Just How Many Moves Ahead Is He Reading?
Just How Many Moves Ahead Is He Reading?
Early the following evening.
In the monastery's dining hall, Abbot Hieronim was absorbed in conversation with the city council members and wealthy benefactors who had come to donate.
Ordinarily, he might have at least gone out to greet Daniel, but as luck would have it, the donation event coincided with the date of Daniel's visit, so he had no choice but to prioritize hosting the guests.
Of course, Daniel was important too, but from Abbot Hieronim's perspective, the money needed to feed the numerous orphans was even more important.
As it was, donations for orphans had been gradually decreasing, so Hieronim was doing his best to curry favor with the council members by any means.
"It's truly ironic that while the number of orphans keeps increasing because of the war, the donations towards them are decreasing day by day. What in the world are the companies enjoying war profiteering even doing...?"
At the council member's dignified remark, Hieronim nodded while wearing an awkward smile.
"In that sense, Councilman Leden, you are truly someone we are grateful for. You've stepped forward to generously donate a large sum to our monastery for the orphans. Heaven's grace is truly with us."
"A large sum, you flatter me. And I'm sorry to say this, but our city council may be cutting the budget allocated to orphanages going forward."
He had been bending over backwards to humor him, but the result was not good.
Still, Hieronim understood.
Even a city council, after all, had a limited budget.
So he couldn't paint them as villains just for reducing donations.
"If you say you're cutting the budget, then to what degree...?"
Just as Hieronim was carefully posing this question, the dining hall door opened.
Reflexively turning their heads, Hieronim and the council member saw a soldier wearing an officer's uniform.
Ttogak─
The sound of the officer's boots echoed hollowly through the dining hall.
Everyone stood frozen, shrinking back at the sight of the officer slowly approaching while adjusting his attire.
Hieronim was also wondering why an Imperial officer had come to this place.
"Abbot."
The officer, having said this in a deep baritone voice, removed the service cap he was wearing.
Only then did a cheerful glow spread across Hieronim's face.
"Daniel!"
Out of joy, Hieronim, who had been about to step toward Daniel, stopped short.
It was because he had spotted the major's rank insignia engraved on Daniel's epaulettes.
At this, Daniel approached Hieronim, who was blinking blankly.
"It's been a long time. Have you been well?"
"...Yes. But it seems you have been quite eventful yourself. A major, is it? Am I seeing things correctly? You're the Hero of the Empire?"
As Hieronim spoke to him in a daze, Daniel smiled sheepishly.
"I happened to go through a lot of things without intending to. By the way, who is the person next to you?"
The council member, whose eyes had met Daniel's, found himself answering while snapping to attention.
"I-I am Councilman Leden. It is an honor to meet you."
"The honor is mine. If you are a council member, you must be the one who delivers donations to our monastery. I look forward to your continued support."
"Yes. Y-yes...!"
Daniel, having heard the council member's answer, maintained his smile and looked at Hieronim.
"More importantly, where are the children? Are they doing well?"
"Th-they are. They're all gathered over there."
When Daniel shifted his gaze, he saw the children standing in a corner, staring at him blankly.
The boys were wearing white dress shirts with black suspenders and bow ties around their necks, while the girls were in white one-piece dresses with flower-decorated pins in their hair.
'Nothing's changed.'
The practice of dressing the children in neat clothes for show whenever there was a donation event was the same now as it had always been.
Daniel, who had let out a low laugh, spoke to Hieronim.
"Then I will play with the children until the event is over."
Having said this, Daniel walked toward the children.
The council member, who had been watching his retreating figure, nervously fidgeted his hands as if tense before finally opening his mouth with difficulty.
"...So Major Daniel Steiner was from this monastery. You should have told me in advance. Abbot. I apologize for going back on my word, but let's consider the city council's budget cut for donations canceled."
"Excuse me? Is that true?"
True or not, what could he do? The Empire's war hero, who had personally received the Golden Cross Medal from His Majesty the Emperor himself, had just said, 'I look forward to your continued support' for the monastery. There was no way he could proceed with a budget cut after that.
While the council member was reluctantly nodding his head in a lose-lose situation, Daniel, who had stopped in front of the children, solemnly put his hands behind his back.
"Listen up, you recruits. I am Major Daniel Steiner, an operations staff officer belonging to the Imperial General Staff Headquarters. Does anyone know why I have come here?"
The children merely gulped, frozen in fear.
Daniel, who had been observing them with a cold gaze, soon laughed and extended both hands.
"It is precisely to play with you all! Ella! Luka! Meli! You've all grown so much!"
Only then did the children realize Daniel had been playing a joke and burst into giggles, rushing into his arms.
A few of them, unable to contain their excitement, tried to cling to Daniel all at once, nearly making it dangerous.
Worried the children might get hurt, Daniel knelt on one knee, and Ella clasped her hands in front of her chest and spoke.
"Daniel oppa! If you were coming, you should have said so! I was waiting so long!"
"Sorry. I sent a letter to the abbot. Didn't he tell you guys?"
"He didn't! Because the abbot is a weirdo!"
The mischievous Luka butted in.
Luka, who had a bulbous nose, raised his voice with an excited face.
"Hyung! But hyung, are you really a major? Isn't that a super high rank? Do thousands of soldiers who shoot guns follow you now?"
"It's not that high of a rank. The number of people I can command is only a few hundred at most."
"A few hundred is huge! But hyung, is that true? Meli was saying earlier that you came here to carry out a secret mission!?"
At the words 'secret mission,' starlight seemed to swirl in the children's eyes.
Those gazes were bewildering to Daniel, but it wasn't something he couldn't play along with.
These were children who were practically confined to the monastery, with only two outings per month.
So, telling them fun stories, even if it meant fibbing a little, was a kindness to the children.
"Oh dear. I've been found out. Actually, it's true that I came here to carry out a secret mission."
Luka covered his mouth and his two eyes widened into circles.
The other children also furtively glanced around while focusing intently on Daniel's words.
"Listen carefully. I came here under orders from the Imperial Household. It's because insidious forces have coiled themselves up here. My objective is to wipe them out in a single strike."
"...I-is that true?"
The mature Ella was also completely fooled by the lie and was chiming in.
Smiling, Daniel nodded.
"That's right. Normally, they operate like regular employees in the commercial district, but underground beneath it, they're collecting all sorts of information and operating in secret. Their numbers, astonishingly..."
"Astonishingly?"
How many should he say?
Feeling that too few would kill the mood, Daniel spread out five fingers.
"Roughly fifty strong."
Gasp! The children all flinched and began murmuring in shock.
Since some of the children seemed frightened, Daniel continued speaking to smooth things over.
"But there's no need to worry. I will take care of them all. Understood?"
The children, who trusted Daniel, nodded one after another.
Daniel, who had found their expressions adorable, was about to laugh when he stopped short.
It was because he felt a persistent gaze from somewhere.
When he turned his head instinctively, his eyes met one of the wealthy benefactors attending the donation event.
The benefactor seemed to flinch in surprise before hurriedly stepping away somewhere else.
'What the...'
Was it just his imagination?
Just as Daniel was tilting his head, Luka tugged on his arm.
"Hyung! Hyung, you're really, super cool! I wanna be like you, hyung! I want to become a cool soldier like you! So I can help you, and I'll—"
"Don't."
Having cut off Luka's words, Daniel erased the playfulness from his face and spoke gravely.
"I'm warning you, absolutely do not become a soldier."
It was advice that came from the bottom of his heart.
*
Underground in the commercial district, Dawn's Morning leadership.
"Your Excellency! Chief of Staff, Your Excellency!"
As soon as the informant who had been sent to surveil Daniel entered the underground, he sought out Morten.
Having burst into Morten's office immediately, the informant spoke without even stopping to catch his breath.
"Your Excellency! Daniel Steiner...!"
Morten, displeased by the sight of his subordinate panting for breath while disguised as a wealthy benefactor, furrowed his brows.
"Catch your breath, organize your thoughts, and then speak."
The informant, having nodded, took a deep breath and then opened his mouth.
"Daniel Steiner not only came down under the orders of Her Highness the Princess, but he also appears to be aware of the leadership's location."
One of Morten's eyebrows, as he sat in front of his office desk, twitched.
He put down the glasses he was wearing and looked at the informant skeptically.
"...Aware, you say? Of this place?"
"Yes. I overheard him speaking playfully with the little children, and he mentioned that the headquarters is located under the commercial district, and he even had a rough idea of the number of personnel. More importantly..."
The informant recalled the cool glare Daniel had given him and spoke.
"...After he finished speaking, he glared right at me, the one surveilling him. As if he had known everything from the very beginning."
After listening to the informant, Morten groaned and ground his teeth.
A rough guess at the location and number of personnel might be dismissed as coincidence, but combined with the fact that he had specifically identified the person surveilling him, it could no longer be considered mere coincidence.
'On top of that...'
Daniel had revealed all that information despite knowing the Dawn's Morning informant was watching him.
As far as Morten could see, that was no different from threatening Dawn's Morning while pretending to play with children.
"Damn it. Daniel is warning us. He's saying that if he really wanted, he could annihilate you all, but he won't."
"...Why would he do that?"
"I don't know the exact reason. One thing that is certain is that Daniel wishes to have a dialogue with us."
He could not refuse, so it was a checkmate.
His head throbbed with dizziness.
Morten, who had been taking deep breaths, raised his head while barely overcoming his fear.
"Fine. If he wants to talk, we must accept. I will personally step up and sound out Daniel's intentions."
He did not know what Daniel's ulterior motive was.
But even for the survival of the organization, Morten had no choice but to accept Daniel's proposition.