──Beep. The signal on the terminal flashed red. "It's the signal." The moment it was detected, on the rooftop of a high-rise building beyond the university. Schatz's body lowered. Tzzuzzt! Blue Mana currents rose like a heat haze from her entire body. Her retinas focused on the window of the student council room hundreds of meters away like a zoom lens. “Target confirmed. Crisis detected.” Pazzzzik──! The air did not even have time to scream. She crossed the void like a flash of lightning. She burst into the student council room before the sound of glass shattering. Kwaaaak──! Sparks surged violently. Schatz struck the back of the heads of Kasim and the other enemies with high-voltage current. “──!” “Ueub─!” Short circuit. Those whose nervous systems were electrocuted rolled on the floor like insects. Residual current crackled like static electricity across the area. The situation was resolved in an instant. “......Are you all right.” Schatz asked indifferently as she looked at Elias on the ground. He belatedly let out rough breaths. “Huff, huff.......” With trembling hands, he groped at his chest. His clothes were charred black, but his skin was intact with only bruises. Maximilian’s silver necklace. The artifact’s protective force had defended against the Mana bullet. Elias staggered to his feet. “.......” Blankly, he looked down at the floor. The unconscious Kasim. And the armed assailants who had burst in from outside the window. Schatz asked. “Do you know them.” “......No.” "Then, you need to know now." Schatz continued coldly. “These people have no interest in the safety of Genen. They thoroughly used and deceived even you.” She brushed her hands off and spilled out items from the fallen men’s pockets. Clatter. Suicide vests, Imperial military communication network interceptors, high-performance compact bombs, blades, firearms. They were not items a student or civic activist would carry. All had already been burned out and rendered useless by the Mana field Schatz had released, but their purposes were unmistakable. “Mr. Elias. If you had died, one of these people would have pretended to be captured by Kasim.” Most of the items the assailants carried were military issue. Thus, their identities would have been specified as the Imperial military. Kasim would have taken over as a student activist who captured the military’s lackey who murdered Elias. “These people want the chaos of the Empire and the collapse of society more than Genen’s independence. They do not care how many Genen citizens die. Rather, they want them to die." Schatz relayed Maximilian’s words. “It means they are the kind of people who would welcome Genen’s deaths, as long as it gives them a pretext to attack the Empire.” “Haah.......” Elias covered his face with both hands. The pain stabbing into his chest now was not only from the Mana bullet. Friendship that returned like a blade. It felt as though thorns were sprouting from his heart. “Are you going to stay collapsed like this?” Schatz asked as she looked down at him. “Or will you get up and do what you need to do.” “.......” Elias raised his head and stared at Schatz. No, he faced the shimmering illusion of ‘Maximilian’ behind her. “How far you will climb, and where you will stop─” Maximilian said. ─Elias Walter. From now on, it depends on your heart....... *** The day after Student Council President Elias ordered the dispersal of the rally. People poured out of the school. After checking their identities, the military released some, detained some, and left the rest at the school. To those who refused every order from the military to the very end and held out── Chaeeaeng! Smoke grenades were dropped, smashing through the windows. Pishuuuuuuuu! In an instant, gray fog billowed up, and beyond it, a small elite armed force moved in. Cough! Cough! The students resisted as they fled. Among them were even people who attempted suicide by police. However, the suppression unit was seasoned. With practiced skill, they twisted the students’ arms and subdued their joints. The students who were forced to their knees trembled with resentment, but the investigators’ gazes were emotionless. Because the orders from above were clear, no emotion was to be involved. They simply escorted them away swiftly, as if moving luggage. “Here you are.” And so, in the deepest part of the university. The student council room. “Student Council President Elias. You are under arrest.” There, Elias was sitting in a chair as the representative. Click. Click. Handcuffs were fastened around his wrists. ....... Genen Central Police Bureau. “......What kind of university is this, anyway?” Looking at the students filling the corridor from the detention cells to the offices, the Deputy Director let out a sigh. Zendo, standing beside him, snickered. “Just hang in there a bit. From what I hear, Deputy Director, it sounds like you'll be Director soon.” At the sudden remark, the Deputy Director tilted his head. “......Me? Where’d you hear that?” “That kind of rumor’s been going around among the tank crews.” “Tanks? You mean actual tanks?” The Deputy Director made a blank face, and Zendo walked past him into the holding area. The students were extremely tense. They were probably imagining harsh interrogations. The Imperial police’s notorious torture rooms, blood-splattering beatings, water torture, screams and groans, that sort of thing. Their grim eyes glared at Zendo. Zendo smirked. “If it were the old days, I might’ve done that too...... hey.” At Zendo’s gesture, investigators wheeled carts inside. Clack. Clack. Clack. Bowls were placed one by one in front of the students. A red-broth soup with steam rising from it. Genen-style stew with big chunks of meat thrown in generously. “......What is this?” One student asked suspiciously. “What do you think. Aren’t you hungry?” Zendo pulled over a chair and sat crookedly in front of the bars. “Eat. It’s not poisoned. Interrogating brats like you just means more paperwork.” “I won’t eat it! Don’t try to placate us!” “What fucking bullshit. Hey.” Zendo jerked his chin at the one who looked most like a leader among the students. “You. Didn’t your leader get shot?” “......What did you say?” The students’ gazes focused all at once. “Shot? The president? By you people?!” “I’m talking about that student council executive, Kasim Ekin or whatever. That guy was an ideological criminal. A real scum hiding behind you lot.” Zendo clicked his tongue. “He shot the student council president. Because he told to disperse the rally. That kid barely survived after almost getting a hole in his heart.” The students’ eyes wavered. Their expressions said they couldn’t believe it. “Don’t spout nonsense!” “We don’t believe you!” “You’re trying to sow discord!” They shouted, veins bulging. Zendo shook his head back and forth. “You little shits. Whether you believe it or not is up to you.” He signaled to the investigators. The investigators tossed over a bottle of water, white paper, and pens. “Eat up and write letters of reflection. We’ll replace the interrogation reports with what you write. Your parents are waiting outside, so hurry up if you can.” “.......” Then everyone stared wordlessly at the steaming stew. They had to be hungry. They were kids who had held out at the school for nearly two weeks. When one person cautiously lifted a spoon and took a sip of the broth, the others began moving their utensils one by one. Zendo watched, then slipped his hand into his coat. “Oops.” He dropped a document, pretending it was a mistake. The paper fluttered and slid through the bars to the feet of a student. As expected, the student at the very front picked it up and...... quickly skimmed it. [ Incident Report: Elias Walter ] [ Contents: The undersigned hereby takes full responsibility for this protest and voluntarily surrenders as its instigator. Please take into consideration that the remaining students are merely simple participants who were swept up in the situation and grant them leniency. However, during the dispersal process, an armed group consisting of ‘Kasim Ekin’ and three others acted against Elias’s wishes, attacked him, and opened fire, and...... Elias is currently undergoing treatment for aftereffects at the hospital, and ‘Kasim Ekin’ is presumed to be a puppet of a criminal organization....... ] “......This.” The student clutching the report had his hands trembling violently. Zendo hurriedly reached out, pretending to panic, and snatched it away. “Give it here, kid! It’s classified!” “I, is this really true?” The kid waved his hand outside the bars. “What is it? What is?” “What is it? What do you mean?” At the commotion, the other students gathered again. Zendo shook the papers as if annoyed and stood up. “You can ask him when he recovers later. So noisy.” “Re, recovers?” “W-what did you do that he needs to recover! Did you torture him?!” At the word “recover”, they were about to go into another fit. Zendo quickly left the holding cells. “Hm.......” Walking down the corridor, he fell into thought for a moment. The “power of people” was truly fascinating. Just a university student, yet he had built up this much goodwill and support. Anyway, Elias would become a hero. A hero who was betrayed, shot, and yet returned alive for Genen. Zendo envisioned the not-so-distant future. Elias had now realized reality. He had clearly recognized the cruelty and cunning of ideological criminals. If someone like that received only a small punishment, compromised moderately with the trends of the times, and built his career. If he grabbed onto the line called Maximilian with all his might. Could he not become the Governor of the Genen Autonomous Region. *** The innermost part of the Genen branch office, an interrogation room surrounded by soundproof walls. I sat facing a man. He was Adeline’s father, and the party directly involved in the incident that became the starting point of the Genen situation. His name was Ben Roth. His complexion, after being safely escorted here by Genen’s investigators amid the chaos, looked as desolate as burnt-out firewood. “.......” “.......” He did not speak. With a face that seemed to have aged decades beyond his actual years, he merely stared at the floor. Perhaps he was blaming himself. Or perhaps he was in despair. Not only had his daughter been unjustly killed, but that death had become the fuse that....... “My condolences.” At the dry words of comfort, his shoulders flinched. “The rallies and protests that occurred in various places, including Genen Central University.......” In a businesslike manner, I recited the current situation. “The violent riots that arose from them.” Human casualties were reduced to a minimum. Impure elements that would become a cancer to Genen were apprehended as much as possible. However, regardless of the process, many were injured, and Genen was wounded. Among those who tried to kill military or police using Mana, or who injured police with blades and firearms, there were many ordinary Genen citizens who were not Ezenheim, but were swept up in anger. Most of them would be transferred to detention camps in the north. “What do you think.” At my question, he lowered his head even further. His cracked lips moved, but words did not come easily. He merely curled in on himself like a sinner. “I’m sorry.” A completely worn-out tone. A voice that barely even sounded like a voice. “......Yes. I know as well.” I leaned back against the chair. “To you, this must be an unfair and unreasonable world.” An era where too many things are decided before one is even born. An era where bloodline determines status, and status grips unjust privileges. If the Empire were to collapse, the frequency of injustice would decrease. However, in exchange, the very species called humanity would be exterminated. The Empire is not an axis of evil that must inevitably be destroyed, but a necessary evil that supports our world. “However, those who are alive must go on living.” I, and all of us, merely chose the lesser evil. Even if it is unfair, one must simply go on living. Even if it is not for the sake of living, even if one merely barely manages to live. “Please take it.” I placed a suitcase on the table. Thud. At the heavy sound, the man’s gaze wavered. “It is compensation.” A bag filled with Imperial dollars. Can a daughter’s life truly be converted into nothing more than a piece of paper. Can an appropriate price even be set. I do not know the answer. I do not dare to know it. “.......” A quiet breath leaked out of him. It sounded like a groan, or like the cry of a beast, a low reverberation that filled the interrogation room. “And.” Gazing steadily at him like that, I took a sheet of paper from my breast pocket. I placed it atop the suitcase. “It is a chance for you to fight the world one more time.” The man’s swollen eyes stared at the paper. [ Petition for Retrial ] At the very first line, his pupils widened as if they were about to tear apart. ────── Case Number: 1038 - Criminal (G) - No. 0914 Case Name: Death of Adeline in the Genen Autonomous Region Recipient: Imperial Genen Autonomous Court, Criminal Collegiate Division 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖 1. Petitioner (Accuser) Name: Maximilian Albrecht von Ebenholtz Affiliation: Imperial Sentinel Knight Position: Knight...... ────── "As the Empire's sword and watchdog, a knight has the right to demand strict law enforcement." The Governor-General's Office secretary, the youngest son of the Vice Minister of the Imperial Palace’s Ministry of Interior. The bastard who killed Adeline, was released under a slapdash ruling of self-defense, caused this entire mess, and has now hidden himself inside the Imperial Palace. As far as I know, such vermin was never given the Empire's power over life and death. “Of course.” I added, interlacing my fingers. “To win at trial, you will need a very expensive lawyer.” “......” He stared at me blankly. “Noble status. Someone who knows the Imperial law code down to every single character, perhaps a former high official who once served as the Imperial Minister of Justice would suffice.” If he were to think that such a giant figure would never dare move for the sake of a small commoner like himself, that would be a reasonable thought. It will change if my intentions are involved. “Their incompetence caused the Genen incident.” For the sake of the Empire, those nobles who are not even worthy of being called nobles must be hunted down and killed. If some Vice Minister of the Imperial Palace protects his youngest son, then the more he protects him, the better. I will take that as a hostage and grab hold of them, shaking them to their core. “They must receive punishment commensurate with that.” Not for your daughter Adeline who was murdered, but for the price of tarnishing the dignity of the Empire. My logic must be so. “Take it.” I gestured with my eyes at the suitcase and the document. “It is the duty of those who survived.” He reached out with trembling hands. Eyes that had turned red at some point. From a face that looked as though there might be nothing left to come out, tears fell with a plop onto the petition, as if squeezing out every last drop of moisture remaining in his body. “Thank...... you.” The words he said to me, who brought hundreds of tanks to trample Genen. “.......” Is there anything to be thankful for? My actions like these were ultimately selective. In this Empire, countless Adelines die, and countless fathers and mothers grow old while shuddering with injustice. I cannot save them all. I do not even wish to save them all. I merely extend my hand to those who stand before my eyes and suit my purposes. You were merely the luckiest among the unluckiest people. Therefore....... “There is no need to thank me.” It was nothing more than that.