Chapter 208

“Haa, haa……”

“Oh my, I’m dying.”

“What are you dying for? We’re alive.”

“Is anyone injured? Is everyone okay?”

The drenched Imperial Guards all gasped for breath, supporting themselves on their knees. As the rain subsided with the approaching dawn, everyone let out a sigh of relief as if they were going to live and shook their heads.

In front of them, the fallen armor legion. A few who still had strength left dragged the enemy knights to the ground.

“This one is dead.”

“Here too. Dead.”

“Ah, damn it. This is unbelievable, really.”

It was the harm of mana stone armor. Although it had almost absolute attack power and defense in battle, the moment it broke, the ordinary person couldn’t withstand the swordsmen’s attack and died. The Imperial Guards roughly kicked away the shattered armor with their feet and focused on confirming survivors.

“This one is alive, but the bleeding is severe.”

“Move him! By the way, why isn’t support coming?”

“Usually when you say that, they come.”

“Right. It’s their characteristic to come after everything is handled.”

“I hear the sound of horse hooves. Wow, there are no exceptions. None.”

Clop clop clop. The sound of people rushing from afar was felt. The Imperial Guards waved their hands in that direction while making light jokes.

“Ian! Ian!”

“Mr. Romandro. Over here.”

Romandro, riding together on Beors’ horse. He kept waving his handkerchief to let Ian know he had arrived. Captain Jeirutt roughly wrung out the water from his outer coat and called out.

“Beors, what took you so long?”

“Sorry. The rain was so heavy that the bridge was submerged. We had to take a detour. Is everyone okay?”

Since Riama’s death, the only ones left to lead the Imperial Guard were Beors and Jeirutt. Although it was unlikely, Beors’ expression was dark with worry. He noticed Jeirutt had not a single wound and handed him a cigarette.

“Whenever we sparred, Riama was the one who flew around the most.”

“He’s young, you know. Tsk. And well, we had no information either.”

“Was it manageable?”

“Even five of our guys attacking together didn’t work.”

Jeirutt and Beors immediately shared the battle that had taken place in the middle of the night as soon as they met. What kind of approach they used, how the men’s formation was, and so on. It was to effectively respond even if the armor legion appeared again in the future.

“Please move the injured over here!”

“Can you walk?”

“It hurts. Just a little slower.”

The emergency escort carriage that arrived next moved the injured in a line. Even so, there was only Barsabe on this side, and most of the rest were survivors of the enemy. To keep them alive, firmly alive, and extract testimony was the next task.

“Captain. And Minister Ian.”

Barsabe, who was limping and being supported, called out to the two. The light of dawn began to fully break. The sky was still gray, but the afternoon of this day would have dazzling sunlight.

“It seems the pursuers were mainly mobilized from Zone 3. Please look into that side.”

“Okay. Got it.”

“Captain. Thank you for coming.”

“………”

Jeirutt clenched his mouth tightly and turned his back. And over his shoulder, he just waved his hand as if telling her to hurry and go.

“If I hear about something like a corpse being found one more time, you’ll be in trouble.”

“Yes. Understood.”

“Go in.”

Barsabe also bowed to Ian and got on the carriage. In that way, those in a hurry left Chatur first.

Ian signaled to Romandro, Jeirutt, and Beors with his eyes to have a brief talk. They left the chaotic scene and took out cigarettes.

“Mr. Romandro, would you like one?”

“No. Thank you, but my wife is expecting a child.”

“What about you, Minister Ian?”

“I’m good too. More importantly, what do you expect to happen once the sun fully rises?”

“If you mean expect, Hayman?”

“Even though they revealed they were the Imperial Guard, they initiated an attack, so this is clearly a violation of national security law. The same goes for the incident and the entanglement with His Highness Gale. Overall, there’s not a single piece of good news for the Hayman family.”

Except for the fact that Arsen is a mana user. Of course, that will also become useless within a few days. Ian glanced at Beors.

‘Jeirutt will take a negative stance towards Hayman due to Barsabe’s matter and the battle in the middle of the night. The problem is Beors.’

Beors is the one who directly received the Emperor’s message. Whether it’s Jin or Arsen, he would seek to select a suitable successor without leaning to one side. It’s fine if he’s a passive neutral party, but if he helps Arsen under the pretext of maintaining balance, it becomes tricky. Perhaps reading Ian’s eyes that were indifferent yet suspicious, Beors added as he put out his cigarette.

“The Emperor’s well-being is my priority, and next is the Imperial Guard. Jeirutt’s will is my will, so don’t look at me like that.”

Ian smiled and gestured lightly. It was a signal to gather closer.

“Soon, people going to work will flood in. Since you said the bridge is flooded, Beors, you should also put people to block the path you came from.”

“But this side is a private business area, so we have no justification.”

“You can say there’s a risk of flooding and collapse due to the heavy rain in the middle of the night. Just say it’s a special measure equivalent to a disaster. I believe you know well that if people mix in, there will be difficulties in the search.”

It made sense. Jeirutt and Beors nodded in agreement, and Romandro looked at Ian with an amazed gaze. Wasn’t that exactly what he had told him in the middle of the night?

Knowledge and wisdom are different. Applying what you know right away is surprising in itself, so Romandro cleared his throat and prayed inwardly. Please, let his child take after Ian.

“Romandro?”

“Yes? Yes yes? Ah, yes!”

“Although you must be tired, let’s put in a little more effort and search Zone 3. Officially send a complaint to the Hayman family through the Imperial Palace and protect the identities of those arrested on the scene.”

“Looks like they’ll be caught again within a day of leaving the palace.”

“No matter how big Hayman is, the situation is getting out of control. We need to quickly convene the grand council as well.”

“Yes. Understood. I will convey the message right away.”

Now, it was time for a generational change not by restraint but by necessity. Since the issues entangled with the Hayman family are so complex and numerous, if they have a problem, doesn’t it immediately become a problem for Variel as well? It would be safer to hastily unload goods from a sinking ship.

‘Come to think of it, compared to the previous life, the Hayman family is walking a completely new history.’

The Hayman family was a family that was still thriving even when Ian was the emperor. Their banks were still located throughout the market, and Variel’s economy could not be discussed without them.

‘…It’s a bit concerning.’

If Hayman falls unlike the original history, what will happen to the future Variel? Will Serro, which replaces their position, continue the lineage positively or negatively?

Isn’t history a great flow? No matter how much one struggles within it, it only splashes the current violently, but the flow from top to bottom remains unchanged. Like a pin pushed down by God, it can never be pulled out.

“Lord Ian. Let’s go.”

This time, Romandro woke Ian up. In the meantime, the corpses and armor debris were quickly cleaned up, and the streets were clean. They decided to first focus on searching warehouses and buildings centered on Zone 3.

Tap tap!

“Bring the manager! Check if there are any unreported items and take out anything even slightly suspicious!”

“There are people in this warehouse!”

“We, we were just working overtime all night.”

“I don’t even know what’s going on. Really.”

“We belong to Co&Co. Not Hayman.”

“We do receive financial support from Hayman, but……”

Those who had stayed the night without leaving the Chatur area were also dragged out one by one. They had to present their identification, and even if they were a family unit, they were ordered to undergo a brief confrontational interrogation at the security office.

“Come to think of it, I don’t see the captain of the Chatur security force. The commotion is bigger than expected.”

Beors muttered as he flipped through the pile of documents secured from the Zone 3 entry management office. All the regular soldiers except the guards guarding the corpse were dispatched to conduct the search, but they hadn’t met the important security captain.

“I apologize. The security captain has left Chatur due to personal reasons. We have sent a message, so he should arrive soon.”

Ian, who was rummaging through the report next to him, clicked his tongue. Wasn’t it like this when they encountered bandits in Karenna as well? He had never seen the person in charge stay put when an incident occurred. It’s science at this point.

Beep beep!

Then, the sound of a whistle was heard from afar. It was a signal that someone had discovered suspicious items. Ian and Beors immediately ran out of the management office.

Tap tap!

The rain had completely stopped, but the ground was still wet. Wooden crates were stacked in layers on the wet road. They were all items that came out of the suspicious warehouse.

“What is all this?”

“Ah, these came out of the ‘Co&Co’ warehouse. Uh, so this side is iron, copper, tin, and such that they supply to blacksmiths, and this side has no markings, so it might be non-merchandise.”

“But?”

“Look, isn’t this black color exactly the same as that armor? The matte finish is the same, and when I slightly injected mana, there was a reaction. I took a quick look in case it was an abnormal reaction.”

Creak.

An Imperial Guard opened the crate. At a glance, it could be mistaken for coal. Round objects the size of a fist were piled up. Ian grabbed one and examined it from various angles.

“Hmm.”

“Do you have any idea?”

It’s a matte black mana stone. There are a few things he could roughly guess, but Ian wasn’t an expert in that field. They would have to do research to know for sure. He closed the lid and signaled to Romandro.

“Let’s send it to Captain Akorella.”

“Oh my, that captain will faint from joy again. I wonder if she won’t be able to get up this time.”

“If it’s a new discovery, it will be truly meaningful.”

A shout was heard from the inner warehouse that more had been found. The appearance of a new mana stone being revealed by confiscating the Hayman family’s warehouse. Ian lightly tossed the mana stone to Romandro.

“Perhaps before sending the complaint to the Hayman family, they might contact us first. Seize everything! The mysterious ores discovered here will belong to the Imperial Palace!”

“Yes. Understood!”

“Come on, let’s move.”

“Have a few people in charge of transportation, and the rest move to the next warehouse and continue the search. Although we’re focusing on Zone 3, we’ll inspect all zones before the day is over.”

Snap!

At Ian’s words, the men saluted and dispersed. Romandro selected the mana stones to send to Akorella, then suggested to Ian. Didn’t he release his mana without rest after being drenched in rain?

“Instead of that, how about you take the ores and go in, Lord Ian? There will be documents in the office, so you can sleep a bit in a cozy place. You can get to work right away.”

“Would you like me to go?”

“Yes, yes. Go and see if that kid Beric is doing well. Also pay your respects to His Highness Jin. I’ll be here.”

As Romandro urged him, Ian’s eyes curved playfully. The moment he tried to refuse, saying he was fine, a messenger pigeon swiftly flew to Ian’s shoulder. It was from the Ministry of Magic.

“…Then I will take the ores. Mr. Romandro, please handle the work well and return.”

“What is it?”

Ian lightly waved the piece of paper. A clumsy ox was drawn on it. Beric had woken up.