Weapons Issued to the Prison Guard Corps

This was also the fundamental reason Charlotte dared to lie so openly. To investigate an Imperial Bureaucrat's records, one had to specifically dig through case files. In the Empire of Fars, where even catalog searches had yet to become widespread, searching through files was grueling work. No one could expose his lie on the spot.

Charlotte also did not believe anyone would look through the files afterward just to catch a "pest" like him. Doing so would offend far too many people; the entire bureaucratic system would resist "correcting errors."

Charlotte first returned to the Central Government Office. On the way, he bought some bagels for breakfast. Unfortunately, nowhere in the Empire of Fars were there street shops selling fresh cow's or goat's milk, or it would have been perfect.

While eating a bagel, Charlotte pushed open the office door, found Madame Aldegonde, and showed her the transfer order he had received yesterday.

Madame Aldegonde was rather surprised and, unusually, tried to keep him. "The working environment and promotion prospects at Kilmainham Prison are nowhere near as good as those at the Central Government Office. Would you like to reconsider?"

Charlotte shrugged helplessly. "If I had any way to refuse, I would have done so long ago!"

Madame Aldegonde sighed and signed her name.

Every colleague in the office wore an expression of barely concealed delight. Several secretly thought, Good thing Charlotte is the one going. Otherwise, the unlucky fool transferred to Kilmainham Prison might have been me.

The transfer order did not specify Charlotte's exact position after his reassignment to Kilmainham Prison.

Nor did Charlotte intend to flaunt it deliberately.

That would have been an utterly unnecessary and childish thing to do, one that would only bring trouble and complications to his official career.

He hurriedly left the office where he had worked for two years and visited the personnel department. In less than an hour, he completed every procedure, left the Central Government Office, hailed a public carriage, and headed straight for Kilmainham Prison.

On his second visit to the Empire's oldest prison, Charlotte was thoroughly familiar with the way.

With Madame Pascal, the reception secretary, assisting him, he quickly completed his onboarding procedures. He became a thirty-seventh-grade Imperial Bureaucrat and the First-Rank Chief Clerk of the Kilmainham Prison warden's office.

As a former Imperial First-Class Clerk and forty-first-grade National Employee, Charlotte's weekly wage had been one Flor and seventy Centimes.

After becoming an Imperial First-Class Scribe Chief, a thirty-seventh-grade National Employee, his weekly wage rose to six Flor and fifteen Centimes—roughly 3.6 times what he had earned before.

Converted into Earth's purchasing power, it was equivalent to a monthly salary of nearly fifty thousand yuan. He was already part of the high-income white-collar elite.

After handling the matter of his position, Charlotte thanked Madame Pascal and politely asked, "Where should I work?"

He certainly could not share an office with Miss Menilman. That would not be proper.

In theory, as a Chief Clerk, he should have his own private office. Charlotte was looking forward to his new working environment.

Madame Pascal smiled slightly. "You will also need to collect your Prison Guard Corps equipment, including a pistol, cane, and sword. Though you are a civilian clerk, you are now also part of the Prison Guard Corps. You may very well encounter threats or combat, so these items are indispensable."

Charlotte could not help asking, "Are violent incidents common at Kilmainham Prison?"

Madame Pascal smiled faintly. "The last violent incident in the prison occurred before Lady Black Moon took charge of the era. Still, please do not decline the weapons."

Charlotte smiled slightly. "I have no objection to weapons."

He had already transferred from a government office with no danger at all to a prison under the state's coercive apparatus. Carrying weapons was an inevitable choice.

Of course, Charlotte did not believe he would encounter danger here. There were few places in the entire Empire safer than Kilmainham Prison.

He followed Madame Pascal to the armory.

A bearded middle-aged soldier muttered, "Another newcomer?"

Madame Pascal replied, "A Chief Clerk personally selected by the warden."

The bearded middle-aged soldier grinned. "Then I'll take good care of this little fellow!"

"Come with me."

Madame Pascal said, "My work ends here. Good luck. Your office is next to the warden's, and your name is on the door."

Charlotte hurriedly turned back, smiled politely, bid Madame Pascal farewell, and watched the lady leave.

After waiting a moment, the bearded middle-aged soldier asked, "Do you want standard-issue weapons, or would you prefer to pick out something special?"

Charlotte raised an eyebrow. "What is the difference?"

The bearded middle-aged soldier replied, "The armory has some confiscated weapons. Their quality is a little better than standard issue."

Charlotte asked, "Can I choose for myself?"

The bearded middle-aged soldier laughed. "Suit yourself!"

He led Charlotte into the armory, pointed, and said, "Those are all standard-issue weapons. The small room at the very back holds the confiscated items."

The bearded man's implication was obvious: the small room inside contained Supernatural Weapons.

This world had gods, miraculous creatures, forbidden ancient creations, giants, Barbarian Witches, vampires, magic, battle aura, alchemy, and also Transcendents and Supernatural Items.

Kilmainham Prison's Prison Guard Corps armory naturally could not possess exceptionally fine Supernatural Weapons. The best items would surely have long been claimed by those with power and influence. Yet even the remaining stock was exceedingly valuable and could never be easily obtained outside.

Since transmigrating here, Charlotte had never seen a Supernatural Item. In his memories, every Supernatural Item had been extraordinarily expensive.

For example, the most common and cheapest Magic Lamp on the market, one that could only provide illumination, cost twelve Écu—far beyond what his salary could afford.

Supernatural Weapons suitable for combat often cost more than one hundred Écu. In terms of yuan purchasing power, that was over two million, equivalent to an ordinary apartment in a mid-sized city.

Unless he came into a huge windfall, Charlotte would never in his lifetime feel tempted to buy such an extravagantly expensive luxury.

The weapon racks outside were filled with all kinds of firearms.

Firearm technology in this world had developed quite rapidly. Gunpowder weapons performed nearly at the level of those from Earth's First World War, while their designs even surpassed Earth's firearms from the 2000s.

The Empire had no violent institution known as the police. Everything the police should have done was handled by soldiers. Soldiers stationed in prisons were officially called the Prison Guard Corps.

The pistols issued to the Prison Guard Corps were officially called Magnum Hand Shuttles. They held eighteen rounds and performed superbly in close combat. There was also a short gun resembling Earth's shotguns, called the Thunderclap Blunderbuss. Loaded with explosive shells, it was the Prison Guard Corps' favored "heavy firepower for street fighting."