Chapter 39
Chapter 39
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 39
Chapter Title: Juni
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“Eight people.”
Tora said out of the blue.
“The number of Ituha who went into the Legion with Rato. All of them came back alive. What do you think made that possible?”
The Ituha standing behind him looked almost solemn.
“That idiot probably went off and played the hero all by himself again.”
Tora said gruffly.
“That’s what Rato said the last time we heard from him.”
“Soon, Marti will be free.”
“I thought it was just wishful thinking, like he always said. But that fool tried to handle it alone.”
“…….”
As Jain said nothing, Tora extended his hand as if telling her to think about it.
“And here’s what I think. Did MCTC really not know? About Rato making contact with the Legion. Or maybe they used Rato as bait to uncover something. Catching the leader of Ituha would be quite the prize.”
Tora spoke as if it wouldn’t surprise him even if it were true.
And though neither said it aloud, they both knew the fact: Ituha had two leaders. In other words, from MCTC’s perspective, losing one to an unfortunate accident wouldn’t be a huge loss.
Tora’s eyes were cold, as if he were well aware of that fact.
“Truth is, Ituha are mercenaries, so we’re disposable pieces.”
Jain fell silent for a moment before speaking.
“So all that behavior up till now was an act.”
“I don’t think so.”
One of the Ituha spoke up quickly. The others chimed in right away.
“Absolutely not.”
“Not a chance.”
“Shut up.”
Tora told them, then took a step toward Jain.
“Sorry, but I need to search you.”
The Ituha behind him muttered.
“The captain doesn’t need to do the search himself.”
“He always leads by example in situations like this.”
Tora rolled his eyes. Then he asked Jain.
“Want someone else to do it?”
Jain clamped her lips shut before saying.
“Go ahead.”
Tora slipped his hand into Jain’s jacket. As it slid down to her waist, Jain twisted her body.
“Wait, that tickles.”
The sound of a woman as stiff as birch bark wriggling was surprisingly provocative. But Tora knew this was a ploy.
So he knew it was a ploy, but he couldn’t pull his hand away from the waist that fit perfectly in his palm. Jain’s eyes changed like an octopus shifting colors, and by the time she wrapped her arm around his neck, he hadn’t reacted at all.
“Don’t move a finger.”
Behind her, Jain flashed fierce eyes as she gestured with the hand pressing the syringe into Tora’s nape.
“You knew, didn’t you, Captain?”
The Ituha spoke in tones of utter disappointment.
“That’s the face of someone who knew and still got caught.”
With his neck still twisted to the side, Tora said.
“Look, sorry, but I can overpower you with brute force.”
“Then go ahead and try.”
Subduing her by force wouldn’t be hard, but then Jain wouldn’t trust him. She barely trusted him now, but probably even less.
“Lieutenant, I think there’s some misunderstanding.”
Tora said.
“I have no intention of breaking my contract with the government. They seem pretty wary we might defect to the Legion, but if I sided with the bad guys, Marti would kick my ass.”
Jain looked at Tora with the expression of someone who’d spotted a centipede.
“That’s your reason? Because Marti might scold you?”
“I just want to find Rato.”
His voice was earnest.
As Jain didn’t move, Tora added in a skeptical tone.
“If Rato dies because of this, I could find all sorts of reasons to break the contract with the government.”
Finally, Jain withdrew the syringe. Tora rubbed his neck as he turned around. Jain tossed him a nearby towel roughly and said.
“I can’t make that decision on my own.”
“I know. Let me talk to your lieutenant superior.”
The Ituha murmured softly.
“The captain’s got some charisma after all.”
“Live long enough, you see everything.”
Jain couldn’t hold back and shouted.
“Are all Ituha comedians or what?”
Tora shrugged, as if he’d heard that before.
“We get that a lot. But it’s kind of a squad trait. Rato’s squad is full of nothing but guys who ate the serious fruit.”
“Why doesn’t that surprise me?”
Jain shot back boldly.
***
The SAU supervisor on the other side of the screen said nothing.
[……. ]
Tora smiled faintly.
“So, is that a yes?”
The SAU director sighed.
[For now, on behalf of the military, I apologize. We had to take maximum measures for safety and security….]
Tora raised his hand.
“I’m not here for an apology. Now that we’ve shaken hands, I’m just asking for a little more trust.”
Tora looked straight at the director and said.
“Ituha doesn’t betray.”
Ituha doesn’t betray.
It was a famous line in these circles. Though mercenaries, once Ituha joined hands with someone, they never abandoned allies, turned tail, or fled. They upheld their honor even at the cost of their lives.
That was why Ituha were so highly regarded despite being mercenaries.
“For our part, we’ve entrusted Patroness’s safety to the military. Not saying use her as a hostage—that’d really piss us off—but we’ve shown that much faith, so shouldn’t you return at least a sliver of trust?”
Something undeniable had slipped by in the middle, but Tora’s smiling face made it confusing, and the director seemed to decide not to dwell on it.
[We’ll take care of it. Then, Summer Lieutenant, you’re to return….]
“I’d like the lieutenant to help me out a bit.”
Tora cut him off.
“As an SAU operative, she could be a big help.”
He flashed a friendly smile.
“Someone trusted with a kill mission on me in a pinch would be more than helpful.”
No one missed the unspoken pressure.
‘This time, he’s taking me hostage.’
Jain thought.
After ending the call with the director, Tora said.
“I didn’t think the lieutenant could act, but that was pretty natural.”
“When I think of it as a mission, I can do quite a lot.”
“How much?”
Tora asked in that low voice. Jain built her inner walls even higher. The professional misunderstanding was cleared, but seducing women was as natural as breathing for this man, and a fun game.
Jain blinked deliberately and said.
“I could inflict a lot of pain on someone.”
Tora shook his head as if he’d expected that. Jain asked.
“What now?”
“What do you mean, what?”
“So how do you plan to find Captain Rato?”
Tora and the Ituha exchanged glances.
***
Finally, after the chaos settled and she returned to her room for a shower, Jain shook out her wet hair as she left the bathroom. She sat at the table and opened a search window.
[Ituha repels SN satellite base…. 1,285 hostages rescued.]
[Warriors of Freedom.]
[Dazzling feats.]
Countless articles about Ituha popped up.
Ituha stuck strictly to military operations, so they weren’t well-known to civilians. What they wanted wasn’t fame or public recognition.
They actually avoided publicity to an extreme degree. Because they didn’t want their homeland, Satadi Island, exposed.
They shared similarities with the Peshmerga—who had aided in repelling the Islamist terrorist group IS in the past—but differed in that Ituha’s goal wasn’t independence, but solely the elimination of the Archduke.
Truth be told, the population of Satadi Island, Ituha’s base, didn’t even reach ten thousand and was steadily declining. It was inevitable in such a closed environment. So the government had long proposed opening up the island. But the Satadi tribe stubbornly refused.
They had Ituha—a military force too formidable in strength and influence to ignore—so the government couldn’t force it.
‘Up till now, I thought they just hid their existence to preserve their way of life.’
But now, she wondered if it was more about concealing the Gamal.
Ituha had kept the existence of Gamal on MCTC a tight secret too, and unwittingly, MCTC had become a shield from the outside world, allowing the Gamal to stay hidden this long.
Otherwise, Satadi Island would have been discovered ages ago. True wilderness no longer existed on Earth, and if it did, humans would itch to explore it.
Jain pulled her eyes from the screen and examined her gun. She let out a long breath and leaned back against the sofa. Exhaustion from the long day washed over her.
She must have dozed off still clutching the gun.
A presence.
Jain snapped her gun up. Tora stood at the muzzle’s end, one eyebrow raised.
“Thought you were asleep, so I was gonna move you.”
Relieved, Jain rubbed her eye with her gun hand’s thumb.
“I’m sure I locked the door.”
“What’s hard about picking that?”
Jain stared in disbelief. Tora straightened from his bow toward her and headed elsewhere.
“No answer.”
Jain narrowed her eyes.
“If you’d rung the bell, I wouldn’t have missed it.”
“Of course I didn’t. What if there was an intruder?”
Bewildered, she stared, then grew even more bewildered and asked.
“Wait, why are you opening the liquor?”
“Why else? To drink. Have some, Lieutenant.”
Tora poured from the bar and sat across the table like it was his room. Jain frowned.
“Sorry, but I’m on duty.”
“Yeah. Wasn’t expecting much.”
He took a sip. Then, with a faintly sentimental look, he said.
“Feels weird. Seeing you really trying to protect me.”
“I don’t know if it seems ridiculous to you, but I’m just doing my job.”
Tora grinned wryly.
“Why’d things get so twisted? I mean….”
Tora started to speak, shrugged one shoulder, and admitted it straightforwardly.
“You’re right. It’s not ridiculous, but spec-wise, you protecting me sounds absurd. Yet weirdly, I feel like you will. That’s what’s stranger.”
“I’m a soldier. Strictly speaking, a militia captain is a civilian.”
“Do you know how many Ituha have died in operations with MCTC?”
“That’s….”
Jain apologized readily.
“My apologies. I didn’t mean to belittle Ituha’s efforts.”
Tora chuckled. Jain just didn’t know how to hedge or gloss over things.
Tora said.
“Most Ituha are friends we’ve known since birth. At first, it was just Rato and me trying to kill the Archduke.”
“Just the two of you?”
“That miserly guy kept us from even leaving the island for Marti, so we had to make a decision. Then some bold ones jumped in saying they’d join… and suddenly we had a group.”
Tora and Rato wanted Satadi Island to be free of conflict. So after becoming vampires, they united all the island’s tribes.
Unintentionally, they became invincible war gods and tribal guardians who knew no defeat, worshipped by many young tribesmen.
And they believed. With fanatical faith that their immortal guardians would protect them. Those with such belief wouldn’t falter or retreat on the battlefield.
That was when Ituha’s legend began.
Jain, who knew this well, pondered it silently with him.
“Where did you learn our language?”
Tora suddenly switched to Satadi and asked.