The Banquet's True Purpose
The dispatch mission banquet was held by renting out an entire ultra-luxurious restaurant in the heart of the capital. I deliberately dressed in the modern-style attire that had recently become fashionable in East Bali. It was a gaudy outfit, somewhat uncomfortable, with unnecessary frills and ornaments plastered all over it.
‘Never thought I’d actually have to wear this.’
My current position was that of “the Prime Minister’s guest.” The mysterious man who had rescued the Prime Minister when the crucial Chimera samples had nearly been returned to West Teron. I intended to make full use of that fact on this occasion.
The current situation in East Bali was extremely chaotic. A society without nobles but with politicians. After the successful revolution during the Baliteron era, the foundations of democracy had been taking shape when the nation split. During the war, the military gained immense power on both sides, but the citizens who had been transitioning from monarchy to democracy kept the military from seizing control. With no suitable ruler in place, the entire hierarchy had become completely tangled.
The fact that the Prime Minister himself had been personally transporting the Chimeras was proof enough. East Bali now needed a symbolic leader. Ironically, what they required was a hero who did not belong to the military. That made me the perfect card to play. Someone who could gain support precisely because they were not part of the military faction. Yet at the same time, even if I became a hero, I lacked the traditional legitimacy to rule directly.
The Prime Minister’s desire for my naturalization was purely political. ‘If they want to turn me into a hero, I’ll play along.’
Clip-clop—clip-clop—
“Sir. We have arrived.”
We reached the banquet hall. I handed the coachman an appropriate sum and looked up at the restaurant. A five-story building. Quite tall for this era. As I approached the entrance, large guards blocked my path. I presented the invitation I had received from the Prime Minister. After carefully examining its contents, the man nodded and stepped aside.
“Confirmed. You may enter.”
Inside, hundreds of chandeliers hanging from the ceiling greeted me. It felt like a palace made of glass. Not far from the entrance stood the person I had been looking for, welcoming the guests. I deliberately greeted him with an exaggerated gesture, loud enough for those already inside to hear.
“My dear Prime Minister! The gifts you prepared were more than I could ever deserve. Furthermore, just as you said, East Bali is a beautiful and fantastical nation. I’ve fallen completely in love with it.”
My attire and manner of speech must have made me look like someone utterly captivated by East Bali’s charm. The Prime Minister responded brightly, having already calculated how to use this situation.
“Ah, it’s you! Our hero of East Bali! I knew you would recognize this country’s beauty. Its history, traditions, and culture—there’s nothing lacking!”
The political game had already begun. I played the role of an outsider ignorant of culture despite my remarkable achievements, while the Prime Minister portrayed himself as a ruler who could enlighten me about the greatness of civilization and embrace me. After matching his rhythm for a while, I brought up the main topic.
“It felt all the more precious because it was the result of countless intellectuals’ efforts. That’s why I became even angrier! Therefore, I have a request.”
“A request?”
“After seeing the Chimera girls, I could no longer contain my boiling rage toward the barbaric West Teron. As fellow humans, how could they commit such acts so casually…? That’s why I’ve made up my mind!”
“What is it…?”
A flicker of joy appeared on the Prime Minister’s face. He seemed to anticipate that I was about to say what he had been planning to bring up himself. It was a proposal that would benefit us both.
“Please send me to West Teron…! I want to wipe out their cruel Chimera research.”
For a moment, doubt crossed the Prime Minister’s expression. He had wanted to keep me in East Bali for propaganda purposes, yet here I was suddenly asking to be sent to West Teron. However, he soon realized this did not go against his interests and asked the next question.
“Do you perhaps wish to become a hero?”
I shook my head.
“Being a hero is fine, of course. But what I truly want is a world where the Chimera victims can live safely.”
“The safety of the Chimeras…?”
The Prime Minister mulled over my words, his expression shifting from doubt to understanding. Then, as if realizing something, he spoke.
“Ah, I see! That strange phenomenon you displayed. That too must have been the result of unethical experiments. So the Chimeras? That’s it! You were one as well.”
He had taken the bait. The phenomena I had shown and my actions in rescuing Fenil and Benil—all of it had simply been part of finding the story’s protagonist, but to an outsider, it would seem like I was a Chimera born from experiments. And for such a person to want to protect the Chimeras was a perfectly natural conclusion.
Of course, he wouldn’t completely believe I was some kind of Chimera philanthropist. Politicians were all like that, weren’t they? But in the end, realizing there was nothing to lose, the Prime Minister would accept it. He closed his eyes to organize his thoughts, then nodded to himself. Smiling faintly, he said,
“Do you have some time later?”
“Of course.”
Our conversation ended there. Too many people were waiting in line to speak with him. I entered the banquet hall while the Prime Minister resumed greeting his guests. Still, I had clearly used him to imprint upon many people the image of me as a protector of the Chimeras.
‘How dull.’
I had expected a proper banquet, but the food was merely average. The development of seasonings was lacking. Civilization wasn’t limited to military power alone. Compared to the 21st century, even their cuisine was behind. I moved to a quiet corner and summoned Baengnae. Since I had dressed her in the same uncomfortable modern clothing, she started whining the moment she appeared.
“Baengnae doesn’t like this.”
But when I told her she could eat as much of the banquet food as she wanted, her expression changed completely. The banquet was in buffet style. With a happy face, Baengnae went off to hunt for food.
Chomp—chomp—
After about two hours of this, while Baengnae was devouring everything in sight, a young man approached me.
“Please follow me.”
It was the Prime Minister’s bodyguard I had seen on the train earlier. I left Baengnae to continue enjoying her meal and followed him to the garden. Baengnae knew that causing trouble would mean no more food, so she wouldn’t start any unnecessary problems.
“There he comes.”
In the garden, two people were enjoying teatime. The Prime Minister and a man I had never seen before. He had a long face and a mustache, giving off a rather fastidious impression. The moment I sat down, the mustached man spoke, his voice just loud enough for me to hear, pretending to mutter to himself.
“Suspicious…”
I replied with an incredulous expression.
“Come now, you’re the one who looks most suspicious to me. Is growing a mustache like that fashionable in East Bali?”
The Prime Minister burst into laughter at my change in tone.
“So the act at the banquet was just a performance?”
I shrugged.
“I’m not an idiot either. I was just playing along because of the occasion. Is there a problem with my request?”
“Not at all. That’s why I called this fellow. He’s the one who holds overall command of the secret police. He’s the person who can fulfill what you want.”
I looked at the unpleasant-looking man. He was glaring at me with sharp eyes, his expression clearly suspicious.
“Well, yeah. I suppose you’d find me suspicious. But does East Bali lose anything from this? We’re just each taking what benefits us, right? Why the sour face?”
At my words, he slammed the table.
Bang—
“Watch your mouth. I could throw you into the Underground Prison right now and let you rot there for life.”
I gave the man making threats a bright smile. He responded with an equally intense grin. As the atmosphere grew heated, the Prime Minister finally stepped in to mediate.
“That’s enough. Don’t be so aggressive. He only wanted to thoroughly verify you because the special team you’ll be assigned to handles highly confidential matters. No need for allies to fight each other.”
Then he asked the mustached man,
“So, do you think you can trust him with the job?”
The mustached man relaxed his eyes as if nothing had happened. It seemed this had been some kind of pressure interview from the start. With an exasperated expression, he answered.
“I’ve been through dozens of battlefields and seen all kinds of people, but he’s definitely a type I’ve never encountered before. Honestly, I still find him suspicious… but it’s also true that this kind of person is most suited for this kind of work. I’ll hire him.”
I shrugged. He had already prepared everything and was just being petty for no reason.
“Ah, right. While I’m away, Campbell will protect the Chimera twins. That won’t be a problem, will it?”
Since the Prime Minister wouldn’t bother memorizing every single secret police agent, the head of the secret police added,
“If it’s Campbell, he was a neutral fifth-grade operative. He retired after this incident.”
The Prime Minister’s face grew concerned. He looked like he thought the protection was insufficient.
“Don’t worry. I’ve already taken measures.”
“If you say so…”
I knew what the Prime Minister was worried about. His political opponents might try to kidnap the girls to sabotage his achievements. But if any such people appeared, they would all become worm food, so there was nothing to worry about.
Thus, the short teatime came to an end. I had changed my job to a secret police agent.
***
The next day, I received the position of a third-grade operative. The official order was to immediately move to the border region and join a local team of four members. Since the previous team leader had been captured in West Teron and gone missing, I was to take over their mission.
“A suicide squad.”
Campbell, who had been reading the official document, gave a brief explanation. It was a special operations unit where capable individuals with ambiguous backgrounds were selected in hopes of rapid advancement. Because the mortality rate was usually very high, they were called suicide squads among the secret police.
“Just the kind of place for people like me.”
“Still, being third-grade seems like a fairly high rank. The highest-ranking person in the field would be second-grade.”
“Does that even matter?”
“Since suicide squad members keep changing anyway, they often don’t even know each other’s faces. Rank is everything. At least it means you won’t have to take orders from other teams during missions.”
“That’s good, then.”
According to the movement route written in the document, I had to depart in just one hour. Not wasting time was fine with me, but it seemed the mustached man had deliberately made the schedule tight. A petty revenge, apparently.
‘He’s more spiteful than he looks.’
After a brief farewell with the children, I headed straight to the train station. Three transfers and I would arrive. I tucked the badge that had come with the official document into my inner pocket and closed my eyes for a moment.
‘People with ability but no background, assigned to a suicide squad where they die every day…’
I smiled pleasantly. In that case, wouldn’t it be fine to pick out a few decent ones and turn them into zombies? My gains from East Bali had just increased.