Chapter 82: Before Spring Comes (5) ── Click.
The signal on the terminal flashed red.
"It's the signal."
The moment it was detected, Schatz crouched on the roof of a high-rise building overlooking the university.
Crackle!
Blue mana surged around her body like a shimmering haze. Her eyes zoomed in on the window of the student council office hundreds of meters away, functioning with the precision of a telephoto lens.
"Target confirmed. Crisis detected."
Zap—!
The atmosphere didn't even have time to scream. She sliced through the air like a bolt of lightning. She burst into the student council office before the sound of shattering glass could even register.
K-boom—!
A massive spark erupted. Schatz struck the back of the enemies' heads—Kasim included—with a high-voltage current.
"—!"
"Mmph—!"
A short circuit. Those whose nervous systems were electrocuted tumbled to the floor like insects. Residual current crackled through the area like static.
The situation was resolved in an instant.
"...Are you alright?"
Schatz asked indifferently, looking down at Elias on the floor. He finally let out a ragged breath.
"Heugh, gasp..."
He fumbled at his chest with trembling hands. His clothes were scorched black, but his skin was only bruised, otherwise intact. It was Maximilian's silver necklace. The artifact's Aura Shield had protected him from the Magic Bullet.
Elias stood up unsteadily.
"..."
He stared blankly at the floor.
The unconscious Kasim. And the armed assailants who had leaped through the window.
Schatz asked, "Do you know them?"
"...No."
"Then, you should know now."
Schatz continued coldly.
"These people have no interest in the welfare of Genen. They used you, deceived you, and threw you away."
She brushed her hands off and dumped items out from the pockets of the fallen men.
Clatter.
Suicide vests, Imperial military network interceptors, high-performance miniature bombs, blades, firearms. These were not items a student or a civil activist would carry. They had all been fried and rendered useless by the mana field Schatz had released, but their purpose was unmistakable.
"Mr. Elias. If you had died, one of these men would have pretended to be captured by Kasim."
Most of the items the assailants possessed were military-grade. Therefore, their identity would have been pinned on the Imperial military.
Kasim would have taken over your legacy as the student activist who caught the military mole who murdered Elias.
"These people want the chaos of the Empire and the collapse of society more than the independence of Genen. They don't care how many citizens of Genen die. In fact, they hope they do."
Schatz relayed Maximilian's words.
"They are the type who would welcome the death of Genen, provided it gives them a justification to attack the Empire."
"Sigh..."
Elias covered his face with both hands.
The pain piercing his chest right now wasn't just from the Magic Bullet. It was friendship returned like a blade. It felt as if thorns were sprouting from his heart.
"Are you going to stay down like this?"
Schatz asked, looking down at him.
"Or will you get up and do your job?"
"..."
Elias raised his head and stared at Schatz. No, he faced the phantom of 'Maximilian' shimmering behind her.
How far you will climb, and where you will stop—
Maximilian had said.
—Elias Walter. From now on, it depends on your heart...
* * *
The day after Student Council President Elias ordered the rally to dissolve.
People poured out of the university. The military checked their identities; some were sent home, some were detained, and the rest remained at the school.
For those who refused every military order and staged a sit-in until the end—
Crash!
Smoke grenades were dropped, smashing through the windows.
Pshhhhhhh!
A gray mist rose instantly, and a small elite armed force entered through it.
Cough! Cough!
Students resisted as they tried to flee. Some even tried to provoke the soldiers into killing them. However, the suppression team was experienced. They subdued the students' joints by twisting their arms with practiced skill.
The students, forced to their knees, trembled with resentment, but the investigators' eyes were cold. No emotion was involved, as the orders from above were clear. They simply transported them as quickly as if they were moving cargo.
"There you are."
And so, in the deepest part of the university.
The student council office.
"Student Council President Elias. You are under arrest."
Elias sat in his chair as their representative.
Click. Click.
Handcuffs were fastened around his wrists.
...
Genen Central Police Station.
"...Is this a university or what?"
The Vice Director sighed as he looked at the students filling the hallways from the holding cells to the offices. Zendo, standing beside him, chuckled.
"Just bear with it. I heard somewhere that you're likely to become the Director soon, Vice Director."
The Vice Director tilted his head at the sudden remark.
"...Me? Where did you hear that?"
"I heard rumors circulating among the tanks."
"Tanks? You mean the actual armored vehicles?"
The Vice Director's face went blank, and Zendo walked past him into the holding area.
The students were incredibly tense.
They were probably imagining a grueling interrogation. The Imperial Police's notorious torture chambers—blood-splattered beatings, waterboarding, screams, and groans.
Solemn glares shot toward Zendo. Zendo let out a hollow laugh.
"In the old days, I would've done exactly that... Hey."
At Zendo's gesture, investigators rolled in a cart.
Clack. Clack. Clack.
Bowls were placed in front of the students one by one.
It was a steaming red soup. Genen-style stew with large chunks of meat.
"...What is this?"
One student asked suspiciously.
"What do you think? Aren't you hungry?"
Zendo pulled up a chair and sat crookedly in front of the bars.
"Eat. It's not poisoned. Interrogating greenhorns like you just increases the paperwork."
"We won't eat! Don't try to win us over!"
"Cut the crap. Hey."
Zendo gestured with his chin toward the one who seemed to be the leader among the students.
"You. Do you know your boss got shot?"
"...What?"
The students' attention focused instantly.
"Shot? The President? By you guys?!"
"By a student council executive named Kasim or whatever. That guy was an ideological criminal. A malicious bastard hiding behind your backs."
Zendo clicked his tongue.
"That guy shot the Student Council President because he ordered you to dissolve the rally. That friend of yours barely survived having a hole put through his heart."
The students' eyes wavered. Their expressions were full of disbelief.
"Don't talk nonsense!"
"We don't believe you!"
"You're trying to drive a wedge between us!"
They shouted, veins bulging in their necks. Zendo shook his head.
"You brats. Whether you believe it or not is up to you."
He signaled the investigators. They tossed in a bottle of water, a sheet of white paper, and a pen.
"Finish eating and write a letter of reflection. Your statements will be replaced by those letters. Your parents are waiting outside, so do it quickly if you can."
"..."
At that, everyone stared down at the steaming stew in silence. They must be hungry. They had been staging a sit-in at the school for nearly two weeks.
When one student tentatively picked up a spoon and took a sip of the broth, the others began to move their utensils one by one.
Zendo watched them, then reached into his coat.
"Oops."
He 'accidentally' dropped a document. The paper fluttered and slid past the bars to the feet of a student.
As expected, the student in the front picked it up... and skimmed it rapidly.
[ Incident Report: Elias Walter ]
[ Content: The aforementioned individual has surrendered as the leader, taking full responsibility for this protest. He requests leniency for the remaining students, stating they were merely simple participants caught up in the situation.
However, during the dissolution process, an armed group of four, including 'Kasim Ekin,' attacked and opened fire on Elias against his wishes... Elias is currently being treated for aftereffects in the hospital, and 'Kasim Ekin' is presumed to be a mole for a criminal organization... ]
"...This."
The hand of the student clutching the report trembled violently. Zendo reached out and snatched it back, pretending to be in a hurry.
"Give it here, kid! That's confidential!"
"Is—is this content true?"
The student reached through the bars, flailing.
"What? What is?"
"What is it? What does it say?"
At the commotion, the other students swarmed forward again. Zendo stood up, dusting off the document as if annoyed.
"You can ask him yourself once he recovers. Quiet down."
"Re—recovers?"
"What—what did you do to him that he needs to recover! Did you torture him?!"
They were about to have another fit at the word 'recover.'
Zendo quickly left the holding area.
"Hmm..."
He fell into thought for a moment as he walked down the hallway.
The 'power of a person' is truly a strange thing. To have this much popularity as a mere college student.
Regardless, Elias would become a hero. A hero who was betrayed and shot, yet returned alive for the sake of Genen.
Zendo envisioned the near future.
Elias had now realized the reality. He clearly recognized the cruelty and cunning of ideological criminals.
If such a guy received a light punishment, compromised reasonably with the state of affairs, and built his career—if he gripped the lifeline called Maximilian with all his might...
He might even become the Governor of the Genen Autonomous Region.
* * *
In the innermost part of the Genen Annex, in an interrogation room surrounded by soundproof walls.
I sat facing a man.
He was Adeline's father and the party involved in the incident that triggered this Genen crisis. His name was Ben Roth.
His complexion, after being brought in safely by Genen investigators amidst the chaos, was as haggard as burnt-out firewood.
"..."
"..."
He was silent. He just stared at the floor with a face that looked decades older than his actual age.
Perhaps he was blaming himself. Or perhaps he was in despair. Not only was his daughter unjustly killed, but that death became the fuse...
"I am sorry for your loss."
His shoulders flinched at the dry consolation.
"The rallies and protests that occurred in various places, including Genen Central University..."
I recited the current situation in a businesslike manner.
"The armed riots that arose from them."
Casualties were kept to a minimum. The subversive elements that would have been a cancer to Genen were rounded up as much as possible.
However, regardless of the process, many were hurt, and Genen was scarred.
Among those who tried to kill military and police by wielding mana, or those who injured police with blades and firearms, there were many ordinary Genen people swept away by anger, not just members of Izenheim. Most of them would be transported to the labor camps in the North.
"What do you think?"
At my question, he bowed his head even deeper. His cracked lips parted, but words did not come easily. He only curled his body like a sinner.
"I am sorry."
A hoarse tone. A voice that didn't even sound like a voice.
"...Yes. I know."
I leaned back in my chair.
"To you, the world must seem unfair and irrational."
An era where too many things are decided before one is even born. An era where bloodline determines status, and status holds unjust privileges.
If the Empire were to fall, the frequency of irrationality would decrease. However, as a price, the human species itself would go extinct.
The Empire is not an axis of evil that must necessarily be destroyed, but a necessary evil that sustains our world.
"But the living must go on living."
I, and all of us, have merely chosen the lesser evil.
Even if it is unfair, we must simply live on.
Even if it's not for the sake of living, even if we are barely surviving.
"Take this."
I placed a suitcase on the table.
Thud.
The man's gaze wavered at the heavy sound.
"It is compensation."
A bag full of Imperial currency.
Could a daughter's life really be converted into mere scraps of paper? Could a proper price be set?
I do not know the answer. I wouldn't dare to know.
"..."
A quiet breath escaped him. A low resonance, like a groan or the cry of a beast, filled the interrogation room.
"And."
Staring intently at him, I pulled a sheet of paper from my coat. I placed it on top of the suitcase.
"This is an opportunity for you to fight the world once more."
The man's bloodshot eyes looked down at the paper.
[ Retrial Petition ]
At those first words, his pupils dilated as if they would tear.
* * *
Case Number: 1038 - Criminal (G) - No. 0915
Case Name: Death of Adeline, Genen Autonomous Region
To: Criminal Division, Genen Autonomous Court, The Empire
Petitioner (Accuser) Name: Maximilian Albrecht von Ebenholtz
Affiliation: Imperial Sentinel Knight
Rank: Knight...
* * *
"A Knight, as the sword and watchdog of the Empire, has the right to demand strict law enforcement."
The secretary of the Governor's Office, the youngest son of the Vice Minister of the Imperial Home Department. The bastard who killed someone, was released on a hasty self-defense ruling, and is now hiding in the Imperial Palace after causing this mess.
As far as I know, such vermin have never been granted the power of life and death over the Empire.
"Of course."
I added, clasping my hands.
"To win the trial, you will need a very expensive lawyer."
"..."
He stared at me blankly.
"A noble. Someone who knows the Imperial Code down to the last syllable, perhaps a former Minister of Justice. That should be enough."
If he's thinking that such a titan would never move for a commoner like him—well, he might be right.
But it will be different if my intentions are involved.
"Since their incompetence caused the crisis in Genen."
For the sake of the Empire, I must hunt down and kill a noble who doesn't act like one. If a Vice Minister of the Palace coddles his youngest son, the more he coddles him, the better. I will use that as leverage to seize them and shake them down.
"He must receive the corresponding punishment."
Not for your murdered daughter, Adeline, but as a price for damaging the prestige of the Empire.
That must be my logic.
"Take it."
I gestured toward the suitcase and the document.
"It is the duty of the survivor."
He reached out with trembling hands.
His eyes had turned red before I knew it. From a face that looked like it had nothing left to give, tears that seemed to squeeze out every remaining drop of moisture in his body fell, drip, onto the petition.
"Thank... you."
The words he said to me, who brought hundreds of tanks to trample Genen.
"..."
Is there anything to be thankful for?
My actions were ultimately selective.
In this Empire, countless Adelines die, and countless fathers and mothers grow old, trembling with resentment.
I cannot save them all. I have no intention of saving them all. I only reach out my hand to those in front of my eyes who suit my purposes.
You were merely the luckiest among the unluckiest people.
Therefore...
"There is no need for thanks."
It is merely that much of a matter.
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