Go Ahead, If You Can
Go Ahead, If You Can
Three days later.
Backstage at the outdoor performance venue.
"Colonel, sir—no. Doesn't it look like the Brigadier General is in a pretty bad mood?"
Amid the countless people bustling back and forth, Frien spoke up.
Lucy stood beside Frien, and both of them had new rank insignia thanks to their accelerated promotions.
Lucy, now wearing captain's bars, stared at Daniel, who was seated in a chair reading a newspaper, and nodded.
"Yeah. He definitely doesn't look happy."
"I wonder why. Even on the very day he was promoted to brigadier general, his expression stayed dark all day."
"Well......"
While Lucy and Frien murmured to each other, Daniel frowned as he read the paper.
『Republic Declares Official War on the Empire!
Inbertem, Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Free Republic, Proclaims a Resolute Will to the People Through a Speech.
Yesterday at noon, Chairman Inbertem formally declared war on the Empire via a national radio address. Chairman Inbertem denounced the Empire's war of territorial expansion as a grave challenge to international order and expressed his determination to join the war for the sake of lasting world peace.』
Having read the front-page article, Daniel irritably folded the newspaper.
'A war of territorial expansion? A grave challenge to international order? How absurd.'
It was the Allied Nations that had instigated the war, and the Republic had simply decided to join for its own national interests, not for international order.
'No matter how much war is a battle for justifications.......'
He wanted to ask if it was even proper to rise up with such a hastily cobbled-together justification.
'In the end, isn't it just the soldiers who get killed because of the greed of those on top?'
Even though he now wore a star, Daniel still empathized with the soldiers.
The reason was simple.
Because he himself could have been one of those who died.
The fact that he had been driven to the battlefield regardless of his own will was also akin to the soldiers' plight.
'Why me? There are so many other capable generals, so why me.......'
Contrary to the public's assessment of him as a bloodless, ruthless demon, Daniel was simply afraid of war.
Just as he was about to feel sad again at the reality of having to play an active role on the battlefield, footsteps sounded nearby.
"Excuse me, Brigadier General Steiner?"
When he looked up, Hans, the public affairs officer from the State Propaganda Department, was standing there.
"You are scheduled to give a speech before the people soon, so I came to see if you were ready. But your complexion looks a bit pale. You haven't been sleeping well lately, I take it?"
"......I've had much on my mind."
"Indeed. I too believe I am devoted to the state, but before Brigadier General Steiner, I feel infinitely small."
Hans was gravely mistaken, but Daniel had neither the need nor the will to explain.
Knowing that continuing to mope would get him nowhere, Daniel rose from his seat.
"I did not come here to compare the size of my patriotism."
"Ah. Of course. If you are ready, please step up onto the stage. The people are waiting for Brigadier General Steiner. I have prepared a speech on the podium just in case, but you don't need to follow it."
Hans knew.
That the words coming from Daniel Steiner's mouth carried more persuasive power than any speech prepared by the State Propaganda Department.
Even so, it was hard to treat as normal a public affairs officer from the State Propaganda Department telling him to 'give an impromptu speech.'
Daniel, looking at Hans with discomfort, nodded and started walking.
Because he thought there was no need to delay if it had to be done anyway.
"Brigadier General Steiner!"
"We're counting on you again! The whole nation will hear your voice, Brigadier General Steiner!"
"Don't be nervous! Just do as you always do!"
Amid the encouragement of the State Propaganda Department staff, Daniel climbed the steps to the stage.
Soon, as Daniel Steiner appeared on stage, the crowd gathered outdoors erupted in cheers.
Almost deafening cheers erupted, and camera flashes went off everywhere.
'What, am I some kind of celebrity.......'
It was a familiar sight, so Daniel raised his hand and smiled awkwardly.
Standing before the podium, Daniel adjusted his tie and tapped the microphone.
The sound of the tapping echoed softly from the speakers on the stage.
The crowd's cheers then subsided, and all eyes turned to Daniel Steiner.
Daniel looked around at them once and slowly began to speak.
"My esteemed fellow citizens. I am Brigadier General Daniel Steiner, concurrently serving as Emergency Security Chief."
In the now-quiet space, only Daniel Steiner's words hung in the air.
"Before I begin in earnest, I will broach a somewhat weighty subject. Those of you who read the newspapers this morning will know. The Republic, seizing an opportunity, has joined the war in support of the Allied Nations."
At the bad news, the crowd's faces darkened.
"Chairman Inbertem of the Republic called the Empire a war criminal state pursuing a war of territorial expansion. Is that really the case? I want to ask you, the people gathered here. As they claim, is the Empire truly a war criminal state?"
Cries of 'No!' broke out everywhere.
Riding the crowd's sympathy, Daniel continued without losing momentum.
"That's right! We know! It was not the Empire but the Allied Nations that instigated this war! And that the Republic, rising up in defense of those very Allied Nations, is the true war criminal state!"
Daniel raised his right hand high.
"Out of fear of us, the Allied Nations and the Republic are resorting to fabrications! They are mocking our convictions and suppressing our freedoms to put us under their heel! To subjugate us! To make the Empire the loser of this war!"
Anger rose on the faces of the crowd.
It was both the most explosive emotion and the easiest emotion to handle.
"But their mockery and fabrications cannot even scratch the will of our Imperial people! For in the eyes of the people I see before me now, I see only a thirst for victory, not submission! Therefore, the Empire shall never let the people's yearning be in vain!"
Daniel lowered his hand and gripped the podium.
"Great citizens of the Empire! Not only have we achieved victory in countless battles, we have also thoroughly purged internal collaborators! The Empire is more united than ever and leaping toward the ideal nation! With such a state, do we need to fear the Republic?"
Voices mixing anger and pride erupted chaotically among the crowd.
"It is none other than the Allied Nations and the Republic that should yield! So I declare before you, the people! I, Brigadier General Daniel Steiner, will today relinquish the post of Emergency Security Chief and go to lead troops personally as a brigade commander!"
At the news that Daniel Steiner would return to the battlefield, the crowd went wild, raising their voices.
In reality, it was due to the order of the Chief of the General Staff, but that didn't matter now.
Everyone thought Daniel Steiner was going off to fight of his own accord.
"We shall advance onward! Struggle boldly, citizens! For His Majesty the Emperor and the Fatherland!"
Waaaaah─
As the cheers swelled like a wave, people here and there were shouting the names of Daniel Steiner and His Majesty the Emperor.
Daniel thought he had said enough, and was about to end his speech, when—
Taang─
A gunshot tore through the air, swallowing the cheers.
As everyone panicked, the one who fired shouted from among the crowd.
"Bullshit! You war-mongering bastard!"
A scruffy man aimed his gun at Daniel Steiner.
"You just talk smooth—how is that any different from saying you'll keep the war going!?"
The people around the man started screaming and fleeing, causing chaos all around.
Even amidst that, Daniel stood on the podium, looking down at the man with perfect composure.
To others, it appeared he was unafraid even of the man pointing a gun at him, but Daniel had simply frozen from too much shock.
'...He brought a pistol in? How?'
Nevertheless, his mind was rapidly assessing the situation.
'An Allied Nations spy ordered to assassinate me?'
He thought about it, but no.
Because if that man were an Allied spy, there would be no need to cause such a ruckus.
'An anti-war activist? I thought they were wiped out, but they're still active.'
Though harboring fear, Daniel scrutinized the man closely.
The hand holding the pistol trembled slightly, indicating he was extremely tense.
He must have acted on impulse and was now belatedly flooded with regret.
Glancing away, he saw soldiers moving through the panicked crowd at the performance venue.
They were approaching to subdue and kill that man.
The man, apparently unaware of that, thrust his pistol forward and shouted again.
"Try to answer me then! You talked all that nonsense about being ready to die, but now that you're in danger of dying yourself, you seem to be at a loss for words!"
Daniel slowly shifted his gaze and fixed it on the man.
He had to buy time somehow until the soldiers reached that man.
Thinking on his feet, Daniel spoke up in front of everyone.
"If you're going to shoot, then shoot."
Taken aback by the unexpected answer, both the man and the crowd looked at Daniel in bewilderment.
In the settling silence, Daniel quietly continued.
"You are also a citizen of the Empire, so if you can carry out your will by killing me, I won't stop you. Just keep this one thing in mind."
The voice flowing through the speakers filled the performance venue.
"The moment you pull that trigger......"
As if looking down on a pitiful insect, Daniel narrowed his eyes sharply.
"The Empire will lose its future."