Steel, Explosives, and Spellcasters

Answer: (spreads hands).

...

Winters sighed.

The Solingen State's military and government departments have yet to come up with a proper plan for resettling the disaster victims.

After the great fire, the rent and bread prices in Steelburg skyrocketed, causing complaints even among residents unaffected by the disaster.

Citizens who could afford rent or had relatives to take them in could temporarily remain in the city. But those who had absolutely nothing—no money nor connections—were left with no options, trapped in utter despair.

If it weren't for Colonel Berny recruiting a large number of able-bodied men for firefighting and providing them food and shelter, Steelburg would have already faced a second round of unrest.

Selvit's large-scale reconstruction plan seemed quite feasible to Winters—perhaps even the only hope for Steelburg.

Clearing the ruins and rebuilding houses required a vast amount of labor. Selvit's ambitious plan even included dredging river channels, repairing roads, and expanding the city area.

Through a few trustworthy partners, Winters obtained a full copy of Selvit's draft proposal submitted to the Executive Committee immediately—the Hand of the Emperor had fallen, yet Steelburg still couldn't escape its sieve-like infiltration.

But alas, even the best mason cannot make bricks without straw.

Though Selvit's plan was promising, no one was willing to fund it. Even the option of "borrowing money with city assets as collateral" offered only a slim chance of success.

Because what Selvit needed wasn't a small sum, but an astronomical amount—so large that the gold Winters brought could only serve as a temporary fix.

Debts must ultimately be repaid, and borrowing money against city assets would still fall on property-owning citizens who hold citizenship to cover the deficits.

And "turning the city from a valuable asset into a debt-ridden hollow" was precisely what "the citizens of Steelburg" were unwilling to see.

According to the information Winters received, the Executive Committee members of the city council were leaning towards the "evacuation" plan.

Distributing unemployed and homeless residents from their state to other autonomous territories would ease the burden on Steelburg's food supply and housing, allowing them to gradually raise funds for reconstruction.

As for what would happen to the people after being relocated? The Executive Committee tacitly chose not to discuss this topic.

So, when negotiating the scrap iron purchase agreement with Selvit earlier, Winters didn't feel nervous at all. He even skipped the back-and-forth haggling process, directly offering Selvit a per-ton purchase price.

It was even set as a tiered declining price—the larger the total volume, the lower the unit price.

"Because the original procurement plan has already been fulfilled, continuing to purchase scrap iron would instead impose unnecessary risks on us. And, of course, higher transportation costs too."

Selvit's face turned ashen, and he left in a fury right then and there.

But in the end, the matter concluded… with a friendly handshake.

Winters blinked and unrolled the interrogation records, continuing to read.

...

Question: Tell me more about your plans.

Answer: (sighs) I've already said, they're not my plans—they're the envoy's plans. I don't know the envoy's plans. I understand your interrogation tactics; repeatedly asking me the same question is pointless because I'm telling the truth.

Question: Then tell me about the parts you were involved in or know about.

Answer: I only know that there were four teams acting simultaneously that night. My role was to delay your entry into the city, creating time for others to complete their missions.

Question: Four teams? Which four?

Answer: South City, North City, the Old City—each had one team, and then there was mine.

Question: How many people were in each team?

Answer: I don't know. I don't know how many people the envoy brought; I only know he allocated twenty-two swordsmen to me.

Question: Twenty-some people could stir up Steelburg?

Answer: There were also some peripheral personnel who were unaware of the larger picture. (weary) Setting fire to a house full of timber doesn't require a torch.

Question: Tell me the missions of each team.

Answer: You already know mine. The team in the Old City was responsible for guiding the rioters and, if necessary, eliminating obstructive individuals. As for the team heading to North City, as far as I know, they were assigned to kill the White Eagle. The team in South City was led personally by the envoy—I don't know their purpose. My guess… hah, never mind.

Question: Tell me about Borso da Este, the White Eagle.

Answer: Many contraband goods and people were smuggled into Monta and Steelburg through his networks.

Question: Did he know your identities?

Answer: (laughs) Probably not. Or maybe he pretended not to know.

Question: Why would he help you?

Answer: Because he also wanted to smuggle a lot of contraband into North Monta.

Question: Since he helped you, why would you still kill him?

Answer: Why not kill him? To you, he's significant; to us, he's worthless. As for why to kill him? I don't know the envoy's reasoning. Perhaps because the envoy visited him personally, so he wanted to eliminate any loose ends? I don't know. Besides, the envoy didn't just want him dead.

Question: Who else does the envoy want dead?

Answer: (lazily) Lawmakers aligned with Vineta, and the Forge Master—quite a few. Also, those siding with the Federated Provinces; they'll kill a few for appearances.

Question: Why?

Answer: I've told you, I don't know. (pauses hesitantly) If you want me to, I can share my guesses.

Question: Go ahead.

Answer: The envoy wants to disrupt Steelburg's factional balance, remove key Vineta-aligned figures, and provoke Vineta in the process. Ugh, honestly, what the envoy wants doesn't matter; what matters is what the Emperor wants. My guess, my faint intuition, is that His Majesty might not wish for South Monta to interfere too much in Paratu's affairs.