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(221)
Cornell couldn't figure out why he was in this position.
On the right stood the court noble delegates, on the left stood Bishop Hong of the Gwangmyeong Shingyo, and on the opposite side stood the finance minister and Hadritan, the imperial finance officer.
She was also a big shot in the slums and a member of the National Assembly with her own faction, but it felt very awkward for her to be in this position.
Of course, she also had several honeymoon relationships with the Archduke Valencian, who held the position of one man below all men and one man above all others, at least in name.
“Then let’s hear Congressman Cornell’s opinion on refugee policy.”
“Yes, yes?”
“Aren’t you the top expert in this field?”
It didn't even occur to me that I was in a position to meet him in broad daylight.
But a brain fueled by humanity and ambition worked faster in embarrassing situations.
Cornell realized that now was his chance to multiply his weight class.
She opened her mouth, hiding her wicked gaze beneath tense, hardened eyes.
“Then I dare to say something to your honorable people and your Majesty the Emperor. The official population of the capital is 400,000, the semi-official population is 500,000, and the gradually known population is 600,000. Last night, about 23,000 people were eroded, and about 10,000 people died, but there are still 370,000 to 570,000 people left.
The first urgent problem is erosion, and the second is food. The weather is still warm, so the cold is not a problem, but erosion and hunger are always closer to the poor. If they all live in tents on the plains, the tent village will be too vast, and once erosion starts spreading, it will burn like a wildfire and cannot be controlled.
So the girl said, “The most important thing is security.”
"police?"
The Black Iron Knight Commander Barbatos and the Chief Inspector narrowed their eyes.
It was a word that would give them strength.
“Yes, Your Majesty. Very, very strict security control is required.”
Cornell believed not in the goodness of man, but in the desire for goodness.
She was never a girl whose head was filled with nothing but flower gardens.
'If the people living in the eight-story stone houses come out into the streets right away, we will need an area eight times the floor area of the stone houses. The tent city will become too large, and those who escape surveillance will appear in between. There are very few people who can survive in their right mind after living in a warm house and becoming beggars overnight. They will either become gangsters, or be eroded, or both.'
“In my opinion, aside from the bare minimum of escort and magic surveillance, every armed force in the capital should be mobilized to maintain order in the tent village. Platinum, black iron, brass, silver, police commissioners, royal guards, prison guards, vigilantes, noble families’ private soldiers, adventurers, and mercenaries.”
Valencian nodded.
“What would be a good way to distribute it?”
Cornell met her eyes and answered.
Before I knew it, her posture had become quite dignified.
“In a situation where security is maintained, the method of distribution is not very important.”
There was trust in words that came from experience.
Valencian had the ability to transform faith into power.
“I will assign Hadritan as the financial officer, and Bishop Hong here for purification and healing. Bring me the documents in three hours. I will implement them as is.”
Some of the surrounding lawmakers frowned.
Even for an expert, it was unexpected that a kid about the same age as my granddaughter would take charge of the situation.
This atmosphere was especially strong among the commoner members of the National Assembly.
'Unlike hereditary lawmakers, we live off of popularity.'
'If that kid emerges as a hero among the citizens of the capital, we have no choice but to join that kid's faction.'
'I have to stop it, but the current situation is-'.
Valencianus spoke as if he could read their minds.
“I will appoint a platinum knight. Anyone who resists or interferes without a good reason will be cut down.”
Cornell bowed his head, and several of the lawmakers ground their teeth.
Valencian sighed as he looked up at the turquoise-colored sky.
“You must defend the capital until His Majesty returns. You cannot allow an uprising to occur in these times. Be careful to manage public opinion. Slogans such as distribution and medical treatment must be done in the name of the church and His Majesty, and killings and conscriptions must be done in my name.”
It was unimaginable what would happen if erosion spread among a population of over half a million.
* * *
In the Empire, only sword experts who could create swords could become knights.
If you were a sword expert, you could become a count, marquis, or even a duke in other countries.
No matter how many talented people there were in the empire, they were not in a position to be treated carelessly, and naturally, the knights of the empire were treated differently from their actual titles.
Tentia, a member of the Knights Templar from the Central Region, sat with the Minister of the Palace, a high-ranking noble and duke of the court, and Bonnell, a new knight of the Platinum Knights, was willing to display his swordsmanship skills against the Emperor's own older brother, even though it was a time when the treatment of the imperial family was at rock bottom.
so.
It was natural that all the attention and power would be focused on Tentia, the knight who escorted the emperor Valencian, the emperor's brother who led the empire without an emperor.
“Lord Tentia! There is something I must bring from the capital.”
“I have something urgent to tell you about the capital restoration project. Please meet me just once.”
“I promise to make a large investment in my father’s domain. Please allow me to see His Majesty Valencian just once.”
Today, too, Tentia wore platinum armor and patrolled the tent village.
If they wanted, they could have lived in luxury, looking at the beggars, or made money by discussing rebuilding the capital with the civil engineering guild, the materials guild, but Tentia was not the type of race to find pleasure in that.
“Kaaaaaaah!! Kaaaaaaah!”
“There’s no point in resisting. Come out.”
Her steel gauntlets grabbed one of the devourers by the hair.
He hid in the gaps between the tightly packed tents, but he could not escape Tentia's senses and the magical tools developed by Sereraji.
The eroder finally appears in the sunlight.
His head was covered with deer-like antlers, mushrooms, and mold.
“Oh my god! Again, again!”
“That makes sense. How many people heard that scream?”
“Close your eyes. They say you can get infected just by looking at it.”
“Is Pierre there?”
“Who the hell said they’d give us rations here? Damn it. I’ve been starving for three days.”
——————
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People who had lost family and friends in the chaos gathered together unconsciously, knowing the danger of the encroachers.
Tentia frowned once under her helmet and shouted to the sky.
“Everyone, step back a hundred steps!”
Wearing a helmet with red silk cords and a red mantle, she stood out even among the platinum knights.
He also had a subtle notoriety as a Red Knight for fighting the knights and stealing Valencianus away.
The citizens of the former capital fled with pale faces, and instead of his sword, Tentia picked up the war hammer attached to his belt and smashed the head of the invader.
"excuse me."
“Hey, don’t push.”
“I’m hungry, but this is annoying.”
“Oh, if you’re not going to give me bread-”.
“I said, excuse me!”
“Who… … ! Aaaah! I’m sorry. I’m sorry!”
Boys and girls wearing academy uniforms approached her.
The tent village residents, regardless of age or gender, avoided eye contact and slowly made their way forward as if they had never reacted so rudely before.
The students of the Academy's swordsmanship and magic departments were the capital's biggest thugs, and were currently operating as a quasi-security organization under the approval of that scoundrel, Archduke Valencianus, and taking orders from him.
Those with dirty tempers, great strength, and those carrying crazy rascals on their backs were not to be messed with.
Of course, the students who saw that reaction were secretly silent.
This was because they had not slept for several days and were busy disposing of the corpses of the invaders that the knights had subdued.
“Knight Tentia. Did you get some sleep last night?”
“I slept for four hours just now. That’s enough for our knights.”
“Ahh. I slept for three hours. I’m jealous.”
Jin, the student council president with neatly swept gray hair and blue eyes, greeted Tentia while collecting the corpse of the eroder.
The corpse, blood, flesh, and even the nearby dirt were carefully collected and placed on a wheelbarrow, and the seminarians covered the cart with a blessed cloth.
As I was doing something, I was very skilled at hand movements.
Tentia asked Jin as she watched the Academy students pull a cart inside the capital city walls where the makeup room was set up.
“Is the makeup room going well?”
Jin answered politely.
“Yes, my lord. His Highness Valencianus and His Highness Cererazy are personally managing the fire.”
He added, lowering his voice.
“We are also conducting research on purifying erosion using fire energy and absorbing its power.”
Tentia nodded absentmindedly and stared at Jin's face.
“… … It seems like you guys are also quite short on personnel.”
Jin was originally a broad-shouldered, muscular man with a sturdy frame, but now his cheeks were sunken and there were dark circles under his eyes.
He said, shaking his head.
“In a situation like this, I think it is a privilege to be able to provide distribution and treatment to relatives first.”
However, Tentia was also not unaware of the nobles' investigative methods.
“I heard there are several factions within the Academy. Are there any who rebel against your command? I think there may be some areas where I can help.”
Jin said with a bright smile.
“Thank you very much. Please help me.”
It was a reaction as if he had been waiting for those words from the beginning.
* * *
“I’m sorry! I’m sorry!”
“Please forgive me just this once!”
“I won’t do it again.”
The student council president of the neighboring academy, who had disobeyed Jin's instructions because of his pride, bowed his head and asked for forgiveness.
The student council president of the academy next door, who had been refusing all of Jin's requests for cooperation on the grounds that he had not joined the academy union, was about to hit his head on the floor and beg them to please accept him into the union.
The vice president of the seminary student council, who was smuggling holy water made by seminarians and selling it on the black market, was beaten until dust rose on a rainy day.
A representative of the magic department who was stealing old grimoires and various talismans that had just been made in the tent village was handed over to the church.
Finally, the moment when a gang that was doing gangster stuff in these times gets beaten up and absorbed under the student council.
Tentia became the hero of the Academy Association.
“Tentia! Tentia! Tentia!”
“I will become a knight like you!”
“Long live His Majesty the Archduke Valencian!”
Jin, the secretary, the vice president, and the general affairs manager bowed their heads with tears streaming down their faces, and the student council members cheered in unison.
Tentia responded to the cheers by raising her fist like a knight.
“Is this the last one?”
At the same time, he responded to the request faithfully.
“He’s one of the most vicious student bullies. He’s been on leave for four years now.”
Jin nodded with a moved expression.
His blue eyes were filled with determination to sweep away all the problems at the Academy this time.
“How good are your skills?”
“I’m hitting a wall with the Sword Expert. I heard that he originally aimed to join the Knights. To be honest, I’m not confident in one-on-one matches either.”
Tentia nodded.
“I see.”
In the Empire, sword users could not become knights.
This was because the knight's armor itself was so strong that it couldn't even eat a single grain of rice without the mana blade.
Of course, if he was a top-tier sword user, he was objectively a talent worthy of being called a genius.
There were many places where they were sought after, such as the guards, police chiefs, private soldiers or escorts of noble families, and high-ranking mercenaries.
However, for those who were considered geniuses since childhood, it was common for them to become frustrated and distorted due to the shock of not being able to become a knight.
'Sister Katalin was like that too.'
Tentia tried hard to erase one of the names she missed from her memory and followed Jin to where the cadet gangsters were.
“Here it is.”
“It’s so splendid.”
There were about 20 tents gathered on one side.
The location was dark and had easy access to the bushes and river beside, so it was easy for the expert to get out.
There were several sacks of bread lying around for distribution, either because they had already plundered the citizens several times or because they were trying to hoard the bread.
Tentia strode towards the largest tent.
No matter how notorious she was, she was still a sword user, and she could never beat her, who was a sword expert.
Just then the tent door opened and a woman popped her head out.
The red-haired, red-eyed woman resembled Tentia so much that she seemed like a sister, but her eyes were a bit more alluring and her frame was more slender.
Her slightly curly red hair was beautiful, as if it had been managed by the best craftsman in the capital, and her skin was also clear.
Her face had a long, rough scar running from her eyebrows to her chin.
Tentia took a short breath.
“… … !”
The woman raised her voice toward Jin, not Tentia.
“Chairman. This is foul play! No matter what, why bring the knight here?”
“Shut up! Does it make sense to immerse the enemy faction in this situation and loot?”
“Crisis is opportunity! What can’t you do? Half of it was at the chairman’s request, wasn’t it?”
“What nonsense are you talking about in front of your Majesty!”
Jin and the woman fought, raising their voices.
Tentia lightly raised one hand and silenced them both.
“Sister Katalin.”
“Huh, huh?”
She slowly took off her helmet.
“It’s me. Tentia.”
At that moment, Katalin kicked Tentia's temple with all his might.