Chapter 237

I’ll say it straight.

The proposal from the public security headquarters chief was a claim not even worth reviewing.

Proving the patheticness of that proposal would be insufficient even if I invested the entire time of this meeting.

But the fact that the public security headquarters chief seriously spouted nonsense like someone who just woke up was, now, not important at all.

Because a new problem had arisen.

“…….”

The gazes of numerous mages, including the Minister of Magic, hit me. A bewildered atmosphere flowed.

I was the lowest of the low in this place. I was here only because I directly witnessed the scene, not because I had some great authority. Even Leo came in his position as the Crown Prince of Bavaria, not as the Eszett leader.

I put down the fountain pen I was holding on the report and looked at him.

The crown prince was smiling faintly with narrowed eyes. She lightly took a puff from the cigarette she was holding and exhaled without taking her eyes off me. The light from the mana screen illuminated the smoke coming from the end of the cigarette she held. In the space frozen as if time had stopped, only the cigarette smoke was the only thing moving.

“I….”

Since I was not in a position to comment in this place, please reconsider your judgment, I tried to say that, but my statement was cut off from the start.

Because the crown prince exercised her annoying insight to interrupt my words.

“It’s fine, so speak comfortably. I’m curious about how our rookie civil servant who first discovered the terror scene thinks about this terror situation.”

“…….”

My eyes naturally turned around.

A vigilance flickered in the Minister of Magic’s eyes. Leo was looking at me with a slightly flustered expression….

The King of Bavaria, sitting next to the crown prince, was looking at me with dry eyes. He had no reason to protect the heir of Anhalt as a royal servant of the royal family, not Nicolaus.

No, precisely….

‘It’s a loss in calculation to defend.’

He was the only one in this place who could add words to the crown prince’s actions. So, suppose he restrains the crown prince by saying ‘It’s not the time to ask the opinion of the lowest of the low scum with 72 hours left until opening.’ Any other defense was currently impossible.

In that case, the crown prince would get an opportunity to reduce Bavaria’s influence over me.

In what way?

‘In the position of knowing well what evaluation Lucas Askanian received to rise to this place, it’s worth hearing his judgment at least once.’

With this word, all opportunities were prepared.

Why such an absurd claim was possible.

The reason the professors ranked me first in the third militia exam was my situational judgment.

And the crown prince appointed me, Eszett, to the imperial family because of that point. Because he was the mage he pushed to appoint, and because the crown prince was in the highest position here, there was room for her stubbornness to be allowed.

As a result, if my judgment was correct, the King’s discernment who restrained the crown prince would be devalued. Conversely, the crown prince who paid attention to Lucas Askanian’s judgment now, when he had no political base yet, would be able to exert influence over me in imperial politics.

The King of Bavaria would want absolute superiority over Nicolaus, so he wouldn’t want to back down regarding Lucas Askanian, the main body. The King’s choice to observe was the best choice.

Now the problem was me.

What answer should I give in this situation?

‘It’s meaningless to think about that.’

From the moment the crown prince entrusted the verification of the high-level’s demand to the lowest, the public security headquarters chief’s pride was already shattered. Whether I agreed or disagreed with the public security headquarters chief’s proposal, the very act of the lowest reviewing the feasibility of a high official’s proposal was presumptuous.

I would get cursed whether I agreed or disagreed.

I suppressed the urge to snatch the cigarette the crown prince was holding and smoke it, and thought.

‘Is this telling me to ride the line well from now on.’

She was asking between herself and other officials whom I would choose.

I looked at her golden pupils shining vividly even in the darkness with only faint rays of light.

Even without saying, she clearly thought the same as me. She must be finding the public security headquarters chief’s demand pathetic.

Under the assumption that the crown prince wouldn’t betray me, let’s draw conclusions for each.

If I agreed with the public security headquarters chief’s proposal, it would just become a paradise for fools. No need to say more. I would become the fool of fools who applauded the fool’s logic out of fear of aftermath. I wouldn’t gain support from the imperial family, nor from the officials under the imperial family or government officials.

Even if I opposed, it was natural I wouldn’t gain officials’ support. However, in this case, a clear link would form for the crown prince to grab my hand and pull me. It meant starting my political debut standing in the Elisabeth Hohenzollern line.

If the crown prince’s judgment was that, it would also become a structure where responsibility could be dumped on me.

Then, if I didn’t answer? As I thought earlier, from the moment verification was entrusted to me, I was already disliked by the officials.

The public security headquarters chief must have already prepared to order an investigation on me as soon as he returned and find a way to send me away. The flailing of incompetent ones who couldn’t compete with skills was extremely severe beyond the criminal’s imagination.

‘I get it well.’

I decided what I should do.

‘Absolutely withdraw.’

If the crown prince supported me, would the pro-emperor politicians accept me? On the surface, they might smile flexibly, but the established generation who had rolled through politics for decades seeing all kinds of ugly sights wouldn’t easily accept a newcomer parachuted in.

Moreover, in this case, it would mean handing my political life to the crown prince. If my status rose because the crown prince held my hand, the moment the crown prince let go, I would be torn to death by those lurking underwater like piranhas waiting only to bite me.

In summary, like this.

No matter what I answered here, or didn’t answer, the possibility of being placed in the midst of political strife was high. However, in this situation, it was better not to answer.

“Your Highness. I still have many difficulties in speaking in this place. Also, I cannot add my opinion to the proposal the public security headquarters chief gave to Your Highness. I would like to report my opinion directly to Your Highness after the meeting ends.”

The crown prince answered with a subtle smile.

“The words that you will meet me directly and tell me sound quite enjoyable. But we have to set the big framework at this time today, so there won’t be time for a second meeting separately with me.”

“…….”

It was a refusal.

I couldn’t back down further here.

In this case, I had no choice but to bear the risk and state my opinion.

‘I need to prepare one more political background after the meeting ends.’

Background for Lucas Askanian. I couldn’t let him grab my collar meekly here.

When I thought that and was about to open my mouth, an unexpected indifferent voice was heard.

“Your Highness the Crown Prince.”

It was Leo. He looked at the crown prince with no emotion on his face.

The crown prince raised his eyebrows as if encountering an interesting situation.

“I apologize for interrupting despite not being a party. I request that you postpone the opportunity to convey opinion to Your Highness. Currently, Deputy Leader Askanian’s condition is not good.”

“Condition?”

“I discovered him collapsed behind this grounds 10 minutes before the meeting. When I briefly examined, it seemed due to extreme tension and fatigue.”

“…….”

The crown prince nodded slowly.

“Good. I want to say thank you for kindly explaining the situation to me. I’m also curious if answering no when I already asked if the condition was not good was in the realm of loyalty or due to insufficient self-check.”

She looked alternately at me and Leo with gentle eyes and said.

“It’s the way not to burden the patient, but now I have no choice but to ask for a little understanding from His Highness the Crown Prince of Bavaria and Deputy Leader Askanian.”

As expected.

He had no intention of ending this situation.

The crown prince now looked at the public security headquarters chief and said.

“War with rats, splendid words. The main culprit that killed this continent long ago is threatening our empire’s safety again. The difference is that what was the plague back then has returned as berserk now.”

The public security headquarters chief tried to relax his stiff face and answered.

“Yes.”

“Your Excellency the public security headquarters chief claimed that the Russian bomb is a kind of decoy.”

“…That’s right. They probably intend to release the rats placed throughout the capital and the empire, taking advantage of the gap where we focus attention and manpower on the bomb.”

The crown prince, who had been sitting slightly sideways with a blank expression burning the cigarette, smiled and exhaled smoke. Tension circulated. The crown prince shook her head with a smiling face and corrected her posture.

In the words that followed, we doubted our ears.

“From this time until the closing day of Pentalon, I will transfer the public security headquarters’ Prussia security jurisdiction to the Ministry of Magic.”

Everyone’s eyes widened. The crown prince continued in a leisurely voice without caring about such reactions.

“Let’s do it democratically with a show of hands. The VIPs from the federal states can just watch comfortably. From government vice ministers and above, if you do not agree to temporarily transfer the public security headquarters’ Prussia security jurisdiction to the Ministry of Magic, raise your hand. Not raising a hand will be considered agreement.”

A public show of hands vote was democratic while discussing this topic?

No one moved. Everyone tried not to look at the crown prince and just breathed rigidly. The Minister of Magic’s face maintained dignity as at first, but I could see the blood draining from his face.

“It seems everyone agrees.”

The crown prince leisurely looked around the people and said.

“But in this place, the opinion of the Minister of Magic is important. Do you agree to temporarily transfer the jurisdiction of the public security headquarters to the Ministry of Magic until before Pentalon? Even if you do not agree, there will be no disadvantage.”

“…Your Highness, please reconsider….”

“What.”

“…….”

“The transfer of the public security headquarters’ jurisdiction? Or giving that authority to the Ministry of Magic?”

I looked at the crown prince’s eyes.

She wasn’t Abraham for nothing. She was fully utilizing the crown prince position she had seized.

‘His induction skill is no joke.’

He gave one opportunity, but since no answer, he cornered completely.

If the minister said to reconsider the former, it would be overstepping.

If he said to reconsider the latter, it would be foolish. Anyway, if the crown prince intended to stop the public security headquarters, there was no meaning for the Ministry of Magic to keep loyalty alone. To begin with, the public security headquarters was under the imperial family, and the Ministry of Magic was government, so there was no link except personal friendship between the two heads.

The minister drew out words in a low voice.

“I will follow Your Highness the Crown Prince’s will.”

“There seems to be a misunderstanding. I have never begged to follow my will. I asked what your will is.”

The crown prince’s voice was exceedingly gentle, and the smile on his face was the same. However, everyone knew that those words weren’t quite right, and that really saying one’s will here would be the end.

Now, there was only one thing that could come from the Minister of Magic. ‘My will is the same as Your Highness the Crown Prince’s will’.

The crown prince was looking for a target to share the weight of sending one person, and the one caught was the Minister of Magic.

When the Minister of Magic moved his lips and swallowed hard, the public security headquarters chief urgently opened his mouth.

“Your Highness. I, I just reported the situation and proposed a direction for the future…. Ah, no, if there was an error in my proposal and grounds, I will correct it immediately. If you tell me….”

“Tell you. Are you saying to me?”

The public security headquarters chief waved his hand with a dazed face, then realized it was impolite and regained his senses. It wasn’t ordinary tension; cold sweat was flowing on his temples visible.

It was natural. Could he return after Pentalon ended? If the crown prince truly took authority from him, the replacement of the public security headquarters chief position was foreseen. There was no need to openly say not to come from tomorrow, no noble saying that. This was the dismissal declaration.

“It seems the conclusion is reached now. The Ministry of Magic is….”

“Ah, Your Excellency Askanian!”

The public security headquarters chief urgently shouted while looking at me.

Even though the words were cut off, a gentle smile was on the crown prince’s face.

“…….”

I blankly stared at the crown prince without expression.

The crown prince softly raised her mouth corners with an expression as if a burden-free environment wasn’t prepared now.

She was Abraham, and the chairman of Primrose Path. It was surprising that her expression felt no guilt. Her somewhat faded image, her actions were reviving in this place.

Even though I wasn’t looking at the public security headquarters chief, he urgently said to me in a trembling voice.

“I want to hear Your Excellency’s opinion. According to what Your Excellency says, the proposal, the proposal revise and… again….”

Now the public security headquarters chief owed me. He couldn’t prepare to bury me as soon as he returned.

The crown prince showed me, while completely toying with the public security headquarters under the ‘imperial family’, her resolve that she wouldn’t betray me in this place, and the signal that our thoughts were the same. She showed everyone that she could cut her own subordinate for me.

To create an opportunity for me to naturally open my mouth.

The risk given to me now was drastically reduced compared to the beginning.

Setting aside that it was a nauseating method even if a temporary ally….

“…….”

I hadn’t asked for such an opportunity, but it was better than the crown prince thinking ‘It’s impossible for no problem to occur in Pentalon, so it’s good to listen to the public security headquarters chief’s nonsense and dump all responsibility on her.’

Honestly, it was a good situation to distribute responsibility in preparation for Pentalon’s failure.

I cast amplification magic and opened my mouth.

“What I say from now is all just my personal view.”

“That, since I want to hear that view, please speak without burden.”

“Your Excellency the public security headquarters chief said the Russian bomb is a kind of decoy, ‘They probably intend to release the rats placed throughout the capital and the empire, taking advantage of the gap where we disperse manpower and attention on the bomb.’”

The public security headquarters chief nodded.

“But if intending a decoy, it shouldn’t have been in the same space.”

“That….”

“Of course, I know you brought up this story worrying that our government’s attention would be divided between the bomb and rats. However, I thought we need to consider a greater risk than that now.”

“A greater risk…?”

“What if that basement was prepared to mislead the original plan?”

Silence followed.

It was natural since there was no evidence yet.

“Devoting the majority of available manpower to investigating rats, in my guess, that is exactly what Pleroma wants. Because only then can they have leeway to prepare and execute the real plan.”

At those words, the vice minister of security sitting close to me asked with arms crossed.

“Real plan?”

“There is no way to know their real plan yet.”

“Is it because of the white phosphorus match placed there that you reached that conclusion? The alphabets below were classifications by production factory and each line. A is factory 1 line 1, B is factory 1 line 2, like this. I understand mistaking it for a code because two matches were delivered to the Imperial Second Academy… but isn’t it a bit hasty. Common sense, the possibility of a fire or bomb installation notice is greater.”

This content was written in the report distributed today.

Since it was a match produced too long ago, neither I nor Heike knew this fact. However, this point wasn’t important at all.

The alphabets were still a code.

“First, let’s set aside the white phosphorus match and examine. As also in this report, the two berserkers were the managers of that apartment-commercial complex building. Receiving a resident’s report that there was a bad smell for several days, they opened the unused basement storage and were bitten by rats. After being bitten by rats, the two came out to find tools to kill the rats, and after 30 minutes like that, contaminated Vitriol spread throughout the body and they berserked.”

I held the report and turned to the back page.

“Perhaps if that resident induced the managers to enter the basement with malice, to check that, the result of examining the resident with divine power is written here. He was innocent. The problem is that examining all citizens in that distance with divine power, all were innocent.”

“Rather than a problem….”

When an objection came from somewhere, the crown prince extended his hand to stop him.

I glanced at them and continued.

“This basement is located 500m from Tis Hotel. Since no residents used the basement in that vicinity, it means the one who occupied the basement is an outsider, but why specifically near the VIP lodging, and in a place where the door can be easily opened with a duplicate key without special locks, used as storage… that was the biggest question for me. If the cage opens by mistake, rats can spread, and berserk phenomenon can occur like today. And right in front of the hotel.”

Gradually getting the sense, the people who had been listening blankly narrowed their eyes and started nodding slightly.

“Currently, our government is preserving the scene and waiting for the criminal to appear, ambushing. I dare say that attempt will be meaningless. Because the criminal didn’t accidentally get caught by us in that place, but intended to show us that place.”

“…….”

“Besides, the plan sheet that coincidentally only the middle was wet is quite suspicious. To induce us to the basement, the white phosphorus match fallen exactly one on the ground floor was the same.”

As the white phosphorus match story came up again, the vice minister of security made a face holding back a scoff.

I understood.

If the alphabets on the matches we checked were stamped for manufacturing line confirmation, as he said, common sense to interpret as notice of setting fire or installing bomb was right.

But there was a decisive problem.

“How many matches were reported to the police until before and discovered today in total?”

“Hm… I remember 11.”

“Good. Then, you would remember the match with holes. That match where the cut surface was cut once more specifically.”

“Yes.”

“Have you checked how many holes there were in total?”

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