It is notorious throughout Genen, the Genen Central Police Station. This is not only due to the aggressive operational tactics of its officers but also its close ties with the Imperial Guard Intelligence Department.
They are also known for their stubborn pride, but for some reason today, the Chief himself has come out to greet someone.
“Sir Maximillian. It is truly an honor to have you visit us…”
It was Maximillian von Ebenholz. A knight of the Sentinel, and even the successor of a prestigious family renowned as one of the Empire’s Three Pillars, who had visited.
“However, what brings you to this humble establishment…?”
Maximillian was seated, while the Chief and all other officers stood, bowing their heads to him.
Maximillian spoke.
“I received a letter stating that the perpetrators who instigated this recent terrorist incident have been apprehended.”
The Chief offered a faint smile.
“Ah, yes, yes. Our investigators have caught them.”
“Are you certain?”
Maximillian gazed at the Chief. The meaning in his eyes was ambiguous.
“…Yes?”
The Chief tilted his head in confusion. Maximillian calmly reiterated.
“I mean, are these culprits definitively the true perpetrators.”
“Ah, yes! They are!”
The Chief responded with considerable brightness. The investigators also stifled their smiles, clearing their throats. No doubt they were expecting some commendation.
“In that case—”
“We are certain!”
An investigator shot his hand up and stepped forward.
“We have obtained confessions.”
The investigator, Zendo, with a smug expression, was met by Maximillian’s gaze. He was a man with a neck as stiff as a bamboo stalk.
Maximillian asked.
“The evidence.”
“…Confessions. Confessions obtained from the members of the Independent Faction who participated in the protest.”
“Confessions?”
“Yes. We obtained confessions.”
Confessions, confessions, confessions. Zendo repeated the same words. Maximillian’s gaze, fixed upon him, tilted serenely. Yet, Zendo’s neck did not bend.
“I fear you are mistaken.”
Suddenly, the knight’s voice turned cold.
“The evidence I speak of is not a record extracted through physical coercion, but concrete physical proof.”
“Ah, Sir Maximillian.”
The Chief laughed heartily.
“That… you see, these Independent Faction members are so secretive—”
“Where and when was the bomb planted, how were the materials procured, and under what circumstances was the planting detected?”
Maximillian interrupted the Chief’s excuse and continued.
“I am referring to precise evidence that remains untainted under any circumstance.”
“……”
The Chief fell silent. The space became steeped in an eerie silence.
Dozens of investigators stood almost in formation around Maximillian, who sat with his legs crossed. None of them stepped forward. They merely exchanged glances in silence.
They couldn’t understand why Maximillian was here, acting this way. He clearly had no connection to the Independent Faction.
Maximillian looked at the Chief, his eyes asking for his name.
“Ah, I am Elon.”
“Chief Elon.”
He addressed Elon, raising one eyebrow.
“I was there.”
“……”
Only then—did the investigators understand the nature of this cold fury.
“Not by anyone else.”
At this moment, Maximillian was enraged by the incident itself, in which he had been embroiled. He had come here not as a knight, but as a ‘noble.’
“I.”
If he could not properly identify the true culprit who had nearly harmed him, it became a matter of pride. Furthermore, the pride of an Imperial noble was on a level that the people of the autonomous region could not even imagine.
“Um… the…”
Sweat beaded on Chief Elon’s clasped hands behind his back. His fingers kept slipping.
“I want the complete truth. Not a fabricated story.”
Maximillian, on the other hand, was calm. As if dealing with a purely business matter, he showed no emotion, thoroughly controlling the place and the moment.
“Therefore, I will personally interrogate the individuals you claim to be the culprits and expose any perjury.”
Maximillian looked around the room and asked again.
“Do you understand?”
“Yes, yes. I understand what you mean.”
The Chief bowed at a 90-degree angle. The investigators remained motionless.
“No. It doesn’t seem like you understand at all.”
At their demeanor, Maximillian waved his hand dismissively. He gestured to the investigators standing behind him.
“I clearly asked for the suspects to be brought forth.”
Maximillian did not raise his voice. In fact, his tone had been consistent since the moment he arrived. Not a single fluctuation, not a hint of emotion.
He simply stared into the Chief’s eyes…
“Now.”
He delivered a very small warning.
“Immediately.”
The suspects were lined up on their knees on the floor of the central police station. Their faces were so disfigured they were barely recognizable, and ‘Yan Novak’, identified as one of the true culprits, was half-conscious.
“…Article 5, Section 3 of the Autonomous Charter. All investigative agencies within the autonomous region must conduct investigations in accordance with the principles of due process guaranteed by the Imperial Constitution and this Autonomous Charter.”
While reciting the autonomous charter, Maximillian read the sloppily written records prepared by the police.
“And must not employ excessively coercive investigative methods in the process.”
He looked around at the officers.
“This is a mere formality. Is autonomy truly necessary for Genen?”
“I apologize.”
The Chief lowered his head. It was an apology he had lost count of.
“There is no need to apologize. I did not expect anything in the first place.”
Maximillian’s voice was clear. Sharp, as if piercing eardrums with a knife. It was likely due to his aristocratic pronunciation and deep vocal timbre.
“The records are full of fabrications, there are no proper eyewitness accounts, and of course, no physical evidence… This is the level you operate at, which is why you handle things so poorly.”
The investigators bristled, their lips pursed in offense.
“Send these lowlifes out.”
Maximillian glanced at the Independent Faction members.
“If you couldn’t get anything more than this through torture, they likely don’t possess any useful information.”
“…Sir”
Just then, Zendo stepped forward.
“The autonomous region has independent investigative authority. Therefore, we have the right to conduct our own investigations.”
“If this can be called an investigation, that is.”
At his words, Zendo’s expression hardened. He let out a heated sigh.
Maximillian nodded as if he understood.
“Still haven’t come to your senses.”
He slipped his hand into his inner pocket. A communicator glinted outside his uniform.
“S-Sir Maximillian!”
The Chief’s face turned ashen, and he immediately knelt.
Maximillian von Ebenholz’s connections reached the very apex of the Empire. A single word from him could cost the head of an autonomous region’s chief.
“We beg your forgiveness, truly! You, you son of a—”
The Chief glared at Zendo, cursing him with his eyes. If Maximillian hadn’t been there, he would have unleashed a torrent of obscenities.
“Doesn’t everyone kneel—!!!”
“We apologize!”
“We apologize!”
At the Chief’s outburst, all the investigators knelt. No, they bowed their heads to the ground. Maximillian casually swept his gaze over their bowed heads.
He pointed, in a monotone voice, at the fake culprits.
“Release them.”
“Yes, yes! What are you waiting for! Let them go quickly!”
The investigators hastily helped the suspects to their feet. The seven wrongly accused individuals stumbled out of the police station. Maximillian watched the back of Yan Novak among them, then nodded.
His primary objective had been achieved, but there was still work to be done.
“From now on. I will give you a chance to redeem yourselves.”
He threw the confession records, replete with torture, into the trash can and stood up.
“Find the true culprits.”
They were incapable of anything more than intimidating the weak, but he had no intention of letting them perish needlessly. They were, after all, merely field operatives, common citizens.
“I repeat, I want the truth.”
Ezenheim was undoubtedly involved in this incident.
The colleagues of Sage, whom I cut down that day, would be hiding somewhere.
Genen’s Spring. The very incident that caused tens of thousands of deaths was likely due to their incitement and instigation.
“If you bring in the ‘real leadership’ who planned this terror attack.”
I will find them and kill them.
I will diligently cut off their roots and twist their necks, leaving no trace for future trouble.
“My assessment might change.”
“—Yes! Loyalty!”
The Chief shouted loudly and saluted.
“We understood everything!”
“Loyalty!”
The investigators echoed the Chief’s salute. Maximillian, nodding slightly, departed the police headquarters with a gait befitting a noble.
The Chief and the investigators maintained their salute until the moment he disappeared from view.
Released from the precinct, Yan wandered aimlessly along Genen’s main streets. His mind was hazy. He didn’t know where he was, nor where he was walking. He simply stumbled forward.
Screech—
At that moment, a car stopped in front of him. The window rolled down, and a low voice emerged.
“Are you Mr. Yan Novak?”
Simultaneously, the car door opened. Yan hastily waved his hands.
“N-No, I, I didn’t do it, I didn’t do anything.”
“It’s alright. I’m not the police.”
Yan belatedly looked at the face calling him.
A man with a stern impression, wearing rimless glasses. His attire alone indicated he was no ordinary police officer.
“Please, get in.”
Yan swallowed. He hesitated, but then got into the passenger seat. The man’s demeanor was not unsettling.
“Um… who… are you?”
He asked cautiously.
“You don’t strictly need to know, but if I were to explain, I’m an employee of the company. An administrative officer, in fact. I have many responsibilities.”
The man adjusted his rimless glasses and handed Yan an envelope.
“This is…?”
“Please check for yourself.”
Yan opened the envelope. Inside were various documents, a laminated card, and even a wad of cash.
“Woah! Th-This is—”
A stack of 100 one-hundred-dollar bills. Ten thousand dollars, a sum he had never touched or seen in his entire life.
“This is your sponsorship and your new identity. A letter of recommendation is also enclosed. You will be able to receive any education you desire, anywhere.”
“Sponsorship? For… for me?”
“Yes. We were told you have potential, Mr. Yan.”
“Who…?”
A certain person suddenly came to Yan’s mind.
—You must hide. Until you become strong enough.
That day, the Sentinel knight. The blonde man who had saved him during the bombing.
“…Why, why me?”
“I merely carry out my assigned tasks and do not convey any deeper meaning. That meaning is for you to discover yourself.”
Vroom. The man drove the car somewhere.
Soon, they reached a familiar alley, and the car suddenly stopped.
Yan startled. It was right in front of his house.
“How was the driving? I’ve only been driving for two days.”
“Ah. Ah. Yes. It was very, very good.”
“Then, please get out.”
“……Yes. Thank you.”
Yan got out of the car. He started to head home but then turned back and asked the man in the driver’s seat.
“Excuse me, what is your name…?”
He adjusted his rimless glasses and replied.
“Dieter. My name is Dieter Schmidt.”
A very matter-of-fact and bored impression. A voice that matched that impression.
“Lastly, there is a message from the boss.”
Ahem. He cleared his throat and spoke in a low voice.
“If you persevere in your current position, you will meet again someday—”
“Ah… Yes.”
Yan nodded blankly.
“Then, I must be going. Do not let this opportunity pass.”
Dieter drove off somewhere. Yan Novak watched the receding figure of the car as it navigated the winding slums for quite some time.
