Chapter 86: The Edge of Winter (2) Sonette Kandel.
She was piecing together the scattered fragments of a case spread across her desk. They were records of the Genen Suppression Incident.
Due to the strict control and blockade, there was little that could be considered official historical material.
However, there were the photographs that the journalist Alphonse had smuggled out of Genen at the risk of his life. There were the words relayed by internal sources within Genen. There were the testimonies of citizens on the streets and the depositions of university students.
By gathering these shards, Sonette painted a picture of the landscape of Genen.
"..."
She closed her eyes.
As a student of history who loved records, she tried to imagine the man named Maximilian within the context of the Genen incident.
With her eyes quietly shut, she chased after his image, his words, his actions, and his principles…
Knock, knock—
A knock shattered her concentration.
Sonette pressed the area around her eyebrows and turned around.
"Come in."
This was the law firm she had founded, known as 'Sol.'
Creeeeak.
The door opened, and a man walked in. He wore a faded but neatly pressed suit. He was a middle-aged man, cradling a crude gift box preciously in his arms.
"Uh… hello."
He hesitated at the doorway, seemingly intimidated by the office's sophisticated interior. Sonette gave a small beckoning gesture.
"Please, come in. Don't be shy."
"That, well… I was referred by Lawyer Setian…"
"Yes. That's right."
The man's name was Ben Roth. Adeline's father.
Sonette bowed her head politely to him.
"I will be your legal counsel."
She had partially disrupted Maximilian's plans. She had personally sought out the lawyer Maximilian recommended and requested that the case be handed over to her.
"Do not worry. This trial will yield a completely different result from the last one."
She would do her utmost to ensure a proper verdict was reached in Adeline's case. Of course, she might obtain some information about Maximilian in the process, but that was as far as Sonette's intentions went for now.
* * *
Genen was broken in many ways. Roads, infrastructure, shops, businesses—the weeks of blockade had completely frozen the autonomous region's economy.
The losses to Genen itself were severe.
"Reconstruction is proceeding smoothly."
However, my companies were the ones handling that reconstruction. Various civil engineering, construction, and material companies I had acquired in advance were deployed simultaneously, and the taxes that the corrupt officials of the Governor-General's office had been embezzling were now being utilized transparently.
"Budget execution is within the margin of error, and there are no leaks."
The new appointees to the Governor-General's office had no need to embezzle, and my companies took only the minimum profit. Every single cent of the Genen people's taxes was being invested back into Genen.
"The fact that the tanks destroyed Genen's city center has actually turned out to be a blessing in disguise."
Genen's old city center was notorious for its inefficient layout. The traffic, in particular, was so inconvenient that it caused significant fatigue for the floating population, but the tanks had trampled it all down. They had forcibly widened the paths by tearing down dilapidated buildings and walls.
"The demolition costs and time required for urban rezoning have been drastically reduced."
Thanks to that, Genen's city center was destined to change significantly.
It would become a military base capable of housing hundreds of tanks, and simultaneously, a core logistical artery connecting the Empire to the Eastern Front.
"…Hah."
In my study at the mansion, I let out a hollow laugh as I flipped through the report.
"The bastards at the Governor-General's office were doing this while still receiving financial support from the Empire?"
I had also learned just how much tax money the previous administration had been wasting.
"Yes. Things should continue to go smoothly. Most issues can be resolved through our own enterprises, so there's no need for additional costs like lobbying."
"Hmm. But you know."
I pushed the pile of documents aside and tilted my head.
"…Why do I have so much money, Dieter?"
The numbers in my personal account weren't going down. No, if anything, they were growing.
I understood the mana stones. The mana stone mines in the Rommilton Mountains were certainly deep. And with the 'Kitty' that Armand invented, mining efficiency had increased tremendously.
But I must have spent an enormous amount of money as well.
"The profit structure has improved significantly. In particular, the aggressive acquisition of raw material mines and forests has been a huge help."
From metallic minerals like steel and copper to specialized timber, rubber, and chemical raw materials. Dieter had taken my command to 'just buy up everything related to raw materials' and formalized it into acquisitions.
In short, I was making an infinite loop of money until the war broke out.
"Hmm… good. Well done."
"Yes, sir."
Dieter is certainly an irreplaceable resource. That's why I've provided him with top-tier protective artifacts and assigned several bodyguards to him.
"Also, I have something to report."
Dieter said, adjusting his glasses.
"An investigation has been launched into the bearer bonds."
"Faster than I expected."
"It seems the other side is getting impatient."
Lutz Rosen, the head of a department directly under the Imperial Palace.
He had begun tracking my cash flow.
"As expected, they suspect the creation of a slush fund or embezzlement."
The charge was embezzling funds from the munitions factory, which was a national project of the Empire.
If it were true, even an Ebenholtz would be in danger. Embezzlement itself might be something that could be overlooked, but the 'words I've spoken' would return as a blade against me.
"Right. Good work."
However, this wasn't embezzlement. I had injected my personal assets into Aternum as a temporary advance and then wired them back out under the guise of overseas investment through legal procedures.
In other words, the money had simply 'passed through' the corporation.
To an outsider, the flow of funds looked extremely complex, but to an insider who knew the starting point, it could be proven very simply.
I had merely put my own money in and taken it back out. It just so happened that the destination was the bearer bonds that Reutern II would come to possess, making it look like very plausible slush fund laundering.
"Go get some rest, then."
"Yes, sir."
I didn't need to take any separate action.
The moment Lutz felt certain of the charges and pounced, he would find himself facing Reutern II, not me.
From then on, Reutern would handle it himself.
"…Leo?"
After Dieter left, I called out to Leo, who was yawning at the threshold.
"Woof!"
Leo wagged his tail and came running. The fellow had grown quite a bit and seemed to have already digested a significant amount of the elixirs. His muscles were as hard as armor, and his fur had a healthy sheen.
"You've grown well. But yawning is beneath your dignity. Yawn inwardly."
"Woof!"
He really understands what I'm saying. It would be amazing if he could actually talk.
I stroked his mane.
"…It's fine when it's just the two of us."
"Woof!"
I plan to feed him one more bottle of elixir before his growth is complete.
Become a ten-million-dollar dog, the strongest adult hound on earth, Leo.
"Let's eat."
I held out a special meal prepared by the chef. A diet that balanced taste and health, combining top-grade beef with mana herbs. I had hired a dedicated chef just for Leo.
Chomp, chomp.
Leo ate his food.
Chomp, chomp.
As I watched him eat without getting a single speck of dust on his fur, as if maintaining his dignity, it suddenly occurred to me…
* * *
"…Hmm."
Inside the car on the way to the Knights' headquarters, I stared intently at Yukia's face through the rearview mirror.
For some reason, that woman looked like Leo.
No, did Leo look like her?
It seemed the Yaken race did indeed resemble beasts.
I fiddled with my neck. The wooden necklace of the Yaken race. It was a bit bothersome, but I was wearing it for now. Not too conspicuously. The day would surely come when it would be useful.
"We have arrived."
I got out of the car and walked down the hallway of the Knights' headquarters. The way the knights looked at me was different than before. There was a bit more wariness in their eyes, and their faces were more tense.
Genen had certainly been a major event.
"Max!"
From the other end of the hallway, my classmate Leon approached, waving his hand. Unlike the other knights, he was the same as ever. For a moment, a smile escaped my lips.
Leon is a nutcase. It's an eternal truth: the guys who are always scrawny and smiling like that are the ones with the strongest spirits.
"Good timing. Want to come check out our Flight Research Society?"
"…Flight Research Society?"
"Yeah. We just started it. It's a group for studying aerial maneuvers."
Tiana, who followed behind him with a helmet tucked under her arm, chimed in.
"Mana Wings. We've become quite proficient with them now. So we decided to hold a competition. We'll be grading things like artistic points and practical points."
Tiana's eyebrows twitched as she looked at me.
"Oh, right. Do you want to be a judge? I think everyone would accept you in that role."
It seemed they were willing to acknowledge my authority as the 'first.'
"Oh, really? Then…"
I didn't really have the time to watch or judge.
"I'll put these up as prizes."
Premium Mana Stone Purchase Reservation Tickets. Tickets that even the nobles of the Imperial Palace would bring bags of money for, begging to be sold one. And two of them at that.
"..."
"..."
The two of them froze.
I pressed the tickets into the hands of the pair, who were blinking blankly.
"..."
"..."
The two of them stared at the tickets that had suddenly appeared.
"I'm off."
I walked into my office.
"…I'm tired, so tired."
There had been too much work lately. Sigh. I leaned against the window with a faint sigh.
Swish, swish.
Snow was falling from the sky. The morning still held the bluish light of dawn.
The season when the world is covered in white. By the time this snow melted, I would be making even more money.
And the next winter, and the winter after that, and the winter after that…
How many winters would I be able to see?
How far would I be able to go?
How long would we be able to survive?
"..."
I indulged in sentimentality for a moment, but soon sat down in my office chair. I picked up a fairly thick file.
[Case File: Cross Killer]
There are various genres of madmen in this world. There are nutcases obsessed with false religions, monsters who have gone berserk because their brains were fried by uncontrollable mana, and armed organizations like 'Gentra' that form groups to terrorize the Empire.
But this crazy bastard… is uniquely strange.
Vrrr.
Just then, my terminal vibrated. It was Officer Josef.
—Sir. Another murder has occurred. It's that Cross Killer bastard again.
"Location?"
—A furniture workshop in District 23. We are currently preserving the scene.
"Right. I'll be there soon."
I stood up. I grabbed my coat and headed out.
…
I arrived at District 23 through the falling snow.
Behind the main road, a cordon had been set up in front of a rather antique-looking workshop.
"Salute. You've arrived."
Officer Josef greeted me.
"It's in here. We haven't touched the scene."
"Good. Let's check it out."
I went inside with my secretary, Yukia.
"..."
The interior was a bloodbath. On the walls, the floor, and even the ceiling. The bloodstains splattered everywhere were distorted like some abstract painting.
The victim was laid out on the workshop table.
The ribs had been pulled open to the left and right, and the abdomen sliced vertically and horizontally. A surgical opening in the shape of a cross. Entrails spilled out through the gaps.
I asked my secretary.
"Yukia. Do you smell anything? Like that fishy smell of water from before."
"…Not a fishy smell. I smell mana."
She was using informal speech again.
I wanted to point it out, but I held back. This brat was doing it on purpose. If I got angry, I'd lose.
"I see."
I stared intently at the cross on the corpse. There was no need to search for an Active Residual Trace. Deep within the wound, where the heart should have been, a lump of dark red mana was congealed.
It was a high-density magic circle.
—Tick.
My soul pulsed.
Time slowed down.
My thoughts lengthened.
—Tick.
Information that I had taken this case had leaked. Whether it was Izenheim or the Revolutionary Group, they had found this crime scene first and, using the corpse as a medium, had planted some kind of 'magic bomb.'
—Tick.
I saw the mana rising from the corpse. A spark of magic activating ignited.
I tilted my gaze slightly.
Yukia.
You probably leaked my information. My enemies likely used the information you provided without you even knowing.
However, I will gladly tolerate it.
It is something I decided to handle. To possess a person, one must be willing to take this much risk.
You don't know it, but you are someone who resembles the most important part of me.
The one who wants something more must be the one to step closer.
Tick.
I turned and snatched Yukia's arm. Pulling her in as if to embrace her, I simultaneously surged the mana within my body.
Vnnnnnn—!
Centering on my body, a translucent Aura Shield, an 「Aura Sphere」, deployed and enveloped the two of us.
BOOOOOOOOM—!
The magic within the corpse detonated. The cramped workshop was instantly filled with surging mana.
* * *
In a private dining room in the Imperial Palace, where noble melodies flowed, Reutern II was cutting a steak with a pleasant expression. Hum-de-hum, hum-hum. La-la-la, la-la. He was even humming to himself, because today was the day his 'salary' came in.
Slice, slice.
The meat was cutting particularly smoothly today. It was being sliced away with a single stroke.
"Mmm~"
The moment he put a piece of top-grade, juicy meat into his mouth.
Vrrr.
The terminal on the table vibrated.
It was a call from the employee in charge of collections.
"Yeah. What is it?"
Reutern answered the phone while swirling his wine glass. This time, he had planned to go to Kanilan himself to collect it while enjoying a vacation.
"…What?"
Stiff words flowed from the terminal.
Reutern's hand stopped. The piece of meat skewered on his fork trembled in mid-air.
"W-what? Say that again."
Fragments of the voice mentioned 'Direct Agency' and the name 'Lutz.'
"…I got it. For now… I got it. Hang up."
He ended the call.
"..."
Reutern stared blankly at the terminal. His brain had momentarily stopped. The collector's words echoed in his ears.
If things went wrong, his accounts could be frozen, and an investigation by the Intelligence Agency could be launched.
"..."
My money. My salary. My Kanilan vacation.
"Why, you… you son of a bitch!"
Slam!
Reutern struck the table. The plates jumped, and the wine glass tipped over.
He jumped to his feet. He stormed out of the dining room, his footsteps thumping.
His eyes were bloodshot, and he no longer cared for the dignity of an Imperial noble.
He practically sprinted down the hallway and reached someone's detached palace. He burst straight in and shouted with a deep breath.
"Father—!"
The servants of the palace greeted Reutern as if they were used to this.
"Father—!"
Though it was a rather cute action compared to the degree of his rage.
"Where did my Daddy go—?!"
Reutern II was more sincere than ever before.
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