Chapter 308: Faith and Faith (2)

January was almost over.

As the bitter cold began to ease after reaching its peak, the continent showed signs of stirring again.

"...Have you lost your mind?"

The Imperial Princess touched the Mekken Mountains on the map with a fingertip.

"You intend to cross Mekken?"

"Yes."

Before my regression, this had been the only option. The Empire itself had been far weaker than it was now.

But things were different this time. The Empire had resources to spare.

The Imperial Princess might not want to take an unnecessary risk, but that was precisely why we had to act.

"We must bring the west firmly under control and prepare to face the east."

We were short on time. The east would grow stronger with each passing day. Ironically, Lobrus was at its weakest right now.

The superhumans they had raised, the "Adversaries," were already a force capable of standing against knights.

"When?"

"On the best possible day, at random."

Justine did not ask me to explain.

Her expression suggested that she understood my intentions and would leave it to me. She pointed to another part of the map.

"What about Balkania?"

"The southern Balkanian territory we've occupied has now stabilized. More importantly..."

I pointed to a small country on the map.

"Mekerel will help us."

The war on the Balkanian-Mekerel front was still ongoing.

Mekerel had rejected Balkania's offer. Having lost territory, Mekerel would keep Balkania tied down until it reclaimed that land.

"..."

Justine fell silent for a moment.

"How is the handling of the subspecies coming along?"

The subject changed naturally.

"There must be plenty of those lowly creatures in the east."

The disposal of subspecies. Before my regression, it had begun later than this, and in far greater disorder.

Most had been shot. Only just before its downfall had the Empire quietly changed its method.

"I've prepared a good method."

"A good method?"

"Yes."

We now needed a far more thorough, tightly organized system.

We had to reduce their numbers much faster than before my regression.

"The most important issue is guilt."

"They're animals anyway. What does that matter?"

"Because many kindhearted Aran find it difficult to kill even dogs and pigs."

Just as knights wore helmets, the executioners had to be prevented from seeing their own actions.

"Therefore..."

I proposed a method that anyone could use.

There would be no need to pull or push a lever, no need to pull a trigger. All it would take was a single press of a button.

A system that would let even the Empire's most ordinary young person kill countless beings without knowing what they were doing...

"..."

The Imperial Princess watched me for a while. She quietly observed me as I continued speaking.

I wondered how she would react.

Would she hesitate? Would she feel a little disgusted? Or would she oppose it altogether?

She did none of those things.

Instead, she...

Clap. Clap. Clap.

She smiled and gave a round of applause.

"What a perfect method."

Her smile spread so wide it seemed her mouth might split.

"Will they suffer when they die?"

She went one step further. Her tone made it clear that she wanted them to suffer, but I shook my head.

"No. They will die as though falling asleep."

I had asked the research institute to invent a gas that would let them rest in peace. They would breathe their last while talking to one another, without even realizing they were suffocating...

The Imperial Princess frowned.

"Why?"

Because people other than Izenheim would probably be caught up in it too.

All the victims of mistaken targeting. The innocent casualties I had resolved to accept.

But I could not make even them scream, so I gave her a different reason.

"Because suffering leaves unnecessary traces."

"...Traces?"

"Yes."

The Imperial Princess waited for me to continue.

"There is no need to make them suffer. Their disposal is entirely justified, but the act itself must not involve emotion. Rather, it must be carried out as an ordinary task."

Her fingers moved slightly across the table. It was a gesture that suggested she was imagining some future scene.

"A sense of duty to restore humanity to its original form and cleanse the continent. We Aran act for that cause alone. It is our conviction and our greater purpose. To achieve it, we need calm and silence."

Calm and silence... Justine murmured the words.

I continued.

"Rather than let them scratch at the walls, pound on them, or scream inside, it would be better to end things quietly."

"So we can dispose of them faster and more accurately?"

"Yes."

The Imperial Princess fell silent for a moment. She closed her eyes and nodded, as though considering my words, then smiled.

"What a very humane death."

I bowed my head.

I gave her no sign of what I felt.

I hid every emotion.

"Yes. Especially for those carrying it out."

"Hmm."

Justine rested her chin on her hand. Looking satisfied, she narrowed her eyes and glanced upward.

"Yes, let's take the guns out of the soldiers' hands. Even the bullets we'd shoot at those animals would be a waste."

...My design had been approved.

It meant that on the list of mass murderers,

at the top of that entire system,

my name had been set in stone.

* * *

Hailand's mainland had become quite multinational. Several countries had established governments-in-exile in its capital. Not only Bolska and Yursled, which the Empire had occupied, but also several small nations swallowed by the east had borrowed space and built diplomatic offices.

"...The rule in Yursled is surprisingly mild."

Among them, former Yursled prime minister Bielsan and other opposition figures had declared themselves a resistance movement in Hailand.

"Because of the bitter cold?"

"Partly, but they say the rewards are guaranteed. In exchange for signing the agreement to make Yursled an imperial protectorate, the current prime minister secured various rights..."

Work, rations, and wages were guaranteed. Heating fuel did not run out even in winter, and skilled workers rated "Special Grade" at munitions factories were even offered lessons in the Imperial language.

As a result, people were saying that life for the Yursledians was no different from before, or even better.

"They've sold their country for that shameful sort of comfort..."

Grrrk. Prime Minister Bielsan gritted their teeth.

"The Imperial Guard's Acting Governor, Rainer Wolf, made it that way."

Much as they hated to admit it, Rainer Wolf's rule was quite competent.

That was not good.

Rebellion and resistance. To keep those internal sparks alive, they needed harsh rule instead.

The same went for their justification. If Yursled did not suffer and no longer wanted independence, Hailand would have no reason to support our government-in-exile.

"...We must kill Rainer Wolf."

Bielsan reached a conclusion.

Rainer Wolf was harsh toward subspecies but fair toward Yursledians. If they assassinated him, the Empire would certainly seek to vent its anger. With its moderate ruler gone, someone harsher and less competent would take his place in the governor's administration.

"Yes."

Of course, that would involve sacrifices within Yursled.

"I'll organize a volunteer corps."

Sacrificing the few for the greater good could not be helped.

...

Yursled's Acting Governor, Rainer Wolf, guided Ezel Runselot through a "model Camp."

"This Camp sorts and educates its inmates."

The grounds were quite extensive. Those classified as subspecies stayed here, traveled to various factories in Yursled to work, then returned.

Every one of them had been stripped of their homes, cars, land, and clothes by the Empire.

"...What are their crimes?"

Ezel asked.

Rainer gave a small laugh.

"Original sin. There's no point in asking about original sin."

Thud. Thud.

Ezel followed Rainer through the Camp. She memorized the site where new barracks would be built, the height of the walls, the spacing of the watchtowers, and the location of the railway siding.

"If they work on time and produce enough, they get fed on time. So they must be model inmates. Those who aren't will be transferred to Bolska."

"...What's in Bolska?"

Rainer raised his eyebrows.

"You don't need to know, but one thing is certain."

He briefly looked east, beyond the wall.

"It will serve the Empire and the Aran."

Then he took out his pocket watch.

"Let's head back now. Curfew will begin soon."

Ezel got into the car with Rainer and headed for the residence. Lately, though, some strange rumor seemed to be spreading among these Imperial Guard bastards.

When they saw her with Rainer, many of them looked somehow envious of him.

It was disgusting, but she had to pretend not to notice those looks if she wanted to gather information here.

"Well, please enjoy your rest."

They soon reached the lobby of the governor's residence.

Rainer left, saying he had work to do. As Ezel walked through the lobby, she noticed a man playing the piano in a corner.

It was the man she had heard had won a competition.

"..."

With his eyes gently closed, he drew a beautiful melody from the keys. The sound brought warmth even to this disgusting place.

Ezel stood there listening for a while. As the piece came to an end, she approached with a faint smile.

"You're very good."

"Th-thank you."

The musician gave a startled bow.

"You understand the Imperial language too?"

"Ah... A few times. Competitions. I entered."

He had been placed in a special occupational category and assigned to play at the governor's residence.

Rainer was surprisingly willing to grant her requests.

"I look forward to hearing more."

"Thank you..."

"But somehow, one pianist alone feels a little lacking. Don't you think?"

The pianist's face brightened. His hands went still over the keys, as though waiting for her next words.

"I'll ask the Acting Governor to hold auditions. He'll probably agree."

"Ah, ah, then..."

"When you go back, please tell your fellow musicians too."

"Y-yes! Of course! Haha!"

The pianist left with a radiant smile. Ezel returned to her room, sat at the table, and drew a plan from memory.

A drawing showing the barracks, walls, watchtowers, and roads.

But this alone was not enough. She had to see farther inside, where the people went.

And there was something else.

"The seal."

The "skilled worker certificate" suddenly came to mind. If she could copy the seal stamped on that document, she might be able to save others.

And that seal was here.

"..."

Ezel looked upward.

The Acting Governor's office.

* * *

"She asked me to hold auditions for musicians. She said a piano alone felt too lonely and wasn't enough."

I listened to Rainer Wolf.

"It sounded like something a noble young lady would say."

"The auditions should be fine."

I looked out the window as we spoke on the phone. The snow covering the Empire was receding a handspan at a time.

"There will be quite a few people to meet in Yursled. Music will help."

Yursled would be an important foothold. When we opened the eastern front, it would be where troops gathered and supplies piled up.

"Yes. Also, she's been touring the Camp alone."

I paused for a moment.

"Ezel is House Runcelot's eldest daughter. Perhaps she wants a Camp of her own."

"That could be it."

Rainer did not ask many questions. He was convenient and quick to read a situation.

"When should I schedule the auditions?"

"Well, auditions for musicians sound entertaining."

I turned a page of the calendar on my desk.

"I'll time my visit for that day. I have a good ear."

"I don't doubt it. Your senses are famous across the continent, Sir Maximilian."

Rainer's words brought a faint smile to my face.

So he knew how to flatter people too.

"Then I'll see you that day."

"Yes."

Click. I hung up.

"..."

I sat in my chair and looked upward.

Ezel. All sorts of bastards would latch onto her. Would they be Izenheim who wanted revolution? Or other subspecies who simply wanted to live?

Either way, my heart would tell me soon enough.

* * *

The next day.

From the moment curfew lifted early that morning, Ezel Runselot stood in an alley. She stroked her hair, pretending to wait for someone to pass by.

"Use it only for people who are truly essential."

She spoke into an empty space.

"And who would those people be?"

An answer came back.

"People who will help you. Or people who can help many others."

She slipped the paper containing the forged seal into a crack in the wall.

"You can't use it many times. Once the mana stone wears out, it'll stop reproducing the seal. It's basically scroll magic."

It was as expensive as it was reliable, and it could be used fewer than thirty times.

"Thank you."

Remil, the contact in Yursled, accepted it gratefully.

"Thanks to you, hundreds more people will be able to survive."

"...What about the information?"

Ezel's gaze sharpened for a moment.

"I'm not someone who only gives."

Give and take was basic. It could even be called good manners.

A relationship in which she only gave was too dangerous.

Ezel wanted "information." About what was happening, and what was being done, at the top of the Empire.

"...Yes."

Remil handed something over.

"This proposal came from the Imperial Guard and has received firm approval within the Imperial Palace."

It was a document titled 「Disposal System」.

From the texture of the paper to the signatures and seals on it, it had the feel of a copy very close to the original.

"..."

Ezel read it. Its contents were certainly cruel enough to make her heart tremble, but she looked up with a rather suspicious expression.

"Do you have agents inside the Imperial Palace too?"

Remil shook their head at Ezel's question.

"...I'm only a contact."

Her instinct was probably right. Anyone who understood morality, manners, and culture could never agree to such a massacre.

"We simply believe in what is right."

Remil spoke suddenly.

"Faith in the values that we, as humanity, universally strive for."

Ezel listened to what they meant.

"That is our faith."

Faith, and faith.

"The next time we meet, I'd like to introduce you to one more person."

Ezel suddenly wondered about the faith on the other side.

How, exactly, did the belief in Aran differ from theirs?

"...Do as you please."

She turned away with mixed feelings.

As she walked unsteadily along the street...

♬

A melody suddenly reached her ears. Music was coming from a warehouse with its door open.

Ezel tilted her head and looked inside.

"...Ah."

The pianist who had been hired at the governor's residence the night before was there. It seemed he was leading a group of musicians as they practiced for the auditions. A violin, a cello, a flute...

"Zorva, ot pochetku."

"jie, jie. Volnish."

"Tak! Tam, tam zostav!"

While she listened to their language, which she could not understand...

"...?"

Imperial Guard members suddenly appeared. Before they could rush over with heavy footsteps, Ezel stepped in their way.

They seemed to recognize her face and saluted.

"They're preparing for the auditions."

"...Auditions?"

"Yes. The Acting Governor is hiring musicians. Please go and light a stove for them. Have a cup of coffee with them too."

Smiling gently, she tucked imperial dollars into their breast pockets. They all nodded in satisfaction.

"Ah, yes. Understood."

Afterward, an Imperial Guard interpreter asked whether they were preparing for the auditions, then provided the frightened musicians with a stove. The interpreter told them to play a little more, since they would have to please imperial Aran ears if they wanted to succeed, then sat down and arrogantly crossed their legs.

"..."

Ezel watched them from a distance.

For a long time, she listened to the music settling like thick flakes of snow.