The Role of the Security Bureau
The Role of the Security Bureau
After his audience with Emperor Selvia ended, Daniel returned to the Central Security Office in triumph.
He came back wearing the White Dragon Medal of Military Merit and holding the position of Emergency Security Chief, so everyone in the Central Security Office had no choice but to bow their heads to Daniel Steiner.
Among them, the Chief of Public Security — effectively the second-in-command of the Central Security Office — flattered Daniel by calling it 'a monumental day when a new order is established in the Empire,' but it earned no favorable reaction.
Because at the moment when a long-awaited opportunity for discharge had slipped through his fingers, frustration was piled high in Daniel's heart.
Thanks to that, in full view of everyone in the Central Security Office, Daniel rebuked the Chief of Public Security, telling him, 'If you have time to flatter me, devote your best efforts to stabilizing the Empire's security level.'
The Chief of Public Security, his face gone ashen wondering if he had done something wrong, bowed his waist with an apology, and Daniel, seeing that, clicked his tongue once and entered the temporary office.
And now.
Seated in his chair, Daniel was sinking into the leather-upholstered seat, lamenting life and letting out groans of pessimism.
"Why did things turn out like this...?"
At Daniel's muttering, Lucy, who was sitting at a nearby desk handling work, perked up her ears.
Stopping what she was doing, Lucy raised her head and looked toward Daniel, a question mark floating above her head.
A man who had clearly seemed cheerful enough to be humming a tune when he left the Central Security Office was now slumped over like a dried fish the moment he returned from the Imperial Palace.
'What could the reason be?'
By receiving the White Dragon Medal of Military Merit and seizing the seat of Emergency Security Chief, Daniel Steiner had now risen, albeit temporarily, to a position where he could wield power comparable to the Emperor's.
Yet he was wearing a sorrowful expression like a puppy drenched in rain, which puzzled her.
Tilting her head in incomprehension, Lucy opened her mouth.
"Colonel Daniel. Did something happen at the Imperial Palace?"
At Lucy's question, Daniel surfaced from his rumination.
Turning his chair slightly to look at Lucy, Daniel offered a faint smile.
"...My apologies for making you worry. It wasn't exactly pleasant, but nothing my adjutant needs to concern herself with."
To be precise, he simply couldn't reveal his inner desire to be discharged.
"I'm fine, so focus on your duties."
He had politely deflected by saying he wasn't in the mood to talk and to pay him no mind, but Lucy did not turn her head away.
She merely stared at him, her red eyes gleaming as if suspicious of something.
When their gazes met, a cold sweat inexplicably trickled down his spine.
Thinking he needed to change the subject, Daniel let out a dry cough.
"More than that, Adjutant. Do you remember when we fought Johannes, the former Imperial Guard Captain?"
Lucy's red eyes blinked with innocent naivety.
"Yes. I remember."
"At that time, you seemed quite angry. What exactly did you discuss with Johannes?"
"Ah. That was..."
Lucy remembered the past.
The time she had entered the Heavenly Gate Hall alone, saying she would persuade Imperial Guard Captain Johannes.
Johannes, who had been blocking the exit of the Heavenly Gate Hall, answered Lucy's demand to surrender with a sneer.
Telling her not to run her mouth recklessly when she was nothing but a dog raised by Daniel Steiner.
Her pride wounded whether consciously or not, Lucy had retorted that 'the relationship between Daniel Steiner and I is equal as human beings.'
Johannes, noticing that Lucy was emotionally shaken, had asked her on what grounds she thought they were equal.
At the time, Lucy listed the memories she had shared with Daniel, and hearing that, Johannes had posed the question, 'Are you and Daniel Steiner lovers?'
Because it was a question she couldn't affirm, Lucy shook her head, and in response, Johannes let out a low laugh.
The words Johannes left at the end of his laughter remained unforgotten even now.
─ Then Daniel Steiner is simply toying with you. It is truly pitiful. You still haven't realized you are nothing more than a plaything.
Nothing was easier than dealing with an opponent whose emotions had been disturbed.
Johannes had deliberately sneered to target that, and although Lucy knew that as well, the violence conveyed by words was not something easily dispelled just by knowing the ulterior motive.
That was why she had gotten angry, and why she had exerted her skills a little more than usual to subdue Johannes.
Ending her recollection, Lucy, after a brief deliberation, opened her mouth.
"Colonel Daniel. To you, what kind of existence am I?"
As a result, Daniel couldn't help but feel flustered.
He had asked what she discussed with Johannes, and suddenly a strange question popped out.
He wondered if she was joking, but her expression was so utterly serious that he couldn't easily brush it off.
Just as he was wondering how to answer, a knock came at the door.
"Is Colonel Daniel here? This is Security Bureau Chief Otto Whitmore. If it's no intrusion, I'd like to have a word."
At the voice coming from beyond the door, both their gazes naturally turned away.
Thinking she had asked a rash question swept up in the flow of memories, Lucy let out a dry cough and rose from her seat.
"...Should I open the door?"
Daniel nodded.
If it was Otto Whitmore, he had already been thinking of seeing his face anyway.
When Lucy opened the door, Otto, immaculately dressed in his navy-blue police uniform, revealed himself.
Wearing his usual leisurely smile, Otto took off his hat and greeted Daniel.
"It has been a while. Your face looks far more seasoned than when I saw you last. Ah, yes. Congratulations on taking the seat of Chief of Public Security."
Daniel, who had risen from his seat, lightly accepted the greeting.
"It is a temporary position, but thank you. You also seem to have grown younger since we last met, Director of the Security Bureau. It's hard to believe you're middle-aged."
"Oh my. Please don't say such things. What use is it for someone far younger than me to compliment my youth? Though it does make me feel good..."
While Otto let out a low laugh, Lucy naturally brought over a guest chair and placed it in front of Daniel's desk.
Paying not even a glance to Lucy, Otto approached Daniel and extended his hand.
"I'm not sure if you'll believe me, but I knew Colonel Daniel would accomplish great things. Might you remember the conversation you had with me before?"
"Ah. I remember. You subtly informed me that Duke Belvar was scheming something. I owe you a great debt. Before we discuss that, shall we sit?"
Otto nodded and took his seat, and Daniel sat down belatedly.
As they faced each other, Otto smiled a sly smile and opened his mouth.
"Since you called it a debt, I feel the conversation will flow easier. The Security Bureau intends to cooperate with Colonel Daniel Steiner with full force moving forward. His Majesty the Emperor has also ordered that the capital must be urgently stabilized, after all."
"I see. If the Security Bureau cooperates, things will be much easier. However, there's one thing I feel we should address. What is the role of the Security Bureau?"
What was his intention? Unable to grasp the context, Otto answered without a word of complaint.
"If you mean the role of the Security Bureau, the representative one would be counterintelligence."
"Counterintelligence, you say. Forgive my ignorance, but could you explain exactly what counterintelligence means?"
Otto's brow furrowed subtly.
Because he couldn't understand why Daniel was asking this question when there was no way he didn't know what counterintelligence meant.
However, unlike the bewildered Otto, Daniel merely asked again with an unconcerned face.
"Was my question difficult?"
Swallowing dryly, Otto shook his head.
"Not at all. Hmm. To explain simply, activities aimed at preventing the Empire's secrets from being leaked to external parties could be called counterintelligence."
"Preventing the leak of secrets. Then it must also be the role of the Security Bureau to arrest collaborators who transmit the Empire's military information to the Allied Nations."
The smile vanished from Otto's lips.
Because he realized the warm atmosphere was reversing.
Watching Daniel warily, Otto nodded amidst an indescribable sense of dissonance.
"...You could say that."
Confirming the tension seeping into Otto's face, Daniel curled his lips into a smile.
"Don't think my questions are too strange. I am merely trying to confirm the facts. The story might get a little long, so would you like something to drink?"
"......."
"Hmm. If you have no particular preference, I'll prepare coffee. My adjutant brews a delicious cup, so you can look forward to it. Adjutant! Bring two cups of coffee here!"
Lucy, who nodded, stepped back and exited the office.
Right after the sound of Lucy closing the door echoed clearly, Daniel shrugged his shoulders once.
"Let's continue the questions while the coffee is on its way. Where were we. Ah! We were talking about how arresting collaborators is also the role of the Security Bureau."
Daniel picked up a document and opened it.
The document roughly outlined what kind of information Duke Belvar had transmitted to the Allied Nations.
"As I understand it, Duke Belvar is the ringleader of the collaborators. Because he intentionally tried to annihilate the 7th Armored Division by transmitting our military's information to the Allied Nations. If I've understood correctly, that makes him a target for arrest by the Security Bureau as well."
"Colonel Daniel..."
"Of course, if we assume you didn't know Duke Belvar was a collaborator, a certain amount of consideration might be possible. You probably never imagined that such an organized malignancy existed within the Security Bureau."
Daniel lightly closed the document.
"But if you did know, the story would be different."
Daniel's two eyes fixed on the Security Bureau Chief.
His mouth was smiling, but his two eyes, resembling an abyss, did not even waver.
"Because remaining silent despite knowing is essentially no different from being in league with the collaborators."
Otto's breathing began to grow ragged. To the point where it felt as if an invisible hand was choking his throat.
Daniel, who had been staring intently at Otto, placed the document down on the desk.
As if to say, depending on your answer, your name could be added to the list in this document.
"There shouldn't be such a person."
A voice as thick as a swamp continued from Daniel's mouth.
"Isn't that right?"
Daniel's two eyes, looking at Otto, narrowed sharply.
"Director of the Security Bureau, Otto Whitmore."