Chapter 146: The Path Flows with the Traveler - 2
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 146: The Path Flows with the Traveler - 2
The captain grabbed me and shouted.
“What possessed you to make such a false report!”
Pinned against the wall in an instant, I raised my hands and offered an excuse.
“It was to clear up any suspicion. Think about it. Someone on a secret mission is walking around with a strange person. You’d want to check them out, wouldn’t you? That’s all the Colonel was doing.”
“And you respond by making a false report that a suspect can’t even handle? A false report to a superior officer is, in itself, a violation of military law!”
“Even during a secret mission?”
The captain added grudgingly.
“…If you’re not on a secret mission, that is.”
“Then there’s no problem.”
I shrugged. Then, for the sake of the dazed captain, I decided to teach her a little about the harsh realities of the world.
“Do you think the Colonel is playing games? He was just testing the waters.”
“Testing… the waters?”
“Yes. It doesn’t matter if I was lying or telling the truth. If I were really just a clueless older brother, he would have given me a stern lecture. If I was lying, he would have played along, thinking, ‘Ah, he must have created a fake identity for his secret mission.’ Does it make any sense for him to get angry after asking a question and getting an answer?”
It was a test from a seasoned colonel. I only managed to slither my way out of it because I could read his thoughts. Otherwise, he would have been looking at the captain with a bit more suspicion.
Not that he would have disobeyed the orders. But he could have assigned someone to watch her. He had that much discretion.
“Why would he do such a thing?”
“Maybe he didn't like you, or maybe you seemed too naive to be entrusted with a secret mission.”
“…Hmph.”
Overwhelmed by my logic, the captain fell silent. I added with a tone of pity.
“And besides, I wasn’t really lying, was I?”
“Not lying? I don’t understand what you mean.”
“You don’t seem to remember… When my little Bbey was only knee-high, I carried you on my back and raised you myself… I still vividly remember you calling me ‘big brother’ back then…”
“…! Denied! That was something you forced upon this officer! Had this officer not been under a certain kind of duress, I would never have done it!”
‘The shame…! A shame I shall never experience again in my life!’
Huh. It was just a joke to lighten the mood, but her reaction is more intense than I expected. What’s this about?
I decided to prod her one more time.
“Forced you? You were the one begging for piggyback rides all the time. Don’t you remember? You were so cute back then, waddling around with your arms wide open.”
“…! That was a disguise for the mission! In the first place! If you had just cooperated obediently!”
‘To think I rode on this man’s back, was held in his arms, and clung to him like a baby! If I had my way, I would erase that entire memory!’
…I’ve been thinking this for a while, but is this captain confusing her memories as a golem with her own?
Wait a minute. This level of immersion.
Could it be?
“Captain Abbey.”
“…What is it now? I’m starting to get nervous.”
“By any chance, are you constantly synchronized while controlling the golem?”
Mages who controlled golems synchronized their movements with the dolls to achieve delicate motions.
Voodoo sorcerers who cast curses synchronized the doll’s senses with their target to inflict terrible pain.
The synchro-type magic golem was a masterful combination of the advantages of both, not only mimicking the operator’s movements but also relaying senses and information. It was, for all intents and purposes, one’s own avatar.
Signallers were the Military State’s greatest puppeteers, capable of controlling dozens of such golems.
However, if what I had read was true, then these Signallers weren’t the elite of the elite, controlling dozens of expensive golems at their own discretion…
‘Affirmative, however, a question. Why do you ask?’
“…That’s classified.”
No, seriously? She’s been synchronized this whole time?
“What’s so classified about it? Sounds like a yes to me. Come on. You can turn off one of the two synchros, right? Motion synchro or sensation synchro. You don’t normally keep them off?”
‘Partially affirmative. You know one thing, but not the other. There is an enormous difference in the amount of information that can be obtained when fully synchronized versus when not. In order not to miss such trivial information, this officer deliberately keeps motion and sensation at maximum synchronization at all times. And…’
Her thoughts trailed off, and the captain’s expression clouded over with a bitter, self-deprecating look.
‘…Besides. Even if I were to disconnect the synchro… all I would see is a dark, empty room. There’s no reason not to be synchronized… Even if it’s painful, it’s far better to feel something.’
“…It’s classified…”
The mood suddenly turned somber.
Wow, I’m suddenly feeling a little guilty. And here I was, tying her up in weird positions and forcing her into the splits to make her stop synchronizing.
Nah, no way. She’s not an idiot. She wouldn’t have tried to stay fully synchronized in that situation, right? Haha…
Haha.
Wow…
“…A question. What is with that look you’re giving this officer?”
The captain asked, looking fed up. I pretended to be sad, dabbing at my eyes with a handkerchief.
“Sob. My poor Bbey… From now on, your big brother will make lots of money and make you happy.”
“Stop your nonsense!”
I was starting to feel a little—no, a lot—guilty.
I treated her golem so roughly because it was just a golem. If I’d known a person was feeling the exact same thing, I wouldn’t have done it. It’s not like I’m some sociopath with no empathy.
I guess not being able to read minds can turn even a good-natured citizen like me into a demon. Man finds the devil within himself…
Just then, the clock struck 10 PM. Seeing the time, the captain stood up.
“End of duty hours. Within the next hour, this officer must complete washing and laundry and prepare for bed.”
“We’re outside. What do you mean, ‘end of duty hours’? You sleep when you’re tired and wake when you wake up.”
“A regular lifestyle and neat attire are the basics of service. No matter where you are or what the situation, you must act according to the schedule. Even if no one is watching.”
“Come on. You couldn’t have spent every day in that cramped room wearing an uncomfortable officer’s uniform.”
“…?”
‘A question. How can one not wear an officer’s uniform while on duty?’
Seriously. If no one’s watching, just relax a little. You can control the golem without wearing anything, can’t you? So uptight.
The somber mood returned. I wiped under my nose and muttered.
“You wash up first. I’ll let you go ahead.”
“…If you wash late, it is predicted that you will not be able to meet the designated bedtime. Please wash first. This officer will tidy up the room in the meantime.”
If she insists. I put down my bag and headed for the bathroom.
It was a typical Military State accommodation. It seemed they had grudgingly removed one of the three beds that could barely fit in the space to create an illusion of roominess.
A bed, a lamp, a stand. That was all the furniture in the room.
With Clothing Packets, there was no need for a wardrobe, and meals were eaten in the cafeteria. This was a space purely for sleeping.
The fact that it had a tiny, cramped bathroom attached was a luxury.
“Can’t complain.”
The Colonel had done me a favor and given me a really good room.
The group dorms were just rows of bunk beds with mattresses about as hard as steel desks.
I went into the bathroom first.
The water ran well, but it was only cold. I waved my hand under it. This chill, I’m starting to remember it. Yep, this is the Military State, all right.
If I could use Standard Magic, I could heat the water easily, but that would surely drain my meager mana reserves. I had no choice.
I turned the faucet. Since this was a relatively nice room, there didn't seem to be a daily water ration limit. I took off my Clothing Packet and doused my entire body with cold water.
“Aaargh!”
My bones are freezing! Help me! The water in the Abyss was warmer than this…!
I had no choice but to wash myself timidly. From outside the door, I heard the captain’s voice.
“How long are you going to be?”
“Ah, just a minute! I’m almost done!”
“You must not be late for bedtime. Please hurry.”
What’s wrong with sleeping in a little? You might lose a little sleep, so what? She really is a strange creature.
I was rinsing myself under the running water when I heard a thought.
‘Morning Glory… No, I must not use it. Until I return to the base, this officer is not permitted to use communication magic.’
The thought drifted from the other room. I used it as background music as I scrubbed myself clean.
‘…In truth, now that he knows this officer is a Signaller, I should eliminate him to silence him. There is no guarantee he will keep this secret forever. If he were to blab about my identity to everyone…’
Signallers only communicate through their golems. They must never reveal their true selves.
The information that passes through them ranges from the trivial to the critical. If someone were to capture a Signaller and extract information through torture or interrogation, the Military State itself would be shaken.
The Windowless Room and the synchro-type golems existed to protect the Signallers, who were hubs for all information, and in turn, to protect the Military State from them.
‘The discovery of the Windowless Room… and my identity being revealed. It was a truly painful mistake…’
A Signaller must live only within a Windowless Room. Their lives must be contained within a box.
Nothing but the expendable golem body should ever go outside.
Only their consciousness could be sent out.
Of course, Signallers weren’t born in boxes, so at some point, they inevitably had to be moved. The advantage of a Signaller was their portability, after all.
Therefore, when a Signaller traveled in their own body, they were given a secret operation order to conceal their affiliation and name. An operation order with a security level so high that not even a colonel could open it.
‘According to protocol, this officer should… kill him…’
“Alright, all clean!”
Now sparkling, I put my Clothing Packet back on and threw open the door.
The bedding was already neatly made. A perfectly squared-off pillow and blanket greeted me, and the lamp had been dimmed, casting a soft glow.
The captain, who had been sitting primly on the bed, stood up when she saw me.
“This officer will wash now.”
I said, shaking my hair dry.
“The water was pretty warm. I think you can just splash it on.”
“Acknowledged.”
And with that, the captain walked stiffly into the bathroom. The door clicked shut.
Leaning her back against the bathroom door, the captain was lost in thought for a moment.
‘…But, humiliatingly, he saved this officer.’
The captain had been inside a steel box I’d stumbled upon near Tantalus. Her head was bleeding.
When Tantalus had been upended and crashed to the surface, the tremendous shockwave had spread in all directions. The impact, strong enough to crack the nearby ground, had apparently knocked the captain unconscious in her underground box.
I had found it by chance, thinking it was a treasure chest.
But inside was only a bleeding captain.
A Military State captain had nothing worth robbing. In fact, I should have been more worried about getting robbed myself.
I was just going to wrap a bandage around her head and be on my way.
If only the waking captain hadn’t asked me for a favor.
‘…This officer… take me… over there…’
‘Over where? In this tiny space?’
Her eyes fluttered open, and in a dying voice, she asked me to move her. I was about to ignore her and leave.
‘…Please… big brother…’
They say you should grant a dead person’s wish, so why not a dying one’s? I helped the barely conscious captain to her desk.
Fumbling around, the captain pulled something from a drawer and put it in her mouth.
It was suicide poison.
‘Whoa, what the hell!’
Startled, I kneed her in the stomach, and she spat out the poison before passing out.
Thanks to that, I was the one in a bind.
There are two ways to catch an elephant with a gun.
First, you shoot an elephant that’s on the verge of death.
Second, you shoot an elephant and then run away until it dies.
What? Don’t elephants die when you shoot them with a gun? Please. A gun that barely works on people isn’t going to work on an elephant.
You’d have a better chance of catching one with a toothpick. At least with a toothpick, you could use Qi Arts.
Anyway, I had punched a captain who was on the verge of death. If I left her like that, it felt like I would be the one who had ‘caught’ her. After deep consideration, I decided to save a life and brought her with me.
I’m reasonably satisfied with the outcome now. The Military State is too much of a hassle to get around in without any identification.
“Finished.”
“Huh? Already?”
The captain emerged from the bathroom.
Having shed her stiff uniform, she was in a shirt, drying her wet hair. She looked for all the world like someone who had just doused themselves in water.
What? There’s no way she used that water. Don’t tell me the faucet recognizes an officer and provides warm water?
No, this is the Military State. They’d gift an officer with cold water, too. If you want warm water, you have to heat it with Standard Magic.
I looked around.
“How was the water temperature?”
“It was warm, as you said.”
That? Was warm? Strange. Maybe the definition of relative temperature has changed recently.
“The water temperature was slightly higher than the average for supply water. I believe it’s because this is a large facility, so the temperature of the collected water is a bit higher.”
The captain, shaking her hair dry, seemed completely unfazed. In fact, I could even sense a hint of excitement.
With a happier expression than I had ever seen on her face today, the captain said.
“To be able to douse my entire body with water. This is truly heaven. As expected, bigger facilities are the best…”
Is she a captain or a charity case?
An unfortunate captain.