Chapter 54 - Volume 4 (2/2)
The Emperor sat on his throne, examining Isaac for a moment before making his announcement.
-My attendants are to hear me.
-We await your word!
All of the n.o.bles who stood at the sides knelt on one knee as they spoke in unison.
-Do not place your family over the Empire. This is the final warning I will give to thee.
-We shall remember!
-Whose head was it to come with an idea to normalize New Port City in 3 years with only the authority of the Lord’s Representative on mine subject?
-…
-Can thou not even wait the 3 years thou have placed upon thyself?
-…
-The conflicts for profit my subjects fight are of little concern to me. But witness, the calamity which struck us when all fairness was lost.
-We apologize!
-The notoriety of New Port City has reached even my ears. Many nights I’ve spent searching for a solution that would bring peace to my subjects’ suffering. But I could do naught and leave the issue unattended. However, I now see hope of success in that man, no matter how extreme his methods be. Therefore, I will make my decree.
-We await your word!
-Isaac Rondart and the n.o.bles are to listen.
Isaac bowed along with the n.o.bles when his name was spoken.
“Please speak.”
-I hereby recognize all wealth Isaac Rondart, the Lord’s Representative, holds under his name, and forbid all methods of taking away his wealth under any illegal measures.
-…
-However! Although it was possible, thou looked away from the responsibility which is yours to save the Empire’s citizens. Therefore, I shall send an overseer who will also be the mayor of New Port City, along with a battalion of knights who will act as the city’s police force. The police force will only listen to the mayor’s orders.
‘… What am I supposed to do then!’
No, was there a point in making such objections when the Arc Royals were eagerly waiting for this call to finish to kill him?
These lunatics were guaranteed to behead him the moment the call finished and then commit suicide for their crime of going against the emperor. Arc Royale’s notoriety came from the fact that they’d done it in the past. Back then, the families of the Arc Royals who committed suicide were also removed by fellow members. This was done not under the Emperor’s command but rather because fellow Arc Royals were furious that they allowed such affronts to the Emperor.
It seemed the Emperor was aware of Isaac’s worries and directly addressed the Arc Royal deployed in New Port City.
-The Arc Royal are not to disobey my will by acting in my honor. As I have warned you in the past, any actions against my will will result in the disbanding of Arc Royale. The Arc Royal are to return back to their posts and fulfill their missions.
With that, the communication was over.
The plaza came to a silence, and only the displeasure from the Arc Royal was left.
“… You’re in luck.”
With those words from the person who seemed like the leader of the Arc Royal, they turned around and marched out of sight. When Arc Royal finally disappeared, a sigh of relief echoed from all around, and everyone who worked under Isaac ran toward him.
“Woow! We’re alive! We’re alive!”
“I swear I thought I was going to die at this point!’
“Who would have thought our sunbae’s crazy method would work!”
“I guess it really is true, that we shouldn’t a.s.sociate with lunatics!”
There seemed to be insults mixed in with admiration, but Isaac wasn’t concerned about that; he wanted his cigarettes.
“Bring me some choyu leaves.”
“I’ll bring it to you immediately!”
Rizzly quickly ran up to the roof of the City Hall and came down with a handful of choyu leaves.
Isaac took one and breathed it in so deep that almost half of the cigarette burned away in an instant. As he let out the smoke, he said,
“Wow! That was a close one.”
“He’s a funny one.”
Within the meeting room of the royal palace, the Emperor smirked as he remembered how Isaac was when the screen turned black. He could see the confusion that took over him at first, but as time went by, he began to feel at ease and even smiled at the end.
“I apologize for putting you up to this.”
Commissioner Brolen of the Capital’s Department of Administration spoke, and the Emperor replied with his chin resting in his hand…
“I a.s.sume your people were in a hurry to ask of me to do this. I guess no one would have expected him to come with a radical solution such as burning the city down. It’ll be busy for some time, as many laws must be changed in accordance to this incident.”
“We believe it is a good thing that we managed to find such a loophole in such a short amount of time.”
“But I must say, he’s rather shameless isn’t he?”
“He is a disgrace, who would spout lies in front of the Emperor. Even if he is a surveillance target, he…”
The Arc Royal who stood by the Emperor joined in the conversation, unable to suppress his displeasure, but the Emperor stopped his words with a hint of annoyance on his face.
“Stop. That is not the main issue. For I am your… dear me, I’m getting too used to speaking like that. So have you finished the a.n.a.lysis?”
“Yes. After a.n.a.lyzing the target’s responses and actions, the target is very likely to be not of western origin but from eastern nations. Most likely being from one of the three far east nations.”
“And it just happened to be the three far east. This is a sensitive problem.”
“Yes. As it is according to the treaty, I have given the information regarding the target to the Queen.”
“So, did it seem like they fell for our trick?”
“It seems there weren’t any issues with the projection alteration.”
“Huhu. The Queen certainly came up with something interesting. For the people on the other side to see something completely different, while we are sitting here in the meeting room. Amazing.”
“But there is an issue of it being used for ill purposes.”
“That is the problem of the user, not the technology itself.”
“I shall remember that.”
“But do you think this will be enough?”
“As one of their sayings goes, you have to beat around the bush to bring out the snake.”
“Yes. That was why you asked of me to do this on top of altering the communicator projection. But the information is correct, yes? Since I’ve made the declaration, all eyes will be on New Port City from now on. This was a plan we knowingly sacrificed two thousand people for, as we were aware of the surveillance target’s plan. If this was just for basic information gathering, even the Central won’t escape my questions.”
“The field agent who had been tracking down the ‘demonic’ turncoat also found evidence of the presence of an ‘angelic’ turncoat.”
“What a headache. Just looking for the ‘demonic’ turncoat was enough of a problem, and now we’ve got ‘angelic’ turncoats running about too. Leaving the ‘demonic’ turncoat aside, what do you think is the goal of the ‘angelic’ turncoat?”
“New Port City is the perfect habitat for a group of ‘angelic’ turncoats to thrive in. If New Port City indeed went into the hands of the Marquis, we would have seen a great riot.”
“It’s so strange. I can understand the ‘demonic’ turncoat finding New Port City attractive, but why did the ‘angelic’ turncoat choose New Port City? They should know that it would have been under the most surveillance since it is the prime target for them?”
“… The Directorate of a.n.a.lysis determined that project 401 had been leaked to them. We believe the ‘angelic’ turncoats tried to blend into the fold through project 401 and infiltrate our main body.”
“Did the ‘demonic’ turncoat go to New Port City knowing this fact?”
“No. Isaac began giving out citizens.h.i.+p status to anyone who applied half a year ago in New Port City. There was no better place to gain a new ident.i.ty to avoid Central’s eyes than New Port City.”
<blockquote>
PR Note: In the raws, the words for “demonic” and “angelic” had apostrophes, so we simply replicated the punctuation here. It is currently unclear whether they are t.i.tles or adjectives at this point in the story.
</blockquote>
The Emperor sighed as Brolen made his report.
“Were there any surveillance targets like this one in the past? All of the turncoats we’re searching for high and low are gathered here, and we happened to find another surveillance target on top of the original one. It’s like a set meal.”
“Considering that none of this would have happened if we gave him the life he wanted, we have to be wary for unforeseen circ.u.mstances.”
“Is that what the Directorate of a.n.a.lysis is saying?”
“… Yes.”
The Emperor smirked.
“That reminds me of the saying. Humans are humans no matter where they are. Don’t you think this is true?”
“…”
“It’s been 300 years. That amount of time is sure to bring out those with ulterior motives. Yes, what will the aim of those avoiding the Central’s eyes be?”
“… They’ll try to secure the surveillance targets for advantages.”
“That’s right. This rule of iron fist and suppression through fear, is all futile at stopping human greed. Even more so if you have strength and power.”
“…”
The Emperor sunk deep into the chair.
“Surveillance targets always bring great profit. And the smell of such profit attracts flies. The experience of witnessing a faction become a threat to us by stealing a surveillance target from us once is enough. We don’t need to experience that again. Know that only the Empire may secure the surveillance targets as you administer your projects.”
“Yes your highness.”
“Continue your search for the ‘demonic’ turncoat. It seems the Queen is quite agitated by this incident. Since I’ve given much power to Isaac, the “angelic’ turncoats will have no choice but to contact Isaac in order for their plan to succeed, so keep your eyes on him.”
“Then it will interfere with our treaty with the Queen.”
“I will send my word to the Queen. There is a line on the treaty, of exceptions in special cases. The only saving grace is that because they are all together, we don’t have to thin out our agents when we’re suffering from a shortage of manpower.”
“Who will you choose to make up the team?”
“Don’t you think it’ll be very interesting to see the greatest troublemakers in each Directorate come together in one spot?”
“… Sounds to me like it’ll become a giant mess.”
“That’s exactly what I want. We won’t just beat around the bush but burn it. The snake will have no choice but to either burn with the bush or come out from it. Don’t worry about any shortage of manpower. I’m sure the fact that I decreed this will bring about plenty of volunteers. But we will need to choose an individual who has the capability to manage this troublesome group.”
“Then I shall make a team of people who are acquaintances of our surveillance target.”
“Hn? Are there such ideal candidates?”
“Yes. Not only are they perfect for infiltrating without garnering suspicion, but there is someone who can manage this troublesome lot. No, she is perhaps the most ideal candidate for this.”
“She? Ah! Are you speaking of Rivelia?”
“Yes. She is currently fulfilling the mission of guarding the Queen. Once her current mission finishes, I am planning to send her in with other veteran agents.”
“I guess everyone would accept her taking the role, given her reputation. But are you prepared to face the Duke Pendleton’s wrath yourself?”
“I mean… I’m sure that as the great n.o.ble of the Empire… he would understand the reasons…”
Brolen’s words faltered, his voice lacking confidence. The Emperor looked with pity in his eyes, doubting if that were ever to come true.
“That overprotective idiot? Impossible.”
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