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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 28
Chapter Title: The Young Mad Dog (3)
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5.
Upon arriving in the city, Karron's party immediately made their way to a luxurious mansion in the northern district.
It was a top-tier residence, said to be provided whenever important dignitaries visited.
In a reception room more lavish than that of most noble estates, they were meeting an unfamiliar guest.
"Gods! Thank you so much for saving these esteemed individuals. I can't tell you what a relief it was to see your faces… I plan to go to the temple starting today to offer my prayers of thanks."
The man in the suit, baring his soul in what was nearly a confession, was Grine, the mayor of Tebe.
Grine forced a smile as he looked at the direct descendants of the Leston ducal family before him.
*'What a relief.'*
When he heard that the train they were on had been attacked, he felt his world go dark.
What if someone had been injured or killed in the attack?
The full might of Azure Castle would have descended upon the city and torn it apart.
Fortunately, the worst had been avoided, but that didn't mean the situation was over.
"Our Tebe autonomous region promises its full cooperation in this matter. We will comply with the Leston family's investigation to prove without a doubt that Tebe was not involved in this incident."
Grine spoke passionately, his fists clenched, but Karron, who had been listening quietly, wore an indifferent expression.
"You're a bit different from how Hans described you, Mayor."
"Well, given the circumstances… Lord Grine. Please, act as you normally would. This isn't like you, is it?"
"Haha, Sir Hans. What are you talking about?"
"We are well aware that the Tebe autonomous region is not involved in this attack. So please, don't be so tense. You seem to have changed a great deal since we last met."
At Hans's subtle prompting, Grine let out a deep sigh. He then spoke to Hans.
"If I'd known this mayoral seat was a poisoned chalice, I never would have taken it. Hans, my boy. What am I supposed to do in this situation?"
"You were so charismatic back when you were the Minister of Finance."
"Man is a creature of his environment. Right now, I'm in a position where I must bow my head. It's a position of responsibility. Who would have thought my grand retirement plans would turn out like this?"
Karron waved his hand dismissively at Grine, who looked ready to kneel at any moment.
"We have no intention of holding you responsible, so please, sit comfortably, Mayor."
"I am ashamed, Lord Karron."
"And speak comfortably, too. I'm not so shameless as to demand such formality from an elder like yourself. I'd prefer it if you just called me young Karron."
"How could I dare speak informally to a blood member of the great Leston ducal family…"
"Then you can just stay on your knees…"
"I… No, I misspoke. My knees have been acting up lately, you see. I gratefully accept your kindness, young Karron!"
Grine sat in the chair opposite Karron and let out a soft breath.
The ducal family's youngest grandson, who had remained hidden from the public eye.
Leo Leston, sitting beside the boy, had made a few appearances at official events, but Karron had never once been seen.
He had always been curious.
Wasn't Karron the son of Peil, the man in charge of the Leston family's diplomacy?
"So, is your father well?"
"You know my father well?"
"Of course. And not just your father. Your maternal grandfather, Ga-il, and I are like brothers."
"Starting with your connections… a politician is a politician, I see."
"Nothing is more important to a man than his connections. That is my creed."
Grine took a sip of the water Karron had poured for him, wetting his parched lips.
A thirteen-year-old boy was controlling the atmosphere in the room.
What he found strange was that Leo and Hans were accepting this situation as if it were perfectly natural.
Before Karron had entered Azure Castle, rumors had spread through the capital, via his private tutors, that the ducal family's youngest grandson was brilliant.
He had assumed the rumors about a noble's child were exaggerated, but it seemed he had misjudged.
*'So there was a reason my old friend doted on his grandson.'*
Despite having just experienced a life-threatening situation, Karron's eyes still sparkled with vitality. He was certainly not like other boys his age.
"Now, shall we get down to business?"
"So you did have something you wanted to say."
"Of course. While I'm sure you have no connection to this incident, Mayor, that doesn't mean the suspicion on the Tebe autonomous region has vanished."
Karron smiled as he looked at Grine.
"I didn't have a chance to investigate thoroughly in all the chaos, but there was no trace of mana in the explosion that derailed the train. In other words, it was a simple explosive."
The massive explosion at the end had been a self-destruct spell.
But the explosive that destroyed the tracks beforehand was a pure explosive. The kind used for excavating mines.
Explosives were assets managed directly by the Empire.
All explosives in the Empire were produced by the Imperial Weapons Procurement Agency and delivered directly to the military.
"As I see it, there are two possibilities. The first is that someone pilfered explosives produced by the Weapons Procurement Agency, but… honestly, that's a stretch. It's a very strictly managed organization."
"All gunpowder produced in the Empire is tracked by the intelligence services. You are correct."
"Then that leaves the second possibility."
Karron took in the view of Tebe stretching out beyond the mansion window. He then spoke in a low voice.
"Smuggling."
"…Hoo."
"Tebe has a lot of smugglers, doesn't it? I hear several merchant guilds are secretly involved in smuggling. Is that right?"
Besides the Empire, there was one other nation on the continent that produced high-quality explosives.
The Empire's neighboring country.
The Pajar Sultanate.
The homeland of the 6-star knight who had attacked Karron. There was a high probability the explosives had been smuggled from there.
"The latter seems more likely."
"Young Karron, are you really thirteen? I'm asking in all seriousness."
"I am rather adorable for a thirteen-year-old, aren't I?"
"Haha. Count Peil couldn't have told you all this… Yes. Your reasoning is sound."
"Just remember one thing. Sea Wolf Knights and Leston family servants died."
Grine realized that this meeting had instantly turned into a negotiation.
The young boy before him was systematically laying out his reasons, preparing to make a demand.
But there was no way to refuse.
If he were to argue against that point…
*'I'd become an accomplice.'*
It would be the perfect way to be framed for aiding an attack on the Leston ducal family. And he would receive the crime of destroying the railway as a bonus.
His intuition, which had allowed him to survive in central politics for so long, was screaming warnings at him.
"You can have a cigarette while you think it over."
"Hm? How did you know I smoke?"
"Perfume doesn't completely hide the smell."
"I'm not so rude as to smoke in the presence of guests."
He could just state his demands frankly at this point, so what on earth was the boy waiting for?
Grine quietly met Karron's eyes, deep in thought.
*'This kid must already know I'm just a figurehead mayor here, right?'*
There was no way a boy this sharp wouldn't know. The intelligence networks of the Leston family and the Sea Wolf Knights were top-notch.
The real power lay with the council—or more accurately, with the major merchant guilds that controlled the council. Therefore, this was a conversation that should be had with the council.
"Mayor! Mayor!"
A moment later, Grine found the answer to his question.
The door to the reception room burst open, and Grine's secretary rushed inside.
"I am in a meeting with guests. If you continue to act this way, I'll have to consider your dismissal."
"My dismissal isn't what's important, Mayor. From the capital…"
"I've already heard that the Imperial Guard has been dispatched to investigate."
"It's not just the Imperial Guard. The Commissioner of the National Tax Service—the Commissioner himself is leading Special Division 1 down here. They're planning to conduct an intensive tax audit of the entire Tebe autonomous region."
"The current Commissioner is Ga-il… Ah!"
Ga-il Pheriton.
The man who had held the position of Commissioner of the National Tax Service for a long time, also known as the Demon of the National Tax Service.
And also, the maternal grandfather of the young boy sitting before him.
Grine finally understood what Karron had been waiting for.
"You were waiting for this news, weren't you, young Karron?"
In response to Grine's question, Karron smiled and took a sip of water. Then he answered with a bright grin.
"My grandfather loves me very, very much. Oh, do you know the Leston family motto, Mayor?"
"I'm quite curious. What is it?"
"Repay kindness tenfold, and debts a hundredfold."
"A truly excellent motto that speaks to the greatness of the Leston ducal family."
"There are accomplices in this city. That's my conclusion. So, I thought I'd try to find them."
"Haha."
Grine couldn't help but laugh.
He'd thought there was a strange glint in this little kid's eyes from the start.
He was suddenly reminded of the wolf symbol on the Leston family crest.
The glorious blue wolves. The nickname people used for the Leston ducal family seemed to suit Karron perfectly.
"If you look weak, you get eaten. That's a good mindset to have."
And now, he also knew what this young wolf wanted.
"Alright, what can I do to help?"
Perhaps a storm of blood was about to sweep through this splendid city, Grine thought.
6.
After the meeting with Grine, Karron's party was given time to rest.
The official investigation would begin once Jeras arrived in Tebe.
Until then, they had free time.
"Hey Karron. Why did everyone start trembling when they heard about your grandfather?"
In a bedroom filled with lavish luxuries, Leo asked Karron as he lay sprawled on the bed.
Karron gazed at a bottle of liquor on the table with a satisfied smile. He examined the bottle as he replied.
"It means they have something to hide."
"You said your grandfather was a civil servant."
"Not all civil servants are the same. He's Grand Duke Halo's in-law, for crying out loud. You think he's just some ordinary public official?"
Ga-il Pheriton was the Commissioner of the National Tax Service.
He was not only the longest-serving commissioner in the Empire's history but also the man who had held the title of 'Scariest Civil Servant in the Empire' for nearly twenty years.
Karron knew his grandfather well.
He knew what kind of man he was and had already anticipated how he would act when his grandson was in danger.
"Those people didn't seem very scared of the Imperial Guard, but when they heard about Special Division 1? They froze. Are those guys really that scary?"
Leo, still lying on the bed, began to pepper him with questions.
Karron glanced at Hans, who was sitting in a chair. Hans sighed and began to answer in his stead.
"The nickname for the National Tax Service's Special Division 1 is 'the Demons of the National Tax Service.' They are people who will do anything to collect taxes. They are also a group that possesses formidable martial strength."
"Huh? Why do you need to be strong to collect taxes?"
"There's no guarantee that taxpayers will always be compliant. Special Division 1 gives priority recruitment to personnel from the Imperial Guard and the regular army."
Leo's eyes widened at Hans's answer.
It was a world of adults that a fifteen-year-old boy's mind could hardly comprehend.
"Wow… they're something else… I'll be sure to pay my taxes…"
"Wow, you actually believe that."
"It's a lie?"
"Does it make any sense for the National Tax Service to operate a group like that? Go study, you dense cousin of mine. And Hans."
"Yes, Lord Karron."
"Well done. That was quite a plausible story."
"…Hoo, next time, please do the deceiving yourself."
"It just doesn't have the same flair when I do it."
They lightened the mood with such casual banter.
*'Though, it's not entirely untrue.'*
In the Empire, 'taxes' were money that was rightfully owed for the sake of the esteemed Empire and the Imperial Family. Every citizen of the Empire had a duty to fulfill that obligation.
In other words, not paying taxes was tantamount to disrespecting the Imperial Family, and by extension, the Emperor himself.
In particular, if large merchant guilds or nobles failed to pay their taxes, the National Tax Service had the authority to request a dispatch of troops from the Imperial Guard.
"Special Division 1 was originally created to deal with big-time delinquents like major merchant guilds. Simply put, they're their natural predators."
Tebe was closer to the capital, Decus, than to the Leston duchy. Therefore, those departing from the capital would arrive before Jeras.
"However, Lord Karron. It is highly likely that the Imperial Guard will take full charge of the investigation. That is the law. Since the crime involves the railway, the investigative authority lies with the Imperial side."
Karron's lips curled into a slight smile at Hans's concerned words.
"That's why I laid the groundwork beforehand."
"…Ah."
"Let the Imperial Guard investigate the railway, and we, at the mayor's request, will find the ones who smuggled the explosives into the city."
Three knights and two servants had died in this incident. Besides the fatalities, most of the others had suffered injuries, major or minor.
If not for the remaining knights and Urhan, who was trained in military first aid, the death toll could have been higher.
"I don't know who did this, or what they were thinking."
By the laws of Azure Castle.
"I'll make sure they pay the price for those lives, and then some."
A life for a life.
Karron said, clenching his fist.