The road to Clarkwork, the capital of the Clark Republic.
It had been a long ti since I traveled this far by carriage, so I was observing the scenery around .
In my mory, the Clark Republic always felt like a cold and bleak northern land.
During this ti, I would often see wild bears roaming around with snow piled up or people cutting down bare trees to barely gather firewood for the day.
“There’s a snowman.”
Snown, made by children, were lined up along the road.
They were ugly, but at least it ant the children had enough free ti to play with the snow.
Laila Vesh, sitting across from , also turned her gaze toward the window and nodded with a sowhat wistful expression.
“After President Magan’s death, we realized that many things were abnormal. We may have been fools for accepting the excessively high taxes as normal.”
“Magan’s rule lasted for quite a long ti. People born in that system wouldn’t easily question it.”
“That’s true.”
Silence once again settled coldly between us.
I didn’t particularly want to have a long conversation with Laila Vesh, so I returned my gaze to the outside.
“U-um, may I ask you sothing?”
Breaking the icy silence, Laila spoke up again.
I glanced at her, signaling that it was no trouble, and she hesitated before asking frankly.
“Who exactly are you?”
“…”
“I know there are reclusive mages in the world, but… but your power feels like sothing beyond common understanding.”
I t Laila’s gaze.
Fear?
Confusion?
She was filled with complex emotions, but at the mont, none of them seed to be positive.
She was worried that the person she was bringing to the Clark Republic might beco another disaster.
“I-it’s because you subdued Helton so easily. Other agents from the Bureau couldn’t even pull the trigger before being defeated…”
The question that had been on her mind for a while. Her curiosity about who I was made adopt a sowhat ambiguous expression.
If this were in the past, I would’ve given a blunt answer, saying it’s none of her business.
But now, wanting to give a little comfort to a woman who loved her ho country and fought for her beliefs in justice, I decided to say sothing.
“When President Magan died, many people helped. I’m sure you know that, right?”
“Yes. At the ti, they were holding a banquet with key figures from neighboring countries. Among those who attended the banquet… Deus Verdi was the lead that led the Clark Republic to beco free.”
In a way, one could have called it a terrorist act against their national leader.
There were certainly people who missed President Magan.
However, Laila was obviously not among those foolish people.
“I was one of the people who attended the banquet.”
“…!”
It seed like an unexpected answer.
Laila’s eyes widened in disbelief, but her expression softened.
“I don’t want that battle to fade into obscurity. That’s why I keep moving.”
I said this calmly and slowly Laila showed a slightly relieved expression.
In any case, the carriage toward Clarkwork continued on its path without stopping.
***
Using magic would have gotten there quickly, but that would have drawn too much attention.
So, instead, I cast a spell on the carriage.
It seed like we were traveling normally, but thanks to the enchantnt, we arrived in Clarkwork in just a single day without arousing suspicion.
“Bleghhh!”
Of course, there were so side effects to endure.
“Uwegh!”
Laila Vesh imdiately stumbled out of the carriage and vomited in the middle of Clarkwork’s streets.
She kept groaning about how her stomach was twisting, but I didn’t particularly feel the need to comfort her, thinking of Deia, who had insisted we head for Norseweden sooner.
Still, I used magic to clean up the ss, sending it down the sewer.
“C-can I go back alone when we return?”
“Do as you like.”
I gave a light reply and glanced around Clarkwork. Despite everything that had happened, the city still looked the sa.
“I heard they’re finally gaining independence from foreign influence.”
I heard that after the banquet massacre, where many key figures were killed, the Han Empire, the Duchy of Valestan, and the Jerman Kingdom had been applying political pressure on the Clark Republic.
They were especially eager to carve up the fractured republic’s lands for themselves.
“Well, thanks to the Griffin Kingdom’s support, things have mostly stabilized. Acting President Nicolay also played his cards well—knowing exactly what to give and what to take.”
“I see.”
“But it’s not over yet. I hear the Bureau agents in the capital are mostly busy hunting spies.”
Indeed, I could subtly sense figures whose movents and steps were anything but ordinary.
Behind alleyways, beside bakeries, under street lamps—spies were scattered all around.
No need.
There was no point in crossing a line.
Let humans deal with human matters. My job was simply to cut off the head when necessary.
“Let’s go straight there.”
“W-where exactly?”
“The Acting President’s office.”
Without hesitation, I started walking toward the office where Nicolay was stationed.
“W-wait, you can’t just walk in there so easily!”
Flustered yet determined, Laila Vesh followed behind . However, I had no intention of entering the usual way.
I didn’t want to reveal my identity, so why would I go through official procedures?
However.
“Huh?”
I ran into soone unexpectedly.
“Brother-in-law?!”
Brother-in-law?
Turning my head slightly, I saw a group of n rushing over, their eyes widening in shock when they saw .
“Whoa! What brings you here?”
“Is Chief doing well?!”
Of course—they were the mbers of the Scrapyard Nomad, my old allies when we were in Norseweden.
They were the ones who had built the house I was staying in.
“So you guys were here?”
“Yup! We’re founding mbers of the Bureau, after all.”
“Hah! We’ve made it big!”
“But wait… why are you here with another woman instead of Chief?”
I had been curious about this Bureau that had apparently ford after I left.
So, they rebranded the resistance and turned it into an official organization.
Now, it made sense.
I wondered how such an organization suddenly popped up, but it turned out only the na and affiliation changed—the atmosphere looks pretty much the sa.
They must be fighting for the Republic.
“I-I’m Second-Class Agent of the Bureau, Laila Vesh! Salute!”
Recognizing their executive badges, Laila imdiately straightened up and saluted sharply.
“Second-Class? What’s a provincial administrator doing here?”
“Tsk, you do realize that leaving your assigned jurisdiction without permission is considered misconduct?”
“She’s really gone off the rails, huh?”
The mbers of the Scrapyard Nomad sward around her, taunting her.
It looked just like a rookie soldier getting teased by executive officers in the army, so I decided to step in.
“I brought her.”
The mont I made the declaration calmly, the Scrapyard Nomad mbers imdiately lined up before .
“Ah! I see! No wonder she didn’t seem like a troublemaker!”
“Relax! Where do you think you’re looking while escorting such an esteed person?”
“Take good care of him. By the way, have you seen a woman with white hair?”
“Huh? Ah, um…”
“Findenai is at ho.”
Giving them a look to stop bothering Laila and direct their questions at , they finally let her go and lined up properly in front of .
It seed they still had a good sense of discipline.
“Still, it’s not unpleasant to see you all doing so well for yourselves.”
It felt like just yesterday that I took them and Findenai in at Norseweden.
“Haha, honestly, it still feels strange to us too.”
“To be honest, I miss Norseweden sotis. The alcohol there was amazing.”
“How’s Margrave Darius doing? Thanks to the training we received back then, we’re still alive and kicking.”
I wanted to reminisce and catch up with them, but now wasn’t the ti for that.
“I plan to et with the Acting President. Can you arrange that?”
“Huh? Acting President Nicolay?”
“You could just go and et him… Ah, you don’t have that identity anymore, do you?”
“We can authorize it. We have a direct hotline to him, so once we relay the ssage of Soul– oh, wait, you’re no longer that—anyway, we can get you connected right away.”
That made things easier.
I had planned to sneak in, but if I could just follow them and et him directly, that was much more convenient.
“Then I’ll leave it to you.”
“Yes, sir! We’ll escort you right away!”
With the utmost respect from the Bureau executive, we headed to their main headquarters.
“By the way, how’s the Chief?”
“Sa as always. I told her to cut back on smoking recently, but she just got drunk instead and caused a scene.”
“Hah! Telling Chief, that heavy smoker, to cut back on smoking is a bit cruel, don’t you think?!”
“When can we see the kid? We’re dying to et the Chief’s baby!”
“Man, if it’s a boy, he’ll grow up to be a real warrior, and if it’s a girl, she could beco a model or sothing.”
“Brother-in-law, you’ve got the looks, too, after all! Haha!”
I didn’t particularly enjoy noisy atmospheres. But since I was with old, familiar faces, it didn’t feel so bad.
As I answered their questions one by one, I noticed Laila Vesh trailing behind with her shoulders hunched and her head down, taking quick little steps.
“Don’t fall behind.”
“Y-yes, sir!”
She imdiately responded loudly and stuck close to .
Seeing that, I couldn’t help but chuckle to myself.
***
sko-fi/genesisforsaken
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