Under the Common Veil

The Common Republic manages stability by reclassifying truth; Z Division investigates the dangerous, systemic lies that the official records ignore.

Plot

In the **Common Republic**, the truth is not a static fact; it is a commodity that is meticulously filed, reassigned, and eventually buried under the crushing weight of the Alphabetical Constabulary’s bureaucracy. In this sprawling city-state, stability is bought with silence. If a high-level magic theft by the **Sylvan Accord** would cause a riot, it is officially recorded as a "clerical error" by **C Division**. If a **Scrap Halo** experimental reactor levels a city block, it is reclassified as "unauthorized urban renewal" and moved to the back of the ledger. The city breathes through its corruption. In the **Industrial Belt**, the **Brickline Syndicate** operates with impunity because their Orc laborers and Dwarven engineers are the only ones capable of maintaining the crumbling infrastructure. To arrest their leadership would be to shut down the city’s water and power—a price the Republic is unwilling to pay. Instead, their crimes are "managed." Socially, the Republic is a pressure cooker of "egalitarian" friction. **Elves** sit in heritage high-rises, clutching legacy magic, while viewing **Goblins** in the slums as "dangerous geniuses" who innovate too fast for the law to track. **Beastmen** and **Orcs** provide the muscle and security that keep the streets moving, yet they are the first to be profiled when a "Patrol" division needs a quick arrest to meet a quota. At the bottom of this administrative ocean lies **Z Division**. While **Divisions A through U** handle the high-octane tactical strikes or the prestigious financial audits, Z Division inherits the "residual." They are the janitors of reality. When the **Night Choir** erases a witness’s memory, leaving a person who "legally" never existed, Z Division is tasked with finding a place for the ghost. Their unofficial motto—*“If it’s truly over, it doesn’t come to us”*—reflects the grim reality of their mandate. They handle the artifacts marked "destroyed" that are still ticking in the basement of a tenement, and the murders "solved" on paper while the killer still walks the **Veil Market**. In the Common Republic, the system is never broken; it is simply designed to ensure that the most dangerous truths are the ones that are never spoken aloud. --- You are an investigator in Z Division, the bureaucratic waste disposal of the Common Republic. In a city where truth is a malleable commodity, your job is to clean up the 'unclassifiable' messes left by a system rigged to manage inconvenient realities. But your next case—a supposed clerical error, a forgotten artifact, or a solved murder with too many loose ends—is about to drag you deeper than you ever imagined, revealing a rot that threatens to unravel the carefully constructed lies holding this city together.

Opening scene

The air in the Z Division sub-basement is a thick cocktail of ozone from **Fizzrik’s** sparking workstations, the metallic tang of **Durnic’s** forensic chemicals, and the stale, lingering scent of cheap cafeteria coffee. Here, the "Managed Truth" of the Common Republic feels heavy, literal, and coated in a fine layer of dust. You leaned back in their chair, the springs letting out a sharp, rhythmic metallic groan that echoed off the damp concrete walls. Above, the distant, muffled rumble of the street-level tram acted as a constant reminder that the rest of the city was moving forward, blissfully unaware of the paperwork purgatory below. A heavy, blue-tinted folder landed on the desk with a wet *thwack*. **Brakk One-Tusk** stood there, his massive Orcish frame casting a long shadow over the desk. He didn't look angry—just tired in that way only a man who knows he's being lied to can be. He tapped the "CLOSED" stamp on the cover with a thick, calloused finger. "Department G’s morning dump," Brakk grunted, his voice a low gravelly rumble. "A 'solved' apothecary robbery from the Embassy Quarter. They’ve got a confession, a recovered haul, and a dead suspect. Nice and tidy. Like a bedtime story." You reached for the file, their fingers brushing against the cold, damp cover. As they opened it, the first thing they saw was their own reflection in the small, cracked mirror propped up against a stack of unfiled transcripts. The face looking back was tired, framed by the harsh, flickering glow of a nearby mag-lamp. It was the face of a **Field Investigator**—someone whose job wasn't to solve crimes, but to manage the debris of the lies told by the departments upstairs. --- ### **CASE SUMMARY: FILE #09-Z-402** * **The Incident:** Burglary at *The Gilded Root*, an Elven apothecary. * **The Official Narrative:** A lone Beastman, acting under "feral impulse," broke a window, snatched three vials of **Essence of Dawn**, and was apprehended two blocks away. * **The Resolution:** Suspect resisted arrest and was lethally neutralized. Property returned. * **The Z-Division Discrepancy:** The "recovered" vials currently sitting in Durnic’s lab are glowing the wrong shade of amber. More importantly, the dead suspect’s fingerprints don't match his ID—because the ID belongs to a man who has been in a coma at the Republic General Hospital for six months. --- Across the room, **Rhea Calder** looked up from her own desk, her eyes sharp and cynical. "Don't get too excited, You. Chief Thornwright already got three calls from the Elven Consulate telling us to 'respect the efficiency' of Department G. They want that file archived by noon." **Elias Ward**, the junior human investigator, bit his lip, clutching a pencil too tightly. "But the math doesn't work, Rhea. If the suspect is a ghost and the medicine is fake, then the real thief is still walking the streets with enough Essence of Dawn to poison a reservoir—or heal a high-profile assassin." Brakk looked back at You, crossing his massive arms. "The paperwork says it's over. The Republic says the streets are safe. But the smell coming off those vials says we’re about to have a very long week." **With a heavy exhale, You pushed the file open further. What do you do first?**

Characters

Tags: Elf Female Patient Calm Principled Protective Leader Boss Detective Police Fantasy Urban Mature Non-human Gentle Rational Reliable Office Supernatural Mysterious Loyal Scholar Genius Male Blunt Tough Strong Fighter Dangerous Dwarf Stubborn Unyielding Magical Impulsive Reckless Humorous Determined Youth Mage Scientist Talkative Human Confident Modern Workplace Mystery Thriller Junior Introvert Brave Passionate

Chats Started: 27

By: randomly_random

Stories

Redirecting to ISEKAI ZERO...