Semi-Coercive Imperialist

The highest-tier round table at Roderbach Casino, where guests could watch 「The Final Nine」 in person.

The VVIPs watched the games from here. It served as both proof that the house did not rig the games and a courtesy extended to its most important guests.

”Our motto is honesty.”

With the game in full swing, Gewald smiled faintly, a champagne glass in one hand.

”Luck.”

He wasn’t worried, even if Count Illich lost several rounds in a row.

”And instinct.”

In the end, he would win.

”Those are all a gambler needs, and they are also the motto of this casino.”

Gewald pointed to the table below the balcony.

”The proof is unfolding right there.”

Some nobody, a man no one had ever seen before and who could have crawled out of anywhere, was playing heads-up against Roderbach’s strongest player, the Count. It proved that this was a clean game with no manipulation.

”Then enjoy the show.”

Gewald stepped away with a gentle smile.

The one-on-one match continued for hours as he watched leisurely with the honored guests.

”All in.”

At some point, the Count went all in.

”Call. But...”

By the time the newcomer accepted the bet, Gewald was already certain of victory.

[ Q Four of a Kind ]

”Hah! Four of a kind for the finale?”

The moment he saw the Count’s hand, a broad smile spread across his face.

”Stand by.”

Just as he summoned the staff to prepare champagne, cigars, and the cleanup afterward.

[ J Straight Flush ]

”...?”

Gewald blinked. At first, he wasn’t even sure what he had seen.

A jack. A straight flush.

”What the...”

Before Gewald could react, Illich reacted far more violently. He shot to his feet and slammed his fist into the table.

Kuuuuung!

A single punch caved in the entire floor. The table shattered as a circular shockwave exploded outward. Marble fragments, chips, and cards shot upward like a fountain before crashing down in a shower.

”W-What is this?”

”What’s wrong with that guy?”

The spectators hurriedly rose from their seats.

Kung!

Illich struck the floor again.

Crackcrackcrack!

Cracks spread in every direction.

Kung!

Once more. The whole floor shook. Stone dust fell from the pillars, and people collapsed or dropped to their knees.

Then.

Kwaaaang!

With the final blow, the chandelier came crashing down and shattered. The walls and pillars collapsed.

Shwaaaaa.

In the darkness, shattered debris fell like glittering stars...

* * *

Pfft. Pssst. Pssssst.

The sound of stone fragments settling.

Wheeeeeeng.

A noise like welding.

”...?”

Agent Blake’s eyes fluttered open.

Step. Step. Step.

Footsteps moved all around her, while Blake was trapped with her wrists bound.

”Fuck, that lunatic... I should’ve stopped teasing him sooner.”

Throughout the heads-up match, Blake hadn’t stopped talking.

It was called trash talk, a technique for shaking an opponent’s mental state.

”You look slow, and you can’t even flip your cards properly.”

”Why do you keep squinting one eye whenever you show your hand? Is it broken?”

Blake had thrown out comments like that after every win.

”Ah, sorry. Maybe it isn’t your eye that’s broken, but your head?”

”You like free stuff, so bald head, bald head, bald head.”

”You stupid fucking idiot.”

”What a useless bastard. Did people from the neighborhood throw rocks at you while you were growing up...?”

After needling him for a while, the final round came.

”Call. But...”

Illich had gone all in, and Blake swept every chip onto the table.

”I’m betting everything I’ve got.”

”Fine. Show your cards.”

Illich was about to reveal his hand impatiently.

”No. You look like you’re short.”

Blake grinned.

”...Can’t you count?”

Illich narrowed his eyes.

”I told you, I’m betting everything. You bet the same.”

Blake tapped her own neck. Illich furrowed his brow.

”You think my life is worth the same as yours?”

”Then put up something worth the difference. Otherwise, no deal.”

Illich glanced at the dealer for a moment, then snorted and pulled out a bundle of papers from inside his clothes, tossing it onto the table.

”Bearer bonds. About 30 million imperial dollars. More than enough for your neck.”

Only 30 million.

He’d spent money like crazy and had only that much left. Blake finished the calculation in her head.

”Call. Show your cards.”

Right after that, Blake revealed her hand. She was about to take the table after beating four queens with a straight flush.

”ZOS PRAVENIC! ATU KOLSNAVA DOMIRE!”

Illich suddenly let out a monstrous scream and shot to his feet.

Then he gathered mana into his fist, the gauntlet disguised as skin.

When Blake opened her eyes, she was here.

”...”

She looked up at the ceiling.

The gauntlet rampage had been a detonator, and it seemed there had been a vertical shaft beneath this place from the beginning.

Step.

At that moment, someone emerged from the darkness.

A man in a robe.

”How are you feeling?”

It was an unexpectedly kind question.

”...Who are you?”

”Kaven.”

He added calmly.

”I’m Izenheim.”

Izenheim...

That was a painfully sparse introduction.

”You’re an agent from Hailand, aren’t you? You probably came here because of those bonds.”

The information had leaked. Blake swallowed a sigh.

Kaven continued.

”First, let me apologize. We needed money too.”

”You’re rather bold. What did you spend it on?”

”Would you accept it if the cause were just?”

”Your methods were too extreme for that.”

Kaven fell silent at her response.

He watched her for quite a while before removing his hood.

He was remarkably clean-cut.

”...We’re going to build a passage.”

”A passage?”

”Yes. One that connects various places beneath the Empire.”

He took a step closer as he spoke.

”You know that Izenheim is persecuted. The whole continent knows it. It isn’t only the Empire. Everyone persecutes us while pretending otherwise. But the Empire wants something more.”

”...Something more?”

Blake asked before she could stop herself.

This man had a talent for drawing people in.

”Yes. Not only Izenheim, but countless other races...”

With his eyes closed, Kaven finished with a single word.

”Purging.”

”...”

From those words, Blake understood their intent.

”...You’re building an escape route?”

”Yes. That’s right. This is for our cause.”

A cause rooted in the survival of a people.

Kaven bowed his head.

”So we’ll repay the money someday. As long as we live, we can repay it whenever we want.”

Blake did not show her feelings. She only sharpened her gaze.

”Then is Illich your ally as well?”

”...No. He’s a business partner.”

Blake understood Kaven’s implication.

”There are factions within this group too.”

Kaven smiled bitterly.

Illich’s side. And Izenheim... no, the Revolutionary Faction.

The two had different dreams.

”Yes. He’s simply a capable man who wants chaos, and there are many around him who want the same.”

”Then it seems you two were always destined to split.”

Blake slightly raised her bound wrists.

”Could you untie this first?”

”...”

Kaven hesitated for a moment, but approached and cut Blake’s restraints.

”...You’re naive. What would you have done if I’d attacked you immediately?”

Blake’s question received this answer.

”I’m from Hailand too. I can recognize someone from my homeland.”

It was the Hail language of a native Hailander.

* * *

[Roderbach Casino, Aboveground]

I was being held on the floor of the VVIP level. My hands were bound, but I’d made a small hole in my mask, so I could see.

”He’s simply a capable man who wants chaos, and there are many around him who want the same.”

Their conversation flowed into my ears.

”Then it seems you two were always destined to split. Could you untie this first?”

The artifact I had given the Black agent had been a listening device from the start, a costly accessory whose true function I had concealed by layering the real artifact, 「Protection」, over it.

Anyway.

[THE BLACK] clearly wasn’t based on a true story.

There was another side hidden beneath the episode.

Kung. Kung. Kung.

Just then, Illich walked onto the VVIP floor.

Sure enough, some people clung to him while others backed away. About half of those backing away were Izenheim.

None of those clinging to him were.

”How many?”

Illich’s side conversed in the Eastern language.

”There are 107 here for now. There are more outside.”

Every word came clearly to my ears.

Language was a key that opened people and nations, as well as the wall they hid behind. People felt safe behind that wall and let their true feelings spill out, just as they did now.

That was why I had learned so many languages.

”Why aren’t you killing them?”

At Illich’s question, a subordinate answered.

”They say the hostages are worth more alive. Those bastards.”

”Bullshit.”

Illich glared at the people across from him.

The Izenheim side.

Kung. Kung. Kung.

He approached the Izenheim and lowered his voice.

”Explain. Why are these bastards still alive?”

Only then did he return to speaking the Imperial language.

The hostages flinched.

”The base establishment isn’t complete yet. You destroyed things too quickly...”

”You’re saying it’s my fault?”

”...If you put it that way, yes.”

Illich snorted and grabbed the man’s skull.

Puck!

The Izenheim man’s head burst open.

It was quite a pleasant sight.

”Stop trying anything clever and continue the base establishment. I’ll wait only until the promised time.”

Illich turned away menacingly, and just as he was about to disappear, I shouted at the top of my lungs.

”...Bathroom.”

”Baaaaathroooom...”

I did my best old-man impression.

”Baaaaathroooom.”

”Fuck.”

One of them approached.

Not Izenheim.

”Old man. Just piss here.”

”Baaaaathroooom...”

”What the fuck.”

He pointed his gun at my chest.

I’d rather he shot me. Pretending to be dead and lying there wouldn’t be bad either.

”Baaaaathroooom...”

”Ugh. Follow me.”

Unexpectedly, he led me along without much resistance.

Tap, tap.

Leaning on my cane, I reached the restroom.

”Hey, old man. Here.”

He stood me in front of a urinal.

”T-Toilet.”

”Fuck, you need to take a shit?”

The moment he opened a stall door and tried to shove me inside.

Whoosh.

I grabbed the back of his neck, pulled him down, and struck him with my cane.

”Ghk!”

After silently knocking him out, I stripped off his clothes. I gagged him and bound his wrists and ankles, left him in the stall, then disguised myself in his clothes and mask.

The reason I didn’t kill him was because his restroom escort had been fairly decent.

Sometimes, the smallest act of kindness saved a person’s life.

”Whew.”

I stepped into the restroom corridor and happened to meet a man patrolling inside.

I cleared my throat.

”...Hey!”

I approached him first and asked in the Eastern language.

”Where’s Illich?”

If he answered in the Eastern language, it was correct. If not, it was wrong.

”What? Why do you need the boss?”

Correct.

”I have something urgent to tell him. Hurry!”

* * *

[Roderbach Casino, Underground]

Step. Step.

The footsteps of two people walking through the passage echoed softly. Construction was still ongoing underground.

”It’s not complete yet.”

At Blake’s interested observation, Kaven answered.

”Originally, we needed a little more time.”

”...Did things go a little off because of me?”

”A little. But it’s fine. We’ve secured all the resources we need anyway.”

Walking beside the bitterly smiling man, Blake suddenly felt a simple curiosity.

”Do you think it will work?”

”...We have to try.”

Kaven pulled an Izenheim scripture from inside his clothes.

”We still have faith.”

The religion practiced by the Izenheim.

Distinctive Izenheim symbols were carved everywhere, into every corner of the mine shaft.

Blake let out a small laugh and sighed.

”...Illich was bait from the beginning.”

Kaven flinched briefly, then nodded as if there was no reason to hide it now.

”Yes. I’m sorry. We were also the ones who put Illich into the Intelligence Bureau.”

Illich, an Eastern man, had seemed to be a double agent who traveled between Hailand and Lobrus as an Intelligence Bureau spy.

”You could have told me.”

”If we had, would you have lent us 100 million imperial dollars?”

Certainly not.

Kaven smiled.

”However, this promise is sincere. We will repay it. I mean it.”

”Provided the operation succeeds.”

”Yes. Once the casino above collapses, Illich is captured, and the incident is closed, no one will pay attention to this underground area.”

”What about the hostages?”

”You saw them at the casino. Their vanity, corruption, and vulgarity.”

”...”

Blake watched him silently.

The movement of his eyes. His pulse. The beat of the carotid artery visible on his neck.

As an agent, she had quite an exceptional talent for distinguishing truth from lies.

There was contempt in Kayden’s voice, but not hatred in his expression. It was not the face of someone consumed by that emotion.

Blake asked quietly.

”Even so, you have no intention of killing them.”

”...”

Kaven lowered his gaze for a moment.

As if hiding the shadows in his heart, he answered softly.

”We will not cause needless sacrifices. We are not the Empire. Nor do we want to create such a chain of malice.”

Imperial nobles. Those who had built wealth by exploiting others. Those who had persecuted them countless times.

Even so, they had no desire to take lives.

”But our comrades will be sacrificed. They volunteered knowing that and prepared themselves... This is a secret.”

Kaven glanced sideways at Blake.

”I keep secrets too.”

If she ever wrote a novel someday, Blake decided to leave this part out.

That was when a comrade suddenly rushed over from the distance and looked between the two of them.

”Kaven!”

”...What’s going on?”

Kaven shrugged and introduced Blake.

”She’s a Black agent from Hailand. She came to reclaim the bonds.”

”What?”

The comrade’s face darkened, but Kaven deliberately acted even more shamelessly.

”The owner is here, so we should return the bonds.”

”What kind of crazy...”

”There is another option.”

Blake calmly stepped between them.

”Cutting all ties between the bonds and Hailand.”

It was a rather radical proposal.

Both men turned to her with surprised expressions.

”You’ve already spent 70 million out of the 100 million. Even if we got that money back, it wouldn’t solve anything. Instead, write a promissory note stating that you’ll repay it without fail. It will be a debt owed by Izenheim society to us.”

”...”

Kaven looked at Blake, then turned to his comrade.

What do you think? His eyes seemed to ask.

The comrade stared at her for a moment before clearing his throat and offering a hand.

”...What’s your name? I’m Ezra.”

Blake gladly shook his hand.

”Blake. An agent from Hailand.”

* * *

[Roderbach Casino, Aboveground]

”Yes. Once the casino above collapses, Illich is captured, and the incident is closed, no one will pay attention to this underground area.”

Listening to the voices coming through the listening earring, Illich fell silent for a moment.

I was a little concerned.

At some point, the conversation had started taking place only in the Hail language.

”...You’re going to use me as bait?”

Oh.

Illich was much smarter than expected. He seemed to have outstanding linguistic ability.

This was why you shouldn’t judge people by appearance alone.

”Ha...”

Creak. Creeeak.

For a while, Illich moved his jaw with an expression that made it impossible to tell whether he was laughing or grinding his teeth.

”Only a few of you come with me. Quietly, so they don’t notice.”

Even this move was discreet. He was bald, huge, and built like a mass of muscle, but prejudice really did get people killed.

”You. You. You.”

Illich suddenly pointed at his subordinates.

”You. You. You. And... you.”

The last person he pointed to was me, the one who had delivered such valuable information.

I tensed slightly. What if he told me to remove my mask?

”You. You’re the last one.”

Fortunately, intelligence and thoughtfulness seemed to be separate fields.

He didn’t even know anyone’s name and just called everyone ”you,” so he probably wouldn’t recognize my face even if I took off the mask.

”Follow me.”

As I followed behind him, I pursed my lips.

”...Ha.”

I remembered what that fucking Izenheim bastard had said earlier, and it made me laugh.

”We will not cause needless sacrifices. We are not the Empire. Nor do we want to create such a chain of malice.”

They were genuinely full of goodwill and conviction. Their tone and emotions were so believable that anyone would have believed them.

To the point where it seemed they had completely deceived themselves.

...Deceived?

It wasn’t impossible.

The more I thought about it, the more likely it seemed.

What if, through something like hypnosis, they blocked or sealed their minds so that the true nature of the Izenheim only fully emerged at special moments?

Then they could fool everyone. They could withstand any torture or drug.

If they had even convinced themselves that they were real humans, what was the trigger that restored their true nature?

...Language.

Kung. Kung. Kung.

Illich and his group strode ahead with long steps.

As I followed them, I checked that I could still sense the longsword stored in the restroom stall. It was close enough to call whenever I wanted.

”We are not the Empire. Nor do we want to create such a chain of malice...”

That bastard’s fucking voice echoed in my mind again.

The Empire, the very axis of evil that sought to devour this continent, and their resolve to save their people from that great evil.

Good and evil.

It was a fight I could never win when it came to the ideals they represented, but that didn’t matter.

I had never intended to claim goodness in the first place.

To move forward, I had only chosen to become a greater evil.

Kung. Kung. Kung.

I blended into the rear of Illich’s group.

The greatest evil, the final boss, always appeared last.

The ending they wished for, where the villain was ultimately defeated, would not exist on this continent for as long as I lived and breathed...

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