When the plot-skips players into the game world

Charles Drost had not been up long after rising from his bed.

While he was still eating breakfast, he suddenly heard the news of someone coming to visit.

"Who is it? Is there no appointment?"

The Minister of Commerce immediately frowned. Since his servant said "someone" was coming, it must not be one of the ministers or major merchants who often visited his home—they were familiar faces, and their names would at least be mentioned when they came to report.

This gave Drost a vague sense of unease.

—And very soon, this premonition came true.

"It's me, what's the problem?"

Before the person arrived, a hearty and loud voice carried over from afar, "Do I need an appointment to enter your house?"

The visitor paid no heed to the servant's attempts to stop them and walked straight in.

It was Grand Arbitrator Meg!

Drost immediately broke out in a cold sweat.

He didn't fear Queen Sofia because she indeed had a good temper and was a rational person... Her Majesty excelled at compromise, but she was not always compromising. She was able to stabilize chaotic situations and unite forces on the brink of falling apart. In Avalon, where tyrants were rife, she was considered a rare and enlightened monarch.

But that old lady Meg was unreasonable.

And as the Grand Arbitrator, she indeed had the power to deal with him.

Forget him being just a minister; if she was dissatisfied with the queen, she could even demand to select another king from the royal family. Of course, this was just a power she had in theory. Not only her, but previous Grand Arbitrators had hardly ever used it either.

Because Meg's power was so great, she preferred not to use it to avoid suspicion.

She didn't want people to think she could manipulate the queen or control the top power figures of the Round Table Hall... Drost knew that the old lady cared a lot about her reputation. Vanity was probably her only flaw.

As a result, Meg had not attended the Round Table Hall for a long time.

She disliked pointless wrangling. And in the Round Table Hall, it was normal for a bill to be dragged out for months, after all, they were not in a hurry.

This slow-paced life would make her itch—in Meg's style, she'd rather read the bills on the spot, force everyone to take a stand, disallow abstentions, and execute it immediately after the vote.

But of course, the others would not do that. These matters were far-reaching, impacting every individual, family, and faction differently, and were not so simple to address. Any proposal that change the status quo would please some and displease others. They needed to go through complex alliances, compromises, and concessions of interests to get it passed.

In this process, that's when they seized their chances to grab benefits.

If they were to pass bills too intuitively, maintaining fairness equally, they would ultimately offend everyone—because people always remember the bills that are disadvantageous to them more clearly than those that benefit them.

Old Lady Meg, originating from a rural civilian background and having risen all the way to the Arbitration Hall from the Supervisory Bureau system, simply didn't understand all these roundabout ways.

She was so impartial that she did not understand politics.

"Your Excellency the Grand Arbitrator..."

Drost immediately set down his cutlery, wiped his hands clean, and then respectfully got up.

But the short-statured Meg, who only reached his chest, unceremoniously patted his rotund belly and taunted, "You've become as fat as a pig, Charles. How long has it been since you last exercised?

"Do you still remember when you were a member of the team? Can you still run now?"

Charles Drost and Meg were contemporaries; both were graduates from the Royal University of Law. However, they were from different faculties, with Meg being from the Inspector's faculty, and Drost having graduated from the Legal Mage's faculty.

Fighting for their respective faculties, they had been fierce rivals on the playing field—for the overly short Meg, the once tall and strong Charles was a formidable opponent. Among the typically thin Legal Mages, who resembled poles, Charles was one of the few men who exercised regularly and possessed muscle.

And now...

His limbs' muscles were flabby, even having dark lines that looked like lightning or wrinkles. Drost's round head scarcely had any hair left, with even the temples and scalp being fleshy.

The once deep-featured and upright facial expressions now looked old, fat, and ugly. Watching him clumsily move his body, Meg almost burst into laughter. But her laughter got stuck in her throat and could not come out.

"—How have you turned into such a state?"

Meg's brow furrowed.

"It's just age, Your Excellency the Grand Arbitrator..."

Charles replied with a resigned smile, "The vitality of a body at the fourth energy level is completely different from the fifth. Moreover, I failed several times before advancing to the fourth level... I am also growing too old to keep up."

"Hmph."

Meg scoffed, "So you just let yourself become a pig? Even your brain must be clouded with pig fat! Daring to mingle with the people of Noble Red, right?"

"Ah, you can't say that..."

The Minister of Commerce hurriedly said, "Hasn't the report from the Supervisory Court already proven my innocence?"

"Sure, they say you're innocent, but I don't believe it."

Meg crossed her arms and leaned against the cabinet, scoffing coldly, "Just because the Supervisory Court's report is, it has to be accurate? I only trust my eyes and my heart. What if I don't need their report?"

"This is unreasonable..."

Drost helplessly defended himself.

He called out loudly, "Diomedes!"

His Elf Butler appeared silently at the doorway.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

"What," Meg said bluntly, "Thinking of reneging?"

"I wouldn't dare, Your Excellency the Grand Arbitrator."

With respectful deference, Diomedes bowed and said in a deep voice, "The Drost Family would never engage in battle with you, no matter what."

"You can speak on behalf of the Drost Family now?"

Meg chuckled, "Is this okay with you, Mr. Diomedes?"

Seeing neither of them utter a word in defense, she clicked her tongue, feeling somewhat bored.

She had indeed come to provoke trouble on purpose.

But they were like marshmallows, collapsing at the first punch... which made things rather uninteresting.

Not only the bastard Charles Drost, but Diomedes was caving in along with him...

"[Speak], Mr. Diomedes," Meg commanded, "Has Charles Drost ever collaborated with Noble Red?"

Diomedes's face showed a moment of struggle, but with a "hmm?" from Meg, a silver-white Ring suddenly appeared in the old elf's eyes, and he blurted out, "Yes, Mr. Drost used Secretary Raff as an intermediary to communicate with Noble Red…"

"Where did they communicate?"

"The initial contact point was at the Pelican Bar, later, after Mr. Aiwass Moriarty destroyed that place, they switched to an abandoned chemical factory in Lohar District, which was then taken down by Edward Moriarty."

"Oh."

Meg narrowed her eyes, "Is this why he targeted Aiwass?"

"I don't know."

Diomedes answered.

"Then you tell me."

Meg narrowed her eyes as she turned to look at Drost, commanding, "Reveal It All."

Her pupils reflected a silver Ring like a lunar eclipse, and as it was cast into Drost's eyes, it branded his thoughts with an invasive imprint.

Powerless against Meg's Word Spirits, he could only reveal everything, "I was just doing business, buying some contraband from Noble Red and then selling it to the people in our country who needed it…"

"What specifically? Continue, and who are your associates—your superiors?"

"Alchemical Bombs, firearms, and some alchemical raw materials…"

His complexion changed instantly as he spoke these words.

But unable to control his own mouth, he had to continue, "The person I'm in contact with now is Vice Chairman Boka of the Lohar Society. We've been friends for a long time. He was caught by Diomedes in the middle of a murder and dismemberment, so I got hold of his secret; he managed to become a judge because I had Diomedes remove his competitors…"

"Oh, so he owes you? Speak your mind."

"Yes, since then I have had control over him. He thinks we're in a partnership, but I just want to use him. Or rather, compared to Lohar, I think Boka is more suited to manage the Lohar Society. Because Lohar aims to usurp the throne, which I believe is impossible and should not be allowed to happen for that giant bastard; Boka just wants merchant privileges, which is a more feasible plan..."

"Fine, I understand," Meg nodded and said calmly, "It's quite clear now, come with me. I reckon this is enough to lock you up for a few years.

"—Or would you prefer I come and arrest you myself?"

"...No need."

The silver-white Ring in his pupils faded, and Drost said with a bitter smile.

He never imagined that he would be directly taken away by Meg.

But this wasn't supposed to happen... When had she become so aggressive in her actions?

Enjoy new chapters from empire

Not looking at the reports from the Supervisory Court, not convening an Arbitration Hall meeting, just acting on her own convictions to arrest someone... Was she out of her mind?

Or could it be...

"What are you thinking now?"

Suddenly, as he relaxed, Meg attacked again, "Speak your thoughts now."

"I'm wondering if you're about to die?"

Drost blurted out, "Normally you're dissatisfied with everyone, but since you don't understand, you choose not to touch or manage, only taking care of your own responsibilities—that is, the main affairs of the Arbitration Hall, which is to adjudicate and punish the major figures involved in cases.

"I think it's because you don't know what impact your actions will bring, so to be safe, you opt to maintain the status quo. But now you've suddenly done something drastic, those who know you should be aware that this is not your usual behavior..."

"Is it that obvious?"

Meg smiled dismissively, "Then I have underestimated you—your powers of observation aren't too bad.

"But let's not talk about that. Go to the Supervisory Bureau for a while, I'll go and talk to the King about you. Perhaps, you would like to go by yourself?"

"As commanded."

A Ring lit up in Drost's eyes as he responded.

Meanwhile, Diomedes simply remained silent, saying nothing.