Ch.128Suspicious Capital

# Chapter 128: Suspicious Capital

The next morning.

I still had doubts about the newly arrived personnel, but I thought it might be worth giving them the benefit of the doubt at least once…

I decided to proceed with today’s work while gradually evaluating the relevant personnel.

Well, it’s true that until yesterday, I either had no particular thoughts about them or leaned toward disliking them.

But after a good night’s sleep, those feelings had completely vanished…

I maintained a more neutral attitude as I began evaluating the work reports of our new recruits.

However…

*Thud!*

“Hah…”

“I think I understand why you’re sighing, Minister.”

Before the morning work hours had even ended, I felt my neutral attitude shattering into pieces.

In its place was anger and hatred toward “someone” who dared to bring these incompetent vermin into my Diplomatic Enforcement Ministry.

Of course, Riel, who was beside me, tried to take responsibility as my assistant and somehow defuse my anger…

“Don’t get too angry. Everyone’s like that at first.”

“How can someone submit a hastily printed college student-level report on alliance relations when I asked them to organize diplomatic documents?”

“Wow.”

Perhaps she didn’t expect me to say something like that.

After letting out a single exclamation, Riel eventually nodded in agreement.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t realize they were that incompetent.”

“There are other low-quality individuals as well, but let’s start by removing this one first.”

“Yes, sir.”

———————————–

After Riel left to initiate the top-down scolding from the minister to the lowest ranks…

As I looked at the next work report, I could feel my expression becoming rather complex.

[Enforcement Request]

[A gathering of heretics has been detected in the city of Ka’zan (…).]

[The number of participants and their armed status make it difficult for the Inquisitors and local police forces to suppress them.]

[Please protect us by sending additional troops.]

‘…Why is this coming here?’

It was indeed a document addressed to the Diplomatic Enforcement Ministry.

But looking at the content, this should be going to the Papal Office or the Inquisition, not us.

‘Ah, there are Inquisitors involved.’

But even so, this should be sent to the Papal Office, so why send it to us?

After pondering over the document for a moment, I finally realized what it was.

‘It was simply sent to the wrong place.’

However, I couldn’t just discard this document.

Usually, when something like this comes in, it means the situation on the front lines is truly urgent.

‘I’ll forward this to the Papal Office for now, and if that doesn’t work, well, nothing can be done.’

After organizing my thoughts, I replaced the crumpled envelope with a new one.

I sealed it with the Diplomatic Enforcement Minister’s stamp and called someone to ensure the matter was forwarded to the Papal Office.

Then I moved on to the next task.

As I continued working through one task after another…

*Bang! Bang! Bang!*

Someone suddenly began pounding on my office door with tremendous force.

Since it was too forceful to be considered a mere knock, I immediately called for Riel, who was outside.

“Ash, sorry, but could you provide some security for a moment?”

“Understood.”

After asking Ash, who had recently developed a habit of integrating with the Diplomatic Enforcement Ministry buildings, to be ready to act at any time.

I pressed a button on the table to see what madman was launching a siege on the Diplomatic Enforcement Minister’s office.

But…

“Minister, what is the meaning of this?!”

“Heretics have appeared, and instead of solving the problem, you’re just trying to pass it off!”

“…”

When I realized that the culprits were none other than members of the Papal Crusader Order, who had been assigned to the Diplomatic Enforcement Ministry in place of the Purge Unit, I felt my temples throb.

What’s more, in their hands was the envelope I had entrusted to someone else, now completely crumpled.

‘Damn, I just dealt with those insane annihilation devices, and now I have to face idealistic fanatics?’

Seeing this, I felt a sigh rising from within me, but I decided to sit down and calmly discuss the matter.

But if there was one thing I misunderstood, it was that these muscle-brains hadn’t come to talk to me.

“No, from now on, our Crusader Order will embark on a journey to protect the gracious motherland of Ka’zan from the vile heretics!”

“This is an iron oath that cannot be withdrawn, even if you are our superior!”

“…?”

“That’s all!”

After saying their piece, they turned around and left, leaving me momentarily dumbfounded.

‘What the hell?’

As I watched this scene, Ash appeared silently beside me and asked:

“Should I consider that an attack too?”

“…I don’t know.”

Truly unable to understand what they meant by their actions, I picked up the teacup on the table and took a sip of the remaining tea.

And right after that.

“Minister! I came because you called for me!”

With Riel appearing at such a bad timing, I fell into contemplation about how to explain this situation.

—————————–

There were countless other complaints about the Crusader Order.

And among them, the biggest complaint from my perspective was…

“Our Crusader Order does not engage in acts that only those from the underworld would do!”

“…”

“So don’t even dream of assigning such trivial missions to us!”

These guys.

The biggest complaint was that they seemed to have forgotten they were a unit dispatched to the Diplomatic Enforcement Ministry, not the Papal Office.

“Are you joking? If you’re going to act like this, I don’t understand why you came all the way here to cause trouble.”

“We merely follow the words of the Pope.”

“He is God’s representative. As earthly agents of divine punishment, we simply carry out His will.”

‘Oh, for fuck’s sake.’

They were literally a bizarre hybrid of knights addicted to chivalry and religious fanatics, making rational conversation impossible.

If there was one case where communication was possible…

“Here’s an order from the Papal Office, with the Pope’s seal on it.”

“Oh…OHHH!!!”

“His Holiness is giving us direct orders!”

It was only by communicating through the figure they spiritually depended on that I could control these insane fanatics to some extent.

But apart from that, they would openly slack off or… like during the previous heresy incident, carry out operations “their own way.”

They were absolutely worthless as a unit, making me miss the Purge Unit terribly today.

‘They might have been idiots, but at least they followed orders.’

Of course, separate from missing the Purge Unit, I did take measures to control these crazy fanatics.

Warnings, salary deductions, and various other penalties.

I did everything I could, but…

“We are the Papal Crusader Order!”

“Even the Diplomatic Enforcement Ministry cannot put handcuffs on the Papal Crusader Order!”

They were blatantly uncooperative except in areas that aligned with their own inclinations.

As time passed, the operations of the Diplomatic Enforcement Ministry gradually began to distort, excluding the very existence of the execution unit.

‘I worked so hard to create this system.’

I could no longer tolerate the antics of the Papal Office, the Crusader Order, and the incompetent newbies.

So, suppressing my extreme anger, I headed straight to the Imperial Palace with Riel.

After all, the final authority on imperial personnel appointments ultimately rested with the Emperor… that is, Artraia.

Therefore, on the way to the Imperial Palace, I was deliberately preparing a 57,000-character long report with Riel about the internal situation of the Diplomatic Enforcement Ministry, but…

When I casually looked outside.

“…Riel, since when did we become a capitalist country?”

“What do you mean… wait, why has it changed like this?”

A place that, just half a year ago, had a certain restrained beauty befitting a theocratic state, even if it wasn’t perfectly neat…

Now it was filled with all sorts of bright neon signs and holographic billboards, leaving us in a state of shock as we continued toward the Imperial Palace.