My resignation from the director’s post was accepted with remarkable speed.
The Executive Bureau had appeared to involve itself in the recent power struggle.
This would be recorded as an unavoidable incident that occurred in the course of duty.
It would end with me, the person responsible, admitting my mistake and stepping down.
The higher-ups must have understood that as well, which was why they processed my resignation so quickly.
My family and acquaintances expressed regret that I had given up such a fine position.
Tax issues would continue to arise in the future. If anything, they might grow worse.
The director of the Executive Bureau was the one who handled them. It was a position that would continue to rise in prominence.
Even though it was all but certain to be used as the sharpest blade of the administration.
Since I stepped down without even showing signs of trying to hold on, their reactions were only natural.
On the other hand, other figures in politics seemed to be secretly pleased.
To them, I was a madman who would bite down on anyone with a problem, prince or not.
They probably hadn’t paid their taxes all that honestly either, so I must have been rather uncomfortable to have around.
And now that I had even earned the crown prince’s trust and achieved merit, I had become difficult to touch.
They must have been wondering what on earth they were supposed to do with the headaches I would cause in the future.
Then, in the midst of that, I stepped forward and said I would give up the director’s post.
Of course, to my face they would say I had worked hard, but behind my back, they were probably cheering at the top of their lungs.
The two team leaders who had worked with me for just under a year were also disappointed.
They said it had been hectic, but precisely because of that, it had made their hearts race and filled them with excitement.
They had even taken pride in it, saying this was the true face of the Executive Bureau.
They had thought we would continue raising hell together, only for me to leave.
But it was fine. I was leaving, but the Executive Bureau’s direction had been firmly established by this.
The moment a tax issue arose and the target to bite down on was decided,
it would be a department that opened its eyes wider than anyone else and dug in without mercy.
And at the point when exactly one month had passed since I quit as director of the Executive Bureau,
our dear Brother Ishmael, the crown prince, granted me the position I had wanted.
“Ethan Montebello. I appoint you Inspector of the North. I entrust you with the duty of closely examining everything in the North and reporting it in full detail, and I grant you all authority necessary to carry out your duties.”
“I will do my utmost.”
“I have high expectations of you.”
The way he even gave me a slight wink while looking at me, unlike his usual self, really made him seem like an older brother.
Of course, that was a result I had earned because I had proven myself.
If I had been overly greedy for power, or openly expected a reward,
or if I had been someone who occupied a position with no ability, talent, or effort,
instead of acting like that, he might have drawn the edge of his hand across his throat.
As soon as I became Inspector of the North, my godfather came to see me.
Had I forgotten the hardships I went through as an envoy to the east?
Was I truly fine with taking a post far more difficult than that place?
There, I revealed that I had been the one to ask for the position.
The reaction my godfather showed as soon as he heard my words was, of course—
“The situation in the north must be truly bad. Or it is going to be.”
“Oh. You’re not going to scold me for being insane?”
“Would anything change if I did?”
“No, sir.”
“Then what would be the point of scolding you? I would rather tell you to be careful.”
Although he was the Minister of Finance, my godfather seemed to have a rough idea of the news from the north.
A large portion of the tax revenue coming from that region was being converted into military funding.
It seemed likely that battles, great and small, would break out soon. Was I really all right with that?
To my godfather’s question, I decided to answer honestly.
“Perhaps that fight will be one I start.”
“What nonsense are you talking about? What do you know about the military?”
“I’m an inspector anyway. If I observe the situation and deem it unusual, I can call in the army immediately. Perhaps the former subordinates of His Majesty the Retired Emperor who belong to the central forces will head north as well.”
“Just go, quietly carry out your inspection duties, and come back. Even if you don’t go out of your way to do such a thing…”
“My name is already being talked about all over the place. If I don’t secure an even firmer position here, I’ll be swept away for no reason. You know very well what happens then.”
The founding contributors who had once belonged to the Eighth Prince’s faction and tried to do something with it.
The other contributors who, unfortunately, had boarded the Berkeuel coin.
All of them had been, quite literally, ruled completely out and disappeared.
Their houses were either utterly destroyed, or even if the house survived, that was the end of it.
They would never be able to set foot in central politics again.
At most, they would end up playing local boss in their hometowns.
I had absolutely no intention, no desire, to do that. Not after making it this far.
If I wore the title of founding contributor and did nothing, I would eventually be purged.
If I wanted to continue living as a founding contributor, I had to keep proving myself.
Through ability. And through loyalty. Until it was far too regrettable to discard me.
“You don’t need to worry. I’m not so insane that I’ll launch a massive attack on the barbarians.”
“It sounds like you might.”
“If I did that, it would place too great a burden on an empire that has only just been established.”
As I had told the crown prince, the role I would play was that of a sandbag.
Nothing more, nothing less. In any case, I could not do more than that.
What I had to do there was make the barbarians hesitate as much as possible.
A policy of appeasement was something the esteemed figures here in the capital would decide.
No matter what direction they chose or what conclusion they reached, I would stall for time.
“It will not be easy. Unlike the east, with the barbarians, you must use threats and force in addition to dialogue.”
“That actually sounds good. Words spoken while making threats are better heard than words alone, aren’t they?”
*
On the day I was to depart for my post as Inspector of the North,
I saw a familiar face appear with the guards.
“I’m surprised you chose me, Director.”
Cedrun smelled of alcohol, as though he had been drinking merrily until last night.
Seeing him like that, it was no wonder the officials disliked that man so much.
But the funny thing was that he did not drink on the battlefield.
I had wondered if that was simply because it was hard to obtain liquor there.
But if he used his position, it would not be completely impossible.
“I’m not the director anymore. I’m an inspector now, Cedrun. And your superior as well.”
“Ahem. My apologies.”
Even so, Cedrun had never caused trouble with alcohol on the battlefield.
It was only when he was away from that place and came to this peaceful, quiet capital.
So this thought occurred to me as well. Perhaps he endured it with booze and women.
I had heard that he had fought countless battles on the northern front since childhood.
No matter how steel-like a person might be, in the end, a human was only human.
Even in places where guns fired and bombs fell from afar, PTSD was severe.
Then what if one fought where blood and entrails flew right before one’s eyes?
“They say Cedrun knows the North better than anyone.”
“Is that why you chose me? There should be several others.”
“Wouldn’t someone I’ve seen a few times still be better than people I’ve never met at all?”
“Do as you wish.”
It would be difficult to endure sober. A person would judge that something had gone wrong.
If he were simply a stupid man driven mad by his love of booze and women,
he would have failed every mission assigned to him and become a failure.
That meant his body at least remembered the minimum proper line.
“You know where we can find good liquor along the way, don’t you?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean I’ll permit drinking until we officially begin our duties.”
“Are you serious?”
“But no women. This is an order personally given by His Highness the Crown Prince. Until we complete the mission properly and return. Understood?”
Cedrun’s claim that he would try was probably not entirely false.
I only hoped he would cause trouble with alcohol alone. And that even if he did, it would be within a range I could cover.
“But. Why aren’t we setting out immediately?”
“Ah. Something is coming. I’m waiting for it.”
“I thought all the preparations were already finished.”
As Cedrun said that, his expression stiffened slightly.
The same was true of Hessen, who was approaching from over there.
Two men who did not match each other at all. Perfect opposites.
With them like that, it was only natural that they found each other uncomfortable.
“You’re here, Hessen?”
“Last time you were director of the Executive Bureau, and this time you’re an inspector. Here are the items you requested.”
Several wagons were added to the party heading north.
Seeing them, Cedrun frowned and opened his mouth.
“What on earth is all this?”
“It is what the inspector requested.”
“This large and heavy? If we take this along, either the horses will collapse or the wagons will break down. Does the Armaments Inspector not take that into account? You should reduce the load as much as possible.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about. If we reduce it, it’ll be ruined instead. Moisture absolutely cannot get in. If it does, everything we spent so much money to make will become useless.”
“Inspector. What exactly is this that we have to pack so much of it and take it along? Unless we’re carrying gold, it should be made lighter. The road to the North is not an easy one.”
There was nothing wrong with what Cedrun said. Minimizing luggage was always the answer.
To him, who had spent a long time in the military, this was inefficient.
But it could not be helped. Right now, these items had to remain in perfect condition.
If they absorbed even a little moisture and clumped together, they would become useless idiots.
And if anyone handled them carelessly while trying to separate them, a sea of fire would unfold.
“There are circumstances. We’re taking it as it is. Don’t add any more unnecessary comments, Cedrun.”
“…Understood.”
Cedrun’s face was full of dissatisfaction, but he let it pass for now.
Meanwhile, Hessen clicked his tongue and stood beside me.
“Wait a moment. Are you coming with us too?”
“Shouldn’t I see the usefulness of these things with my own eyes?”
“What about the Armaments Inspectorate?”
“I have left it to a deputy for a while. In any case, everything that needs to be done has already been decided, and what is urgent now is confirming what the items we spent so much money making are actually like.”
Hessen spoke while tapping the things he had brought packed up to the brim.
That was also true. Yes. The person responsible had to see it himself.
Only then could a judgment be made, and a conclusion reached one way or another.
“Now then. Let us set out at once.”
To the north.
*
And two months later, when we reached the North,
“This situation is worse than I expected.”
As Cedrun said, the North was extremely turbulent.