Is This the Governor?

Hodgson truly hadn't known that Vaughan, a member of the Alliance Council, was a cultist.

He hadn't had any idea beforehand.

Now that Gu Hang had laid it out, he was completely stunned.

Once he'd recovered a little, his first reaction was suspicion: had the governor made up the story about Vaughan being a cultist as an excuse to cause trouble for Revival City?

"This is an extremely serious matter, Governor. Do you have solid evidence to prove it?"

"The evidence is conclusive. Vaughan ordered the attack on the transport convoy. I wiped out the bandits at his estate and captured him. I saw that man use Storm Sorcery with my own eyes..."

"You look as if you know nothing about this, Council Chairman Hodgson. I'm very disappointed. A member of the Alliance Council has been corrupted, and you, as its chairman, had no idea. Is this negligence, or has the Alliance Council been allowing cults to spread through Revival City all along?"

Hodgson immediately denied it. "Absolutely not! We've been stepping up our efforts to crack down on cults. How could we possibly allow them to spread? I'll investigate the matter..."

Before Hodgson could finish, Gu Hang cut him off. "Investigate? What will become of Revival City while you take your time looking into it? Even a council member can be corrupted. How can I trust you to uncover anything?"

Hodgson was overwhelmed by the pressure Gu Hang was putting on him.

The completely unexpected news had caught him off guard. He hadn't prepared for anything like this, so all he could do was force himself to say, "We'll take effective measures to address this problem. We'll conduct background checks on every council member and step up our crackdown on cults throughout the city."

Gu Hang said, "I'm giving you this chance. But I must remind you that our city is facing a serious threat. I expect you to resolve this problem as soon as possible and once and for all. If I don't see you taking a more proactive approach, I'll take action myself—and hold you responsible."

Hodgson could only do his best to assure him. "We'll do everything in our power and take every necessary measure to safeguard the city. I promise we'll give you an answer."

"See that you do."

After ending the call, Hodgson's brow furrowed deeply.

He didn't want every conversation with the governor to leave him at a disadvantage.

But what could he do?

The first time, the governor had demanded supplies, using his authority to requisition a considerable amount. It wasn't so much that Revival City couldn't afford it, but it came right up against the limit of what they could pay. They'd had no choice but to grit their teeth and accept. Nobody was willing to completely alienate the governor and pick a fight over a mere shipment of supplies.

The second time, Vaughan had attacked the transport convoy on his own initiative. It had been his own decision, and Hodgson had sold him out without a second thought.

Both times, the governor had hinted that he might use his authority—or orbital bombardment from above—to apply maximum pressure and threaten them, all to obtain something. Once the conversation had reached that point, if Hodgson wanted to avoid a falling-out, he had no choice but to yield.

This third time, though, the governor hadn't made many threats or demanded anything. Yet his tone had been harsher than ever. He'd accused the Alliance Council of either negligence or treason.

He'd pinned them down with an accusation they couldn't wriggle out of.

But Hodgson had no way to refute it.

This time, the governor had the moral high ground.

The Primal Owlbear Cult was an enemy of all the many factions in the wasteland. Its members didn't worship the God-Emperor, but instead some so-called "Primal Owlbear." They wielded Storm Sorcery and had, in fact, caused numerous tragedies, destroying settlements.

How could anyone explain an Alliance council member being part of this cult?

There was no explanation that made sense!

The governor's anger was entirely justified.

Hodgson had thought he was simply selling out a greedy grain merchant. If the man wanted to oppose the governor, let him stick his neck out and make himself a target. If he died, he'd have deserved it. But he'd turned out to be a cultist—a possibility Hodgson had never anticipated.

He realized just how serious the situation was.

After hesitating for a moment, old Hodgson turned to his grandson Lambert and asked, "The governor says Vaughan is a cultist. Do you think that's possible?"

"It might be true, or it might be false." Lambert Hodgson had listened to the entire conversation between his grandfather and the governor. He gave his considered answer cautiously. "But that's not the important thing now. Since the governor used it as grounds to make an issue of this, he must have some evidence. Even if it isn't real, he'll have forged it well enough. We're truly on the back foot now."

Old Hodgson sighed at Lambert's assessment, then asked, "What do you think the governor will do next?"

Lambert weighed his words. "He might use this as an excuse to interfere further in Revival City's politics. In the name of cracking down on cults, he could strip us of our power and take control of the entire city."

"From the sound of it, you're not happy about that?"

Lambert froze.

"Grandfather?" He didn't understand why his grandfather was asking him that.

"The governor is the planetary ruler appointed by the Empire and the head of the Alliance government. If he takes complete control of Revival City, isn't that perfectly proper and only to be expected?"

Lambert knitted his brows and struggled to speak. "You... you're right, but..."

Old Hodgson brought up something else. "I remember you once said your dream was to save this world."

"...Yes. That was just foolish talk from my reckless younger days..."

"Then let me ask you this: is that dream still buried in your heart?"

Lambert didn't want to answer. "Grandfather, why are you bringing this up?"

"I told you that only a governor can save this world. I don't know whether this Governor Gu is the one, which is why I've always hesitated. The governors before him all failed. But lately, I've started thinking about one thing: how many more governors can we afford to wait for?"

"I don't understand... Are you saying you want to...?"

"No, it hasn't come to that. I just think this governor is a little different from the ones before him," old Hodgson said. "As for the matter at hand, I think you've got your priorities wrong."

"Please enlighten me."

"The priority now isn't what the governor will do next. It's what we should do. And that's simple: find out just how far the Primal Owlbear Cult has spread through Revival City, and what they're planning. That's what matters most. It's a matter of life and death. What's the point of scheming against each other? It would be absurd to defeat the governor only to have cultists destroy the city."

"I understand!"