Chapter 19
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 19
Kinuan often took me down to the Lower District. Then, without giving me any information, he'd throw me straight into a fight.
The goal of these fights was never victory. What mattered was how efficient my combat was. Knowing my own capabilities inside and out was just the baseline. The moment I laid eyes on an enemy, I had to read everything—from the angle of their toes to the flicker of their gaze. Then I had to assess the surrounding environment and map out the most advantageous path.
Once a round of this training disguised as a brawl was over, Kinuan would stop by a certain place out of habit.
Creeeak.
I opened the door and stepped into a small mechanical workshop. A woman at a workbench looked up at Kinuan and me, then pushed her goggles up onto her forehead.
"Oh, welcome."
She greeted us, her face smudged with grease.
So this woman turned out to be a mechanic.
She was the woman I'd rescued from a gang's office not too long ago.
From what I'd gathered, she had gone missing for several months, during which she'd suffered terrible abuse. Fortunately, her mind hadn't completely broken, and she'd been able to return to her daily life as soon as her psychological therapy was finished.
"Gilda, get me a coffee. Black. Make it greasy enough that oil floats on top."
Kinuan called her by name. Gilda stopped what she was doing and stood. Without a hint of annoyance, she opened the pantry door and glanced over at me.
"What about you, Luka? Would you like some milk?"
"...I'll have coffee too. Without the oil."
If I drank milk here, Kinuan would tease me for sure. So I asked for coffee, even though I didn't even like it.
Slide.
The moment Gilda disappeared into the pantry, I turned on Kinuan.
"Is there really any need to stop by Gilda's workshop for coffee? You already asked Gabriel to check in on her from time to time anyway."
"Gilda is a woman you saved. Doesn't it make you feel a little proud, seeing her living so resiliently?"
It would be a lie to say it didn't. But I wanted to dig out the truth buried beneath Kinuan's words.
"You know Gilda, don't you, Instructor? Even if she doesn't recognize you, you've known her for a long time."
The flash of alarm on Kinuan's face lasted only a split second. He quickly buried it under a smile.
"Gilda came from an orphanage too. She had a talent for mechanical engineering from a young age, so I sponsored her education back then. She doesn't know I was her benefactor, so keep it a secret."
Kinuan pressed his index finger to his lips, urging me to silence. I couldn't peer any deeper into his thoughts. The crack in his composure had been far too brief.
Clatter.
Gilda emerged carrying a tray with two coffee cups. From one of them came the faint sizzle of oil.
"Excellent coffee," Kinuan said, lifting the oily cup to his lips.
If I drank that, it would probably burn a hole straight through my stomach. It was a drink for someone who'd replaced even their internal organs with a cybernetic prosthetic body.
I took a sip of my regular coffee. Honestly, it was bitter. Bitter enough to make me want to grimace. I could barely bring myself to take a second sip.
Slide.
Seeing me hesitate, Gilda quietly nudged a bowl of sugar cubes toward me—a considerate gesture.
"Um, I don't really have much to offer my saviors. Maybe I should have bought some cookies..."
"Cookies sound nice. Luka would like that. He's still young, after all."
"I thought as much. I'll make sure to buy some next time."
Listening to them, I gave up on chiming in. Kinuan caught my expression and chuckled, amused.
Gilda was about seven years older than me and a fairly seasoned mechanic. She said she was in her third year running her own shop.
I'd already heard the reason behind her kidnapping. She had simply been incredibly unlucky. One of her friends had run off with gang money and, of all places, crashed at Gilda's shop for a few days. Because of that, Gilda ended up abducted by the gang too.
Of course, that friend is no longer among the living.
Either way, if we hadn't rescued her, Gilda would have hit an irrecoverable rock bottom. She looked fine now, but her mind had been pushed to the very edge of collapse. Even now, she probably suffered the aftereffects. Nightmares every night, or something of the sort.
"How's business? You must have lost a lot of regulars while you were gone," Kinuan asked, taking a sip.
Gilda pointed to the prosthetic arms and legs hanging in clusters from the ceiling.
"Thanks to that, I'm taking any job I can get right now, even the ones that barely pay. Still, maintaining Gabriel's gear is pretty lucrative. He's modified himself so haphazardly there's always plenty to fix."
Gilda stole a glance at us and shut her mouth. She had questions, but she was holding them back.
She didn't know we belonged to the Imperial Guard. Nor did she pry into her saviors' identities. She was a wise woman. I felt a certain fondness for Gilda and her resilient way of living.
Gilda and Kinuan talked. I sat quietly, waiting for their conversation to wind down.
"Hm?"
Suddenly sensing a presence, I looked toward the entrance. Even before the door opened, I knew who was coming in.
Gabriel.
Gabriel pushed the door open and walked in. He flinched at the sight of me and Kinuan. To be precise, it was Kinuan who startled him.
Gabriel instinctively feared the man. He probably couldn't gauge the depth of Kinuan's strength. And he knew all too well that if Kinuan wished it, someone like him could be made to vanish without a trace.
"What's this, Gilda? Since when do you sell drinks? Get me a beer, then."
Gabriel blustered, trying to hide his surprise. Still, he chose a seat as far from Kinuan as possible.
"I'll get you one, but you're showing symptoms of nervous system overload from constant overexertion. You need to stay off drugs and alcohol."
"Are you my doctor? I don't plan on living long anyway."
"Just don't come crying to me to save you when your time actually comes. If your nervous system breaks down, you'll die in agonizing pain. It's not the kind of peaceful death where you drift off in your sleep."
Gilda spoke with a cynical edge, like someone who'd seen plenty of men like Gabriel.
Gabriel just shrugged and chugged his beer. After draining half of it in one go, he fixed his eyes on me.
"You're the one stirring up all the trouble around here lately, aren't you? What exactly are you planning? Rumors are everywhere. The bosses are starting to talk about taking action. If people of that caliber get involved, even I won't be able to protect Gilda."
In truth, his words were aimed at Kinuan. Gabriel knew perfectly well that I was only acting on Kinuan's orders.
If the gang bosses came looking for us, Gilda would be caught in the crossfire.
I glanced at Kinuan. There was no way he didn't understand what Gabriel and I already knew.
"We won't be coming back here for the time being anyway. You don't have to worry about that."
Gilda was the most surprised to hear it. I was a little taken aback myself. Kinuan had never mentioned anything like this to me.
"How long is 'for the time being'?"
"Could be a few months. Could be a few years. You both know we don't belong to the Lower District, don't you? Don't try to pry any further."
If you value your lives, that is.
Even without the words spoken aloud, Gilda and Gabriel understood well enough.
So we won't be coming to the Lower District for a while?
I couldn't venture out here on my own. Upper Command would never grant permission.
Yes—honestly, I felt a little disappointed. It seemed I'd grown somewhat attached.
Perhaps today would be the last time I saw them. Maybe that was why Kinuan lingered at Gilda's workshop longer than usual.
Idle chatter drifted on, mostly between Gabriel and Gilda. Since I couldn't speak about my own background, I stayed silent and just listened.
Gabriel and Gilda.
I was slowly beginning to understand what kind of people they were. Each of them fought in their own way to survive in this gutter.
Gilda faced her brutal reality head-on and went straight back to work even after enduring such a terrible ordeal. Gabriel constantly gambled with his life to avoid being looked down on in the world he belonged to. For them, that was the best they could do.
But they couldn't change the reality surrounding them.
They couldn't escape this place.
It was true that I possessed talent. But talent didn't mean I'd worked any less than they had. I had lived several times—perhaps dozens of times—more fiercely than Gilda and Gabriel. My achievements and my status were earned through sweat and blood.
Do not pity those at the bottom, Luka. They are not worth it.
I murmured it to myself as I drank the coffee—now with five sugar cubes dissolved into it.
Mmm. Now it was actually drinkable.
* * *
The preparations for the psychological test were complete.
When I left my quarters, the sky was overcast and still. I focused on my mental control as I walked to the Imperial Guard Captain's office.
What I project is my patterned self.
Repeat an act often enough, and it becomes real.
Steeling my mind, I entered the Captain's office. There, I disclosed everything—Instructor Kinuan's suspicious words and actions, all of it.
The Captain silently digested my report. He let out a soft, thoughtful sigh before speaking.
"...Is that the end of your report?"
"That is all, sir."
"Instructor Kinuan began his life as a cadet at a late age. By all rights, he was someone who should never have become an Imperial Guardsman. But at the time, the Empire had to embrace even impurities when necessary. It was a chaotic era, in more ways than one."
Kinuan was an anomaly within the Imperial Guard. I'd felt that keenly myself. I couldn't understand why they still left such a man alone.
There's no way Upper Command isn't aware of Kinuan's ideology and actions.
Kinuan didn't even seem inclined to hide them. He was an impurity of the Empire.
Questions rose in my throat, but I patiently swallowed them. Questioning was not a soldier's duty.
Seeing my silence, the Captain went on.
"Even I don't know exactly what kind of man Kinuan is. Ever since I was a mere greenhorn, he has operated at the very core of the Guard. I suspect he was primarily assigned to unofficial missions."
I couldn't hide my surprise. No—it was only natural to be surprised. This meant that even the Imperial Guard Captain couldn't access the information and records on Kinuan.
The Captain said no more of him. There would be no benefit in my knowing more than that. Knowing secrets was dangerous. Secrets had to be kept, and the most foolproof way to keep them was death.
"...In any case, it's true that Kinuan has taken a liking to you. We've sent cadets to him several times before, but none of them lasted long."
The phrase none of them lasted long lingered in my mind.
I wanted to ask what it meant. Was it because they lacked the talent to learn the Akies Combat Style, or did they suffer some other kind of breakdown...?
It was only speculation, but some of the cadets who had approached Kinuan might well be dead.
"Luka, if you have questions, ask. I will answer what I can."
"I only follow orders, sir."
My reply came swift, without a shred of hesitation.
I was a loyal soldier. The sword of His Majesty the Emperor, the shield of the Empire. Even ordered to leap into a pit of fire, I would not hesitate.
"You are excellent. But you are not yet perfect. In your current state, you are vulnerable to bad influences. We'll need to conduct another psychological test."
Just as I'd expected. I calmly accepted it.
Beep.
The Captain opened a holographic interface to adjust my schedule. Using his authority, he set the psychological test for this afternoon. The updated schedule flashed across my retinal display.
Once the booking was done, the Captain closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. He seemed to be juggling several headaches beyond Kinuan's matter. He hesitated a moment, lips parting, before he spoke.
"Luka, I'll be frank with you. There are only two ends for an Imperial Guard Cadet assigned to this kind of mission. Either they are silenced, or their merits are recognized and they rise to the core of the Guard. I want you to be the latter."
I was someone who could be eliminated at any moment. A loner with no background to speak of. Perfect for this kind of mission. I had no intention of resenting that. It was only natural for a soldier to be used as a tool of the Empire.
"I will simply do my part, sir. If I remain untainted even after this task is finished, I trust you will support me accordingly."
Showing this much ambition should be fine. After all, my drive and hunger for achievement always scored quite high.
"If you deliver satisfactory results, I will become your background. To be precise—I will adopt you. Luka Custoria? Hm. That doesn't sound bad at all."
I froze, my eyes going wide. It was a reward far beyond anything I'd expected. A foolish grin nearly spread across my face.
The Captain's name was Heilas Custoria.
And Custoria—it was one of the greatest noble houses in the Empire! Damn it. I was so thrilled I wanted to curse out loud. This was a transaction between the Captain and me—an opportunity earned entirely through my own strength.
I couldn't rein in my surging emotions. The Captain could surely hear the frantic pounding of my heart.
"...I've just realized that I, too, am quite the snob."
The Captain offered a quiet smile. After saluting, I stepped out of his office.