Chapter 14
Chapter 14
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 14
Chapter Title: White Crow Unit (3)
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After Lucas disappeared around the corner of the alley, Johann spoke in a dry voice.
"Lieutenant Decker."
"Yes, sir!"
"Keep today's events absolutely under wraps."
"To the captain..."
He pressed down on his subordinate's uncomfortable leg with an expressionless face at the hesitant reply.
"Guhhh!"
"I'll consider today's blunder nonexistent. Remember that."
Philipp nodded vigorously, his face flushed red.
Of course, he'd have to come up with a good excuse for losing his gun. Johann let him go and gently rubbed his eyes.
'Lucas Redan, just how far can you run wild?'
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "Crazy, crazy, absolutely crazy."
I glared at my slender, trembling hand. Curses poured nonstop from my mouth.
"I nearly got myself killed."
I'd pulled off an insane gamble.
After hearing from Philipp Decker about the Ossel agents who'd tortured me, I knew this was something I had to handle alone.
So I'd charged straight into that pit of danger and talked my way out like a madman.
In the end, I'd bought myself some time to live, but my mind was a tangled mess.
"Did they really fall for that kind of trick?"
I'd been half-doubting it myself, but somehow I'd walked out alive.
What was that captain thinking? It felt like there was some backstory I didn't know, leaving a bad taste in my mouth.
"And what was that about royal blood?"
Who would've thought Lucas had a secret like that!
His parents never let on a hint. They probably wanted to avoid the hassle or figured it was useless baggage in this changed world.
"Well, that's not the important part right now..."
I'd rushed straight to work without even going home first and now stared at the mirror on my desk.
My face hadn't been great to begin with, but now with the deep hollows under my eyes and massive dark circles, I looked like a dead man walking.
'Perfect. To survive anyway, I need to build up some power. How to screw over Ossel without handing myself over comes later.'
This wasn't self-delusion.
It was cold, hard survival strategy.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "What? You negotiated with Ossel? What the hell does that mean?"
Erika pressed me, barely suppressing her furious expression. Her voice was low, but the sharp edge was unmistakable.
I slurped up the coffee piled high with cream through the straw.
This Lucas bastard wasn't just a chain-smoker and boozer—he was a sugar addict too.
I'd never been big on sweets before, but ever since entering his body, stress made me crave chocolate and candy like crazy.
'Damn guy ate every unhealthy thing under the sun.'
I cursed him inwardly, but after downing the iced coffee loaded with whipped cream in seconds, my brain finally started turning.
'They've got something like an Einspänner here too. Just called cream coffee.'
As my mind wandered to useless thoughts, Erika's cold face suddenly loomed before me.
"I'm asking you a question."
"...Sorry, what'd you say?"
It was the tail end of summer, with hot sunlight pouring down.
The White Crow Unit members had gathered at an outdoor café for the weekend.
Camouflage novels lay open on the table, but no one paid them any mind.
Daniel had chosen this spot because street musicians performing nearby would drown out low voices.
I reached out and stroked Collin, who was leashed and perched quietly on my thigh, watching passersby.
"Tell me again, what exactly did you do?"
Erika spat out each word with icy precision.
"I went to them and proposed a deal. I'll fatten up the White Crow Unit nice and plump, so leave us alone for now and swallow us whole later."
"What the...!"
"Erika, calm down."
Daniel jumped in to save me.
"Sorry we couldn't tell you ahead of time. It was Lucas's solo call to negotiate, but we all agreed to it."
The "we" meant Daniel, Oscar, and Georg.
That day, Erika and Richard would've drawn suspicion by skipping university and hospital, so they had to head back first.
Oscar and Georg had their day jobs too, but they'd stuck around despite the exhaustion, saying they could run if needed. Daniel, being a freelancer, didn't care.
In that tense situation, my pushy solo decision was bound to spark backlash, as expected.
To Daniel, Oscar, and Georg—who tried to stop me, saying it was too dangerous—I'd bulldozed with, "Got any better ideas?!" and scraped by with half-hearted approval.
Even though they'd offered to come along, I'd blocked them and gone alone.
For Erika and Richard, who weren't there, this news must've hit like a thunderbolt.
"We agreed?"
Erika's eyes darkened.
"Didn't we say we'd discuss major issues with everyone and decide unanimously? We promised!"
"But Erika."
"You weren't even going to follow basic rules?"
"It was an emergency."
Daniel's excuse drew a sigh from her.
"Fine, it was an emergency. Caused by him. If he hadn't shown up..."
"If we're pointing fingers, it's my fault for rushing to recruit Lucas."
"Daniel, do you really trust him? He told Ossel to let us grow so they can eat us later? That we bought time? He calls himself a double agent, but how do we know he's really on our side? What if we don't even know what he actually said to them!"
Erika's voice was quiet, but it pinned everyone at the table in place.
I stayed out of it, watching them while scraping up the sticky cream. Before I knew it, the cup was empty.
"I trust Lucas. Sure, this whole situation's confusing to me too. But he risked his life for us. That wasn't acting. Even if it was a ploy, I don't doubt a friend I've chosen to believe in. Without that, the White Crow Unit wouldn't have survived. Hell, it might not have even formed."
His firm, conviction-filled voice stirred an unfamiliar swell of emotion in me that didn't quite fit.
Erika, meanwhile, trembled like she'd taken a shock, her eyes shaking wildly.
She clenched her fists until her knuckles whitened, then suddenly whipped her jet-black bob around toward me.
"...It's only been days since you showed up, and the White Crow Unit's already shaking. We're all getting dragged around by you.
I don't know what kind of person you are or why you're doing this. But one thing's clear: you've looked down on us and dismissed us from the start. We could tell you saw us as kids playing secret society.
So, whether you're really Ossel's frontman or whatever, even if you're not and you mean well, I can't trust you. This isn't the White Crow Unit I envisioned. I—."
She shot to her feet, blurting something out.
At that moment, a musician blasted his trumpet, swallowing her words.
But I could read her lips.
'I'm done.'
"It's over. Daniel, if he leaves, let me know. Then I'll think about coming back."
She slammed down cash for her drink and turned away without hesitation.
I quietly grabbed the hem of her blouse.
"I know it sounds far-fetched. But I swear it's true. I'll turn you all into a mighty force against Krüger. Come back anytime."
Erika's gaze back at me brimmed with sadness.
"We created the White Crow Unit."
Silence fell over the table.
Everyone looked stunned, but Richard, who'd been silent till now, set down his cup and spoke.
"I'm quitting too."
"What?! Richard, you too?"
Oscar yelped in shock, then clamped his mouth shut as passersby glanced over.
Richard wore his usual serene, lake-like expression.
"I don't dislike you."
His pale sea-blue eyes toward me felt warm.
"You're just a risk factor. I know you're capable. But you're impulsive and act alone. Erika's right. This isn't the White Crow Unit I had in mind."
"Bro!"
He ignored Georg's cry and gracefully extended his hand, shaking with the others one by one.
"It was fun. Take care."
A cool farewell.
And so the White Crow Unit lost two members.
Summer was fading.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "Ughhh, heuhuhu..."
Dark night. A creepy wail like a virgin ghost leaked out.
'What the?'
Half-asleep and heading to the bathroom down the stairs, I snapped awake and rushed to the kitchen.
Curling chestnut hair spilled messily over the rough wooden table.
Daniel.
Dead drunk, clutching a beer mug, face-planted and sobbing.
I cautiously approached and patted his back.
"What's up?"
"Heuhuhuhu... Erika and Richard left..."
"Don't take it too hard. It's not your fault."
"Of course not!"
He jerked up his tear- and snot-streaked face.
"It's not mine—it's yours! You!!"
"Yeah, fair."
I'd apologized repeatedly to the remaining members after they left, but words couldn't fix it.
"But we can't kick you out now, Lucas. Who knows what you'd do if you turned on us!"
"True enough."
I fought off sleep and listened to Daniel's drunken truths.
A while later, after crying it out, a calmer Daniel eyed me with puffy eyes.
"Persuade Erika and Richard. Bring them back."
"Yeah, we should."
"You do it."
"Me?"
"Yeah, you made them leave."
I let out a hollow laugh and scratched my head.
"Consider it your assignment as leader."
"If they come around, it'd be great."
"Fail, and I'll kill you myself."
"Sure you will."
Daniel glared, but it didn't scare me. Not a hint of killing intent.
"And... thanks, Lucas. For saving our lives."
Sincere words.
He always played the "cheerful, carefree friend" around Lucas, but his true self was serious and sensitive.
"Cut the crap. Go to bed."
I shooed Daniel off and slumped at the table.
'Does he really believe me? Or is he just naturally optimistic? Makes sense—only someone who sees the world positively could choose to stand against a dictator.'
In that light, it was downright weird that I—neither optimistic nor principled—had ended up in this group.
'How'd this happen?'
I just wanted to survive.
So I'd picked the best path in each crisis, running toward whatever kept me alive.
That'd kept me going so far, but things felt more tangled by the day.
And honestly, I was the one twisting my own fate—that was the real problem.
To survive now, I had to keep my promise to Captain Johann Werner. Even if I planned betrayal later, for now.
'And I need to win back Erika and Richard.'
We're small enough already; can't afford to lose more. Don't want to worry about external threats either.
Of course, first I need to win over the current members.
Under the dim kitchen light, I started jotting notes in my notepad.
Pondering how to grow the White Crow Unit massive.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "Taking Collin for a walk."
"You're so consistent—looks good on you, Lucas!"
When I first possessed Lucas's body, I'd resolved to improve his awful stamina with jogging.
But after feeling like I'd die, I compromised on walks. Then with Collin, it naturally became something between walking and jogging.
"Woof woof!"
As dawn receded into early morning, I leashed him up outside, and Collin got excited to run.
Smart dog that he was, he paced himself to match me.
But then I spotted someone leaning against the wall near home.
Red hair. Familiar silhouette.
"...Oscar Fischer?"
I called out hesitantly, and he waved energetically. Didn't look like some emergency had him rushing over.
"Hey! Here to keep tabs on you."
"What?"
"I still don't trust you."
He grinned brightly.
"I knew you suspected me, but surveillance?"
"Ha! What're you talking about? Look, I don't hate you or anything, and I don't blame you for all this. I believe Erika and Richard will come back once they cool off.
But that doesn't mean I know you're a good guy, right? So starting today, I'm tailing you close. That's the deal."
His almond-shaped hazel eyes gleamed with uncharacteristic seriousness.