The most shameless alchemist in history

828 Looking forward to your letter

In the once noisy hall, dozens of officials were all silent, not daring to breathe, which made Cerru's voice sound particularly clear and loud. Cerru's follower seemed to have noticed this as well, and he kept winking at Cerru, trying to remind him that something was wrong.

But Cerul was currently engrossed in his performance, determined to prove his extraordinary abilities, so he didn't take these reminders seriously at all, especially considering that with so many dignitaries present, a good performance would surely bring honor to his brother-in-law.

Later, his brother-in-law would definitely praise him in private, which would make him feel proud.

“What am I doing here… I’m here mainly to find a job.” Dure pondered what Seru had just said. He thought for a moment and gave a reason. The officials around him looked rather grim, exchanging bewildered glances.

Ultimately, no one dared to utter a sound, because most people knew that Lord Dure was not someone to be trifled with. Even those who didn't know much about him before had to sit up straight after hearing some rumors.

"You just want my brother-in-law to arrange an official position for you, right?" Seru was a straightforward person, and he got straight to the point.

"Ahem." Someone nearby coughed, trying to remind Seru in this way.

“That’s true. Since arriving in the capital, I haven’t had any connections. I heard that Lord Pope has the widest network of connections, so I came to try my luck,” Dure nodded and said.

“Kid, you’ve come to the right place. It won’t work anywhere else; they can’t get things done. But it’s different here. What others can do, my brother-in-law can do. What others can’t do, my brother-in-law can do too. Do you understand?”

Seru spoke with an air of self-importance, ignoring the increasingly loud coughing nearby.

After all, a mere cough couldn't stop his ambition. Don't underestimate him just because he's a noble young master; he has ideals too!

"I see. So, in other words, as long as the price is right, there's nothing Lord Pope can't handle within Frost City, right?" Dure nodded thoughtfully and continued to ask.

“That’s right, that’s exactly it! My brother-in-law is right there, you can ask him if you don’t believe me, right?” It seemed that only at this moment did Cerule realize that his brother-in-law was sitting up there. He shouted at Pope with a smug look on his face.

"Ceru, you...you...you're really going to be the death of me! Men, throw him out of here...no, arrest him, give him twenty lashes, and then send him to the police station!" Pope's face was already extremely gloomy. He roared and ordered his men to arrest him.

"Master, this, this..." The guards of the mansion came forward and looked at each other, not knowing what to do.

Because everyone knows that this master's brother-in-law is lawless and unruly, and who can control him? If Popper said those words in a fit of anger and they actually beat up Seru, who would be held responsible if the matter were investigated?

"What are you all standing there for? If you dawdle any longer, everyone will get fifty lashes!" Pope roared.

"Lord Pop is truly fair. His own brother-in-law committed a crime, yet he only received twenty lashes, while a guard who made a mistake received fifty lashes," the Zanpu, who had always been in charge, said unexpectedly. Now that Pop had been punished, he was undoubtedly the biggest beneficiary.

"Alright, the relevant departments will investigate Seru's matter, and the responsible persons... I can say this in advance: if you can explain clearly in advance, your sentence can be reduced; if you can report any illegal activities, you can be exempted from punishment." Du Lei said this after Seru was taken away.

He completely changed from his previous timid demeanor, and his cold gaze made the surrounding officials feel uneasy. No one dared to look him in the eye.

"You have two days to confess and report anything. Starting from the moment I step out of this mansion, I will have someone set up a mailbox at the entrance of my office building. You can write down your confessions and reports in the mailbox and have someone deliver it to the mailbox. I will see it," Du Lei said after a pause.

"Office building? Lord Dure, may I ask where your office is located...?" An official sensed something unusual in Dure's words and asked cautiously.

The others also looked over, because they remembered that Du Lei had said earlier that he did not hold any official position, but now, judging from his tone, he seemed to have taken on a very important position, which made them very confused.

“That’s right, it’s my office building. Miss Winry and Miss Liana jointly invited me to serve as the Inspector General of the Snow Kingdom, but I declined. However, seeing how deplorable the atmosphere is in the Snow Kingdom now, I feel it’s necessary for me to do something for my friends…”

Dure paused here, looking again at the dozens of officials in the hall.

These are all high-ranking officials in the capital, and they all belong to the old aristocratic forces.

"What? Inspector General? Such an important position, and it's given to such a young Lord Dure?"

"And this position was jointly recommended by Miss Winry and Miss Liana? That's quite astonishing."

"Are those rumors really true? Lord Dure, he..."

Du Lei's casual remark had just been uttered when it caused an uproar.

As everyone knows, the Inspector General is responsible for the security of the entire Frost City and has the authority to mobilize the army. It is arguably one of the most important positions, and usually, this position is held by the Queen's most trusted person.

Of course, the Queen is no longer alive, and the system has been reformed into a parliamentary system.

However, the position of inspector general was not abolished; on the contrary, he enjoyed even more and more power.

Because in such a complex situation, if the person who holds military power in the capital were to start a rebellion, it could very likely affect the ownership of the entire capital and the future of the country!

"Starting today, I accept the appointment as the Chief Inspector. I will be in this position for the next six months, so please give me your guidance. Also... please submit your articles to my mailbox. I look forward to your letters."

After leaving those words, Du Lei slowly turned and left the hall.

As he walked down the corridor, he saw a group of guards pinning Seru to a stool and whipping him mercilessly.

The blows were so severe that the skin was torn open, and Seru screamed in agony.

It's possible that Seru never understood why he was beaten up.

vertex

829 Minister of Inspection

If Dure had some hesitation when he received the request from Winry and Liana, he dispelled his concerns after seeing the various problems in Frost City and chose to stay for a while. His appointment as the new Inspector General of the Snow Kingdom was also announced immediately.

Almost immediately after leaving Pope's residence, he went directly to the Inspector General's office to take up his post.

Just as Pope said before, the Inspector General is a very important official position in Frost City and even Snow Country.

The chief inspector's main responsibility is to monitor the conduct of all officials in the entire Snow Kingdom and to regulate inappropriate behavior.

This is a function similar to that of a secret agent, and historically, it was responsible only to the Queen.

The Snow Country has now been through turmoil, and the Queen no longer exists, but the Inspector General's power has not been diminished.

In particular, the Inspector General controls the Inspectorate, which is an independent armed force. Although it only has a thousand men, it is well-equipped and highly trained.

For the young people of the Snow Kingdom, the army they most dream of joining is neither the Griffin Legion nor the Silverfrost Legion.

It was the inspection team, where the most beautiful uniforms were worn, and only the elite of the elite were qualified to participate.

Since the Queen abdicated, the previous Inspector General also announced his retirement, leaving the position vacant until now, when Dure took over. As for Dure, most people in Frost City can be said to have "heard of his name but never seen him."

There are many rumors about Dure. Various theories say that he is Winry's shadow, that he manipulated Winry step by step to overthrow her own mother and carry out sweeping reforms in the Snow Country. Some also say that he has an unusual relationship with Liana.

It was because of him that Liana was able to resolve the conflict with Grant and lead the Southern Front's army in a mutiny, thus ending the civil war in the Snow Kingdom.

Regardless of which version of events is true, it is quite shocking, which makes people both curious and fearful of the new inspector general.

In the week since the newly appointed chief inspector took office, there has been little news about him. The daily reports about him are that he spends all day in his office reading books and does not handle any relevant documents. As a result, the inspection department has accumulated a mountain of documents, but he refuses to sign any of them.

This relieved the nobles and officials of Frost City. They gathered again at Lord Pope's mansion that day to discuss the matter.

"What? I thought that guy named Du Lei was a tough character. He spoke with such great momentum and high-sounding words that day. I thought he would at least put on a show, arrest a few people, and deal with them. But look at him, after several days, there's been no movement at all. This is really something."

“Look how old he is. He’s young after all, and he’s an outsider with no roots in Frost City. Do you think he can accomplish anything in Frost City? He’s dreaming. Without our support, he can’t move an inch in the capital.”

"Everyone says he has a close relationship with Miss Winry and Miss Liana. I wonder if they have that kind of relationship? Is it because of that kind of relationship that he was promoted to this important position? It's really despicable." The officials were discussing this.

They all had a very low opinion of the new chief inspector, and their conversations were full of mockery of him.

"Quiet down, quiet down, everyone quiet down. Ladies and gentlemen, a week has passed. I'm sure you've all seen the methods of that new Inspector General. I've heard the saying, 'All thunder and no rain,' but this Inspector General hasn't even made a sound. That's really disappointing." As the owner of the mansion, Pope was undoubtedly the most qualified to speak, and he said slowly and deliberately.

"Who says otherwise? He probably knows his own limitations and doesn't dare to fight us. He's just a pretty boy, not worth mentioning at all."

"Yes, the Zanpu (King) solemnly reminded me to keep a low profile recently. I did want to keep a low profile, but that Lord Dure made it impossible for me to keep a low profile. The Zanpu is really too cautious."

"Hey, where's the Tsangpo? I can't find him. Has anyone seen the Tsangpo?"

Amidst the officials' sneers, some suddenly looked around, trying to find the whereabouts of the Zanpu (Khanpu).

Since everyone knows that Zanpu and Pop are mortal enemies, using Zanpu as a target for criticism at this time will surely win over Lord Pop.

But at that moment, they were surprised to see that the seat that originally belonged to the Zanpu was empty; the Zanpu had not come.

"What? The King didn't come? Could it be that he's a coward and scared, so he's hiding far away and doesn't even dare to attend the gathering?"

“Zanpu has always been a coward, so I’m not surprised at all that he would act this way. He has no courage like Lord Pop. Lord Pop is our leader; Zanpu is far inferior.”

"Do you think anyone has been writing letters to the Department of Supervision's mailbox these past few days? It's the same one that Lord Dure mentioned before, saying he was looking forward to our letters."

After a round of laughter from the officials present, someone suddenly raised this question.

"Send a complaint letter to the Ministry of Supervision? Isn't that a betrayal of everyone? How could anyone do such a thing?"

"That's right, the one who did this is a traitor, and I will never forgive a traitor!"

The officials spoke with righteous indignation, saying that they were a united front and no one would betray their own people!

"Master, Master, something terrible has happened!" Just then, someone rushed in from outside the door.

A similar scene had occurred a week earlier, which immediately drew the attention of all the officials, who all looked over in surprise.

"What is it now? Didn't I tell you that we're having a party here and you're not allowed to disturb us?" Popper felt very embarrassed. If it had only happened once, it would have been fine, but this was the second time.

"This...this...I didn't mean to disturb your gathering, sir, but someone broke in from outside," the servant said, sounding somewhat aggrieved.

If it weren't absolutely necessary, why would he dare to interrupt Popper's party?

The last time he abruptly interrupted, he was severely reprimanded and almost fired.

He had to say all sorts of nice things to keep his job.

"Who broke in again? Could it be that guy, Dure, again?" Pope frowned.

He disliked the name "Du Lei" intensely because that guy had embarrassed him last time.

He still remembers that debt!

()

830 Two weeks

For Mr. Popper, this moment presented him with both a good thing and a bad thing.

The good thing is that the person who interrupted his gathering this time was not the new chief inspector named "Du Lei".

After receiving confirmation from the servant that the person who came was not Dure, Lord Pope finally breathed a slight sigh of relief.

Because the arrival of that kid meant nothing good was coming. Last time, he forced him to whip his brother-in-law fifty times, which left Seru with raw, bruised skin and wounds. Seru was still lying in bed. As for his wife, she blamed him for this too, for not even being able to protect his brother-in-law.

His wife was constantly nagging and wouldn't let him in the door, which made Mr. Popper feel that his life was too stifling and too humiliating!

All of this is thanks to that kid!

But after the good news was delivered, bad news followed closely behind.

This bad news was even worse than Dure's arrival at his mansion.

Because the inspection team arrived, a hundred guards from the inspection team disarmed the bodyguards inside Lord Pope's mansion and surrounded the mansion.

Although Lord Pope displayed enough courage and prestige to try to make these people understand where they came from and get them to leave.