Imperial Guard - Chapter 73



Only Noblemtl

“Damn it… I’m the captain of the baggers. The captain of the baggers….”

Zenith was shedding tears as she dealt with the pouring workload.

The only thing that kept him sane in the midst of his hard work was his title as captain of the Baggers.

“Is this all you can do for begging? You can use the old, the widows, and the orphans to beg. You empty the wallets of those who seem to have money, and you hang on to the knees of those who seem kind. What? You don’t know how to pickpocket? You idiots…”

Next to Zenith, Clara was frowning at a beggar.

“Two, Thousand-Sir. Please, just look at me once···!”

“I won’t tell you twice. If there’s still someone in Bagers who can’t pickpocket in three days, you’re dead. Got it?”

“Okay, okay. Okay···!”

Bagger’s number two, Caron, cringed at the curse that was digging into his body and escaped outside.

Clara, the Goddess.

The pressure from a legendary being I had only heard of through rumors was enormous.

Since she came, Bagus has evolved in many ways.

“Your Majesty, isn’t that Caron’s necklace? It’s something he treasures···”

“Huh? Oh, since Rael isn’t here, the walls are getting swept again. That’s why I told you not to bring any junk when you come to report… Zenith. Give this back to that guy later.”

“···Ah, yes.”

Janice accepted the necklace with a trembling expression.

Janice continued, putting the necklaces into her pocket one by one.

“Mr. Toshin. I would appreciate it if you worked for Bagus, but… there is no need to work this hard. The contract only states that you must follow Lael’s orders when necessary. If you are having a hard time because of the thief, you can take a break.”

“···No. I have to do my best to grow this organization.’

Clara shivered as she recalled the sight she had seen not long ago.

This happened at the fountain in District 2.

‘He’s a monster.’

After seeing Lael cut down the upper class demons with a single sword, Clara decided to dedicate her life to Bagus from that day on.

‘I’m sure I’ll become someone who will shake up the empire in a few years. If I don’t want to be abandoned then… I have to prove my abilities in advance.’

Clara gave her all to Bagger’s work.

Thanks to that, Baggers is experiencing unprecedented growth today.

“Mr. Tushin. This is a new request.”

“This way for Lael. The rest is on that desk.”

“Okay, I understand.”

“···Hite. I’m the captain, so why am I reporting to you, Toshin?”

Hite left the room without answering Zenith’s words.

I was so busy that I didn’t have time to answer.

“As expected, most of the requests are for information about Rael.”

Clara looked over the pile of requests before her.

Everyone from the small tops to the high nobility were placing requests to Bagers.

Because only one man was curious.

“Without the god of war, even the night crows can’t exert their power.”

“That’s true, but what’s really amazing is that Rael doesn’t give out information. He sends more than ten informants to Bagus every day.”

In Baggers, those sources are handled well in many ways.

Most of the time, they just extract as much information as they can, take money, and return it to the information guild.

Eventually, when it became known that Bagers was the only one who could provide information on Rael, requests began to come in day and night.

In particular, the clients demanded enormous amounts of information about Rael.

“Zenith. Can I just give this to you as is?”

“Yes, that’s right, Mr. Tushin.”

Janice was respectful to Clara.

Although a captain is higher than an officer, the person who committed suicide deserved to be treated at that level.

“Uh, Zenith. Um… This is just a simple question.”

Baggers has a manual with information about Lael.

Since I receive so many requests, I have written down hundreds of pages of information about each request so that I can deliver them right away.

“···Why is Rael’s place that big?”

Clara saw the same information every time, but this part just didn’t make sense.

Because she thought that was unnecessary information.

“Ah. That was written by Rael himself.”

“···Rael?”

“I don’t know why either. They say you should never forget height and size.”

“···.”

Are you crazy?

Clara tilted her head and sorted out the information.

Well, it’s said that geniuses are strange in one way or another.

That would be the case for Rael too.

‘···Wait a minute, Rael isn’t the only one who’s weird.’

There are more than three that come to mind.

So does that mean he’s three times more of a genius than other people?

···How can it be this scary?

Thud. Thud.

Sasa sasa-

At that moment, a tiger’s confident gait was heard, as if it was coming when called.

There was only one person who made other beggars run away just by walking in the beggar’s hole.

Squeak-

“Hey, Open-minded Elder. How are you doing?”

Lael opened the door and came in without knocking.

“Rael. What brings you here?”

“I came because I have a favor to ask.”

Okay-

As soon as Rael arrived, Clara stopped what she was doing and stood next to him.

Since I hadn’t used the Curse of the Fallen recently, the side effects weren’t that bad, but since the wall was appearing again, I had to stick close to him to lessen the effects of the curse.

“I’ll stick around for a bit.”

“Do as you wish. Uncle Zenith, what’s the flow of the empire these days? Is there anything unusual that I might not know about?”

Lael looked at Janice without paying attention to Clara.

“It’s becoming increasingly known that you’ve captured a high-ranking demon in District 2. The nobles are in an uproar.”

“···Oh, shit. This is driving me crazy. Can’t Bagus manipulate the information a bit?”

“I’m sorry, but we can’t manipulate information unless Cardinal Bernando keeps his mouth shut. It would undermine the credibility of our organization.”

If Baggers manipulates information, it’s like saying what the Cardinal says is a lie.

I can’t do something stupid like that and destroy the trust I’ve worked so hard to build up.

“···Tsk. Okay. Is there anything else?”

“Hmm, ah. There’s that. The elves’ recent behavior is not normal.”

“Are you an elf?”

Rael perked up his ears at the mention of elves.

“Yes. Elves are a rare species, but they’ve been appearing a lot in the capital recently.”

“···Now that I think about it, that seems to be the case.”

During his time as a guard, he could count on one hand the number of times he saw elves.

But these days, even in the center of the capital, the faces of the elves are often seen.

You can tell better because Rael sneakily avoids the sight of the elves.

“Besides, one of the beggars found some elves in the forest outside the capital. Maybe there’s something in that forest.”

“Hmm···.”

Rael remembered what Gent had said.

‘Is the entire elf tribe preparing to migrate?’

This might be worth checking out.

“Let’s investigate that forest. Oh, and with the money I left you, buy some land near the forest.”

“Land? What is that for?”

“Just buy it.”

The elves’ preparations for migration were still a secret.

If it were now, I could buy it for a bargain.

‘I need to sell something to the elves.’

Rael nodded with satisfaction and changed the subject.

“By the way, I had a favor to ask. You know Lucas, right?”

“Lucas? Aren’t you the top graduate of this year’s class of the Academy?”

“That’s right. Let’s focus on that guy.”

“Unfollow?”

“Media play. There’s a lot of talk about the Warrior these days. There’s a Professor Meyer at the Academy. Go talk to him about Lucas, and spread the word that Lucas is the perfect candidate for the Warrior.”

“···Hero? Understood.”

Zenith secretly wondered if it was really necessary to do that.

Anyway, the warrior’s position is half decided.

“You have to do it. You have to. Okay?”

“I said I understand, you punk.”

“I’ll go then, Clara. Get out of here now.”

“Yeah, I understand.”

Clara nodded and stepped back.

“···?”

Although Clara was strangely polite, Rael left the beggar’s den without thinking much about it.

*

“Ugh. What a shitty life.”

Rael sighed as he walked down the street of District 3.

In a boring time like now, I would rather spend time chatting with Carlson, but the church headquarters was incredibly busy with the consecration ceremony for the saints, so I couldn’t go.

‘I wonder if Miss Cecilia is doing well.’

I tried to see her face, but it wasn’t easy.

Well, it’s hard to even see Carlson, a mere knight, so it’s unlikely that he’ll be able to see the saint in person.

“I won’t be going to District 1 for the time being.”

Of course, even if I wasn’t busy, I wouldn’t have gone to District 1.

My head started hurting as I watched Bernardo calling out for our hero Rael in front of headquarters.

Thanks to that crazy cardinal, Rael couldn’t show his face in areas 1 and 2.

‘A person with enough money and fame is trying to suck up to me like this.’

I can’t just treat him like the number two person in the church.

He must have been so crazy about fame and money that he rose to the number two position.

Rael felt suffocated every time he saw him.

‘By the way, there are definitely a lot of elves in District 3.’

Rael looked at the elves in the restaurant with curiosity.

They were having a group dinner, laughing and chatting while eating.

‘Why did such a peaceful race perish in the original?’

I don’t know the exact time, but after the protagonist became a warrior, the elven race no longer existed.

It will be destroyed within a few years at the latest.

But for a race that was soon to perish, they seemed so peaceful.

“…Let’s hear what they’re talking about.”

Lael put on the mask and carefully entered the restaurant.

I wanted to hear what the elves were saying.

“Please give me just one soup.”

“all right.”

After ordering something, Rael hid in a corner of the bar.

And I focused on my five senses and listened to the voices of the elves around me.

“Erengor. Can we really trust the Empire? I’m so anxious.”

“It would be better to grasp at straws than to sit and wait for destruction. And Elorin, let’s not talk about that here.”

“yes···.”

Rael nodded.

Believing in the Empire probably means talking about immigration.

It seems right to move to the forest where Bagus found the elf.

Rael also listened to the elves on the other side.

The elves over there were talking about the empire.

“They say a saint appeared at the church.”

“It is as the World Tree prophesied. A great war will begin soon.”

“So, does that mean that a human warrior will also appear?”

“Yes. I asked my compatriots who are active in the Empire, and they said that the sect is almost certain of one person.”

“Oh, I heard that too. It’s definitely called that···.”

Ahem.

Rael quickly turned his head.

That seemed like something I didn’t really need to hear.

‘As expected, the elves are a race that is crazy about their own kind.’

Rael nodded at the elves.

Somehow, honey dripped from the eyes of each of them as they looked at their fellow countrymen.

Even among the same sex, they were a truly loving and affectionate race.

Rael looked around curiously.

‘···uh?’

And then, Rael opened his eyes wide without realizing it.

A place a little away from the crowd of elves having a good time.

I saw Reina with her eyes closed.

‘Raina? No, it’s a little different.’

Rael, startled, narrowed his eyes.

She looked almost exactly like Reina, but a little different.

They were elves so similar that it would have been difficult to tell them apart if it weren’t for Rael’s senses.

She had her eyes closed with a faint smile.

Swish-

At that moment, an elf who looked exactly like Reina got up from her seat and walked out of the bar.

As soon as Rael looked at it, it moved.

“···What is that elf?”

Looking at the elf leaving as if telling him to follow her, Rael unconsciously got up from his seat and followed her.