I Don't Want to Be Friends
I Don't Want to Be Friends
How in the hell had I ended up sharing an office with a spy from an enemy nation?
If it were up to me, I would have informed the Chief of Operations Staff that this woman was a spy, but making that accusation without proof was a surefire way to be branded a lunatic.
So for the moment, I had no choice but to act natural.
After calming my rattled nerves with a deep breath, I opened the office door.
Then, facing Lucy, who was staring at me oddly, I gave a casual shrug.
"Did you hear it too? The door hinges are making a strange noise. I'll have to call a repairman soon."
I had only opened and closed the door to check the condition of the hinges.
Having cobbled together a passably reasonable excuse on the spot, I walked to my desk, pulled out the chair, and sat down.
"So, what is your name?"
After placing the bag of bread on the desk and settling into a formal posture, Lucy rendered a crisp salute.
"I am Second Lieutenant Lucy Emilia, assigned as adjutant to the Operations Staff Officer at General Headquarters as of today. I am deeply honored to serve as your adjutant, Operations Staff Officer, busy as you are with both public and private duties. I am prepared to faithfully carry out the duties entrusted to me so that this honor does not fade."
It was a succinct assignment report.
More than that, she was using her real name.
Well, within the Allied Nations, only a handful of people knew Lucy's real name, so perhaps she saw no need to use an alias.
Whatever the reason, the owner of the elegant face before me was an Allied spy.
Of course, the act of spying within the Empire itself didn't bother me much.
I wasn't exactly a patriot, after all.
The problem was that the being who would later be called the Empire's nightmare was now my adjutant and a spy.
I wasn't patient enough to keep a ticking time bomb as an adjutant.
'So I had to get rid of her.'
Somehow, I had to make the higher-ups conclude that Lucy Emilia was unqualified to serve as an Operations Staff adjutant.
'In that case, I need to create a justification...'
As I tapped my desk with a suddenly somber expression, a light bulb went off above my head.
'Wait a moment. Now that I think about it, when I went outside earlier, a human rights group was preparing an anti-war protest in front of GHQ, weren't they?'
If I played this right, I might be able to separate Lucy from me.
I smiled thinly to myself and acknowledged Lucy's salute.
Then, looking at Lucy, who had assumed an at-ease stance, I spoke with deliberate solemnity.
"Good. Second Lieutenant Lucy Emilia. You said you would faithfully carry out the duties assigned to you, correct?"
"Yes, sir."
"A bold answer. Well then, to assess whether your abilities qualify you to be my adjutant, I'll give you a mission. Go outside and suppress the protesters."
Perhaps flustered, Lucy hesitated briefly before answering.
"...The protesters, sir?"
"Yes. To be precise, they are lawbreakers holding an illegal protest without reporting to the Imperial Household. At first, their numbers were small so they were left alone, but recently their momentum has become rather unusual, or so I hear."
"I am aware, but isn't that under the jurisdiction of the Military Police?"
"Protests occurring in front of GHQ also fall under our jurisdiction. According to the Wartime Security Law, Imperial officers have the authority to punish subversive elements within their area of responsibility."
Lucy nodded as if she accepted the reasoning.
"There is nothing incorrect in what you say. I will follow your orders."
"Good. Then go out and carry out the mission. Report back when you have completed it."
"Understood. However, may I make one request?"
"What request?"
Lucy raised her hand and pointed her index finger at me.
"Bread."
...What? Is she saying she'll shoot me dead?
As I tensed up at the incomprehensible gesture, Lucy blinked once and continued.
"Didn't you say earlier when you came in that you would share the bread? If you permit it, sir, I would like to take one piece of bread."
Ah. That bread.
"Alright. Take one."
When I nudged the bag of bread on the desk toward her, Lucy came closer and extracted a croissant.
Then she bowed her head to me, turned around, and left the office.
Watching her go, I let out a low sigh and leaned back against the chair.
As the tension drained, my body felt languid.
'For now...'
I had at least laid the groundwork for creating a justification.
Even by my standards, ordering someone to single-handedly suppress protesters was an impossible mission.
How could anyone suppress those angry citizens alone?
So all I had to do was wait here comfortably, and when Lucy returned having failed her mission, I could use that as grounds to deem her unqualified.
Of course, it wouldn't be resolved in one go, but gradually stacking up instances was what mattered.
Relieved inwardly that things were going according to plan, I pulled documents from the drawer and began reviewing them.
I couldn't just laze around until Lucy returned, after all.
It was some time after I had reviewed a few documents.
Tang─!
My shoulders flinched at the sound of a gunshot from outside.
Terrorism? No. If it were a terrorist attack, the shots wouldn't be ringing out singly like this.
Moreover, the direction of the shot was close.
As if it had come from right in front of GHQ─
Taaang!
Another gunshot rang out, and my thoughts froze.
'No way...'
Had Lucy fired a gun?
At that thought, I hastily got up from my seat.
This was no time to be doing paperwork in the office.
*
"You've arrested all five protest ringleaders. Well done."
Sergeant Bendelin, an interrogator from the Military Police, stared blankly at the woman before him.
Swallowing hard, Bendelin replayed in his mind what had happened just minutes ago.
The woman who had introduced herself as 'Captain Daniel Steiner's adjutant' had swept her gaze over the police mobile unit confronting the protesters, then drawn a revolver and fired two shots into the air.
When the protesters, startled by the sudden gunfire, scattered in panic, the woman requested the mobile unit's cooperation and then, with very practiced movements, subdued the five protest ringleaders.
Effectively, the mobile unit had done nothing except assist with the arrests.
That fact had left not only the mobile unit but also Sergeant Bendelin flustered and at a loss for words.
"What is this commotion?"
Startled, Bendelin turned toward the voice and discovered Daniel Steiner approaching.
There was a certain oppressive aura in the way he walked, his officer's coat fluttering, his service cap pulled low.
Thinking he must not get on Daniel's bad side, Bendelin looked around and shouted loudly.
"What are you doing! Everyone, attention!"
At Bendelin's shout, the thirty mobile unit members positioned around snapped to attention.
Daniel, who had been scanning them as he approached, fixed Lucy with a chilling gaze.
"Explain the circumstances."
At the direct order, Lucy saluted and spoke.
"In accordance with the Operations Staff Officer's orders, I fired warning shots in the process of suppressing the violent protesters. As a result, I dispersed the citizens conducting the illegal protest and arrested five ringleaders."
Bendelin, who had been listening beside them, nodded as if he finally understood.
'It was Captain Daniel's order? Well, that figures.'
A newly commissioned second lieutenant would never do something so bold.
On the other hand, Daniel's inner thoughts felt like they were on fire.
'When did I ever say to fire warning shots?'
He wanted to retort, but under the Wartime Security Law, Lucy had done nothing wrong.
So instead of scolding Lucy, Daniel extended his hand.
Immediately understanding, Lucy took the revolver from her holster and placed it in Daniel's hand.
When Daniel opened the cylinder to check, two rounds were indeed empty.
He was letting out a hollow laugh from sheer absurdity when Lucy spoke up.
"Captain, these are rioters who have violated the Assembly and Demonstration Act and even the Wartime Security Law. They violated three articles of the Wartime Security Law, including 'attacking a soldier dispatched for security maintenance without just cause.' If you give the order, I will carry out a summary execution."
Daniel looked at Lucy, wondering momentarily if he had misheard.
If they were anti-war protest leaders, weren't they on the same team by any measure?
'She wants to kill her own teammates? Why?'
...No. Thinking about it coldly, it was possible she was taking the Imperial Army's side so thoroughly as to avoid any suspicion from the Empire.
'This heartless, bloodless woman! Doesn't she feel any pity for these people?'
He wanted to deliver a moral lecture, but there were too many eyes watching here.
Besides Bendelin and the mobile unit, many citizens had come out to watch, and not far away there were even reporters taking photographs.
Here, he had no choice but to act like an Imperial officer.
"No."
Dreureuk, tak.
Daniel, having closed the cylinder, handed the revolver back to Lucy and spoke.
"They're not worth killing. Sergeant Bendelin."
Bendelin, who had been called by name, flinched and answered.
"Yes! Captain Daniel Steiner, sir!"
"Interrogate them and find out why they led this protest. You are to uncover what insolent ideology they hold that led them to insult the Imperial Household and incite the citizens."
"Ah, understood!"
Thoroughly tense, Bendelin issued a flurry of orders to the soldiers.
The soldiers then moved in orderly fashion and began hauling the protest ringleaders to their feet.
Daniel, who had been watching that scene quietly, shut his eyes tightly in secret.
'Haa...'
It was a complete failure of building a justification.
*
The next morning.
I opened my eyes to the alarm and walked to the kitchen as usual to drink coffee.
I took the coffee powder from the shelf, brewed it, and poured it into a mug.
Then, naturally, I walked to the front door, picked up the newspaper that had fallen through the slot, and returned to the kitchen.
After sitting sideways on the chair at the table, I took a sip of coffee from the mug.
The plain yet old-fashioned taste pleased my palate.
'Morning coffee is truly delicious.'
Feeling satisfied, I unfolded the newspaper and then froze completely.
Because on the front page, a black-and-white photo of me was plastered.
And of all things, it was a scene of me holding a revolver, checking the cylinder, in front of the five kneeling protest ringleaders.
To any observer, it looked as if I had forced them to kneel and was deliberating whether to kill them or not.
I broke into a cold sweat as I examined the headline and was aghast.
【Captain Daniel Steiner, Arrests Illegal Protest Ringleaders!】
The headline was one thing, but the content was even worse.
『...Accordingly, as a result of the Military Police's interrogation of the protest ringleaders, it was revealed that three of them had received money from the Allied Nations and acted on it. This is the moment when the suspicion that the cornered Allied Nations are instigating anti-war protests tips into certainty. Regarding this, Sergeant Bendelin mentioned that Captain Daniel Steiner provided great assistance...』
Having read up to that point, I folded the newspaper and picked up the mug.
After taking as calm a breath as I could manage, I drank the coffee, but for some reason it no longer tasted good.
This is dizzying, really...