The Road Home
The Road Home
Late at night.
'Another wasted night, huh...'
Lucy let out a sigh as she entered the park and deactivated her optical camouflage.
At that moment, Lucy was wearing a wig and civilian clothes—a disguise meant for gathering data related to the human experimentation tied to the 'Lucy Project'.
But the results had been far from good.
Over the past several weeks, she had infiltrated numerous research institutes in the imperial capital thought to be connected to human experimentation, yet she had found absolutely nothing.
'If it really wasn't the Empire that conducted the human experiments, but the Allied Nations instead...'
She couldn't get a handle on what choice she should make if that turned out to be true.
As Lucy walked with complicated feelings, she spotted a familiar figure across the street.
The man moving slowly under the streetlight was impeccably dressed in his military uniform.
At first, she thought she had mistaken someone for him, but when Lucy saw the half-lidded black eyes beneath the uniform cap, she came to a halt.
'...Daniel Steiner?'
The man was none other than Daniel Steiner—Lucy's superior and the man hailed as the Hero of the Empire.
One strange thing, though, was that his steps were sluggish and his gaze was unfocused.
On top of that, he moved about aimlessly, with none of his usual commanding presence.
'Is he drunk?'
He must have attended the banquet after the coronation, and he had clearly drunk himself into a stupor again.
She felt a mixture of irritation and worry.
After fretting for a moment, Lucy made sure no one was around and followed after Daniel.
Daniel, who had completely failed to notice Lucy tailing him, trudged over to a nearby bench and collapsed onto it as if he were falling down.
"Ah. I'm dizzy..."
Daniel, who had been muttering while clutching his forehead, suddenly started nodding off.
Watching this from behind a tree, Lucy broke into a cold sweat.
'He's going to sleep here?'
If he fell asleep outside on a cold day like today, he would catch a cold.
'Even if he doesn't catch a cold...'
The moment the citizens of the imperial capital witnessed Daniel Steiner sleeping rough, rumors would undoubtedly spread like wildfire.
In the worst case, he could be attacked and robbed, and die prematurely.
Unable to stay still any longer, Lucy decided she had no choice and approached Daniel.
At the very least, she was determined to stop him from sleeping on the street.
"Um, excuse me..."
When Lucy drew near and spoke, Daniel flinched as he sat with his head bowed.
Slowly raising his head, Daniel spotted Lucy and his expression went blank for a moment. Then he opened his mouth.
"What is a young lady doing out at such a late hour...?"
Perhaps because his judgment was clouded by alcohol, Daniel hadn't recognized the disguised Lucy.
Thinking there was no need to reveal her identity, Lucy gave a simple excuse.
"I stopped by the park because of a class assignment and lost my way. And you?"
"Looks like you're an undergraduate at a nearby university. As for me, I attended the banquet after His Majesty the Emperor's coronation, and then I couldn't refuse the deputy commander's urging and drank my fill, so..."
Daniel shrugged his shoulders once, as if to say what point was there in explaining further, and rose from his seat.
Thanks to Daniel's tall stature, Lucy had no choice but to look up at him.
"I'll escort you to the exit. It's dangerous for a woman to be walking alone."
"Ah..."
Daniel's gentle voice felt strangely awkward to Lucy.
He was generally informal in his speech, but when it came to her as his adjutant, he typically kept his tone rigid. Yet now, there was no formality at all in Daniel's words.
'I'm not sure if it's because he's drunk or because he thinks he's talking to an undergraduate...'
Thinking it wasn't a bad thing, Lucy nodded.
"I won't refuse."
Daniel smirked and started walking ahead.
"Follow me. It's not far to the exit. But..."
Watching Lucy fall in step beside him, Daniel remarked offhandedly.
"You kind of resemble my adjutant. In your vibe and the way you talk, I mean."
Lucy, briefly wondering if she'd been caught, widened her eyes and looked at Daniel.
But Daniel was only wearing a sloppy, melting smile, as if he might dissolve at any second.
'He reeks of alcohol...'
Lucy let out a dry laugh, convinced that there was no way he had actually recognized her.
"It must be your imagination."
"You think so? Actually, there's no way my adjutant would approach me as warmly as you do. That girl is seriously terrifying, let me tell you. She keeps glaring at me at every turn, so I feel like my blood is drying up."
Lucy shot Daniel a disapproving look as he spoke while scratching his head.
She didn't think very highly of Daniel for bad-mouthing his adjutant to a stranger who wasn't one.
But the next moment, Lucy had no choice but to change her mind.
"But these days, rather than scary, she sometimes seems pitiful. When I found out more, it turned out her past was incredibly dark. So, how should I put it..."
A bitter smile tugged at the corner of Daniel's mouth.
"I guess I've come to care about her."
Lucy, who had been watching Daniel from beside him, felt her lips part slightly.
Because she had never imagined that Daniel had been constantly thinking about her and looking out for her.
Feeling a vague, subtle sense of guilt, Lucy placed a hand over her chest.
She could feel her heart pounding through her fingertips.
Taking a deep breath to chase away her embarrassment, Lucy glanced sidelong at Daniel and spoke.
"W-well, anyway..."
Her voice quivered unintentionally.
Barely composing herself by coughing to clear her throat, Lucy opened her mouth once more.
"...Is work going well these days? Since you're a war hero, I imagine it must be very hard."
Work, huh. As if it could possibly be going well, Daniel shook his head.
"It's the worst. I'm giving it my best effort in my own way, but things keep getting more and more tangled up. And on top of that, there are people around me everywhere who hate me, so it's not easy. Sometimes I even wonder if I drank some kind of 'hated by everyone' potion."
Daniel was saying this with a smile, but there was no strength in his voice.
Perhaps because of his voice, the dark circles under his eyes looked even darker than usual today.
Just as she was looking at Daniel with a pang of regret, the sound of a 'peong!' came from behind her.
"...!"
Instinctively spinning her body around, Lucy thrust her hand inside her coat without a moment's hesitation.
Just as she was about to immediately draw her pistol and counterattack, Lucy froze in her tracks.
The explosive sound hadn't been an enemy attack or anything of the sort.
"Wow. Is that a fireworks display?"
Just as Daniel had said, fireworks were bursting in the sky.
Firecrackers exploding above the Great Banquet Hall of the Imperial Palace were painting the night sky in all manner of brilliant colors.
Watching Daniel's profile as he looked up at the fireworks with pure, innocent wonder, Lucy let out a sigh.
'I thought I'd been caught...'
Relieved, Lucy slipped the half-drawn pistol back into her coat pocket.
'Daniel already knows I'm an Allied Nations spy, so even if I were caught it wouldn't matter that much, but...'
If Daniel found out she had approached him in optical camouflage, it seemed like it would cause all sorts of headaches.
So for now, it was best not to reveal her identity.
'Let's act like an ordinary undergraduate.'
She glanced over at Daniel, then raised her head and looked up at the heavens embroidered with fireworks.
'If I were an ordinary undergraduate, I'd be marveling at the fireworks...'
Lucy's thoughts stopped right there.
Because she had become utterly entranced by the spectacle of fireworks soaring high into the sky and bursting apart.
To Lucy, for whom dim, dark rooms were far more familiar than the outdoors, a fireworks display—like a painting made of light—was more beautiful than anything else in the world.
Watching the fireworks like a little child, Lucy stayed until the very last firecracker burst.
"It's beautiful..."
When Lucy, who had murmured that without realizing it, turned to her side, she flinched in surprise.
Because Daniel was looking down at her with a relaxed gaze.
"Looks like this is your first time seeing them."
"...Pardon?"
"The fireworks, I mean."
It was true that it was her first time, but admitting it stung her pride for some reason.
When Lucy remained silent with her lips pressed firmly together, Daniel let out a low laugh and started walking.
"Let's go. We're almost at the exit now."
"...Understood."
Having sulked for no good reason, Lucy followed after Daniel without another word.
After walking like that for about five minutes, the two of them reached the park exit.
Maybe because he had sobered up a little by then, Daniel drew a deep breath and turned to Lucy.
"Well then, I'll be on my way. You should head back to your lodging quickly, too."
Waving his hand as if to say goodbye, Daniel walked away down the street.
Watching his retreating figure silently, Lucy felt an inexplicable sense of unease.
Because, perhaps due to the conversation she had just shared with Daniel, his back looked especially forlorn today.
Thinking she couldn't let him go like that, Lucy strode forward with brisk steps.
After catching up to Daniel, Lucy reached out her hand.
Her hand, which had hesitated briefly in the air, mustered its courage and grasped Daniel's sleeve.
Feeling that sensation, Daniel turned around, and Lucy, reddening involuntarily, opened her mouth to speak.
"Not everyone dislikes Colonel Daniel. So..."
After a short silence, Lucy kept her eyes lowered and pressed her lips tightly together.
She seemed to be very embarrassed, as the flush that had started on her face was spreading all the way to her ears.
"At least one person..."
The words did not continue.
Deciding this wouldn't do, Lucy bowed her head deeply, turned back around, and walked away.
Watching Lucy's retreating figure silently, Daniel wore an unreadable smile.
'She's clumsy. She was disguised as if she wanted me to recognize her, after all...'
He wasn't sure if that clumsiness was a meticulously planned honey trap, too, but to Daniel, it felt like an incredibly dangerous confession.
'If I hadn't known that was a honey trap...'
He might have fallen for it like a fool.