Chapter 14 – Potential Reactionary

As soon as I got off the lift, without even having time to look around the city center, I was semi-forcibly dragged to the waiting line for the secondary inspection.

The police were treating those wearing yellow armbands harshly, as if they were prisoners.

‘I already finished the check above, but a secondary check as soon as I get down? Is this the normal case?’

What a stark difference in temperature between the outside and the inside of the city.

If they were going to do this, I had no idea why the entry control office guides and guards up there had shown us such kindness to manage the city’s image.

Furthermore…

“What’s with this bastard? A guy who came to take the Magic Engineer Qualification Exam can’t even recite the basic principles of magic engineering?”

“Well, that is…”

“Drag him away! He is definitely a reactionary disguised as an applicant.”

“Wait a moment, please, wait…!”

“Where does this bastard think he is going!”

“Keok—!”

An old man, in a miserable state, clung to the policeman’s trouser leg, only to have his head cracked open by a riot baton and go limp.

Their riot batons were wielded ruthlessly, regardless of age or gender.

“Next!”

“…”

The policeman called the next victim in a bored voice, as if he could not even see the old man being dragged away while bleeding from his head.

‘They earned the title of the first city in this way? It’s hard to believe.’

In this world where human resources were prioritized above all, I could not understand the processing method of the Immortal Embers, which judged people so easily by the sole yardstick of their place of origin.

If it was a fellow who committed a crime, had committed one, or showed signs of committing one, I could understand such merciless condemnation.

In fact, in as well, there were always forces seeking to undermine the city, and those forces eating away from the inside were, more than anything else, a fatal factor to the survival and maintenance of the city.

However, they were handing down judgments without even conducting proper verification. To a ‘human’ who might become the city’s greatest cancer, but who might also become its greatest hope.

‘What an utterly foolish way to run things.’

Of course, I could not say that this violent method was necessarily wrong. Because I, too, had built the best city multiple times using the character Aylen Vale, who possessed the [Dictator] trait.

However, this method was merely violent.

“Hmm…”

While I was deep in thought that Odin, known as a merciful leader, might not actually be so, the grumbling voices of unidentified individuals rose simultaneously.

I thought they were trying to protest out of pity, fear, and a sense of injustice at the cruel actions of the police force, but…

“Because of those bastards, we get lumped together. What kind of treatment is this…”

“I know, right? Anyway, because of things like that, even we get discriminated against, which is no small amount of stress.”

“Sigh. It’s always our fellow yellow-armbands that screw us over. Why else would there be zones off-limits to yellow-armbands?”

“This is so embarrassing… I don’t know how many times our deals have been delayed due to inspections and regulations. It’s a shame, but if only this transaction goes well, I should apply for immigration to an embers in the thousands as soon as possible.”

Yet, those complaints were directed not at the police force who did not even treat them as humans, but at those who wore the yellow armbands just like themselves.

“Does ‘yellow-armband’ refer to the people being beaten over there?”

I asked because their self-deprecating remarks were ridiculous. At that, a middle-aged man pointed his finger at the people being beaten with riot batons and spoke as if it were obvious.

“Then who else would it refer to?”

“What is the difference between them and us? We are all wearing the same yellow armbands.”

When I asked that, the middle-aged man glared fiercely and gnashed his teeth.

“Us? Did you say ‘us’? You’re really naive, my friend. Because of those damn yellow-armbands over there trying to sponge off the city without any capability, purpose, or effort, diligent people like us suffer damages.”

“Damages…?”

“The increase in time required to enter the embers, being turned away from shops and various facilities, biased gazes and prejudices toward us. And above all, the visits and settlements of people like us! All of those are disadvantages caused by those troublemaking yellow-armbands. Even wasting time like this on the secondary inspection right now is the same.”

Only then could I understand why they had no qualms about showing hatred toward their fellow yellow-armbands.

In the first place, those wearing yellow armbands were treated as troublemakers from insignificant embers or wanderers, so because of reactionaries, even innocent people were lumped together and discriminated against.

Moreover, to those who wished to settle in this embers, the actions of reactionaries created a negative perception of yellow-armbands, so they had no choice but to detest them.

That was why they reacted sensitively to being grouped under the word ‘us.’

“Seeing as you don’t even know this basic common sense, I suppose this is your first visit here? If so, you should be careful too. Don’t associate with those baseless things.”

“…Thank you for the advice.”

In fact, the thoughts expressed by the middle-aged man were shared not just by him but by most—no, all of those present.

It meant I could not help but admire the political power of the Immortal Embers.

‘Odin was not stupid. He induced division among the unidentified individuals using the yellow armbands.’

The intention was to plant distrust and hatred among the yellow-armbands to make them self-regulate. It was the ultimate device to lower the crime rate of the yellow-armbands and reform them without spending a single penny.

‘The way they run the city is more radical than I thought. I’m glad I didn’t write down Heimdall’s name.’

I had wondered how they managed to make the city prosper so much by simply rejecting unidentified individuals. However, that was merely my misconception; Odin and the leadership were simply growing the city in their own way.

There was no right or wrong here. There was only the question of which was more efficient.

And evaluating Odin’s method by my standards…

Slam!

It was then. Along with the sound of a desk being slammed hard, a boy holding the hand of his young sister began to scream.

“I passed the inspection, so why on earth can’t she enter! She is a minor, and I am her guardian! What kind of regulation is this!”

A commotion broke out ahead. The boy was screaming while hugging a girl younger than himself to protect her from the riot batons.

“I’m sorry, but the law changed this year, so minors cannot be exempted from inspections.”

“What do you mean by…”

“Do you know how many cases of terrorism and smuggling using minors occurred in the past year alone? It was over ten thousand cases.”

“…!”

“In particular, a minor whose guardian is unidentified and who is also unidentified themselves has no choice but to be detained by the guards until the guardian’s business is finished. That is the reality.”

“…”

As an officer with two sacred fires on his shoulder straps, likely a lieutenant, spoke, the boy cringed.

Generally, a lieutenant was a rank equivalent to a precinct chief, and despite his beggar-like appearance, the boy’s eyes were sharp, indicating he was smart enough to understand the gravity of the situation.

However, although he understood it in his head, was he unable to accept it in his heart?

Realizing that he could not defeat the opponent with logic, the boy began his last desperate struggle.

“Can you people really treat me like this? I am only fifteen, do you have any idea what kind of heights I will reach in the future!”

Even so, all the boy could do was throw a tantrum. Seeing how he mentioned heights, the boy indeed seemed to have visited the Immortal Embers to take the Magic Engineer Qualification Exam.

“Normally, both you and your sister would have been dragged away with cracked heads.”

“What…?”

“Even tolerating your tantrum right now is special treatment. If you understand, cooperate quietly, or leave the embers with your younger sister. If you dislike both options, I will personally deport you.”

The lieutenant showed no further tolerance.

While the boy was unable to do either, and the eyes of blame and criticism toward him grew even fiercer, it was at that moment.

“I will guarantee the identities of these children.”

Pushing through the crowd, I carefully pulled out the golden compass I received from Heimdall, showing it only to him.

“This is…?”

The lieutenant, confirming the compass, froze with wide eyes. Of course, my sudden action was not out of sympathy or pity for the boy.

‘I must take that kid with me no matter what!’

The boy’s age was fifteen, the purpose of his visit was the Magic Engineer Qualification Exam, and he had already passed the secondary inspection…

In an era where becoming a novice magic engineer even at nineteen was praised as being elite, a true genius, whom I had to make my person even at the risk of my life, was right there.

* * *

The Immortal Embers, the largest city in the history of the ice age, where all opportunities and possibilities were open.

Will, the fifteen-year-old boy who finally reached that place, tightly held the hand of his only younger sister, Williana.

‘This is the first embers. This place is free, truly…’

Before he knew it, two hot tears flowed down the cheeks of the boy looking down at the city. Williana, who was watching him, stood on tiptoe, wiped the boy’s tears with her sleeve, and asked.

“Brother, why are you crying? Don’t cry.”

“I’m crying because I’m happy, because I’m happy.”

The boy forced a smile. However, that smile was not a false goodwill to comfort his younger sister, Williana, but a genuine smile.

The boy and the girl. Just how many hardships and adversities did they overcome for this day to come?

He was a boy born with outstanding magic engineering talent, but who grew up without parents and was exploited by a vicious leader. Because they took his younger sister hostage, escaping was something he could not even dream of.

Yet, in the end, he stood here like this.

At the first embers, where the dreams and imaginations of magic engineers bloomed, and where he could dream of a happy future with his younger sister.

However, although this place accepted the boy, it did not accept the boy’s dream.

“Enter by yourself, or leave with your sister.”

To think he had to abandon his younger sister after coming to be together, or return to that hellish place. He could not accept that a single word from that emotionless lieutenant decided his and his sister’s lives.

‘I can never back down here! I would rather die than go back to that place!’

The desperate moment when the boy, who dreamed of escaping his hellish life, was about to pull out a sharp piece of metal he had spent days grinding from his chest.

“I will guarantee the identities of these children.”

Someone he had never met before stepped forward.

“Wh-who? Ah…”

The boy raised his head with a shred of hope but soon lowered it again. Because the person who stood up was wearing the same yellow armband as him.

However.

“I have committed an impoliteness. Hey, let them pass! Put this sibling pair on a separate exception list!”

“Yes, understood, Captain!”

The lieutenant, who looked as if he would not bleed even if pricked, began to bow and scrape to the yellow-armband while unable to hide his emotional upheaval.

“What is it? Why on earth did he help us?”

The boy could not understand the reason why the nameless man helped his siblings. Because, as was the case for most penniless yellow-armbands, there was nothing to extort from them.

However.

“I do not know who this benefactor is or for what reason you helped our siblings… but thank you so much. Thank you!”

His single action just now had saved his and his sister’s lives, so what did a trivial reason matter?

He merely kept bowing his head repeatedly.

However, the man’s subsequent words were enough to freeze even the heart of the boy who felt infinite gratitude.

“You have already entered the intermediate level.”

“Pardon…?”

“In the inspection earlier, you explained the series and parallel connection methods of mana circuits based on the third principle instead of the first… That was something you couldn’t explain without understanding the structure of the magic circuit board itself.”

“…”

“I will not make it long. Follow me. I will enable your talent to bloom.”

This was because the method of the vicious leader who had exploited his magic engineering talent in the past overlapped with the man’s method.