Chapter 31: If You Ask About the Empire's Future (2) | Semi-Coercive Imperialist
Cadet Commander Dane's office.
"Knight Maximilian. Did you know Cadet Lukas?"
Dane asked me. As the one in charge of the cadet corps at Empire Point, it was natural that he was already acquainted with me.
"Yes. I have a bit of a connection with Lukas's father."
I set down the teacup and picked up the cadet register he handed me. For reference, Leon and Tiana were currently helping with the cadets' training.
"His grades are definitely good."
────
[2] Lukas Limperck
. Age 17, born in November
. Swordsmanship Ability: A+
. Physical Ability: A
. Mana Aptitude: A
. Mental Ability: B+
. Mission Execution Ability: A
....
. Overall Evaluation: B+
────
"Right on the elite cutoff. His grades are solid, but the instructor evaluations are borderline."
"Then he's surely in now."
He gave a bitter smile, as if understanding the meaning behind my words.
"...But that's not the reason I called you here."
Just a year ago, I was a cadet myself, but now he was addressing me as an equal. He was someone with a clear grasp of the situation. It meant he had been worn down by it all. The climate of the North had already rusted under the corruption of the Empire.
"Do you remember Jacob Mac?"
"Yes. The subspecies I handled."
"And his classmate, Hannah."
"...."
I silently flipped through the register. Her name appeared quickly.
────
[3] Hannah Usar
. Age 18, born in January
. Swordsmanship Ability: A+
. Physical Ability: A+
. Mana Aptitude: A+
. Mental Ability: A+
. Mission Execution Ability: A+
....
. Overall Evaluation: A+
────
Covered in A+. Comparable to Tiana back in the day.
For a commoner to become an elite knight, this level of skill is required.
Yet before the regression, someone with this kind of talent never made it into the Sentinel. I hadn't even heard her name until this life.
"Amazing. With this level of competitiveness among elites."
"Indeed. But...."
"What else is there?"
The Cadet Commander took out a leather notebook from a drawer.
"This was found among Jacob's belongings. A diary. Take a look."
I picked up the diary. The first few pages contained mundane content. Things like trying harder, plans for the future, and so on.
Then from a certain page on:
[...It was the last night of vacation. While everyone was excited, I saw Hannah sneaking out of the dorm alone. I carefully followed her. Honestly, I was planning to sneak up and scare her. Hannah headed to an old pier by the river, quite a distance from the school. There, a figure in a black robe was waiting for her. I watched them while hiding. I couldn't see the person's face, but the item they exchanged didn't look ordinary. Words like 'to avoid surveillance', 'before dawn comes', and 'comrades' floated faintly in the wind....]
There were many other lines pointing out Hannah's "suspicious behavior".
"Hmm...."
The Ezenheim race uses any means necessary, and they're also meticulous. This diary was probably a trap Jacob devised to eventually get Hannah expelled. Selling out an ally to build up his own record, secure safety, and advance deeper into the system.
Perhaps, this is the reason why Hannah disappeared before the regression.
"...."
Dane looked at me silently. I closed the diary.
"Why are you giving this to me only now?"
"I debated it. But in the end, I decided to leave it up to you. Hannah has already earned the disdain of Ebenholtz, and Jacob's case was your case to begin with."
He was trying to read my expression.
Back when I was a cadet, I thought Dane was someone far above me. But in just a single year, we were now equals- no, I had surpassed him. That was the weight of the Ebenholtz name.
"Who says so? That Hannah has earned Ebenholtz's disdain."
"For the cadets, rumors are truth."
Meaning they just babble as they please.
"If you wish, you can expel Hannah from Empire Point."
Jacob's diary could have been more than enough to destroy the commoner Hannah, but Dane deliberately limited it to expulsion from Empire Point.
Dane wanted to save Hannah too.
I asked him,
"Your voice sounds very worn out. Are you thinking of retiring?"
"...Wouldn't be the worst thing."
Dane was old and tired. The wrinkles carved by worldly burdens had deepened.
"There are too many people aiming for my seat."
The position of Cadet Commander, who oversees all of Empire Point's cadets, was highly coveted. Bribes flooded in endlessly.
If Dane were to retire from here, and someone who prioritized money over skill or lineage took over, it would be more than simple corruption, it would mean a breach in security. It would mean falling into the hands of the Ezenheim and the Revolutionary forces.
That must not happen.
As one famous saying goes, the future of the Empire lies right here.
"Then...."
I looked at Dane. From him, I realized the reason the Empire had rotted. The corrupt clung to survival with desperate tenacity, gripping onto each other in a chain, while upright people like him had worn down to nothing, faded with time. The bad had driven out the good.
I picked up Jacob's diary.
***
Phillips, an instructor at Empire Point, was in his mid-thirties and loyal to the Empire. He was born a commoner, but became an Imperial knight through relentless effort, and was once inspired by his former superior Dane to become an instructor at Empire Point with the goal of discovering other commoners like himself.
Jacob had been one of the cadets Phillips kept an eye on. But he was a subspecies. Since he wasn't of the Aran race of the Empire, he met a "deserved" death at Maximilian's hands.
However, after Jacob's death, while cleaning his room, Phillips discovered the infamous diary hidden beneath a floor tile.
He agonized over it as he read.
Was Hannah really someone like that?
No, that couldn't be. But whether it was the Imperial Guard or the knights, if they saw this diary, they would tear into Hannah with burning eyes. They would never pass up such a juicy performance record.
Then should he destroy it? If he did, would Hannah be able to survive?
Hannah was too talented to lose. Even putting aside the sense of kinship as fellow commoners, Phillips had a daughter around Hannah's age.
The dilemma dragged on and on, but in the end, Phillips ran away. He passed the heavy burden on to his superior, Dane.
By now, he was probably with Ebenholtz's Maximilian...
...This was the field training ground of Empire Point.
Phillips watched Hannah rolling in mana-soaked mud. Since the day Jacob died, she had thrown herself into training like mad. All her grades had soared to top-level. She was the subject of envy from noble cadets for being 'just a commoner', but most only sneered. There wasn't even the usual level of resistance.
It was because of the widespread rumor that she'd been marked by Ebenholtz.
"Training over!"
With the instructor's shout, the nine-hour physical training ended. Next came the cadet interview time.
Phillips called Hannah to his tent first.
"...."
He quietly looked at Hannah. She was covered in thick mud, but sat upright without a trace of exhaustion.
"What are you staring at like that?"
"...Hmm?"
"It's okay. I know. Even so, I'll still do my best."
"...You're answering everything before I even ask."
Hannah gave a faint smile. She was mature beyond her years.
"Feeling a bit better now?"
"I won't lie. I still think about that day. The day Jacob died."
Originally, Jacob should have been a cadet in the elite division.
...No, that's not right.
Jacob should never have been here in the first place.
"Hannah. He was not our friend."
"Yes. I know. But I can't help thinking, there might have been a better way-"
"Then stop thinking that."
Hannah bowed her head. She bit her lips in silence.
Phillips asked her,
"Cadet Hannah Usar. You once said you dreamed of becoming a knight."
"Yes."
"What's the reason?"
"I wanted to become the sword of the Empire. I don't think being a commoner should be a reason to not become the Empire's sword."
Once, that had been Phillips's reason too.
"...Yeah. That's right. I understand. I'm a commoner too."
The corner of Hannah's lips twitched. A slight smile slipped out.
However, Phillips's heart only grew darker. Things were different now than when he had become a knight.
Even from what he could feel firsthand, the disparity in status and racial divisions had intensified significantly.
"But even if you can't become a knight, the world doesn't end."
"I know. It's just losing one dream."
Despite that, Hannah remained composed.
"Right now, my dream is only to become a knight, but one day I'll find another dream. A way to help the Empire in a different way...."
Her words stopped. There was a presence outside the field tent.
"Who's there?"
Phillips called out. The tent flap lifted, and Cadet Commander Dane entered. He glanced between Hannah and Phillips and gave a subtle signal.
"Could you excuse us for a moment?"
"Of course. Cadet Hannah, you may leave."
"Yes! Loyalty!"
She saluted so sharply that her fingers quivered, then quickly stepped out.
Dane took a seat across from Phillips.
"...Phillips."
"Yes, Brigadier General."
"I handed the diary over to Maximilian."
Phillips's heart sank in an instant.
"What happened?"
"Are you curious?"
"Yes."
Dane pulled a cigarette from his inner pocket. Phillips quickly lit it for him.
"When I gave him the diary, Maximilian..."
He exhaled smoke slowly and smiled faintly.
His gaze hung in the air, as if rewinding time to that moment.
'...Cadet Commander, I believe this is a matter of trust.'
A matter of trust.
Maximilian, once a cadet of Empire Point, began his response that way.
'Trust?'
'Yes. In a world this chaotic, who should we trust, and how do we trust them?'
Maximilian looked out the office window on the far side.
'There is a clear line between those who can be trusted and those who can't. And those who can't be trusted, should never be trusted to any extent. We must not be fooled by selectively believing only parts of them.'
His voice was calm. Yet the words were as cold and sharp as a blade.
'Jacob Mac was a subspecies. A filthy creature who dared to infiltrate Empire Point, deserving to be slaughtered. A diary written by such a creature holds no credibility whatsoever.'
Dane suddenly tried to superimpose Knight Maximilian with Cadet Maximilian.
But he couldn't.
They didn't align at all.
He no longer resembled the cadet from those days.
'It's nothing more than a cunning ploy to stir internal division.'
Maximilian gave a slight smile as he waved the diary lightly.
'Meanwhile, Cadet Hannah's lineage has been clearly verified by our Ebenholtz family. She was born and raised in the Empire's central region, and she is indeed of the Aran race.'
Even as he said this, he did not show a shred of disrespect toward Dane. He remained perfectly courteous. Sat upright, never crossed his legs.
'Therefore... with this level of talent, she fully deserves a place in the Sentinel.'
At that moment, Dane let out a hollow chuckle.
Even a commoner, as long as they were an Imperial citizen, would be treated fairly if talented. But a subspecies, would be executed without hesitation.
Maximilian was authoritarian because he was an Ebenholtz, and highly aristocratic.
But not all nobles are aristocratic. Being aristocratic means possessing the qualities of nobility.
"So then...."
Instructor Phillips's face went blank.
"The diary, what happened to it?"
"All of a sudden, he asked to borrow my lighter. I thought he'd picked up smoking. But then-"
Fwoosh!
Maximilian flicked the lighter and, without hesitation, set the diary on fire.
"He burned it."
He burned the evidence that could have been added to his record.
"And then, he said this."
──Cadet Commander Dane. This is how I choose to trust people.
Facing such a Maximilian, Dane felt a distinct pang of emotion. It was a feeling similar to the fervor that had once burned within him during his youth, the fire that hadn't cooled even amidst the blizzards of the North. Something he had lost somewhere along the way in this desolate Capital.
"Then, Cadet Hannah...?"
"If she maintains her current grades, she'll become a knight without issue. If she does even better, she might be able to enter the Sentinel. After all, Ebenholtz has acknowledged her."
"Ha."
Phillips let out a hollow laugh without realizing it.
"Ha... haha."
It soon turned into a burst of laughter filled with relief. Phillips laughed for a while before hastily regaining his composure.
"Ah, my apologies."
"It's fine."
"But... was that all? Did the Cadet Commander say anything else to you...?"
"...Well. I'm still not sure whether I did something to earn Ebenholtz's resentment, or his favor."
Maximilian had given Dane one last piece of advice.
"He told me to make sure I serve my full term before retiring."
"Ah, that- now that's truly a relief."
"What's a relief? Now I'm stuck suffering for another five years."
"Haha...."
For a moment, Dane recalled Maximilian. Even if he was the heir of the Ebenholtz family, he was still just a twenty-one-year-old rookie knight. And yet, the presence he exuded reminded Dane of someone he once met, Sebestian.
The man who had come down from the North, overflowing with confidence, and in a single instant forced Dane to his knees, made him feel, for the first time, what it meant to face an insurmountable "wall".
A monster of the Central region, and the masterpiece of Ebenholtz.
Indeed, a tiger can only give birth to a tiger cub.
Until now, that young brat simply hadn't realized that he was a beast.