Chapter 278

Before my regression, the Master was the Revolutionary Faction's chief financier. The Revolutionary Faction's Dieter Schmidt. That was probably the most accurate way to put it.

Though he had made enormous contributions to the Revolutionary Faction, he did not join the New Cabinet after the Empire's fall.

Rumors were everywhere. Some said he had died during the war. Others said he had become unimaginably wealthy, or settled on some island to live out the rest of his life.

But one thing was certain. Killing him would weaken the Revolutionary Faction.

The Izenheim were obsessed with tunnels, and digging required money.

Even the monstrosities hidden within human society were bound by the same monster called money......

* * *

Tap. Pitter-patter.

At Georgen's Northern Branch, Inspector Gewin stood looking out at raindrops sliding down the window.

"Inspector Gewin?"

Inspector Borhi suddenly called out.

He had supposedly been searching until now, but Borhi had already changed clothes and looked immaculate.

"I have something to tell you. Has Sergeant Paul perhaps......"

"Sergeant Paul is probably on the way back after escorting Ms. Yvette."

"Ah, that's a relief."

Borhi shook his head.

"What a complete mess it was."

Gewin asked the smiling man, who stood with his hands behind his back.

"How are things on your end?"

"Five are dead, and Sergeant Elmer is in surgery after being hit somewhere rather unfortunate."

"Somewhere unfortunate...... Don't tell me?"

"His thigh. More importantly, there is something else. This way."

Borhi led Gewin to a corner of the corridor.

"The Northern Branch has no wiretaps because of budget issues, so you needn't worry."

After cautiously checking their surroundings, he continued.

"Inspector Gewin. We obtained information from the Master."

"From the Master?"

"Yes. Circumstantial and physical evidence that there is an agent inside Georgen Central. Sergeant Paul, that is."

Gewin's eyebrow twitched.

"Have you seen anything suspicious about Sergeant Paul?"

"No. Paul......"

Suddenly, Gewin recalled Paul's conduct aboard the train. The times Paul had been away for long stretches despite being Gewin's partner and breaking their agreement.

Borhi smiled.

"So you have."

"......Paul helped me eliminate the Revolutionary Faction."

"Well, Paul could kill anyone to avoid being discovered."

"That's only speculation."

"......No. Actually, it isn't merely speculation."

Just then, an agent from the Northern Branch approached and announced Sergeant Paul's return.

Borhi spoke.

"Inspector Gewin. We in the north will handle our work. Could we ask for your cooperation?"

"......Before that, I'll speak with Paul myself."

Gewin spotted Paul entering the Northern Branch.

"Paul!"

Gewin beckoned to Paul as Paul approached.

"Yes, Inspector."

"Come with me."

Gewin led Paul outside again and whispered beneath the eaves, repeating Borhi's claims word for word.

"......Is it true?"

"No. Of course not."

"This isn't a situation where saying, 'Of course not,' settles it!"

Gewin shouted as though trying to intimidate Paul, but Paul only smiled calmly.

"It's all right. I have connections."

"Connections? This isn't something that can be solved with connections...... Well, it might be, but if you have them, call them right now. Who are these connections?"

"No. That would cause a bit of a commotion. When the time comes, they'll come help on their own."

His attitude was far too relaxed. Gewin's face twisted into a grimace.

"What are you talking about? This is the north. It's not like Central."

Paul merely smiled.

If things became too noisy, if rumors spread that a knight was coming, Yvette and the others might go into hiding again.

Click!

It was Inspector Borhi clicking his tongue.

"Sergeant Paul?"

Paul and Gewin turned toward him.

Behind Borhi, armed Northern Branch agents crowded together.

"I am placing you under arrest on charges of collusion with the Revolutionary Faction and obstruction of official duties."

The agents in heavy fur-lined coats seized both of Paul's arms.

"......Wait a minute. Inspector Borhi, what are you doing? Sergeant Paul is from Central."

Gewin tried to stop them, but Borhi replied,

"I'm sorry. The evidence and testimony are simply too conclusive."

"Testimony?"

"I'll explain the details later."

Borhi smiled as he glared at Paul.

Paul, meanwhile, said nothing. Was Paul admitting it? Or was Paul waiting for those connections?

"Treat Paul carefully. Paul is a sergeant from Central."

Borhi gestured with his chin.

"Yes!"

The northerners had loud voices too.

Paul was dragged down into the basement.

"......Inspector Gewin. The report."

Borhi then handed Gewin a sheet of paper.

"It states that Inspector Gewin cooperated closely with Georgen's Northern Branch to apprehend both the Master and an agent within Georgen......"

Capturing an executive of the Revolutionary Faction was an enormous achievement.

For someone who possessed nothing but a family register, it was enough to aim for a very high position within Georgen.

"......"

Gewin was an ordinary person. Gewin took pride in being one. Selling out some newcomer Gewin had just met was easy enough.

But there was one problem.

'I have connections.'

Those words kept bothering Gewin.

What kind of connections could Paul possibly have?

"......Please don't treat Paul too harshly. Paul is an agent from Central as well."

Gewin tucked the report inside a coat and answered that way for the moment.

Borhi nodded gently.

"I also believe evidence comes first. I don't go around beating people up for no reason."

What nonsense. Gewin had heard plenty of rumors.

Gewin let out a hollow laugh at Borhi's shamelessness.

* * *

......Yvette toured the north with Halbert Goring. The north had quite a few places that could be called cultural facilities.

A grand theater, bookstores, warm tea houses, even street stalls selling soup.

"The north has changed a great deal too."

They spent several days sightseeing like that.

Only sightseeing.

There was not a single suspicious act.

"It's all thanks to the Empire's grace."

She was waiting for the right moment, just in case. Someone might be watching her.

"There will be a family register inspection."

But in the north, family register inspections came frequently when one walked down the street.

"Here you are."

Yvette proudly handed over her family register.

In truth, she had been born a slave and had never even been registered at birth. If that person had not changed her family register, she would likely have been caught here before ever reaching the Master......

Yvette thought of him for no reason, then forced herself to push the thought away.

"......Family register inspections in the north are quite harsh."

"It can't be helped in the north. That's why I don't come here often."

Halbert walked with hands clasped behind their back, then said,

"Ah. Have you heard the news?"

"What news?"

"That Georgen...... Sergeant Paul?"

Yvette's gaze trembled.

Halbert stroked their mustache and muttered,

"I heard it from Georgen a few days ago. Apparently, that fellow was an agent colluding with the Revolutionary Faction."

Yvette stopped walking.

Before she realized it, she had frozen in place.

"I was shocked too. Good grief. To think those bastards had reached their claws into Georgen as well......"

She immediately understood what had happened.

Paul had given me a metal staple.

Paul had made my family register genuine, but in turn reduced Paul's own family register to a forgery.

"......"

It felt as though a stone had been placed on her chest. Something seemed to press down deep inside her heart.

She slowly closed her eyes, steadied herself, and opened them again.

"Sir Halbert...... There is somewhere I want to go with you."

"......"

Halbert's eyes gleamed.

"Perhaps. Over there?"

The place Halbert pointed to was the north's only five-star hotel.

"No."

She pointed in the opposite direction, toward Larkordak, the northern Camp bordering the most forbidding mountain range.

"......Why there?"

Halbert asked, confused.

"There's someone I would like to visit."

"Uh...... Even Georgen agents find visiting Larkordak difficult......"

Yvette lightly gripped Halbert's sleeve.

"Is that impossible? Even for Sir Halbert......"

Her eyes were like a fawn blowing soap bubbles, and Halbert's whole body seemed to melt.

"Of course it's possible! Who do you think I am? Halbert of House Goring!"

Halbert pounded their chest and took the lead.

* * *

Inspector Gewin arrived at the hospital where Sergeant Elmer was admitted, intending to hear testimony directly.

"......You saw those two meet?"

"Yes."

Elmer answered seriously.

Holding his bandaged thigh, he closed his eyes as though recalling that day.

"It was late at night...... near the salon car. At the time, I could only make out a vague shape, but the composite sketch made it certain. It was the Master's face."

To summarize, Sergeant Paul had walked around the train at night, repeatedly going between the cargo car and the salon car, and had held a secret conversation with a person believed to be the Master.

"......"

Gewin could say nothing more.

At this point, even the circumstantial evidence was nearly conclusive. Whether true or false, Paul could not avoid suspicion, and Georgen's Northern Branch would not let this go.

"Then...... Get some rest."

"Yes."

Gewin rose.

The moment Gewin left the hospital room, Inspector Borhi suddenly stepped out from around the corner.

"Inspector Gewin. What do you think?"

"Whoa, you startled me."

Why was he suddenly jumping out like that?

Gewin cleared their throat.

"Well...... More importantly, where is that whistleblower?"

The whistleblower. Thistle, who had handed over the Master's composite sketch.

Borhi smiled.

"His name is Jensen Löbel. He is currently detained."

"......Detained?"

"Yes. He will soon be sent to the Camp. He will probably be executed."

"Executed?"

Gewin frowned at that word.

"Yes."

"What does that..."

"It is one of Georgen Northern Branch's internal rules. Eliminating the possibility of a double agent at the source. You know that, don't you?"

Borhi smiled with satisfaction.

"It is true that he helped us catch the Master, but we cannot rule out the possibility that he is a spy."

"......"

Without a word, Gewin ran a hand through their hair.

"If one has betrayed the Empire even once, one must not be forgiven. That is what a true imperialist believes."

Tick-tock.

Gewin suddenly looked up.

At the end of the hospital corridor, a clock was ticking.

Tick-tock.

"Here. Your ticket, Inspector Gewin."

Borhi handed Gewin a train ticket.

A first-class ticket, something Gewin had never ridden even once in life.

"You should return to Central this evening and make your report immediately. This is an urgent matter."

"......"

Gewin looked at Borhi.

Borhi met Gewin's gaze, his smile deepening.

Tick-tock.

The clock's sound.

Tick-tock.

It had somehow become late at night.

Tick-tock.

When Gewin came to, Gewin was sitting in the waiting room at the northern platform.

Tick-tock.

"......What the hell is this?"

Gewin thought for a long time.

The hand holding the ticket went in and out of a pocket several times.

Tick-tock.

Before long, a train would arrive at the platform. If Gewin returned to Central and reported this case, there might even be a promotion.

But if Gewin remained here, it meant gambling a life on the unknown connections of some unknown person.

And yet......

Tick-tock.

Paul's words, "I have connections," would not leave Gewin's ears.

Thud thud thud thud.

At last came the sound of a train, not a clock.

Gewin looked toward it.

[ Express Train Bound for the Imperial Capital ]

People poured out.

It was a night train with what seemed to be more passengers than usual.

"Haah...... Fuck."

Amid the people quickly scattering in every direction, Gewin quietly stood.

Tick-tock.

Gewin ended up back at Georgen's Northern Branch.

Gewin did not board the train.

"Hey. Where is Sergeant Paul?"

Gewin showed an identification card to the agent guarding the detention center and asked.

Tick-tock.

Gewin found Paul.

He was locked behind iron bars in the underground detention center of the Northern Branch.

"Sergeant Paul."

"......Inspector?"

Paul looked at Gewin as though asking why Gewin had come. It was absurd.

Did Paul not understand the situation? Or had Paul lived like some young master all their life and never learned fear?

"Let me ask you one thing."

"What is it?"

"Sergeant Elmer gave testimony about witnessing you. He says he saw you meeting secretly with the Master."

Suddenly, Paul's expression brightened.

"Ah, thank you. Then Sergeant Elmer must be a Revolutionary Faction lackey. That confirms it."

What kind of crazy thing was he saying...... My head hurts.

"You keep earning merit even in here, Inspector."

The way Paul smiled made Gewin wonder if something was wrong with him.

"......Let me ask one thing again."

Gewin gripped the bars tightly.

"Who exactly are these connections of yours?"

"My connections?"

"Yes! If you have someone like that, call them right now! You could die if you stay here like this!"

"......"

Paul silently looked at Gewin.

Paul stared for quite a long time, then gave a small smile.

"I have a classmate from Empire Point."

"A classmate?"

"Yes. That friend will look after me."

A classmate from Empire Point.

Then was Paul the child of a fairly wealthy family? But being fairly wealthy would not be enough to resolve this. Considering Georgen's status these days, even someone from a very wealthy family......

"When the time comes, that friend's people will come find you, Inspector Gewin. Please help them."

"Then who is that friend?"

When Gewin asked who it was, Paul considered for a moment.

Then Paul quietly rose, approached the bars, and whispered a name.

"He is......"

......Maximilian Ebenholtz.

In that moment, Gewin's eyes brightened as though flames had filled them.

Gewin stumbled back without realizing it. A strange shiver ran through their body, as though every hair on their back had risen at once.

"R-Really? Really, really? You know him?!"

"Shh. It's still a secret."

At Paul's gesture of placing a hand over his lips, Gewin swallowed and nodded several times.

* * *

The whistleblower, Jensen Löbel, was released from detention and got into a car.

For some reason, Jensen felt bitter, but also somewhat relieved.

"How much was the reward again?"

Jensen asked the agent in the driver's seat.

"Three million, I think."

"Three million......"

The Master was central to the Revolutionary Faction. The amount did not feel entirely sufficient, but the new identity was what mattered.

Now Jensen wanted to live quietly somewhere like Kanilan, running a restaurant, a shop, anything at all, and living an ordinary life without worries.

"You seem pleased."

The driver asked while glancing at Jensen in the rearview mirror.

"......There won't be much left after buying a house and a car."

Jensen smiled awkwardly.

Three million was probably about twenty years' worth of the agents' salaries.

Whoooosh.

Outside the window, sleet drifted quietly.

Jensen watched the view and smiled faintly.

Having Georgen, which Jensen had always feared, on their side felt this reassuring.

"Are we going to the platform? Or are there documents to handle separately at the government office?"

Jensen asked politely.

"......"

......There was no answer.

"......Excuse me?"

"Um...... No."

The driver answered while glancing at Jensen through the rearview mirror.

"We are going somewhere better."

"Somewhere better......?"

At that moment, the agent beside Jensen pulled something black from inside a coat.

A pistol.

"W-What is this supposed to..."

The man in the driver's seat reflected in the rearview mirror smiled broadly, his eyebrows rising.

"The Empire does not forgive someone who has betrayed it once. Who knows whether someone who betrayed it once will betray it twice?"

"W-Wait......"

Cold sweat gathered on Jensen's forehead, and nausea rose in their stomach.

"You filthy worm. You're going to the Camp..."

Screech!

The agent suddenly jerked the steering wheel.

"Who the fuck are you people?!"

They hurriedly drew weapons and aimed somewhere, but then,

Bang! Bang bang bang!

Gunfire rang out, and the windshield shattered.

Thud. The man in the driver's seat slumped over the steering wheel. The agent beside Jensen slid against the door with the pistol still in hand.

It was over in an instant.

"......Huh. Huh."

Jensen panted blankly.

Click.

The car door opened.

Someone appeared through the swirling snow and rain, looking down at Jensen.

"Pleasure to meet you."

"......"

The person first held out a business card.

"I am Sir Maximilian's administrative officer."

Even before Jensen noticed the card's appearance, the name Maximilian reached their ears.

"......M-Maximilian?"

Jensen Löbel asked again with a dazed expression.