Lord of Disease (JP-GL) 169

169: The Empire’s Secret Documents

The Sixth Army consisted of the assassination unit and the disinformation unit, in addition to my personal bodyguard unit.

These two units, for the most part, operated as the field operative units, conducting… various… activities in the field—that is, in the human nations.

The assassination unit was primarily composed of wraith assassins. Aside from their coordination with the Barghests, they were a very orthodox unit of assassins.

The disinformation unit, centered around the twenty-eight doppelgangers, was responsible for inciting fear, spreading optimism, and occasionally stealing information.

There was also a ‘scenario team’ in the capital, but they weren’t technically part of the Sixth Army. They were civilian officials from the royal castle who had volunteered to cooperate. Like the doppelgangers, I’d been working with them since before the Sixth Army had even existed… before I’d even been given the name Lord of Disease.

They were also the ones who had spread the name Lord of Disease, a name Liz had suggested and His Majesty had approved.

Perhaps as a consideration from His Majesty, all of the civilian collaborators were girls. And the doppelgangers were all girls.

So, I wanted to be on good terms with them… but for some reason, they were terrified of me.

And one of them, Clarion, the leader of the doppelgangers and the disinformation unit, had come to report.

She had previously disguised herself as Liz, but today, she was in the form of a dark elf I didn’t recognize, her dark brown hood pulled low. A simple hood, with openings for her long elf ears, a common sight in Listrea. Her hood and brown skin made it difficult to tell, but she looked… pale.

She, as the leader of the disinformation unit, served as a liaison, and so she wasn’t particularly afraid of me.

So, I spoke to her.

“Clarion, are you unwell? We can postpone the report.”

“No… it’s not that. It’s about what I’ve come to report…”

Her pale face and stammering made my blood run cold.

“What happened?”

Had another of my subordinates died? Or… was that about to happen?

“Yes. I’ve obtained some… secret documents… from the Perte Empire.”

“…Oh? Good news?”

“Huh? —Yes, I suppose so…”

“You looked so unwell, I thought you were bringing terrible news…”

“My apologies.”

But her face was still pale.

“What is it? Did you find some secret document that reveals the depths of human darkness?”

At my lighthearted words, Clarion lowered her eyes.

“…Wait, did I hit the mark?”

“We are… the disinformation unit. Our job is to incite fear, to cause riots… to sow chaos… or so I thought.”

“…Yes.”

It was a grim job. And for them, who were quite human, it must have been a difficult one.

But it was for the sake of all doppelgangers.

So that the oppressed would not remain oppressed.

—And they were, in fact, doing that ‘job.’ They should have been used to it.

“Clarion, what did you see?”

“Read it. And you will understand… what we saw… what we felt.”

I took the stack of high-quality white paper she offered. The embossed emblem was a stylized sun and flame, with crossed scimitars—the emblem of the Perte Empire.

The paper was of a quality that rivaled that of my own world. I’d heard that the Empire used good paper for their official documents, and it seemed to be true.

“Alright. I’ll take a look.”

I quickly skimmed the documents.

—Documents concerning the Imperial Guard?

The Imperial Guard was the strongest warrior unit in the Perte Empire.

A group of monsters, composed of dark elves, who had spent years training, rivaling the quality of Listrea’s proud Dark Knights. A testament to the fact that humans could fight the demon elite one-on-one, not just in groups.

These documents seemed to concern the training methods of the Imperial Guard.

As I read, I was drawn in.

By the depths of human darkness.

“I see.”

I tossed the documents aside and sighed, having understood the gist.

“As expected of the Empire. They’re a nation of pure rationality.”

“…You’re not surprised?”

“Hmm? I am. That they would go this far.”

“…And yet, you seem… so calm…”

“…Ah.” I nodded slightly.

It was true, I was surprised. That the humans of this world would do… this.

But… I smiled, a little cynically.

“Because I know humans… better than you do.”

I wouldn’t say I was used to it, but I knew what humans were capable of.