Chapter 31
Chapter 31
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 31
Chapter Title: Chuni
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Gamar was stubbornly insisting on following Doyoung.
Of course, he had told her it was impossible, but the guy who would tuck in his ears and whimper at a single glare from Doyoung back on the island was throwing an even bigger tantrum now that they were out in the world.
"If I were a company man, I'd take you along even if it meant kicking myself in the shins, but civilians can't enter the base."
"I'm not a civilian. I'm a vampire."
Gamar said hurriedly. She didn't particularly like the fact that she was a vampire, but she was desperate enough to use even that.
Being separated from Doyoung for an entire day was utterly unthinkable to her.
Doyoung was dumbfounded.
"You're miscategorizing it. Anyone who's not military is a civilian."
"Major."
Just then, Captain Tao appeared.
"Are you heading in?"
"If possible, by tonight."
When Doyoung replied cynically, Captain Tao looked at Gamar and said,
"You should come along too, Ms. Gamar. There are people eager to meet you."
Doyoung gave him a puzzled look.
"This mad dog... I mean, her?"
"Yes."
At Captain Tao's response, Gamar's face lit up.
"So I get to go to the base?"
Captain Tao nodded with a smile, finding her puppy-like excitement adorable.
"Yes. We'll escort you to the base."
"Let's go!"
Worried the captain might change his mind, Gamar hurried ahead. Doyoung watched her go, then turned to Captain Tao.
"Is something up?"
"Meeting someone from the 14th century BC isn't exactly commonplace, even in today's world. Word's already spread far and wide."
He had expected some leakage since these things never stayed hidden no matter how hard you tried, but the speed was faster than anticipated.
"Aren't you coming?"
Gamar looked back and urged him on. So Doyoung walked alongside Captain Tao and asked,
"How far does this go?"
"Don't worry. We haven't crossed into the lines that usually liaise with the military. We'll hold that boundary for the time being."
Doyoung fell into thought. He didn't think those lackeys would still be chasing Gamar with the Archduke in custody, but caution was never excessive.
Just then, Torah approached from the other side, with Jain following a step behind. Spotting them, Torah asked,
"Mattie, sleep well?"
Captain Tao said to Torah,
"You should come too, Mr. Torah."
"Where to?"
"There are people eager to meet you."
Torah looked intrigued.
"Me, you say."
At that moment, Doyoung and Jain's eyes met. Doyoung acknowledged her.
"Long time no see."
"Last time was four years ago at Piccadilly Base."
Jain spoke and gave a slight bow.
"You've been through a lot."
Her tone was matter-of-fact, but it conveyed respect for Doyoung surviving that ordeal.
"Luck was on my side."
Doyoung replied nonchalantly. Seeing the two, who somehow seemed connected, Gamar started to move ahead but turned back to Torah and quickly grabbed his hand, pulling him along.
But when Torah didn't follow quickly, she looked back anxiously.
"Torah, hurry."
Torah pushed her hand away gently and said,
"Go on."
Gamar hesitated a moment before letting go and heading to Doyoung. That left Jain naturally falling back to walk with Torah.
Watching Gamar go off with Doyoung, Torah muttered,
"It's a strange feeling, sending off my Mattie."
Mattie meant mother, as he understood. Jain said,
"I hear the patroness and client aren't blood relations."
"The woman who birthed me and Lato abandoned us in the forest because we were twins and thought it unlucky. Mattie took us in and raised us. To us, she's our real Mattie."
Torah smiled as he spoke, but Jain was speechless at the sudden backstory. Instead, Torah looked at her in surprise.
"This isn't some heavy story. It's just how we met Mattie—should be a happy tale."
Jain averted her gaze and looked ahead.
"I forgot you're someone common sense doesn't apply to."
"Jain seems more level-headed than I thought. Making that face at a story like this."
"I'm not without blood or tears, you know."
Torah grinned.
"Yeah, seems like it."
Jain shot him a cold glance.
"Don't be too sure."
***
"This way."
Captain Tao said as he passed through the automatic door into the room. Gamar, Doyoung, Torah, and Jain followed in that order.
At that moment, everyone inside stood up at once. Gamar was baffled. Far more people were gathered than she expected.
They varied wildly in gender and age, with no obvious common threads at a glance. But their near-uniform suits suggested they all held high positions. And every one wore an access badge around their neck—meaning civilians cleared for base entry.
The colonel seated at the central desk pointed to a white-haired middle-aged man among them and said,
"This is Professor Henrik Sauer from Boston University's Anthropology Department. Over here is Deputy Director Marcel Aries from the Metropolitan Museum, linguist..."
Everyone the colonel introduced was a luminary in their field.
Then the colonel turned to the scholars and, pointing to the bemused Gamar, said,
"This is Gamar, daughter of the Satadi tribe."
A ripple of excitement and emotion spread through the scholars, like teenage fangirls meeting an idol.
"Let's all sit."
At the colonel's word, they took their seats.
"Ah, Ms. Gamar, this way."
As Gamar naturally followed Doyoung toward the back, the colonel pointed to the prepared seat in the center and said so. Gamar glanced at the seat, then at Doyoung.
Doyoung nodded toward it. Gamar shook her head vigorously. She couldn't throw a fit in front of the colonel like usual, so Doyoung raised one eyebrow. Gamar shrank back a bit but stood her ground stubbornly.
The scholars were all watching the scene. The colonel beckoned.
"Major, sit here too."
Suppressing the urge to curse, Doyoung sat in the chair next to the center. Only then did Gamar take the central seat.
With everyone settled, the colonel clasped his hands lightly and said,
"The Sea Peoples are shrouded in mystery. Few records or artifacts remain, but more than that, no living witnesses have survived—well, one has, but he's not cooperative with us."
Everyone knew he meant the Archduke, but no one uttered the name.
"Aside from him, Ms. Gamar is the only confirmed survivor. So we're asking a favor. Could you share what you know with these folks?"
Gamar was puzzled.
"What I know?"
"Yes. Like where you were born, the surroundings, the people, customs, that sort of thing."
"I'm not great with history."
"That's fine. Just whatever you remember. Even that would be a huge help in researching the Sea Peoples, long veiled in secrecy."
The colonel pointed to a somewhat younger Black male scholar in the center.
"And Professor Washington here wants to learn the Satadi language."
But spending time with them would cut into her time with Doyoung.
As Gamar hesitated, Captain Tao, who had been standing to the side, stepped forward.
"Colonel."
He whispered something in the colonel's ear. Doyoung looked puzzled, but Gamar, with her keen hearing, perked up her ears.
Seeing her reaction, the colonel nodded as Captain Tao withdrew, then looked back at Gamar.
"If you help, we'll grant you base access privileges. As a collaborator."
Doyoung was floored. No way they'd pull a stunt like that...
But Gamar turned to the scholar right beside her and said,
"What do you want to hear first?"
Doyoung could only look at the ceiling and swallow a sigh.
***
Through the glass, Gamar was visible chatting with the scholars to adjust schedules. Even claiming more interest in gruel, she was listening quite seriously to what they said.
"She follows you around, huh."
Doyoung glanced at the colonel who had come to stand beside him.
"Like duckling imprinting."
"Whatever the reason, turning her into an ally is what counts. Our major's as capable as ever."
"Not the most uplifting praise."
Doyoung had graduated from Saint-Cyr as a lieutenant, with the colonel as his team leader back then, so they were fairly close.
In private, Doyoung's tone toward the regimental commander was relatively casual.
The colonel glanced at Gamar through the glass.
"Cooperation from a vampire that old isn't easy to come by. The others are all so arrogant it's like they're about to snap. They think they're nobility in vampire society."
The colonel shrugged.
"No matter how many times you tell them the class system was abolished after the French Revolution, it's useless. Their blood's all dried up—no room for new info. Old fogeys are the same across species."
The colonel nodded toward Gamar and asked,
"She says no interest in enlisting?"
"She's no soldier material."
Doyoung replied firmly without looking away. Surprised, the colonel said,
"Heard her swordsmanship is incredible."
"Even so, it's the guts that couldn't kill one psycho who locked her on that island."
"That's her brother."
Doyoung looked at the colonel without hiding his disdain.
"If your brother held the detonator to a bomb that could kill hundreds, what would you do, Colonel?"
"Kill the brother."
The colonel replied calmly despite the young officer's impertinence, then shrugged.
"Soldiers are ruthless utilitarians. But in her case, it might not be weak-heartedness—could be it doesn't fit her sense of justice."
"That's why she's even less cut out for it."
Just then, Gamar finished talking with the scholars and came out.
"Doyoung!"
"I'll be going."
Doyoung saluted and left. Watching his back, the colonel muttered,
"Acts just like a husband who doesn't want to make his wife suffer."
***
As Torah entered the room, the person seated at the table stood. She was a white woman in her mid-to-late thirties, wearing silver-framed glasses.
Dressed in a high-official two-piece suit with an access badge around her neck, her hair was neatly tied in a single braid.
The woman extended her hand to Torah.
"Nice to meet you."
"This is Professor Laura Miller from Yale's History Department."
Jain, who had followed, introduced her. Torah shook the professor's hand and grinned.
"Hi."
The firm grip made the professor's cheeks flush oddly. Jain was exasperated but gestured to the table in the center of the room.
"Have a seat."
As Torah sat across from her, the professor turned on her tablet and said,
"Today's just light Q&A, so no need to be nervous..."
"Not nervous."
"Ah, right."
Torah was so poised that the professor seemed flustered instead. Thinking she needed an icebreaker—more like following protocol than necessity—she asked,
"Your braided hair is unique. Does it have special meaning?"
"Just braided it 'cause it's pretty."
Torah replied indifferently, then her vibe shifted as she smiled brightly.