novelraw Chapter 21 : Chapter 21
Chapter 21 : Chapter 21
Chapter 21
“Let me tell you one interesting fact. Fewer than thirty percent of the Security Bureau’s investigators are human.”
It was an abrupt remark. Why bring up the racial composition of investigators all of a sudden?
Still, it made me curious.
“And the remaining seventy percent?”
“Other races. Like Investigator Nyxle, whom you know—werewolves, dwarves, elves, and even orcs who have naturalized from the Orc Empire.”
“I did not realize you valued diversity so highly, Director.”
“Are you joking? I value efficiency.”
Director Justin smiled coldly.
“As you know, humans are generally mediocre.”
“As I know? I have never thought humans were mediocre.”
“Is that so? Then listen carefully. Werewolves and orcs are strong, making them suitable for suppressing violent criminals and gangs. Elves usually live long lives, so they tend to be wise, and above all, they are agile. They excel at pursuits. Dwarves have excellent stamina. You can make them work night shifts for an entire week, and they will still be fine.”
Just as he said, every non-human race possessed a clearly defined strength of its own.
“But humans? Their stamina and physical strength are not even worth mentioning, and aside from a small number of exceptionally intelligent individuals, their intellect does not measure up to elves either. The only exception is the Barbarian race, which possesses strength comparable to orcs. However, they lack emotional control and patience, making them unsuitable for investigative work.”
“Humans are highly adaptable and broadly competent across many fields, are they not?”
“That is true. Every innovator who changed the course of history was human. But being capable in many fields also means being ambiguous overall.”
He was not wrong. Most humans, when judged purely on individual ability, tended to fall into an overall gray area.
“And yet they have endless demands. Despite being physically weak and foolish, they expect higher salaries than other races, simply because the founding king was human.”
The Lumentea Kingdom had been established by a human founding king. In its early days, it was a kingdom composed solely of humans, but as it developed over time, other races flowed in, eventually forming the multi-racial nation it was today.
That tradition was why humans were still regarded as the vested, mainstream race in the Lumentea Kingdom.
“To put it simply, humans are not cost-effective. In contrast, non-humans like dwarves have excellent stamina. Once you hire them, they are far more useful than most humans, and you can employ them for less pay. Is that not ideal?”
“For less pay…”
“That line of thinking led to the Security Bureau being filled with non-humans before I even realized it. Even so, I have no intention of changing our hiring policy. As long as they are competent, I recruit humans and Barbarians alike without discrimination.”
With a faint smile, he looked at me.
“Just as I keep trying to recruit you.”
“…Director, are you truly human?”
Director Justin mulled over my words, then narrowed his eyes.
“I sense hostility in that question… You are asking about my race, not my humanity, correct?”
“Of course. Your thinking does not seem particularly sympathetic toward humans.”
“I am human, naturally. Precisely because I am human, I can think this way.”
That, too, was true.
“In any case, the Security Bureau’s hiring policy is separate from the Draksan incident. I do not discriminate against humans, nor against Barbarians. We even have Barbarian investigators. One of them was assigned to control the scene during this inauguration ceremony. However, we cannot ignore the inherent temperamental differences between races.”
“I agree, but the protesters will not see it that way.”
“That is why I am keeping my mouth shut.”
At that moment, Director Justin’s eyes flickered faintly.
Only then did I fully understand why he had chosen silence.
“The Draksan incident is undeniably our fault. But if we admit our mistake and apologize, they will start clinging to our hiring policy as well. They will demand a Barbarian quota, insist we reduce non-human recruitment and hire more humans, and spew all kinds of nonsense. Discrimination against Barbarians is often bundled together with claims of reverse discrimination against humans.”
“…”
“I know it is not right, but the board has already been set that way. Before I could do anything about it. That is why I have no choice but to remain silent.”
Director Justin spoke as if confessing. I looked at his face.
As always, he concealed his emotional signals remarkably well. At a glance, it was impossible to tell what he was thinking or feeling.
Yet intermittently, the muscles in his jaw twitched. Clenching one’s teeth unconsciously was a classic sign of stress and anxiety.
Was he stressed by the pressure from protesters and various civic groups? Or did he feel guilt toward Draksan? I could not tell.
In any case, I understood why Director Justin had chosen silence. I did not try to persuade him. He was acting based on his own rationale, and he was not the type to listen even if persuaded.
More than anything… I felt little human warmth toward him. I lacked the passion to convince him.
“I heard you fought with Nyxle.”
As I was leaving, a question that had just occurred to me slipped out.
“Nyxle is too kind. She is closer to an idealist. I get along better with the Feral Wolf side.”
Director Justin smiled bitterly.
“She said she would still attend the inauguration. Will you be coming, Teacher Kain?”
“If I am not busy, I will.”
“That sounds like you will not come…. Your pharmacist, was her name Erisa?”
Director Justin tapped the desk.
“She is quite a renowned mage. In academic circles, she is famous as a young genius. Why would someone like that work under you?”
“She does not work under me. She is my colleague.”
“Colleague or not, it is the same. Come to think of it, I am curious how you recruited her. I heard you can perform hypnotherapy or something like that. Could it be…?”
“Stop saying absurd things. Do you think I am like you, Director?”
“No, why am I suddenly being dragged into this?”
Director Justin chuckled slyly.
“Anyway, I will have seats prepared for both of you. If you come, bring her along. You never know what might happen at this inauguration.”
“Yes… I will keep it in mind.”
It seemed Director Justin anticipated something as well, that some kind of disturbance would occur at his inauguration.
“You should be the one watching yourself, Director.”
“So you are worrying about me now.”
“I want you to receive treatment, not to die. Barbarian extremist groups have already issued death threats. They said they would kill you in a horrific way.”
“Yes, I saw that too.”
Director Justin nodded calmly.
“Aren’t you afraid?”
“Why would I be? If they kill me, it will only be a good thing.”
“What do you mean by that…?”
“My death would prove that I was right.”
I made a visibly disgusted expression at his twisted ideology.
“Please come for treatment someday. Absolutely.”
Director Justin grinned.
“I am perfectly normal.”
***
And so time passed, and the day of Director Justin’s inauguration as Chief of the Security Bureau arrived.
The day itself was not particularly busy.
Most scheduled consultations were concentrated in the morning, and there were no new clients, so the afternoon was genuinely quiet.
‘The inauguration starts at four in the afternoon….’
To be honest, part of me did not want to go, but I could not stay away. Setting aside the relationship I had built with Director Justin, what if a disturbance broke out during the ceremony? What if, as a result, he was injured—or even killed?
‘It would leave me deeply unsettled. Extremely so.’
To me, Director Justin was no different from a client. He had simply never formally received counseling. Over a long period of acquaintance, I had come to understand his thoughts and emotions well, as well as how deeply warped his mindset was.
I could not let him die without ever receiving treatment.
After finishing all my consultations for the day while preoccupied with these thoughts, I headed to the compounding room.
“Erisa.”
I tapped the shoulder of Erisa, who was dozing off inside.
“Ah—! I was not sleeping.”
She jolted awake.
“I did not even say you were. Why do you always react like that? Anyway, Erisa. Let us leave early today.”
“Where are we going?”
“Director Justin’s inauguration is today.”
“Director Justin…?”
Erisa searched her hazy memory, then frowned as if something came back to her.
“Isn’t he a controversial figure?”
“He is controversial in many ways.”
Even Erisa, who usually had little interest in such matters, knew about the recent controversies surrounding Director Justin.
Once again, I realized just how widely known this issue had become.
Erisa rubbed her eyes, then sprang to her feet.
“Let’s go.”
I nodded and put on my coat.
I fidgeted with the concentrated pills in my coat pocket, hoping fervently that I would not have to use them.
***
I had expected it, but the inauguration site was even more chaotic than I imagined.
The ceremony was not held at the Security Bureau building, but at Lumentea Plaza.
Lumentea Plaza was a vast square located between the Security Bureau, the Administrative Bureau, the courts, and the royal palace, and it was frequently used for the inaugurations of high-ranking officials.
Because it was also used for annual national events, it was enormous. At a glance, at least twenty percent of it was filled entirely with protesters.
“Director Justin Dunham, resign!”
When a man holding a microphone at the front shouted, the crowd followed in unison, chanting, “Resign, resign….”
The protesters’ chants varied: “Abolish human discrimination,” “Revise Security Bureau hiring policies,” “Free Draksan.”
Some demands were understandable. Others were not.
For example, the so-called “human quota.” It demanded that fifty percent of Security Bureau investigators be human, and that fifty percent of those humans be Barbarians.
‘I still find Director Justin’s judgment hard to respect. But….’
Seeing this scene, I could understand it.
What if Director Justin had held a press conference to explain himself, or at least issued an apology?
Even if he did not accept all of these unreasonable demands, he would have had to concede some of them. Perhaps they would have made even more excessive demands than these.
There were also many people who had come simply to watch the inauguration.
The most striking were the large men, half-naked, displaying crude tattoos carved across their backs and chests.
‘Barbarians.’
All of them carried lethal weapons—axes, swords, shields.
I could not tell whether they were the extremist group that had issued death threats against Director Justin.
‘But one thing is certain. They are not friendly toward him.’
From every gathered Barbarian, the strong stench of hostility wafted through the air.
“Weapons are prohibited. Please surrender them to the investigators, or leave the plaza—”
“Isn’t the plaza owned by all citizens? Or are you discriminating because we are Barbarians?”
“This is not discrimination. An inauguration ceremony is scheduled here today—”
“I do not care about any ceremony. We just came to hang out in the plaza. Why should I give up my weapon? Do you want us all to die if a monster shows up?”
“The site is being strictly controlled by Security Bureau investigators and the Kingdom Army, so the likelihood of monsters appearing is low. We ask for your cooperation.”
“You expect us to trust investigators who discriminate against Barbarians and hand over our weapons?”
Passing by the investigators arguing with the Barbarians, I headed to the VIP seating reserved for Director Justin’s close associates.
As he had said beforehand, my seat and Erisa’s were arranged side by side.
As I sat down and tried to relax, someone tapped my shoulder lightly. When I turned around, a familiar face was smiling at me.
“Teacher Kain!”
“Ah, Investigator Nyxle. We seem to be running into each other often these days.”
“Yes. Unfortunately, not always under good circumstances. The mage is here as well?”
Nyxle greeted Erisa, and Erisa quietly bowed in response.
They were clearly acquainted, yet an odd awkwardness lingered between them. Nyxle smiled sheepishly.
“I am not here as a guest, but as an investigator assigned to crowd control, so I should get going. I need to patrol and check for dangerous individuals…”
“I noticed people carrying weapons gathered over there.”
“Yes, the Barbarians…”
“Is it really okay to leave it like that?”
Nyxle sighed.
“It is really not okay….”
“For safety’s sake, would it not be better to drive them out?”
“Simply carrying weapons is not illegal as long as they have hunting licenses… And if they insist they just stopped by with no ill intent, there is nothing we can do.”
Nyxle glanced toward the Barbarian group.
They were gathered neither too close nor too far from the inauguration site. Investigators were preventing them from getting any closer.
“Blocking them at that distance is the best we can do.”
“I see….”
“We have investigators stationed everywhere, and the Kingdom Army is here as well. Unless they have lost their minds, they will not start a riot here.”
Indeed, unless they were truly insane, they would not resort to violence.
“Still, please be careful, Teacher.”
With that, Nyxle turned toward the area where the Barbarians were gathered.
—While serving as Director of Investigations for the Security Bureau, Justin Dunham led the suppression of the Castalners Gang and… And the inauguration ceremony began.
Compared to the lingering tension, the ceremony proceeded more smoothly than expected.
At least, it did at the beginning.
—In recognition of his significant contributions to the security of the Lumentea Kingdom, we hereby appoint him as Chief of the Security Bureau, along with this commendation…
At the moment the host handed the commendation plaque to Director Justin.
‘…The smell of killing intent.’
A sharp stench of murderous intent stabbed at my nose.
That in itself was not strange. From the direction where the Barbarians were gathered, the air had been reeking of killing intent for some time.
What made me frown was that this killing intent did not come from the Barbarians.
‘…An investigator?’
More precisely, an unusually large investigator. In other words… an investigator who appeared to be a Barbarian was emitting an intense aura of murderous intent.
The Barbarian investigator reached into his clothing and pulled something out.
A throwing dagger.
His gaze was fixed on Director Justin’s torso. more precisely, on his abdomen.