Chapter 71: Post-Mortem Trial Mount Mayach, in the eastern reaches of the Empire.
Dane, the Cadet Leader of Empire Point, was camping with his hound, Loki. No thoughts. No stress. He simply focused on the moment, placing thick slices of meat onto a stone slab heated by the campfire.
Ssssssssss.
The sound of fat rendering and the savory smoke rising filled the air. He ground coarse salt and whole peppercorns over the sizzling meat, adding asparagus and garlic on the side. Beside him, Loki kept his ears pricked, warily scanning the surroundings as if bracing for a potential threat.
Dane picked up a well-cooked chunk of meat by the bone and tossed it to Loki. As if he had been waiting for that exact moment, the hound snatched it out of the air and crunched down on it.
Static.
The radio he'd brought began to crackle with noise, so Dane simply switched it off.
Crunch. He took a large bite of the meat. Juices exploded in his mouth, which he washed down with a cold beer he'd set out earlier.
"Phew."
The mountain breeze was chilly, and the flavors of the fatty meat and beer were rich.
This was a day in the life of an Imperial subject. A pure, tranquil vacation.
*
Static.
In the office of the Genen Annex, Yukia turned the radio dial to find a signal. The noise cleared, and a dry voice flowed out.
[…At approximately 2:00 AM today, a massive explosion occurred in Gigantes, the Empire's largest military industrial zone. The collapse of the central mana ore vein destroyed the industrial complex facilities, and over 90% of the surface equipment was lost. The Imperial Household has defined this as the work of a treasonous group acting against the Empire…]
Yukia leaned back in her chair, staring blankly out the window. The sun had risen before she knew it, but the chilly autumn wind seemed to shroud its light in a thick haze.
"…"
She quietly lowered her head. There was neither sadness nor joy, only a heavy weight sitting in her chest like a stone.
This was destruction achieved upon the sacrifice of her comrades. The success of their resolve was surely stained with their crimson blood.
I am merely the one who was lucky enough to survive.
"Yukia Tarik."
Schatz approached her.
"The contract."
Yukia stared intently at the document handed over by the Head of the Genen Annex.
*
Gigantes was completely destroyed. The ground had caved in, creating a massive crater, and the skeletal, warped steel frames looked like grotesque monstrosities.
Police and officials at the scene stared at the mangled equipment and let out hollow laughs.
"…We're fucked."
"My money… what happens to my money now?"
Several Knight nobles, who had invested their private wealth into Gigantes through connections with the Imperial Palace, were in a state of utter despair.
"Hey, you! I told you not to take pictures!"
"Do you want to go to the Imperial prison?! You?!"
Reporters who had rushed to the scene were already snapping photos with flashing bulbs.
Alphonse of the Gemion Daily dodged left and right, capturing the landscape of Gigantes with his camera.
"Hah…"
Julian also stared at the ruined industrial complex with a grim face. Gigantes was certainly a place with many problems, but because it had existed since before he, his parents, and even his grandparents were born, a mix of emotions crossed his mind.
Clang.
Someone kicked a piece of steel debris. Julian looked toward the sound. Or rather, the person had already come to stand beside him.
Maximilian.
"I heard the underground mana ore vein was completely destroyed."
Maximilian nodded at Julian's words.
"Yes. So I've heard."
"Aaaaagh! My money! My money!"
A sudden scream erupted nearby. It was a fat noble from the Imperial Palace, adorned with all sorts of jewels. Beside him, a haggard-looking official was being dragged along, bowing his head repeatedly. The noble swung his cane and shrieked.
"This is all because of a lack of control! You gave those rats a gap to crawl through… You should have monitored them more, even more strictly! This is your fault!"
"I am sorry."
"You're getting the death penalty! Death! I'll make sure of it if it's the last thing I…"
Julian, his brow furrowed slightly, turned back to Maximilian.
"What do you think?"
Maximilian wore an unreadable expression. He simply watched the raving Imperial noble before answering calmly.
"The trial will decide. Actually, I invested in Gigantes as well."
"I see. My condolences."
"Yes. It is a shame. I believe I invested about twenty or thirty million?"
"…What?"
The moment Julian's eyes widened, Maximilian walked away nonchalantly.
Step. Step.
He moved through the gaps in the collapsed ruins. The virus below his collarbone emitted a faint mana pulse, guiding him.
Step. Step.
How far had he walked?
He discovered an entrance buried under the ash.
A dugout left behind by workers in the past. Miraculously, it had been preserved.
"…"
He picked up a half-charred wooden box. The exterior was slightly burnt, but the contents, which held records of the past, were safe.
"This is worth about ten million dollars."
Maximilian gave a faint smile and tucked it under his arm.
*
The Empire, Sentio Magic Tower.
"Our family must have taken quite a hit too."
Ezel flipped through the morning newspaper in her hand as she left the laboratory. The Luncelot family held several shares in Gigantes. It wasn't massive, but still.
Her gaze lingered on an article at the bottom of the front page.
— [Gigantes Disaster: Special Trial Imminent to Determine Responsibility] —
…The Imperial Central Court has summoned numerous security managers and working-level staff for this afternoon to hold them accountable for the security failure regarding the Gigantes explosion. Investors from the Imperial Palace are demanding harsh punishment, calling it a "man-made disaster caused by lax security," and heavy sentences for the staff appear inevitable…
* * *
"…It's your own damn fault."
Ezel pouted.
Anyone who knew anything was aware of the rotten problems within Gigantes. Embezzlement of the budget, inhumane treatment, and indifference from the higher-ups. For them to turn around now and shift the blame by cutting off the tails was absolutely disgusting.
Just revolting.
"I should go check it out if I have time."
She crumpled the newspaper haphazardly, stuffed it into her bag, and walked down the Magic Tower corridor.
"…Oh?"
Suddenly, she ran into someone she found a bit awkward.
The other person was a woman in a neat suit. She gave Ezel a slight bow.
"Hello, Mage Ezel of the 4th Circle."
It was Sonette Kandel.
"Ah. Hello. Are you… here to see Professor Jun?"
"Yes," Sonette replied calmly. "There are some things the family needs to discuss with my brother regarding the Gigantes incident."
"Ah… I see…"
Ezel scratched her cheek awkwardly. Things felt strangely uncomfortable because of the previous 'Head-Eater' incident.
"And, I'm 5th Circle now. I recently passed the rank advancement review."
"It's thanks to us that you rose so quickly. Congratulations."
Sonette's words were polite, but for some reason, the meaning felt strange. Her characteristic, flawless aura overwhelmed Ezel.
"Well then, excuse me."
"Uh… yeah. Take care."
Click. Clack. Watching Sonette walk away, Ezel tilted her head.
"…'Thanks to us'?"
I mean, it's true, but she has a very strange way of putting things.
* * *
Due to the Gigantes terror attack, security at all Imperial facilities became extremely tight, and the trial was held with unusual speed. It was less about the responsibility for security itself and more about forcibly hanging someone to quell the anger over investment losses.
The Imperial Central Court.
Quite a few investors had gathered here. Among them were Knights, nobles, and businessmen, but the proportion of those from the Imperial Palace was the highest.
"Sir Maximilian is here as well."
People from the Imperial Palace recognized me. I nodded and exchanged greetings with them.
In this way, I also attended as a victim. This was thanks to having made a fairly large investment in Gigantes beforehand as a way to avoid any potential suspicion.
It was a very cheap price for an alibi.
"Sigh… Sir Knight. I truly don't know what to do. I was so enraged I couldn't sleep. Just how did they handle security for such a disaster to happen?"
"It makes no sense. We shouldn't have left security to mere commoners… As expected, those low-born things can't be trusted."
At their complaints, I brushed back my hair, pretending to be annoyed.
"If you had outsourced it to the Knights, this wouldn't have happened. Wasn't it the decision of the Gigantes Board of Directors to handle security internally?"
The Imperial officials flinched at my sharp words. They were the ones with decision-making power on the board.
"Ha, haha… The Knights are just so expensive… and this time, even the guards were caught off guard…"
"I heard most of the guards were just young squires?"
"Ahaha, well… you know, cost is always the issue. We had to get the facilities running first, so that's why—"
"Cost or whatever. I lost a lot of money in this incident too. I can't just let this slide."
To avoid suspicion, one must be more sincere than anyone else. You must deceive even yourself.
I am a victim. A victim among victims who invested just three months ago and suffered massive losses immediately after.
"Ha, hahaha… Yes. I understand. Then… ah~ uh~ over there. Lord Cade!"
At my murderous gaze, the Imperial Palace people slunk away.
"How are you feeling?"
In the meantime, someone approached. It was the reporter Alphonse, with a camera hanging around his neck.
"It seems you invested as well, Sir Knight? In Gigantes, the hotbed of labor exploitation? Ha-ha-ha!"
"Pfft."
A laugh escaped me involuntarily. Alphonse's triumphant appearance was strangely cute.
Alphonse furrowed his brow.
"What are you laughing at? I suppose you'll be hounding innocent commoners in this trial again?"
"Is there a need for that?"
I shook my head.
"Even if you squeeze them, not a single coin will come out."
Alphonse looked puzzled, but soon raised his camera and took a picture of my face. I struck a fitting pose for him.
— The trial will now begin.
The trial opened just in time. Various Gigantes officials entered first.
"Ah, Sir Knight. This way."
Since the victim seats were separated from the general gallery, I was guided by a court official to a seat that felt like a VIP section.
"We will now open the special trial of the Imperial Central Court."
The judge spoke in a stern voice.
"Regarding the case of professional negligence and dereliction of duty in Gigantes security. All defendants, please stand."
Following that, prosecutors dragged out the security managers one by one. Pale lips, trembling fingertips. Every single one of them looked deathly ill.
One of the prosecutors read the indictment.
"This incident occurred due to the defendants' negligence of duty and failure to comply with security regulations."
However, most of them were likely not the 'managers' in charge. They weren't the villains who exploited Gigantes either. Rather, they were the working-level staff beneath them. The real people in charge had already slipped away, leaving behind the tails—mere commoners of the Empire.
"The inspection of controlled areas was insufficient, and monitoring of external personnel was lax, allowing the infiltration of a terrorist group. This is a clear dereliction of duty and…"
The prosecutor's long speech ended.
The judge looked down at those in the defendant's dock and asked.
"Do the defendants admit to the charges? If you have anything to say, speak."
Choking on their sense of injustice, they barely managed to open their mouths.
"The budget allocated to us was so woefully inadequate that we couldn't hire enough personnel. We reported this to the higher-ups several times, but—"
A noble sitting next to me jumped up and shouted.
"How long are you going to keep whining about the budget?! This terror attack wasn't prepared in a day or two. During all that time they were digging tunnels and planting bombs, where the hell were your eyes?!"
"B-but we—"
"Shut up! Even Sir Maximilian here is a victim! He lost a fortune just three months after investing! Try making your excuses in front of him!"
"Shh."
I tapped the shoulder of the man who was being unnecessarily loud. It was a signal to be quiet.
I don't even know who you are, so why are you doing this?
"…Yes. My apologies."
The noble flinched and sat down. The defendants hung their heads low, and even the judge glared at them with disapproval.
The Imperial Palace was trying to cover up its own responsibility by killing meaningless people once again.
"Then. Sir Maximilian von Ebenholtz, a major victim and witness in this case. Would you please sit here for a moment as a witness?"
The prosecutor called my name. I willingly stood up and sat in the witness stand.
"I heard the witness lost a large sum of money due to this incident."
"It's probably somewhere between twenty and thirty million."
The gallery, as well as the prosecutor, the judge, and even the Imperial nobles, gasped.
…Maybe I should have burned a little less.
It seemed my sense of economics was quite broken.
"Does the witness believe the fundamental cause of this incident lies in the defendants' negligence and the flawed control system?"
The prosecutor asked politely. I slowly scanned the courtroom. There were many familiar faces. Alphonse was there, along with other nobles and Knights, Julian and Chiron, and even Sonette with her expressionless face.
My gaze landed once more on the commoners in the defendant's dock. Their bodies flinched. Their faces were stained with despair.
"No."
I gave a small smile and rejected the prosecutor's words.
"I think it's actually the opposite."
"…Pardon?"
"The problem with this incident was the excessive control and the heavy workload given to the workers—the very operating philosophy of Gigantes itself."
The room began to buzz.
I continued calmly.
"According to the investigation, the terrorist group dug a web-like underground passage inside Gigantes. In a way, it was recklessly bold, yet they weren't caught."
The dugout of the workers from decades ago that I had found. If there had been even that much breathing room for them, the revolutionary group's underground passage would have been discovered.
No, Thomas Wagner wouldn't have even thought about destroying Gigantes in the first place.
"Setting aside the budget issues proven by documents and numbers, excessive control turns people into machines. Workers only move along designated paths, and the supervisors who oversee them, as well as the guards who patrol, only follow the exact same routes written in the manual. When your gaze is fixed, blind spots are bound to be created."
Therefore, this was the price of treating humans as parts.
"If the control over the workers had been even slightly relaxed, if a certain amount of leeway had been permitted in Gigantes."
The problem lay in the structure, not the people.
"One of those many workers, while looking for a corner to rest or smoke a cigarette, would have inevitably discovered at least one of the underground hazards."
It was something that happened because of the way Gigantes was operated from the start.
"I-I see, but—"
Just as the flustered prosecutor tried to cut me off.
"I lost a very large asset in this incident."
I coldly swept my gaze over the gallery where the Imperial nobles sat.
"If you intend to cut off the tail by holding only these low-level staff accountable for that."
I made the first move against the Imperial Palace bastards.
"I would find it deeply disappointing."
Right now, I am in a state where I've lost my mind because I lost money.
I am a sincere victim.
As such a person, it was a statement I was more than entitled to make.
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