Ch.269269. The Final Fate of Embezzlement

Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat!!

A man was running through the dark streets of the Dawn Empire, as if being chased by someone.

“Huff, huff, huff……”

Breathing heavily, he navigated freely through the long and complex back alleys of the Dawn Empire.

To anyone watching, he looked like a criminal fleeing after committing a crime—and he was wearing the gray work uniform worn by imperial officials.

In short, there was only one reason why this man, an envied official of the Dawn Empire, would be running away like a worthless little rat.

‘Those… those damned bastards!!’

It was because this official had indeed committed an act worthy of being pursued.

Therefore, as he hid in the dark alley, he entered some secluded hideout to catch his breath, and then—

‘……..How, how did it come to this?’

He recalled the past, wondering how he had ended up being chased.

※ ※ ※

Everything began when he crossed over to the Dawn Empire at the age of 15.

By modern standards, 15 might be considered young—merely a middle school student—but in the Frankish Kingdom where he was born, it was an age when one was treated as a proper adult.

Thus, having been practically forced out of his home to become independent, he had studied diligently with the help of the temple, and finally came to realize:

‘……..The Frankish Kingdom has no future!’

As the third son of a commoner family with nothing to inherit but his own body, his chances of obtaining an official position in the feudal society of the Frankish Kingdom were practically nonexistent.

That’s why he chose to migrate to the Dawn Empire, a place both feared and envied among the serfs.

There were rumors that even the slightest crime would condemn one to a life of endless labor followed by hell after death, but there were also rumors that anyone—even those of slave origin—could rise to high positions if they had the ability.

“P-please, I beg you!”

“……..Very well, you pass!”

And so, having somehow scraped together money through day labor, he expressed his intention to seek asylum at the immigration office. The official in charge did not reject him, treating him as a refugee and accepting him into the Empire.

Thus, a dramatic turning point arrived in his life.

‘Is this… a city?’

Though he had only heard of it as a living hell ruled by evil gods, the Empire where he received basic education and settled turned out to be a paradise compared to his life as a commoner’s son.

Surprisingly cheap yet high-quality food, magnificent cultural content that couldn’t even be compared to that of the Frankish Kingdom.

Add to that the excellent infrastructure that made it clear where taxes were being spent and the law-abiding atmosphere permeating throughout society.

For a common citizen like him, he could confidently say there was no better country to live in.

Filled with admiration for the Empire, he worked hard to become an official of the Dawn Empire.

Whether fortunate or unfortunate, the competition wasn’t fierce because while the officials of the Dawn Empire weren’t poorly paid, their salaries weren’t particularly high either.

As a result of his efforts and the low competition, he passed the civil service exam and obtained citizenship, and his future seemed destined to shine brightly.

And everything started from there.

Although he was an official, he was only a lowest-ranking one, so he began to gradually climb the ranks, starting from positions that mainly handled various miscellaneous tasks.

Apart from being of foreign origin, there was nothing particularly problematic about him, nor did he have any record of causing major incidents.

With his steady and continuous achievements, even if he wasn’t advancing at an extraordinary pace, he was progressing along the standard promotion path just like everyone else.

And then one day.

Finally promoted from a clerical position to middle management, he was assigned to none other than a budget-related department in an imperial city.

Since it was a position where large sums of money changed hands—a department one wouldn’t be assigned to without a good evaluation—he was delighted to be trusted by the Empire and eagerly began his work, but….

Here, the once-successful man suddenly embezzled the budget.

In truth, by the average standards of the era, it was a reality that he couldn’t really be blamed.

In this age, a chaotic mix of medieval and Renaissance periods, it was “common sense” to pocket about 10-20% of the allocated budget, and he, being more faithful to this “common sense” than anyone, didn’t deny it, thinking of it as a bonus as he diverted about 10%.

Indeed, officials of this era typically had quite low salaries, and it was common practice to supplement their insufficient pay through such embezzlement. The government, aware of this, often tacitly allowed it since they didn’t provide enough budget for budget execution in the first place.

Even in the highly compartmentalized systems of the modern era, embezzlement cases emerge almost daily, so in the loose administration of this era, embezzlement was indeed “common sense”…

One must not forget that turning a blind eye to such matters was in the nature of officials.

But the problem was—that the place where he committed embezzlement was none other than the Dawn Empire.

In a country known for its private sanctions and harsh punishments, with a bleak view of crime, embezzling state funds was a far more serious offense than modern people might imagine.

Strictly speaking, the Dawn Empire was the private property dedicated to multiple gods, so embezzling the Empire’s budget was tantamount to embezzling something belonging to multiple deities…

‘Run, run, I have to run…!!’

This wasn’t the type of crime that required internal auditors from the administration to act; it was treated as blasphemy, a matter that required the direct intervention of inquisitors.

Despite being of foreign origin, he was well aware of the notorious reputation of the inquisitors, so when he heard that the inquisitor’s attendants had come to arrest him, he chose to flee.

The one fortunate thing was that this city was like a second hometown to him.

Having lived in the back alleys of the city for several years since immigrating, escape was relatively easy for him. And so, the story returns to the beginning.

“…!”

As he hid his body in the narrow gaps between the back alleys, he couldn’t hide his shock at seeing “it” that was beginning to appear faintly.

A massive Wolf-Man, about 2.5 meters tall, its entire body covered in blood-red fur with scales glinting between the hairs.

The Revenge Hound, which he had only heard about in stories, was now sniffing around and perking up its ears, searching for him.

He felt as if his breath would stop.

‘Pleasejustpassbypleasejustpassbypleasejustpassbypleasejustpassbypleasejustpassbypleasejustpassby…’

He desperately prayed to the unknown gods of his native pantheon, even stopping his breathing to avoid making any sound, trying his best to hide himself, but…

Despair always arrives alongside hope.

“Grrrrrrrrrr…”

“…Damn it.”

Finally confirming that the hunting hound was clearly looking in his direction and growling as if it had found him, he muttered a curse in his native language mixed with lamentation—

—SLASH!!

“…Keugh?!!”

He deliberately thrust his neck toward the hound’s claws, which were clearly trying to capture him alive with restraint, choosing death over living in pain…

This was the ultimate technique of opportunists who had committed crimes but feared punishment—escape from this world.

※ ※ ※

And to state the result upfront, his attempt to escape this world ended in miserable failure.

‘Well, look at this one?’

I’m told that the process of sorting souls entering my divine realm is now fully automated, but as I was directly observing souls for old times’ sake, this one happened to enter my sight.

Normally, I would have forgiven his sins after turning him into a wolf or hound and working him hard for a few decades, since there were no direct victims who suffered losses…

But instead of humbly accepting his punishment or simply being captured,

He chose death on his own to avoid punishment, and this cowardly act irritated me.

If he had at least committed suicide wanting to be punished directly by a god, that would be one thing, but this one ended his life with the simple, one-dimensional idea of not wanting to be punished…

‘You need to suffer a bit.’

For such a coward, the most fitting end would be forced conscription into the war that’s still ongoing.

Under that judgment, the sentence I imposed on him was punishment in the torture engine.

Thrown into the magic-machine created under Lucifer’s direction as both a criminal and a power source, he was scheduled to be deployed in the defense against the demonic invasion—a war taking place even in my divine realm.

The persistent invasion of divine realms by those demons, who were expanding their influence as if to dominate the entire soul world, is still ongoing in most divine realms.