His Ideals Are Higher Than the Clouds
His Ideals Are Higher Than the Clouds
There was no sign of riots or protests in Nordia.
It went beyond showing no signs—it was completely peaceful.
So much so that, when I looked out the office window, I could see a few citizens chatting and laughing with the garrison soldiers on patrol.
'......Isn't it normal for them to be at least a little scared?'
It had already been two weeks since I was appointed as the temporary garrison commander.
Yet not even the most trivial trouble had occurred, leaving me feeling completely drained.
I pulled my gaze from the scenery outside the window and examined the documents in my hand.
It was the 'Garrison Troop Satisfaction Survey' that Lucy had handed me this morning.
《Garrison Troop Satisfaction Survey Statistics》
Sample group: 100 citizens from each district of the city
Number of respondents: approximately 5,700
Question: What are your thoughts on the garrison's city planning?
• Frequency analysis
1. Doing a very good job - 2,365 (41.5%)
2. Doing a good job - 1,254 (22%)
3. Unsure (need to observe further) - 684 (12%)
4. Disappointed - 855 (15%)
5. Very disappointed - 542 (9.5%)
※ Notice: All surveys were conducted through local assistants, not garrison soldiers, to ensure objectivity.
When I first saw this, I thought I must have read it wrong.
No wonder—the statistic showed that a majority of the city's residents, 63.5%, supported the garrison forces.
It was also an indicator that there was no chance of violent protests or riots breaking out.
'What on earth must General Headquarters be thinking after receiving this report......?'
A sigh escaped me, but I couldn't deny reality in the face of statistics.
I turned from the window, tossed the document file roughly onto my work desk, and sat down in the chair.
Leaning back against the chair with a half-resigned expression, I glanced over at Lucy.
Just as she had been at GHQ, Lucy was seated at a desk set up at one side of the office, attending to her duties.
Seeing her buried in work and paying me no attention, I felt secretly relieved.
'And besides.......'
The fact that two weeks had passed since my special promotion and appointment as temporary garrison commander without any assassination attempts suggested that the Allied Nations hadn't issued any orders.
In a situation where things weren't going as I wanted, this was at least good news.
Still, I kept my guard up as I continued to watch her. Lucy finished her paperwork and gave a short stretch.
Raising both arms and letting out a soft "Keu-eung" moan, Lucy lowered her arms with a sigh.
Staring straight ahead with sleepy eyes, Lucy suddenly seemed to sense my presence and turned to look at me.
As a result, our eyes unintentionally met.
While I broke into a cold sweat, Lucy blinked her red eyes a couple of times.
"......Major? Did you have something to say?"
What should I use as an excuse? I racked my brain for a moment, then spoke as casually as possible.
"Finished with your work?"
"Yes. There are some documents left to process this afternoon, but the volume isn't large."
"That's good to hear. You can rest well once your duties are done. You've been working hard helping me lately, haven't you?"
"I have indeed been working hard. Unlike you, Major, I've mostly been out in the field, after all."
So you're not denying it.
"More to the point, Major, you should be able to take some rest time yourself today."
"Ah, yes. As it happens, I was planning to visit a famous dessert shop in Nordia today......."
The moment I said it, I realized my mistake.
Because a spark of life had flickered in Lucy's eyes as she looked at me.
Come to think of it, Lucy had eaten that parfait in the Imperial Capital with incredible relish.
Those eyes of hers—it looked very much as if she was waiting for me to invite her along.
After a brief silence, I let out a dry cough.
"......If you don't mind, would you like to come with me?"
"Desserts aren't my preference, but if the Major is inviting me, I won't refuse."
Ha? Look at this?
After eating that parfait so deliciously, she was playing innocent—it was utterly infuriating.
I furrowed one eyebrow and spoke.
"Then I'll go alone. I can't disrupt my adjutant's rest, after all."
Lucy's fingertips flinched.
Her face remained as expressionless as ever, but her actions betrayed her disappointment.
But I had no intention of inviting her again.
Playing innocent was, as far as I was concerned, nothing short of an insult to desserts.
"However, if my adjutant were to honestly tell me that she likes desserts, that would be a different story."
Lucy's eyes quivered faintly, as if she were wrestling with herself.
But in the end, Lucy chose her pride, clenching her fist in secret.
"......I don't like them."
So that's how you're going to play it.
My pride now piqued for no good reason, I put on an air of self-importance.
"The dessert I'll be eating this time is an éclair. Have you heard of choux pastry dough? It uses water, butter, flour, and eggs as its basic ingredients, and its characteristic is that it puffs up lightly when baked in the oven."
"......."
"This is already delicious the moment it comes out of the oven. The savory flavor in and of itself swirls throughout your mouth. But if it ends there, it's just bread, not a dessert. The essence lies elsewhere."
I leaned my upper body toward Lucy as I spoke.
"Once the choux pastry dough is fully baked, you fill the inside with vanilla cream until it's bursting. Then you top it with a thick chocolate glaze. Can you imagine the taste?"
Lucy audibly gulped.
At that reaction, I snapped my fingers.
"It would be fantastic! The flavors of the soft cream and the savory dough would dance together harmoniously inside your mouth, arm in arm! And on top of that, chocolate? The moment you eat it, even an atheist would sing praises to God."
"......."
"Of course, no matter how much I explain, it'll be hard to understand without tasting it. Still, I can't force you. You are, after all, 'someone who dislikes desserts.' Isn't that right?"
As I probed one last time, Lucy's lips quivered, almost imperceptibly.
It was the moment I was about to quietly observe, thinking it might be a declaration of defeat.
Trrrring─
The sound of the office telephone cut in between Lucy and me.
Wondering who it was, I picked up the receiver.
"This is the temporary garrison commander."
Soon, a tense voice came from the other end of the line.
─ Commander! This is Lieutenant Mekkel! The reason I'm contacting you is that while patrolling the collapsed munitions factory, I discovered something strange and am calling to report it.
Something strange? Curious, I asked.
"Explain in more detail."
─ Understood! We discovered an underground base beneath the munitions factory that appears to have been constructed by the enemy. It appears to be some kind of research facility, but the structure is...... I think you'll understand more quickly if you see it in person.
The enemy had hidden a research facility?
Why? Puzzled, I nodded.
"I'll go and confirm it myself. Halt the search and standby at the entrance."
After hearing the acknowledgment, I put down the receiver.
As I rose from my seat, Lucy was keeping her mouth shut and pretending to work.
It seemed she had been about to declare defeat, missed her timing, and had then resolved to simply not go.
I gazed steadily at Lucy for a moment, then moved my feet.
"It's going to be delicious. An éclair made by a master artisan, I hear......."
I could see Lucy biting her lip hard.
Enjoying her reaction, I walked out the door, then counted to about three seconds before stepping back into the office and standing in front of Lucy.
"Last chance. Are you really not going to the dessert shop?"
Lucy seemed to be wrestling with inner turmoil for a moment, then her eyes grew half-lidded and her gaze dropped.
"......I want."
"What's that you're saying? Speak properly."
After a short, deep breath, Lucy's lips parted slightly.
"I want to go......."
Only then did I nod.
"It would've been better if you'd just spoken your true feelings from the start. I'll tell you the location, so let's go together once the day's work is finished."
"I'll do that......."
Lucy's face, as she answered in a voice that had nearly faded to a whisper, was faintly flushed.
Truly, she was a woman who was fun to tease.
But I should be careful not to cross the line.
'Because I could end up dead.'
That was not a joke. I meant it.
*
Imperial General Staff Headquarters.
Office of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff.
Tok-tok─
At the sound of knocking, Cedric Bendel set down the documents he had been reading and raised his head.
"Come in."
Soon the door opened, and a middle-aged man with a genial expression entered.
It was Colonel Ernst Barch, the Deputy Chief of the Operations Staff Department.
Ernst walked to the center of the room and offered a salute.
Normally, Ernst, who got along amiably with all his superiors, omitted salutes most of the time, but somehow he couldn't bring himself to do so in front of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff.
Because whenever he faced those crow-like eyes, a chill would run through his entire body.
"Deputy Chief of Staff, sir. I've come to see you because I have something to report."
"It's been a long time since you've come to my office. What is the matter?"
"Ah. I've come concerning Major Daniel Steiner."
Daniel Steiner. Cedric had already heard that he was performing brilliantly in the north.
It was none other than Cedric who had placed Daniel in the position of temporary garrison commander.
But perhaps entrusting the garrison commander position to a talent who had only just become a major was a mistake.
'As a rule, ruling is harder than conquering.'
So it was likely that Ernst had come to report on incidents or accidents that had occurred in Nordia.
"Has something happened in Nordia? Something like a popular uprising or an outbreak of violence, that is."
"......No. According to what I've heard via telegraph, the majority of Nordia's citizens are satisfied with the garrison's city planning. Intelligence reports indicate that talk is circulating among the citizens that life has become better than before they were occupied."
Cedric's eyes widened roundly.
As far as Ernst knew, it was rare for Cedric to be that surprised.
"They've seized control of...... public welfare?"
And in just two weeks since his appointment as temporary garrison commander?
After a moment of stunned silence at the absurdly brilliant achievement, Cedric soon let out a dry laugh.
"Oh my. I've been thinking about the man called Daniel Steiner all wrong."
No matter how capable a talent, once they were thrown into the fray, they would inevitably become worn down by fatigue.
Cedric had thought Daniel Steiner was going through similar hardships, but seeing him achieve such outstanding results, far from being tired, it seemed he was rather fired up.
'He's practically frolicking about as if the front lines were his own home, isn't he?'
Having inwardly raised his assessment of Daniel Steiner by another notch, Cedric spoke.
"We'll have to quickly select a garrison commander and send them to Nordia."
At the unexpected reply, Ernst blinked blankly.
"Deputy Chief of Staff, sir? Is there a need to rush? Major Daniel Steiner is smoothly coloring the occupied territory into Imperial land, however......."
"You see only one thing and fail to see two. Do you think Daniel Steiner would be satisfied with a mere garrison commander position?"
Cedric's hollow eyes held a chill air.
"That man is looking at a higher place. He's waiting for a momentous mission to be bestowed upon him—one where he can devote himself to the Empire. So......."
As he watched Ernst breaking into a cold sweat, a cool smile crossed Cedric's lips.
"I intend to grant that man his wish."