A brave man may not live, but he cannot die

Chapter 73: The Wind Rises (7 in k)

At the end of Cloud Avenue, a neoclassical building stood in the downtown area, flanked by lawns and pine trees. Flags fluttered in the wind from flagpoles: Ashwell City, Grindelwald Academy, City-State Law Enforcement Officers, South Continent Airport, and the Alliance of Kings.
Designed by an architect from Frederick, this building, completed thirty years ago, is hailed as a microcosm of the city of Elswell's rise. At first glance, it's overwhelmed by a sense of rugged grandeur. Massive Roman columns stand like guards before a palace. The building is bathed in a majestic glow, its dome's rounded corners facing the distant Eye of Grindelwald.

This is the heart of the city, where power converges. This is the parliament, the government, the court, and a democratic administrative body that stands out from the other kings. The nine members elected by the citizens control the operation of the city in the parliament. They are the helmsmen of the ship of Eswell.

Elon walked into the parliament hall on the Persian blue velvet carpet. The members of parliament sat on a high platform carved out of teak, surrounding the entire hall like a ring.

There were nine high seats in total, two with high backs and seven with low backs - the two highest chairs belonged to the Speaker of the House and Grindelwald's headmaster.

After Elon sat down, a woman's chuckle came from the side. "Handsome boy, I heard that you went to Westville a few days ago to check taxes. Did Mr. Branson really leave the family business to you?"

The golden plaque in front of Elon's seat doesn't belong to him—[Congressman Branson] is referring to his father.

"My father is still recovering from illness and doesn't go out often. But I've asked for his advice on everything I do. I'll pass on your regards to him. Thank you for your concern, Ms. Eugenia." Elon smiled and praised, "Your new hairstyle looks great. I'm always delighted by your makeup."

"Oh, this little mouth is still so sweet~"

Eugenia was a woman who looked older. Her bold makeup and fox fur coat made her look very charming. She leaned over provocatively, casually revealing her snow-white cleavage under her neckline to Elon, and chuckled, "Would you like to come to my house for a cup of tea tonight?"

Elon raised his eyes instantly, but his smile remained unchanged:
"I'm afraid your husband won't be very welcoming to me. I'd better choose a daytime time to visit."

"It's okay, he won't mind. You two can come together. Auntie can handle it~"

Eugenia's teasing wasn't frivolous, as if it were just for fun. But the look she gave Elon, his muscular neck, held a hint of tender scrutiny.

"Humph! Ridiculous nobles—"

Across the hall, a greasy congressman said sarcastically, "If it weren't for the last name Eugenia, would your husband have tolerated you until today?"

"Oh, how could you, Senator Alexander, have endured that? You were able to endure not cleaning the sewers for so many years. Those rats at the bottom of the mountain were able to run from the sewers to the top of the mountain and kill people. It was all thanks to your patience~"

Eugenia covered her mouth and laughed: "Just bear with it, bear with it. When your seat as a senator is taken by Elon, you will have to endure it for the rest of your life~"

Poof! !

Alexander Kaf slammed his fist on the table in anger, his face trembling with anger: "Bullshit! The city sewers are well maintained every year! It's those damned Western Continent bandits who are causing the damage! What do you, a bitch from Bavaria, know--"

The other MPs watched them arguing with great interest, and no one spoke out to stop them.

Although the Ashwell City Council was nominally an elected council, anyone who paid even a passing attention to current affairs knew the composition of these nine council members.

Neither Ashwell, nor democratically elected, nor parliamentary.

For example, Councillor Eugenia is not from Eswell, but a noble from the Kingdom of Bavaria in the southern continent.

By marrying a local, she gained the right to vote and fought for the interests of Bavaria's tobacco and livestock industries in parliament.

There are five kingdom representatives like her in the parliament. In addition to Bavaria, there are three neighboring countries of Eswell: the United Kingdom, the Kingdom of Roen and the Principality of Hime, as well as Eswell's largest trading partner, the East Kingdom on the other side of the ocean.

They are all nobles, and they come to Eswell as members of parliament only to protect the interests of their motherland.

The votes of these people are provided by employees of companies from various countries. Nearly 50% of the citizens of Eastville are employees of foreign companies and their families. Their votes are tied to their jobs. As long as the companies do not go bankrupt, they can do whatever they want in parliament.

The only families that can truly be considered local forces in Ashwell are the Alexander family and the Branson family. They are people from the northern continent who settled in Ashwell Mountain a thousand years ago and were moved to the southern continent along with the mountain by the brave Merlin.

The Alexander family, the largest landowner in Ashwell, operated in real estate and construction, relying on the population and dividends brought by the academy, and had prospered for the past thousand years. However, since the advent of the Arcane Industrial Revolution, the Alexander family has been rapidly surpassed by the Branson family, who primarily focus on trade, and their glory has faded.

Especially after the completion of the Eye of Grindelwald, the Branson family, which monopolized air shipping, almost swallowed up the Alexander family's business. The most obvious manifestation was the voters' stance.

If nothing unexpected happens, when the five-year parliamentary election is held at the end of the year, Elon will replace Kraft, the head of the Alexander family, and become the second member of the Branson family.

The congressmen had different opinions on this. They should have all stood on Elon's side. After all, the airport managed by the Branson family was in the interests of everyone. But Elon was not a good partner - he wanted to eliminate the influence of various countries on Eswell.

His political stance is very radical, including safeguarding the free voting rights of foreign employees, expelling the "instructors" placed by various countries among the law enforcement officers, and changing the short-haul route operating rights directly assigned to various countries to a free bidding model that allows capital participation.
Elon has been acting in his father's capacity as a councilor since Senator Branson Sr. fell seriously ill two years ago. As long as Branson Sr. lives, the seat will remain in the Branson family. If Elon were to take Alexander's seat, with two votes in his hands, he might actually be able to achieve his goals.

A new bill could be implemented with the approval of more than half of the council members. The Eswell City Council didn't strictly rely on a six-vote approval system, as representatives from the Academy and the East Country usually abstained. Regardless of how Eswell reformed, the East Country was its largest trading partner, and the internal struggles of the Southern Continent were none of their business.

The college does not interfere in politics. Although the chair belonging to the president has the highest veto power, it has almost never been used in the past thousand years.

With two votes in his hand, Elon only needs to win two more votes from the Speaker to tie with the four votes of the kingdom's agents. If one of the four countries is bribed by the Branson family, the city council will become Elon's one-man show, and he can carry out any reforms he wants.

From now on, it seems that Bavarian MP Eugenie is very inclined to switch sides.

Bavaria does not border Eswatini and is the country that suffers the most in the distribution of benefits. Giving up some unused long-term interests in exchange for good relations with the Branson family is a worthwhile deal.

The sound of the gavel falling ended the quarrel between Eugenia and Kaf, and everyone realized that the two highest seats had been occupied since some time.

Hemer, the headmaster's deputy of Grindelwald Academy, and Speaker Valen Vladimir.

"quiet."

Valen Vladimir's Tamil Mandarin was thick with a Northern Continental accent, and his distinctive tongue flick made it clear he was a Philippine native. The tall man leaned back in the chair that belonged to the Speaker of the House, but the nameplate in front of him read "Governor Vladimir" instead of "Speaker."

The reason why the nameplate says "Governor" is related to the special history of Ashwell.

Millennia ago, to prevent the Philippine Empire from using the academy's trained arcanists to wage war, the brave Merlin relocated Grindelwald Academy, along with the entire Mount Ashwell, to the Southern Continent. The new location he chose was originally unclaimed land, but who could have imagined that the Philippine Empire would insist that the "mountain" still belonged to the Empire, and that the city-states atop it were also Imperial enclaves within the Southern Continent.

There is really nothing wrong with this from a legal perspective. If Merlin wants to build an independent parliamentary city-state, it must be approved by the empire.

After a long and tortuous political struggle, the Empire ultimately surrendered to the Hero, relinquishing actual control of Mount Ashwell, retaining only nominal ownership. As the price of liberating the land, the Speaker of the Ashwell City Council would be a "Governor" appointed by the Philippine Empire. No election was required, and the Governor would have two votes in the council.

After the academy left with the arcanists, the empire fell into turmoil and decline for more than two hundred years, and the Governor of Eswell was caught between the academy and the forces of various countries and could not move forward. His power was basically hollowed out, and he became a speaker in name only.

Especially in recent years, with the rapid development of Eswell and the blockade of the Northern Continent by the Sea of ​​Mist, Valen has been isolated and helpless as a lone commander for nearly twenty years. He has no power at all, and his greatest value is the two votes of the Speaker in his hands.

If it weren't for these two votes, the argument would never have stopped after he struck that blow.

"Today is Monday, April 4nd. The fourteenth meeting of the Elswell City Council in 2 begins now."

As Valen read the meeting emotionlessly, the clerk beside him began to type rapidly, recording the contents of the meeting.

"Then, as is customary, I ask everyone to stand and join me in paying homage to the master of Eswell, the Eternal Philippine Empire—"

Valen stood up, facing north, his head tilted slightly upward, his palms facing down to his temples, and he said solemnly:

"Great Emperor Tamilan, we unite before your throne, accept your leadership, uphold the will of the Empire, fulfill the laws of the Empire, and carry out the decisions of the Empire. We will surely break the shackles of the old world, and our glorious ideals will be realized."

The typewriter was typing rapidly, and only Valen was standing there shouting to himself. The other parliamentarians ignored him completely, including Hermo, who was sitting in his chair without moving. In the huge parliament hall, Valen was standing alone facing the wall with passion, as if he was doing some performance art.

Eugenia yawned out of boredom. If this guy hadn't done this every time before the meeting, no one would have remembered that the city of Eswell still nominally belonged to the empire.

"...every time I write down his quotations of loyalty, I waste a whole page. Do you think the Emperor could know that someone in a city half a world away is pledging their loyalty to him?"

Eugenia whispered to Elon, "It's hard to say whether the Governor will ever be able to return to his homeland. Who are you shouting this to every day?"

Elon didn't respond.

His eyes fell on Valen's solemn face, as if he wanted to see what this northern man firmly believed in through his eyes.

After the loyalty session of Speaker Valen, the routine executive meeting began.

The contents were rather unremarkable: plans for increasing munitions shipping routes to the West Continent, repairs to the drainage system to cope with the rainy season, budget allocations, financial audits, land sales, road repairs, and a brief report on the dozens of homicides in Westville over the past week.
All matters involving the distribution of interests had already been discussed behind the scenes, and now it was just a matter of reading out the results. Except for the Speaker, Grindelwald and the East Country representative who abstained as a rule, everyone basically agreed to pass it.

The parliamentarians are not concerned about boring administrative work. All work that can be outsourced to businesses is outsourced, while issues such as taxation and public security are left to professional government staff to handle.

Aiswell has plenty of money. The aviation tax alone is equivalent to the annual tax revenue of some small countries. In addition, the only people who actually need to please are the hundreds of thousands of citizens in Eastwell, so governance has never been a problem.

As for Seville, in addition to collecting taxes on Seville's businesses, the thing the city council has spent the most time on for Seville is signing the death penalty approvals for those criminal cases. More than 95% of Seville's residents do not have the right to vote and are unworthy of being served by the council.

After the routine executive meeting, it’s time for the parliament to really come into its own – quarrelling.

"Before this meeting, three members submitted motions for the meeting," Speaker Valen said calmly, turning the page of the memorandum. "Next, Representative Elon will speak first, in order of priority."

All the lights suddenly dimmed, leaving only the giant spotlight above Elon's head still facing him. The lonely beam of light seemed to have moved the stage of the meeting hall to his feet.

The man's sharp features were illuminated by the lights. He had no manuscript at all. His friendly yet serious voice came from the loudspeaker, echoing under the ostentatious dome:
"Regarding the Yunduan Avenue jewelry store tragedy on the 25th of last month, the victims' families have been asking about the progress of the investigation every day, whether it's from me, the police station, or you all."

His eyes slowly swept across the circular hall. Too many powerful people had died in jewelry stores, and every congressman present had a hard time these days, so they were looking forward to what this young man who had announced in front of the media that he would find out the truth would say.

Alexander Kaf secretly gritted his teeth, knowing that he was in big trouble.

It was precisely because the Eastwell sewers were in such disrepair that the two criminals were able to escape safely after stealing the jewelry. Due to his interference, the city council's budget for sewer repairs increased year by year, but in reality, the money went into his pocket, and the sewers had not been repaired in nearly a decade.

It wouldn't be a big deal if the sewer wasn't repaired. It would just drain the rainwater that should be drained to the foot of the mountain to the middle of the mountain. Some streets in Westville might be flooded during the rainy season, but this kind of thing is not a big deal at all. Who would have thought that someone would use the damaged sewer to sneak into Eastville?

He'd heard that Elon had been gathering evidence everywhere this week, even going so far as to make several trips to Sewell, and he couldn't help but feel deeply worried. Though young, this Branson heir possessed exceptionally sophisticated tactics. It was unclear where he'd learned them from, but when he did, he was perfectly prepared, leaving the opponent helpless.

But what Kraft didn't expect was that Elon would take the lead in targeting the college.

"Dear Dean Hemo, the bodies of the three robbers who were most helpful to the investigation were taken away by the school administration. It has been eight days. May I ask what results the college has found in its investigation?"

There was silence for a long time before a hoarse reply came from the darkness: "We are still investigating."

Elon immediately pressed, "How long will the investigation take? Please give me a deadline."

Hearing these unfriendly words, the old man narrowed his eyes. He leaned over to look at Elon, his enamel glasses tilted on the bridge of his nose, and the half of his eyes that were exposed seemed to emit a cold light.

"Do you want the academy to give you an explanation?"

"It's the citizens who demand an explanation from the academy," Elon replied, his back straight. All the council members looked at Elon, secretly shocked.

He Mo is older than almost all of you here combined. He represents the true ruler of Ashwell - Grindelwald College. It seems like the heroic deeds of him expelling the Church of Light from the city happened just yesterday. How dare you, a young man, speak to him like this?
"."

He Mo was silent for a long time, but he didn't get angry. Instead, he leaned his head back on the chair.

"The commissioner handling this matter will come to you tomorrow."

"Thank you for your assistance." Elon bowed slightly.

He continued, "There's one more thing. According to my investigations these days, the sewers have been in disrepair for a long time, which has given the robbers an opportunity to take advantage of them—"

coming.

Kraft clenched his fists, his face full of gloom, ready to retort to the damn young man.

"The reason is most likely that the maintenance staff cut corners during the repair. I suggest that Mr. Alexander, who is in charge of this matter, carefully review his employees' work when he returns to prevent further mistakes."

Eh?
Kraft had prepared his excuses, but he didn't expect Elon to be so lenient. He looked at Elon in surprise, but the other party gave him a meaningful look in return.

"That concludes my speech."

The lights went out. "Mr. Oliver, next."

The stage shifted, and the lights came on on the other side. A British nobleman wearing a curly wig, a silk jacket with padded shoulders, tight breeches, and hundreds of pleats on the collar stood up. He pinched his beard and spoke in a full-bodied tone:
"I was going to talk about the robbery—"

"Actually, we all know who the criminals are: those damned, filthy, lowly people from the Western Continent! They've been hiding in our city like rats, making their home in the West District, stealing our things and killing our citizens. They're a faithless mob, barbarians who don't belong in the Southern Continent!"

"There's no need to go to such lengths. We can simply search every household from the foot of the mountain to the top, rigorously questioning every single person from the Western Continent—these people love to stick together. We'll definitely find clues and solve the case."

Elon frowned and questioned:

"Xiweier has a total population of over 1.2 million, and people from the Western Continent account for at least half of them. We only have 2,000 law enforcement officers, and a third of them are administrative staff. You want one law enforcement officer to investigate 500 people from the Western Continent?"

"No, no, no -"

Oliver smiled and said, "The law enforcement officer also has to take care of the public security in Eastville, so he can't spare so many people. But we can ask for external assistance. Britain will definitely be happy to help. As long as you agree, Britain can send five regiments, at least 300,000 people, to search the city."

"At the latest, within a week. No, three days. I guarantee I'll solve the case, and I won't charge a penny. It's just a favor. How's that?"

"puff."

The councilor from the Kingdom of Roen was the first to laugh out loud: "Are you looking for the robbers, or the wandering princess?"

Eugenia couldn't help but sneer, "I heard the water in Britain's flooded ruins of the old royal city is starting to recede. Is the Dragon Lord's prophecy about to come true? What if the British monarch changes and they come to us for money?"

Oliver didn't answer. Instead, he called to the Speaker, "Vote! Vote!" and proposed nine proposals. The MPs then deliberately shouted, "Does your king lose sleep every night?!" Oliver's eyes widened as he asked, "How can you defame someone's innocence like that..." "What innocence? I saw with my own eyes the day before yesterday that Britain had posted a reward for information leading to the princess: five million pounds!" Oliver's face flushed, veins popping out of his forehead as he argued, "Finding someone is also solving the case... Solving the case!... How can you talk nonsense about royal matters?" Then came a barrage of incomprehensible words, like "damned Westerners" and "help," which drew laughter from everyone. The atmosphere inside and outside the parliament was filled with a cheerful atmosphere.

"Everyone, you can vote now. Those who support the United Kingdom sending troops to search Ashwell please raise your hands—"

Oliver raised his hand high, and Kraft also raised his fat hand - Britain and the Alexander family have cooperated a lot, and the two are considered allies.

"Two votes." Speaker Valen signaled the clerk to write it down, "and then there was no support—"

Before he could finish his words, almost all the congressmen raised their hands.

Having Britain send troops into the city to search was indeed a good idea. Because of the existence of the academy, Eswell wasn't worried that these people would stay put, but the kingdoms of the southern continent didn't want to see Britain find the Child of Prophecy so easily.

In recent years, because of a princess who was exiled, Britain's political situation was turbulent, the royal family and the state religion were alienated, and the major nobles had their own armies. It took the current king more than ten years to barely stabilize the situation.

A powerful and wealthy country is not a good neighbor. The other kingdoms in the southern continent are very happy to see Britain make some more trouble, especially Ron, whose national strength is similar to that of Britain. If Britain continues to be in chaos for another ten or twenty years, they will be able to become the boss of the southern continent.

Speaker Valen announced without any surprise:

"Grindelwald abstained, I abstained, Inamori Wada abstained, two votes in favor, four votes against, the proposal failed."

Oliver cursed and sat down, and the lights went out.

Speaker Valen flipped through the memo and said, "As for the last speaker, it was me."

Click.

The lights lit up above Governor Philip's head, and the members of the House of Representatives cast doubtful glances at him.

If I’m not your friend, what does it have to do with you?
Valen hasn't initiated a proposal for a long time. The role of this speaker in the parliament is to read his loyalty quotations and serve as the host of the meeting.

Compared to the minor conflict between Britain and Roen, the conflict between the Philippine Empire and the kings of the Southern Continent was far more catastrophic and impossible to mediate. The Western Continental War was essentially a struggle between the North and South camps. If it weren't for the Misty Sea blocking the Northern Continent, the so-called "Free Alliance" of the Western Continent wouldn't have achieved such a continuous victory over the years.

Speaker Valen's proposals were almost never passed, because his proposals were all in line with the imperial government's wishes, and the parliamentarians naturally had to sing a different tune.

After the Northern Continent was blockaded, there was no news from the Empire, and Valen had no intention of participating in politics independently. He abstained from voting on all proposals and focused on being a loyal repeater and meeting host.

It is rare in recent years for him to speak at this session.

"I'm also talking about the jewelry store robbery. Our law enforcement officers were too weak. Facing the arcanist's crime, they failed to complete a proper assembly for a full ten minutes. From the perspective of the Empire, this is unacceptable."

In the midst of a doubtful gaze, Valen said lightly:

"So I propose forming a special law enforcement unit dedicated to striking hard at terrorists. They'll patrol the city in airships and be able to drop directly into the air to deal with any problems. I'll train this law enforcement unit, provide them with the best equipment and financial support, and manage them in a military-style manner. They won't be supervised by instructors from other countries, but will only answer to the commands of commissioners appointed by the parliament—"

"I named this group of special law enforcement officers 'Air Transmission Troops'."

"No need to discuss, let's vote directly. Those who agree can raise their hands."

Even He Mo, who had been resting with his eyes closed, opened his eyes and looked at Valen, who had already raised his hand.

Speaker's privilege, two votes.

Everyone looked at him in disbelief. Are you crazy?
A major prerequisite for Ashwell's independence among the nations of the Southern Continent is that it maintains no military, and its armed forces are managed by neighboring nations. You call them Explosion Control Officers, but what's the difference between them and soldiers?
However, an even more shocking scene occurred——

Elon raised his hand as well.

Three votes in favor.

Eugenia beside him raised her hand immediately afterwards.

Four votes.

He Mo said nothing, neither supporting nor opposing, and the academy still seemed to be planning to abstain.

Inamori Wada, a member of the Eastern Parliament, also seemed to be enjoying the show.

There are still four votes left. If there is a tie, the proposal will not pass.

Elon suddenly looked at the bewildered Kraft, his eyes fixed on him, his left index finger slightly bent, making a nine—

Ninety thousand gold pounds is the total amount of funds that the Alexander family has defrauded from the treasury in the name of maintaining sewers over the years.

Kaf Alexander shuddered and raised his hand tremblingly under Elon's threatening gaze.
The citizens are still outraged by the jewelry store robbery. If Elon reveals the sewer incident, he will no longer have the chance to compete with him for a seat in Congress.

Five votes.

Valen smiled slightly, and without asking about the opposing votes, he looked directly at He Mo who was standing beside him: "Dean He Mo, do you object?"

He Mo shook his head lightly.

"The college abstains."

"What about you, Mr. Inamori Wada?"

“…I also abstain.”

"Grindelwald abstained, Inamori Wada abstained, with five votes in favor, the 'air transport force' proposal passed." Valen slammed the gavel decisively.

Even the clerk stopped recording, looking a little at a loss.

Oliver stood up and shouted angrily, "Are you kidding me? The Philippine Empire is planning to train its troops in Eswell?! Are you trying to start a war?"

This time, Ron and the members of the Shimai Congress did not contradict Oliver, but stood up and asked Valen to give an explanation.

"What do you mean the Empire is training troops in Eswell?"

Valen said calmly, "These are blast enforcement officers, not soldiers. Furthermore, the command authority belongs to the City Council. I'm only responsible for training. You can send a council member to oversee the leadership."

"Who will supervise and lead? You? Don't forget, the independence treaty signed between the Emperor and Merlin the Brave clearly stated that Philip was not allowed to station troops in Eswell—"

"Of course not me. To avoid suspicion, I will not interfere with this unit. But a team always needs someone to lead it."

Valen snapped his fingers.

The light fell on a young man with a resolute face and a calm expression.

"I propose that Mr. Elon Branson take full charge of the air transport force. Who supports and who opposes this?"

(End of this chapter)