Chapter 281: Collapse (2)
Whoooooosh…….
At a cemetery on a windswept hill, where fallen leaves rustled, Yvette stood in sunglasses and gazed into the distance.
Far away, a coffin brought over from the funeral hall was being lowered into the ground in a sunny plot.
“…….”
Yvette put a cigarette between her lips.
She had never had anything resembling a grand cause to begin with. Revolution had never suited someone like her in the first place.
And yet, now that she was here, a thought occurred to her.
‘If only I’d met someone like you a little earlier…….’
‘No.’
‘Then I probably wouldn’t understand how grateful I should be for today.’
‘They say people are broken down and rebuilt countless times, but I was wrecked from the start, so I guess this is all I ever managed to become. But whatever. If this is all I am, then honestly, I don’t give a fuck anymore.’
‘Whatever happens to the continent. Whether it burns in war or freezes over. Whatever race anyone might be.’
‘Just…….’
“I’m going now.”
‘I want to leave. To get away from every place that kept binding me, judging me however it pleased, and trying to possess me.’
“Thanks, Sergeant Paul.”
She quietly turned around and left the cemetery.
“──There will be a brief inspection.”
There was another checkpoint on the way out. Access to the facility was restricted to Arans.
“Here.”
She handed over her new Genealogy Certificate. The guard gave it a quick glance, then hurriedly straightened his posture.
“……It’s an honor.”
She was quite pleased with the treatment. From the way he called it an honor, one might think she had become an Imperial noble, but no.
The Genealogy Certificate itself was perfectly ordinary. It simply came with the signature of the person who had verified it.
[ Maximilian Albrecht von Ebenholtz ]
As Yvette walked out of the cemetery, she thought.
Perhaps Maximilian really was a devil, just as the Revolutionary forces claimed.
But everyone had another side to them, and even the Revolutionary forces had sides not so different from Maximilian’s.
Good and evil.
Right and wrong.
Murder and salvation.
In the end, everything existed together in the same world.
‘Like the comrade who tried to kill me, and the enemy who saved me.’
……Maybe.
Maybe the time has come for all of us to collapse at least once.
***
It was an aircraft factory on Highland’s southern coast, back in the homeland. New fighter fuselages were being assembled there, while the adjoining research building tested an air-defense system intended to be deployed along the coast.
Councilor Arthur Winston toured the facility, running his fingertips along a wing still under assembly.
“It’s not just us. Nearly every country on the continent is throwing itself into rearmament. They’ve felt the threat of the Empire firsthand.”
Highland’s Army Minister Leonard spoke.
“Arthur. What about Gary?”
“Gary isn’t opposing it either.”
Tap. Arthur planted his cane against the concrete floor.
“If anything, he’s signing off on the military buildup.”
“……What the hell is he thinking?”
Leonard’s brow furrowed sharply.
“Gary has to step down. The sooner the better.”
“……Don’t say that anywhere else. He’s the most popular Prime Minister in Highland’s history.”
“He is now. He’ll fall soon enough. Or we’ll bring him down ourselves.”
The Army Minister was as hardline as ever. But Arthur did not entirely want to rein him in, either.
“Arthur. I believe…….”
Leonard placed a hand on Arthur’s shoulder.
“……that you should become the leader of our Highland. Even if not now, then someday. Without fail.”
“…….”
Then he handed Arthur an envelope.
It was an invitation.
“It’s a supporters’ gathering I attend from time to time. There are people there who want to meet you.”
Anti-Imperial businessmen, capital from minority groups, factions within the labor unions. Most of it was probably Ezenheim or Mer capital.
“Whether it’s speeches or business ventures, they’ll provide everything you need. All of us want you.”
There was an almost fervent intensity in Leonard’s gaze.
Arthur tucked the invitation into his coat and nodded resolutely.
…….
The grand auditorium of Imperial Central University.
“……Therefore, those who call the will of the Empire’s Arans ‘conquest’ are exceedingly barbaric.”
Reutern II pushed up his glasses and continued his lecture.
“What we seek is restoration. To return our lost compatriots and our lost lands to where they belong. Genson is merely the first chapter…….”
Exactly ninety minutes.
After Reutern finished his script right on time, it was time for questions.
“Does anyone have a question?”
The students raised their hands. Quite a few of them.
“Yes. You there first.”
“Lord Reutern. Now that you have rescued Genson from oppression, I would like to ask your esteemed opinion on how the international situation will develop from here.”
The international situation……. Reutern stroked his chin for a moment as he thought.
“That’s a good question.”
He said it only to buy himself time to think.
“……Strictly speaking, the answer would be ‘no one knows’. The Empire is prepared, and those who are prepared do not try to predict the course of events.”
He breezed past the question with that and moved on.
“Lord Reutern. What do you think of Prime Minister Gary Beaufort?”
This time, he could give a more concrete answer.
Reutern had seen Gary Beaufort in person, and he had also heard about him from Max.
For one thing, he certainly looked respectable enough.
“A man who managed to move the giant that is the Empire…… He’s certainly someone worthy of respect in Highland. Well, I suppose that’s why he became Prime Minister, isn’t it?”
The auditorium burst into laughter.
Reutern himself had only said it offhandedly. But the reporters eavesdropping on the lecture immediately perked up and scribbled down that one line.
[ Reutern Says, The Empire Respects Gary Beaufort……. ]
Something along those lines.
“All right, then. Good work, everyone.”
Reutern waved and stepped down from the auditorium stage.
Professor Ruben immediately fell in beside him like a secretary.
“Excellent work, Lord Reutern.”
“Yeah. Ruben, does our continental tour start next week?”
“Yes. The schedule is absolutely packed.”
The tour would take them not only through the Empire’s central region, but also the east, west, and south, and even Prozen and Highland. Venues everywhere were clamoring to host none other than the great Reutern.
This time, Reutern II intended to travel with his father. He had become painfully aware that his father, Reutern, truly did not have much time left.
‘I should make as many memories with him as I can before then.’
“Right. The piece that’s going to the press this time.”
Reutern handed him a sheet of writing.
[ The East is trembling in fear. Of what? The Empire. The Empire threatens them like a lion, and they tremble. The Empire laughs. But it does not let down its guard. For the Empire’s deep, deep patience is not infinite. The West, watching us, had better think carefully. ]
It was the finished piece, not a rough draft in need of editing, but the final copy.
Once, this would have left Ruben quite flustered, but by now he accepted it with practiced ease.
All of Reutern’s writing was like this anyway. Ruben would polish it himself, and Reutern hardly cared.
“Another fine piece today.”
“Oh, come on~ What’s so fine about it~ I just threw it together~”
“Not at all. This part here, ‘threatens them like a lion’, seems to anticipate the Empire’s intentions with remarkable accuracy…….”
Whether it was an academic paper or a column, Ruben was credited as Reutern’s coauthor, and in return he received a generous salary for working at Reutern’s side, access to research materials, opportunities to accompany him to lectures, and even academic prestige.
“Ruben. Let’s go.”
“Yes.”
Just as Ruben was about to get into Reutern’s car.
Suddenly.
“Professor Ruben!”
Someone ran up and handed Ruben a newspaper.
Ruben’s expression hardened the moment he read the headline, and Reutern leaned over his shoulder to read the front page as well.
“Whaaat─?! An Imperial diplomat was shot dead in Prozen?!”
***
──Bang.
A single gunshot.
A shot had been fired in Prozen.
An Imperial diplomat stationed in Prozen was shot dead, and the perpetrator was identified as an Ezenheim.
The accomplice who had provided the intelligence and weapon was a Merin.
In the future I had lived through before my Regression, that incident had caused the Empire’s fury to erupt against the minority races.
Shops operated by Ezenheim, Merin, Dromon, and other minorities alike were smashed and set on fire.
The riots swept everyone up and raged for three days and nights.
Reporters from across the continent took photographs of the scene.
The devastation was vividly captured on film and spread across the entire world.
Looking back now, that whole chain of events had been exactly what Ezenheim intended.
I would not let myself be dragged along by their script.
…….
“We must use this opportunity. How dare they! The Empire must severely punish those who murdered an Imperial diplomat!”
In a conference room filled with Imperial officials, Johann Georg, head of the newly established Propaganda Bureau, listened to them for a moment before speaking.
“They shot an Aran, the face of the Empire. Blood must be answered with blood.”
“The Imperial citizens demand it. If we do not act first, they will.”
The Imperial Guard, the Regular Army, the ministers, all of them poured out their fury as though competing to prove their loyalty.
“There is no need to answer their provocation with violence.”
Murmurs spread through the room at Johann’s words. Himmler, one of the core figures of the Imperial Guard, crossed his arms and glared at Johann.
“They fired first, and the citizens are furious. Yet you say there’s no need to respond?”
Johann nodded.
“There is a better way. One that is decidedly better.”
“And how can you be so certain it’s better?”
Himmler and the other officials narrowed their eyes.
Johann placed a stack of documents on the table.
“Beginning on the first day of next year, all Ezenheim retail trade, handicrafts, and peddling will be banned outright. Their right to operate companies will be revoked, and whatever businesses remain will be transferred to buyers designated by the Empire. At ten percent of market value, twenty percent at most. They will not receive the proceeds themselves. The money will go into frozen accounts and be administered by the state.”
The words poured from him in rapid succession, as though he had prepared all of this in advance.
Johann turned to the next page.
“We will establish an Atonement Levy for this incident. Ezenheim committed the crime, so they must pay for it. Their property will therefore be seized. If anything is destroyed, the state will confiscate the insurance payout. Stocks, bonds, and precious metals will be forcibly sold. Real estate will be subject to mandatory disposal.”
The others sat dumbfounded for a moment as his proposal continued without end.
“……Anger is most powerful when it is cold.”
The stove crackled in the conference room. Darkness had already fallen outside, and the officials’ hardened faces were reflected in the glass.
“A fire guided by reason is the proper way to burn a continent.”
The instant he finished speaking.
Clap─ clap─ clap─
Someone applauded.
Everyone turned toward the sound.
It was Chiron, Knight Commander of Sentinel.
He smiled and nodded.
“That is very, very true.”
Johann was, after all, someone who could read Maximilian’s script.
And with the authority of the Sentinel Knight Commander behind him, the meeting settled the matter accordingly.
…….
“I too am in agreement with that proposal of yours.”
The Imperial Princess’s hideout.
I received her there.
“However, I shall add one condition.”
The Imperial Princess spoke as she ate.
“It shall apply not only to Ezenheim, but to Mer, Kensi, and ‘all Alien Bloodlines’.”
She ate her blood-red steak with aristocratic elegance.
She liked it blue, almost raw.
“There shall be no exceptions.”
“…….”
Like the Emperor, the Imperial Princess sought to exterminate every group classified as an ‘Alien Bloodline’.
The Emperor possessed a bizarre sense of mission, while the Imperial Princess harbored bottomless malice.
“As for the Yaken, as you say, they are hunting dogs, so I may allow them some time.”
‘Allow them some time.’
She was already planning to dispose of the hunting dogs once their usefulness came to an end.
“Yes.”
Though our paths aligned for now, we were bound to diverge someday.
Even so, this was not yet the time for conflict.
“I shall obey Your Highness’s command.”
For now, I had no choice but to accept it with humility.
……For now.
After that day, the hardline Bloodline Law was enacted.
All commerce by Alien Bloodlines was prohibited. Those who attempted to resist were dragged away by the Imperial Army. The places they left behind were put up for auction.
Auction boards went up along streets once occupied by Ezenheim and Merin businesses, and Imperial citizens took their places.
They praised the Arans. They glorified the Empire. They took pride in themselves for becoming business owners solely because they were Aran.
In addition, the homeless, beggars, alcoholics, and Ezenheim with criminal records were all confined in Concentration Camps.
“Sir. Six Concentration Camps have been completed.”
I owned more than half of the Concentration Camp business.
That was how I intended to stay on my chosen course amid the chaos that would soon shake the continent.
“……Separate the races completely.”
I would go forward as the vilest imperialist, a mad racist, and an architect of massacres that would kill tens of millions.
“Even among the Alien Bloodlines.”
Even so, I would, without fail, remain on the righteous path.
It would be my North Star, just as someone once told me.
“Above all, do not put Merin, Edlem, or Kensi behind the same walls as Ezenheim.”
Those three races, along with Ezenheim, were Subspecies despised across the continent. But they had committed no crime. Being born was not a crime.
I did not yet possess the power to stop their persecution, so if I wanted to keep them alive, ‘I’ needed to own as many Concentration Camps as possible.
“Yes. And sir, a letter has arrived from Halbert Goering.”
Halbert Goering. It was a familiar name, one I had encountered quite often over the course of various incidents.
I opened the letter.
──[ To Knight Maximilian ]──
…….I consider myself well suited to managing a Concentration Camp. Over the past half year, I have sent countless documents, business plans, cost estimates, and staffing proposals…….
I believe you know better than anyone what I accomplished aboard the Titan, yet I have not been selected even once.
If you would grant me just one opportunity…….
───
“What’s happened to him?”
The writing was needlessly desperate.
The Operations Officer answered.
“He is apparently on the verge of bankruptcy. The reason is…….”
Halbert Goering had poured money into trying to break into the Concentration Camp business, but a problem had arisen with his relatives.
His uncle, Hagmund Goering, was a senior Imperial Guard officer. He had happily taken Halbert’s money, yet when it came time to recommend candidates, he had put forward only his Imperial Guard cronies.
“……Halbert Goering.”
But in my opinion.
“Tell him I’ll entrust a Concentration Camp to him.”
If anything, he was exactly the sort of man suited to this kind of business.
***
“Haa…….”
Halbert Goering had been wasting away lately.
Every day he stared at property listings, wondering if he should at least sell his house, and sometimes wiped away tears when he thought of Yvette.
“Still, I got to spend almost a month with a woman like that.”
It really was like a dream…….
Then one day, after yet another bout of drinking and crying over memories of the past, someone came to see him with some news.
“Are you Sir Halbert?”
“……Who are you?”
“Congratulations. You have been selected as the administrator of the Debran Camp once construction is comple-”
“Whaaaaaat─?!”
“You have been selected as its administrator.”
“Is that really, really true──?!”
“Yes. Come with me.”
He rushed off at once. His destination was quite far from the Imperial capital.
In fact, it lay far to the east, in an industrial district bordering the region around Yursled.
It was farther than he had expected, but he had no time to feel disappointed.
“What do you think?”
“…….”
His jaw dropped at the sight of the vast, modern factory.
“This will become a factory producing military supplies, including rope and parachutes. Most likely, Merin will be interned here…….”
Merin? Halbert Goering broke into a broad grin.
“Yes! I’m very good at managing Merin. I even know one personally.”
“Oh, do you?”
“……Well, I didn’t know that many. Hahahaha. There was just one I used to boss around like a lackey…… He’s dead now. Haha…….”
His laughter briefly faltered at the end. His head dipped before he even realized it.
He had suddenly remembered what that lackey had said to him at the very end. The words were still lodged in his memory.
Afraid that the Operations Officer might notice, Halbert quickly composed himself.
“Sir Halbert. Here is the purchase price.”
The Operations Officer handed him a document.
The purchase price.
‘This factory is bigger than I expected. It must cost quite a lot. Should I borrow more money from Nils?’
“Yes. If I sell my house later, perhaps then…….”
‘Could I pay later?’
He was saying those words when he looked down at the document.
“It…… says 100 Imperial Dollars?”
The Operations Officer looked at Halbert and smiled.
“Yes. That’s correct.”
“……What?”
“Sir Maximilian left word that the hero of the Titan was to be treated accordingly.”
In other words, it really did mean 100 Imperial Dollars.
“…….”
At that moment, Halbert Goering felt a strange kind of joy.
What was it? Ecstasy, perhaps.
It was an emotion unlike anything he had felt in all the decades of his life. It was as though starlight were pouring down over his head, every hair on his body standing on end as if struck by lightning, while the sheer intensity of it made him reel.
“We ask that you use the same abilities you displayed while maintaining order aboard the Titan and rescuing the survivors to manage this Concentration Camp without any losses.”
“O-of course! Of course! For the rest of my life!”
Halbert Goering seized the Operations Officer’s hand.
“I’ll devote my entire life to this place!”
“Let’s start with your signature.”
“Yes, yes! Yes, yes!”
Halbert hurriedly signed, then received a thick envelope of documents confirming his ‘ownership’ of the Concentration Camp.
“Well then, I’ll be going.”
Halbert still could not tell whether this was a dream or reality, but the Operations Officer left first.
“…….”
Halbert stood alone in the middle of the factory.
It was empty, yet filled with machinery…… Beautiful.
“Haa…….”
This place was his now.
‘Is this real?’
He slapped his cheeks once, twice, then again, but still did not wake from the dream.
Which meant it was real.
“Hahahahaha!”
‘This whole place is mine.’
“Wahahahahaha! This is my home now!”
He spun around and around inside the empty factory as though dancing a waltz.
After spinning for some time, he abruptly stopped.
“…….”
Empty workbenches stretched beneath the high ceiling. Soon, people would stand there. Merin, deft with their hands and devoted to their work. People with faces like that guy’s, members of the same race as him.
“……Eli Zella.”
He quietly murmured the name, then shook his head.
‘Let’s not dwell on pointless thoughts.’
‘For now, let’s just enjoy this moment.’
Halbert began spinning around the factory again.
~~~
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