I Would Like to Express My Gratitude
I Would Like to Express My Gratitude
Late into the night, three police cars pulled roughly onto the grounds of the textile factory.
Officers who had been patrolling the city center had received a report of gunfire and mobilized urgently.
The police, dismounting almost before the vehicles had stopped, hesitated as they stared at the factory entrance.
The last one to step out, Inspector Koparo, shouted loudly as if making sure everyone could hear him.
"Here! Everyone draw your pistols! If those bastards are still inside, we might have to neutralize them!"
The officers, tense at his words, all drew their sidearms.
Their mouths went dry from the tension.
One of the rookies among them glanced sideways at Koparo and spoke.
"Inspector. Are we really going in alone? Shouldn't we request support from the Mobile Unit...?"
Koparo, annoyed by the rookie's question, turned around irritably.
"You dumb bastard. If we request support from the Mobile Unit, do you think only the Mobile Unit will come? Those reporter pricks who love spreading rumors will sense a story and swarm the place—can you handle that? If those bastards report a shootout in the city center all over the place, do we have to take the blame for all of it?"
If an incident occurred immediately after the coronation, it was obvious the Imperial Household would not be pleased.
And a shootout in the city center? That would very likely spark public safety concerns.
It was clear the responsible precinct would be put through the wringer, so Koparo was trying to resolve the matter using only patrol personnel as much as possible.
"If you want a long career in the police, shut your mouth and do what you're told. Got it?"
The rookie hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
Satisfied with the rookie's attitude, Koparo signaled for them to enter.
Those with less dispatch experience hugged the factory's outer wall and secured the perimeter, while the veterans, led by Koparo, crouched low and stepped inside the textile factory.
The officers, their footfalls echoing as they moved with pistols drawn, held their breath in the tense atmosphere.
Because a sour scent of blood was wafting from the far end of the factory.
Koparo, concealing himself among the textile machines as he approached, soon spotted a body collapsed on the floor.
A pool of blood was collecting beneath the corpse, which had a single bullet wound to the head.
He thought the killer might still be nearby and carefully searched the vicinity, but no one was visible.
Only then realizing the murderer had fled, Koparo straightened up.
'A random crime? For what? Money?'
As he walked toward the body, Koparo saw the nearby floor was charred.
Partially burned scraps of banknotes littered the spot.
'They burned the money? That means money wasn't the motive.'
As he scratched his head at the incomprehensible murder scene, the other officers gathered around him one by one.
"Inspector. The perpetrator appears to have already fled."
Koparo nodded.
"Looks that way. For now, secure the scene and be mindful of protecting the evidence. I'll report to the Senior Inspector mysel—what's that?"
A fabric dyeing machine that had been pushed aside caught Koparo's eye.
He approached it with a puzzled expression and found a set of stairs leading down below.
Koparo swallowed dryly, exchanged glances with a nearby officer, and then looked back down.
"...What a pain in the ass. What the hell is this doing in a textile factory?"
"I know, right. It's not like they built a secret space to play card games."
"Haah. I knew my luck was off today. Hey! We're going in, so everyone follow!"
Koparo, shouting loudly, descended the stairs with his pistol leading the way.
As it grew darker, an officer behind Koparo took out a flashlight and pressed the power button.
Tak─
The fan-shaped beam of light revealed an iron door located directly ahead.
Koparo reached out with a strange sense of tension, grabbed the handle, and pushed gently.
'It opens.'
Realizing it was not locked, Koparo took a deep breath and kicked the door open.
Kwang! The moment the door opened, Koparo raised his pistol and aimed.
"Police! If you don't want to die, everyone..."
He shouted with bravado, but the words died in his throat.
Because inside the vast, bunker-like basement, numerous personnel were already collapsed and motionless.
Most seemed unconscious, but a few were bleeding, apparently from gunshot wounds.
Koparo, staring at them in a daze, slowly lifted his head.
"What the hell is this..."
What he saw straight ahead was a giant map of the Imperial Capital.
To either side of it, radar screens and surveillance equipment were lined up.
Unfamiliar electronic devices were packed tightly into the space as well.
Koparo broke out in a cold sweat and, after a brief silence, opened his mouth.
"Contact the Mobile Unit. No, contact the Security Bureau. It seems we may have found an enemy spy hideout..."
"Huh? Are you sure that's okay?"
At his subordinate's question, Koparo answered with a mix of frustration and anger on his face.
"Then does this shit look like something we can handle on our level to you?"
Just from the scale alone, this was absolutely not something a local police station could handle.
*
Two days later, at General Headquarters.
Daniel Steiner's private office.
"Here is today's Imperial Daily."
As soon as he took his seat, Lucy approached and handed him the newspaper.
Daniel, taking the paper, answered with a smile.
"Thanks."
At that, Lucy bowed her head slightly and returned to her original spot.
Once he confirmed Lucy had returned to her seat, Daniel unfolded the newspaper.
He had many reasons to care about domestic public opinion, so he was checking what articles had been published.
'Let's see. Today...'
Daniel's expression took on a look of interest as he checked the front page.
【The Security Bureau Delivers! Enemy Spy Hideout Wiped Out!】
Below the article was a photo of Security Bureau police investigating a place that appeared to be the textile factory.
'The Security Bureau pulled off a feat, huh...'
From the perspective of Daniel, who had previously clashed with the Security Bureau police, it wasn't exactly a piece of news to celebrate.
'Moreover...'
Thinking that Lucy must have also seen this article made him feel oddly uncomfortable.
Lucy, after all, would have been connected to these people.
He wanted to read what she was thinking right now, but judging by that serene expression, she would never reveal her true feelings.
So, as he was needlessly trying to gauge Lucy's reaction, there was a sudden knock at the door.
"Come in."
As soon as Daniel gave permission, the door opened and Ernst appeared.
Daniel had assumed he was here to suggest another coffee in the lounge, but Ernst looked flustered for some reason.
Ernst, who seemed to be choosing his words, spoke rather cautiously.
"Listen, you. I'm asking just in case, but have you been stirring up some other trouble lately?"
"Excuse me? What are you suddenly talking about?"
"Someone from the Security Bureau came by. And not just anyone, but the Director himself. He says he wants to see you, and I have absolutely no idea why."
Why the Director of the Security Bureau? Daniel was taken aback but got up from his seat immediately.
"Where is the Director now?"
"He's waiting for you in the reception room."
"I'll go right away."
Thinking he shouldn't delay, Daniel went straight out into the corridor.
As he walked, Daniel thought seriously.
The Director of the Security Bureau was a man effectively positioned in the upper echelons of power in the capital.
Using the authority he held, making a wreck of a person was hardly a challenge for him.
Of course, that reach probably didn't extend to Daniel Steiner, but he was threatening all the same.
'Why would a man like that want to see me? Did he find out Lucy is a spy?'
If not that, it was also possible they had caught on to his previous schemes to escape the Empire.
The probability was extremely low, but if the Security Bureau had conducted a persistent investigation, it wasn't entirely impossible.
'Considering how the Security Bureau police suspected Lucy the other day, maybe he came to sound me out...'
Thinking this, a groan naturally escaped him.
Continuing to walk while assuming the worst-case scenario, Daniel arrived at the reception room located on the first floor.
When he opened the door and stepped inside, he saw the Director of the Security Bureau sitting alone, having dismissed his subordinates.
It was Otto Whitmore, the head of the State Security Bureau and in charge of wartime counterintelligence.
'I heard he comes from an influential noble family...'
If the Director of the Security Bureau was part of the Noble Union that was at odds with the Emperor and had come here to help that union, it would be a massive headache for Daniel.
Because there was absolutely no benefit in making an enemy of the Director of the Security Bureau.
"Oh."
While Daniel was racking his brain, the Director Otto raised a hand lightly.
"You've arrived! I was wondering when you'd get here."
His relaxed smile conveyed a vague sense of pressure for some reason.
"I came as soon as I got word; my apologies if I kept you waiting."
As Daniel approached closer, Otto let out a hearty laugh and shook his head.
"My words seem to have put undue pressure on you. I was simply expressing how eager I was to meet you sooner, Colonel Daniel Steiner."
Otto pointed to the sofa opposite the table.
"But more than that, shall we sit and talk?"
"That would be good."
As Daniel smiled and sat down on the sofa, Otto smiled back.
He had a middle-aged face, but its distinctive sharp lines hid the fact that he had aged.
"There are many things I'd like to ask you, but first, I want to express my gratitude. On behalf of the Security Bureau, that is."
Gratitude? What gratitude? That was rather absurd to Daniel, who had a history of obstructing investigations, not helping them.
So he stayed silent and stared, and Otto spoke in a serious tone.
"I mean clearing out the armed enemy spies at the textile factory. I hear you neutralized the enemies in a very clean and decisive manner, so much so that no evidence was left behind. Others might not know, but I know. Because I have received various reports regarding the matter."
Otto looked around once, raised his hand to his mouth, and whispered quietly.
"That it was the work of Colonel Daniel Steiner."
At the Security Bureau Director's words, Daniel was thrown into deeper confusion.
'...Me?'
Because this was the first time he had ever heard such a thing.
