On My First Day Undercover, the Organization Collapsed - Chapter 216
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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The Organization Collapsed on My First Day of Infiltration Episode 216
Fierce Competition (2)
It was just yesterday.
The two princes faced the letter delivered by express mail with bewilderment.
After receiving the letter that had been confirmed safe through strict inspection, the princes soon became delighted.
Because it was a letter from Ziel.
An essential talent for imperial succession!
When they checked to see what the letter was about, there was actually a letter requesting ‘help’.
‘This is an opportunity.’
‘A tremendous opportunity!’
Ziel was someone both princes had tried to scout somehow but failed.
Such a person was volunteering to be in their ‘debt’.
And for something quite trivial!
Although it required approval under His Imperial Majesty’s name, anyway, that’s how it seemed to both princes.
Canceling demolition.
Wasn’t it just a matter of stamping a seal on documents?
‘No, I should do more than that.’
‘He seems to want to live there, wouldn’t it be better to completely rebuild it?’
‘If I perfect the interior…’
‘Should I erect a statue as a gesture for Teacher Ziel?’
The situation was escalating in scale!
Even until then, the two princes didn’t know.
That their sibling had received the exact same letter.
And now again.
‘This bastard…’
‘Being the elder brother and acting so childishly with a statue…?’
The two were having a sibling fight with their eyes.
“Wait, Teacher Ziel. What’s going on here? I thought you only sent a letter to me…”
“Teacher Ziel, you sent one to him too?”
Dietrich bristled at the word ‘him’.
“Elder Brother, ‘him’? That’s rather rude.”
“What business is it of yours what I call my younger brother?”
“No, but still. It’s not just anyone, it’s in front of Teacher Ziel!”
“How dare you raise your voice…”
Then Ziel intervened.
“What I want isn’t reconstruction, a statue, or interior design. I simply ask that you cancel the demolition. Then I’ll help each of you once when you need it.”
The princes’ eyes sparkled.
Just once.
He said one time, but the value of that one time was truly enormous.
For someone like Ziel, who was already a tremendous expert and had gained fame, to ‘help’ carried tremendous meaning.
With a bit of exaggeration, it was no different from a promise made by the Emperor.
At least that’s how it sounded to the princes who thirsted for Ziel.
‘Hmm. Writing “Ziel Free Use Ticket” would have been a bit more intuitive.’
While Ziel was having strange thoughts, Gilbert was impressed.
‘As expected of Boss! To incite a fight like this!’
And Berhal struggled to understand what on earth this situation was about.
‘So Teacher Ziel wrote letters to both His Imperial Highnesses asking them to stop the demolition… and both of them came running like this…’
A completely incomprehensible situation!
‘Could it be that both His Imperial Highnesses have some weakness that’s been exposed?’
Eventually reaching a plausible and rational speculation, Berhal gave up thinking.
“Very well. As soon as I return, I’ll petition His Imperial Majesty.”
“I will do the same, Teacher Ziel.”
“Now, now, younger brother. There’s a hierarchy here, so you should step aside this time. Even if we petition together, he’ll listen to what I say anyway.”
“Elder Brother, you have to compare long and short to know.”
“Anyone can see I’m longer, right? I’m taller too.”
“Elder Brother, when we were young, I was taller.”
Ziel thought.
‘It’s like watching my students. It feels like Delev and Celia fighting.’
They’re like kids.
‘The dignity of the Imperial Palace…’
‘Were these two always like this?’
The knights guarding nearby were both shocked and puzzled.
It seemed like the two princes had been meeting frequently lately, but this was the first time seeing them like this.
“By the way, it’s quite dilapidated. Wait, Teacher Ziel lives in a place like that?”
“That’s correct.”
“Those Academy bastards just…”
“I chose it myself. It’s an efficient location. Close to the students, and there’s no problem living there.”
Dietrich also looked at the faculty dormitory with an expression of disbelief.
It wasn’t because he was a prince living in the luxurious Imperial Palace.
That place was an eyesore that anyone could see needed demolition!
But he couldn’t believe at all that someone like Teacher Ziel lived there.
‘It seems like it should be demolished…’
A place so old and grimy that it was embarrassing to compare it to the clean and large student dormitory right next to it.
“Does anyone else live there by chance?”
“The Teaching Assistant and I live there. We’re both satisfied.”
Gilbert vehemently denied this internally.
‘That’s not true, Boss!’
A strange request to not demolish a dormitory that was clearly meant for demolition.
This was a building that even a layperson could see should be demolished.
“…”
Dietrich was the first to sense it.
This wasn’t as easy a request as he thought.
‘Will His Majesty… approve this?’
Franz also realized.
‘This might be more difficult than expected.’
A petition to cancel demolition.
It would become a document submitted under the princes’ names.
That meant it would be delivered directly to the Emperor, not to an administrator handling miscellaneous tasks.
The Emperor would examine it carefully and look for legitimate reasons why an already decided demolition should be withdrawn.
The Emperor was definitely not someone who would readily stamp his seal just because the princes asked.
‘I have to persuade… His Majesty.’
Both realized.
This would become the most difficult task in the world.
What they had thought was simple turned out to be a mission to cancel something that was natural and even already decided.
And against the Emperor at that.
Meanwhile.
‘Their expressions have gotten worse.’
Ziel naturally didn’t think about such things.
These two were the only people he knew from the Imperial Palace, so he had simply asked them.
He had unintentionally made an incredibly difficult request.
And to both princes at that.
“Are you alright?”
“Ah, yes. I’m fine, Teacher Ziel. Don’t worry. I’ll bring you good… news soon.”
“D-don’t worry, Teacher Ziel. This dormitory will never be demolished… it won’t happen…”
Suddenly disappearing confidence!
“Then, I’ll be counting on you.”
At that moment, both princes suddenly recalled the same fact simultaneously.
‘I see. This is…’
‘A test using the dormitory demolition cancellation as an excuse!’
Wasn’t that right!
Unless he was insane, no one would stay in such accommodations while talking about efficiency.
This was just a pretext.
A pretext to evaluate the princes!
‘Teacher Ziel, he was a frightening person.’
‘Ha, is he using this as an excuse to evaluate both of us simultaneously and decide who to follow!’
He was a meticulous person.
With his words about helping ‘only once,’ he made it impossible to notice.
It was no different from saying he would decide which side to choose!
Ziel was an absolutely necessary person for both of them.
Skills that were unthinkable for an Academy teacher.
And his ever-rising reputation!
They had already heard well about how he solved the kidnapping incident in the Western Region.
‘I must succeed.’
‘I will definitely win.’
Misunderstandings were piling up, and the situation was growing bigger.
* * *
Both princes immediately entered emergency strategy meetings.
First, Dietrich.
“This is a very serious situation, Your Highness.”
“Indeed, Sir Relio. Somehow we must come up with a solution before my elder brother.”
“Hmm. A method to prevent the faculty dormitory demolition with sufficient justification that His Imperial Majesty would accept…”
The Emperor was not someone who would stamp documents without proper justification, even for his children.
So to cancel a demolition plan established with legitimate reasons, they needed an equally good reason.
‘Teacher Ziel, truly remarkable.’
To make such a bold move against both princes.
‘He’ll have to decide to follow our His Highness.’
In Relio’s view, Ziel was a clever man.
He knew how to utilize the power, reputation, and influence he currently possessed.
But on the surface, he also knew how to choose appropriate justification.
The plausible pretext of asking for help to prevent the demolition of the dormitory where he lived!
‘His Highness would still find it difficult to handle that person.’
While Relio, Horn, and others were putting their heads together in contemplation, a good idea emerged.
“How about aiming for a legal conflict?”
“Legal conflict?”
“Yes, under Imperial law, places designated as ‘Imperial Heritage Sites’ cannot be demolished.”
“Oh.”
Dietrich’s eyes sparkled.
This feeling that something might work out!
“So how about a plausible justification to designate the area including the faculty dormitory within the Academy as an Imperial Heritage Site?”
“Hmm. The area?”
“Yes. We designate an Imperial Heritage Site zone with the justification of being a ‘cradle of future talent,’ including the Academy dormitories that have produced countless knights and mages throughout the Empire.”
It was plausible logic.
If that happened, demolition couldn’t proceed until the Imperial Heritage Site designation was lifted.
It wasn’t directly canceling the demolition, but rather a method of overlaying one document with another.
“Good. Let’s proceed with that.”
“I’ll immediately look into the method.”
Meanwhile, on Franz’s side-
“Your Highness, I’ve thought of a good idea. We petition to preserve this place by packaging it as a ‘historic location.'”
“Oh.”
“Would Teacher Ziel insist on that old dormitory for no reason? This is all to watch over the countless faculty seniors and students who have passed through the Academy from the closest possible place.”
“That’s right, he definitely said something like that.”
“So we should approach it from the perspective of preserving Imperial tradition. In the sense of upholding Teacher Ziel’s spirit and pleading to prevent this dormitory demolition!”
“That’s good!”
Franz’s side approaching with slightly different yet similar logic!
Thus, both princes’ strategies were established.
Subsequently, the petitions from both princes went up almost simultaneously.
The Emperor.
Siegfried Valdrain.
“…”
He was quietly reading the lengthy petitions submitted by both princes.
Documents delivered today by the Chief Administrator.
It was uncommon for the princes to submit petitions to him.
Since neither of them was in a period where imperial succession was becoming visible yet.
The Emperor’s health was robust, and he had many days left to live.
So such petitions were somewhat interesting.
“…?”
Though the content was a bit strange.
The Emperor burst into a chuckle as if he found it absurd.
They had pulled together plausible justifications from here and there, but the conclusion was this.
“They’re trying to prevent the Academy faculty dormitory demolition.”
The Emperor was no fool.
The situation itself was also a bit peculiar.
Both princes had petitioned almost simultaneously, and their contents were similar too.
One side was calling for preservation of history and tradition, the other for heritage designation, but all arguments were aimed at just one thing.
“Chief Administrator.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Is there something important in the faculty dormitory?”
“Ziel Steelheart, a formal teacher of the Sword School, and his Teaching Assistant Gilbert are residing there, Your Majesty.”
“Hmm.”
Only then did the Emperor nod.
So that was the reason.
Rather, it was the most convincing reason.
“Because that teacher is residing there, both princes stepped forward to prevent the dormitory demolition to win that teacher’s favor?”
Rather, this point made it more interesting.
Though it seemed like Imperial dignity had fallen to the ground, the Emperor thought the opposite!
‘To think he’s a man who draws such interest from my two sons.’
It was like seeing his sons in their childhood.
The image of the two fighting and crying as they came to find him.
Childishness that reminded him of those times!
At the same time, one question arose.
“But wasn’t that faculty dormitory treated as an eyesore?”
“Teacher Ziel Steelheart insists on living there, saying it’s the best and most efficient place to look after the students.”
“Hmm.”
At first it seemed strange, but having heard that he was someone who cared deeply for students and taught with utmost dedication, it was actually a convincing reason.
The Emperor fell into quite an amusing dilemma.
Which of the two princes should he support?
Or should he reject the petition entirely?
Or perhaps…
In this amusing situation, would he reach a new conclusion that neither prince nor that man called Ziel could anticipate?
“This is what I’ll do.”
For the first time in a long while, the corners of the Emperor’s mouth turned upward.
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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