The item summon ticket could be used in various ways.
It could unlock specific functions or bring in certain objects, for example.
Of course, the system was never that kind.
From beginning to end, it never gave proper explanations.
Just like last time.
It had said I could view information on transcendent individuals, but it turned out it did not apply to humans.
My plan to look into the Emperor’s inner thoughts had gone up in smoke.
“I won’t fall for it this time.”
It could try to tempt me all it wanted.
I would never take the bait.
[You may use the item summon ticket.]
[Recommendation: High-Performance Supporting Machine]
[Recommendation: AIM-120 AMRAAM]
As expected, the system immediately displayed a list of recommendations, urging me to use the ticket.
But I wiped the entire hologram away with a single wave of my hand.
It did not matter what a supporting machine or AMRAAM was.
They were probably things that could not even be used in this world anyway.
There will come a day when I can use it with maximum efficiency.
Still, the word “AMRAAM” caught my eye for a moment.
But I soon shook my head.
I had seen it somewhere before, but I could not remember exactly what it was.
“By the way, why did he make that face?”
Emperor Karon had handed over the Half-Demon Authority Card as if he knew exactly what it was.
It seemed he believed I could use it in some way.
And in truth, I could.
Is it because we each command half-demons?
Suddenly, the Emperor’s pale face came to mind.
I muttered with a bitter expression.
“You should take better care of your own health.”
Overcoming illness should not be difficult for him.
He could receive a shower of holy power or ask a half-demon to cure the disease.
Right then, I realized something.
Hah. Look at me, worrying about that man.
Honestly, I never thought I would feel this way.
Emperor Karon was Abel Carius’s cousin, not my actual relative.
Besides, our relationship had never been particularly good.
It had always been rather awkward.
Naturally.
Abel’s claim to the throne was bound to be a political threat to Karon.
Of course, things were better now that all suspicion had been cleared.
Let’s keep it this way going forward.
I returned straight to my office in the mansion and gave out several orders.
They were not particularly grand.
I simply announced that we would be entering the military supplies and cosmetics businesses.
“Ch-Chairman! What on earth were you thinking when you made this decision?!”
Vice President Xavier’s face had turned deathly pale.
He must have rushed over in a panic because one of his shoes was missing.
I glanced over his shoulder and saw his secretary running desperately, holding the missing shoe.
“Please calm down. You need to maintain your dignity.”
I pointed at his bare right foot with a smile.
But Vice President Xavier paid it no mind at all.
“Is that important right now? Suddenly entering the military business? Making weapons?”
Until now, the Carius Duchy had kept knight training and even troop numbers at the absolute minimum.
It was to avoid any misunderstanding.
Now that I was suddenly starting a military supply business, his reaction was understandable.
He probably thought I was finally preparing a coup.
Of course, he did not say it out loud.
In any case, I needed to calm him down first.
“It is fine. His Majesty the Emperor has approved it.”
“Even so… Huh?”
“There seems to be trouble on the eastern front. He asked me to supply military provisions.”
“Ah… So that was the reason.”
Vice President Xavier finally looked relieved.
He really is an incredibly loyal subordinate.
If he had not truly been devoted to me, he would have started planning his escape the moment he heard “military business.”
He would have gathered evidence to prove he had nothing to do with any rebellion plot by Duke Carius.
He would not have run here so frantically that he lost his shoe.
Seeing his sincerity made me feel strangely good.
“What is the current operating rate of Theo’s workshop?”
“It is usually rather idle. Lately, he seems to be focusing on training the next generation.”
The tools Theo made were extremely precise and durable.
Demand had been enormous in the beginning, but it had now entered a lull.
Once people bought enough, they rarely repurchased.
Except for occasional repairs, there was not much work.
That was why he was concentrating on teaching blacksmithing.
“It is not because of some grand philosophy, I assume.”
“Huh? How did you know without even looking? I asked him why he was taking on so many disciples. He said it’s because more hands make the work easier.”
“That’s just the kind of guy he is. Perfect timing. We can have him mass-produce weapons and armor.”
“I heard there are other tasks as well.”
“Yes, we also need to supply military goods. Please take charge of this project, Vice President.”
“Yes, understood.”
I created a temporary organization called Dapan Defense Industry.
Then I immediately gathered people who had been deployed to the eastern front to hear their reports.
However, contrary to expectations, I could not obtain very useful information.
Vice President Xavier returned empty-handed.
His voice was full of disappointment as he reported.
“Most of the veteran soldiers have already been reassigned, and those who remember the old days…”
“It must have been too long ago to be useful.”
“Correct.”
“I didn’t expect there to be so few people who had recently been active in the east. We’re blocked in an unexpected place.”
I called Trevor, who was currently active as a football player, but there was little gain there either.
“I left the military a long time ago as well. To be honest, I don’t even know how the Western Defense Army is operating these days.”
“I see.”
“His Majesty would have provided information if it was an order from him.”
“Hmm.”
At Trevor’s question, I let out a groan.
Emperor Karon had only told me to support the Eastern Defense Army.
He had given no advice whatsoever.
It was only natural.
When had that man ever made things convenient for me?
He had simply told me to handle everything myself.
Of course, I could not badmouth the Emperor.
I gave an appropriate excuse.
“It seems communication is poor because the war situation is urgent.”
“Then wouldn’t the only option be to go there yourself?”
“That is a bit…”
No way. I had not even been back from the Crawford Principality for a full week.
And now he wanted me to go to the east?
Am I crazy?
I absolutely could not do that.
But right then, someone’s name suddenly came up.
“Wouldn’t Hugo Yates know something?”
“Wait a minute. Who was that again? Ah! The marquis who pulled a sword on a noble at the ball. The one who handed over the entire Yates Marquisate.”
True to his military background, Trevor immediately recalled Marquis Yates.
Although he was currently serving a prison sentence, he had originally been the ruler of a vassal state.
He had governed the region.
He might know details about the enemy’s movements that ordinary people in the Empire did not.
I stood up abruptly and nodded with a determined expression.
“I need to meet that man immediately.”
“Since you have reached a conclusion, I will take my leave…”
Trevor tried to slip away quickly.
It seemed he did not want to follow me all the way to the prison.
But I grabbed him by the back of the neck and smiled wickedly.
“What are you talking about? A military expert should come along, of course.”
“Ahaha! I have afternoon training, you see…”
“The Shugl team has the day off today, doesn’t it?”
Who did he think he was fooling?
All teams in the Perias Football League belonged to the Dapan Group.
It was essentially a company sports event.
As the chairman, there was no way I would not know the team schedule.
“Stop trying to weasel out of it and come with me.”
“Yes sir.”
Northeast of Perias, in a remote mountain valley.
There lay an endlessly deep pit.
If you dropped a stone from the top, it would take several minutes before you heard it hit the bottom.
This was the place where the most heinous criminals in Perias—those beyond rehabilitation—were sent.
Its official name was the Imperial Prison.
But people called this place the Abyss.
Once you entered, you could not come out in a normal state.
It was not only because of the brutal abuse that occurred day after day.
Nothing is provided here.
In Korean prisons, inmates received three meals a day and could buy extra items if they wanted.
But the Abyss was different.
Prisoners were given only a pickaxe and a glowstone.
They had to survive by mining minerals and selling them for food.
If that was the reality above, what must it be like at the bottom of the pit?
“It must be a dog-eat-dog hell down there,” Trevor muttered.
I chuckled and shook my head.
“It is not entirely like that. Even in the chaos, there is a certain order.”
“If I were locked up down there, I would probably steal the other inmates’ minerals.”
“That is why there are guards—to prevent exactly that. Of course, what you just described happens quite frequently.”
“You mean it happens secretly, avoiding the guards’ eyes.”
“Correct.”
That was why people who had been imprisoned in the Abyss could not return in a normal state.
Fights between inmates were common.
No matter how many guards were deployed, they could not monitor the entire Abyss.
The pit was simply too vast.
The bottom must be like a basket full of venomous snakes.
The starving ones would sink their teeth into the flesh of their own kind.
Clang! Creeeeak!
While we were talking, someone opened the iron door.
“It has been a while, Your Grace the Duke.”
“You did not have to come all the way here.”
“This concerns corrections. How could I stay away?”
The man who greeted me with the utmost respect the moment he saw me was Baron Aidan Lelbrant, the head of the Capital Corrections Headquarters.
He usually stayed only at the capital prison and rarely came to the Abyss.
But when he heard I was coming, he had rushed over immediately.
This man really hasn’t changed.
Like Vice President Xavier, he was a talented individual who had been with me for a long time.
He had been saved from the crisis of having everything stolen by the doppelganger Theo.
Thanks to that connection, he still showed complete loyalty.
“This is Hugo Yates.”
At Baron Lelbrant’s gesture, my gaze naturally shifted.
Behind the iron door, an old man with disheveled hair was kneeling.
His expression and eyes looked as if he had lost his soul.
His limbs, bound in restraints, were terribly thin. It was clear he was not eating properly.
Even a man who once commanded battlefields ends up like this when sent to the Abyss.
Then Hugo Yates’s eyes met mine.
And at that exact moment—
“Krwaaaagh! Uwaaaagh!”
The old man, who had looked completely limp, suddenly sprang up and began to rampage.
Madness filled Hugo Yates’s eyes.
The reason was simple.
I was the one who had sentenced him to fifteen years.
While suffering in the Abyss, he must have burned with a desire for revenge.
But I did not even raise an eyebrow.
In the end, he is just a criminal. A demon who killed people without reason.
There had been no justification or legitimacy.
Causing a sword fight while drunk had been his daily routine.
I was not soft enough to feel sympathy for such a person.
“Hugo Yates, I will give you one last chance to pledge loyalty to His Majesty the Emperor and the Empire.”
“Kwaaaaaah! I’ll kill youuuuu!”
The man was so far gone that his seizure showed no signs of stopping.
There was a surefire remedy for someone like this.
Simply remind him of what he feared most.
“If you do not want to listen, speak quickly. I will throw you back into the Abyss.”
“……”
Hugo Yates’s mouth snapped shut immediately.
As expected, nothing worked better than a threat for anger management.