Chapter 123: The Persistent Esdeath
Mahiro received his appointment letter from the security force captain.
However, his official start date wasn't until tomorrow.
So Mahiro decided to return home first to check on his little maid.
But the moment he entered the courtyard gate, he found everything completely renewed.
The mansion now had many more people, all working in an orderly manner.
"Remember, the window sills must be wiped daily with clean cloths. I'll conduct random inspections. Even though the master is currently away, I won't tolerate even a speck of dust, understood?!"
"Understood, Lady Mine!"
The loli Mine, dressed in a black-and-white maid outfit, was directing them.
With hands on her hips like a little adult, her pink twin tails swaying and bouncing, she carried quite an imposing presence.
"My, impressive. I never expected to see such remarkable growth after just a short separation."
"Who's there?"
Mine suddenly furrowed her cute little brows, about to snap, "Can't you see I'm busy?! No slacking off!"
But then she realized it was a male voice—and one using such formal, literary speech. Immediately recognizing it, she spun around and threw herself into Mahiro's embrace.
"Master, you're back! Thank goodness! Mine missed you so much all these days you were away!"
Like a swallow returning to its nest, she gave him a passionate hug right then and there, gently nuzzling against his firm chest as she poured out her longing from the recent days.
Her flushed cheeks became especially alluring, tempting enough to make one want to take a bite.
The busy maids nearby all stared in astonishment.
They never imagined that Lady Mine, who seemed so small yet fierce, could have such a charmingly adorable side. How they wished to hold her in their arms and dote on her properly...
But what surprised them even more was their master—the man of the house, Mahiro—who looked so young and handsome.
He was completely different from the pig-like nobles they had imagined, seeming to possess an innate elegance.
"What are you all staring at?! No slacking off, get back to work immediately!"
Noticing the surrounding gazes fixed on her, Mine turned her head and bared her little fangs, snarling fiercely.
The maids instantly snapped back to attention, responding in unison, "Yes, Lady Mine!"
"My, my..."
This scene took Mahiro by surprise.
"I never knew Mine has become a little foreman now. Tell me how you managed to make everyone so obedient."
He was quite curious.
But Mine shyly buried her face in his chest, mumbling in a muffled voice, "It's really nothing special... I just happened to pass a slave trader outside a couple days ago, so I spent some money to buy them as subordinates."
"Master, you're not angry at Mine for acting on my own, are you?"
Timidly lifting her head, all her previous imposing aura vanished, replaced by a soft, tender vulnerability.
"Of course not. Before I left, I entrusted you with full authority over everything. You could say this mansion can be shaped entirely according to your preferences."
Moreover, currently there were only about a dozen maids in the mansion aside from Mine—far from enough.
After all, this mansion was truly too large.
They would need to recruit some guards later too.
"Thank you, Master!" Mine smiled brightly, her eyes narrowing into happy crescents.
"And then what happened?"
"Well... initially I couldn't manage them well at all. But one day I sneaked out to clear my head and met a kind person who taught me a method: act fiercer to ensure orders are followed strictly. So..."
"I'm sorry, Master, I didn't obey your instructions properly—I sneaked out without permission..."
This girl...
Mahiro smiled wryly and reached out to stroke her hair.
"Mine, you really are a fool... The point wasn't to keep you from going out—it was because I feared you might encounter danger, understand?"
Mine nodded slightly, though her head remained lowered as if failing to properly obey her master's instructions was a grave matter to her.
"But speaking of which, Mine, who was this kind person you encountered...?"
Someone who could teach Mine how to manage subordinates—this clearly wouldn't be an ordinary person, right?
However, at the mention of this, Mine immediately perked up.
"Actually... I happened to meet that person at the Imperial City market. She was a big sister with golden hair! Although her clothing seemed rather unconventional and out of place in the Imperial City, she turned out to be a surprisingly good person!"
For some reason, Mine's description gave Mahiro a strange sense of déjà vu.
A market street, unconventional attire, and a golden-haired big sister...
Leone?
But right now, it seemed like Night Raid's establishment was still several years away. Could Leone, who was hanging around the streets, have coincidentally met Mine already?
Was this fate's doing, or something else?
Even so, he didn't dwell on it too much.
After all, someday he would meet every one of Night Raid's members—there was no need to get sentimental about it now.
...
Night, inside a tavern.
"Hey, have you all heard? Our newly appointed deputy chief is actually a little brat."
A drunken burly man, holding a wooden tankard, drank while causing a drunken ruckus.
Those around him couldn't help but keep their distance, especially the women, who quickly hid themselves, afraid of being seen by this man.
The reason was simple—this man wore the uniform of the Imperial Capital Guard, and what's more, it was a captain's uniform.
"Hah, I bet he's some young master parachuted in from a noble family, right? Tch, this selection round was supposed to be our turn, but now it looks like we'll have to wait a few more years..."
"No, no, I heard that brat bribed the chief with a hefty sum to buy his way into this position."
"Oh? Really?! If that's the case... Ogre, aren't you going to say something?"
The gazes of several captains fell upon the man in the corner of the tavern.
He was burly and robust, with a long sword at his waist—his muscles clearly honed through countless battles.
A cross-shaped, ugly scar marred his left eye, and he exuded a fierce, intimidating aura.
His appearance was as unappealing as his nickname 'Ogre the Demon' suggested, but despite his looks, Ogre's strength was formidable, ranking among the top tier even among the captains.
"Hmph... What is there to say? Tomorrow, we'll teach that brat a lesson and make him understand that the Imperial Capital Guard isn't a place just anyone can waltz into!"
As he spoke, Ogre's ferocious face twisted into a cruel, brutal smile.
The sadistic aura he emitted excited the other captains, who raised their glasses to Ogre, all saying that tomorrow they were counting on him.
The night passed without incident.
The next day, Mahiro officially assumed the position of deputy chief of the Imperial Capital Guard.
But problems were quick to follow.
In addition to taking over various case files, the captains seemed deeply dissatisfied with him sitting in the deputy chief's seat.
Especially the guy with the scarred eye, who stepped forward directly to provoke him.
"Oi, brat, you're the new deputy chief? Did you bring your diapers? This is the Imperial City Guard, responsible for the safety of the Imperial City. There's no place for a milk-sucking little punk like you to strut around here. Go home and drink milk!"
Ogre, with his two-meter height, looked down on him condescendingly, even speaking disrespectfully right in front of the Guard Chief.
The others burst into laughter.
The Chief didn't say a word, only slowly narrowed his eyes, clearly watching the show.
"Testing me? Interesting."
Mahiro had already figured it out.
The Chief's meaning was simple: if he couldn't even handle these captains, then he wasn't qualified to be the deputy chief of the Guard.
"Whether I'm qualified or not, you'll find out soon enough."
Mahiro showed a kind and amiable smile as he slowly stepped forward.
His voice was also very soft, so soft that these people outright ignored it.
"Oh? Looks like you've got some skills, kid. You still want to fight me? Then I'll break one of your legs as a lesson."
Ogre grinned, his smile cruel.
But the next second.
Slap—
A crisp slapping sound echoed through the room.
A sudden, hard slap landed on Ogre's face, sending him flying into the air. He spun 1080 degrees before crashing heavily to the ground.
Ogre only felt his face hurt and his head dizzy, but then an intense pain shot through his leg.
Mahiro stepped on his knee, and with a crack of bone, Ogre let out a painful scream.
"Hmm, your suggestion is good. I'll break one of your legs as punishment."
Mahiro's smile remained unchanged, still just as kind and amiable, but the force under his foot was no less intense—enough to shatter even a bluestone slab.
For an ordinary person, such a step would likely leave them disabled, but for a freak like Ogre, the force was just right.
However, Mahiro found Ogre a bit too noisy, so he kicked him, hitting Ogre squarely in the chin. With teeth and blood flying out, Ogre immediately lost consciousness.
"Do any of the rest of you have any objections to me?"
Mahiro raised his head, his smiling gaze sweeping over the many captains before him.
They immediately shook their heads like rattles, cold sweat pouring down.
This kid might look young, but he was truly ruthless—beating Ogre into such a state.
Thanks to that idiot Ogre testing the waters for them, they figured their own fates wouldn't be any better than his.
"Really, no problems?"
Mahiro asked again.
"Don't judge me by my appearance. I'm actually a very democratic person, best at 'convincing people with virtue and reason.' If you have any objections, it's best to voice them now. If something like this happens during work later, your fate will be even worse than this fool's."
Hearing this, the captains couldn't help but shiver.
Immediately, someone shouted:
"Loyalty!"
"We will always be loyal to Deputy Chief!"
With one taking the lead, others naturally followed.
For a moment, the room was filled with the captains' hoarse, fervent pledges.
This move surprised and impressed the Chief of the Guard.
He was well aware of just how unruly the people under his command were, let alone the fact that their original positions had been abruptly taken away.
The most straightforward way was to beat them into submission.
However, this method felt strangely familiar to him.
It was as if he had seen Esdeath, that sadistic woman, in action. Although he knew that Mahiro had undergone training with Esdeath for some time and was said to have earned her favor.
But could it be that they shared the same sadistic tendencies, which was why he gained her favor?
Nevertheless, the Minister nodded with satisfaction.
"Excellent. Now, no one questions my ability to pick the right person, do they?"
"Minister, your discerning eye is truly remarkable. With your leadership, I believe His Majesty will view our Imperial City Guard in a new light."
"Good. Remember to cooperate obediently with the new Deputy Minister, Yotsuba Mahiro. I will occasionally come by to check on your work. If anything goes wrong, I won't let you off easily."
He instructed the captains to brief Mahiro on the main operations of the Guard, while he himself slacked off and left the duty room.
With a Deputy Minister to share the workload, his job would indeed become much easier.
Still, it was fortunate that he hadn't selected a Deputy Minister earlier; otherwise, he would have missed such a promising talent.
Worth nurturing.
Meanwhile, Mahiro listened briefly to their explanations and grasped the main situation of the current Imperial City Guard. The details were more or less as he had expected.
Those dozen or so captains needed to take their subordinates out on patrols daily, responsible for maintaining the peace and order of the Imperial City.
To be precise, however, their main duty was to protect the interests of the nobles, essentially following whoever had the most money. Whenever conflicts arose between commoners and nobles, they would immediately transform into the wicked enforcers of the aristocracy.
As for major incidents like murders, those would be handed over to higher authorities—specifically, either him or the minister.
But most of the time, such things didn't happen.
Because killing and the like were the exclusive rights of the nobles, carried out under the guise of executing slaves.
After all, slaves had no rights; they were considered private property. The security force had no jurisdiction over them, though they did manage to skim a little profit from the situation.
Afterward, a few people carried Ogre to the infirmary, while the rest dispersed to begin their day's work.
One of them was tasked with leading him to the office assigned to him.
But what Mahiro hadn't expected was that the vice minister's and minister's offices weren't located in the security force's duty room but inside the military headquarters.
Even more absurd was that his office was quite close to Esdeath's—so close they could practically be called neighbors.
It didn't take much imagination to guess that things would get lively in the future.
However, before he could even settle into his new position, he suddenly heard a commotion coming from next door.
Just from the voice, he knew it was that woman, Esdeath.
"I demand an explanation!"
The sharp click of high heels echoed against the hard floor tiles as Esdeath stood with her arms crossed, her gaze fixed on the man seated behind the desk.
"Mahiro is highly capable and can achieve his full potential under my command. Give me one reason to refuse this transfer!"
"Don't be so hasty, General Esdeath. Hear me out—"
The minister of the Imperial City security force spoke unhurriedly from his chair. "First of all, Mahiro was originally a member of our Imperial City security force. Even if he went to the military for training, it was done in accordance with the rules set by Grand General Budo."
"Secondly, although this transfer is still within the military, it constitutes an interdepartmental transfer and requires Grand General Budo's approval. May I ask, Vice General Esdeath, do you have a transfer order from Grand General Budo?"
"Lastly, I fully understand and acknowledge that field commanders like you, General Esdeath, might look down on us rear-echelon forces responsible for maintaining order. I can empathize with that."
"But we also need talents like Mahiro."
The minister's argument was logical and well-founded, but after hearing it, Esdeath responded with a cold laugh.
"However, I've heard that this vice minister position was bought for 100,000 gold coins. Is this how you value talent—through bribery?"
"General Esdeath, what kind of place do you think the Imperial City security force is? A garbage dump for useless freeloaders?"
Faced with Esdeath's accusation, the minister countered with a stern question.
"To establish oneself here, strength is indispensable, and Mahiro happens to possess exactly that. The moment he arrived, he intimidated all the captains. As for Captain Ogre, who challenged him, he's still lying in the infirmary."
"So, the idea of buying a promotion was simply because the regular promotion process would have been too slow. I merely gave him a helping hand."
"Moreover, the price he offered was quite satisfactory to me—a full hundred thousand gold coins... The impoverished merchants couldn't contribute that much in an entire year."
"Hmph! It's precisely because of people like you that the Imperial City has become so corrupt."
Esdeath frowned delicately as she spoke.
She didn't despise bribery—after all, wealth was also a form of power—but neither would she condone it.
"That's putting it too strongly, General Esdeath."
The Minister laughed heartily. "Even if I hadn't recognized his talent exceptionally and promoted him ahead of schedule, with his abilities, he could easily have reached his current position in just two or three years. Now, with two years saved, he might even become a Minister in three or four years without any issue. Isn't that a faster promotion than staying by your side, General Esdeath?"
"But the achievements and merits accumulated as a general are tangible!"
"If you insist on that, there's nothing more I can say. Unless you can unilaterally negotiate with him and secure his agreement to relinquish his duties as Deputy Minister, or... unless General Esdeath can persuade Grand General Budo to issue a transfer order, I'm afraid I can't help you."
The Minister spread his hands, signaling the end of the discussion.
"...In that case, I apologize for the disturbance."
Esdeath pulled down her military cap and turned to leave, but a subtle smile curled at the corners of her lips.
"Take care, I won't see you out." The Minister waved dismissively, bidding farewell to the female general.
As the Minister of the Guard Corps, he had no need to show deference to Deputy General Esdeath.
While many feared her sadistic temperament, in his eyes, she was merely a young girl with formidable combat prowess yet still immature and inexperienced.
Moreover, what he had said was indeed true.
If Mahiro remained by Esdeath's side, given her intensely controlling nature, he would at most become a deputy general—equivalent to the position of Deputy Minister.
Unless Esdeath were to replace Grand General Budo, only then would Mahiro have the chance to be promoted to general.
But the problem was, that was nothing short of a pipe dream.
Any rational person would know which choice to make.