Catching a Culprit Without a Culprit
Catching a Culprit Without a Culprit
Unlike the admiring Rimshel, Daniel was burning up inside.
The mere thought of the report Rimshel—who had been watching this entire situation—would submit to General Headquarters was enough to give him a headache.
A sigh escaped him unbidden, but having discovered the Republic officers who had set up the assassination plot, he couldn't just do nothing and move on.
"You tried to kill me?"
Daniel coldly looked down at the kneeling officers.
"You planned something pointless and put a noose around your own necks. If you had lived like dead mice or slipped out of the city, you could have continued your lives peacefully."
Regulten ground his teeth.
"...Becoming a straggler already makes my blood boil, and you're telling me to live a life of running away just to eke out an existence? Ha! You know as well as I do that's absurd! Because you're the very bastard who wouldn't hesitate to stake his life for the Empire!"
The Imperial soldiers aiming their guns at Regulten nodded as if he had spoken the truth.
For Daniel Steiner had staked his life for the Empire more than once or twice.
Though the man himself had never staked his life for the Empire.
He had only taken action to survive or to protect people he considered precious.
Even now, Daniel Steiner wanted to live the safe life of an ordinary citizen, not a perilous life for the Empire.
But knowing there was no way to clear up the misunderstanding, he had now simply decided to accept it.
"What is your name?"
Regulten answered while glaring at Daniel.
"Sergeant Regulten. I belong to 1st Company, 3rd Battalion under the Republic's 7th Division."
"They sent a mere sergeant as the negotiating party with the mayor. Your situation seems to be worse than I thought. Judging by the overall scale, it can't be more than a company-sized force."
At Daniel's deduction, Regulten's hand flinched as if startled.
But soon, he curled his lips into a sneer.
"Pretending not to know when you came here knowing everything strikes me as ridiculous. I've heard you have a hobby of mocking captured enemies, and it seems to be true. Do you want to make us that miserable?"
"...Came here knowing everything? Me?"
"Stop the disgusting act! You led your troops to the factory complex where 1st Platoon was positioned, dealt with them, and then came straight here—and you still want to claim it was a coincidence!"
Daniel lost his words and closed his mouth.
Because the man was speaking with such conviction that he didn't seem likely to believe a denial.
Seeing that, Regulten mistakenly thought he had struck at Daniel's true intentions.
"So you really did know all about our identities. Since when? I'm asking how you found out the information! Answer me!"
He couldn't answer.
What could he say when he was pressed for an answer, knowing absolutely nothing?
On top of that, there was no need to listen to what a captured enemy Republic soldier said.
So when he simply kept looking down, Kendrapor, reading the atmosphere, interjected.
"Major General Daniel, sir. There is no need for you to associate with such rabble. Don't you have many other things to do besides dealing with this riffraff?"
Daniel turned his gaze to Kendrapor.
Kendrapor, who believed his family's future hung on a single word from Daniel Steiner, had approached with a forced smile and a servile attitude.
"I might be able to help you regarding that."
"You'll offer help?"
"Yes. I burned all the classified documents, but the information remains in my head. I can tell you the location of a munitions depot that the Imperial Army hasn't discovered yet. Military vehicles are also concealed nearby, so you'll be able to put them to good use."
Upon hearing Kendrapor's words, Regulten urgently shouted.
"What the fuck! Mayor Kendrapor! Have you lost your mind! Are you saying you'll help the Imperial Army now!?"
Though Regulten screamed in fury, Kendrapor paid him no mind.
After all, having betrayed the Republic officers, Kendrapor now had no other options.
"Major General, sir. In exchange for providing this information, I would like you to leave a few soldiers as a guard detail. Those lunatics over there might target me and my family."
It wasn't a difficult request.
Daniel was just about to nod.
"This son of a bitch!"
Regulten sprang from his spot and lunged at Kendrapor.
But the Imperial soldiers moved faster.
Peok!
Before he could grab Kendrapor by the throat, a rifle butt struck Regulten on the head.
Struck on the head, Regulten collapsed straight to the floor.
"Keu, heuk!"
Collapsed on the floor, Regulten clutched his forehead and let out a groan.
It seemed he had been hit quite hard, as his forehead was torn and blood was trickling down.
Daniel, who had been watching the scene, let out a low breath.
"I understand how you feel, but acting so recklessly will only shorten your own life."
"I... for the Republic..."
"You can sing the Republic's praises later; it won't be too late. Soldier? First, his wound needs treatment, so take this man to the medical unit. If you go find Captain Frien, she'll treat him properly."
At the mention of 'Captain Frien,' Regulten's groaning stopped.
"...What did you just say?"
"I said Captain Frien. You must know her. She displayed outstanding performance on the battlefield."
"Are you saying you're going to take me to the Empire's witch right now?"
How ironic it was that a woman called a saintess in the Empire was called a witch in the enemy nation.
"Since you seem to be aware, it'll make this easier. Soldier? What are you doing? Take him away."
The soldier nodded, grabbed the fallen Regulten, and hauled him to his feet.
Regulten stood there looking spaced out, as if he had lost his mind, and then soon broke into a cold sweat.
"I, I didn't do anything that wrong, did I? Why on earth..."
As the soldier began to drag him away, Regulten's voice grew louder.
"I get it! I won't act out again! So please... forgive me! Pleaaase!"
Daniel furrowed his brow, wondering why the man was acting like that when he was just being sent for treatment.
Suspecting he might have hit his head, Daniel waved his hand to have him taken away faster, and Regulten was dragged out of the room.
Screaming like livestock being hauled to a slaughterhouse was a bonus.
'He wasn't in his right mind.'
Clicking his tongue and shaking his head, Daniel turned his gaze.
Then he could see Kendrapor, his eyes cast down, drenched in tension.
"Mayor."
When he spoke, seeing that the man didn't look well, Kendrapor let out a ragged breath.
Having barely steadied his breathing, Kendrapor parted his lips to speak.
"Yes. From now on, I will never disobey a single word from Major General Daniel Steiner, no matter what. No matter what happens, I will engrave it in my heart and bear it in mind so as not to forget."
Thanks to that, one of Daniel's eyebrows furrowed.
'What's with this guy now? Could he think Frien is a lunatic who tortures people for fun?'
Daniel was utterly dumbfounded.
*
Underground of the fortress city Lakedrapol.
A large sewer inspection room.
"The officers of 1st Platoon and 2nd Platoon have been taken out."
In the inspection room where various pipes ran along the ceiling and walls, Company Commander Daegen's voice drifted out eerily.
The company officers seated at the command table were all looking straight ahead with serious expressions.
"It means two locations were hit in rapid succession in a single morning by the troops led by Daniel Steiner. Thanks to that, our plan might as well have gone up in smoke."
Every time the officers' breathing made the candle flames flicker, the shadows inside the inspection room danced.
The sound of water droplets regularly dripping from the pipes added tension to the already gloomy atmosphere.
"I'll admit it. Daniel Steiner is indeed a great general. He wasn't an existence someone like Major General Palome, who died by my hand, could ever face. Our defeat was predetermined from the start."
Daegen, who had been sitting at the head of the command table, rose from his seat.
The grating sound of the chair being pushed back was especially loud in the silence.
"But there's one thing that's suspicious. How on earth did Daniel Steiner know the exact location of 1st Platoon, and how did he know that 2nd Platoon had infiltrated the mansion to persuade Mayor Kendrapor?"
Daegen moved his steps.
Jeobeok─
The sound of his combat boots touching and leaving the moisture-soaked floor echoed clearly.
While everyone remained unable to offer any answer, Daegen continued.
"It's strange. It really is strange. The operation to infiltrate the city through the sewers was perfect. Disguising ourselves as civilians wasn't a bad plan either. So, normally, Daniel Steiner shouldn't know anything about our plan."
It was an operation he had moved on independently, defying orders, yet Daniel Steiner had known about it.
What this signified was one thing.
"No matter how much I think about it..."
Daegen, who had stopped walking, turned around.
Looking around at the personnel gathered at the command table, Daegen ground his teeth.
"There seems to be a rat among us."
Daegen opened his holster and drew his pistol.
"Then I'll have to find them out, starting now."
Narrowing his eyes sharply, Daegen raised the pistol and aimed it at the officers sitting at the command table.
"The son of a bitch who sold us out to Daniel Steiner."