Ten days later.

    I was patrolling the outskirts of the city under the pretense of inspecting security, accompanied by officers and soldiers.

    Why the outskirts?

    Because I figured it was the best place to hear the raw complaints and dissatisfaction of the citizens—far from the center where the garrison was stationed.

    But there was nothing.

    I walked carefully, straining my ears, but no one voiced complaints about the garrison.

    At most, a few citizens gave me strange looks before bowing their heads slightly and walking past.

    ‘Hmm. This is definitely...’

    It looked like people were keeping their mouths shut out of fear—fear that complaining about the garrison might get them arrested.

    Or maybe word had spread in advance that the interim garrison commander was patrolling today.

    Otherwise, it didn’t make sense that there was no backlash against the tyranny I had imposed.

    Coming to terms with the situation, I nodded once and turned to Lucy.

    “Lieutenant. What’s the general sentiment of the Nordia citizens toward the garrison? You’ve been out in the field more than I have these past ten days, so you’d have a better grasp.”

    Lucy paused for a moment before responding.

    “There is some dissatisfaction, but overall, the citizens seem to tolerate the occupation.”

    “...Tolerate? The garrison?”

    “Yes. Thanks to your swift actions, public services were restored quickly, and the paralyzed administrative system is steadily getting back on track. Reports also indicate that crime rates have dropped below pre-occupation levels.”

    I had ordered strengthened patrols and expedited public service restoration, so that part made sense.

    But the citizens tolerating the occupation?

    That was another matter entirely.

    In most occupied cities, the early days were filled with resentment and anger.

    ‘And in any normal city, they should be outraged by the tax rates I set and the forced conscription, right?’

    I was about to ask Lucy if I had overlooked something when—

    “This is outrageous! My wages dropped again compared to yesterday!”

    A young man’s loud voice drew my attention.

    He was arguing with a supervisor, a middle manager by the looks of him, near a watchtower construction site.

    The manager crossed his arms, clearly annoyed, and scowled.

    “Listen. You should be grateful you’re even being employed. Or would you rather lose even what you’re getting?”

    “I’m grateful, but this is unreasonable! If you take half my wages, how am I supposed to feed my family—?!”

    The situation seemed tense.

    Curious, I approached them.

    “If you want to feed your family, work overtime. Don’t yell at me—”

    Hearing my footsteps, the manager turned and immediately froze.

    Seeing me flanked by armed soldiers and officers, he quickly bowed his head.

    “C-Commander! W-What brings you to such a humble place...?”

    “I don’t consider this place humble. My hometown was worse off than this. Now, what’s going on here? Why are you arguing with the worker?”

    “Well, you see, Commander, this man keeps demanding full wages—”

    The manager shot a glare at the worker, making me tilt my head.

    “You were appointed as a supervisor to ensure wages were properly distributed. So why aren’t they?”

    “W-What? N-No, that’s not it. He’s actually a diligent worker.”

    “Then why aren’t you paying him in full?”

    “Well, Commander... it’s because he’s black.”

    What?

    The words came so naturally from his mouth that I thought I’d misheard.

    After a moment of silence, I asked again just to be sure.

    “You’re withholding wages because he’s black?”

    “Yes, sir. Exactly. His father was a slave, yet his son acts like a free citizen. It’s absurd. Historically, colored people have been third-class citizens in the Kingdom—”

    I raised a hand, cutting him off.

    ...When will she finally realize she’s insane?

    *****

    Meanwhile, at the Black Crow hideout.

    The third floor of a building disguised as a general store was crammed with telex machines and radios for transmitting coded messages.

    Members of the Black Crow hurried back and forth, managing operations, while their leader, Hamthal, sat at a desk pressing his fingers into his temples.

    ‘Daniel Steiner is the enemy commander who occupied this city. He must be eliminated. But...’

    The citizens had begun accepting the garrison.

    Their anger, once boiling, had cooled after hearing about Daniel Steiner’s city reforms.

    Hamthal wasn’t immune to those feelings either.

    Looking at Daniel’s policies, he couldn’t help but question, Does he really need to be eliminated?

    ‘But he’s still the leader of a foreign army...’

    No one could tell when he might drop his mask and start oppressing the people.

    So eliminating him remained the logical choice.

    Steeling himself, Hamthal opened his desk drawer and pulled out a revolver.

    He checked the ammunition, but before he could close the cylinder, hurried footsteps approached.

    Looking up, he saw Tarkie—the young man who had delivered intelligence at the council meeting the previous night.

    Panting from his rush, Tarkie struggled to catch his breath before speaking.

    “Hamthal! The garrison just issued a new order to the citizens!”

    “...An order? What kind of order?”

    If it was an attempt to oppress the people, there would be no more hesitation.

    Tension filled the air as Tarkie spoke.

    “They announced that any acts of racial discrimination within the city will be punished under Imperial law.”

    Hamthal froze, revolver halfway closed.

    “...Ban racial discrimination?”

    “Yes. Apparently, they even appointed a black man as one of the local supervisors assisting the garrison.”

    Hamthal’s hand trembled, and the revolver fell to the desk with a thud.

    Unbelievable...

    For the past ten years, Hamthal had fought to dismantle the racial hierarchy enforced by Nordia’s nobility.

    The Black Crow itself had been founded in protest against that very discrimination.

    But despite his efforts, nothing had changed.

    Even after managing to bribe a politician into becoming mayor, the man betrayed them—abandoning their cause and acting as just another tyrant.

    Still, Hamthal hadn’t given up. He continued fighting for freedom and equality.

    And yet nothing ever changed...

    Now, the seemingly unreachable dream he had chased for a decade—

    Daniel Steiner had achieved it.

    Conflicting emotions swirled inside Hamthal, leaving his mind in chaos.

    Breathing heavily, he wiped his face with one hand.

    “Thank you for the report. It seems I’ll need to observe Daniel Steiner personally.”

    “...You’re going to reveal yourself?”

    “No. I’ll just watch. I need to determine whether these policies are genuine or nothing more than a temporary fac?ade to pacify the people.”

    If it was the latter, then Daniel Steiner still needed to be eliminated.

    But if it was the former,

    then Daniel Steiner wasn’t here as a conqueror.

    He might be the liberator who had freed this city from the Kingdom’s oppression.