Chapter 39: Ally or enemy?

Republican politics is dominated by the government faction. In the parliament building, almost 40% of the seats are occupied by members of the government faction, although it is true that people's voting rights cause them to sit in seats as representatives, the three minority fractions of course reject any form of fraud in the election of the community council.

The reason is simple. That's because all the policies of this country are mostly determined by the parliament, executive power has very clear boundaries. Members of the senate, the general assembly have more or less the same influence.

It all sounds so good when read on paper.

But the chicken eggs have been cooked into cakes. Cheating and such could only be proven by investigation, the people from the military faction actually suspected from the start that there was fraud in the election for the community council, it's just that their political power was too weak to influence that.

Carmila realized it all at some point.

Looking like an elder who likes to be casual, plays with Fingers then grabs the scroll of parchment from under his military uniform, and with that.

The central department representative Colonel Fred started talking again.

"The generals have already said it. They wanted to modernize the army, but the fact that the Republic's industry was smaller than the empire in the east, could not be used as an example of a system suitable for a Republican military. "

"So what? My subordinates have not received a single consignment of your so-called modern weapons. The logistical problems that are hampered are far more pressing than the modernization you say. "

"That's the problem, Major. Our small military budget makes it impossible to produce large quantities of weapons, but we believe that is a more important issue than logistics. The military industry in the capital is mostly owned by private companies, they give us lower prices for large production capacity, not only that, they also provide us with a recurring payment system which is advantageous with the current state of military finances."

Fred Then unfolded the parchment wide and placed it on the table. A large map with well-drawn logistic routes. All symbols for commodities, materials and also the number of personnel appear in very complete writing with a striking cross.

It looks like a red line indicating a danger or the original logistics location has been robbed.

Carmila's face then got closer, the girl then saw every red line that was there. It was a lot, the red lines that appeared in Carmila's eyes were too many to mention.

There are several paths that seem familiar when Carmila pays attention. Meanwhile, Fred then continued with a slightly changed expression.

"Logistics problems not only affect the city of Lunaria in the west, but also several vital logistics routes. Troops on the border are not getting the arms sent from the capital, this is a serious problem because we are losing valuable weaponry without an equal exchange. "

Carmila then put her hand on her chin. Looking at the map on the parchment, everything was so well-planned that it couldn't be called an ordinary robbery.

How could an ordinary bandit pull off such a big robbery? It's more like a true military sabotage. With a minimal military budget and large scale robberies in all the cities near the border, how much loss did the Republic's military suffer? Of course it can't be counted at all.

"If this is the case, the generals should know that this is tantamount to a covert declaration of war, then why do you think this issue is not too important to deal with? Why?"

Carmila didn't understand at all what the generals from the central department were thinking. Are they starting to become a bunch of morons? Or is it a sense of nationalism that has been destroyed? Which one actually happened? Carmila was thinking about it.

The girl then got a hint when Fred turned to Harold. Carmila then shook her head.

"I can't send Harold to go to the capital. He's too capable of a subordinate for me to just let go. "

"Major, the generals need the influence of the Rounder Familiy to deal with political matters in parliament. I wouldn't be naïve enough to think that all going well for the Military faction is as easy as dropping apples on your head, but we do need to at least slightly increase the military budget. "

"Asking parliament to hold a general session, is that your goal?"

"With the momentum of the presidential election, we can insert the interests of the factions there."

Even though Fred had conveyed it, it seemed like Carmila still refused to give up her subordinates. The girl then leaned back on the chair with a breath that was exhaled, thought for a while then answered.

"On the border between the Teocracy and the Kingdom, military personnel like Harold are needed for better management, I don't know what emergencies might arise at any moment without us noticing. Taking care of budget matters for the military sounds good at first glance, it's just that the central department should be able to handle it all without Harold's help."

"Yes, we do have a way, but I think this way is promising enough to try. The central department is hungry for a definite result."

It's like a puzzle, Carmila thought. The appearance of the bandits who robbed the logistics coincided with the presidential election, moreover it would be very bad if the demons were the ones who attacked the logistics.

A vulnerable military due to low budgets and the generals' focus on politics. Carmila started to feel that this was a very complicated matter for her to think about, but as a commander, she had to get a definite result no matter what.

Carmila then lowered her tone while looking at Harold.

"Harold, what do you think? "

Drawing close to Carmila then whispering in her ear, a military personnel like Harold said what he was thinking. Hearing for a while caused Carmila's shoulders to slightly raise, she then said spontaneously.

"Is that possible?"

"Sure, there's a possibility that that might actually be the case. "

Carmila's own assessment of political matters cannot be trusted. There is an unbridgeable gap between military experience and public management and public opinion.

The female commander practically needed a skilled expert. Hence Carmila turned back to Fred as her hands were on the table.

"Harold. "

"Yes, commander."

With a slow nod, Harold touched the parchment on the table to take a closer look at the map. The smooth surface of high-quality plant fibers had reached the lining of Harold's leather gloves, cold yet hard.

Harold then came to a conclusion as his eyes slightly closed. Slightly smiled while hiding the small smirk from his mouth with his right hand.

"There are two very clear possibilities that can be seen. In the first place, the organized robbery was carried out by the Demons. The demons may be aiming to weaken the Republic's military in hopes of a possible attack they are planning. An attempt at sabotage by a unit skilled in espionage, that would explain why a group that robbed logistics was stronger than an ordinary army. But this possibility is actually quite weak if we take the movement of the Teocracy into account. "

Considering the enmity between the two countries, it is very possible that the elite units of the Demon race are trying to intervene directly. Republican politics is currently in a momentum that cannot be said to be stable, between factions in parliament competing for the political supremacy they need, so the focus of the problem begins to shift.

Resources and energy to deal with invisible threats are being drained for the benefit of the bureaucrats and the social elites in the Republic. It sure was a pretty good way for the demons who were sent here to realize the shortcomings of the Republic's current system of government. All of that can lead to the conclusion that the demons have been in the Republic for a very long time so they are able to understand the prevailing system of government and interests between factions.

But Harold seemed to prefer the second possibility.

Pause for a moment then continue.

"Second possibility, the mastermind behind the robbery is the work of the elite society in the Republic. "

Carmila and Fred gasped. Like a boss who finally gets a clue from a mystery, who are some jerks who dare to trouble the military at a bad time? they would probably scream about it if they were just regular military personnel.

"Our people? Whose side are you referring to?" Fred said that with a curious looking face.

Harold then answered, the smirk on his mouth closed and his right hand moving away from his face.

"Which faction will benefit the most from this matter? All things considered, I guess it's the entrepreneur faction. By weakening the military faction, they seem to be trying to cut losses when they realize that the political influence that can be obtained from parliament is impossible for them to achieve."

"Why do you think like that?" Fred asked.

"Based on what you said. The logistical problems that befall the military can be a bargaining chip for the more expensive prices of weapons, not only weapons, the business faction might be happy when the military faction tries to start a business agreement to be able to send logistics on behalf of private companies. The pattern of robberies shows that they only attack convoys with military flags, we may have tried to impersonate convoys of can traders but somehow the muggers found out, that means they probably had access to information to find out in the reports. "

Hearing what Harold said, Fred then clicked his tongue. With a cold looking face, Fred confirmed something.

"That's right. "

"Sorry? "

"The Military faction has made a trade agreement with the Triase family company which is the leader of the business faction. According to the information I know, the Triase family will most likely hand over the logistical matters to the Burnet family, of course with the agreed benefits. "

Fred has put in the last puzzle. While Carmila was trying to contain her anger, Harold showed a wide grin for a moment before hiding it again.

"Then there it is, the Burnet family may be the perpetrators of the organized robberies to destroy our logistics. Including the mysterious hooded group that was most likely sent by the burnet family. "

Fred held his head in his right hand. As the matter escalated into an unexpected problem, that was probably the reason why the senior officer was trying to endure the pain in his head.

"This is bad. The executive within the Military Faction, some time ago began to consider the possibility of forming an alliance with the Businessmen Faction in the parliamentary seats. It would be terrible if your theory turns out to be the truth."

"Then, we just have to confirm whether the business faction is indeed the mastermind behind the robbery or not."