They said the Emperor changed.
Did he pass away?
No, they said he just changed.
Can something like that happen so easily?
I don’t know.
I heard there was a war, was it because of that?
Seems like it.
The Empire was in turmoil for a while. People who usually showed no interest gathered in small groups and began serious discussions about the future of the nation. Unaware that their concern for the country over their own future was proof of an era of peace.
Among the Three Chief Ministers of the Empire, the Minister of Foreign Affairs was placed under house arrest. The Minister of Law sentenced the Chancellor to death. He said nothing about the Emperor, as the Empire’s laws could not pass judgment on the sovereign.
However, the Minister of Law personally drew his sword and went to execute the Chancellor himself, only to be politely restrained by the Master of the Heavenly Balance Palace. The Chancellor, granted a formal stay of execution, rose to a position second only to one beneath the heavens.
Yet the Chancellor could feel no sense of accomplishment, for that single person above him—His Majesty—had done everything alone.
Small roots that began in the Imperial Palace spread throughout the capital. The roots stretching through the alleys were His Majesty’s strength, the leaves His Majesty’s ears, and the petals His Majesty’s eyes. For seven days and nights, His Majesty quietly observed the people, measured them, and concluded his judgment.
His Majesty lightly erased what was unnecessary for the Empire.
First, all crime within the Empire vanished. Those who had ever killed a person died, and those who had stolen from others were made to repay double. The gangs that rampaged in the shadows of the Empire were swept away in a single stroke.
Then, all the starving poor in the Empire disappeared. Soft bread was distributed to those who hungered. Suitable jobs were provided according to age and ability, and the poor were no longer poor.
Lastly, all nobles who once reigned over the Empire also vanished. Beneath the king of humanity, no human was special. All humans were judged by the same law and granted equal status.
His Majesty erased crime, evil, poverty, and inequality from the Empire. He added nothing, but removed everything unnecessary.
The laws were strict, so no one broke them. People had full bellies, so there was no need to break the law. The weak did not fear others, for they were equal.
But instead, they came to fear the omnipotent and mighty His Majesty. Yet merciful His Majesty never harmed the innocent. On the contrary, he gave them clothes to wear and sent food, caring for them. There was no reason to fear His Majesty, except for those who had sinned, those who would sin, and those who wished to sin.
An era without crime, without hunger, without discrimination—truly an age of peace.
But watching the tree roots spreading from the Imperial Palace, someone thought.
His Majesty’s eyes stretching across the Empire. A mighty yet invisible power. Gentle to those who follow the rules, but clear and merciless in punishment to those who break them.
This resembles, like that small but systematic nation far away.
They said it resembled the Military State.
The Military State seized the Abyss Plains.
Originally, the operation plan was to advance all the way to the Ten Nations, but momentum was broken by a command headquarters raid, and all plans went awry when the Golden Realm vanished from the Ten Nations. The Military State temporarily suspended its war plans and focused on stabilizing the Abyss Plains.
To be precise, they were struggling even with stabilization.
A problem arose with the Six Radiant Generals—the Military State’s highest power and its six shining stars.
Fruit Commander Maximilian left the Military State, and Spirit Chest Zikihrund stepped away from his post. Heaven’s Eye Eimeder was a being whose very existence had always been debated, leaving only three Generals: Absolute Spear, Demon General, and Rifleman.
But Rifleman Historia betrayed the Military State for personal affection. Though she returned, she had to lay down the star on her chest. Historia, once hailed as the heroine ushering in a new era for the Military State, was branded a traitor. Stripped of all General privileges, she was forced to handle menial tasks at the command headquarters.
Even then, the Demon General was old, and the Absolute Spear was indifferent to politics. A gap in power emerged.
More than half of the powerful cornerstones that suppressed the Military State had vanished. A void formed in power and authority. Where there is a crack, vermin will gather. The regional generals who controlled local administration, security, and logistics exploited that gap.
Normally, this would never be tolerated, but—
“Report. Communications soldier Diyu reporting to headquarters. The Southwest Canyon garrison is requesting supplies. Please review and support.”
[Query. Supplies have already been sent to the Southwest Canyon garrison twice. Is there a specific reason for the repeated supply request?]
“Currently, movements across the border are unusual. With the main force dispatched to the Abyss Plains, we lack the capacity to block and manage refugees and displaced persons.”
[Confirmed. Supplies will be sent after review.]
The communication ended, and the inherent magic ceased. The telescope that had risen above the communications soldier’s head folded neatly and retracted into her body. Letting out a sigh, the communications soldier spoke with a frightened expression to the ‘someone’ who had been watching her.
“…A-a warning. F-false reporting is a serious violation of military orders….”
Communications soldiers live confined in isolated boxes to ensure the integrity of communications. They must not be with anyone, nor reveal the communication process in front of others, as it poses a grave threat to the communications soldier system that forms the foundation of the Military State.
But how can human affairs ever be perfect?
“False report, you say? Do you mean I reported falsely to you?”
After working in the box for nearly five months, communications soldier Diyu felt severe abdominal pain. She reported this, and communications soldier AB granted her leave for treatment and recovery. Diyu headed to the nearest military hospital.
But when an unfamiliar female officer visits a provincial military hospital, she cannot avoid attention. Word quickly reached the garrison commander, Lieutenant General Gallic, who arrested and interrogated the mysterious female officer.
A communications soldier must never reveal their position or duties, but who can remain calm when dragged to an unfamiliar place and interrogated? Diyu disclosed her status and duties to Lieutenant General Gallic. Grasping the situation, Gallic had an outrageous thought.
“Look here, Captain. I came to this frontier to prevent beasts and vagrants roaming the Anger Plains from entering the Military State. Since the garrison forces were pulled out to the Abyss Plains, we’ve been carrying out normal duties with a skeleton guard force.”
Lieutenant General Gallic tapped Diyu’s body with the back of his iron axe. Diyu’s frail body staggered violently each time the axe touched her. As she trembled, Gallic whispered into her ear.
“Supplies are short and the food is near spoiling. There’s no end of complaints. It’s not just me—every border force is in this state. Doing backbreaking work in this remote place, we at least deserve that much in supplies, don’t we?”
In other words, he meant to embezzle supplies. Diyu’s body shook as she spoke.
“B-but. According to headquarters’ observations, the Southwest Canyon garrison’s number of troop deployments is actually below the mandatory requirement…. This is dereliction of duty….”
“Shut up! Who ordered you to monitor us?!”
Lieutenant General Gallic grabbed Diyu by the hair and threw her to the ground. Whimpers escaped Diyu’s lips. A communications soldier who always lived in a box was unaccustomed to such pain. She trembled, thinking she might die.
Watching the pitifully trembling Diyu, Lieutenant General Gallic smiled menacingly.
“You’ve already made a false report yourself, hmm? That makes us accomplices. As accomplices, we won’t harm you. Understand?”
If she reported this to headquarters, he would kill her. Diyu nodded frantically at the threat.
“Hic….”
“Looking forward to working with you from now on.”
This wasn’t the first time such things happened in the Military State. Corruption and graft existed in every era. But then, they were promptly suppressed by the power of Yuel and Hilde. With her clairvoyance, Yuel could see and act the moment a hint arose.
But now, the Military State lacked combat strength. Yuel was half a corpse, the Spirit Chest had left his post, and the Fruit Commander had completely left.
The regional generals wielded full authority and ruled like kings. Now, there was nothing to stop them.
Lieutenant General Gallic left the interrogation room and locked the door. Major Forgotten, who had been guarding it, fell in step beside him.
“As expected of you, Lieutenant General! Thanks to this, we can say goodbye to flat beer and canned Chimera beans. Without you, we’d have been starving and drudging under the scorching sun again this year!”
“Handling women is my specialty. A so-called soldier like her just needs to be sweet-talked and soothed a bit.”
“I never knew the communications soldiers who haughtily gave orders on headquarters’ authority were such pathetic women.”
“That’s how all those who act high and mighty as bosses are. They know nothing of what those in the field go through.”
A lieutenant general is one of the few powerful and influential figures in this nation. Yet the Military State’s treatment of such power is lacking.
Slightly better quarters. A slightly higher salary. Slightly better rights. That’s all. Even as a lieutenant general, one still has to leave home and serve in remote areas.
Still, they wield considerable power. As the highest authority of the garrison, he alone commands over a thousand soldiers and serves as the administrator of military facilities.
It is, perhaps, a natural progression for the garrison’s supreme commander—a king in all but name—to fall into corruption.
“It’s not like I’m doing this just to fill my own belly.”
“Exactly! Thanks to you, Lieutenant General, the troops’ morale is rising!”
“Supplies will arrive soon on the meta-conveyor belt. Go ahead and contact the landing site’s depot manager. He might get suspicious seeing the flow of goods, so give him a little nudge.”
“As if that needs saying! The depot manager and I are from the same hometown. Treat him to a beer with ice on top and he’ll let it slide!”
“It’s really a relief to have you.”
“I’ll depart as soon as the regular meeting ends!”
“Ah, right. There was a regular meeting.”
Even embezzlement isn’t something just anyone can do. You need to take appropriately and share some. But you can’t share too much. Besides reducing your own share, if the source gets exposed, you’ll be held by a weakness.
Give enough to be seen as generous, enough to leave them pleased, but not enough to arouse suspicion. To subordinates, it’s best to just seem like a capable superior.
“Then what should I use as a pretext this time…?”
Racking his brains, Lieutenant General Gallic headed to the conference room where his subordinates were waiting. And there, he discovered an unfamiliar visitor.
“Nice to meet you, Lieutenant General Gallic. This is our first meeting, right?”
“…Who are you?!”
That was me.
Unfortunately, Lieutenant General Gallic had crossed paths with me as I was heading to the Military State.