Is It Okay for a Politician to Be This Rude?
Is It Okay for a Politician to Be This Rude?
After a pleasant half-day spent playing with the children, Daniel decided to leave the monastery as evening fell.
In the process, the abbot Hieronim and the children tried to hold him back, urging him to stay the night, but Daniel steadfastly refused.
The reason was not only that he had already arranged separate lodgings, but also that he had somewhere he intended to visit today.
Hieronim, who had roughly guessed where he was headed, did not try to stop Daniel any further.
And so, the place Daniel arrived at after leaving the monastery was 'Jack's Restaurant.'
Located on the town's main street, Jack's Restaurant had a shabby exterior, but a glance inside revealed an establishment so bustling with customers that it was packed to the brim.
'A place of memories. It really hits home that I'm back in my hometown.'
When he was young, Daniel had been indebted to Jack's Restaurant on more than a few occasions.
During the tempestuous years of his adolescence, when he hated the stifling life at the monastery and ran away, the owner Jack had always welcomed him with a smile.
Lost in his memories, Daniel gazed up for a long while at the wooden signboard, which was shabby to the point of being crude, then moved his feet.
When he opened the restaurant door and stepped inside, he saw the employees bustling about, serving food.
"Yes! I'll be right there!"
"Sausages and pretzels? Got it! Please wait just a moment!"
"Here's the fried potatoes and a beer!"
Even though it had been a long time since his last visit, the place was as vibrant as ever.
Walking quietly so as not to disturb the employees, Daniel took a seat at an empty table.
As he removed the military cap he was wearing and placed it on the table, one of the employees approached, holding an order pad.
"Hello! Welcome to Jack's Restaurant! It's been a long time since an officer has visited our establishment...."
The employee, who had been greeting him routinely, saw Daniel's face and her mouth fell open.
Blinking several times as if in disbelief, the employee suddenly raised her voice.
"Oppa! Is that really you, oppa!? Oh my god! Am I dreaming right now?"
The name of this employee, distinguished by her freckles, was Nemerim.
She was also a younger sister figure with whom he had shared mutual hardships and joys for quite a long time at the monastery.
At Nemerim's fussing, Daniel smiled and opened his mouth to speak.
"It's been a while. I heard you left the monastery to make your own way, so I stopped by, but it seems I didn't need to worry. You've matured remarkably in the last two years."
The delighted Nemerim burst into a peal of laughter.
"Same goes for you, oppa. Your look has gotten a bit sharper and more decadent, I'd say? Ah! In a good way, of course! Anyway, I'm so happy to see you again. I wish Uncle Jack were here too."
"He's not here right now?"
"Yeah. He got off work. He's been going home early these days. Must be because they're so lovey-dovey. Something about trying for a fourth child."
"A fourth? At his age?"
As the incredulous Daniel asked back, Nemerim giggled, covering her mouth.
"They say love knows no age. I think it's a little romantic, you know?"
"Well, I certainly can't refute that, but...."
"Right? And also... oh my, look at me. You must be hungry. Let's fill your stomach first, right? What would you like to order? No, wait. Let me guess!"
Stroking her chin in thought, Nemerim snapped her fingers with a Tak!
"Sausages and beer! Am I right? Oppa, you got caught stealing sausages behind Uncle Jack's back in the old days. And there was that time you saw the adults drinking beer and got curious, asking for just a sip."
"How long ago was that, and you're still bringing it up."
"Ahaha! Seeing you get embarrassed, you really are the oppa I knew. So, shall I bring you sausages and beer?"
As Daniel nodded, Nemerim told him to wait just a moment and then walked off to the kitchen.
It was right around the time Daniel was smiling secretly to himself, thinking she was a child who was always full of energy no matter when you saw her.
'...Huh?'
A middle-aged man wearing a dark brown coat was approaching.
At first he thought the man was looking for an empty table, but that was not it.
Because the man kept moving his feet while staring at Daniel.
Soon, the man sat down opposite Daniel.
As a result, Daniel couldn't help but be flustered.
'What's this?'
His bewilderment toward the man who had sat across from him without even asking to share the table only amplified.
Just as he was wondering what the deal was, the man checked his surroundings and opened his mouth.
"Major Daniel Steiner. This seat is uncomfortable, so I'll get straight to the point. What was your intention in delivering such words to us today at the monastery?"
The man's identity was Mortan Blackmore, the head of the secret organization 'Dawn's Morning,' which served under the prince.
Naturally, there was no way Daniel knew that.
'The monastery today? Someone I spoke with at the monastery....'
Excluding the abbot Hieronim and the children, there was only the one councilor who had come from the city council.
'Is he from the city council? Did he take offense to my request to take good care of the monastery?'
Thinking back on how Hieronim had been flustered, they must have been discussing budget matters related to donations.
'He seems to think I was pressuring the city council.'
It was such a ridiculous misunderstanding that Daniel let out a low laugh.
"It seems there was a breakdown in communication. I was merely hoping for cooperation. I had no other intention."
At the word 'cooperation,' one of Morten's eyebrows twitched.
Because saying 'cooperation' was no different from saying, 'Betray the prince and serve under me.'
"Are you calling that a word right now? Do you think that is rationally possible?"
"My, you're overreacting. It's not an impossible task."
Morten ground his teeth tightly.
'Son of a bitch. He's mocking us.'
He had thought they could at least have a conversation, but Daniel was a far more arrogant and self-righteous figure than he had imagined.
Realizing what kind of man Daniel was, Morten sprang from his seat.
"It was a waste of time. Prepare for war. No matter how much of an opponent you are, we will not back down."
Seeing Morten growl, Daniel found himself raising the corners of his mouth without realizing it.
From Daniel's perspective, Morten's words were far too much of an overstatement.
"War, you say? How can you call this a war."
They say politicians have a habit of packaging even ordinary words with hyperbole.
He was beyond flabbergasted that the man was using the metaphor of 'war' over a mere budget issue.
Waving his hand dismissively and chuckling lowly, Daniel leaned back against the backrest of his chair.
"I understand it if I think of it as a bad joke...."
Because of this, Morten could not help but break out in a cold sweat.
It was because he could not understand Daniel, who was treating a declaration of total war as a simple joke.
After suppressing his laughter for a while, Daniel slowly raised his head.
"I'm sorry, but something like this is not a war."
Looking up at Morten, Daniel spoke as if whispering.
"It's simply, a coordination of opinions."
Morten drew in a sharp breath without realizing it.
Because that snake-like voice felt as if it was attacking his mind as some kind of threat.
Those black eyes that seemed to see through everything looked like an abyss.
He felt a fear that if he stayed here any longer, he might be devoured.
It was the moment Morten, taking a deep breath, forced his feet to move and passed Daniel by.
"I don't know exactly what you were thinking, acting so rudely toward me."
From behind his back, Daniel's voice sounded eerily.
"But I sincerely hope it proves to be the right choice."
He lacked the courage to look back.
Suppressing a vaguely anxious feeling with effort, Morten, grinding his teeth, stubbornly moved his feet to leave the restaurant.
*
At the same time, at the Dawn's Morning leadership located in the basement of a shopping district.
— Multiple suspicious persons are approaching en masse! Damn it! What the hell are those bastards!?
At the voice heard from the radio set to the right frequency, the hands of the intelligence agents handling the telex machines stopped.
— They're all covering their faces, hard to identify. Wait, that's... fuck! Those are guns! It's an armed force! You sons of bitches! I told you not to let them tail you!
Everyone was bewildered at the successive radio transmissions, wondering what was happening, but Mabel, who had disguised herself as a sign language interpreter and been tasked with watching Daniel the previous day, clutched her head.
"It's Daniel Steiner...! Those are the men he sent! To annihilate us!"
Despite Mabel's cry, the intelligence agents could not comprehend the situation and only looked back and forth at each other.
It was then.
Tang─
When the sound of a gunshot rang out from the ground level, the agents each drew their pistols and began burning documents.
"Fuck! We've been found out! Burn all the documents!"
"Get the guns! We have to hold the entrance!"
Though they moved hurriedly, like the trained individuals they were, Mabel only crawled under a desk and shook her head.
"It's all wrong. You stupid bastards...."
These were the armed forces commanded by that Daniel Steiner.
It was clear there would be no opposing them through ordinary means.
While Mabel trembled and shook, several more gunshots rang out from above ground.
Then, the iron door leading to the basement flew open with a Kwang!
Immediately after the thunderous sound passed, everyone was staring solely at the entrance, breaths held.
A heavy atmosphere filled with tension descended.
"When is the top advisor returning?"
"Someone to give us orders...."
As everyone was gauging each other's reactions, Mabel squeezed her eyes shut and shouted.
"You morons! Do you still not get it!? Daniel Steiner planned this from the very beginning! He drew the top advisor outside to shatter the chain of command, and now he intends to sweep us away in one blow!"
Unaware of that, Morten, who had gone to meet Daniel, had basically stuck his head into an alligator's jaws.
By the time Mabel, now having grasped everything clearly, began to sob lowly, three grenades were thrown into the basement in succession.
The agents flinched in surprise and hid behind desks, but the grenades did not explode.
Pshh─
Only the sound of gas leaking could be heard.
But while the sound could be heard, no visible gas spread.
One of the agents, who had been watching the scene blankly, coughed and then soon collapsed to the floor with a thud.
Seeing that, Mabel muttered.
"Colorless, almond scent... fuck! It's sleep paralysis gas! Don't breathe it in... cough!"
Planting her hands on the floor, Mabel covered her nose and mouth with her other hand and crawled along the ground.
She thought she had to somehow escape through the emergency exit.
But the next moment.
Tak-tak-tak-tak-tak─
The sound of military boots began to echo in succession, and then the armed force stormed in through the entrance.
Wearing gas masks on their faces, they hurriedly secured the surroundings and then began striking the heads of those still conscious with the butts of their rifles.
The black man leading them issued a quiet command.
"Knock them all out and bind them. You have permission to shoot anyone who resists."
Her vision grew increasingly blurred.
Drooling and coughing, Mabel soon collapsed to the floor.
"All of this is...."
The voice inside the gas mask resonated more thickly.
In her fading consciousness, she could see the black man approaching.
He raised the butt of his gun toward Mabel.
"...for Daniel Steiner."
The next moment, with a Peok! sound, Mabel's consciousness went dark.