After that, Bolton ended up resigning from his commander position.
From an official standpoint, he had left of his own volition, but in actuality, he had been forced to resign. He had determined he had no choice; it was the only way to calm the people’s anger.
After he was ousted from the Guard Corps, Leobolt took up his position as the new commander, having gained the confidence of every squad sergeant besides Alma and myself. The people of the capital hailed his promotion.
That night, the Fifth and I went to a pub with Alma. We seated ourselves at a table in the far back, where we wouldn’t have to worry about other patrons listening in.
“I can’t believe Leobolt staged a coup...” Alma muttered.
“I knew he had his complaints about the commander, but I never thought he’d go after him with aggressive tactics like that,” I admitted.
He had spread the false rumors right when the capital was facing a monster attack, then had encouraged Bolton to head over to Randolph so that he could conduct a disinformation campaign while the former Commander was absent.
He had then spread word that Bolton had abandoned his duty to defend the capital in favor of his own personal affairs, and on top of that, selfishly taken a critical part of the capital’s fighting force with him—the Fifth Squadron. That way, both the citizens and the guards would be displeased with him.
After that, all Leobolt had to do was take charge of defending against the monster attack and put on a great performance, winning him instant favor with the people of the capital.
“Tch. Can’t believe we got suckered so hard. It really pisses me off,” Spinoza spat in dissatisfaction. “We were just dancin’ to his shitty tune the whole time.”
“It was a gamble on his part, though. If their defense had failed, the capital would’ve been in grave danger,” I said.
“Which means his gamble ended up paying off,” Fam chimed in.
“He likely had all the confidence in the world. It’s a fact that he fought with the strength of a thousand men out there. When it comes to raw sword skill, he surpasses everyone else in the Guard Corps.” Alma, who had fought in the battle as well, couldn’t help but praise his swordsmanship.
“Speaking of, since you stayed behind—what the hell were you doin’ the whole time, Alma? Didja just sit there on your ass and watch while Leobolt spouted all that bullshit to everyone?”
“Hmph. No, I didn’t just sit there. I tried to speak in Commander Bolton’s defense. I told them he must have had good reason for leaving—but they didn’t pay me any heed. Leobolt... That man has the citizens of the capital completely under his thumb.”
“Leobolt does seem to have enough charisma to make the people believe that anything he says must be the truth...” Fam added.
Alma nodded in agreement. “Leobolt has his whole backstory behind him: giving up his position as a privileged noble to become a hero who wields his sword in defense of the royal capital.”
“His life is basically the definition of self-imposed poverty... He even donates a portion of his guard salary to the orphanage, apparently,” Fam said. “He’s well-bred and handsome too... When a princely man like him puts so much effort into battling monsters for the sake of the commoners, it’s no wonder they see him as a hero.”
Alma nodded. “That makes sense. Leobolt is just so far off from their mental image of a noble that he’s gained tremendous support from them.”
“On the other hand, Bolton’s just your typical grubby old man. If he an’ Leobolt were competin’ based on image alone, it wouldn’t even be a contest,” Spinoza muttered in sympathy.
“Mr. Bolton is a great man,” Seira said defensively. “He was the one who welcomed me into the Guard Corps, despite having no idea where I came from. Not to mention the way he defended us during this ordeal.”
When he was being forced to resign, before Bolton had refused to consent to the terms of his resignation unless Leobolt promised to absolve the Fifth of any wrongdoing. We had just been forced along for the ride, he’d said. Thankfully, Leobolt had accepted his condition.
“Well, he was just tellin’ the truth,” Spinoza grumbled. “We only went with him because Leobolt said we should.”
“But he defended us nonetheless,” Seira said with a sigh. “I’m really worried about him.”
“Yeah...” I agreed.
Back in Randolph City, Bolton had mentioned he had felt a new motivation to throw himself into his work from then on. But then he had been forced out of his position almost immediately and ended up resigning from the Guard Corps. I couldn’t even imagine how he must have felt.
“All of us here were brought in by Bolton. I owe him a lot, myself. I wish there was something we could do for him...” I mused.
“That wouldn’t be an easy task right now—Leobolt has too much influence. Any accusations we make wouldn’t have any effect against someone with so much charisma,” Fam explained. “I think we should monitor the situation for a while. We also have the option of using his own tactic against him: spreading bad publicity.”
“Information warfare, huh...” I rubbed my chin.
“I’m quite good at those types of operations, after all.”
“While I am worried about Bolton, I’m also concerned for the future of the Guard Corps,” Alma chimed back in.
“Huh? What’s that supposed to mean?” Spinoza asked.
“The reason Leobolt revolted was because he had issues with how Bolton was running things. That makes me think we’re going to see some big policy changes from what we had in the Bolton era,” Alma said with concern. “I’ve mentioned this before, but Leobolt has a tendency to stay a little too much on the straight and narrow—worryingly so. He lives too much by his ideals.”
“Good point,” I agreed.
“Though a lot of people are attracted to that idea, as well,” Alma added.
“The Ninth Squadron is a good example of that,” Fam pointed out. “They basically worship Leobolt, to the point where it even creeps me out a little bit.”
“So it’s possible that the entire Guard Corps might fall under his spell,” I muttered.
Alma nodded. “Up until recently, he was only a squad sergeant, so everything stayed under control. But now that he’s seized power as Commander, I’m worried his ideals will run rampant.”