Semi-Coercive Imperialist - Chapter 150: A Visit to Prozen (4)
I thought about assassination, turning the method over in my mind.
The best tool is a bomb. At least this time, it would be. Because the other side was expecting the bomb to be a dud. All I was doing was inserting myself as a variable into an already staged incident.
“…It’s not difficult.”
Early dawn. Comer Boulevard in Prozen, where starlight had settled.
I stood along the route that Minister Louis Marceau would soon pass through. Before the Regression, too, the assassination attempt had taken place near this road leading to the parliament.
I took the bomb out of my pocket.
A Mana Bomb, personally crafted by Yukia. It was only palm-sized, but with multiple highest-purity Mana Stones condensed inside, its destructive power would rival a decent artillery strike.
“…”
I crouched down while checking the area for any sign of people. I split open the asphalt surface with a dagger and buried the bomb beneath it.
I quietly turned and wandered around the vicinity. It was to keep watch in case of any preliminary security sweeps.
─Hey! Get up!
─Move it! Get lost!
From the crack of dawn, police and soldiers came and went chasing away vagrants, but there was no security beyond that.
Meanwhile, morning broke.
People gradually gathered along the boulevard.
Probably the welcoming crowd that Minister Louis Marceau had arranged.
Thump──
My heart pounded.
Thump──
The number of Ezenheim that the Virus was reacting to exceeded several hundred.
Thump──
Suppressing the surging pulse, I quietly calmed my consciousness and mana.
A movement technique unique to Ebenholtz. Concealment, which erases all presence entirely, including breath and body heat.
Thump──
From within the crowd, I surveyed the area.
Plainclothes security personnel were stationed on the rooftops of surrounding buildings and at various points along the streets, but there were no true experts at the level of knights who could detect mana flow.
A gap in the protective detail, deliberately left open by Louis Marceau’s side.
No doubt this, too, was to complete the script of a failed assassination attempt.
BWOOOONG──
From far toward the harbor, a warship’s horn blared. The crowd streaming toward the roadside swelled as time passed. Eventually, not just the boulevard itself but the entire district became a tangled mess.
Thump──
Far away on a hill, people holding pickets welcoming the distinguished visitor and people holding pickets cursing the Social Party’s tax policies hurled insults at one another.
A pandemonium where people and ideologies clashed.
And at last, amid this stifling sea of bodies, the bastard appeared.
Thomas, the Ezenheim cast as the lead in this fake assassination.
Thump──
My heart pulsed with an unpleasant beat, pointing to his location.
Thump──
What is the method for killing a person in broad daylight, in the middle of a city packed with tens of thousands?
Ebenholtz knows the answer.
Even the act of killing, in the most elegant manner of the nobility. Silently.
Thump──
With a wide-brimmed hat pulled low over my face, I let my body drift naturally into the wave of the angry crowd. I simply flowed like a current. Without dropping so much as a trace, let alone any sign of presence, I drew up behind my prey.
Rustle──
In that fleeting instant when our collars brushed against each other.
I fired in succession at two precise points on his body: the lumbar nerve plexus below the spine, and the upper cervical vertebrae. The neck and the lower back.
──.
There was no gunshot. The mana that surged from the muzzle merely severed his body.
With his spine and cervical vertebrae cut simultaneously, he could not perceive his own condition. There was not even any bleeding. Because my mana still lingered inside his body.
His left knee buckled and he collapsed. With the nerve plexus severed, he could not move his body; with the cervical vertebrae pierced, he could not produce a sound.
And so, paralyzed from head to toe, he died.
Thud.
He crumpled lifelessly, like a rag doll. But countless people naturally mixed into the gaps around him, and I slipped out of the crowd in silence. I hid myself in the shadow of a bell tower some distance away.
RAAAAAAH───!
Cheers gradually swelled and echoed. From far at the end of the boulevard, I watched the approaching motorcade carrying the Prozen Minister and the Yursled Prime Minister.
Gripping the detonator in one hand, I pulled the hat lower still.
Their script was torn apart.
Now, it was time for everyone to witness a new ending with their own eyes.
* * *
“…Under no circumstances are you to displease him. The state guest arriving this time is extremely important.”
Defense Minister Louis Marceau repeatedly cautioned his aides.
The Prime Minister of eastern Yursled would be arriving shortly. A matter of great consequence: the discussion of a military alliance between the west and the east to check the Empire’s expansion. Only by reaching an agreement with him could they achieve what they sought, namely, the formation of a defensive line to block the Empire’s ambitions.
─He’s arriving.
From the harbor side, the voice of the head of the security detail came through on the radio.
Beyond the horizon, a warship of the Kingdom of Yursled was approaching.
HOOOOOOON───
The warship’s horn echoed as it docked at the pier. From within, Prime Minister Bernard disembarked. Minister Louis Marceau received him with an honor guard and mounted escorts arranged in the highest ceremony.
“We sincerely welcome you to the Republic of Prozen, Prime Minister Bernard.”
“A pleasure, Minister Marceau.”
Bernard of the east, and Louis Marceau of the west.
The two men exchanged a brief handshake.
“A luncheon and a grand welcoming ceremony have been prepared for you in the capital of Prozen. Shall we?”
Guided by Minister Marceau, they boarded an armored vehicle side by side.
“Ha ha. To receive such a passionate welcome, it is truly an honor.”
Prime Minister Bernard wore a satisfied smile.
“Not at all. The honor is mine.”
Mounted soldiers flanked and escorted the vehicle on both sides as it moved forward.
“As you are well aware, the Empire’s recent behavior has been highly suspicious. Their involvement in Zerpha, the fact that all their labor is directed toward military production… What are your thoughts, Prime Minister?”
Marceau opened negotiations from within the vehicle. He was a man who begrudged every passing second.
“I share the same concern.”
Bernard, too, responded with grave agreement.
As they spoke, the motorcade turned into the bustling heart of the capital, and Prozen citizens lining the streets waved the flags of both nations and cheered.
“Oh… To receive such a warm welcome for Yursled.”
Prime Minister Bernard gazed upon them with contented eyes. Marceau let out a breath of relief. The agitators had already been cleared out by deploying thugs.
“As you can see, Prozen is very fond of Yursled.”
Minister Marceau, reading the man’s mood, spoke to the driver.
“…Could you slow down a bit?”
He checked his wristwatch, confirming the appointed time.
“I’d like to let the Prime Minister enjoy the citizens’ warm reception a little longer.”
“Yes, sir.”
Minister Marceau signaled out the window. In response, the escort convoy slowed its pace. The spacing loosened as well.
“And yet, I never dreamed that Prozen, the pride of the west, would be the one to extend a hand to our Yursled first.”
Prime Minister Bernard let slip a faint smile. There was an intention to lightly provoke him, but Minister Marceau gladly endured it.
“Indeed. There is no longer any reason for the west and the east to quarrel.”
At present, the continent was broadly fractured into three blocs: the west, the Empire, and the east. Among them, Yursled was a small but formidable nation directly bordering the Empire’s eastern frontier, making it the most perfect partner for the Grand Imperial Encirclement that Marceau was championing.
“With the Empire’s blatant expansionist ambitions in plain sight, we cannot remain shackled to the stale grievances of the past forever. As the times change, should we not march forward in step together?”
Minister Marceau set his expression firmly. Even so, his gaze continued to scan outside the window.
Soon, the appointed event would occur.
“For the peace of humanity. And for the survival of humanity.”
Louis Marceau spoke of humanity’s survival, and
“The Empire is an axis of evil that must be stopped…”
the moment he uttered that resolute declaration.
────!
In the middle of the square, an explosion erupted from beneath the asphalt road the vehicle was passing over.
KBOOOOOM──!
The blast pressure that surged in an instant tore apart the vehicle’s undercarriage whole. Steel fragments scattered, shredding the bodies inside.
BOOOOOM──!
The shockwave of the explosion ripped through the air. A thunderous echo filled the entire space, and the face of Louis Marceau, who had been speaking of an “axis of evil”, split vertically. The torn flesh and bone fragments ripped from his body were engulfed in flames.
Leaving behind only partial traces of having been human, he crumbled away into ashes.
…….
Five minutes earlier.
Clara Magal had been watching the Social Party minister’s motorcade from a distance.
“Worthless piece of shit.”
Louis Marceau. One of the「Crystal Society」’s greatest enemies, and a pillar of the Social Party. A piece of human garbage who screamed about raising taxes, robbed workers of their money, and handed it to freeloaders.
‘If I could, I’d kill him with my own hands, but unfortunately, we don’t have the power yet. The 「Crystal Society」 is still a small, insignificant group that, honestly, hasn’t even risen above the level of a college club.’
“This is seriously infuriating. Look over there.”
A member standing in front of her pointed somewhere, brow furrowed. A picket reading “The tax hikes that suck the lifeblood of ordinary citizens…” had just been smashed to pieces. Thugs had appeared and were beating the protesters.
“…Those bastards deserve divine punishment.”
Clara murmured with her fists clenched tight, but soon a deep sense of helplessness washed over her.
From this far away, there was nothing she could do. Nothing but watch. Nothing but rage and curse…
KRAKOOOOOM───!
At that moment, a bolt from the blue struck without warning.
Or rather, an explosion erupted from the ground.
Clara and the members staggered back at the unearthly rumble that seemed about to burst their eardrums.
KRAAASH──!
Clara’s eyes went wide as she stared at the scene beyond.
RUUUMBLE───
Through her fully dilated pupils, the image of the minister’s vehicle crumpling like paper and lifting off the ground registered in slow motion.
High into the sky, so remarkably high. As if it had sprouted wings…
CRRRRUNCH──!
The world resumed at full speed. The vehicle lost its shape in an instant. Clara expelled a ragged breath. The mounted soldiers of the escort spat blood and collapsed around them, and the screams of citizens who had been cheering just moments ago tangled with the shouts of security, plunging everything into chaos.
WHOOOOSH──!
From the shattered boulevard, crimson flames blazed upward. The fire quickly turned into acrid smoke, and people began trampling over one another in their rush to flee.
“…”
Clara gazed down at the scene with unwavering eyes.
Minister Louis Marceau.
The power behind the Republic of Prozen, and the right hand of the Social Party Prime Minister.
Outwardly, he used the Empire as a pretext, raising his voice as if acting for the republic, but behind the scenes, he tolerated the predatory financial and comprador capital that exploited the people’s livelihoods, and through repeated tax hikes, he had driven countless ordinary citizens to their deaths.
“…Ha.”
That beast-like bastard had ended up like that.
A smile spread across Clara’s lips, but then, suddenly.
─Chief. Would you hear my story?
The voice of a man who, a few days ago in a cramped studio apartment, had stared straight into her eyes and murmured with a chill in his tone.
─I’m preparing a Grand Undertaking.
Felix Renoir’s voice bloomed like a flower.
* * *
[ Unprecedented terrorist attack in the heart of the Prozen’s capital! ]
[ Shock! Defense Minister Louis Marceau killed in explosion ]
[ Yursled Prime Minister Bernard also killed in the blast… Kingdom of Yursled issues stern warning over failure of protective detail ]
[ Who is the culprit? Suspicion tilts heavily toward far-right groups ]
[ The people’s fury over crushing tax hikes has finally sparked a horrific explosion…! ]
The streets of Prozen, awash with breaking news from every direction.
The assassination was a success. Bernard and Louis Marceau were confirmed dead in the blast, and the security forces, driven mad, had opened fire indiscriminately on innocent civilians. Thanks to that, the scene, including any mana residue, was completely contaminated, and I strolled back to my apartment without incident.
There, one guest I had anticipated was already waiting.
“…”
Clara Magal. She stared at me with deeply calm, somber eyes.
“Was this your doing?”
Without a word, I raised an eyebrow and took off my coat. I sat down in the chair at ease.
For a moment, I thought about what to say to her.
“…Yes. It was something that someone absolutely had to do.”
Clara despised the Social Party and Ezenheim, and before my Regression, that ideology had developed even further, leading her to become active as the leader of an armed group that followed the Empire.
Meaning she was someone useful to the cause.
“…”
Clara’s fingers flinched. She ran her tongue over her parched lips. It was a reaction as if she were struggling to hold back her emotions.
Naturally, facing an unprecedented assassin would make anyone nervous.
“So what are you going to do now? The entire republic is in an uproar.”
“I plan to lie low for a while.”
“The borders will be locked down, and the police and military will tear through every last hole looking for you.”
“Well, there’s always a way.”
I smiled nonchalantly and asked her in return.
“Chief. I’d say this is enough to pass the entrance test, wouldn’t you?”
“…”
Clara was silent for a moment. She stared at me for a long time, then let out a scoff as if she couldn’t believe it.
“I feel like I should hand you my position.”
“I don’t have a talent for rallying people. Being a regular member is plenty.”
“…Fine. I’ll approve your membership.”
I had become an official member of the「Crystal Society」. It was cause for celebration, and I shifted my expression to something serious once more. I sharpened my gaze a touch sharper.
“Chief. I deeply agree with the Crystal Society’s cause. Prozen is rotten to the core right now. At this rate, it might even be better to be conquered by the Empire. So this act of terror is only our beginning.”
She listened to my words without wavering. She nodded as if naturally agreeing.
“What position do you want?”
“…I’ll let you know later.”
“Understood. For now, get yourself somewhere safe. When things quiet down, we’ll meet again then.”
Clara extended her hand to me.
“Yes.”
I clasped her hand in return.
“Let’s meet again.”
Felix Renoir.
I have no intention of squandering this lethal identity of the man who assassinated Louis Marceau, the Social Party powerbroker and Prozen’s minister. On the contrary, I will refine it even more precisely and put it to use.
“Right.”
Clara Magal will grow into a leader of an armed group well worth exploiting. In that process, quite a few people might die, but if the outcome is favorable, any means and methods are justified without limit.
When the objective is the survival of humanity, that is truly the case.
“We’ll definitely meet again, Comrade Felix.”
I gained an ally in the heart of the west.
