The Duke’s Eldest Son Escaped to the Military

Translator: Pai_

As soon as he parted ways with Pierre Welch, he approached Iron immediately and pleaded for him to listen just once.

Unable to refuse his earnest plea, Iron once again entered the small teahouse.

"I'm sorry to trouble you. But this was the only way I could meet you."

"It's alright. More importantly, what is this about...?"

At Iron's question, Dennis Feltro swallowed hard and cautiously spoke.

"Our workshop has a project underway. We need your support for it."

At Dennis's words, Iron quietly looked at him.

"Of... of course, I'm not just asking for help without anything in return. We'll offer sufficient compensation..."

"Rather than compensation, what exactly are you asking me to help with?"

At Iron's question, he gulped and began his explanation.

"Our main focus right now is golems."

"Hmm..."

"I'm not only talking about war golems. We're also developing golems for commercial use. However, developing them independently takes a lot of time."

"Is there a reason for the urgency?"

At Iron's question, Dennis let out a deep sigh.

"I heard the Holy Alliance has begun to move."

At his words, Iron slightly furrowed his brow and quietly looked at him.

"We're not fools. If war with the Holy Alliance begins, we'll have to focus on the war as well. That would render our current efforts meaningless."

"It won't be to that extent."

"Yes. We won't have to give up everything. But most of it will be scrapped or postponed indefinitely."

At Dennis's words, Iron silently looked at him.

"Golems and the large magic-powered vehicles developed from them will be revolutionary. I believe they can contribute to the logistics innovation the Merchants' Union desires. They'll be helpful on the battlefield too. So... we want to complete this project before the war with the Holy Alliance begins."

"And you think that's possible with my help?"

"Yes. If the government supports our Artisans' Union, it's entirely possible."

Dennis spoke with conviction.

"To create armored golems and new types of magic-powered vehicles, we need a large amount of resources and manpower. That's why we need government support."

"Hmm..."

"This will be a necessary form for the upcoming war. From the government's standpoint, it's not a bad situation. If you look at our proposal here, you'll see we've set the profits at the minimum. Just enough to satisfy the development costs and our workshop's investors."

After Dennis's explanation, Iron thought for a moment before looking at him with a questioning expression.

"Why go this far?"

"Excuse me?"

"I'm curious why you're going this far without expecting much profit."

At Iron's words, Dennis smiled gently.

"Becoming the center of a new revolution. That's what our Artisans' Union desires."

"The center... of a revolution?"

"Yes. Ever since we entered the era of Destruction, we've started a completely different life from before. And I don't think this change will end anytime soon."

As Dennis spoke, his eyes sparkled.

"Immediate profit? We don't need that. What we want is to be the ones at the center after Destruction. To leave our names in history and be the heart of the revolution. Compared to that, immediate profit is trivial. And profits can be earned later."

At Dennis Feltro's words, Iron fell into thought.

Looking toward the distant future without regard for immediate profit.

It was easy to say, but making such a decision immediately was not easy.

It was clear how difficult it must have been to convince investors and persuade the many employees under his command.

Yet carrying it out meant he had that much confidence in the future.

"To be honest, the person from the Merchants' Union earlier, and you now, you both make good points."

At Iron's words, Dennis's eyes lit up.

"Would I be of help?"

"Yes! If you support us, sir Iron, we will definitely succeed!"

"Why are you so confident?"

At Iron's question, Dennis replied as if it were obvious.

"Because you are the Empire's hero."

As Dennis said this, he looked at Iron with a serious expression.

"Since the era of Destruction, the Military has gained tremendous power. It's just not apparent because that power has been focused on fighting ancient species. Among the Military, the one with the greatest influence is you, sir Iron. Moreover... from the citizens' point of view, the leading figure of the Empire is you."

"That's..."

"Though the current Governor-General manages coordination fairly well, he lacks overwhelming charisma. That's something you possess, sir Iron."

As Dennis said, if Iron had wished to exert influence over the Empire, the position of Governor-General would have been his. That was how much overwhelming support he had in the Empire.

But since he was always on the battlefield, he never had the opportunity to properly wield that power.

"Please! Give us a chance!"

"I'll... think about it."

"Yes!"

Dennis smiled brightly as if that alone was enough.

As Iron parted ways with him, receiving that earnest gaze, he let out a deep sigh.

"It's getting more complicated than I thought."

With that recent conversation, it was still unclear whether the Merchants' Union and Artisans' Union truly held such intentions.

But one thing was certain, he had become the center of a complicated situation.

Iron sighed and made his way to the lodging that had been assigned to him.

As he was contemplating how to handle the matters ahead, someone came to his room.

"Who is it?"

When Iron opened the door, two elderly men were standing there.

"Are you Commander Iron?"

"That's right, but..."

"Nice to meet you. I am the head of House Maldini..."

"I lead House Varesi, though I am lacking."

As the two revealed their identities, Iron's expression hardened.

It was because he couldn't figure out why the heads of key families from the Nobles' Faction had come to see him.

"Please, come inside for now."

At Iron's words, the two family heads gave a slight bow of thanks and entered.

Once they sat down in the chairs, Iron prepared tea and looked at them as he asked.

"What brings you here?"

At Iron's question, the two exchanged glances, and the head of House Maldini was the one to speak first.

"We have come to ask for a favor."

At his words, Iron frowned.

It was only natural that his expression twisted at the thought that the Nobles' Faction was attempting to lobby him.

"It is not a request for favoritism!"

Seeing Iron's expression, the head of House Varesi quickly spoke.

"Then what is it?"

"Help us prevent the collapse of the Empire."

At the head of House Maldini's words, Iron narrowed his eyes.

With an expression that said "What kind of bullshit is this" the head of House Varesi sighed and spoke.

"Hoo... We know it's hard to trust us after all the wrongs we've done. But this time, it truly is for the sake of the Empire."

At the head of House Varesi's words, Iron gestured for him to continue.

"After the late Emperor's death, the class system was essentially abolished. Since then, the capital has fallen into extreme chaos."

"...And? Are you saying the class system should be revived?"

"No. It's already far too late for that. We also know that the class system holds no meaning anymore."

At Iron's sharp words, the head of House Varesi shook his head vigorously as he replied.

"What we want is stability."

"Stability?"

At Iron's words, the head of House Maldini nodded.

"To be honest, even without the class system, those of us from high-ranking noble families haven't been greatly affected. That's because we have overwhelming wealth and the infrastructure we've built over the years."

"The ones who've been hit hard are the former lower nobles or the incompetent trash."

At the words of the two family heads, Iron looked at them as if urging them to continue.

"It's true that the nobles have done wrong until now. But treating even innocent nobles like criminals..."

"This is clearly a problem. The current government is operating with a focus on the reformist faction, ignoring even nobles who have risen to high positions through merit. Because of this, conflicts are arising with the nobles, and unnecessary manpower is being wasted."

At the words of the two family heads, Iron wore a grave expression.

Outwardly, it looked like great progress was being made, but the side effects of rapid change were clearly not negligible.

Sensing that Iron was listening to their words, the two family heads began explaining in more detail.

The problem between the nobles and the reformist faction wasn't limited to just government officials.

The conflict extended from academy professors to the military in the capital and other regions, even to the security forces.

The reason these two men's words were somewhat trustworthy was because they acknowledged the faults of the nobles while explaining.

"I understand that the backlash between the two factions is severe. But isn't that unavoidable?"

At Iron's question, the head of House Maldini nodded.

"We know. It's because of the karma from the past... But at least for this moment, shouldn't we suppress the conflict between the two?"

At the head of House Maldini's words, Iron let out a small sigh.

Fighting the ancient species was already hard enough, and now the Holy Alliance was trying to invade the Empire from the west.

Because of this, the matter had to at least be patched up on the surface until the era of Destruction ended.

But who knew when the era of Destruction would end?

Would the citizens of the Empire be willing to wait for that?

Moreover, if Iron stepped in rashly and things went wrong, the situation would only worsen.

Perhaps sensing Iron's internal dilemma, the two family heads waited silently for his answer.

"For now... I'll think about it."

"...Understood."

At Iron's response, the head of House Maldini stood up with a sigh.

After the two family heads left, Iron, deeply troubled, eventually contacted the northeast.

"Faulden."

-Yes?

"Bring some Intelligence Unit agents and come down to the central region."

At Iron's command, Faulden opened his eyes wide.

-Is something going on?

In response to Faulden's question, Iron explained the situation that had occurred in the central region.

-...That's serious.

"That's why I need you."

-Haa... I'm already busy to death...

"Help me."

At Iron's words, Faulden, looking as if he were dying, eventually nodded his head.

The very next day, Faulden arrived in the capital with members of the Intelligence Unit and began moving immediately to collect information per Iron's orders.

He investigated whether what the Merchants' Union and Artisans' Union had said was true, and how severe the conflict between the nobles and the reformist faction really was, as mentioned by the two family heads.

What they found, with Faulden's help, was that the power struggle between the reformist faction and the nobles was more serious than imagined, and that the words of the two unions were not lies.

"This... is all true?"

"Yes. What the Artisans' Union submitted to the government was factual, and the Merchants' Union also seems to be planning to offer railway services at low rates for something of this scale."

"So both of them are thinking about the post-Destruction era..."

At Iron's words, Faulden nodded in agreement.

That left one remaining issue.

"Why did Liam Maldini say that to me?"

At Iron's muttering, Faulden, as if he had expected this, handed over another report.

"The Free Union?"

"Yes. Liam Maldini is affiliated with the Free Union."

"Wasn't he under the direct control of the Governor-General?"

At Iron's question, Faulden nodded again, as if that was also correct.

"He's someone the Free Union secretly planted as a close aide to the Governor-General."

At Faulden's words, Iron's gaze turned cold.

Then, as if he'd been waiting, Faulden handed over a report containing information on the Free Union.

Looking at Faulden, Iron gave a faint laugh and raised his thumb as if to say he was dependable.

"Now give the Intelligence Unit a break for a while. The guys are on the verge of collapse."

"Alright. Good job."

Upon hearing Iron's confirmation, Faulden finally smiled and collapsed onto the sofa as if he'd passed out.

***

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