My Students Regret It After I Retired

35 – Belin, Imperial Shadow Agent. Her true nature revealed.

News broke: a high-level Red Gate had spawned right next to the Emperor’s palace.

The surveillance guards, who were constantly monitoring the area with high-level, levitating artifacts, reported to the Knight Commander the moment the Gate appeared. The Knight Commander, dropping everything, rushed to the Emperor with the news.

The face of Emperor Vermon of the Ferren Empire visibly hardened.

“Right next to the palace… that’s impossible. The Red Gate phenomenon is supposed to have a limited vortex radius, isn’t it!”

“That is correct. However… we still lack sufficient information about the Red Gate vortex phenomenon, so we cannot ascertain why this anomaly has occurred. One thing is certain: you must evacuate immediately.”

“Evacuate to where?”

Vermon slammed his foot on the ground, yelling.

“Where do you expect me to flee, leaving my palace behind! You will stop it. Even if it means you all die, you will prevent the monsters from flooding in!”

At Vermon’s command, the Knight Commander simply lowered his head without a word.

“Of course, we will gladly lay down our lives for Your Majesty. However… based on the reports from the Imperial forces who have gone out to subdue high-level gates, we cannot be certain of our chances of success. We do not know which mutated monsters may emerge, and what they may do to Your Majesty…”

The Emperor pointed his sword at the Knight Commander, speaking.

“My immense wealth, gold and treasures, countless artifacts are buried within this palace. If I leave and these things are stolen, what then? These are the things I’ve collected throughout my entire life! Things of a value you cannot even imagine, you wretch.”

“We will protect them. Even if Your Majesty leaves, we will ensure that no one, no matter who they are, will take them. So please, Your Majesty, move to a safe place.”

“Shut your mouth!”

Vermon ground his teeth in genuine anger.

“How can I leave my things behind trusting trash like you? You grew up without wealth, it’s clear that you would become greedy and steal if I, the owner, were absent.”

“Your… Your Majesty…”

The Knight Commander looked at Vermon with a vacant expression. He nodded in response, saying nothing.

“Understood. We will gather all forces and engage the enemy.”

The Drejar Imperial Knight Commander walked out the door, heading towards the personnel waiting outside. The Knight Commander’s face was visibly dark. One of his subordinates asked.

“What did His Majesty say? Are we to assist our Emperor in his escape?”

Drezar shook his head and spoke.

“His Majesty said he would remain here until the end.”

“Why… Why would he make such a decision?”

Drezar looked at his subordinate’s face for a moment, then avoided his gaze, speaking softly.

“He said he cannot abandon the people in this vicinity. Out of concern for us, he said he could not flee.”

“Such…such profound meaning!”

The knights, their eyes filled with emotion, looked towards the Emperor’s location and bowed their heads. Drezar gazed at the men burning with loyalty, thinking to himself.

‘Perhaps…it’s better they don’t know the truth.’

The Emperor, who treated the knights who risked their lives to protect him as mere trash or vagrants. To him, their devotion and life-risking resistance were nothing more than what was expected. Watching the knights fall, he’d only think of it as losing one of the troops he could use. That much, and that there was no honor in any of this. Yet, Drezar simply took his sword and stepped forward.

“To protect the Empire, draw your swords! Swear with your souls, that you will never retreat!”

“We will never! Retreat!”

Drezar then moved outside the Imperial Palace. Countless troops were waiting outside. Tens of thousands, at least, covered every direction. An excessive force to protect a single Emperor. It was obvious that countless citizens were dying at this very moment, yet the Emperor had tied up this many troops solely for his own safety.

Drezar shook off his turmoil and muttered.

“Let’s not dwell on useless thoughts. After all, we have no choice.”

They had to follow the path laid out for them. If you joined the knights, you had to obey your lord’s orders, no matter how tyrannical he was. The Emperor was the law of the Empire, its very reason for being.

The Imperial Knight Commander, Drezar, thought so as he headed towards Redgate.

*

The safe zone where Leo’s group was located. Changes different from before had begun to occur around this place. The most noticeable was the emergence of several massive outposts.

Several outposts had begun to appear in the outer areas, with the safe zone center as the base. At first, there was only one belonging to the Executioners, but those that came after were built by ordinary people, who had been adrift and found safe harbor here.

Looking at the makeshift outposts people had cobbled together, Paron, the vice-captain of the Eradication Squad, spoke.

“Lord Rakart. There are too many civilians gathering.”

“Let them be. They’re all going to be helpful to us.”

“…Even so…”

There were several people who, at a glance, looked untrained, and some who made you wonder how they had even survived the Red Gate incident. They were by no means a threat worthy of the Eradication Squad’s attention, but the fact they were building outposts nearby was still concerning. However, Rakart added, as if it were a good thing,

“The rumor has started spreading, centering on the Interrunner, that LEO lives in the safe zone.”

“LEO… you mean Lord Leos?”

“Yes, they may not know it’s Leos… but anyway, after several confirmed kills, it became almost gospel that Leos lives near the safe zone, and that’s why so many people are flocking here.”

“If word got out that Lord Leos is in the safe zone, why are people crowding here? Shouldn’t they be running away? He’s a monster who can instantly kill dozens of highly trained Imperial soldiers.”

“It’s the opposite. Who are the people Leos has killed so far? Those who are clearly labeled as looters. Only those who are judged as evil by the people’s standards. So, people have come to think that Leos, who lives in the safe zone, is purging the evil in the vicinity.”

“…So, that’s why they’re gathering like this.”

“Yes, there’s no need to worry about looters, and there aren’t even any monsters, plus there’s this massive 1km space, so the people nearby started flocking here on a gamble. They probably figured that whether they hide and get discovered by a monster and die, or come here and die, it’s the same.”

“How do you know so well?”

“Actually, it’s not a guess, I asked. Tedre and Teon have been getting friendly with the refugees around here.”

Paron looked at the boys, surprised, and Tedre, the older brother, spoke up boldly.

“We purposely got closer to them. Because we’re young, they’re not as wary of us. We’re constantly subtly asking why they came here, what they were doing before, how they survived, and what kind of people they are. Just enough to not raise suspicion.”

“Excellent.”

Paron genuinely meant it. Information was the most important thing in this situation. While it was possible to kill all the people gathered around right now, they didn’t know how Leos would react.

‘Leos hasn’t killed anyone but the wicked so far.’

If they were to carelessly kill innocent people just because they were suspicious, and Leos developed a negative feeling about it, there would be no turning back. Therefore, understanding the opposition was critical.

“Keep up the scouting. And let me know if you see any odd ones.”

“Yes! I will!”

Tedre and Teon, thrilled that they’d been helpful, quickly scampered off towards the other refugees. Lacart, watching them go, turned to Paron.

“Paron. Those refugees, they seem suspicious, don’t they?”

“Of course. They could be sent by the Empire, or they could be raiders with other foul purposes. Setting up outposts this close to the safe zone is dangerous.”

“I think so too. But this is something we need to bear.”

“Why…why do you say that?”

“You know how important justification is, right?”

“I know it well. It’s because I witnessed the Empire’s senseless slaughter, without any justification, that I pledged my loyalty to you.”

“Right, sometimes justification alone is so important that it can change one’s beliefs. When enough of them gather, that will become our justification.”

“I don’t understand what you mean.”

“…Let me put it more plainly. By now, the Empire must realize Leos is residing in the central area. Especially since all the people who set out to find Leos were killed, and we, who set out to find him, have come back empty-handed for a long time.”

“…”

“If this situation continues, the Empire will try to manipulate public opinion. They could turn the blame to Leos, like they’ve done before.”

“What blame would they pin on Leos…”

“The former Gatekeeper, the only man who can hold back the superior Red Gate. But he didn’t answer the Empire’s call, and instead, is creating a safe zone for his own survival. That alone is enough to create false information and incite unrest.”

“It was the Empire that chased Leos away.”

“Yes. The Empire chased him away. But they’ll use justification to try to socially kill Leos again. The power of justification is sometimes stronger than anything.”

“…You mean the direction of the uprising could turn against us?”

“Perhaps it could. That’s why they need to be here.”

Rakart chuckled, checking the interrunner. It was filled with stories of how the central zone was safe, and any pillagers who approached it were all killed. It seemed those who’d settled there were sharing information, bit by bit.

“The moment the Empire spews false information, we’ll refute it right away. The reason Leos threw himself into this place was to protect the others.”

“Will… that work? I’m not so sure.”

“It has to work. The moment we start the public opinion war, they’ll self-destruct. I’ll make sure of it.”

*

Inside the Imperial Shadow Unit, still unaware that the palace had been attacked.

Bellin had been trembling all day, and to dispel the suspicion of Keltazar, the Imperial Shadow Unit Captain who doubted him, he had devised one of several strategies.

“Captain Keltazar… There’s something I’d like to say.”

“Ho ho… I didn’t expect you to come to me first after that incident? Speak, Bellin.”

Keltazar turned towards Bellin, as if intrigued. Bellin then slowly opened his mouth.

“Right now… we need Leos, don’t we… that’s the priority, isn’t it?”

“Indeed. That’s a fact known by all.”

“There are no reports, no information whatsoever. In order to pinpoint Leos’s location through people’s reports, what about… utilizing public opinion?”

“Utilizing public opinion?”

“…Once the Redgate incident spreads, we’ll reveal that Leos abandoned the people and hid inside the Redgate vortex in order to save himself. The selfish actions of the gatekeeper, the only one who can seal the Redgate. That alone will enrage the people, and countless reports will flood the interrunner.”

“Ho ho…”

Keltazar walked towards Bellin, as if amused. And then he spoke to her.

“Then you do it yourself.”

“Yes…?”

“You, yourself, reveal your face and snipe Leos. Just like you sent him to prison three years ago.”

“…Okay.”

Bellen hesitated a moment, then opened the distance and began filming a video. A takedown video aimed at Leos. This was to sway public opinion, to somehow find him and erase her own suspicion.

‘I… I have to live… By any means necessary…’

Bellen mind-controlled herself, recording the video, and uploaded it to Interrunner.

Several hours passed.

‘Why… Why on earth is the public opinion like this… Why…?’

-Thud…

Bellen dropped the distance onto the ground. She stared at the comment section with a vacant look in her eyes.

Starting with one comment, everyone was beginning to condemn her.

[LEO: Bellen, member of the Imperial Shadow Guard. You pretended not to know about the Redgate Whirlpool annihilation plan, and now you’re acting righteous, it’s disgusting.]