Chapter 25: The Effectiveness of the Law | Semi-Coercive Imperialist
Revolutionary forces. I contemplated how they should be treated. Before that, I thought about where their "origin" came from.
The Imperial Family had tolerated the revolutionary forces for a long time. A balloon that keeps inflating endlessly will burst eventually. Likewise, a society without any discontented groups cannot exist, and only when it can handle them properly can the system be maintained stably.
Yes.
It had to be at a level that could be handled.
It had to be a state capable of handling them.
However, when the evils of the Empire exceeded the critical point, the Empire completely lost its ability to control the revolutionary forces. Ezenheim exploited that gap and inflated the revolutionary forces exponentially.
If the Empire had remained endlessly sharp, had reigned as an eternal watcher, the revolution would not have happened.
Therefore, my enemy was Ezenheim and, at the same time, the interior of the Empire.
...While I was thinking, I arrived at my destination.
The Empire's 17th District, the industrial city of Denshtein. The heart of the Empire's mana engineering technology.
I recalled the name of one revolutionary member from my memories and ordered Schatz to track him.
"You've arrived."
As I got out of the car, Schatz appeared like a shadow.
"Officials will arrive soon. I'll go in first. When I give the signal, follow me then."
"Yes."
[Alfren Paper Mill]
The location was an ordinary paper mill. At least on the surface.
"...."
I concealed my face as much as possible. A deeply pulled-down baker boy cap and a wool coat. Inside the factory, the mechanical noise and heat were thick. The employees were busily moving about, immersed in their labor.
I walked among them, and most didn't pay any attention to me.
"Um... who are you?"
Just as I was about to reach the president's office, a man who looked to be in his mid-thirties blocked my way.
He had an ordinary appearance. A kind face. But at that moment, a memory from the past vividly resurfaced.
'These maggot-like bastards should have their heads cut off and displayed in the square!'
Before I am a regressor, I am a human being.
I can't help but recall the ones I had personal resentment toward first.
'Why are we letting this worm live?!'
A man who held especially radical and extreme beliefs, even among the revolutionary forces. The memory of the day he slapped my face behind bars and poured out his hatred still burned clear.
'Tch! You're worse than a pig or a dog.'
This man is a member of the revolutionary forces. An enthusiastic member who has already committed dozens of large and small acts of terrorism and killed civilians.
But he is not Ezenheim.
There is no need to feel regret.
──Thump.
The virus inside me reacted.
─Thump.
Somewhere in this place, Ezenheim was here.
"You're Mr. Daniel, correct."
"Yes."
"Would you be able to speak for a moment?"
I showed him the Sentinel ID. His eyes trembled.
"Don't react. It could cause a commotion, so first, the employees."
I gestured toward the workshop.
Daniel rang a bell to signal the workers to leave for the day.
"...Everyone! That's all for today. Please go home!"
Daniel Mateo.
He inherited his father's paper mill, received a quality education as a member of the middle class, has long been a devoted member of the revolutionary forces, and is a pure-blood Imperial citizen.
However, beside him was Ezenheim.
***
President's office. Daniel sat across the desk from the uninvited guest.
"What brings a knight to such a humble place...."
The knight removed his cap. Blonde hair was revealed. As a liaison of the revolutionary forces, Daniel recognized his identity at that moment.
Maximilian of Ebenholtz.
Once deemed weak during his time at Empire Point, but because of that very inferiority complex and sense of inadequacy, he joined the Sentinel and had been walking a path of extreme behavior ever since, an aristocrat.
"Would you care for a cup of coffee?"
Trickle. Daniel poured coffee into a cup, trying to hide his tension. The knight didn't even glance at it. He simply stared directly at Daniel.
"...."
A suffocating silence. His body was drenched in sweat. Even trying to remain calm, his fingertips and toes moved involuntarily.
Was it because he was of Ebenholtz, no matter how young or incompetent? The pressure exuding from him as a noble was unavoidable.
"You've been running this factory for quite some time, haven't you."
He finally spoke.
"Yes. That's right."
He turned his gaze toward one wall of the office. Daniel unconsciously followed his line of sight.
"We've received intelligence."
"Excuse me?"
"There was a report that seditious activities were being carried out here... that kind of intelligence. What do you think about that, Mr. Daniel?"
The knight asked while looking at him. His tone was ordinary, and his movements were calm.
"That's not true. Since my father's generation, we've been making paper for generations..."
Daniel's words stopped. He suddenly followed the knight's pupils. The direction of his gaze was strange.
He wasn't looking at Daniel.
It was fixed on the 'wall'.
Slide.
Maximilian quietly stood up. Then he slowly walked over to that spot.
Tap. Tap.
He tapped on the wall with his fingers. A dull and solid sound echoed. The contrast was clear, something had definitely been prepared.
"Um, sir knight...?"
"Well-made."
He drew the long sword from his back.
Swaaa──!
The long blade split the wall. Concrete tore apart like sheets of paper, revealing the space behind it. A long corridor. Daniel's heart dropped with a thud.
"...."
Maximilian slowly entered. Before long, he reached a completely different space. A small classroom-like place with desks and chairs.
"Hmm...."
The knight let out a light sigh and swept his eyes around the interior. Daniel could not say a single word. He merely watched his back in a daze.
The bookshelves were full of books without covers. He pulled one out and slowly read its contents.
"Democracy... Republic..."
Maximilian laughed faintly. They were clearly banned books.
"...Eugenics does not exist?"
The knight tossed the book aside carelessly. Then he stretched his hand and stroked the bookshelf. More precisely, it seemed he was sensing something beyond the bookshelf.
Daniel, breathing roughly, placed his hand on his back pocket.
Thump. Thump.
Just as his heart was pounding as if it would burst out-
Swaaa──!
The knight's sword slashed through. The bookshelf was sliced, revealing a hidden door handle.
At that moment, Daniel drew a pistol and suddenly fired.
Bang!
The bullet grazed Maximilian's cheek, but bounced off with a thunk, as if it had struck steel.
A shield of mana. A magical technique known as mana protection.
A knight is like a tank. When mana is prepared, ordinary bullets cannot pierce the barrier that envelops their skin.
Clack.
Maximilian flung the door handle wide open.
"...Here you are."
His lips twisted. Inside, decorated like a bedroom, two women were crouching and holding their breath.
─Thump.
His heart pounded. It meant Ezenheim was here.
Maximilian gripped his sword again.
They must be killed.
They are bastards who must be killed.
"...."
That thought came to him, but he stopped.
He had to endure.
They were not targets for 'certain' immediate execution, and besides, there was public opinion. And the media was a problem.
Ebenholtz was not invincible. If the heir turned out to be a murder maniac, it would tarnish the family's name and give political enemies a weakness to exploit. Even the Imperial Family would have grounds to intervene.
As of now, the only one who knew that Ezenheim are monsters- was himself.
Let today's results be enough.
Maximilian sheathed his sword at his waist. Instead, he signaled to Schatz and the officials waiting outside.
They entered quickly, subdued Daniel, and began searching for evidence.
"We found it! A ciphered document!"
"There are explosives here too!"
Indeed, the officials, who were former prison guards, were highly skilled at searching interiors.
***
Maximilian raided a small revolutionary cell. The seditious books were all seized as evidence, and three subversives were taken to the Knight Order.
Julian looked into the interrogation room through the glass window at the two people inside.
The interrogator was Knight Adria. The subject was Daniel, the revolutionary member.
"Oh, Julian. There you are."
At that moment, Chiron entered.
"What's going on here? A rookie already caught revolutionaries?"
He chuckled and placed a hand on Julian's shoulder.
"Seems like Maximilian is developing fast under your mentorship. At this rate, he'll earn the second-class medal soon."
Chiron was Julian's peer. That had been the case since their days at Empire Point. Julian wasn't obsessed with performance, while Chiron had a fanatical ambition, which made them strangely compatible.
"How's the situation?"
"Daniel. That man confessed to being a liaison for the revolutionary forces. But the other two, apparently not."
"And?"
"Illegal immigrants from a foreign country."
"Pfft."
Chiron sneered.
"If he's a liaison... he might live if he talks."
The Empire doesn't simply cut off heads just because someone belongs to the revolutionary forces. The Imperial Guard might, but the Knight Order does not.
Of course, since the most serious crime in the Empire is treason, revolutionary members go through a special tribunal. It's a trial where the knight directly takes on the role of prosecutor.
"It's funny, really. Even among the revolutionary bastards, noble-style hierarchy applies."
Julian listened to Chiron's words with one ear and let them out the other.
"The higher-ups of revolutionary forces beg to be killed, but they never actually get executed. There's too much information to extract. Even the ones who try to kill themselves, they keep them alive no matter what."
Unless they're major figures, revolutionary officers are rarely executed. The sentence may be death, but there's fierce behind-the-scenes negotiation and persuasion involved.
Julian nodded.
"If he's a liaison, a deal will likely be made."
"The knight in charge would be Maximilian, right?"
"Since Max was the one who caught him."
"...Tsk."
Chiron suddenly turned to Julian with a stern look.
"Julian. No matter how junior he is, don't call someone by their name so casually in an official setting."
"Got it."
Creeeak.
Right then, the door opened, and Maximilian entered. Chiron brightened at the sight.
"Knight Maximilian. Congratulations."
Max gave a small nod.
"Thank you."
"You must have got some intelligence ahead of time?"
"Yes. That's right."
"Good. That's great, but... be careful."
Chiron gestured with his eyes toward Adria inside the interrogation room.
"Don't let her steal your results. She's a scary woman."
Maximilian calmly looked toward Adria inside the interrogation room. Chiron suppressed a chuckle.
"Anyway. That guy's the liaison, huh? Have you prepared a trial strategy?"
"No."
"No? Ah~ well. I guess it's your first time. It's gonna be a lot different from the mock trials we did back at Empire Point. You'll probably need some hel-"
"No. That's not it."
Maximilian shook his head with a faint smile.
"What I want is-"
Julian scratched his eyebrow, as if sensing what was coming next.
"Capital punishment for all."
His voice sank. The weight in the words tightened the air.
Chiron asked again, quietly.
"...Capital punishment for all?"
"Yes."
He answered calmly, like saying hello to a neighbor.
"All three- I'll kill them."