Chapter: 102
Despite the notorious reputation of the Twilight Cult, their suppression ended quite smoothly. No matter how wild the heretics had been for hundreds of years, their downfall came in the blink of an eye.
In fact, the moment Enen secured victory in the religious battle, the downfall of the other sects worshipping different gods was inevitable. Only the Twilight Cult refused to acknowledge this and stubbornly held on until now. With such capability and effort, they could have succeeded in anything, but of all things, they chose to be blind fanatics.
“We’ve captured the cult leader, so he should be useful.”
The cult leader, who had been hanging on the former warlord’s spear and receiving a rather humiliating teabagging, was taken in by the deputy commander of the Black Phantom Unit and tossed to the Ministry of Intelligence. Still, given that he holds the title of cult leader, he should have some decent information to squeeze out.
Besides, had he conveniently died on the spot, he might’ve gone down in history as a martyr. It’s questionable whether anyone would dare to think of this heretic as a martyr, but considering this little heretic group had miraculously lasted for hundreds of years, one has to be cautious.
– Good job, Prosecutor’s Executive Manager.
“Thank you.”
Anyway, shortly after returning to the Capital, I received a call from the Minister of Intelligence. He said thanks for a job well done and, officially, the extermination operation was over.
– They had a trick or two up their sleeves. Even that failed, though.
“It seems some things are just doomed to fail, no matter what.”
– I agree.
As a celebration for the cult leader’s arrival at the Ministry of Intelligence, I casually let him spill some information, and, lo and behold, valuable tidbits popped out right away. They seemed to have some plans of their own.
Their goal was to deliberately leak information about an assassination attempt on the next Saint candidate to draw attention, causing a big stir. Then they planned a flashy self-destruction to maximize their sacrifices, making it impossible for the Empire or the Holy Kingdom to ignore the name of the Twilight Cult.
If their only aim was to ensure the Twilight Cult’s survival while causing some trouble for the two nations, it certainly seemed like a plausible plan. At least, right up until they got their butts kicked.
‘Did Enen place a curse on them?’
If soldiers were to die or get injured, rumors about the Twilight Cult would inevitably spread like wildfire.
But thanks to the healing zone, none of the soldiers collapsed. They couldn’t even flee the battlefield to terrorize other areas, and Tannian’s Holy Spell suppressed the cult leader’s last-ditch effort at self-destruction. I couldn’t believe how tangled things could get.
But what could I do? They should’ve converted. Managing one’s line correctly is a skill, too.
– The heretic will be sent to interrogation and then to the Ministry of Justice, though the ultimate outcome will be execution.
I nodded at the Minister of Intelligence’s statement that after execution, the remaining body would be cremated. The Empire under Enen’s protection didn’t need to respect the burial traditions of heretics.
– I’m busy, so I’ll end the call here. Take care.
“Yes, Your Grace.”
After just relaying the information, the Minister of Intelligence ended the call neatly. The extermination of the Twilight Cult might be over, but there were still things for the Minister and me to deal with.
I cast a glance down at the paper on my desk. There it lay—a single word scrawled across the top.
Report.
‘Damn it.’
The weight of those three syllables was no joke. While the operation was over, the responsibility for documentation was still very much alive.
The results were good. By positioning Tannian in advance, there were no casualties, and no disturbances arose in the Capital either. Successfully suppressing the Twilight Cult without offending the Emperor was undeniably a grand success.
However, the very act of having deployed Tannian in the first place remained an unignorable blunder.
– The Holy Kingdom has been trying to contact us fervently. It reminded me of the days when I was popular in my youth. I used to have quite the fan base back then.
While I was away, it seemed the Minister of Foreign Affairs endured a wave of heated protests. He must have been so beleaguered that he reached a breaking point.
Fortunately, there was an argument to be had: ‘Aren’t you all at fault for having your next Saint candidate reside in the Capital?’ And since Tannian came out unscathed, it didn’t escalate into a major crisis. Besides, the obliteration of the Twilight Cult was a success too, so further protests would have been tricky.
Still, the Empire should at least show some semblance of regret. That’s why I’m in this predicament. After all, I was the one who suggested bringing in Tannian. By now, the Ministers of Intelligence and Foreign Affairs must also be scribbling down their reports.
‘I… deeply… reflect… upon… this… incident…’
I scribbled the report with a heavy heart.
‘This incident concluded without much mishap, but to prevent similar regrettable situations from occurring in the future, I’ll… Revise…’
Damn it. You guys messed up too. Why am I the only one stuck with this?
‘Ah.’
As I wrote my feelings, I stumbled and created a blunder. Since it’s ink, erasing it would be a pain. Should I just submit it as it is?
I inadvertently shifted my gaze to the window behind me. The sky outside was bright and blue, in stark contrast to my gloomy mood. Shouldn’t I also be entitled to frolic beneath that sky?
Today was yet another day I desperately wished to resign. I should also hand in my resignation while I was at it.
If it were an incident at the Ministry of Finance, I could have dealt with it without writing a report. But because this involved another department, as well as a foreign entity, I had to trek all the way to the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
“Back again, huh?”
“Yes. It turned out that way.”
The moment I stepped into the Disciplinary Chief’s office, the first greeting I got felt cold. The look was clear: Why are you here again? I didn’t come here because I wanted to!
Awkwardly raising the report, the Disciplinary Chief gave a light chuckle and stood up. This marked an astonishing achievement—I had submitted my report for the ninth time. Damn.
“Typically, even managers write reports sparsely. Yet somehow, after your promotion, you’ve been writing them a lot.”
“I suppose I’m finally writing them now because I didn’t have to while I was Team Leader.”
“Ha ha, you don’t need to do those all at once, you know.”
With a casual headshake, the Disciplinary Chief accepted the report I handed him and quickly flipped through the content. Actually, checking over the report was his job, but it was embarrassing for him to do it right in front of me.
“Your writing seems to be improving.”
He even dared to leave a comment. Don’t you dare do that to me.
The Disciplinary Chief chuckled at my mortified expression and placed the report on his desk. Thankfully, he didn’t send it back for a rewrite. When I first submitted a report, I was sent back multiple times.
“From what I hear, His Majesty isn’t enraged either. We need to show that some disciplinary action has been taken, though we can’t exactly turn the Disciplinary Chief over to the Ministry of Justice, can we?”
“I’m just grateful for His Majesty’s mercy.”
Certainly, a report is a mere slap on the wrist. Even the term punishment feels like an exaggeration. While I might feel embarrassed and annoyed writing one, in reality, there’s no substantial harm.
In fact, writing a report about this incident is a rather positive sign. At the very least, it implies they aren’t planning to purge me over this incident. I’d have been more terrified if they’d just swept it under the rug.
A blessing in disguise. Honestly, I don’t want to call it that, but it is what it is.
“I’ll be heading back—”
Knock knock
“It’s the Minister of Intelligence.”
“Ah.”
Damn it.
Because I didn’t flee immediately after submitting my report, I ended up facing a superior who had also been writing a report.
How can I embarrass myself right until the very end? Is this the last curse of the Twilight Cult?
After enduring a breathlessly awkward exchange of glances with the Minister of Intelligence, I dashed away to the Prosecutor’s Office. If I lingered any longer, I might run into the Minister of Foreign Affairs. Usually, my bad hunches haven’t been wrong before.
“Executive Manager? W—What are you doing here?”
That was how my colleagues greeted me upon my return.
“Didn’t you go to submit the report?”
“I have submitted it. It’s just a hand-in, so why’s all the fuss?”
Upon saying that, the 3rd Manager’s gaze darted over to the 1st Manager standing beside him. His look seemed to say, Isn’t this different from what she told you? Oh great, it’s her again. Since the 2nd Manager left, she’s stuck dealing with both of us.
But the 1st Manager looked rather perplexed as she tilted her head.
“Isn’t ten reports a punishment? I thought you’d gone home.”
You little brat.
“Half of those reports are because of you guys! How can you say that?”
Furthermore, her counting of the reports suggests she had secretly hoped I’d get penalized, doesn’t it? With irritation bubbling up, I seized the 1st Manager’s lips. I had refrained from doing it too often, but I simply couldn’t hold back this time.
And this latest one was my ninth submission. One more, and I’d be at the end of my rope.
‘Damn it.’
As the specific number one popped into my head, I squeezed my eyes shut. Am I collecting coupons for a chicken shop? What kind of Executive Manager collects enough reports to get penalized?
I thought I’d be safe from writing reports while I was dispatched to the Academy, but the moment I returned, bam—a report waiting for me. At this rate, I might genuinely face punishment this winter.
“If you’re penalized three times, doesn’t it lead to imprisonment?”
“That’s right.”
I nodded at the cautious remark from the 3rd Manager. Right, after three penalties, it transitions from a simple penalty to imprisonment. Although the duration would only last a few days, its symbolic significance is enormous.
I’ve already endured two penalties. If I wrote even one more report and received another punishment, there would be no escape left for me.
‘Man, I laughed at him back then.’
The Minister has already faced imprisonment multiple times. When I first heard about it, I wondered what one would have to do, but now here I am, facing that same fate.
At least the Minister has a lengthy career as a civil servant, while I’ve barely reached four years in the clear. The Minister certainly wasn’t imprisoned after just four years.
‘Goodness, this has turned into quite a situation.’
The consequences of having assisted Tannian are now looming over me in the form of potential imprisonment. I anticipated this, but it still stings.
So, resolutely ignoring the 1st Manager, who was gently patting my arm, I carried on.
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