Mob No. 85: “Just the phrase ‘His Majesty the on the sickbed’ makes this guy giving the speech seem so shady it stinks to death”
After leaving the mercenary guild, I didn’t head straight home. Instead, I went to Gonzalez’s place to get some information I was curious about.
On the way there, the city was in complete chaos. Shops selling food and medicine were flooded with customers, while restaurants, clothing stores, companies, and travel agencies were closing up in a hurry. After all, in six hours, martial law would be enforced, and no one would be allowed outside. Everyone was desperate.
Some people who didn’t seem to understand the situation were causing a commotion on the streets.
Even in the black market district, shops were closing one after another, though the food stores seemed determined to stay open until the last possible moment.
At that infamous butcher shop, a banner was hung advertising [The Spherical Meat Embraced by Bitter Black Viscosity, Drowned in Oily Mud], and they were pushing sales hard, likely trying to make a final profit before martial law kicked in.
Ignoring the scene, I arrived at Patterson Pharmacy.
“Yo,”
I greeted, raising a hand lightly as I entered. Despite it being a pharmacy where you need a doctor’s prescription to get medicine, I expected it to be packed with desperate customers. Surprisingly, there wasn’t a single one.
Gonzalez himself didn’t seem flustered at all, leisurely reading a book.
“Yo. Here about the coup?”
“Yeah. You got enough food and medicine supplies?”
“I stocked up a while ago, so I’m good. I’ve got plenty of batteries and nutrient solutions too. And I bought a lot of regular food.”
“No rush for prescriptions?”
“Not today. The nearest hospital was closed, so there weren’t many direct requests. I did get some orders via communication, but I’ve already finished all of them.”
Gonzalez looked completely at ease, showing no signs of panic over the martial law.
“Did you know about this beforehand?”
“There was info about some nobles gathering in one place, and there was something definitive on the net.”
As he said that, he turned his palm toward me.
Apparently, anything beyond that would cost me.
Normally, one piece of information goes for around 50,000 credits, so I had prepared 100,000 credits initially. I added another 50,000 and handed it over.
Satisfied with the amount, Gonzalez played a video.
“This is from the net within the Nekirelma Star Kingdom. Probably right before the coup was about to happen.”
On the screen, there was a podium set up, and a man in luxurious clothing was giving a speech. Behind him was the emblem of the Nekirelma Star Kingdom.
“Gentlemen! Our long-awaited opportunity has finally arrived! The empire, which has invaded and colonized various nations across the galaxy, is beginning to show signs of decline! The current emperor, Armilia-Franord-Ovors, lacks charisma, and more than half of the citizens no longer support him! As proof of this, the empire’s citizens have sought our protection! They have pleaded with us to lead their nation once the current emperor is overthrown! We have accepted their plea and provided them with the necessary funds and weapons! Even His Majesty the King, who lies on his sickbed, has high hopes for this operation! If their battle ends in victory, a glorious path to galactic supremacy will be laid out for us! Rise up! For the sake of seizing all of the galaxy!”
The video ended with the man smirking, looking proud of himself.
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After watching it, I couldn’t help but hold my head in my hands.
The fact that the Nekirelma Star Kingdom was behind this was within expectations.
But the content of the speech was the real issue.
“There’s so much to unpack here… The current empress lacks charisma, and more than half the citizens don’t support him? Isn’t the empress’s approval rating at 75%?”
“Probably, for that guy, ‘citizens’ equals ‘nobles.’ If you only look at the nobles, it might seem like a lot of them are rebelling.”
“Once the current empress is overthrown, they’ve pleaded with us to lead the nation? As if the empire’s nobles would seriously ask for that! They’d just wait for the right moment to attack! Though I guess he’s saying that on purpose…”
“Of course, it’s to make the empire’s nobles let their guard down. And they probably think they can win right after the battle when the enemy is exhausted.”
“Just the phrase ‘His Majesty the King on his sickbed’ makes this guy giving the speech seem so shady it stinks to death.”
“Pretty sure that’s Marquis Kaiese-Dowin. He’s touted as Nekirelma super-competent prime minister with the king’s absolute trust.”
“All self-proclaimed, no doubt.”
There were other things to nitpick, but these were the biggest issues.
Anyway, putting aside the headache-inducing nonsense, I decided to ask the question I came here for.
“So, what’s their military strength looking like right now?”
Even with Gonzalez’s network, he probably didn’t have the exact numbers, but more information was always better.
“Just the nobles’ forces alone, including drones and remote-controlled artillery ships, would be around 400,000. Plus, we don’t know how much the Nekirelma Star Kingdom has sent, but it’s definitely at least 500,000. But the 7th Fleet, which only has about 10,000 even with drones and remote-controlled ships, is just watching and not moving. They’re probably waiting for reinforcements.”
Gonzalez’s intel was usually reliable, but he was wrong about the nobles’ movements.
“Nah. Probably over 90% of the nobles are just saying stuff like, ‘What’s this nonsense! Some half-breed noble wannabe born from commoners is pretending to be a great general by gathering useless commoners! I just haven’t had the chance to show my skills, but I’m way better than him! So, I’ll let you have the honor of taking him down since it’s not even worth my time.’ They’re just scared of Commodore Thorncheed and passing the buck to each other.”
The wording might be different, but that’s definitely what’s happening.
And since I had no further interest in the nobles, I quickly moved on to the next matter.
“Also, do you have a [detailed map] of the area?”
“Yeah. Give me a sec.”
Maps like this weren’t something you could get at a regular bookstore or convenience store. This [detailed map] included the positions of the nobles involved in the coup, the military and police structures around the planet, the locations of asteroids, and detailed internal information about them.
While Gonzalez prepared the map, I noticed the book he’d been reading earlier. Glancing at the cover, I saw it was an old light novel titled [The Continent of Storms].
Once I received the [detailed map] of the area, I left Patterson Pharmacy to make it home before martial law was enforced.
Oh, and I made sure to buy that [The Spherical Meat Embraced by Bitter Black Viscosity, Drowned in Oily Mud] on the way back.
After getting home, I took care of cleaning and laundry, had a late lunch with the [The Spherical Meat Embraced by Bitter Black Viscosity, Drowned in Oily Mud] as a side dish, and relaxed while catching up on some anime. Then, as expected, I got a summons from the mercenary guild.
It had been over seven hours since the emergency declaration email, so martial law was already in effect. I thought about ignoring the summons, but it was mandatory, so I had no choice.
Reluctantly, I got ready and headed out. The city under martial law was eerily empty, like a ghost town.
Public transportation was suspended, so I borrowed a shared bike from the building manager and made my way to the mercenary guild.
On the way, I was stopped by the police, as usual, but showing the notice from the guild got me through without issue.
When I arrived, the mercenary guild was overflowing with mercenaries who had been summoned.
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