Chapter 523.3
Finar asked further, “But you don’t agree with the current form of government, do you?”
“I won’t deny it. I am fine with people from other countries ruling this nation, especially since we lost the war. However, I do not wish to have a person not from this country to be the emperor. This country will not be able to move forward if it was not ruled by someone from this country.”
Saying this, Alveiro looked at me.
He was saying this in my presence, purposely, right?
“It was your former emperor who asked me to become emperor, you know?”
“I know that. But if I may be so bold as to comment on it… it’s simply because you won’t understand how citizens think and what they need. It will only be more efficient for this country to be ruled by its people. Of course, I do understand that there are very few people who can rule this country well in its current state.”
The man continued his words.
“You may think that we are simply being stubborn idiots, but, right now, we are still looking for ways to let things slowly settle in with the citizens of this country. A sudden change in the ruling will make everyone feel concerned.”
…Yeah, I get his point.
It was perfectly reasonable to ask for that.
“Well, one more thing. The storage of construction materials and the weapons warehouse, you’ve been in there recently. Do you have any explanation regarding that?”
“Well, it was for personal reasons.”
“Oh… personal reasons, huh?”
“Yeah. Still, it has nothing to do with the terrorism.”
He probably knew that he was being suspected after the attack on the stadium, but he still went to the third warehouse, knowing very well that it would put him in a bad position. I wonder what exactly those personal reasons were?
–The interrogation by Finar continued.
Alveiro said he did not commit the crime.
But he also had a sense of dissatisfaction with the system, saying that the current government was not good enough.
Shortly before the attack, he entered the storage facility where he was believed to have hidden the dagger and the third Imperial weapons depot, which was believed to be the source of the explosives used in the attack.
He remained silent on the matter when asked.
…Well, that was suspicious, indeed.
And, as I understand it from our conversation, this guy would probably do the crime himself if he deemed it necessary.
I could sense his will and ability to do it, even as we talked.
No matter how good he might be and no matter how much he said that “Terrorism is nonsense,” if you ask whether he could do it or not, I would say that he was capable of doing it.
The Demon King beside me, the former Emperor Shendra, the redhead who died in the Great War, Nell’s boss, the female Knight Commander Carlotta, they all have the same thing in common.
I could feel the same thing from this man as I did from those people.
After listening to what we wanted to hear, we left Alveiro for now.
“…I see. As suspicious as it may seem, you still don’t think this guy is the culprit.”
“Yes, I’m sure that there is a terrorist connected to him somewhere. But I don’t think it’s him. I can sense an undercurrent in every move in this case. That means that things were being manipulated from the inside by our real enemy. If that is the case, then Alveiro, being the culprit–“
I continued Finar’s words.
“It’s too obvious, right?”
“Yes, indeed. I still don’t have any proof that he is not the culprit, but I can’t shake the feeling that he is being set up to be the culprit. But in addition to that, I also sense that Alveiro himself has something to hide. All I know is that things are complicated.”
There was certainly something he was hiding, for sure, even if it would make his position worse.
“…Can’t you just cut off the pleasantries?”
“That’s right. I’m in a bit of a bind, you see. That’s why I asked you to help me.”
“I doubt that I could help you in this aspect.”
“No, no, there’s something only you can do. I wanted you to bring that person, Alveiro, to meet with him… Apparently, Alveiro is an excellent friend of his. So maybe he will reveal some things about himself to him.”
“Oh, I see.”
Finar smiled at me in understanding, and I smiled in amusement, as if we were planning something similar.
We had to play the “devil’s advocate” card, I see.