Do Your Own Revolution

#099

“Move to that side! Counter the snipers!”

Kwooooooooar–!

Two years after the Elcidore Incident.

On the eastern front where monsters were rampant.

When one of the five heads roared, contaminated blood and mucus began to spray in all directions.

“Shit, what’s with its size…!”

“It’s like five giant monsters combined and transformed.”

“No time for chitchat. Now! Signal!”

Special Magical Power Unit 3rd Battalion Fire Support Company, 2nd Platoon Leader.

As Second Lieutenant Dren barked out, the sniper waiting at a distance pierced the monster’s head.

Thwack-!

“Core confirmed!”

“Capture it without damage. Load weapons!”

Following the platoon leader Dren’s order, five platoon members simultaneously raised their rifles.

Swoosh-!

The magical power charged along with the sound of steam being released.

When Dren’s hand signal came down, the explosion formula that burst from the rifles instantly enveloped the monster’s massive body.

“Now!”

Second Lieutenant Dren immediately jumped up.

When magical power imbued the mechanical device connected to his fist, the monster’s skull was crushed like paper where it hit.

Toward the monster’s now exposed brain, the second lieutenant reached out without hesitation.

Boom–!

With an intense explosion, the monster that had lost all five heads collapsed helplessly.

“Whew-!”

Mission complete.

His body, which had been tense with alertness, was now belatedly savoring the joy of success.

“Success. We did it! And it was our first mission…!”

At that moment, as he was rejoicing while looking at the monster’s corpse.

Thwack-!

Another head that tore through the monster’s back lunged toward his face.

Too fast.

It was already too late to react.

Is this the end?

Just as Dren gritted his teeth thinking that.

“Didn’t I tell you not to let your guard down? Right?”

Swoosh-!

Magical power chains that sprouted from the ground instantly snatched the monster’s head.

Chains of Helios.

Recognizing the formula, Dren immediately looked toward the source of the magical power and was shocked.

“Eugene, Lorentz…!”

It was him.

The Empire’s hero who created the Special Magical Power Unit and brought it to its current position.

The overall commander of the Special Magic Unit was personally on the scene.

Screech–!

Six beams of light were fired without even drawing the gun strapped to his leg.

The last head was instantly pierced.

What took five three stroke imprint specialists 20 minutes to catch, he incinerated in an instant.

That is six stroke imprint.

Magic of one who gazes upon the realm of superhuman…

“You there.”

“…!”

But the admiration was short-lived.

Seeing Eugene staring at him with hollow eyes, his heart was instantly dyed with fear.

“Name and rank.”

“T-Third Battalion Fire Support Company, 7th Platoon Leader! Second Lieutenant Dren Agai, sir!”

Ugh, my ears hurt.

Third Battalion… those were Ortega’s kids, weren’t they?

Eugene muttered that and spoke in his characteristically languid voice.

“When you return to headquarters, report properly, and make sure there are no mistakes like this next time. If you make a mistake next time, it won’t be you who dies, but your platoon members. Understood?”

“Y-Yes…!”

He was right.

If he, the core of their firepower, disappeared, the remaining members would not be able to respond to that monster.

A single wrong judgment had put all the platoon members in danger.

Seeing Dren grinding his teeth, Eugene patted his shoulder with a slight smile.

He thought he was just a rookie, but he turned out to be more useful than expected.

***

“Phew.”

After sending the troops back to the airfield.

After letting out a short sigh, I muttered while watching the members walking away chattering among themselves.

“Finally raised them this far.”

Elcryer’s monster research.

And the emergence of the Great Rupture that followed.

During the two years after these major events occurred, the Emperor reorganized the Special Magical Power Unit under my command into a large-scale unit with a brigade-level structure, under the pretext of preventing such incidents.

Dedicated armored trains and airships, along with other support units were prepared, and magic imprints mass-produced in imperial factories were distributed.

Two years.

That was how long it took for the Special Magical Power Unit, which had been just a single battalion, to transform into a massive military organization rivaling the Magic Corps.

These days, there are even increasing cases of transfers from Magic Corps to Special Magical Power Unit, so it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say we’re gradually overtaking the Magic Corps.

But why am I still a colonel after two years as the regimental commander?

I don’t know either.

If I had to guess, it must be a reaction to the rapid promotions I’ve had so far.

Even for Keiren, giving stars to an 18-year-old kid would be too much.

‘I think so too, honestly.’

Currently, the Special Magical Power Unit focuses on two things.

First is the ‘Empire Purification Project’ to eliminate monsters that have spread throughout the Emperor’s direct territories during the nearly two-year ceasefire with the Republic.

And second is the secret police work of tracking down and arresting rebels hiding throughout the Empire.

Especially this secret police work is a joint operation working in the same field between the Imperial Family and magic noble forces.

However, beneath the surface… There was an intense power struggle between the Knight Order and Special Magical Power Unit.

[Eugene.]

As I was thinking about that, a communication came in from Guille.

[Confirmed rebel branch hiding in southwestern Gehild City. Secured the mastermind’s body, he’s testifying now.]

[Aaaaargh-! Our, our base is in the south…!]

“Confirmed. As expected, our ‘collaborator’ is doing good work.”

Hearing his voice that had grown notably deeper over the two years, this guy must be having it rough too.

Thinking that, I took out a supply cigarette from my breast pocket and put it in my mouth.

“Haah…”

The Revolutionary Army, mostly controlled by Randall, was constantly looking for opportunities to eliminate the Emperor.

And this was the same thought shared by our main enemy, the magic nobles.

Randall and the magic nobles who found a common enemy joined hands, and they began carrying out sabotage toward the Emperor’s direct territories.

At the same time, they started terrorist operations directly targeting Special Magic Unit members.

Since they couldn’t kill me, now they started attacking the Special Magic Unit itself.

[The Emperor’s secret police created to suppress the people and stop the Revolutionary Army! That is the true identity of the Special Magical Power Unit!]

[Don’t be deceived by the word hero! They are a combat machine group that consumes more resources and money than during wartime even now during the ceasefire! They, too, are entities sucking the blood of imperial citizens, just like the magic nobles!]

[Only who holds their leash is different, they are not on the side of our people! Imperial citizens, wake up…!]

Going over the editorial in the revolutionary newspaper, a sigh emerged from deep in my gut.

Because it was vicious slander? The opposite.

It was all so accurate that I couldn’t refute it.

Illegal surveillance, detention without warrants, kidnapping and torture when needed.

The Special Magical Power Unit was doing all the violent and shady things associated with secret police.

‘When we blew up an entire civilian house just to find a Revolutionary Army spy, that was really…’

That time I really~~ messed up Ortega’s face for the first time in a long while.

Ah, thinking about it now makes me angry again.

Should have hit him three more times.

‘However.’

Grinding out the finished cigarette on the ground, I thought.

‘You’re not the only ones who found a common enemy.’

Claude de Lascol.

A ‘hero’ who wants to make a real revolution as an imperial citizen, not as a puppet of the Republic.

The information he brought was relentlessly tracking down and holding onto the Republic’s pawns hidden within your Revolutionary Army.

And that guy Claude was gathering his own forces to create a ‘real Revolutionary Army’ without the Republic’s support.

Real revolution my ass.

In the end, it was just a turf war happening within the narrow group called Revolutionary Army.

“Commander! This way!”

While I was thinking that, my adjutant Leopold, who came riding a military motorcycle, waved his hand as he approached.

‘Things have definitely changed from the future I knew.’

To think we’d have motorcycles now.

This kind of thing didn’t exist in the original game.

With a strange feeling, I got into the sidecar, and the scene of the airfield busy with withdrawal operations came into view all at once.

Airships for airborne operations, one for each company.

Armored trains with Special Magical Power Unit insignia.

And even the new weapons the members were carrying.

These were weapon systems created based on the war with the Republic and numerous real combat experiences.

‘Using these to suppress the Revolutionary Army’s activities and eliminate the monsters rampant in the direct territories that the Knight Order ignored.’

Monster extermination along with mana core harvesting.

Testing new weapons while gaining combat experience, this was truly killing two birds with one stone.

“With this, the monsters rampant in the Emperor’s direct territories have been mostly eliminated.”

“Right. Now they’ve weakened enough that the imperial army can handle them.”

I said that while watching military trucks entering the outskirts of the city.

“The land routes that were blocked because of monsters are open again, and conditions have been created where people can come and go directly without armored trains.”

“Limited to direct territories, and even then it’s unsafe without escorts.”

“Still better than using inefficient things like armored trains for passengers. Transportation costs alone would be cut in half, right?”

“Oh, when you put it that way, that’s good.”

Unlike the scattered territories of magic nobles, the Emperor’s direct territories were concentrated in the central region of the Empire.

As the monster purification project was finishing up, these numerous direct territories were finally being tied together into a single economic zone centered on the imperial capital.

In civilization terms, it means the trade routes to all cities have finally been connected.

“Five years at the earliest.”

Looking at the cities beginning to show vitality, I declared.

“With that much time, this place will develop enough to be called the center of imperial industry. In other words, it means it can grow enough to surpass magic nobles with money.”

“Then the imperial army’s supply department won’t be breathing down Special Magic Unit’s neck every day either?”

No.

That’s just because they’re cheapskates.

‘By the way, I’m getting anxious.’

Watching the scenery getting closer to the airfield, I thought.

The growth of imperial direct territories due to the monster eradication project. Its ripple effects would be known best by the magic nobles more than anyone else.

Nevertheless, the magic nobles weren’t showing any particular movements.

Even attacks through the Revolutionary Army had been almost non-existent over the past month.

Then…

“…It must be about time to begin.”

“What do you mean?”

“Something very serious and terrifying.”

There were plenty of signs over the past two years.

The Knight Order’s restrictions that became sparse compared to the beginning.

The unresponsive Revolutionary Army.

All the visible signs were indicating one fact.

That the allied magic nobles and Revolutionary Army were aiming for something big.

‘That’s why I’ve been preparing like crazy like this.’

I was obsessed with quantitative expansion to a pathological degree.

I brought the Special Magic Unit to this point by putting technologies that hadn’t even gone through testing into actual combat to verify them.

What remains is just one thing.

If we can just break through the final stretch…

“Ah right, Commander. Take this.”

As if suddenly remembering something, Leopold who broke my contemplation handed me something.

What came out of his possession was a letter.

However, what was inside was something like a certificate or commendation.

“What’s this?”

“It’s from Lady Mari. She said don’t bother looking at the contents, just sign it.”

“What the…”

Does she think her fiancé is some kind of ATM that just stamps things?

Even though I had such thoughts, there was nothing I could do about it.

After all, I was using my father-in-law as a living ATM.

The money that brought Special Magic Unit this far.

If I think about how much of it came from Keiren’s pocket… I have nothing to say.

The money lord is the master.

When told to sign, I must sign.

“…Hm?”

After thinking that and looking at the letter’s contents for a moment.

“What? Since when was she doing something like this?”

Seeing the unexpected contents, I slightly lit up my eyes.

‘Come to think of it, the audience date is tomorrow.’

Looking at the clock while thinking that, I smiled slightly.

I’m already worried.

What should I buy this time to avoid getting scolded.

***

“I’m sorry, but I’m not interested.”

“No, that’s… Lady Mari. That’s not what I meant…”

“I clearly said I’m not interested.”

Hearing the ice-cold voice, one male student drooped his shoulders and trudged away toward the alley.

Really, what a sight.

As Mari, completely drained, flopped down on a bench, her friends who had been watching nearby flocked over.

“Mari, is this the third time this month? These noble family sons are really something.”

“Th-this time it was just a senior, but last time it was that, that married man…”

“It was even more of a sight when we told his wife. She said ‘I know, so it doesn’t matter.'”

Hearing her friends’ voices expressing their disgust, Mari got up from her seat with a bitter smile.

“For busy nobles, having a lover or two is an everyday occurrence. Having one lover isn’t even considered anything.”

Come to think of it, maybe my dad and I are the weird ones.

Seeing Mari say that, her friends around her snickered.

“Well, your fiancé is one of the most famous people in the Empire.”

“How could these nobodies at university compare?”

“That’s not it.”

They say fiancé, but all we do is exchange letters once a month and see each other’s face once every half year.

It was an engagement that was closer to business from the start, and since he was leading the unprecedented group called Special Magic Unit, it was natural for things to be that way, but.

Come to think of it, really?

Even my busy dad comes home once a month, but this damn groom doesn’t even show his face?

Just as she was grumbling about that.

The gazes of the friends with Mari stopped at one place.

“Wow, look at her.”

“She’s so pretty. What is she? An actress? Opera singer?”

Now what are they looking at?

Thinking that and following their gaze, Mari soon doubted her own eyes.

“…Irene?”

“Oh? Found Mari! Hi~!”

It was certain.

Black hair and amethyst eyes.

Even that characteristic innocent face.

…Wait. If she’s here, that means?

Thinking that, Mari turned around.

“Oh.”

A soldier with cold features was waving at her.

“It’s been a while.”

Eugene Lorentz.

Her fiancé who hadn’t shown even his nose was there with a bouquet of flowers.

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