It's an Order, So I Guess I Have to Follow It
It's an Order, So I Guess I Have to Follow It
Since defying orders wasn't an option, Daniel promptly selected company personnel as ordered.
Afterward, Daniel left Nordia amid the send-off of the garrison citizens and headed for Marobark, where the 3rd Corps Command was located.
The adverse weather he'd worried about before departure never materialized, so he arrived in Marobark a full day ahead of the order's specified time.
Marobark, which the Imperial Army had occupied, was larger than Nordia, but its citizens cast cold stares, clearly not welcoming the military presence.
'This is normal, though...'
Daniel could not understand why the citizens of Nordia had been so enthusiastic about the Imperial Army.
As he stared blankly at Imperial soldiers mingling with the Kingdom's citizens on the streets, his driver carefully applied the brake.
Once the car came to a complete stop, Daniel opened the door and stepped out.
The first thing to catch his eye was the command headquarters building, with the Imperial flag draped across it like a crest.
Watching the flag flutter grandly against the starlight of the night sky almost stirred a sense of patriotism he didn't know he had.
'Putting up a flag that big, the soldiers must have worked hard.'
With a hollow laugh, Daniel lowered his gaze and saw a lieutenant colonel emerging from the main gate of the command headquarters, accompanied by soldiers.
When Daniel reflexively saluted, the lieutenant colonel chuckled and returned the salute.
"If it isn't Daniel Steiner, the hero of the Empire! I've been waiting. I'm Kalpren, the general's adjutant."
"Calling me a hero is too much. More importantly, if the adjutant has come out to greet me..."
"Ah. The general is waiting for you."
"...The general is waiting for me?"
"Yes. I know summoning you the moment you arrive is against decorum, but as you know, we're pressed for time. Follow me."
Why would a corps commander wait for a mere major? He was puzzled, but with no option to refuse, Daniel followed Adjutant Kalpren.
After entering the command headquarters and climbing several flights of stairs, Daniel stopped in front of the corps commander's office on the 5th floor.
"He dislikes people who stall to read the room, so if you have an opinion, state it clearly."
After giving Daniel that advice, Kalpren knocked on the office door.
"Your Excellency, Corps Commander. I have brought Major Daniel Steiner."
The answer came a moment later.
"Send him in."
It was a deep and powerful voice.
As Daniel tensed, Kalpren opened the door.
Beyond the door, Corps Commander Karlpeter could be seen handling paperwork at his desk.
Behind him, the eagle emblem flag of the Imperial Household and the Imperial flag were crossed and displayed as desk flags.
The walls, too, were densely hung with all manner of strategic maps and operational boards.
It drove home that this truly was the office of a lieutenant general commanding an army corps.
Lieutenant General Karlpeter Krau.
He was the highest-ranking person Daniel had met so far, aside from the Imperial Princess.
After secretly taking a deep breath, Daniel stepped inside and saluted.
"Your Excellency, Corps Commander. I was told you summoned me."
Only then did Karlpeter set down the pen he was holding and slowly raise his head.
Blue eyes glinted beneath thick brows.
He was a man with a striking face, marked by small scars and a square jaw.
He returned Daniel's salute and leaned back in his chair.
"Daniel Steiner. According to General Headquarters, you have a knack for interrogation—judging by how you made Major Reginald of the Kingdom Army surrender, and how you pressured the spy at the Imperial banquet."
Being thrust directly into the main topic without any pleasantries made him feel stifled.
In the heavy atmosphere, Daniel managed an awkward smile.
"Your Excellency, that was merely good luck."
"You are too modest. Even if what you say is true, I believe luck is also skill. Especially on a battlefield where you can't see even an inch ahead."
Letting out a low breath, Karlpeter half-closed his eyes.
"Therefore, I wish to borrow your luck and your eloquence. I'll be blunt. I intend to send you as the chief negotiator and special envoy for the peace talks in four days."
The tips of Daniel's fingers, held at ease, twitched.
Because Karlpeter was making an unreasonable demand.
'...Chief negotiator? Me?'
Dumbfounded, Daniel spoke after a short silence.
"Your Excellency? I don't think a mere major like myself is suited for the position of chief negotiator. Aren't there many other capable people at the command?"
"There are many. I sent those capable bastards, and what was the result? Negotiations broke down."
"But..."
Karlpeter raised a hand and cut Daniel off.
"I'll tell you this because you seem overly burdened by responsibility, but neither I nor the command headquarters have high expectations of you. The command is still considering total war, after all."
He was saying that even if the negotiations broke down again, no one would hold him responsible, so he should relax.
"So, will you do it or not?"
Karlpeter raised one eyebrow and probed Daniel.
"I..."
A brilliant thought suddenly flashed in Daniel's mind, just as he was about to refuse.
He realized that this time, he might actually be able to escape the Empire.
Clenching his fist, Daniel met Karlpeter's eyes.
"I will do it."
Interest flickered in Karlpeter's eyes at the sudden shift in Daniel's demeanor.
"However, I have a condition. If you appoint me as chief negotiator, please grant me the appropriate authority."
"What do you mean by authority?"
"I need access to all operational and troop statuses of the 3rd Corps. Also, I would like you to entrust the personnel assignments for the upcoming 3rd negotiations in four days entirely to me."
Karlpeter was momentarily speechless.
The corps' operational and troop statuses were classified as Class 2 field secrets.
No matter his affiliation with General Headquarters, that was not something a mere major could demand.
Of course, Daniel had likely encountered Class 2 secrets a few times while working as an operations staff officer, but those were ultimately only a tiny fraction of the entire corps.
'And yet he wants to view all Class 2 secrets of the corps?'
It was beyond audacious—dumbfounding.
'I think I understand why Cedric dotes on this fellow.'
Cedric placed high value on 'justifiable unpredictability' in operational planning.
That was because unconventional tactics and strategies invariably bogged down the enemy.
In that regard, the Daniel Steiner before him was certainly an unconventional individual.
Who else would stand before a corps commander and ask to view all the corps' troops and operations?
His spirit and audacity were beyond imagining.
"Very well."
Letting out a low chuckle, Karlpeter looked at Daniel and said.
"I shall grant it."
If you've bet on a joker card, you see it through to the end.
*
Meanwhile, Lucy was drying herself off after a bath in a hotel near the command headquarters.
Originally, because the Marobark garrison was at full capacity, they would have had to make do with billets in crumbling commercial buildings or schools like the other low-ranking officers.
But thanks to being a 'Headquarters Direct Command Unit' and gaining the glory of the 'Daniel Company' of Imperial heroes, the command had ordered that the officers of that company be quartered in a hotel.
Honestly, Lucy wouldn't have minded staying elsewhere, but she couldn't deny feeling grateful to bathe in a hotel with hot water.
'I feel like I'm coming back to life...'
Lucy, dragging her weary body into the hallway while shaking the moisture from her hair with a towel, suddenly paused.
Because a flyer had been slipped under the door.
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It looked like a typical promotional flyer, but Lucy's sharp eyes caught the small raised braille dots in the upper right corner.
An intelligence agent operating nearby had slipped in a flyer with a code to relay an order.
She approached, crouched down, and picked up the flyer.
Placing her hand on the braille dots, Lucy closed her eyes and deciphered the code.
As she deciphered the code, several letters came to mind, but they were out of order.
It was a type of polyalphabetic substitution cipher.
Putting the cipher in the correct order required a codebook, but Lucy had memorized the entire codebook, so she could skip that step.
After rearranging the letters, Lucy read the order's content in her mind.
'Notice that Daniel Steiner's activities may become a threat to the Allied Nations in the future. Recommend establishing countermeasures from now on, even to paralyze his rational thinking and use it...'
As she continued interpreting the code, Lucy's eyes slowly opened.
'Order to primarily seduce Daniel Steiner and obtain emotional control...?'
Her shoulders flinched involuntarily.
Perhaps because she was agitated, Lucy's red eyes quivered faintly.
For Lucy, who had absolutely no experience with men, this order was simply too cruel.