Ⅴ
The sun rose as usual, and life went on.
Even Dordot Harbor, which had lived through such a harrowing ordeal, was no exception.
Of course, some changes were inevitable-
"Extra! Extra!"
"Cultists attack Dordot Harbor! Harbor District suffers heavy losses!"
"South Los Medium lends his aid! The Marquis is deeply grateful!"
"Sources reveal Harbor District Tax Collector Beiretz supplied the cultists with explosives!"
News, some true and some false, began spreading through the newsboys' cries.
Like the Count of South Los's special unit, West Berlin had a similar force, but yesterday's commotion had simply been too great.
So great that it was impossible to conceal completely.
Their only option was to downplay the incident and establish an official account as quickly as possible.
And then?
Naturally, they would bring the whole affair to a conclusion that left everyone happy.
As luck would have it, there were plenty of people who could take the blame for last night's incident.
Not just the cultists, but officials within the West Berlin Fief as well.
The latter, in particular, fit the suspicions of West Berlin's commoners perfectly.
"Those damned bastards!"
"Are they willing to throw away their lives for money?"
To divert everyone's attention completely, a local West Berlin newspaper issued a special edition at noon detailing an investigation into Harbor District Tax Collector Beiretz's assets.
When the enormous sum of 30,000 gold coins was uncovered in his home, all of Dordot Harbor rang with curses directed at the dead tax collector.
"Good riddance!"
"If that lad Chet hadn't killed him, I'd have done it myself!"
"Well done, Chet!"
In stark contrast to Beiretz stood the young man, Chet.
Having killed Beiretz, he was hailed as a hero by the people of Dordot Harbor, and several merchant associations submitted a joint petition