Ch.145145. Irreversible

Still, there is hope for the Empire.

…No, actually there isn’t.

I didn’t just blurt that out without context; I had my reasons.

I was currently looking at a scene that momentarily made me forget the Empire’s madness.

I had even set aside the “fundamental solution” I’d been contemplating.

“Here, the food is served!”

Grilled trout with spices, sandwiches stuffed with venison ham, fruit salad, and even honey wine that the Saintess was sipping.

This was the meal we were served at the first rural inn we visited after escaping the Demonic Land. Naturally, the beast king remained at the border and couldn’t join us.

It was too modest to be called a celebration meal for the Hero party that successfully defeated the Demon Lord, but it was a decent menu for coming from a rural frontier. Compared to the days when we tore apart demons with our bare hands while occasionally chewing on hardtack or jerky, this was practically a feast.

I didn’t pay currency for this meal.

I wasn’t attempting to dine and dash using the Hero’s authority. To begin with, neither I nor my party members revealed our identity as the Hero party.

What I handed to the innkeeper instead of money was a thin gold bracelet I’d brought from the Demon Lord’s castle.

I didn’t know its exact value. Assuming it had similar purity to a 100,000 gold coin, it would be worth slightly over 400,000 Lyra.

It was an excessive amount for a meal, bath, and one night’s lodging, but given the nature of accessories, I couldn’t rule out other possibilities. If I was unlucky, it might be half copper and silver.

I didn’t pay with jewelry because I lacked gold coins; I had a personal curiosity I wanted to confirm.

‘Will they accept it? No. Of course they will.’

Indeed, the innkeeper readily accepted the gold bracelet I offered.

He didn’t frown and ask “Why this?” nor did he carefully check its purity with a touchstone.

He simply said, “My, how generous you are,” and instructed his employee to heat bath water and show off his cooking skills. That was it, really.

It didn’t seem like they were being submissive because we were carrying swords. After all, most people who frequented inns were armed.

In the end, I had to assume they accepted it simply because it was acceptable—because it was gold jewelry. They judged it had more than enough value for a night’s stay and took it.

No, they didn’t just accept it; they were quite pleased. Even though they were only making a small profit.

This was only possible in the frontier, far from the imperial capital, but I couldn’t help feeling a distinct sentiment about it.

‘Most places are probably still like this, I imagine.’

After the Hero gambling incident, even commoners pursued get-rich-quick schemes.

But that was limited to wage workers and merchants living in cities, especially those of considerable size.

Anyone registered in the census could buy lottery tickets even if they lived in the countryside, but not many would trudge all the way to sales offices in big cities just to pick four numbers. For farmers who paid taxes with grain and hay, the lottery was a story from another world.

They couldn’t become get-rich-quick enthusiasts even if they wanted to.

Because they knew better than anyone that such things didn’t exist in reality.

It’s not my place to say this as the person who actually created a get-rich-quick scheme that didn’t exist before, but originally the Empire was like this…

“Um, have you made up your mind now?”

Professor Weaver asked while reading the atmosphere.

Professor Weaver was probably the most anxious person here besides me. That’s because he had heard about what happened at the Academy.

“Professor. Are you worried about the Academy?”

“…Yes. Now that there’s been an actual winner, the other students must have gone crazy too. Some students were already starting to analyze numbers talking about fixed digits and whatnot, and I can’t imagine how much worse the situation has become after three weeks.”

“You can imagine it just fine. The Administrative Department is probably conducting statistical analysis, and the Magic Department students might be trying to predict winning numbers using the wind magic—was it 2nd circle?—the same spell used to shuffle the numbers. They’ll believe it’s possible.”

“Then the Knight Department students…?”

“They’re probably asking their families for help. Most of them are nobles, after all.”

“I see. I wonder why the Academy in particular is in such a state, sigh.”

It wasn’t just the Academy that was ruined, but their condition was indeed serious.

That’s because Academy cadets were inherently an ambitious group.

The Academy was a place where good grades guaranteed a brilliant career, and even just having a diploma ensured employment. And now that ambition had transformed into get-rich-quick mentality. Quite excessively.

“It can’t be helped, Professor.”

“…So it was the most vulnerable institution from the beginning.”

“If I had known a winner would emerge from the Academy from the lottery system’s early days, I wouldn’t have implemented it. It seems absurd thinking about it now.”

“Then is there a way to solve… Ah, no. This isn’t the time to worry about the Academy. Please pretend you didn’t hear that.”

Professor Weaver smiled awkwardly and began nibbling on his sandwich.

His concern for the Academy must be enormous, but he was restraining himself to avoid distracting me. After all, I was currently devising a plan to operate on the entire Empire, not just the Academy. He had always been such a polite gentleman.

While I appreciated his consideration, there was no need for Professor Weaver to hold back.

‘I’ll end up addressing the Academy during the process of operating on the Empire anyway. There’s no need to think about them separately.’

Come to think of it, the reason lords could covet lottery funds and treasures from the Demon Lord’s castle, and why Academy cadets were obsessed with the lottery, was the same.

It was because they weren’t afraid of the Imperial family, or of me.

It might sound strange, but the reason local lords and cadets could run wild without fear was precisely that.

***

Why aren’t they afraid of me?

Thinking about it, it was strange.

I was someone who had brought down more nobles than anyone in imperial history.

I even seized the territories of nobles I had personally dispatched. I could take John Burko’s former territory—who became a scroll slave—if I wanted to.

Killing, throwing into labor camps, and even enslaving under the pretext of rehabilitation.

In a normal situation, people shouldn’t even breathe loudly for fear of offending me. I had provided enough examples showing that crossing the line could completely ruin not only their lives but their families’ as well.

So why weren’t they afraid of me? It was truly puzzling.

‘No, thinking about it, maybe it’s not so puzzling.’

The one who gave them the pretext was… none other than me.

It started around the time I expelled Prince Matthias from the palace. Right after I became a court baron, when I didn’t know things would grow this big.

– Your Majesty. The 51.5 billion confiscated from Prince Matthias should not be given to nobles as cash. Create a fund to provide material aid to territories with financial difficulties. That way, the nobles will only look at the hand holding the money bag.

…That was the advice I gave to the Emperor at the time.

I thought it was appropriate advice then. Material support was the answer to maintain the Emperor’s authority while suppressing the nobles’ discontent.

If I hadn’t restrained them that way, there was a high possibility that crazed individuals would have assassinated Matthias. That could have triggered a civil war.

‘But that support policy caused another side effect.’

From then on, everyone started looking only to the imperial palace. Originally, the Emperor directly ruled only the imperial capital and direct territories, while individual domains were entirely the lords’ responsibility.

I thought it was the right thing to do at the time, but in retrospect, it seems I instilled bad habits.

That wasn’t my only mistake (though it wasn’t a mistake at the time).

I was also the one who captured Gwon Heejin, who was hated by Cordana investors, humiliated her thoroughly, and then placed her on the stake to satisfy their anger.

And I was the very person who extracted 80 billion worth of gold from the Demon Lord’s castle and injected funds into more than thirty small rural territories.

Of course, I didn’t give it for free, nor did I lend the money because I liked the lords, but I did create room for misunderstanding.

‘And above all else…’

Being appointed as the Hero due to the Goddess’s mischief was decisive.

It wasn’t strange that people misunderstood, since someone who had worked devotedly for the Empire until then became the Hero.

In the end, I had to assume that the people going crazy now mistook me for a reliable problem-solver and benefactor rather than an object of fear.

I could roughly guess what was going through the minds of those looking at me.

The Hero is not our enemy. Wasn’t he originally from the Royal Order, following an elite path? He’s been conditioned to live loyally to the Empire, so there’s nothing to worry about. He’ll probably distribute the treasures brought from the Demon Lord’s castle in some way again.

He might be a bit unpleasant, but he’s someone who serves for the benefit of the Empire and humanity.

My image seemed to be something like this.

Even at this very moment, I was contemplating measures to prevent catastrophe, so it couldn’t exactly be called a misunderstanding.

‘So it was something I brought upon myself from beginning to end.’

Yes. It was something I caused.

But I couldn’t continue this charade forever.

Because the fundamental solution I came up with was none other than a purge.

A purge.

Not in the sense of punishing wrongdoers, but creating an atmosphere of fear so they would no longer see me as a problem-solver or even dare to look at the treasures I brought. Simply raising my rank and expanding my territory wouldn’t be enough for that.

I had already finished contemplating the means to achieve this purpose.

If there was one thing that bothered me in this situation, it was my instinctive aversion. Once I put this plan into action, there would be no turning back.

And regardless of my true intentions, it would be difficult to receive positive evaluations from future historians. Even if everything went according to my plan.

‘But there’s no other way.’

If not this method, the only option was to give up everything and go into seclusion, but I had no intention of doing that.

From the moment I grasped the holy sword, avoidance was no longer an option for me.