The Most Perfect Occupation in the World
The Most Perfect Occupation in the World
Meanwhile, in Edria, a Permanent Member State of the Allied Nations.
Count Kaledra's library.
"This way."
Edria's Minister of Internal Affairs, Sorten, slowly walked forward, guided by the servant.
Sorten, who had been navigating the labyrinthine library, soon arrived at the reading room.
Upon entering, Sorten felt a truly peculiar sensation.
It was because, despite being on the third floor of the library, only minimal sunlight managed to filter in.
After scanning the gloom-ridden library even at noon, Sorten soon spotted Count Kaledra.
He was standing before a standing table, leaning on his cane as he turned the pages of a book.
The slow blinking of his snake-like, pale, slender eyes sent a chill down Sorten's spine for reasons he could not quite place.
Kaledra de Norteber.
Better known by his nickname, the Blood Count, he was the undisputed power behind Edria.
He had used his immense wealth to bribe high-ranking politicians and military leaders, and those who had received money even once found it difficult to escape Kaledra's influence.
The Minister of Internal Affairs, Sorten, standing here now, was no exception.
After all, the position of Minister of Internal Affairs itself had been arranged for him by the Kaledra standing before his eyes.
Kaledra spoke to Sorten without even a sidelong glance.
"What business brings you here?"
A tension stirred needlessly at Kaledra's frost-laden voice.
Unconsciously clutching his necktie, Sorten spoke after taking a deep breath.
"I have come to discuss Lucy Emilia."
Sorten had spoken, but no reply came.
However, Kaledra was not silent because Sorten's words displeased him.
He was merely waiting for the next words.
Realizing this, Sorten continued into the awkward silence.
"...What I mean to say is that I am concerned Lucy Emilia may be staying too long in enemy territory. If she were to have a change of heart, would that not be a great loss to the Allied Nations?"
Still, Kaledra said nothing.
Sorten swallowed dryly and spoke.
"I heard that Lucy Emilia has left the heavily guarded capital and is in the Kingdom's Nordia. It would be a good opportunity to order her to eliminate Daniel Steiner and return."
"......"
"Look here. Even I can see that Daniel Steiner is performing tremendous feats across multiple fronts. For now, he is merely a Major, but if he continues to be promoted and comes to command a large force, what do you think will happen?"
He was saying that nipping the bud early would be beneficial to the Allied Nations.
Having heard all of Sorten's story, Kaledra closed the book with a casual gesture.
Kaledra softly stroked the cover of the book and spoke.
"Lucy will not waver. You must be aware that the bond between that child and I is special. The child considers me her father. I also regard Lucy as my daughter."
"But that is only up to a point......"
Sorten could not finish his sentence.
Because Kaledra's snake-like eyes were glaring at him.
Having silenced Sorten, Kaledra suppressed his anger and regained his composure.
"...Furthermore, Daniel Steiner will not be eliminated. For now, letting him live will benefit the Alliance. Though, admittedly, there have been some setbacks."
His feats had far surpassed the scope Kaledra had anticipated.
Especially when news of his brilliant exploits in the Nordia Invasion Operation reached them, not only Kaledra but also Edria's military leadership expressed shock.
But they had not deviated from the main course.
As of yet, that is.
"Assassination is the method of last resort. First, we must keep Lucy at his side and reap the benefits."
"...When you say benefits?"
"Lucy is objectively beautiful. As long as Daniel Steiner does not know her true identity, he will inevitably feel some attraction. We will use that."
Was he scheming to order a honeytrap?
'Well......'
Historically, it was not uncommon for so-called great leaders to suffer hardship over a woman.
"No matter how rational a man may be, once he catches that mental illness called love, he will start leaning on his emotions. Turning a man swayed by emotion into a puppet is a simple matter."
If they could emotionally manipulate Daniel Steiner, who was called the Imperial Hero, he would no longer be a figure to fear but merely a useful chess piece.
After pondering for a moment, Sorten nodded.
"I understand. In that case, I shall trust you, sir, and......"
Before Sorten could finish, Kaledra waved his hand dismissively.
It meant he should leave and stop interrupting his reading with pointless talk.
It wounded his pride, but he dared not protest to Kaledra.
Nodding, Sorten walked away, following the servant.
After confirming that Sorten had moved away, Kaledra gazed at the bookshelf and murmured quietly.
"Daniel Steiner, is it......"
Recalling the achievements Steiner had racked up, Kaledra soon shook his head.
Because for now, there were simply too many other things to consider besides Daniel Steiner.
*
"We will arrive in Nordia shortly."
At the driver's words, Colonel Erwin, who had been assigned the post of garrison commander, let out a low hum.
Seeing this, Erwin's adjutant asked with a puzzled look.
"Your Excellency, is something troubling you?"
At the adjutant's question, Erwin let out a low sigh.
"Let me ask you something. Do you think I can be at ease when I am heading to a garrison commander post?"
"...But according to the General Staff Headquarters' data, the public welfare appears to be stabilized?"
"Who do you think delivered that data to the General Staff Headquarters?"
"That would be Major Daniel Steiner... Ah. I see."
The adjutant nodded as if he understood.
There were often cases where officers, blinded by performance records, manipulated statistical data and reported it to headquarters.
But would Daniel Steiner really have filed a false report?
While the adjutant was puzzled, military vehicles carrying battalion personnel entered Nordia in orderly fashion.
As the scenery of Nordia began to reveal itself outside the window, Erwin turned his head and fixed his gaze forward.
'It has only been a month since Daniel Steiner took the position of temporary garrison commander.'
He stabilized public welfare and secured the support of the populace for the occupation force in just one month?
'Preposterous!'
Erwin was a veteran of the Eastern Front.
While advancing and retreating multiple times on the Eastern Front, he had occupied and lost countless territories.
In all those occupied territories, he had never encountered a citizenry favorably disposed toward the occupying force.
That meant most either feared or despised the garrison.
Even someone like Daniel Steiner, hailed as an Imperial Hero, could not be exempt from this rule.
Therefore, it was clear that the citizens of Nordia would not look favorably on him and his troops as they entered the city.
In the worst-case scenario, a riot could break out the moment he stepped out of the vehicle, so Erwin stayed on high alert.
As he fidgeted with his holster for no reason, his adjutant, who had been observing the outside through the window, spoke up.
"Your Excellency? The citizens are throwing something."
"It is common for them to throw filth, so do not worry. Be careful not to react, as restraining those individuals on the spot could give the impression that the garrison is oppressing the citizens."
"Pardon? Ah. No, they are throwing flower petals."
...Huh? Throwing flower petals?
Wondering what on earth he meant, Erwin turned his gaze out the window and stared blankly, mouth agape.
It was just as the adjutant had said; the citizens of Nordia were throwing flower petals from their baskets.
Looking at their faces blooming with smiles, they seemed to be enthusiastically welcoming the garrison.
Erwin could only stare in bewilderment at a sight unlike anything he had ever seen in his life.
'This is as if......'
They looked like they were welcoming not an occupation force, but their own allied army.
It was as he was blinking vacantly, unable to fathom the reason.
Kkiiiik─
The vehicle carrying Erwin came to a halt in front of the command building.
After stepping out of the vehicle, Erwin glanced around and was startled once more.
A statue of His Majesty the Emperor had been erected in front of the headquarters.
It looked hastily made, so its form was quite crude, but that was not the important part.
Citizens were voluntarily placing single flowers before the statue.
Utterly baffled by this, Erwin grabbed a passing child and asked.
"Child, this old man is curious, so tell me, who erected that statue?"
The child stared blankly up at Erwin and then spoke.
"A mister with a dark face said we should build it. The grown-ups all agreed. Originally, they wanted to make a statue of that person, Daniel Steiner? But he absolutely refused, so they changed it to the Emperor mister."
So, in other words... it wasn't an order from above, but the citizens had voluntarily pooled their money to erect a statue of His Majesty the Emperor and placed it here?
He was so dumbfounded that he was at a loss for words when the main gate of the headquarters swung open.
"Ah! Colonel Erwin! We have been waiting."
Turning his head, he saw it was Daniel Steiner.
He walked over naturally, wearing an officer's winter coat and accompanied by a few staff officers.
Staring at him with a dazed expression, Erwin spoke with a measure of respect in his voice.
"Major Daniel? I have toured countless occupied territories, but this is the first time I have seen enemy citizens welcome an occupation force this warmly. How on earth did you accomplish this?"
Daniel, who came to a stop in front of Erwin, glanced back at the statue and let out a low, detached laugh.
"Well, you see......"
A feeling of resignation seeped from Daniel's smile.
"I'm not quite sure myself......"
It was no joke; he truly had no idea why things had turned out this way.