Chapter 76. Imperial Capital (1)

School ties. Regional ties. Blood ties.

It is often said that to succeed in the Republic of Korea, one needs one of these three types of connections.

I once heard a politician on television shout that these three great connections were the root of all corruption and evil.

The incident the following year, where it was revealed that the same politician had used his friendship with the president of a certain university to fraudulently admit his son and daughter into a so-called prestigious university, might be seen as him proving his own argument.

In any case, the reality that connections, regardless of whether they are good or bad, hold a powerful force is undeniable.

“…Wow.”

Well, I won't deny it.

The fact that I, too, am receiving the special treatment of such connections.

If I had to classify it, I would be receiving the benefit of the second one.

Regional ties.

To put it a little differently, I suppose you could say I ‘received a bit of unexpected favor due to a legitimate employment relationship and personal acquaintance.’

“Waaaah…!”

“I-is this really not a dream?”

“This is… a little surprising.”

On the first day of our arrival in the Imperial Capital.

The Imperial army found us our lodging.

It wasn't just any lodging.

It was a top-class residence in a quiet area, a moderate distance from the city center, where magnificent mansions stood like an apartment complex.

“This plate, is it really silver?”

“Yes. It is made of silver that has been slightly reinforced.”

“Hey, Mr. Butler. There’s alcohol in that cupboard over there. Can we drink all of it?”

“All foodstuffs in the mansion, including alcoholic beverages, have been prepared for our guests. Please enjoy them to your heart's content.”

As befitting a magnificent mansion, even dedicated servants were assigned.

The members exclaimed in admiration like people who had just come up from the countryside, exploring the spacious mansion.

In particular, the 3rd Company Commander, Damas, seemed to be feeling a unique sense of emotion.

I had heard that the greatsword and halberd units he led had performed remarkably well in the battle of Berenburg.

I approached him as he stood like a statue in the entrance hall, staring blankly up at the chandelier.

“Damas, are you alright?”

“Yes, I was just thinking. What it would have been like if the boys who died in Wolfskrig had seen this. They would have really liked it…….”

The dark-skinned man’s eyes reddened.

In fact, he was one of the people who had suffered the most damage during the previous battle of Wolfskrig.

It was because the scouting route his mercenary band was assigned to happened to be the advance route of the vampire count, Calvenia.

A mid-sized mercenary band of 300 men was more than halved in a single scouting mission.

“Thank you so much, Commander.”

He said, wiping his tears with a hairy hand.

“For letting me have this experience. For allowing me to show a side of myself that isn't shameful to the guys who went ahead….”

I offered some appropriate words of comfort and left him to himself.

A man's tears often need time alone more than many words of comfort.

I looked around the training ground set up in a corner of the mansion's yard.

It wasn't large, but it was neat.

Neatly arranged training equipment, blunted practice swords, an open area used for sparring and other purposes, and a track that looped wide around it.

“…….”

I stood for a moment, lost in thought, looking at the track.

In any case, it was a luxurious reception.

This mansion was a place where wealthy merchants or nobles from the provinces would stay.

It meant our performance in this civil war was that outstanding.

The fact that we were a mercenary band formally employed by the Imperial army would also play a part.

Besides the lodging, formal employment with the Imperial army came with many benefits.

Starting with a tax rate that was practically nonexistent, the right to receive supplies at Imperial army fortresses, quasi-noble treatment at official functions, and so on.

As it wasn't something just anyone could receive, the number of mercenary bands formally employed by the Imperial army at this point could be counted on one hand.

Ostensibly, there were six.

There were about two more in the shadows.

On the shadow side, one was an intelligence and assassination organization.

The other was an underground magic tower that researched illegal magic, including necromancy.

“An intelligence organization.”

I unconsciously muttered to myself.

There were a few things I had planned to do upon arriving in the Imperial Capital.

First, I went to the dining hall.

I delivered the good news to Brol, who was opening a bottle of alcohol he had taken from the cupboard.

“Is that for real? You’re telling us to go out and have fun?”

“Yes.”

“A-and it’s really okay to drink alcohol?”

It was a festival period.

To celebrate the victory in the civil war, the Imperial Capital was holding a week-long festival.

And a festival wouldn't be a festival without alcohol.

For a week, the Imperial family announced they would supply unlimited food and alcohol.

For a natural-born drinker like Brol, a week-long paradise had unfolded.

However, as a company commander, he had responsibilities, so he wouldn't just run out recklessly.

He might seem that way, but he was a surprisingly responsible man.

“Then, are you really going?”

“Yes. Go on. Drink as much as you want and make some friends. Oh, the mercenary band will pay for all your drinks.”

“Huh? N-no taking it back later!”

“But.”

“But…?”

“Write your report well. And don't divulge any information you learn at the drinking parties until you've had it reviewed by me.”

“Got it. Don’t you worry. I ain’t a guy with a loose mouth.”

He didn't have a loose mouth.

He just couldn't distinguish the importance of secrets.

…Isn't that what having a loose mouth is?

“Thank you, Commander! Really… I’ll repay this kindness by setting my body on fire!”

“On your way out, tell the members to go have some fun too.”

“Sir!”

I let out a hollow laugh watching Brol's back as he ran out with a brightened face.

That's taken care of.

Next is the church.

I need priests.

* * *

‘The title conferment ceremony will take place on the third day of the festival.’

A few days before arriving in the Imperial Capital, Archduke Gabir had called me aside and told me this.

He meant that since it was a rather important event, they would do it before everyone got drunk.

Because as the festival continued, nobles and citizens alike would become dead drunk.

Likewise, I also had things to do while sober.

“M-me, sir?”

On the way to the church.

For the first time in a while, I was accompanied by someone other than Olif.

It was the holy knight, Tember.

The one I had been calling Tambourine until now.

“But isn't Tambourine better?”

“Uh, but Tember is my name….”

“Let’s go with Tambourine. That’s easier to remember.”

“Uh, uh…….”

Olif, who usually escorted me, had to leave for a while on business.

I had discreetly told only him that I would be receiving a barony this time, and he suddenly stood up, saying he had something urgent to discuss with the manager of his fief.

Anyway, I had received a lot of help from him so far, and I would continue to do so in the future.

Once I received my fief and began to manage it in earnest, there would be many aspects that weren't represented in the game.

“May I ask you something?”

“What is it?”

“W-why are we going to the church?”

“To request some support.”

The third day of the festival.

I was scheduled to receive a fief along with my title.

Wolfskrig, which had been taken back directly from the vampire duke, would become my fief.

Although it was a frontline fortress, it was no different from a small city that once served as a trade gateway.

Meaning it boasted a scale far larger than a typical fortress.

‘If there’s one problem… it’s the necromantic corruption.’

For the past three hundred years under the rule of the Vampire Archduchy.

The magic of necromancy had corrupted the fortress and the entire surrounding land.

Proper crops do not grow on land contaminated by necromancy.

A massive purification was needed.

The problem was that purifying a territory of that size required a very large number of priests.

At a minimum, over five hundred.

They would have to be dedicated to the purification work for at least three to six months.

The request for support was in that context, but our Tambourine seemed to be misunderstanding it differently.

“S-support, I see. Ah, to replace me and the holy knights of the mercenary band… Ah, no….”

Tambourine began to mutter, clutching his head.

By the way, this guy.

Why was he so timid?

I remembered him being very spirited when I first met him.

Of course, there was no need for him to regain the arrogance of that time, but he seemed to need a little cheering up, so I added a word.

“Unless there's a special reason, I have no intention of letting go of any mercenary band members. Even if we recruit more, it would be to reinforce our numbers.”

“Ah, is that so?”

“Yes. Why would I fire members who are doing well? I’m going to request non-combat personnel now.”

In fact, the priests and holy knights within the mercenary band were fulfilling their roles sufficiently.

The reason the mercenary band’s casualties in the battle of Berenburg were only in the double digits was largely thanks to the healing prayers of the holy knights and priests.

“I heard that many members were saved thanks to you. You did well.”

“…….”

“I said you did well.”

“…Thank you.”

Seeing his slumped shoulders, it seemed he still hadn't cheered up.

It looked like this guy needed to fill up on some manliness.

If I asked Brol, he would take care of it.

Saving it in my mental memo pad, I moved on.

The church building was now just ahead.

In the Imperial Capital, where hundreds of thousands of people lived, there were hundreds of churches.

The one we visited today was a moderately sized church among them.

The church building, facing the sunset directly, held a sacredness that seemed to contain some kind of revelation.

“I am Commander Ash of the Ash Mercenary Band. I would like to request support in the form of non-combat priests for the purification of a necromantically corrupted area….”

“Ah! Commander Ash! We have been waiting for you.”

“For me?”

“Yes, the Archbishop told us to escort our honored guest without delay.”

What was this?

Was it really a revelation?

I had intended to speak with an administrative priest, but I ended up going up to the Archbishop’s room.

For reference, it was no exaggeration to say that the Archbishops, of whom there were only twelve in the entire Empire, were at the pinnacle of church power.

Five of them were in the Imperial Capital.

And one of them was currently drinking wine in front of me.

I doubted my eyes for a moment.

Was an Archbishop really drinking straight from the bottle?

“Commander Ash! Welcome to the heart of the Empire. I welcome you in the name of Luark. I am Archbishop Walter.”

“…Thank you for your hospitality, Your Eminence.”

“Emenser 4:2. Treat all brothers and sisters as you would yourself. It would be absurd to receive a guest empty-handed. Here, a 1003 Belfork.”

“Ah, yes….”

A priest acting as a secretary handed me a whole bottle of wine.

Looking at the label and seal, it was certain.

This one bottle was worth dozens of gold coins.

“Luark shines his light upon everyone. A church should be able to meet the eyes of its brothers and approach them.”

“…I see.”

“The whole city is filled with excitement, so if we alone sit primly and solemnly, who will understand the hearts of our faithful?”

There were no glasses.

Seeing him drink the same wine straight from the bottle in front of me, it seemed that drinking from the bottle was the accepted culture.

By the way, was this right for a church?

Even if it was a festival period where drinking and merriment were encouraged.

It was a church, though.

“The grapevine endures the midday sun and the moonlit dew for a year, and presents the grace of Luark, who created the universe, as sweet fruit.”

“…….”

“Enjoying the fruits of nature well is also the will of Luark.”

It seemed that the eloquence of religious figures was exceptional in any era.

Listening to him, even the sight of him drinking from the bottle seemed to have some logic to it.

“Anyway… what brings you here?”

“The necromantic corruption is severe in the city where our mercenary band is headquartered. Could we receive the church’s support with a donation from the mercenary band?”

“A donation! How preposterous. Our priests will respond to the Commander's request out of a spirit of volunteerism.”

The Archbishop with a warm impression said, drinking from the bottle.

In fact, this was correct.

In the church system, priests and holy knights dispatched to the outside were, in a way, embarking on a form of training.

Although they belonged to the church, it was their free choice, so it was right that there was no need to give anything to the church.

The priests and holy knights who joined our mercenary band were in the same context.

“It is the front line where we fought against the Vampire Archduchy until recently. I don’t think there will be many who will come with a spirit of volunteerism.”

But does the world always go according to principles?

Officially not, but in reality, large-scale dispatches were made through negotiations with the church.

“Do not say such things. Commander Ash is an honorary holy knight. You are our brother. As for non-combat priests, they will volunteer ‘as many as you wish’. On my name, Archbishop Walter.”

However, for some reason, the Archbishop adamantly refused a reasonable ‘donation’.

To just accept it positively, I couldn't understand his intentions.

Because there was no such thing as a favor without a price in this world.

Especially in a meeting with such a high-ranking authority figure.

“I heard you will be receiving a fief soon, Baron Ash.”

As expected.

“You are walking the path of a hero chosen by God. It was enough to move the heart of even this humble priest.”

Although it was confidential, it seemed he already knew everything, from the title conferment ceremony to the fact that I would be receiving a fief.

“I look forward to working with you in the future.”

The Archbishop raised his bottle with a benevolent smile.

It seemed he didn't intend to demand anything right away.

Well, there was nothing bad about it.

If I intended to build up my power based in the Empire, I had to maintain a good relationship with the church anyway.

“It is I who have received much of Luark's grace, Your Eminence.”

I opened the bottle of wine I had been given and clinked our bottles together.

Since he knew all the details, the discussion about the dispatch was smooth.

How many people to dispatch, for how long, and how much to pay them, and so on.

By the time I had finished about half the bottle of wine I received, we shook hands and stood up.

Of course, it seemed not everyone had pure intentions.

There was an unsettling voice that found fault with the fact that the conversation had gone well.

‘A necromancer joining hands with the Luark Church, live long enough and you see all sorts of things…….’

‘Tick-tock….’

I could just ignore the whisperings of the impure elements in the subspace.

No, more importantly, that tick-tock.

That was the sacred relic of ‘The Maiden Who Heralds the Time’, right?

‘Our Master is a bit of an oddball. Don’t you think so too, Tick-Tocky?’

‘Tick-tock tick-tock.’

Is this for real?