This Is a Kind of Warning
This Is a Kind of Warning
After emerging from the alley, Daniel hummed a tune as he walked along the sidewalk.
Although he hadn't been able to eat waffles twice in a row as he'd hoped, was that really such a big deal?
He had managed to protect the smile of a child, who was essentially the future of the Empire, so he was rather satisfied.
Of course, it wasn't as if he had no regrets whatsoever, but it didn't matter much.
'I wasn't supposed to get one in the first place anyway...'
There would be plenty of time later to be disappointed about missing out on waffles.
Sunset was a long way off, so he fully intended to properly enjoy his rare day off.
He felt grateful to Ernst, who had advised him that it would be good to rest thoroughly for at least a day.
As he walked down the street, wondering what to do next, Daniel halted when he spotted a familiar woman.
He saw a woman wearing a pure white dress with a cardigan draped over her, browsing items in front of a shop's display window.
Her light brown hair, gleaming with sunlight, flowed down to her waist, and her black eyes beneath her lashes held a sense of leisure.
No matter how he looked at her, it was Frien.
'I think it's my first time seeing her in casual clothes.'
Perhaps because she was wearing a flowing dress, she was a far cry from the usual image of someone who spoke mad words while conducting torture.
It gave him a strangely peculiar feeling.
As he stood there unconsciously watching, Frien felt his gaze and turned to look at Daniel.
Opening her eyes wide as if startled, Frien quietly parted her lips.
"...Oh? Brigadier General Daniel, sir?"
Worried that others might hear, Daniel flinched and placed his index finger to his lips.
Then, realizing that Daniel had attempted his own disguise, Frien smiled softly.
"Aha. I understand what you mean. More than that, what a coincidence. I never expected to meet you in a place like this."
"I feel the same. It seems our days off happened to coincide. By the way, were you in the middle of shopping?"
"Yes. I was browsing, thinking of buying new clothes. Though there wasn't anything I particularly liked. So I was just about to have a late lunch..."
Frien dodged the passersby coming and going and drew closer to Daniel.
Then she moved her lips near Daniel's ear.
"...Have you eaten, Brigadier General Daniel, sir?"
It was a voice so small that other pedestrians wouldn't hear it.
It was consideration for Daniel, who disliked his identity being exposed to passersby, but being this close made him uncomfortable in turn.
Because if they got just a little closer, their chests would touch.
A strange tension hung in the air since their faces were close enough to hear each other's breathing.
"...I haven't eaten yet."
Hearing Daniel's answer, Frien smiled brightly and stepped back one pace.
"Then that's good. I have a reservation at a high-end restaurant nearby. If you're okay with it, would you like to go eat together? It'll be my treat."
He started to ask how she planned to buy a meal at a high-end restaurant on a lieutenant's salary, but stopped.
Frien's father was the senior pastor of a grand church with a weekly attendance of more than ten thousand, and Frien herself wielded immense influence over the church, so she would never be short on money.
Not only did she have government subsidies, but she also had access to the faithful's donations.
Thinking that, the burden of being treated to a meal lessened considerably, but he still had to maintain his dignity before a subordinate.
It wasn't as if he had no money, since his bank balance had become quite ample now that he had risen to the rank of brigadier general.
"I won't refuse if you're inviting me. However, I will pay for what I eat."
"Hmm. As you wish. Then, will you follow me?"
Daniel nodded and followed Frien into the high-end restaurant.
After eating a feast of delicacies there and feeling satisfied, Frien tempted Daniel again, saying there was 'a café with a great atmosphere and delicious desserts.'
Unable to resist the sweet temptation, Daniel followed Frien to explore the café, and once again ate dessert with a satisfied feeling.
By the time they had finished dessert, Frien took two movie tickets out of her clutch bag.
She added that she had coincidentally gotten two tickets for the latest movie, and suggested they go watch it together to digest their meal.
Daniel thought it was too perfect to be a coincidence, but since there was no reason to refuse, he nodded.
And so the two entered the cinema and took their seats inside the auditorium.
After exchanging some small talk, the indoor lights gradually dimmed and the screen brightened.
Then a black-and-white film began to play.
The content was a romance depicting a war hero soldier falling in love with a civilian woman of noble birth.
Of course, the two of them had little interest in the film's content.
Daniel had merely come along at Frien's suggestion, and Frien had simply been searching for a place to spend time with Daniel.
However, worried she might look uncultured if she didn't focus on the movie, Frien deliberately pretended to watch.
About thirty minutes later, Frien felt a sharp pain in her right arm.
Lowering her gaze, she witnessed a black aura seeping out from her wrist before quickly subsiding.
'Again...'
It had been a frequent symptom since the final battle at Penbark.
Regardless of her will, a black aura would occasionally erupt from a part of her body and then vanish.
Pain accompanied it each time, but since it was only a temporary phenomenon, she hadn't paid much mind to it.
However, in this situation, it was a different story.
Wondering if Daniel might have seen it, Frien turned her head anxiously.
She didn't want to worry Daniel.
'...General, sir?'
What she had been worried about did not happen.
She wasn't sure if she should call it fortunate, but Daniel had his eyes closed and was in a deep sleep.
Had the movie been that boring?
─ Why are you doing this? Why on earth do you keep pushing yourself into the abyss, I'm asking you! I don't understand why you're the one who has to suffer!
─ Oh! My love! Please don't. This is something I must do. No, it's something only I can do.
Listening to the actors' lines flowing from the screen, Frien quietly gazed at Daniel's face.
She could see that the eyes, always filled with countless thoughts, were peacefully closed.
Soft, relaxed breaths were escaping from his gently parted lips.
The fact that Daniel, who always acted like an iron man, was now sleeping so defenselessly felt a little unfamiliar.
Before she knew it, her interest in the movie's content had vanished, and Frien stared fixedly at Daniel's lips.
'Did Captain Lucy do it? His Majesty the Emperor too...?'
As she let her imagination run wild, the urge to kiss him shook her heart.
Would just a little be okay?
Thinking that, Frien leaned toward Daniel but then shook her head.
'He would hate it. If he found out I acted on my own accord...'
Letting out an excited breath, Frien pulled back.
Readjusting her posture, Frien placed her hands on her knees and calmed her heart.
Because she judged that enduring it was the right thing to do now.
'But someday...'
She believed that the day would come when Daniel would recognize her feelings.
So, she would not disturb the rest Daniel was enjoying now.
*
The next morning.
Security Bureau Chief Otto heard some absurd news in his office.
"...Huh? Record Fear published a positive article about Brigadier General Daniel Steiner?"
Otto, who had been holding his coffee cup with a bewildered expression, tilted his head.
"As far as I know, the Record Fear newspaper doesn't write positive articles about specific individuals. Aren't they usually an outlet that makes it a principle to expose corruption among political and financial figures, or the military and police?"
The adjutant nodded.
"That's correct. So I was also a little surprised. Here is today's edition published by Record Fear, please take a look."
The adjutant approached Otto and handed him the newspaper.
Otto put down his coffee cup and took the newspaper, unfolding it to find a heartwarming story about Daniel Steiner on the front page.
It was an article stating that the reporter had coincidentally witnessed Daniel Steiner passing by on the street, and that he had yielded his waffle to a small child.
"Wait a minute..."
On top of that, the reporter who wrote this was Saldome, who had sent countless entrepreneurs and politicians to their ruin.
It was none other than that very Saldome, who refused money when it was offered and scoffed even at death threats.
There was only one thing that could be implied by the fact that Saldome, someone of uncommon tenacity, had written a heartwarming story about Daniel Steiner.
"...It seems Brigadier General Daniel Steiner has gotten hold of Saldome's weakness."
He couldn't help but get chills at the thought that even the peerless Saldome had been put on a leash.
'They say he enjoyed a day off yesterday; did he meet Saldome then and threaten him?'
A cold shudder ran through him as he recalled Daniel, who used even his own time off to dominate others.
Otto, who had been absentmindedly rubbing his arms against the chilling breeze, looked at his adjutant.
"Hey. I'm asking just in case, but there aren't any scumbags in our Security Bureau who oppose Brigadier General Daniel, are there? If those bastards stir up trouble for no reason, I'll end up taking damage too."
The adjutant bowed his head, sweating profusely.
"There are none. Because the Security Bureau respects Brigadier General Daniel Steiner with one heart and one mind."
"Well, that's a relief. Ah! Buy multiple copies of this newspaper and distribute them to all Security Bureau personnel. It seems Brigadier General Daniel is warning us through this paper, after all."
"What kind of warning do you mean?"
"You see it and still don't know?"
Leaning forward, Otto spoke with a grave expression.
"Brigadier General Daniel is making a statement by bringing the vicious dog of Record Fear to its knees. He is saying that he will not permit any criticism directed at him from now on."
It was entirely untrue.
"...Ah, so that's what it was."
However, because it was a plausible interpretation, the adjutant could only tremble in fear.