Chapter 177
Chapter 177
The Iron Emperor — Chapter 177
"Oh-ho, good work. It's the kind of thing you'd find out eventually, but the sooner the intel, the better."
A satisfied smile crossed Emperor Amelie de Can Vish's lips. Standing before him, the Chief of Intelligence wore his usual stolid expression.
"Then I shall continue my report."
"Go on."
The Chief of Intelligence continued speaking as Emperor Bishu smiled and swirled his drink.
"First, regarding this nation called Gauri... it appears the Haian Kingdom will remain silent."
"Haian must have lost its mind."
Emperor Bishu cut off the chief's words with a curt retort. The Chief of Intelligence seemed to share the sentiment; the faintest trace of a smile played at the corner of his mouth as he nodded and resumed his explanation.
"To summarize based on what Marquis Iwaen, the Vice Chair of the Haian Noble Council, conveyed through a private communication—there is definitely a group of considerable size at the heart of the Reganza Mountains. The gifts they sent reportedly consist of goods unlike anything previously seen on the continent. Even looking just at the vessels made of materials unlike the metalware commonly used across the continent, or the Scale Mail that appears remarkably light and protective, they are of a completely unfamiliar type. Furthermore, according to one Count Hamon, who participated as the head of the expedition, even their language was incomprehensible. As for their physical appearance, they resemble northern mercenaries yet carry a certain sense of dissonance, and the group reportedly includes continentals dispersed among them as well. Their architectural styles, too, are said to be unlike any seen on the continent before."
"Well, this is all rather out of nowhere."
As Emperor Bishu tilted his head quizzically, the Chief of Intelligence lifted his chin slightly and spoke with a confident voice.
"Judging that the Intelligence Branch requires a more detailed grasp of the facts, we have immediately dispatched agents from the leased territory within the Haian Kingdom."
"As expected, you're the only one. I can't get anything done with those fossils in the Federal Assembly."
"I am honored, Your Majesty."
At Emperor Bishu's pleased smile, the Chief of Intelligence placed a hand over his chest and offered a formal bow. Watching him, Emperor Bishu raised his silver goblet to his lips and murmured.
"Heh heh. The peace has lasted too long."
* * *
"Those bastards!"
Phillian Gerard's silver sword slashed through the empty air. In the wake of the blade's trajectory—too fast to follow with the naked eye—shattered fragments fell powerlessly to the ground.
"The next time I go there, I'll wipe them all out!"
His fury-laden scream rang out to the sky. Watching him, Fleet Commander Jang Bogo looked at the debris on the floor and let out a sigh.
"Commander-in-Chief, why on earth did you buy something like that in the first place?"
At Bogo's sigh-laced reproach, Gerard shot back, his face still thick with indignation.
"Because it's a waste of money!"
Bogo shook his head at the sight of Gerard bellowing.
"Getting scammed on that 3-Type Feed Set for 2 gold 99 silver—the stuff Giant Crabs supposedly love—was bad enough. So why do you keep buying and collecting things like this?"
"They said this one actually works! The Special Giant Crab Pheromone Perfume, 9 gold 99 silver!"
Just as Bogo was shaking his head at Gerard's unquenchable obsession, a frantic voice called out from outside.
"Fleet Commander!"
"What is it?"
Ignoring Gerard, who was still slashing at the air, Bogo turned to the soldier who had rushed in.
"Word has come from our spy inside the Maritime Empire—the currents are strange. The Empire's fleets are on the move, and they've suddenly begun recruiting infantry."
"What?"
Gerard stopped his frenzied sword-swinging and stared with puzzled eyes. There was only one reason the Maritime Empire—a nation that lived on islands—would recruit infantry. It meant they were preparing for war.
* * *
Seated in the great hall of the Haian Kingdom, pouring himself a drink, King Bera Han's shoulders slumped with exhaustion. It was not conduct befitting a king seated before his nobles, yet not one of the ever-noisy aristocrats raised a word of reproach. Or rather, it was more accurate to say they were all silently watching and reading the room.
"You are drinking to excess, Your Majesty."
Unable to watch any longer, Duke Perisman, the head of the Noble Council, cautiously addressed King Bera Han.
"Excess?"
Halting the bottle mid-pour, King Bera Han slowly lifted his head and glared at Duke Perisman, who quietly averted his gaze.
"What place is this?"
A single sentence from King Bera Han. The nobles exchanged glances, then hesitantly began to speak.
"It is the great hall where the nobility convenes to deliberate the state affairs of our Haian Kingdom."
At one noble's answer, King Bera Han brought his cup to his lips, downed it in one gulp, and wiped the wine trickling down the corner of his mouth with his sleeve, a sneer curling on his face.
"Heh heh. You all talk a fine game. So tell me—a gag order issued in this very hall, and in less than a week, the Three Great Empires know every last detail without missing a single syllable?"
"Ahem."
The nobles bowed their heads and offered no reply whatsoever. It was their own time-tested method of dealing with such moments. King Bera Han looked at them, gripped his wine cup as if to crush it, and roared.
"Is this a marketplace or a great hall for deliberating the affairs of the nation?! All of you, get out this instant!"
Only King Bera Han's grief-stricken cry echoed through the chamber.
* * *
The Dwarf Lord, Viol Hakun Stone, was pointing at a map and explaining.
"Hmm, now if we just complete the outer wall over there, I believe the primary defenses will pose no issue."
"That so? Good. Keep at it, then."
Buru was smiling with a satisfied face, then suddenly furrowed his brow and started moving.
"Hey, you kid over there—looks like ya haven't even had gruel!"
As Buru walked off bellowing at the top of his lungs, Hakun Stone let a small smile touch his lips and turned his gaze toward the sector under his own charge.
Dwarves mingled among the sweating workers.
Hakun Stone walked toward the area where the young dwarves were laboring. But a handful of the young dwarves were working with distinctly disgruntled expressions.
"Damn it, this is no different from being slaves."
One dwarf paused in his work, straightened his back, and grumbled. But his voice was loud enough—more than loud enough—to reach the ears of the Dwarf Lord Viol Hakun Stone and the Great Chieftains. It was almost as if he wanted them to hear.
"You said it. Where the hell did us dwarves' pride go?"
Another young dwarf chimed in. At the sight of them, a young man who had been sweating and working in silence approached, offered them water, and spoke up with a smile.
"Come on, all this is for our safety against outside invasions, so let's not complain too much."
The dwarves looked at the young man with displeased eyes. There's a saying that you can't spit on a smiling face. Seeing the young fellow's face—a mix of camaraderie from working together and an easy smile—one of the Great Chieftains let out a soft exclamation as if something had just occurred to him.
"Ah! That young man is...."
At the Great Chieftain's exclamation, Hakun Stone, who had been about to go admonish the young dwarves, stopped in place and looked on with eyes that seemed to be piecing together a memory.
The memory of the time they'd received Go Jin-cheon's eviction order surfaced. Back when soldiers had mobilized out of concern that human hunters would swarm the area because of the dwarves' traces, and the citizens who witnessed it trembled with unease—that was when this young man had appeared and, as casually as if it were nothing, gone around spreading rumors.
"So it was that young man from back then."
The Great Chieftains nodded at Hakun Stone's words. Their memories came flooding back in unison.
Soldiers moving with weapons in hand, citizens and elders watching them with anxious eyes.
"What's going on...?"
The worried voice of an old man. Around him, the villagers had set down their work and were looking on with the same worried expressions.
"Ah, they said it's nothing serious."
The young man who had appeared amid the citizens' unease continued talking, insisting it was no big deal.
"Do you know what's happening?"
A middle-aged woman's question.
As all eyes converged on him, the young man scratched his head bashfully for a moment, then slowly went on with his explanation.
"Apparently it's some kind of hunting competition combined with a full-scale mobility drill."
"What's that mean? We've done that sort of thing before, but it was never like this. Could something have gone wrong because of those dwarves who arrived yesterday?"
A middle-aged man nearby cut in, acting like he knew something. At that, the young man waved his hand and continued.
"Nah, it's not that. The dwarves came in, so they're probably doing some culling at the same time to help clear a path for them to live. Look—the dwarves haven't even unpacked yet, have they?"
Only then did the people start nodding, as if the young man's words made sense. Just as a few plausible remarks were being exchanged, the middle-aged man who had interrupted earlier let out a hearty shout.
"We've got His Majesty the Yeolje, who even drove off a dragon—so what's there to worry about! Before I came to live in this country, I wandered all over the place, but where was there ever a place this good to live? And let me tell you straight—in the country I used to live in, the army wouldn't dispatch until after a monster had already swept through a village. But not here! They catch them in advance and don't even let them anywhere near. In a way, what they're doing now is only natural."
"That's right."
"Ho ho ho!"
Reassured by the middle-aged man's colorful talk, the people burst into cheerful smiles. And a few hours later, that same middle-aged man and the young man who had first acted knowledgeable were repeating the same words in another settlement.
That time and the present overlapped.
Nothing was more difficult than unrest among the people. It was crucial to steadily secure public sentiment in advance, precisely to prepare for situations like this one. If war breaks out and work grinds to a halt while people start trembling with fear, even a winnable war grows precarious. In the end, this was also preparation for what might lie ahead. The young man who had reassured the common folk back then was just as easy to spot here at the construction site.
The young man, who had been chatting briefly with the grumbling young dwarves, glanced furtively around, then held out the waterskin at his side to them and spoke quietly.
"Here, nice cold Takju. I snuck some a little while ago—go on, have a sip each."
"Oh!"
The young dwarves, who had been sulky even at the young man's earlier words, opened their eyes wide and took the waterskin full of Takju, passing it around and wetting their lips. Before the drink, the dwarves wore expressions as if every last bit of their irritation had been blown away. A little drink would be given out once the work was done. But that could never compare to the taste of drink snuck on the sly. The liquor sliding down the throats of dwarves who'd been bathing in sweat tasted like honey.
Whether thanks to the young man's smile or the drink, the grumbling dwarves got back to work.
"Well then, work hard, all of you! I've got to go help out over that way!"
"Take care, human friend!"
As if they'd become fast friends in an instant, one young dwarf grinned and waved at the departing man.
Hakun Stone slowly followed behind the young man.
And sure enough.
In another spot, the man spotted dwarves who were complaining, approached them with the same smile, said the same things, and handed over a drink pouch with the same act of sneaking it to them.
'Huh, to this extent....'
It was a scene of managing public sentiment in real time. No matter that they were now subjects—if they were put to work under orders the moment they were accepted, some backlash from the dwarves was inevitable. Of course, there were many dwarves absorbed in the new culture and new knowledge, but most of the younger dwarves were discontented. Hakun Stone found himself thinking once more about this nation called Gauri.
No country on the continent went this far.
You couldn't find a nation that moved the way the people of Gauri did—directly observing the populace's mood and attending to it with such care. For Hakun Stone, who did not know that several past Yeoljes of Gauri had been deposed specifically for failing to govern the people's hearts, it was yet another moment that steeled his resolve. And he came to think that he, too, needed to explain to the young dwarves the story of how they themselves had once cried out to be made subjects.