Semi-Coercive Imperialist - Chapter 65: The Unknowable

──Slice.

Arshtel’s head and body separated.

My sword severed him.

Thud.

His body slumped forward onto the table, and the head rolled across the surface of the sewer.

This is how the Ezenheim die. They simply die. Like ordinary humans, their breath ceases. Without ever revealing that they are Ezenheim, even in death, they serve the cause of their race.

Their cause being the “annihilation of humanity”, they are an otherworldly race bound together by the most viciously toxic ideology.

“You’ve killed him.”

Sonnet said. There was no change in her expression. She wasn’t even slightly flustered by something of this level. Perhaps even this action of mine had been within her range of expectations.

Her reaction stirred an unconscious fear in me.

Because I am not a ‘real’ one like her.

Even as a regressor, I have never explored the deepest darkness of the Empire. I have never experienced crushing my enemy through fierce political warfare.

My power is merely borrowed from the ‘future,’ a place that may no longer exist.

On the surface and inside, I am still not a true Ebenholtz.

I am still nothing but an immature noble brat who cannot even fully trust myself.

However…….

“Yes. Miss Kandel’s operation has succeeded.”

As long as I don’t let that show. As long as I don’t expose this precarious inner self.

Trembling is merely an external ripple.

If I carefully arrange everything happening within me, that is all there is to it.

“I will give you ten million dollars.”

I casually straightened my clothes. I tidied my disheveled hair and sleeves, ruffled from swinging my sword.

“His head was worth at least that much.”

Don’t ever lose, Maximilian.

At the very least, in every “moment of being seen”, maintain the dignity of a noble before any opponent.

“The value of the information might have been ten times that.”

“Then I’ll offset it by calculating the possibility that he was a double agent.”

“Even if he was a double agent, the information is usable. Spies offer truth to earn trust.”

I looked at Sonnet.

No matter how much I try to read her, her expression is unreadable.

If I cannot understand her, I must not try to.

If she is someone unpredictable, then I, too, must become someone unpredictable.

Everything I do must be ambiguous, and all my intentions must remain unknowable.

Today, I received quite a valuable lesson from Sonnet.

Fear comes from the unknown. The fear born of uncertainty is the greatest of all.

“Such truths hold no value.”

“…….”

Sonnet said no more.

Was she acknowledging me, or merely letting it pass?

Or perhaps she now considered me one of those “types who cannot be persuaded”.

“I will deliver the ten million through a more suitable method.”

If her desired ledger receives that level of net profit, that should suffice.

“Do you have anything else to say?”

Sonnet shook her head.

“No. That’s fine. Our Kandel family also received a great favor from you during the Brain-Eater incident.”

She stood up and firmly stuffed Arshtel’s head into the bag she had brought with her.

“Take it.”

Then she trudged off, back into the other side of the sewer.

To the very end, without revealing even a hint of emotion.

“…….”

I watched her back for a moment, then turned my gaze to Arshtel’s corpse.

Squirm─

The virus stirred. I reached out to his body.

Squirm squirm──

It absorbed the Ezenheim mana that remained in the corpse. A dark crimson energy crawled up my arm.

“……Done?”

When its absorption was finished, I slung the bag containing Arshtel’s head over my shoulder.

I turned to leave, then paused.

Arshtel.

This executive of the Revolutionary forces could very well be recorded as my achievement, but in reality, it might not be of much help to my personal situation.

“I don’t need any overly flashy accomplishments.”

This is solely for the sake of the Empire.

I pulled out Arshtel’s head.

Splash.

I threw it into the stagnant water of the sewer along with his body.

Leaving it to rot, I came up to the surface.

Passing through the dizzying sights and sounds of the Underground City corridor, I took the elevator to the 9th floor.

Through the narrowing gap of the closing elevator doors, the chaotic lights on the other side seeped in and disappeared.

Today, I came to know something about the Ezenheim, perhaps something that was obvious.

They are a race that, if it benefits only themselves, will sell off the Revolutionary forces, their other comrades, even their own kind if necessary. That way, they gain trust, rise to the head of a group, and wield “conviction” as they see fit…….

Ding─

The moment I arrived at the surface.

“Sir Knight!”

At the exit of the Underground City, Eshton, the stationed agent, spotted me. He was carefully holding two large duffel bags, one on each side.

“Sir Knight!”

The way he bounced toward me with his small build somehow looked cute.

“Sir Kniiiight─!”

“I see you.”

I raised my hand as I approached.

“You’ve done well.”

“No, it’s nothing like that. Are you hurt anywhere?”

“No.”

Eshton handed over the duffel bags while staring at me intently.

I wondered why, then remembered the promise I’d made with him.

“Choose anything you want.”

“Thank you.”

He unzipped the duffel bag and hesitated for a long time.

He said it was fine before, but now that the moment had come, he seemed overwhelmed by indecision.

“Uh……”

“…….”

“Hmm……”

This one? This one? This one? He muttered to himself, running his hand over the back of his neck.

“Uh……”

“…….”

Seriously, fuck. No matter how you look at it, this is taking way too long.

I picked up a compass.

“Take this.”

“No, wait-”

“It was fifty thousand when bought, but it’ll probably sell for two to three times more.”

“Thank you.”

Leaving those words of gratitude, the agent descended back into the Underground City elevator.

“……Haa.”

I wandered alone through the lower districts of the Empire.

Many things had collapsed, and moss-like people were clinging to the crumbling ground.

Even in a place like this, life is born, dies, and is born again. The flow feels like an ebb and tide, something that happens naturally. As if it’s all entirely unrelated to me, far removed…….

But this, too, is life. They, too, are definitely living.

It’s just that there is no nation where everyone can live in comfort.

This place might be one of the countless proofs that the Empire is broken,

But even so, the greatest reason the Empire must function swallows up all of these contradictions.

Because we must survive.

Even the beggar whose eyes have lost their light and are fading, the child drinking filthy water and begging for bread, such scenes are only possible if the species called humanity continues to exist.

My cause exists precisely at that point.

A revolution for the well-being of all is impossible.

We must fight to ‘barely’ survive.

***

The wasteland of Central District 35 of the Empire.

Where Lorenzo Academy had been completed, the area had already begun to stir with vitality. Dormitories, dining halls, and research buildings were constructed around the academy. On the outskirts, security forces were installed to protect them from monsters, along with residential facilities and guard posts for the personnel to live and work. In addition, infrastructure such as parks, restaurants, and taverns for the residents was being expanded, and the floating population had significantly increased.

It was gradually beginning to take on the form of a city.

“There are more students than I expected?”

Today, I visited the Academy’s headmaster’s office. Lorenzo gave a wry smile that was somewhere between pride and embarrassment.

“Yes. I planned for about a hundred students, but word got out, and talented individuals are coming from all over.”

I had seen them on the way here as well. There were kids as young as Armand, teenagers in their mid to late teens, and even adults chasing their dream of invention.

They study practical things. For example, how to treat the mana wastewater from ‘Golden Grain’, which we acquired. Equipment to convert that facility into a pharmaceutical factory. Internal systems of armored vehicles, new shell designs, and so on.

“I’ll leave the Academy entirely in your hands, Headmaster. By the way, I heard a new luxury-grade cube was made at the workshop this time?”

“Yes. It’s a master-grade, about half a level below the one you use, Sir Knight.”

I nodded.

A master-grade cube. It did feel a bit off, giving my workshop’s second luxury piece to that guy…

“Can you add a wiretapping function to the cube?”

Wiretapping.

For the person I intend to gift this cube to, a function like that is absolutely necessary.

“Wiretapping?”

“Yes. So that no one else ever finds out.”

“……It should be possible, but the output will decrease a bit.”

I looked at Lorenzo. There had been a subtle hesitation in his reply just now. Likely because he is a man of conscience.

“Lorenzo. In this case, I believe it’s justifiable.”

I handed Lorenzo the criminal records of “Reutern II”.

He is not an Ezenheim, yet still ranks at the very top of my kill list. But he is simple-minded, low-functioning, and of guaranteed bloodline, making him very useful. Compared to the other scum in the Imperial Palace, it’s also easier to win his favor.

The summary evaluation of Reutern II is just one line.

‘Loves beautiful, rare, and expensive things.’

He is the very symbol of the rotten Imperial Palace.

“…….”

As Lorenzo read through Reutern’s record, his face gradually turned grim.

“This is what I believe. Subspecies, if controlled and isolated, can more or less be managed, excluding the Ezenheim. However…”

I pointed to the document listing Reutern II’s crimes.

“Unless we put someone like this bastard in check, there’s no hope. His brain structure, his thought process, they’re already cemented like this.”

Lorenzo looked up at me.

These days, I’ve been seeking a few people willing to become my accomplices. People who, beyond that, would follow my commands without question, as naturally as if carrying out everyday tasks, regardless of what I do.

Lorenzo is clearly one of them.

“Yes. I’ll try to make it. I’ll also work on adding similar features to the other cubes.”

──At the sight of him becoming that kind of person, I smiled.

“Oh, and one more thing.”

I picked up the duffel bag. I laid out all the inventions related to magic and mana that I had purchased from the Underground Black Market.

Lorenzo looked startled.

“Use them as teaching materials. I believe order and regulation are necessary, but sometimes, in unregulated places, such chaotic innovation also blooms.”

Lorenzo is a genius. So is Armand. If they disassemble and analyze these inventions, rated “high-grade” by my virus, perhaps they can write meaningful textbooks or reach some breakthroughs.

“Yes. Thank you very much. These were just what I needed.”

“If there’s anything else you need, just say so.”

I took out my checkbook again.

“There are no limits on financial support.”

I awarded ten million dollars as a scholarship under Maximilian’s name.

A bright smile blossomed across Lorenzo’s face.

***

Reutern II has been in a very bad mood lately. Extremely angry.

And understandably so, it’s because of a new trend sweeping through even the Imperial Palace.

Not only the knights belonging to the Palace, but even those with middling ranks are all carrying around copies of the 「Aura Sphere」 manual.

This happened after rumors spread that it was “highly effective in the event of an assassination attempt”…

“Haa.”

Reutern II does not have that manual.

The bastard who promised to give it to him, that fucking bastard, hasn’t given it to him.

“Fucking son of a bitch… Can’t even keep a promise.”

To Reutern II, Maximilian was an asshole. Lately, even the way that guy treated the Imperial Palace’s direct institutions had been rubbing him the wrong way.

“Fuck! Fuck!”

“Please calm down, Lord Reutern.”

“No! I’m not mad about what he did to me.”

Reutern II glared at the person sitting across from him in his private chamber.

It was Lutz, Department Chief of one of the Imperial Palace’s direct institutions.

“That fucking bastard can’t even keep Arnolt in check! What the hell is he doing, that yellow chick bastard!”

This time, the Imperial Palace had tried to crush the “academic faction” led by Arnolt, but Maximilian had completely blindsided them.

“Honestly, Lutz, what does it matter that you’re a commoner? That bastard’s already out of his father’s favor anyway.”

Department Chief Lutz barely held back the laughter threatening to explode.

“That guy made a little money off some mana stones or whatever, and now he thinks he’s untouchable.”

Reutern was shockingly crude and immature, hardly what you’d expect from someone of royal blood.

Because his father was a close confidant of the Emperor, he ranked quite high in the palace, and he’d been pampered endlessly as the only son born after two miscarriages.

“Just trust me, Lutz. I will screw that bastard over.”

“No, I-”

“Hey now! Just trust me. From today on, I am your backing. I declare it!”

Reutern II stormed out in a huff.

“He dares treat the Imperial Palace like a joke.”

As he marched down the hallway, a butler suddenly approached and called out to him.

“Lord Reutern-”

“What!”

“It’s an item from outside.”

“What is it now!”

“The sender is Knight Maximilian.”

“What?”

It was a book-shaped package. A square box. And something like a letter.

Reutern unwrapped the book first. Sure enough, it was the 「Aura Sphere」 manual.

“Haa. That vermin bastard. I will accept it for now, but tell him it is already too late.”

“Yes. And what should I do with the rest?”

There was another item. A small treasure box with a subtle sheen, seemingly made of sandalwood.

“What’s this now?”

The design is not bad. What is it.

Muttering complaints, he opened the lid of the box.

Whooosh──

A radiant light, enough to blind the eyes, burst forth.

A deep blue radiance, completely pure, unmarred by even a speck of dust, something only seen in the crystallized forms of pure mana.

Reutern’s eyes slowly glazed over, as if entranced.

“……Wow.”

The fury and frustration that had just filled his face vanished without a trace. In their place, like a newborn child, only a vacant, pure admiration began to fill…