Madness Accumulation activated
Target set: Physical force of the grenade
ใWarning! Energy outside the target cannot be absorbed.ใ
Kwaaaaaangโ!
A wave of searing heat washed over me.
The grenade that had detonated right in front of my face sprayed countless fragments in every direction.
Yet every single piece lost its power and fell to the ground before even touching my body.
It was a strange sensation.
It felt exactly as if I were wrapped in a barrier.
So this is why dealing with Radus was so troublesome.
If an enemy used only a single type of power, this ability was practically invincible.
That aside, where had this rotten bastard gone?
I waved my arm to clear away the smoke.
The surroundings soon came into view.
Hugo Yates was lying flat on the ground.
Luckily there had been a shallow depression in the floor.
If not for that, the power of the grenade would have turned him into a rag.
โYou got lucky.โ
โUghโฆ?โ
Apparently hearing my voice, Hugo sharply raised his head.
Then he simply blinked with a blank expression.
Of course he was shocked.
A grenade had just exploded right in front of him.
Even an ordinary aura master would have found it difficult to survive.
โH-howโฆ?โ
โYouโre truly shameless. Demanding that I explain someone elseโs secret technique just like that.โ
I grabbed Hugo by the nape of the neck.
Then I lightly searched his body.
There was always the chance he still had more grenades.
But nothing special came out.
Just a few chunks of ore that looked like they had been stolen from the Abyss.
โEven while escaping you only took the valuable things. Impressive.โ
โUrgh! L-let go of me, you lowborn bastard!โ
โWhat? Did you already forget my status? Does the Abyss lower brain function as well?โ
โGwaaaah!โ
Puck!
As the man struggled, his fist flew out and landed squarely on my chest.
It was a genuine lucky punch.
Under normal circumstances he wouldnโt have been able to touch a single hair on my head.
โThis wonโt do. You need a proper beating.โ
I smiled coldly and muttered under my breath.
After setting Hugo Yates down on the floor, I spoke.
โClub guys? Handle him.โ
Shugl and Feltron charged in with demonic grins.
แ ณKiihihihi!
โPrey! Oh yeah!
I had no idea why they were acting like that.
Trying to amplify the fear, maybe?
I stood there shrugging when a group of figures suddenly caught my eye.
They were holding the exact same clubs as the half-demons.
โLetโs go too!โ
โTraining is combat. Individual combat!โ
โOne, two, one, two!โ
Their identities were Muff, who had split into about fifteen bodies.
What followed was a merciless clubbing.
The faces of Hugo Yates and the Maseko Guild members turned deathly pale.
The half-demonsโ clubs delivered an extraordinary level of pain.
โGyaaaaah!โ
โS-spare me!โ
The screams that had been ringing out for a while soon died down.
Apparently they had passed out from the pain they could no longer endure.
If I leave them like this they might go into shock and die.
No matter how long I waited, the clubbing showed no sign of ending.
In the end I had to call the little ones over.
These creatures truly knew no middle ground.
โPick them all up and follow me.โ
โWeโre good at that!โ
Muff was stronger than it looked.
Just two of its bodies could easily lift a full-grown adult.
Before long I stepped out of the crack.
โBut how are we supposed to fill this place in?โ
It looked like the result of a meteor impact.
The hole was quite large, so sealing it would require an enormous amount of work.
Fortunately I quickly thought of an alternative.
โShugl.โ
- Interest
โWhat?
โYou remember what you did before, right?โ
โThe Mesqueta Mountain thing? The time you collapsed the mine?
โThatโs right. Can you do it the same way? But there must be no damage to the Abyss.โ
แ ณHmm. Since itโs an independent space, it should be possible. The ground here was originally solid, so it wonโt collapse together.
โGood. Then how about a thousand points for this job?โ
โNot bad. Deal!
Shugl ran off with its hips swaying.
It looked extremely excited.
Soon a great roar rose and the crack began to close.
Kugugugugu!
Much faster than before.
Judging by how cleanly it sealed, no one would be able to come or go this way anymore.
This place was finished.
It was time to head back.
When I returned to the city hall office, several documents were waiting for me.
Cleanly summarized reports.
Every organization under my management, including the Dapan Group, operated this way.
I had told them to handle the minor details on their own.
I held far too many positions; there was no other choice.
Even so, the work never became sloppy.
It was possible to achieve perfection even like this.
โThe security force reorganization is proceeding properly.โ
The moment I finished reading the report, I opened the employee management window.
After checking the recent movements of key figures, it looked like several heads would roll soon.
I spotted a few people who were still trying to cover up the incident and immediately wrote a letter.
It was addressed to Count Howell Pierre, Director of the Prosecution Headquarters.
Using Feltronโs crows, it would arrive quickly.
โDoes Dapan Construction still have capacity?โ
They were currently pouring everything into the construction of the eastern cities.
Even so, the headquarters wouldnโt be completely without personnel.
Building a house and a large warehouse for Muff should be perfectly manageable.
I sent a letter to Dapan Construction as well, then collapsed onto the sofa.
โUghโฆ Finally a moment to rest.โ
After returning to the capital region, the amount of work had exploded.
This was exactly why leaving my post for long periods was problematic.
Without me, these bureaucrats kept drifting in strange directions.
Maybe I should just remake the entire government in the image of the Dapan Group.
Not a bad idea.
If I were chancellor, I would introduce a personnel verification system into every organization.
One warning for violating regulations, and immediate expulsion from the second offense onward.
It was a rather ruthless method, but there was no other choice.
Perfect filtering from the beginning was impossible.
Weeds needed to be pulled as quickly as possible.
โItโs a shame I donโt have the authority.โ
There was almost no chance I would ever become chancellor.
Even now people were saying my recognition and power were no less than the Emperorโs.
In times like this, the safe path was to keep quiet rather than act recklessly.
It might even be time to gradually step down from the position of mayor.
When I meet the Emperor this time, I should bring it up casually.
Come to think of it, the State Council meeting was coming up soon.
I already had a rough idea of what topics would be raised.
They would try to frame me somehow and attack.
Plant seeds of suspicion in the Emperorโs heart and make him wary of me.
It was such an obvious repertoire that I wasnโt particularly worried.
It was merely annoying.
โLetโs rest at home for a while after so long.โ
I gathered a few documents and left the office.
How was a person supposed to live by only working?
You needed to enjoy yourself a little for the mind to stay healthy.
His Majesty the Emperor should learn this kind of thing.
With that idle thought, I boarded the carriage.
After lounging around the mansion for a few days, a message arrived from the Imperial Assembly.
It ordered me to attend the State Council meeting and report on the progress.
It felt like they were already looking for an excuse to find fault, but I simply let it slide.
In the end they were only borrowing the name of the Imperial Assembly; it was essentially a summons from the Emperor.
โThey already read the reports, so what explanation is needed?โ
I muttered under my breath as I headed to the assembly building.
Having attended a few times before, it no longer felt particularly awkward.
When I stood in the central witness stand, sharp gazes poured in from every direction.
Oh? Trying to kill people with just their eyes?
I scanned the assembly with considerable presence and immediately understood the reason.
The people they had planted from their houses had all been swept away.
The assemblymen had been receiving information from the bureaucrats they had embedded everywhere.
Now those routes were about to be completely destroyed.
All because of the large-scale audit that had started from the problem I raised.
Thatโs what you get. Who told you to fabricate performance results?
If they had simply done their jobs properly, identifying the informants would not have been easy.
You couldnโt suspect every person just because they came from an assemblymanโs house.
But these people had made too great a mistake.
They had probably ordered the bureaucrats to rise quickly in rank so they could secure higher-quality information.
That was why the officers had conducted such reckless investigations.
โHaaโฆโ
A sigh escaped on its own.
Those old men were simply too pathetic.
I turned my gaze away in distaste, and at that exact moment someone entered.
โHis Majesty the Emperor enters!โ
At the eunuchโs cry, everyone rose and assumed respectful postures.
I also bowed my head with perfect formality so that no one could find fault.
โBegin.โ
โYes, Your Majesty!โ
Chancellor Gilmore answered the Emperorโs command.
A short while later the State Council meeting began.
As expected, the agenda was obvious.
The key issue was how to dispose of the secured eastern plains.
Depending on who took control of that land, the balance of regional power would shift.
Of course, the interim report came first.
I rose from my seat and spoke in a calm voice.
โThe current state of the eastern plains is as follows.โ
There was nothing to add or subtract.
Simply informing them of the facts as they were would be enough.
I gave a thorough explanation while referencing the materials.
Thinking about it, a lot really happened.
The development of the eastern waterways.
The war against the Mandus tribe.
The construction of a new city, and even making contact with the Minatre Kingdom.
Of course, all I had done was meet a few merchants.
Even so, the direction the Empire needed to take had become clear.
I would leave that for later.
Right now this was more important.
โโฆTherefore, I request that Your Majesty bestow a name upon the eastern city.โ
A faint smile curved Emperor Karonโs lips.
That older brother had almost certainly understood immediately.
That I had not the slightest intention of coveting the throne.
If he still doesnโt get it after Iโve gone this far, heโs an idiot.
There was no way that master of political games would have failed to grasp it.
As I kept my head deeply bowed, the Emperorโs answer followed.
โCabel would be good. The name of the eastern city shall be that.โ
โโฆโฆโ
An instantaneous silence fell.
The statement was so absurd that everyone missed the timing to react.
No matter how you look at it, thatโs just combining your name and mine.
Ka from Karon.
Bel from Abel.
Everyone was left dumbfounded by the overly simple naming method.
I was the first to regain my senses and quickly opened my mouth.
โYour Majestyโs grace is boundless!โ
You have to stand at the front of the line to be remembered, after all.
You stupid assemblymen.
Immediately afterward, people began awkwardly following along in mismatched timing.
โY-Your Majestyโs graceโฆโฆโ
Even so, I had already stamped my face on the Emperorโs memory.
How did I know?
Because the Emperorโs gaze was directed solely at me.
Ah, now would be a good time.
I immediately brought up the next action the Empire should take.
โThe plains are in chaos. That is because the Mandus tribe that once ruled them has disappeared. Since we were the ones who brought them down, we need to solidify our position.โ
โAre you suggesting a show of force?โ
โYes, Your Majesty. Please allow the Eastern Defense Force to move.โ
In truth, something of this level was something I could have decided on my own.
It was not as if we were projecting power toward the Empireโs heartland.
Who would complain about activities aimed at territorial expansion?
But I was someone who had to be careful, and then careful again.
Receiving the Emperorโs approval was the safest path.
That was when it happened.
โYour Majesty! Relying solely on the Eastern Defense Force is far too dangerous. Please grant permission to form a joint allied army!โ
A figure suddenly shouted.
Chancellor Gilmore cried out at the top of his lungs.
At once the assemblymen competed to lower their heads.
โPlease grant your permission!โ
Why were they suddenly acting like this?
Wasnโt it obvious?
They all want to join the allied army and grab a share for themselves.
At the assemblymenโs transparent scheme, I formed a rotten smile.
Emperor Karon would almost certainly not permit it.
If he simply stayed still, the imperial familyโs power would grow on its own. Why would he botherโฆโฆ
โAs of today, I dismiss Bajeik Gilmore.โ
โฆโฆWhat?
What did you just say?