Chapter 14 Festive Mood (2)
My plans to go shopping with a friend who enjoyed haggling and interacting with vendors fell through due to unforeseen circumstances. While I was out walking and training, a messenger from the caravan's leader had arrived, and Natal was sent away with him. Sadly.
The prankster, whom I had successfully roped into a bet the previous day, had many witty retorts and acted as if he were about to win. To be honest, I didn't need much convincing to engage Kei Lee; the guy loved a good challenge. Add to that his self-assured nature and the fact that the last time we crossed swords was before I even joined the Seven, he thought he had a more than likely chance of defeating me at least once out of ten matches. The trip started with a self-assured farewell, as he already seemed to be envisioning me addressing him as "Honorable Kei-sama."
Hehe, he should remember that unlike his grandiosity, humble necromancer never entered a contest without confidence in its victory.
* * *
Hailing a carriage driver in a weathered-looking, horse-drawn carriage, I instructed him to take me to the shopping district. The disheveled man, sporting a scruffy beard, nodded understandingly and, snapping the reins, prompted the elderly mare to move forward.
Glancing at the road, I couldn't help but notice the excessive crowds in the streets. Many people were in high spirits and, displaying the fearlessness of hereditary samurais, strolled directly along the road, often perilously close to the hooves and wheels of passing carriages. As we passed yet another group of revelers, I decided to ask the carriage driver the reason people were meandering through the streets instead of attending to their business.
"It's a festival, ma'am! That's why they're celebrating!" replied the man, displaying an air of annoyance.
"What kind of festival is it?" I remembered Eris mentioning a festival concert, but I didn't bother asking about the specifics. It would seem odd to inquire about that.
"It's the Harvest and Mother Nature Festival, of course!"
"It's my first time hearing about it," I mumbled to myself.
At that point, I was well aware of only two festivals: Empire Day and the Emperor's Birthday. And this was primarily because in those days we, the pupils of the Underground Base, were served cakes or chocolate. Naturally, the country celebrated other special dates, but for me, they remained rather insignificant. Perhaps today was one of the local celebrations, like City Day?
"Is this a local festival? A city one?" I decided to clarify my hunch.
"It's a people's festival!" The driver responded with a tinge of anger. "Everyone's celebrating!"
"Got it," I replied, losing interest and returning to watching the passing crowd.
The majority of passersby didn't radiate beauty, and, much like the neighborhood we were driving through, they were far from well-off. Despite the "festive" atmosphere, their grim faces, marred by the hardships of life, were plain to see. Darkened and haggard, the faces of the city's not-so-prosperous citizens revealed faint traces of unhealed illnesses and injuries, which included crooked noses, scars, blemishes, crossed eyes, burns, eczema, and more. These marks of hardship weren't exclusive to men but were also displayed on some women and girls, making them appear grotesque in their own right. The appearance of the vast majority of people between their mid-twenties and the rare exception varied from simply worn out by life to downright pitiful deformity.
Moreover, the observed were not downtrodden vagabonds with semi-criminal habits, but representatives of the working class. It's amazing that people were given a day off for some minor holiday. Or not quite minor?
A lot of cripples caught my attention. Although this just spoke of some well-being: in the slums you will not see cripples, they do not survive there. However, here… amputees, cripples, and those without hands, results of the recent war with the Southerners, roamed the streets or sat, begging for alms. Cunning savages well understood that a dead soldier was a hero for the Empire, one to be buried and forgotten. A permanently maimed soldier, on the other hand, was a problem. Not only did the sight of a cripple demoralize other soldiers, so the state also had to spend budget money on him! There were expenses for medicines, for sending them to the rear, for the payment of pensions in any form.
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Though, judging by the limbless beggars in uniform, I had oversimplified the pension situation. My bald henchman had mentioned a new defense policy aimed at cost-cutting.
It appeared that, as always, the most vulnerable were "optimized." How heartwarming.
And the soldiers who remained in the service saw how "generously" the government paid in exchange for the self-sacrifice of their colleagues. How much they are valued by the state, for which they went to kill, sacrifice their own lives and health.
Grimy, young children were energetically rummaging through the mud, transforming any litter they found into toys. As we turned, we drove past a dead horse lying on the side of the road and piles of omnipresent ragged children, perched on the cobblestones, "guarding" the lifeless animal. Or were they actually safeguarding a future source of meat?
To some, champagne and "crusty bread" awaited at the ball, while to others, a rotten crust was happiness.
What I once considered familiar background noise and thought, "Could it be any different?" now grated on my nerves. From an earthly perspective, what was transpiring was deeply wrong. People should not have to live like this! Especially those who worked diligently! How could anyone tell a person toiling for fourteen hours a day that they and their children were starving due to laziness?
Not to say that the plight of these people hurt me so much, after all, by virtue of the kind of activity I am a rather callous person. However, both my sides were incensed by the culprits, as well as the forthcoming consequences of their greed.
I-Victor had no economic education, but from a purely philistine point of view I saw the essence of capitalism in extracting the added value that the workers produced. They sold their time for a salary, creating a product, and the capitalist made a profit by selling this product. It is easy to understand that if you pay pennies to hard workers, then the prefix "over" will be added to the word profit. (A short-sighted strategy in general: the goods produced should be bought, but who will do it if the people are poor? That is why on Earth, realizing the simple truth that a well-fed sheep gives more wool, capitalists quickly moved to more subtle methods of exploitation. We started making money on turnover, providing consumer loans, insurance services, and so on. But in the Empire, this seemingly natural process has stalled... why? Eh. What a pity that I-Victor was not an economist!)
I-Kurome was suspicious of the communists from Victor's memories, these dubious revolutionaries from another world. But there was something in their ideas. At the very least, partially retained information not yet fully dissipated from Victor's memory hinted that the beneficiaries of excess income weren't just exploiting their workers; they were also pushing the Empire into the bloody maw of a revolution. Why not rebel if there was nothing to lose, apart from one's chains? Apart from the stifling noose of servitude. A fragment of The Internationale surfaced in my memory:
Arise, the damned of the earth
All you starving and enslaved!
Our minds are ablaze with revolt,
And let us go to battle!
For a 300% profit, capital would go to any lengths, including risks and crimes, wouldn't it? Greedy, dim-witted bastards!
During the same time, in the aristocrats' palaces, endless balls, masquerades, and other events designed to outshine their neighbors were taking place. The ruling lords and ladies had long turned from being the throne's support into mere parasites. Unfortunately, they were powerful parasites, clinging to their privileges with tooth and nail as if by divine right. Unlike the bourgeoisie, they produced nothing, simply extracting money from the peasants.
I understood Akame, who wanted to cleanse the Empire of all this filth. Oh, I understood her perfectly!
But I understood something else as well. If you act as crudely and straightforwardly as the revolutionary leaders proposed, nothing will change except for a change in leadership. Why would sponsors invest vast sums in supporting rebels if they would later accept laws that would be detrimental to the sponsors themselves?
Though, more likely, after a successful revolution, the current difficult life will be remembered with nostalgia, as a time of plenty and safety. Even if we forget about the external "friends" who will try to grab a larger piece from a weakened neighbor, a revolution cannot pass without losses. Civil war is terrible precisely because both sides draw resources from their own people and destroy their infrastructure.
And the Empire is far from its peak of power right now.
A simple and pleasant solution to the problem in the spirit of "kill them all" is clearly not suitable here, if only because it would lead to my own death. However, from the very beginning, when I tried to awaken the consciousness of my first minion, I never intended to play the role of a blind rhinoceros. Here, even Generalissimo Budo would quickly be buried if he started behaving foolishly, not to mention me.
On the other hand, the role of a shadowy intriguer requires a specific type of mind and specialized knowledge. I lack both, at least for now...
But there is Yatsufusa, with which I can "recruit" the right specialist.
If you think about it, in its current form, my artifact is better suited for a spy and a backstage puppeteer than a warrior. My personality may not be well-suited for this role, but I certainly don't plan to miss out on the opportunities presented by Teigu.
In the Capital, I don't plan to make any moves at all, intending to gather information from the deceased and communicate with questionable individuals only through easily replaceable minions. For these purposes, it wouldn't hurt to master direct control over the corpses... or at least learn to perceive the world through their senses.
Kurome is a true patriot with thoroughly brainwashed minds, not some vile conspirator, hehe! In principle, the impending chaos of political terror even benefits me. Many deaths and disappearances can be attributed to the rebels and the Night Raid, which is not as terrifying as in the canon but is steadily heading in that direction. And then, regardless of what the ruling elite do, frightened by the elusive raiders who kill them, they will somehow bring Teigu carriers loyal to the Empire closer to them.
If you look at it this way, my career in the Jaegers or a similar organization with extended powers is inevitable. Yes, if nothing happens to the hunters, it's best to try to get close to the Prime Minister Honest. The Commander-in-Chief impressed me more, but Intelligence supported the Prime Minister, and Budo, this living strategic weapon, doesn't need me.
The example of Esdeath shows that Honest values and strives to promote higher those who are useful, loyal, and willing to get their hands dirty. Then, after the modest and kind sorceress manages to strengthen and gain influence, we can look at further options. The only thing that will have to be done in any case is to get rid of the Minister of Intelligence. Saikyu is too cunning and dangerous; the fact that he has held his position since the previous Emperor's reign says a lot about him.
However, if I fail to become one of the Prime Minister's personal attendants, there is a high probability of joining the group of his eccentric son. That would be unpleasant. I would have to take decisive action before this maniac drowns everyone. No, the Jaegers are still the best and most predictable option among the possibilities.
But the question of what to do when there is a real opportunity to influence the situation remains open. But it's too early to think about it. There is too little initial data about the existing alignments. So I'll have to stick to the tried-and-true scheme: join the fun, and then see!