Chapter 14: One Step (2) | Semi-Coercive Imperialist
Dark night. An old car was racing frantically along a dim road on the outskirts of the Capital. It was Arman and his family fleeing from the Capital.
"They're coming."
Rodriguez's masked subordinates stared at them from within the forest.
"The Major gave the order."
The most trusted member among them raised his hand. Multiple pairs of eyes gleamed as they tracked the movement of the car.
"Lowlifes like them can't make fools of us and leave safely."
A fishy smile spread across their lips.
"Erase them without a trace."
They were to be erased as if they had never existed in the first place.
"Get ready."
They crouched, preparing to leap,
and the moment the vehicle rounded the corner and came into view.
"Go."
They sprang forward. Dust exploded from the ground beneath their forceful strides.
In an instant, they surrounded the car, stabbing their swords into the tires, and piercing the hood to destroy the engine.
Screeeeech─!
The car came to a shrieking halt. Inside were Arman, his wife, and their three terrified children.
"Kill them all."
The children screamed, and Arman desperately pleaded for his children to be spared. The more he begged, the more their faces twisted into mocking sneers.
Crunch!
Just as they tore open the car door and were about to thrust their blades inside.
───Whiiiiiish!
An arrow sliced through the night. The sharp steel lodged deep into one man's neck.
As they turned, figures in pitch-black uniforms quietly emerged.
"What the....."
They were already surrounded. It had happened in an instant. They reflexively raised their swords in defense, but the killing intent touched their skin. Their arms and legs trembled involuntarily. From the mana radiating from them, the difference in class was overwhelming.
"...Wh-Who are you people?"
There was no response. Only a single man stepped forward like a ghost from among them. Slender, long eyes. He appeared gentle, but there was something chilling in his demeanor.
A cool voice sank like fog.
"There is a message."
The dagger in his hand glinted coldly under the moonlight.
"Just one sentence."
Suddenly, his narrow eyes curved like a crescent moon.
"Do not overstep your bounds."
That was the signal. Numerous blades gleamed coldly. The clash of steel tore through the silence, but only briefly. Soon, screams erupted as flesh and blood were torn apart with wet, squelching sounds.
Enzi butchered Rodriguez's subordinates.
It was a massacre.
"Steward. Major Rodriguez himself is not among them."
"I know. He's a man who never had the guts anyway."
Enzi checked on Arman's condition. His three children and wife had fainted, but fortunately, none of them had sustained life-threatening injuries.
"The car is wrecked."
"...."
Arman could only swallow dryly. Words wouldn't come out. Even thoughts stopped. It felt like the folds of his brain were tangled together.
Enzi gave a bright smile.
"Please don't be too alarmed. This is a small token of gratitude from Knight Maximilian for letting us use your lovely mansion."
As he said that, he glanced over the scattered corpses.
"As you can see, the dim-witted ones don't let go of their attachments so easily. They try to vent their frustration somehow."
"Th... Ah... Th-thank, thank you..."
"I'll gladly pass it along. A new car will arrive shortly, so please leave in that."
Gurgle gurgle gurgle....
At that moment, bloody foam gushed from the ground. One of them had survived by sheer luck.
Arman flinched in fear.
"Ah, don't worry too much. I left him alive on purpose. The message must be delivered, after all."
It was both a threat and a warning. The interpretation was simple.
──Leave the Capital and live like you're already dead.
It was practically an intelligence test. The smarter one was, the more appropriately they would act to preserve their life. The more foolish they were, the more they would refuse to let go.
"Well then, I'll be going."
Enzi signaled his subordinates. They melted into the darkness of the night. With the next step, Enzi too disappeared without a trace.
"...."
In the middle of the pile of corpses, Arman sat down blankly in a daze.
***
The next morning. When I arrived at the Knight Order for work, there was a delivery sitting on my office desk.
I opened the envelope, and the contents were as follows.
──────
[To the esteemed Imperial Judiciary]
[INDICTMENT]
1. Complainant
Name: Giovanni von Rodriguez
2. Accused
Name: Maximilian von Ebenholtz
3. Purpose of Accusation
We accuse the accused, Maximilian von Ebenholtz, of charges of murder and incitement of illegal armed activity, and request a thorough investigation and punishment in accordance with the laws and justice of the Empire.
4. Details of Accusation
On March 17th, Imperial Year 1038, the accused mobilized an unidentified armed force and brutally murdered the complainant's loyal subordinates, 'Yutten Bill', 'Cassio Veron', 'Ten Yisin', and seven others (a total of ten people), on the outskirts of the Capital, Arcadia.
This is a clear act of murder and a grave crime involving the abuse of private armed force in disregard of the Empire's legal order.
Such incitement by the accused not only severely damages the dignity of an Imperial Knight but also constitutes a blatant challenge to the authority of the Imperial Guard, who enforce the law in the name of His Majesty the Emperor, and therefore cannot be overlooked.
Thus, the complainant strongly urges the Imperial Judiciary to swiftly and fairly uncover the truth of this incident and to deliver severe punishment befitting the crime.
5. Evidence
Map and photographs of the crime scene (submitted separately)
List of victims' identities (submitted separately)
Complainant: Giovanni von Rodriguez (signature)
──────
Rodriguez had accused me. The charge was that I had murdered his subordinates.
"Hah."
A sneer escaped.
"Does this country bumpkin really know that little about the world?"
Before the regression, this kind of moron had become an officer in the Imperial Guard and wielded all sorts of power as a close aide to the Emperor. He was proof of just how rotten the Empire had become at that time.
Of course, he must have made his own calculations. Even Ebenholtz had political enemies.
Immediately, there's Kandel, who competes for the Emperor's trust, and Zetz, the Empire's richest man, relations with both are strained.
Since the Imperial Guard maintains close ties with the Kandel family, if he aligns himself with them and sways public opinion, perhaps he could at least trip up Ebenholtz──
Such shallow thoughts.
It was a delusion only possible for someone so ignorant of the power dynamics in the Capital.
I crumpled the indictment and threw it into the trash can.
Even this much was likely calculated by Enzi.
He could have ensured no evidence was left behind, but deliberately kept someone alive so that Rodriguez would fabricate his own justification.
"Farewell."
This indictment would be the bastard's last will and testament, and I had more important matters to attend to than this kind of idiot.
Employee interviews.
I needed to find my own people.
A knight may be the sword of the Empire, but alone he can do nothing. That's why modern knights are supported by many roles, secretaries, intelligence officers, aides, and so on.
The secretary handles the knight's administrative tasks. Budget management, writing reports, securing supplies, scheduling, managing all the chores so that the knight can focus solely on his missions.
The intelligence officer is an expert in gathering and analyzing all information related to a case and providing it to the knight. They serve as the knight's eyes and ears through crime scene analysis, suspect background checks, record searches, and more.
However, what I sought went beyond that.
The first piece of a 'private organization'.
I had always disliked factions, but now I had to build one.
I needed talent. Not just people with exceptional skills, but those who could understand my will and follow it quietly.
Such people usually don't come looking for me. I have to go find them.
This gave me a great advantage.
Because I am a regressor.
"Let's see...."
I activated the Knight Order's [Personal Record System].
***
On the outskirts of the Capital Arcadia, in the Berryhall Street lined with modest buildings. Tucked into a corner was a small company with a barely visible sign.
「Veritas Trading」
It was unclear what they bought or sold, but within this place resided the future Chancellor who would one day singlehandedly support the crumbling finances of the Empire.
I entered the company.
Near the front counter sat a skinny man in his early twenties, wearing glasses.
His name was Dieter Schmidt.
I quietly watched him, buried in a pile of documents at his desk.
"...?"
Sensing a presence, he looked up.
"May I help you?"
He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and asked indifferently. His face was filled with exhaustion from paperwork and indifference toward the world.
"Nice to meet you."
Before the regression, Dieter had been a fiscal secretary of the Empire. Although a pure Imperial citizen, he had no other background or connections and entered the bureaucratic system solely through skill. He had managed the Empire's collapsing finances with astonishing efficiency, singlehandedly delaying the nation's default by one to two years.
"I'm Maximilian of the Sentinel Knight Order."
I came here to recruit such a man as my personal secretary.
My organization will inevitably grow in scale, so I need the most capable person.
"Yes. Nice to meet you, Sir Maximilian."
Dieter replied calmly. The Revolutionary forces once considered him a rigid ideologue. Even up to the Empire's final collapse, he remained strangely fixated on his own duties.
"...Maximilian Ebenholtz."
I said my full name while shaking his hand.
It felt a little cheap, but this man was so dry and emotionless.
"Ah, I see."
Even so, his response was lukewarm. He seemed completely unmoved by the name Ebenholtz.
"I'm Dieter Schmidt. An employee of this company."
"...."
It was certain. This man wouldn't take my hand even if I offered it. After all, he was the one who even refused the relentless courting of the New Cabinet and allowed himself to be executed of his own volition.
Calling it "of his own volition" sounds a bit odd.
In any case, it felt strange to say, "Become my secretary", on the first meeting.
"...Um, may I ask what this is about?"
At that moment, a middle-aged man with a belly cautiously appeared from inside the office. I shifted my gaze from Dieter.
"Are you the president?"
"Yes, that's right but...."
I walked up to the president and took out my Knight ID.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Maximilian von Ebenholtz."
"...What? What? Eben, Ebenholtz?"
The president's eyes widened instantly. I glanced briefly at Dieter.
He had clearly stated he was part of this company, so the best way to acquire him was already decided.
"I've come to purchase this company."
It's also the favorite method of the Imperial Guards. An acquisition beyond hostile, an outright forced merger.
But I'm different from them. At the very least, I won't take it- I'll pay a fair price.
"Prepare the paperwork."
It was convenient, too, since I needed a corporate entity.
"Ah, this is so sudden. I'm sorry, but I have no intention of selling this compa-"
"No."
I smiled faintly and extended my hand to the president.
"Don't be mistaken. This isn't a request."
If there's one thing I have in common with those Guard bastards, it's that the other party doesn't get the right to refuse.
If you try to accommodate every single person, the world will collapse.
***
...The interior of the building was made of cold marble and sharp lines, and black-uniformed personnel stood throughout the corridors, maintaining perfect posture without a hint of disorder. The soaring, empty hall felt so cold that even the air seemed frozen.
This was the headquarters of the Imperial Royal Guard.
"Hm...."
In the office of Lieutenant General Strassen of the Guard. Without lifting his eyes from the documents, he addressed Major Rodriguez, seated across from him.
"I heard the report, Rodriguez. You filed a complaint."
"Yes, Sir. This is clearly a challenge to the authority of the Empire and His Majesty the Emperor."
Rodriguez raised his voice, as if pleading injustice. Strassen lifted an eyebrow.
"I know. I saw the scene myself. It would've been better if you had given me a heads-up before filing it."
Rustle. He turned a page, still without taking his eyes off the paperwork.
"It was simply too much to tolerate. Formal Imperial Guard members were sacrificed. Ebenholtz has been on a different path from us from the very beginning. We should take this opportunity to crush their arrogance!"
"Well... I do understand. Ebenholtz does... strut around a bit too much."
Strassen finally lifted his head. His pupils remained relatively dry, but Rodriguez, encouraged by his words, smiled.
"Yes, thank you. Then I'll contact Duke Kandel and bring this matter into public debate-"
"No, there's no need for that."
The lieutenant general cut Rodriguez off. He rose from his seat and walked toward the window, a faint smile appearing on his face.
"I'll handle it myself. Aren't you the rising superstar of the Guard? There's no need for you to bother with this kind of noise."
The corner of Rodriguez's mouth twitched slightly. The praise of being called a superstar felt pleasing.
"These tedious conflicts are meant to be handled by people like us. That's why ranks like ours exist."
Strassen lightly tapped the golden lion medal on his chest.
"You should focus on greater matters. Go and take a rest."
"...Thank you, Your Excellency. Loyalty!"
Rodriguez gave a salute with a moved expression, then exited the office.
Thud!
The door closed. At that moment, the smile vanished from Strassen's face. Clicking his tongue, he reached for the communicator on his desk.
"Yes, Duke Kandel. This is Lieutenant General Strassen...."
A voice of quiet deliberation descended as they began to discuss something in secret.