He walked towards the Vigilante Corps under the escort of the Royal Guard warriors. While moving, I was lost in thought, recalling the contents of the report sent by the Intelligence and Inspection Service.
'It's a shame it didn't turn out as well as I expected.'
I couldn't guarantee that something like this wouldn't happen again in the future. People are really cunning. When they gain power, they become intoxicated by it and sometimes forget their own position.
Moreover, there is a law established by the country, but the delegates are violating that law and are exceeding their authority as vigilantes.
'There's nothing I can do. I have no choice but to use it as an example.'
After a while, we passed the inner wall and entered the Jagyeongdancheong next to the government office. As we passed through each department, the vigilantes who were resolving various civil complaints saluted us loudly.
"With all due respect to His Majesty the Emperor! Loyalty!"
"insect!"
As I arrived at the office that handled violent incidents, the leader of the vigilante group, 'Swift Fox', greeted me with urgent steps.
"Are you here? Your Majesty the Emperor!"
"Yes, I have been briefed on the general situation, so you don't need to talk about it further."
"Oh? Yes."
Even though I was outside the office, I could hear the delegates fighting and shouting very loudly.
"It was our children who were unilaterally beaten, so why are we punished more than the children of the barbarian tribes?"
"First, you started a fight by ignoring them and calling them barbarians. I believe that our children are innocent."
"What? You say you are innocent? Our Lenape tribe took you in and fed you, so you don't see anything wrong with you since you are a fellow delegate?"
"You speak so carelessly with your mouth open. Have you forgotten that all tribes are equal before the Creator God?"
They say that when children fight, adults fight. That was exactly the situation right now. As expected, the 'Swift Fox' had been sweating profusely under the pressure from the delegates, and only showed a look of relief after I arrived.
"Let's go in."
"Yes, Your Majesty the Emperor!"
As the door opened and I entered the office, two delegates flinched and looked startled.
"I come to see Your Majesty the Emperor."
"Why has His Majesty come to the Self-Defense Forces?"
The delegates seemed very taken aback by my appearance, as if they were secretly offended. I can see your voice shaking when you speak.
"Why? Did I come to a place I shouldn't be?"
When I refuted them calmly, they seemed speechless for a moment.
"That's not it, though."
"no."
One of them, a representative from the Savage Tribe, and the other, as expected, a representative from the Lenape Tribe, looked at me with a restless look.
"I came here because someone in the delegates said that the vigilantes were interfering with the law enforcement efforts."
"...."
I openly mocked them and asked the leader of the vigilante group, 'Fast Fox', to bring me a report on this incident of violence.
"Yes, Your Majesty the Emperor!"
Since it was an incident I already knew about, I roughly read through the report that 'Swift Fox' had brought. At that time, the Lenape representative, with a proud and proud expression, complained to me as if he was very wronged.
"Look, Your Majesty! Do you think this decision is reasonable? Our Lenape children were beaten unilaterally, and their service labor was extended by one month more than that of the barbarians. I think this decision of the vigilantes is unjust."
As expected, it was the father of that son who had no buds. Disparaging remarks about savage tribes (Powhatan tribe) came out of his mouth.
Is it because I am also from the Lenape tribe? The moment I saw the Lenape delegate, who of course I thought would be on his side, I almost swore.
I ignored him and spoke to the 'swift fox', suppressing the anger rising deep in my chest.
"Even if you read it, there doesn't seem to be any particular problem. Just enforce it according to the law."
"Understood, Your Majesty the Emperor!"
As if he had been waiting for those words, the 'Swift Fox' answered vigorously and stepped back, and the Lenape representative looked flustered and spoke urgently as if asking questions.
"Your Majesty the Emperor! What do you mean? Execute according to the law?"
I didn't want to hear any more of Lee Ja's ridiculous complaints. At my wink, 'Heavy Snowstorm' handed over the paper he had prepared in advance to the Lenape tribal representative.
"These are the details of the threats and pressure the delegates have exerted on the vigilantes so far."
"yes?"
"As the Emperor who leads the Sun in the Sky, I can no longer tolerate the Vigilantes' abuse of power. Next spring, I plan to propose that you be stripped of your delegate status at the General Assembly. So I think it would be best for you to quietly return and prepare to step down from your position as a delegate."
"...."
The evidence was so overwhelming that the Lenape delegate had no excuse. Furthermore, the Lenape delegate seemed quite shocked by my words that he would be stripped of his delegate status, and he left the vigilante group with a look of betrayal.
And then the savage tribe representative, who had been anxiously watching me because of his origins, approached me.
"I apologize for causing a commotion at the Vigilantes' Office. And thank you for making a wise decision."
It was not my intention to receive gratitude from the savage tribal representative. However, he looked very grateful, as if he had received a great favor.
'Some degree of discipline will be necessary.'
He did not pressure or threaten the vigilantes as the Lenape tribal representative did. However, he was concerned that the Lenape representative would unfairly punish the young people of the savage tribe, so he went to the Vigilante Corps Office and simply caused a commotion.
However, in some ways, this was tantamount to an abuse of authority. The vigilante group is also an administrative body that strictly enforces public power.
I spoke to the savage tribe representative with an indifferent expression.
"The council will soon hand down its disciplinary measures. Since everyone is equal before the law, no one can interfere with the decisions of the vigilantes. Not even I, the emperor."
"Yes. I will engrave His Majesty the Emperor's words deep in my heart."
The savage tribe representative, who seemed to have realized something greatly from my words, greeted me politely and quietly left the vigilante group.
'it's okay.'
I expected this situation would occur once the vigilante group was launched. So it was very important to get the first button off.
Word of this decision will likely spread quickly among the delegates and the chieftains of each tribe.
'You won't ignore my warning, will you?'
In the future, there will be little external pressure on the Vigilantes because of this incident. Just then, a 'heavy snowstorm' approached and spoke.
"Your Majesty the Emperor! It is dinner time."
"It's already that time."
I finally finished work for today. When I thought about the food that 'The Moon Rises' prepared for me after a long time, my mouth started watering.
"egg plant."
"Yes, Your Majesty the Emperor!"
After a while, we left the vigilante group office, escorted by the 'Fast Fox' and the vigilantes. 'Heavy Snowstorm' gave a brief instruction to the SS warriors along with the order to take leave.
"From now on, we will be working night shifts with a minimal number of people."
"Yes, Mr. Cheon In-jang!"
* * *
Mohawk River, Mohawk tribal village. Snow was falling heavily from the sky. In the long houses located throughout the village, bonfires were lit to combat the winter cold.
Knock knock!
The dry firewood was instantly engulfed in flames, sending sparks flying in all directions. 'Rising Flame', wearing a thick fur coat, was receiving the report with a serious expression while putting another log into the bonfire in front of him.
"How many people disappeared without a trace?"
"yes."
"There are signs of a fight?"
The Mohawk warrior answered with a puzzled expression.
"Yes. I searched the area thoroughly, but I couldn't find their bodies."
"Where on earth did it go?"
'Rising Flames' laughed heartily with a look of disbelief.
"I'm sorry, Chief!"
"No. That could be true. You said that you killed everyone else, but you couldn't confirm the life or death of this tribal hunter?"
"Yes. Looking at the surrounding circumstances, it is clear that the Iri tribe hunters and our warriors fought fiercely. However, it is impossible to confirm whether he is dead or alive, just like the warriors who disappeared."
"This is driving me crazy."
A moment of silence fell over the long house. 'Rising Flames', which had been organizing my complicated thoughts for a while, confirmed it again.
"Are you sure there was no other tribe intervening or fighting?"
"There wasn't any."
Only then did the Rising Flames' expression harden as it heard the confident answer from the Mohawk warrior.
"Then that's fine. So, the 'Sun in the Sky' side hasn't noticed our plan yet?"
"… You could say that."
"The problem is that he is a hunter of this tribe… The ideal outcome I would like is for him to die along with our missing warriors… ."
'Rising Flames' shook his head and opened his mouth again.
"If by any chance a hunter from this tribe were alive, it would be quite a headache."
The Mohawk warrior looked at him and spoke quickly.
"We have already deployed more warriors to search for traces of the Iri tribe hunters, so we will hear good news soon."
"Of course. And we should be even more careful so that the 'Sun in the Sky' side doesn't notice our movements."
"I will keep that in mind."
'Rising Flame' nodded at the answer of the Mohawk warrior. After a few more instructions, the Mohawk warrior withdrew, and Rising Flame, left alone in the longhouse, let out a short sigh.
"I feel a bit uneasy, but I think it's better to think positively."
* * *
The capital of the 'sun in the sky', a 'very big' city. After a long time, I visited a small shipyard located on the lower reaches of the Muhekunnetuk River (Hudson River).
The following summer, shipbuilders were busy building medium-sized Viking ships in preparation for war with the Iroquois tribe.
On one side, craftsmen were building the frame of a ship by carrying, cutting, and trimming wood. And on the other side, technicians were hammering nails into a nearly finished Viking ship and coating it with a thick layer of black tar to keep it watertight.
"It must be quite cold since it's the middle of winter. Everyone is having a hard time."
"We have also installed braziers here and there so that technicians can warm up their bodies whenever they take a break."
"good job."
The 'lazy beaver' next to me kept reporting on the state of the ship's construction.
"At the current rate, we should be able to build twenty medium-sized Viking ships by next spring as planned."
After a while, plans to build additional medium-sized Viking ships were proceeding smoothly without any major problems.
As he left the shipyard, he once again emphasized to the 'lazy beaver' that he should not let anything go wrong in his preparations for war.
"I'm planning on doing some large-scale water training with junior warriors in the spring, so please pay special attention to me."
"Understood, Your Majesty the Emperor!"
* * *
After looking around the shipyard and finishing work earlier than scheduled, I hurried back home. And with the help of his wife, 'The Moon Rises', he cut off his hair that had reached down to his waist.
Swish! Swish swish!
The cut hair fell under the chair I was sitting on.
"I'm not very good at using scissors. It's a really big two thousand days! Can't I just use a knife?"
"okay."
She quickly began trimming my hair with a knife, as if she had only done it once or twice. At that time, 'Star in the Sky', who was playing in another room, ran to me and bragged about it.
"Dad! I read all the storybooks you gave me."
"really?"
When I asked with surprised eyes, 'Star in the Sky' nodded with a cheerful face.
"huh."
As if what the daughter said was true, 'The Moon Rises', who was behind her, also chided her and said a word.
"How long has it been since you learned the alphabet of God, and now that you're a father, you don't know that? And it's not just because you're my daughter, but because you're in 'Stars in the Sky', you seem to be considerably smarter than other kids your age."
'no way?'
I quickly turned on my mind's eye and checked the 'Daughter of Heaven's' ability with eyes filled with anticipation.
'This is driving me crazy. Does this make sense?'