24 Chapter 7. Inspector or Here Comes the Inspector!?

Here's a chapter for the power stones

***

The journey to the capital.

It was ironic, as if I had run away to get stronger and now I was returning, but I had no plans to visit my parents. Only to our little corner with Mei.

Now, thinking about it retrospectively, I can say that I could have waited until the seventh day and talked instead of running like crazy. And maybe I should apologize, but it's naive to think that she's been going there for the third year already.

I was thinking of how to pass on some kind of message to her, but I couldn't come up with anything at all. The solution was right in front of me: pass the notes to someone, and they would bring them to the meeting place. Yeah. But in practice, Master and I faced the question of who to pass them to. I have absolutely no connections there that I could even minimally trust. Master, due to his avoidance of publicity, of course, has connections, but they are too high to make someone run around with a note.

Sending a note to the general to keep? That's what it seems. I'll look for her later and probably apologize, running from the fire. These thoughts brought a smile to my face. I miss her terribly. We know each other so well that sometimes I literally predict what she would say, so her voice occasionally pops into my head.

"And this is certainly not schizophrenia!" Oh, here we go again, as if I can hear the sarcastic voice of that little sting.

Okay, of course, it doesn't pop up on its own in my head, otherwise I'd just go straight to the hospital, right next to Azula's future cell, but sometimes it's fun to insert such comments to myself.

I reached the capital literally in a couple of days. This time, knowing the way and having much more strength, I got there much faster. I didn't even have to take any long breaks.

But in the capital itself, I walked calmly, relaxed, slinging the rapier over my shoulder like a slightly whimsical stick, and contemplating life.

I slightly forgot about the idea of a second rapier over time - even handling one turned out to be not so easy, especially when the master started fighting seriously and even left a couple of scars on my body, which were now visible on my chest because of the widely open... jacket? What's it called? Why didn't I ask? Let it be a kimono, it's like the top part of the whole form of sword-benders.

So the idea of ​​taking a stick in each hand no longer occurred to me. And considering that I need the second hand for bending... well, two rapiers were absolutely stupid out of spite. Like, I want it to look cool.

I didn't have much else with me, just a small bag containing my diary with writing supplies, an air scroll, a little something for drawing things, a couple of my drawings, and money. Oh, and a little axe strapped to my waist, hidden by the kimono.

I had to walk along the main street and turn right in front of the castle to get to the headquarters. So, of course, I had to pass by my former house, which hadn't changed at all and looked exactly the same. I didn't pay much attention to it - just glanced sideways - they probably won't recognize me, but I didn't dare to risk it.

Nothing new.

But our alley with Mei surprised me... by its condition. Soot marks on the walls, two burnt stumps instead of a bench, and... apparently, Mei really didn't like the note. Oh, I'm in for it.

Quickly writing another note, I left it neatly pressed with a stone and continued on. The capital had not changed much during the time I was away. There were some innovations in technology somewhere, but they were absolutely nothing. As I said, progress here has slightly stalled, and I'm sure that if you just give it a little push, there will be such rapid industrialization over the next fifty years as in the twentieth century of my past world. But there's no one to push it right now. Unfortunately, I only have fragmentary knowledge, not a research mind, so I would be a lousy pusher. I need to find a decent mechanic and throw some ideas at him…

The headquarters was a guarded, huge, and strictly, even ceremoniously, made building. Every centimeter of it hinted that it had been polished by poor soldiers many times.

"Stop, entry is prohibited," one of the two "good guys with identical faces" who were stationed in front of the entrance with strict orders not to let anyone in, stopped me.

"I'm here to see General Lee," I said the phrase with the same pompous stone expression on my face. So that everything looked like in a cheap movie.

"It's been said, entry is prohibited," the guard didn't budge.

"I'm here to see General Lee from Master Piandao," I made my face even stricter, "and believe me, you want to let me in, or else I'll enter myself."

"Do you have any documents?" The soldiers didn't show that they were scared. And I'm sure they were scared, can't I be intimidating, right? Well... I hope so, at least.

After the question about the document, I even felt a little ashamed. There really was one, and I should have shown it at the entrance. But I just forgot. Well, screw it, the main thing is to pretend that it's all as it should be.

Taking out a piece of paper from my bag and handing it over with an expression as if all this was extremely humiliating and why "I have to," I finally managed to enter the territory. Although with an escort, who, without delaying and without letting me watch the local fresh meat's training, led me straight to the general.

After the soldier opened the door and let me in ahead of him, he followed, reporting that so-and-so had arrived, showed the letter, and left after the command.

At the sight of the office, only one word appeared in my head: state property. Solid, but such typical things around. Made qualitatively and forever, but without unnecessary refinements - what is needed for the army, and this can be said about any item around. Starting from the kettle where the general was now tiredly heating water for himself, ending with a frame with the Fire Lord.

The office of a typical hard worker who earned his rank with sweat and blood. It should be clarified right away that the difference between such General Lee and my uncle general is huge. Maybe I just never delved deeply, and there are designations like "major general" there, I don't know, but there are such "state" generals who work like bees, and there are my uncles who also work like bees, but not for the good of the country, but to sit higher and dangle their legs more powerfully.

"So you're Aki, right? Master Piandao's disciple?" He scrutinized me squinty-eyed, like goods at the market. And the eyes were seasoned, you can immediately see, the general is a seasoned one.

"Something like that," I replied, staring back with far from cow's eyes and, sprawling in the state chair opposite his desk, tossed the letter from the master onto it. I'm not his subordinate yet to straighten up at every word. General Lee carefully and thoughtfully read the letter, occasionally glancing at me.

"I see," the general chuckled, showing that he had seen through me.

But here you don't have to - impudence is innate to me, not transmitted from the master. I didn't say it out loud, but I think my grin was demonstrative and conveyed everything I wanted to say. The man grimaced as if he had eaten a lemon, but nevertheless sat in a more open posture.

"Alright, Aki, you've convinced me," the general lowered the tone of command, "it's hard to believe all the way to the end that such a recluse took someone as a disciple and they didn't run away in the first week. And what's that thing you have?"

"It's the weapon Master wanted to run away from me after some time," I flashed my teeth one last time and sat in a more decent posture, "my weapon. Specially made for me."

"Hm," the general skeptically and laconically expressed himself, "alright, I think Piandao explained to you what's what? I'll give you a captain's rank, a team, and permission to wander wherever you want, you give me honest reports on what's going on?"

"Yes, yes, I remember the agreement," I replied, "the reports will be honest and factual, because even before us with the master, rumors reached us about what kind of hell is happening in different colonies."

At this, the man grimaced for a second, as if he had eaten a lemon. Well, yeah, as I understood it, he was the most extreme in this situation, literally bent over, and thrown over a pile of crap, and it's up to him to shovel it. So the man tries, spins around.

"Now let's go, I'll show you your team," the general stood up, clapping his hands twice on the table, "and at the same time we'll see how well you've learned from the master."

"Trust, but verify?" I raised one eyebrow in Mai's style, to which the man slightly flinched for some reason. Maybe he's seen an unhappy Mai somewhere? "Let's go, let's see your seasoned soldiers."

"But here's a small snag," the man said cheerfully, letting me go ahead as we left the office and then locking the door behind us, "the seasoned soldiers in the entourage are supervised by a 'golden' evaluator. So sorry, you've been assigned on a residual basis. They literally just finished their training. Well, why did your face immediately become gloomy, if you're as good as Piandao says, you'll pick up these poor things along the way, and you'll have a formidable ba... uh, army!"

Well, I have nothing to do, to pass on the master's secrets to other people. Although I'm not sure if these secrets exist, but nevertheless, I don't plan to teach these poor things something big. Oh, what a cunning bugger. And to put a queen like me - yes, I'm humble - in command, and a team that I'll pick up myself. If you think about it, isn't it a bit too much, considering that this isn't even the main service?

But we won't express it, nor will we teach the poor things. Spar with them? Easy. Physical exercises? Elementary. Anything more? No. We'll dance to that tune.

Although, of course, now we'll see how they are in battle, maybe each one is an underestimated genius.

The general led me to the training ground behind the headquarters, where soldiers went to train from nearby barracks. Everything was as it should be: a level ground, sand, and some dummies around which people in identical red uniforms with long sticks, blades of decent size at the ends, were jumping.

Should I ask Master why he didn't even consider this as a weapon for me or not? I'll think about it later.

In any case, there were literally a couple of dozen people on the training ground now, and their... hopping around the dummy looked slightly pathetic. No, maybe in their heads they were performing really cool tricks, but with an experienced eye, I can't believe I'm saying this, it looks bad. Just bad.

"Soldiers!" the general's gruff voice rang out, "At-ease! A-tten-tion..."

It's delightful to watch as the soldiers scurried around like cockroaches in the kitchen when the light was turned on, but literally after a couple of seconds they focused, formed up in a line, and even more or less stood as they should.

"So, meet - Captain Aki," General Lee introduced me, and I took a step forward, putting my hand on the rapier, which was already attached to my belt, and smiled.

Oh, there are girls among the soldiers, because if the guys emit such a cute embarrassed "hee-hee-hee," then I won't be on the same boat with them. But it's worth taking a closer look at the uniform, and indeed: about six girls were in the lineup, poor things.

By the way, I'll mentally call them that - the "poor things" squad. Just as the general called them, let them remain.

"What, another golden boy we have to guard?" some guy grumbled, who clearly heard various things from more experienced colleagues.

I just widened my smile, making it less favorable and more anticipatory.

Hi, now for every 200 power stones there will be a chapter.

patreone com paracetam0l