Chapter 7: The Issued Weapons of the Prison Army

This was the fundamental reason Charlot Mecklenburg dared to lie so boldly. To investigate an Imperial bureaucrat’s background required a thorough review of records. In the Fars Empire, where catalog indexing was not yet widespread, combing through records was a laborious task. No one could expose his lie on the spot.

Charlot also didn’t believe anyone would later bother sifting through the archives just to catch a “parasite” like him. Doing so would offend far too many people; the entire bureaucratic system would resist such “corrections.”

Charlot first returned to the Central Government Office. On the way, he bought some bagels for breakfast. Unfortunately, there were no street vendors selling fresh cow or sheep’s milk anywhere in the Fars Empire. Otherwise, his breakfast would have been perfect.

As he munched on a bagel, Charlot pushed open the office door and presented the transfer order he had received the previous day to Mrs. Aldegonde.

Mrs. Aldegonde was quite surprised. She even made a rare attempt to dissuade him, saying, “The working conditions and promotion opportunities at Kilmainham Prison are nowhere near as favorable as those here at the Central Government Office. Are you sure you don’t want to reconsider?”

Charlot shrugged helplessly and replied, “If I had any way to refuse, I would’ve done so already!”

Mrs. Aldegonde sighed and signed her name on the document.

In the office, Charlot’s colleagues all had schadenfreude written across their faces. Several of them secretly thought, “Good thing it’s Charlot going. Otherwise, the unlucky person transferred to Kilmainham Prison might have been me.”

The transfer order did not specify Charlot’s exact position at Kilmainham Prison.

Charlot had no intention of bragging about it.

Such childish behavior would only cause unnecessary trouble for his career.

He quickly left the office where he had worked for two years and went to the personnel department. In less than an hour, he had completed all the necessary procedures, left the Central Government Office, hailed a public carriage, and headed straight for Kilmainham Prison.

...

Visiting the Empire’s oldest prison for the second time, Charlot navigated it with practiced ease.

With the help of Mrs. Pascal, the reception secretary, Charlot completed his onboarding process and officially became a first-class Chief Clerk in the Kilmainham Prison Warden’s Office, ranked thirty-seventh among national civil servants.

As a former first-class civil servant of the forty-first rank, Charlot’s weekly salary had been one flor and seventy centimes.

Now, as a Chief Clerk, a thirty-seventh-ranked civil servant, his weekly salary had increased to six flor and fifteen centimes—about 3.6 times his previous income.

Converted to Earth’s purchasing power, this equaled a monthly salary of nearly 50,000 yuan, placing him firmly in the high-income bracket.

After completing all his work-related formalities, Charlot thanked Mrs. Pascal and politely asked, “Where should I set up my office?”

He certainly couldn’t share an office with Miss Menielman; that would be against regulations.

As a Chief Clerk, he was supposed to have his own private office. Charlot eagerly anticipated seeing his new work environment.

Mrs. Pascal smiled faintly and said, “You still need to collect your prison guard equipment, which includes a pistol, a baton, and a sword. Although you’re a clerical staff member, you’re now part of the prison army, and you might encounter threats and combat situations. These items are essential.”

Charlot couldn’t help but ask, “Do violent incidents occur often at Kilmainham Prison?”

Mrs. Pascal smiled faintly and replied, “The last violent incident in the prison occurred long before the Lady of the Black Moon’s era. However, I urge you not to decline the weapons.”

Charlot smiled faintly and responded, “I have no intention of declining.”

Having been transferred from the relatively danger-free Central Government Office to a prison under the jurisdiction of a state’s violent apparatus, carrying weapons was an inevitability.

Of course, Charlot didn’t believe he’d face any real danger here. There were few places in the entire Empire safer than Kilmainham Prison.

He followed Mrs. Pascal to the armory.

A middle-aged man with a full beard muttered, “Another newcomer?”

Mrs. Pascal replied, “This is the Chief Clerk personally appointed by the Warden.”

The bearded man chuckled and said, “Then let’s take good care of this little fellow!”

“Follow me.”

Mrs. Pascal said, “My work here is done. Good luck. Your office is next to the Warden’s, and your name is already on the door.”

Charlot turned back quickly, offering a polite smile and bidding farewell to Mrs. Pascal. He watched her leave before turning to follow the bearded man.

The bearded man waited for a moment and then asked, “Do you want standard-issue weapons, or would you like to pick something special?”

Charlot raised an eyebrow and asked, “What’s the difference?”

The bearded man replied, “The armory contains confiscated weapons that are of slightly higher quality than the standard-issue ones.”

Charlot asked, “Can I take a look myself?”

The bearded man chuckled. “Be my guest!”

He led Charlot into the armory, pointed to a section, and said, “These are the standard-issue weapons. The small room in the back contains the confiscated items.”

The bearded man’s hint was clear: the small room held extraordinary weapons.

In this world, there were gods, mythical creatures, forbidden ancient artifacts, giants, shamans, vampires, magic, combat energy, alchemy, and supernatural beings as well as extraordinary items.

The armory of Kilmainham Prison certainly wouldn’t have the finest extraordinary weapons—those would have long been claimed by the powerful and influential. However, the remaining items were still incredibly valuable, far beyond what could be easily obtained elsewhere.

Since transmigrating to this world, Charlot had yet to see an extraordinary item. In his memory, every such item carried a prohibitive price.

For instance, the most common and least expensive magical artifact—a simple illumination lamp—cost twelve écu, far exceeding his salary.

Extraordinary weapons used in combat often cost over one hundred écu. Converted to Earth’s purchasing power, this was roughly two million yuan, equivalent to the price of a mid-tier apartment in a medium-sized city.

Without a significant windfall, Charlot would never consider purchasing such luxury items in his lifetime.

Outside, the weapon racks were filled with various firearms.

The development of firearms technology in this world was rapid. Gunpowder-based weapons had performance levels comparable to those of Earth during World War I, while their designs even surpassed Earth’s firearms from the 2000s.

The Empire had no police force as a distinct institution. All tasks typically handled by police were carried out by the military. Those stationed in prisons were officially referred to as the prison army.

The standard-issue pistol for the prison army, officially named the Magnum Mauler, had an eighteen-round capacity and excelled in close combat. There was also a shotgun-like firearm called the Thunderclap Gun, which fired explosive rounds and was a favored weapon for “close-quarters heavy firepower” among the prison army.

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