he continued in his still-trembling voice.
"I... I have been incompetent. As your mayor, as a member of S-Sion, I failed to fulfill my duties. N-no, I tried to evade them."
The crowd fell silent at the self-confession from their lofty mayor, whom they rarely even glimpsed.
In that suffocating stillness, the tearful, lengthy confession of one man—Calvert Sion Rozin, acknowledged by all as utterly incompetent—unfolded.
* * *
Rozin's residents forgave their incompetent mayor.
Or rather, they decided to watch and see a bit more.
Truthfully, the residents had no say in forgiveness or not. Calvert didn't need to beg for it either.
This wasn't a democracy.
The mayor was essentially a governor or lord.
Yet he had done it anyway, when he didn't have to.
Was it because Sion had brought the Monster Hunting Corps and ordered it with glaring eyes?
To deny any such thought would be a lie, but Sion hadn't ordered Calvert.
Sion had merely given his foolish descendant one last chance. Without even telling him how.
Yes. Calvert stepping forward today—not as Rozin's mayor or a Sion ducal scion, but as the man Calvert—to confess to the residents and beg forgiveness had been entirely his own decision.
And it worked.
On both the Rozin residents, who had been ready to overthrow everything mayor or no, and on Sion, who held every right and qualification to punish him.
"Waaahhh!"
In the end, as Calvert dropped to his knees and sobbed uncontrollably, the crowd watched with mixed feelings.
Some still shot resentful glares, but most turned and left.
The lingering embers of anger vented on the traitors—being lashed and squealing like pigs.
Pebbles (rocks were banned, as they could kill) and spit flew alongside curses at the pole-bound traitors. As time passed, the massive crowd dispersed one by one.
"......"
Overlooking the ruined square in front of City Hall, the officials kept silent.
Too far to hear Calvert's words clearly.
But they had all seen his beast-like sobs and his collapse to his knees.
The pathetic back of the mayor they had inwardly scorned as incompetent, gossiped about, and pointed fingers at—now looked just like their own reflections.
No one said it, and even the residents had focused only on cursing the mayor and traitors, ignoring them.
Yet in that heavy silence on the terrace, each official gazed at Calvert's back and contemplated their own self-portraits.
"What are you all standing around for?"
Sion's voice snapped them back to reality like a bucket of cold water.
"Aren't you Rozin City officials? Looks sorted out, so bring your mayor and get back to work."
"Ah... Yes, sir!"
"Understood, Handler proxy!"
The officials hurried off the terrace.
"First, let's offer some incentives to the residents."
"Incentives? We need the carrots themselves right now!"
"Top priority is assessing the number of vigilante groups in the area. Then we can..."
Watching their backs as they finally geared up for actual work, Sion smirked.
Beside him, Stelmann nodded repeatedly, while Fiot pondered with an enlightened expression.
Feeling burdened by the bear-like man's sparkling gaze directed at him, Sion called for Priel.
"Priel."
"Yes, Sion."
"Go quietly and bring those guys here."
"Those guys...?"
"The ones from Yajan."
"Yes."
Priel bowed and swiftly exited.
Then, having finished his thoughts, Fiot approached cautiously.
"What do you plan to do with the Yajan natives, Grandfather?"
Considering what the Yajan natives had done in Rozin, execution would be more than justified.
But two among them were special envoys.
Given the relations between Yajan and the Sion Dukedom, it would be tricky to execute them unilaterally.
Letting them go scot-free was out of the question.
"What else? Send them back."
"Yes?"
It was an answer so unlike Sion's usual temperament that Fiot's eyes widened, and even Stelmann's did too.
"Ah!"
Stelmann let out a gasp, as if realizing something, then said excitedly for some reason,
"You mean send them back with their heads chopped off. As expected of Your Excellency the Duke!"
"...Is that what you think is 'like me'?"
The old monster, who had at least a shred of conscience, couldn't retort and continued.
"Not chopping heads. Just send them as is."
"Y-Yes!?"
Why was he reacting like he'd seen a ghost?
Though annoyed, Sion held back once more.
"Yajan will become a leashed dog from now on. Plus, they're precious customers now. Early adopters, you might say? The first to try our new products and give feedback on pros and cons—we have to treat them well."
He didn't add that they'd buy at five times the original price.
Neither the selling Sion Dukedom nor the buying Yajan natives would complain, so why bother?
(To be continued)