Ch.2Voluntary Retirement (2)

# Maxiburg City Hall

Maxiburg is an unremarkable city. It’s far removed from central trade routes, and its annual volume of goods traded is negligible.

The only reason it’s populated enough to be called a “commercial city” is because this is the only plains area in the vast Maxi Province. The rest is mountains, forests, swamps, basins, and valleys—not exactly ideal for human habitation.

Its location is equally mediocre. Had it been a border region, it might have received more investment, but instead, it’s just an ambiguous unused territory.

Poor resources. Poor location. A land nobody pays attention to. This means not only are properly trained guards out of the question, but even the detention cell is inadequate.

The man with the cane looked at the “detention cell” door with contempt. The door was so rusted that it seemed like it would crumble with a slight push, but what really bothered him was the miscellaneous cargo inside the cell.

Finally, the man turned to the mayor. The mayor was shivering, his teeth chattering, so the man had to repeat himself two or three times.

“Clear out all that junk. Just lock the door roughly. Have the soldiers remove everything inside.”

Legally speaking, the Imperial Security Bureau can exercise enormous authority. This means the man with the cane could take command of Maxiburg’s guards without issue.

Of course, doing so would subject him to harsh protests and criticism from electors, dukes, and heads of knightly states who are always eager to ascend to the imperial throne.

The man with the cane knew all this, but the mayor was sweating so profusely it was pitiful, so he had little choice.

“W-w-what if the knight gets free…? How long can that rope restrain Lord Goetz…?”

Goetz was bound tightly from head to toe. His head was covered in lumps from being beaten. Whenever he regained consciousness, he would go berserk, so they had no choice.

“You don’t need to use the title ‘Lord’ for a criminal. That man is a traitor to the Empire, so summary execution would be entirely possible.”

At those words, the guards were startled and looked at the man with the cane. It was almost pitiful. The mayor looked like he might burst into tears at the slightest touch.

“Excuse me, sir. Could we talk for a moment? Preferably somewhere quiet…”

The man with the cane wanted to shake his head. Instead, he cleared his throat.

“Then please call ‘Whetstone’ from outside the city hall.”

“Um, what did you say?”

The mayor’s eyes spun in confusion. Whetstone? Had he brought a hunting dog? Fortunately, the man with the cane clarified.

“Ah, I apologize. Um, please call the agent who came with me. If you say I called, they’ll come.”

How could a person be named Whetstone? The mayor did as instructed anyway. The guard who received the order returned with a tall woman.

She was at least a hand span taller than the man with the cane. Her face was smaller, and her legs were so long that her hips would reach around the man’s waist.

Her blonde hair was tied up tightly, but if let loose, it would likely be quite beautiful.

“You called for me.”

Her voice was surprisingly delicate. Only then did the mayor look at the woman’s face. Her face was young compared to her body. Her cheeks were even plump enough to notice. Her large, round blue eyes sparkled.

“Got your sword?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Rest the blade on that guy’s shoulder and if he goes berserk, warn him once. If he still acts up, just cut his head off.”

“Understood.”

Her voice was stiffer than a soldier’s. This too was incongruous. Her voice was completely that of a young girl, but her manner of speech was that of a rookie soldier.

Her arms, as long as her legs, drew a sword that was much thinner than a standard imperial sword but had a chilling blade. There wasn’t even a sound as she drew it.

The mayor looked back and forth between the long-legged woman and the man with the cane with disbelief. The man kindly offered a smile.

“Now, shall we talk?”

* * * * *

The man declined tea. The mayor gulped his down. He looked like someone throwing buckets of water on a burning house. Still, his throat must have been dry as he kept coughing.

“I’m truly grateful that you’ve arrested Lord Goetz von Bärringen, but…”

The man with the cane didn’t bother correcting the use of “Lord” again. One shout might cause the mayor to faint from shock.

“You surely don’t really intend to execute him summarily?”

“That depends on that traitor.”

“Um, sir?”

“Kain.”

“Pardon?”

“You can just call me Kain. Security Bureau agents use unique nicknames. So just call me Mr. Kain.”

The mayor rolled his eyes.

Indeed, Maxiburg is insignificant. The title of mayor sounds nice, but beyond Maxi Province, people might mock it, asking where it is or if it’s a city attached to the Republic.

It’s natural that the mayor, who has lived his entire life in Maxiburg, would be unfamiliar with the workings of the Security Bureau in the capital. However, the mayor loved this city. Like a farmer who knows nothing beyond his land but can tell you the location of every anthill within his fence.

“If you’re going to execute him, please do it on the public road outside Maxiburg’s borders.”

Kain looked at the mayor, who was staring with wide eyes.

“Why? Are you afraid that bandit’s subordinates might attack?”

“Of course! His record is already notorious.”

Goetz has his own castle. Though small, it has everything a castle needs—a moat, a bridgehead, everything.

His subordinates number at least fifty, but fewer than a hundred. The problem is that nobody knows where his base is.

Conversely, this means Goetz’s gang has a fixed base from which they can freely terrorize minor territories whenever they wish.

“So?”

“So if you’re going to transport him, please do it quickly. If you’re going to execute him, do it outside the city.”

“Mayor,” Kain brought his fingertips together.

“Both options are difficult. First, I have no soldiers. All I brought is that whet… that trainee agent. As you’ve seen, she’s somewhat lacking as a functional person. The two of us can’t handle all of Goetz’s subordinates.

Second, I expected Maxiburg to have at least one prisoner transport carriage. It was clearly stated in the records. But the transport carriage I saw was so flimsy that even a three-year-old child could open it and escape.”

The mayor of Maxiburg just groaned. Kain continued.

“So let me suggest some options. The first is to execute him here and hang his head.”

“That’s absurd!” The mayor looked at Kain and modified his words. “…ly impossible.”

Of course, Kain didn’t take it as agreement.

“Fine. Second option. We send a letter. We request the nearest Imperial Military Police to come transport him. By my calculation, if he rots in that underground prison for about a week, they should come get him.”

“That’s even more impossible, absolutely not!”

The mayor finally shouted.

“Goetz’s men will attack here immediately! They’ll come wearing hoods, of course. Ebuburg, Rofaburg, Deberburg! I’ve heard how those three cities were destroyed! I can’t let Maxiburg end up like that!”

Kain looked at the mayor with contempt. The mayor understood the meaning of that gaze: ‘Then what do you want me to do?’

“Please take Lord Goetz away. Right now, even.”

“Are you that afraid?”

The mayor slumped his shoulders.

“Agent, I’ll be honest. Even if you take it as disloyalty to the Emperor, I have nothing to say, but I fear Goetz’s subordinates coming in the middle of the night to set fires more than I fear the glorious power of the capital. Destruction happens in an instant, but law and justice only exist in the capital, don’t they?”

Fortunately for the mayor, Kain didn’t get angry. He didn’t even twitch his eyebrows or stand up saying, “How dare you speak such nonsense!”

Instead, he made a strange expression. ‘What is that? Irritation? Anguish? Fatigue?’ Despite being young enough to be the mayor’s son, his expression was difficult to read.

“I understand.”

Kain slapped the armrest of his chair.

“I’ll get rid of that guy right away.”

“Really?”

“Really. But I need about half a day to prepare. I’ll need your cooperation.”

“Of course.”

The mayor nodded. He was truly willing to grant any request from this excellent Security Bureau agent. However, the request that followed was somewhat perplexing.

“Did you remember everything?”

“Of course, of course.”

“Then I’ll wait in the detention cell. Excuse me.”

Kain stood up, opened the door, and left. The mayor quickly wrote down his requests with an iron pen before he could forget them.

After staring vaguely at the open door, the mayor relaxed. Before calling his secretary, he sank into his chair. Surely he deserved a moment’s respite.

‘What on earth is that guy?’

The requests were strange no matter how he looked at them. The expression on Kain’s face as he made them was even more bizarre. The mayor, not wanting to think complicated thoughts, rang the bell.

As always, the secretary entered. An old secretary with a strangely gloomy face. Suddenly, the mayor realized that the secretary’s face resembled Kain’s expression.

It was deep ennui.

* * * * *

Not everyone in the city liked Goetz. Many hated him. Fortunately, among them were butchers.

“Here are the items you requested.”

The butcher’s workers put down a large sack. The sack was already reddish and wet, even sloshing. Thick blood flowed from the bottom. The workers bowed and left.

Next came the blacksmiths.

“We’ve brought them. Let us know if you need more.”

One wooden bucket contained glue, and another contained clothes and ropes. There was a lot of glue.

“I don’t need this much.”

“We’ll give you anything that helps.”

Kain bowed his head gratefully.

Finally, a wide board was brought in. What made it different from an ordinary board was that it had restraints for wrists and ankles. They were connected by chains, seemingly adjustable for different heights.

“Good. Mayor? Would you clear the detention cell?”

As soon as he finished speaking, the guards and workers left the detention cell. The mayor tried to follow them.

“You need to stay, Mayor.”

“…Is that really necessary?”

“If you don’t want to, I can’t force you.”

The mayor sat down on a worn wooden chair, grinding his teeth. Kain let out a deep sigh.

“Whetstone.”

Until then, the faithful female knight had been holding her sword to Goetz’s neck. However she had warned him, Goetz was glaring but not resisting at all.

“Yes, sir.”

“Put away your sword. We’ve brought scissors and a razor, so shave off all his hair and beard.”

‘Whetstone’ actually did so. Without a word, she put away her sword and picked up the scissors and razor. Goetz tried to resist, but when Kain slightly raised his cane, he fell silent.

“Proceeding.”

Despite her stiff manner of speech, her hand movements were extremely clumsy. The scissors didn’t cut well, and Goetz’s hair came off like weeds—like cutting weeds with a dull pair of scissors. Goetz’s eyes blazed, but,

“Our Whetstone is cutting a man’s hair and beard for the first time. If you move wrong, you might lose your scalp or an artery.”

At this warning, he winced and closed his eyes.

“Um, Agent?”

“Yes?”

“Is that person’s agent name Whetstone?”

Whetstone’s expression didn’t change at all. Kain looked at the mayor as if he were saying something crazy.

“Of course not. It’s a nickname.”

“Then what about her?”

“It’s better if you don’t know.”

“Then what should I call her?”

“Why do you need to call her anything?”

The mayor winced and glanced at the female knight.

The youthful-faced knight didn’t even turn her gaze.

Eventually, the shaving and haircut were finished.

“Good job.”

The female knight’s face turned slightly red.

“It was nothing.”

“Keep watching him.”

“Understood.”

Just like before, the female knight mechanically drew her sword. Kain rolled up his sleeves. The mayor once again stared at the imperial agent with a dumbfounded expression.

“Let’s do something together, Mayor.”

“Uh, what?”

“This.”

True to being the mayor of Maxiburg, a city no different from the countryside, when Kain opened the sack revealing pig and cow intestines and miscellaneous meat parts, the mayor didn’t even twitch an eyebrow.

“Whetstone. Is it disgusting?”

“No, sir!”

“Tell me if you feel like throwing up.”

“Yes, sir!”

Goetz winced. The female knight was clearly suffering from the smell but shouted vigorously. Because of this, the tip of her sword seemed to slightly nick his neck.

Kain pulled out the clothes the blacksmiths had given him. He twisted the ends of the sleeves and pant legs several times, then tied them tightly with rope.

“What are you trying to do?”

“Let’s make a sausage together, Mayor.”