Chapter 60: Dancing with the Revolution The corridors of the Sentinel Knights' headquarters were silent.
Leon walked with something hidden in his arms. His face was tight with tension, and for good reason.
"…Leon!"
Tiana, his backup, stepped out from around a corner.
"This way. Hurry."
Leon scanned their surroundings and quickly approached her.
"Did you get caught?" Tiana whispered.
"No. Not yet."
"Phew… Let's go to your office for now. Mine has a window; someone might see us."
With a nod, the two hurried away.
[Knight's Office: Leon]
As soon as they stepped inside and locked the door, they each set down a book wrapped tightly in paper.
Tiana let out a long sigh. "Ugh, Max really has no sense of timing sometimes."
"I'm actually quite grateful to the Great Sir Max."
"Hey, I'm grateful too, obviously, but still…"
A few days ago, Tiana and Leon had asked Max for a manual on formulas. They hadn't expected much. Even though they were in the same class, they weren't exactly close friends.
But Max had agreed. They thought he was just being polite, but to their surprise…
The books had actually been delivered to their office doors this morning!
"How did Max even write something like this? So out of the blue," Tiana muttered, flipping the manual over.
"I heard he was drafting it the entire time during the Empire Point mission."
"Really? I mean, he always did like being alone… Anyway, let's study for a bit and—"
Knock, knock.
Startled by the sound, the two shoved the manuals under the desk.
"Yes!" Leon answered.
The door opened, revealing Reynel, a senior knight. He looked back and forth between Tiana and Leon, his brow furrowing.
"…What are you two doing?"
"We were discussing work—"
"Ah, whatever. I don't care if you two are dating… By the way, did you get your hands on that book?"
That book. The one currently causing a sensation among the knights, a new frontier in Aura Shields.
The Aura Sphere.
Leon swallowed hard before answering. "No. I don't think we've managed to get it yet."
"Oh, really?"
Reynel tilted his head with an air of superiority.
"That's a shame. Because I got one."
"…Excuse me?"
Tiana and Leon blinked. Reynel chuckled at their reaction.
"Well… Sir Chiron managed to get one for me."
"Is… is that so?"
"Yeah. So you two should make sure you're lining up with the right people. Don't cling to the wrong ones. No matter how hard you two try on your own, something like this…"
Reynel pulled a manual from his coat. He had even gone so far as to put it in a custom case with a lock.
"Do you think you could ever get your hands on this?"
"Ah…"
"Uh…"
It was clear he had come just to brag, making it awkward to know how to respond.
"Well, keep up the hard work! Hahaha!"
Fortunately, he turned and left as soon as he finished his piece.
Tiana tilted her head. "What is with that guy?"
"…Tiana. Should we just go home? Let's dismiss the administrative officers and head out."
There wasn't much work today anyway. It was usually quiet right before or after a major event.
"Okay. First, inject some mana. Just in case."
The two infused the manuals with mana. Then, acting as if nothing had happened, they left the office and headed down to the parking lot.
* * *
— I didn't know you possessed such talent, Sir Knight.
In the knight's office, Leon received a call from Engie for the first time in a while.
"Come on. It's just a trend right now. It's not that big of a deal. You know how it is, right? Knights hate change, but they hate falling behind even more."
— No. This doesn't seem like a temporary trend at all.
There was a hint of joy in Engie's voice—a rare occurrence for someone who always maintained their composure.
"I'll send one to my father too. Though he probably won't use it."
— Yes. Ahem, Young Master.
Engie cleared his throat and offered a comment that was quite pleasant to hear.
— You are becoming more and more of a source of pride for us.
"…Thank you."
A natural smile spread across my lips.
— Then, please rest well.
"Yeah. Good work."
I hung up the phone.
Knock, knock—
Right on cue, an administrative officer entered.
"Sir. A letter for you."
He handed over the envelope. It bore the seal of the Imperial Palace. It wasn't the Royal Seal, but the Palace Department seal, and the sender was Reutern II.
It was essentially a letter pressuring me for the Aura Sphere.
"…What a piece of shit."
I crumpled it up and threw it away.
"In the future, you don't need to deliver any correspondence from this man to me. Handle it yourself."
"Yes, sir."
Reutern II.
Even among the 'Palace Nobles'—most of whom were of poor character—he was a particularly foul bastard.
A lump of filth who would eventually rise to become a military commander.
I don't know what he was trying to achieve, but because he was uneducated, every move he made was a blunder, and he single-handedly ruined an entire legion. To put it bluntly, he was more helpful to the revolution than the Revolutionary Group itself. Consequently, he was executed as a 'common criminal' rather than a war criminal.
I looked up Reutern II's records on the knight's computer.
Indictment: Sexual Assault – Verdict: Not Guilty Indictment: Retaliatory Murder – Verdict: Not Guilty Indictment: Operating an Illegal Gambling Den – Verdict: Not Guilty… The list of crimes went on endlessly.
And every single one ended in 'Not Guilty.'
However, now was not the time to worry about such trash.
Protests were breaking out all across the Empire. The frequency of terrorist attacks was slowly increasing.
While the Imperial Center, under the direct control of the Royal Family and the military, was relatively quiet, the West and East were beginning to boil over.
Soon—a major incident would occur.
I recalled the progression of events from before my regression.
There is a massive industrial zone in the Empire called 'Gigantes.' It is the heart of the munitions industry, including weapons manufacturing. For centuries, it has served as the engine of the Empire.
But I would describe Gigantes differently.
A patchwork golem.
Much of the Empire's infrastructure was already severely dilapidated. In other words, it was far too old. It was an inevitable fate.
The Empire has endured for a staggering thousand years. No other nation has lasted nearly as long.
But in the face of a thousand years, even the best-made machine is bound to rust. Flowing rivers dry up, and the shapes of high mountains change.
Gigantes was no different.
Established nearly half a millennium ago, the facility had been forcibly remodeled from making swords and spears to producing rifles and cannons. Equipment that once produced cavalry armor had been twisted to forge tank parts. Various machines were haphazardly stitched together as needed.
It was highly inefficient, yet because of its sheer scale, it remained a vital industrial zone that accounted for a massive portion of the Empire's military production.
And that was where the sabotage would occur.
[Breaking News] Massive explosion at 'Gigantes,' the Empire's largest munitions industrial zone; suspected act of subversives.
The scoop that would bring this autumn to a spectacular close.
And there was something I absolutely had to obtain from that incident.
* * *
[ The time for action has come. ]
Gigantes, the Empire's massive industrial zone. Darkness already hung heavy over the place that had served as the Empire's engine for so long.
[ The Empire now seeks to wage war. ]
Workers were exploited for abysmal wages, and the surplus profits generated by grinding down their souls were all pocketed by the Palace Nobles.
"Hey, you crazy bastard! Move faster!"
The supervisors enforced quotas with verbal and physical abuse, while the workers, their faces bleak, repeated the same tasks infinitely.
[ No, they are being driven into a situation where they have no choice but to wage war. ]
Fifteen hours of labor and a mere one hour of rest. Their humanity had already been lost; there was no vitality or hope in their eyes, and above all, no 'future.'
[ The Empire is a patient with a terminal diagnosis. Simultaneously, it is the cancer of the continent. ]
Facilities that once made spears and bows were crushed into shape to spit out bullets and shells; furnaces that cast armor were remodeled to stamp out plating.
It was the height of inefficiency, yet it filled the gap by ruthlessly consuming countless workers on a massive scale… An industrial zone truly fitting for the Empire.
[ Gigantes is a chimera of their making. We will destroy that monster, and even if it is destroyed… ]
"The Empire will have no choice but to proceed with the war."
In a dark underground burrow where a candle flickered, revolutionary comrades were deciphering a coded message sent from above.
"Because if they don't, they cannot resolve their internal problems. Therefore, their war will surely lead to ruin…"
A man wearing a Tiger Mask set down the decoded message.
"And this is a classified document from 'Moon Bear.'"
Moon Bear. A comrade who had infiltrated the highest echelons of the Empire. He transmitted various internal secrets to the Revolutionary Group.
They didn't know who he was, they weren't supposed to want to know, and they must never find out.
"Read it."
A woman wearing a Rabbit Mask took the document.
"…."
The Empire was crumbling. Extreme wealth inequality. Corruption in the Palace. The resentment of soldiers ignored by the nobility. The rage of the subjects reaching a breaking point. The Emperor's unilateral will. Continuously decreasing tax revenue. And rampant corruption.
If all this internal pressure wasn't diverted outward, the Empire would explode from within.
"…The numbers alone make war a certainty."
"Yes. That is why this operation is more important than anything else."
The comrade in the Tiger Mask pointed to the mission board set in the darkness.
Their core objective was the single focal point that held Gigantes together.
"We will target the thing that makes all of Gigantes' industry move…"
There was only one power source driving Gigantes: a massive Mana Ore Vein embedded deep within the ground. An unrefined heart that provided the vast amount of mana required to run countless machines.
Gigantes itself was an industrial zone built around that very focal point.
"We will destroy that core."
It was a plan years in the making. Many members of the Revolutionary Group had already infiltrated Gigantes, and comrades were even embedded among the middle managers and supervisors.
"…Commence."
Rabbit Mask raised her fist. The eight core members in charge of this operation joined their fists with hers.
"For the Great Cause."
At Tiger Mask's words, the other animal masks, including Rabbit, responded.
"For the Cause."
Their low murmurs were filled with grim determination.
* * *
On a hill not far from Gigantes.
I arrived at the villa I had instructed Dieter to purchase. It was a temporary residence where I would stay for two days around the exact date of the operation, offering a full view of the bleak industrial city.
"…."
Sitting in a rocking chair by the window, I looked out at the factory district spewing gray smoke.
I had to carry out this task alone. That was how important this matter was.
"It's a truly bleak city."
Gigantes was a hotbed of exploitation. Likely because it was owned by those Palace Noble bastards.
There was no group more rotten than the Palace. Honestly, Reutern II was cute compared to them.
A den of vermin where the bloodlines of various kingdoms annexed by the Empire, along with all sorts of other lowlifes, gathered to play at being officials and treated the subjects like dogs and pigs.
They always reeked of a stench that even the most expensive perfumes couldn't hide. Since the Imperial Guard had free access to the Palace, they naturally rolled around with those bastards and became part of the same crowd.
The foul smell of those two groups mixing was—
"The biggest reason the Empire fell."
I closed my eyes. With the help of the Virus, I sifted through my past memories. Newspaper articles from before my regression unfolded vividly.
* * *
[Breaking News] Massive explosion at 'Gigantes,' the Empire's largest munitions industrial zone; suspected act of subversives.
…Last night, a massive explosion, suspected to be the work of the Revolutionary Group, occurred at the Gigantes industrial zone, the heart of the Empire's munitions industry.
* * *
Their revolution, which they had so boldly plotted…
* * *
They appeared to have targeted the central Mana Ore Vein, the power source of Gigantes, but were thwarted by a successful response on-site…
…While some production facilities were destroyed and guards were killed, Imperial military officials stated there would be no significant disruption to the production of military supplies.
* * *
…Ended in a tragic conclusion. Some of the core members fled, and the rest were all killed.
This autumn.
My goal starts again from that very point.
"…It must succeed."
I will help their grand act of destruction, their revolutionary resolve, to bring down this patchwork golem.
I will ensure that their intent succeeds this time, without fail.
"Haa…"
— Are you Max? For a son of Ebenholtz… you're quite pretty.
— Hahahaha. Ebenholtz this, Ebenholtz that. You're quite lacking compared to Zebestian, aren't you?
— Why are you so cowardly? Are you afraid your father might scold you? Khahaha…
The voices of the Palace bastards mocking me in the past echoed in my ears.
I'm not usually one to hold a deep grudge, but those Palace bastards are just unbearable.
"There are many who deserve to die."
In any case, a munitions factory with far more advanced facilities than Gigantes was already being built in secret in Southern Hermes. I would pour more money into it and import the latest designs from Kanilan without reservation.
While I couldn't replace Gigantes' absolute production volume in the short term, I could certainly substitute it with efficiency and quality.
Therefore, this autumn is a stage I share with them.
Their revolution will be of great help to me, and to the Empire. It will weaken the position of the Palace Nobles while I claim the entirety of the now-vacant share of the munitions industry.
"Not all terrorism is bad."
Of course, many workers in Gigantes would lose their jobs, but they might actually consider it 'liberation.'
"I'll be waiting… for that day."
I stood up from the chair with a smile.
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