076 – Security (1)
Nadal said as he took off his fedora.
“It is surprising that Sir Berggan is asking me to cooperate with the investigation.”
Originally, Bergan did not trust or like Nadal.
Not because Nadal was a non-human homunculus, but because of his way of thinking.
In carrying out the orders issued by the emperor, he chooses the easiest and fastest route without considering the lives of agents or civilians.
I did not ask Nadal for help because I had an experience where I lost two of my favorite knights in vain while performing a mission in cooperation with Nadal.
However, according to the regression records, Nadal sacrificed her life to save Princess Rain Rover.
It is said that he is a patriot who can at least give his life for the Empire.
“I just thought that you, not me, were the experts in this case.”
Francis is an old man who harbors a deadly poison that instigates the people of the Empire and causes infighting that makes the Empire rotten and sick.
Berggan, like Tigris, specialized in cutting and killing, not dealing with old demagogues like Francis.
“I searched all the priests and paladins around the diocesan Bishop Francis, the Lucet Temple, and the surrounding priests, but nothing could be obtained. It makes me wonder if I can be this clean.”
“It’s so clean that I doubt it. Are you saying this?”
“It’s like that. I have to figure out what that viper old man is hiding… It’s not easy.”
Nadal looked at Bergang as if in surprise.
“I had no idea that the Vicar Francis would look that way. I knew Sir Bergang as a devout Luxist.”
“I went through what happened yesterday, and my perception has changed.”
Nadal nodded in understanding.
“I think so.”
A person called a priest of the Lux Church is carrying out suicide terrorism in order to turn his gaze to the black soil.
The person who gave the order to commit suicide terrorism or the person who planned and carried out suicide terrorism must have been crazy.
“There has been a lot of chattering like you. Is there any information that could help with the investigation?”
“Yes. there is.”
Berggan received the envelope that Nadal had handed him.
“This will put pressure on Bishop Francis.”
Nadal stopped Berggan as he tried to retrieve the papers.
“Oh, wait a minute. These are all top secret.”
Very few people are able to read first-class confidential documents.
Except for top-ranking bureaucrats such as Bergang, Nadal, and Chancellor, it was impossible to read.
Bergang looked around.
There were Golden Knights, Iron-Blood Magic Corps, and officials from the Ministry of Justice.
“Can you all leave for a moment?”
With that said, everyone, including the Golden Knights, went out of the observation room.
Berggan opened the thick paper envelope and read the document.
It contained information that could cause a stir, one by one.
Photos of the priests and paladins of the Lucet Temple entering the uptown salon, enjoying drinking and dancing, and even entering the hotel with a drunken woman were all photographed.
“How did you get this?”
“Originally, we were only using the information inside the Inquisitor. I know that only a few high-ranking officials I know have a close relationship with the Lux Church. So, there was a risk that this information would be passed on if I made a mistake.”
“What does it mean to have an intimate relationship with the Lux Church?”
“It’s about taxes.”
The ‘Victorie Social Welfare Foundation’ under the Lucet Temple is one of the few ‘Public Health Foundation’ recognized by the Lucet Empire.
Various volunteers were supported, such as informing the general public about common sense of health or dispatching priests and volunteers to places where epidemics were prevalent.
Of course, it was operated by the royal tax and donations, and when the high-ranking nobles and wealthy donated to the social welfare foundation in Victory, they could enjoy some tax relief.
“I couldn’t open the account books of the social welfare foundation in this Victory, but when I checked the books of various high-ranking nobles, including Viscount Kale, I found very interesting information.”
For example, if you donated 100 gold coins to the Social Welfare Foundation to Victory, the Social Welfare Foundation to Victory will give you a statement saying that you donated 150.
Then, when you report to the Imperial Tax Office, you donated 150 gold coins, so you are asking for a tax benefit equivalent to 150 gold coins.
“What kind of garbage….”
“Giving is not just about receiving money. We also receive various medical supplies and office supplies. For example, one silver fountain pen is priced at 10 silver and receives a donation.”
“Then will the tax reduction be that much?”
“Yes. you’re right. As it turns out, there were not only a couple of nobles who collected taxes in this way.”
“Does your Majesty the Emperor know about this?”
“yes. You recently found out. So he called the Prime Minister himself and instructed him to settle this matter. But, as you know, religion and politics are at stake, so it seems difficult to find a swordsman to entrust this task with.”
According to the Inquisitor’s research, there were far more nobles involved in Victory than those who were not involved in social welfare foundations.
That’s why there’s no big-ticketed tax collector in Victory to tell the Social Welfare Foundation to put their books on the books.
Because if I made a mistake, I could have been stabbed and killed by a knife on the way to work.
“It really rots more than I imagined.”
“Isn’t there a saying that tax evasion has been around since the birth of tax? In a way, it can be very natural.”
Bergan thought for a moment and opened his mouth.
“But I can’t touch these things. Because I don’t know much about taxes. Anything else?”
“There’s one more thing that isn’t too bad.”
The past records of some priests and paladins were written.
Among the Paladins, there were psychopaths who murdered or mercenaries who committed war crimes, and some of the priests were scammers.
Again, as Bergang expected, these were the ones who had washed their identity as priests and paladins.
Moreover, they were all criminals from the Kingdom of Gillion, so they were not recorded in the internal records of the Empire.
As Berghan continued to turn the pages, he could not shake his doubts.
“How do you thoroughly manage these guys?”
Those who committed murder, rape and arson in the Kingdom of Gillion enjoy drinking and dancing in the Empire, and buy women to satisfy their s*xual desire?
As it is said that those who have tasted meat at least once will look for it for the rest of their lives, criminals who felt the joy of murder had no choice but to seek it again.
“That’s something we didn’t fully understand either.”
“What do you mean you don’t fully understand?”
“I heard something from prostitutes in the room salon. The ‘wine’ the paladins and priests drink is unique.”
“What does it mean to be unique?”
“When they come to the salon, they always bring their own wine. Some prostitutes have tried it out of curiosity and say that the wine has a fishy taste.”
“If it’s blood… is it a vampire?”
Vampires are among the monsters created by the Demon King of Extinction, with very high intelligence.
They knew how to use a unique magic called blood magic, and they were a clan of ‘Red Moon’, one of the generals of the Demon King of Extinction.
And when a higher-class vampire gave orders to a lower-class vampire, it was a monster that was sure to endure even the instinct of ‘vampire’.
However, it is known that all of them were eradicated by the hero, and no vampires have appeared on the continent in the past 1,000 years.
“It may not be. But that’s not clear evidence. It’s a little hard to believe that a vampire that has been silent for 1,000 years has been reborn.”
Berggan searched through his mind.
Clearly, he knew that there was one of Arpen’s clan related to vampires.
‘Tempe!’
Tempe the gluttonous eater had the ability to make his talents and knowledge his own by drinking the blood of the talented.
And it was known that Tempe’s clan also absorbed talent or knowledge by absorbing blood in the same way.
‘The paladins and priests are all members of Tempe.’
To become a member of Tempe’s family, you must give up one of your strong desires.
They became greedy for blood in exchange for renunciation of the urge to kill or the desire for crimes such as rape.
‘So there is no problem,’
Even if he had abandoned his biggest desire, he was often a criminal by nature, so he had to manage his stress with alcohol and women.
So, they often let priests and paladins come and go to the salon.
‘Then there is a way to put pressure on Bishop Francis.’
Tempe’s clan can’t control their vampiric instinct if they don’t drink blood for more than a month, so they’re in a riot.
If the diocesan bishop Francis was a member of Tempe’s family, he would be on a dung line just by being imprisoned for a month.
If the image of the priests and paladins of the Lux Church as vampires is overlaid, the way Lux members view the priests and paladins will completely change.
“Then, assuming he is a vampire, we can keep him in custody for a month.”
Nadal tilted his head as if puzzled.
“They say the wine tastes like blood, but I don’t know if it’s actually blood.”
“Then let me investigate. Whether the wine really has blood or not.”
“Are you saying that we should start a joint investigation now?”
“What can’t be done?”
Nadal looked at Bergan with suspicious eyes.
It’s no one else, but Berggan is proposing a joint investigation to the Inquisitor.
It felt like the fortress Bergang had changed a lot, but I didn’t expect it to change this much.
Berggan put the papers in an envelope and handed them back to Nadal.
“Thank you. Thank you for helping me a lot with the investigation.”
“Do you really think of yourself as a vampire? According to ancient texts, vampires are known to burn to death when exposed to sunlight.”
“Well, we’ll see when we see it.”
Now the important thing was to prevent the diocesan bishop from leaving the cell for a month.
“By the way, if possible, it wouldn’t be too bad to capture the priests and paladins.”
“Are you going to catch them all for tax reasons?”
“Didn’t I say you need a knife to cut them off their necks? Even if I can’t do anything else, I can serve as a shield.”
“If that happens, the Prime Minister will like it, but how about thinking about it again? This information is extremely unreliable.”
Berggan thought that this was the frustration Tigris had been through, so it was kind of strange.
Even if I wanted to proceed with something, the evidence was all in the future, so having to convince others was a daunting task.
“I will take responsibility for everything. I will tell the Emperor that too, so he knows it.”
“There is something else you know.”
“Just know that I can’t tell you right now.”
Nadal looked at Bergang with an interesting expression.
“Then is it possible later?”
“I don’t know that either.”
“Well, that’s fun. Sir Berggan is not the type of person who moves with inconclusive evidence. I will support you as much as possible.”
* * *
Tigris said as he looked into the eyes of the students who were looking at him.
“With this, I will finish all of ‘understanding and destroying the strike. It’s been a lot of hard work.”
The 16-week long lecture ended on the 3rd Tuesday of June because there was never a break except during the rank-and-file battle.
“The grades will be mailed along with other subjects next month, so you can check them. Do you have any questions?”
Some students raised their hands and said.
“Instructor! What subjects will you teach in the second semester?!”
“Nothing has been decided yet. We can do the same subject or we can create different subjects.”
“Are there any plans to increase the number of subjects?”
“I will increase it if necessary.”
“Is there any advice you can give us about swordsmanship?”
Tigris thought for a moment and opened his mouth.
“There are very few cases where you can use the swordsmanship you have learned so far in real battles.”
The students blinked their eyes at Tigris’ bombastic remarks.
“It is difficult to focus on attacking and hitting arrows and magic from all directions and weapons coming from blind spots. And since you are paying attention to your duties, you will probably use the swordsmanship you have learned once, at most, twice.”
“So what you need is experience. Attacking or defending with the most confident swordsmanship you have learned at the most perfect timing. That will determine whether he is a capable knight or not.”
One student raised his hand.
“Then where can I get that experience?”
“Go to save the weak and sick who seek you. If you see the world more than swinging your sword tens of thousands of times while on vacation, and know what to raise your sword for, your swords will be further developed. Experience gives birth to belief, and belief will make you strong.”
Tigris said while looking into the countless eyes that looked at him.
“Then I will finish all the lectures with this.”
Tigris walked out of the podium in a dignified manner.
Then Trisha followed.
“I think Tigris-sama’s last words were kind of cool. Experience begets belief, and belief will make you strong…
“Be quite.”
“Yep.”
Tigris headed to the main building, not the office.
“I have a meeting with Principal Bastian, so please wait for a while.”
“Yes. All right.”
The principal’s secretary, Bastian, knocked on the principal’s door.
“Instructor Tigris has arrived.”
– Come in.
Tigris entered the principal’s office.
Bastian was managing the naan as usual.
“Did the lecture go well?”
“Yes. That’s right.”
“I heard from the students that they were very satisfied with the lectures. It must have been difficult to teach students because I went through a lot this semester, but thank you for teaching me diligently.”
“I just did my best at what I was assigned to do.”
Bastian put down the cloth and said
“Are you going to teach the same class next semester?”
“I don’t know.”
“Are you planning on creating a new course?”
“I have one thing in mind for now.”
“Is it the understanding and destruction of uplifting this time? Or the understanding and destruction of lateral cutting?”
“I was originally going to teach it, but I recently felt the need for more hands-on combat training.”
Bastian looked into Tigris’ eyes and said.
“You seem to be feeling your fortune.”
“Yes. That’s right.”
At present, tensions both inside and outside the empire have risen to an extremely high level.
The Palace of Spring terrorist incident was committed by a priest of the Lux Church a while ago, and the imperial family directly announced it and was engaged in a public opinion battle, and the Kingdom of Gillion was pouring out arrows of condemnation at the attitude of the Empire that began to reject the Lux Church.
The Gillion Kingdom side might think that it was not bad because it got the cause of war, but it was not a good thing because all the spies in the Empire were annihilated.
And even from the standpoint of the current Gillion Kingdom, war cannot be waged right away.
Although the kingdom of Gillion has many paladins and priests, it is not powerful enough to wage war against the Suin Autonomous Region and the Empire at the same time.
Originally, the Suin Autonomous Region should be organized first and then war with the Empire was waged, but the Empire drew its sword to the Kingdom of Gillion too early.
The Kingdom of Gillion will not have a sense of how to deal with this current situation.
Bastian comes with an envelope on the desk and hands it to Tigris.
“What is this?”
“This is an order from His Majesty the Emperor himself to you. I couldn’t even open it.”
Bastian said, touching his beard.
“Originally, Sir Bergan should tell him directly, but as you know, arrows of criticism have been pouring towards Sir Bergang recently, so he is very careful about showing his appearance outside. So I was asked to deliver it myself.”
No matter how Black Meister was, it seemed that he could not avoid criticism if he touched religion.
The diocesan Bishop Francis and his associates are currently only being detained for about six days, but Berggan was eating all kinds of swear words.
“Is it that dangerous?”
“I heard that some time ago, a blood-stained mold and hair had been delivered to Sir Bergang’s house. The situation must have been serious when Rachel, who was even hardened, was shocked to see it.”
“Isn’t it necessary to get your wife to escape before the situation gets serious?”
“Anyway, I took refuge in the Palace of Spring for a while two days ago. I’ll stay there for a while until it’s quiet.”
“I’m happy.”
Bastian said, pointing to Tigris’ orders.
“And the order said only you could open it. Leave the principal’s office, read it in the office or at home, and burn it.”
Tigris got up.
“Yes. Okay. Then I’ll just go.”
“I see. And take care of yourself.”
* * *
Tigris left the principal’s office and headed for the office.
“Trish, please wait outside for a moment.”
“Yes. All right.”
Tigris drew the curtain and opened the envelope with only one magic lamp turned on.
[Secret bodyguard of the chief of the beast tribe, Teho.]
[Requirements of the Beast Man: The safety of the chieftain Teho and contact with the Empire and armed support in case of an emergency.]
[The surprise attack of the Kingdom of Gillion is expected, so remove the risk factors in advance before a direct battle with the beasts occurs.]
[Support: Grade S.]
[Mission Progression: Freedom.]
Tigris read all the orders and memorized them, lit them on fire and threw them in the trash.
Tigris came out after seeing all the orders in the trash can turned to ashes and burned.
“Trish.”
“Yes. Tigris.”
“You and I are going to the Suin Autonomous Region tomorrow morning. Get your train tickets ready.”
Trisha opened her rabbit eyes in surprise.
“yes?! Suddenly? why?”
“I’ll explain that later.”