Now It's Getting Scary
Now It's Getting Scary
Daegen's nerves bristled as countless options flashed through his mind.
The problem was, no matter which option he chose, he was certain nothing good would come of it.
'......Daniel Steiner is suspicious of me. Could it be that from the moment I left city hall, he already noticed I was tailing him?'
He had thought he'd followed as stealthily as possible, but it seemed Daniel Steiner had caught on.
'So he used himself as bait to lure me here.'
Speculation hardened into certainty.
'Using yourself as bait could be dangerous, depending on how you look at it.......'
Seeing him carry it out without a moment's hesitation, Daniel Steiner was clearly confident in his abilities.
Well, this was Daniel Steiner, who wielded the neural acceleration ability freely.
He likely never entertained the thought of losing in a one-on-one confrontation.
'Was playing the fool and petting puppies and kittens an act to make me lower my guard? If I had drawn my pistol while Daniel Steiner was petting the animals.......'
Daniel, who had already secured physical evidence, would have immediately launched a counterattack with his nerves accelerated.
Imagining his own death, Daegen felt a chill run down his spine.
'I can't win.'
Confronting such a thorough man alone was practically impossible.
His throat felt parched with fear.
Just as Daegen was trembling in terror, Daniel furrowed his brow.
'What's he playing at? You claim to be a local but don't know a famous local festival specialty? That makes no sense. Wait, is this one of those things? Locals messing with tourists?'
......Contrary to Daegen's terrifying imagination, Daniel had simply visited the café to pet puppies and kittens.
Not knowing that, Daegen gaped as if caught off guard, and Daniel became convinced.
'So it was messing with tourists after all. What a nasty hobby.'
He had approached with pure goodwill, and the other party responded with malice—there was no way he'd feel good about that.
Thinking he had to correct this person's mean-spiritedness somehow, Daniel spoke.
"You will have to explain why you lied. Because if you don't, I won't stand idly by either."
At Daniel's warning, Daegen felt every fine hair on his body stand on end.
Having broken out in a cold sweat, Daegen opened his mouth after a brief silence.
"The restroom...... may I go to the restroom and come back before answering?"
It was the excuse Daegen desperately came up with, deciding he had to escape this situation by any means.
Though Daniel didn't like it, he couldn't exactly stop someone from going to the restroom, so he nodded.
"Go ahead."
Having been granted permission, Daegen got up from his seat.
Walking toward the restroom just like that, Daegen suddenly pushed off the floor and bolted outside.
"......!"
Startled, Daniel also hastily rose from his seat and ran after Daegen.
He could not tolerate someone pulling a malicious prank on another person and then trying to run away.
Once out of the café, he could see Daegen sprinting far ahead.
Though there were scattered people preparing for the festival, it wasn't enough to obstruct passage, so Daniel kept running.
"Hey! Why are you suddenly running away!?"
He shouted loudly, but Daegen didn't answer.
Running desperately, Daegen glanced back and discovered that Daniel was continuing to follow him at a steady distance.
'Damn it......!'
At this rate, Daniel would catch up to him.
Since Daniel possessed the neural acceleration ability, closing the distance would only be a matter of time if he put his mind to it.
'In that case.......'
His only option was to use the crowd to create a commotion and escape.
Having made up his mind, Daegen pulled a grenade from his coat while running.
Pulling the safety pin, Daegen hurled the grenade behind him.
Consternation spread across Daniel's face when he saw it.
'A grenade?'
The shock lasted only an instant, and his reaction was immediate.
Daniel accelerated his nerves almost reflexively.
The grenade with its safety pin pulled was drifting through the air at an extremely slow speed.
There was enough time.
If he ran out of the grenade's blast radius right now, he wouldn't get hurt.
But he couldn't run away.
Because he saw a small child within the grenade's range.
Daniel abandoned his escape and ran toward the child.
The moment he scooped the child into his arms, the neural acceleration released and time returned to normal.
"Hiek!?"
The startled child's voice rang out.
Clenching his teeth, Daniel dashed to get as far away from the grenade as possible, then hunched his body over.
That moment.
Kwaang─
The grenade that had fallen to the ground exploded with a deafening roar.
Simultaneously, one of the grenade fragments that scattered in all directions buried itself in Daniel's shoulder.
Pain assaulted him, but Daniel endured it.
He thought the child in his arms must never be frightened.
Having desperately calmed his breathing, Daniel loosened the hands that had been hugging the child tightly.
The child, not knowing what was going on, was simply blinking innocent eyes.
"......Are you alright? Are you hurt anywhere?"
The child looked up at Daniel and nodded dazedly.
"I'm okay. What about you, mister?"
"I'm fine too. My shoulder aches a little, but I can get treated right away at the medical unit."
Seeing him groan, it didn't look like he was fine, but the child couldn't bring himself to point that out.
Gazing at Daniel with worry, the child reached a hand toward the sunglasses Daniel was wearing.
The child wanted at least to see the face of the person who had saved them.
When the sunglasses were removed, eyes resembling a wolf's were revealed.
Yet the expression was so infinitely gentle that no hostility could be felt.
It was because Daniel was desperately pretending to be fine for the child's sake.
Just as the child was gazing blankly at Daniel like that, a murmuring sound arose from the surroundings.
A crowd had belatedly gathered after hearing the sound of the grenade explosion.
But Daniel could pay none of that any mind.
Right now, the only thought in Daniel's head was that he had to catch the mysterious man who had thrown a grenade in the middle of the city.
Glaring at the alleyway where the man had disappeared, Daniel pulled out his radio.
It was to request support from the troops stationed on the outskirts.
'Not only did he dare try to run from me, but he used civilians as sacrificial lambs.......'
It was a crime that could never be forgiven.
*
Meanwhile, the outskirts of Lakedrapol.
"The festival preparations are in full swing, and yet they tell us to pull out to the outskirts—isn't that too harsh?"
As the battalion commander sitting in the passenger seat grumbled, Pelf, the intelligence staff officer, let out a laugh.
"It's not as if we're in a position to enjoy the festival anyway, is it? And if it's the division commander, he must have sent us here with some kind of plan in mind."
"Huh? No matter how much it's the division commander, there's no way he ordered even a suburban patrol with some special purpose, is there? It just looks like a routine task to me......."
"Is that so? Well, maybe I'm getting ahead of myself."
Indeed, no matter how much he was called a great commander, there was no way every single order of Daniel Steiner's held a special purpose.
Just as he was thinking it might be a simple patrol duty, a crackling noise erupted from the radio.
Immediately after, a voice came through from the other side.
─ This is the division commander. Notifying all troops on the outskirts. A terrorist attack has occurred near the city plaza.
At Daniel's voice, the languid atmosphere shattered in an instant.
─ Find a gray-haired man wearing an eyepatch over one eye. He is wearing a bucket hat and a brown coat. He appears to be armed, so exercise extreme caution. Over.
Once Daniel finished speaking, Pelf grabbed the radio, pressed the transmit button, and answered.
"Confirmed. We will report as soon as he is located."
When Pelf put the radio down, the battalion commander beside him spoke with a grave expression.
"......A terrorist attack? Just what kind of audacious bastard would commit a terrorist attack at the city plaza?"
"I don't know the exact details either. However, one person comes to mind."
"Who is that?"
"As you know, battalion commander, the company commander who was responsible for the Republican company that tried to assassinate the division commander wasn't captured. It seems reasonable to assume the bastard attempted the assassination alone."
"At the plaza? Then the division commander......."
Pelf nodded.
"I suspect he may have lured the bastard's attack."
"Huh. Are you saying he used himself as bait to catch the bastard?"
"It seems that way. After all, the division commander is someone who prioritizes the safety of the Empire and its military over his own well-being. He must be trying to snuff out even the smallest spark."
It was contrary to the facts, but from the battalion commander's perspective, he had no choice but to believe it.
Realizing once again that he was serving under a remarkable superior officer, the battalion commander suddenly felt a question arise.
"Could it be that even stationing troops on the outskirts was......?"
"Yes. It appears he anticipated the escape route the bastard would take in advance."
Only then, understanding everything, the battalion commander was filled with admiration.
It was just as the awestruck battalion commander was about to add something.
Kudangtang─
In the alley straight ahead, a man tripped over a pile of trash and fell.
Exhausted, he was seen catching his breath while bracing himself against the ground.
The battalion commander, who had been watching to see who it was, widened both eyes in surprise.
"That's......."
Though his hat had apparently come off and was gone, the gray hair, black coat, and eyepatch confirmed it was the man Daniel was looking for.
At Pelf's gesture, the soldiers in the driver's and passenger's seats grabbed their weapons, got out of the vehicle, and approached Daegen.
"Get down! We'll shoot if you move!"
"Can't you hear me!? I said get down, you bastard!"
Seeing the soldiers, Daegen clenched his teeth as if outraged, then soon hung his head.
Seeing that, the battalion commander let out a hollow breath.
"......Truly, it's getting terrifying now. I can't tell how many moves ahead the division commander is looking. It's as if he calculates everything within the palm of his hand."
"I'm thinking along similar lines."
Pelf smiled, his respect for Daniel clear.
"That's why he's a great commander, I suppose."