Chapter 170: Fake News...?
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 170: Fake News...?
‘…There are so many good things in this world.’
‘The morning is welcome, and the sunlight is warm. The breeze is cool. Tea is sweet, blankets are cozy, and food delights the tongue.’
‘People live together. They drag their weary bodies from a day of labor to sit across from each other in the cafeteria, sharing jokes to get through another exhausting day. They meet strangers and make friends. They return home to raise their children and fall asleep. In the quiet night, only the sound of their breathing can be heard. I have experienced all of this.’
‘However, there is also tragedy in this world. Anna was attacked and gravely injured. People who threaten even military officers roam the streets. In the shadows, organizations tear each other apart. Some citizens go to sleep just like everyone else, but never open their eyes in the morning. And in places I know nothing of, I’m sure many more are dying.’
‘Some incidents are unavoidable, but many tragedies can be prevented. Evil that spreads chaos, in particular, must be swiftly dealt with. The Shadow of the Military State, and the magician. Lawbreakers who hide their identities and disrupt society.’
‘To fulfill my duty. For his sake, and for Anna’s.’
‘Before my life ends, I will eliminate them.’
‘…Or so I intended.’
Returning home, the Captain placed a stone on the emotions welling up inside her.
Press. Squeeze. The hard, heavy weight of duty suppressed her heart. The restless, fluttering feeling that had been swelling up, oblivious to its owner’s will, gradually calmed. The heat drained from her head, and reason returned.
She seems to have calmed down a bit. Maybe now’s a good time to clear up the misunderstanding.
“Captain, you’re not pouting because of that little white lie I told to get out of that situation, are you?”
“…”
“That Nehru girl is a beast by nature. If she doesn’t have meat in her mouth, she’ll just keep barking. I had no choice. So, if you could find it in your generous heart to show some leniency…”
“Negative.”
“Huh? Negative what?”
Without answering, the Captain glanced around the room.
The bed and sofa, the lamp and the lights. The rug covering the floor, the door to the bathroom.
Her eyes touched upon every object before she looked at me, her mind made up.
“I request your cooperation.”
“Ah, right. You said you were requesting my cooperation, didn't you? But I’m a man who keeps his business and personal life strictly separate. Go on, tell me. I’ll hear you out—your terms and your price—and then I’ll decide.”
I’d even worked as a sort of fixer in the past. Cooperation? Sure, I’d cooperate. As long as they paid the right price.
As if she had expected this reaction, the Captain nodded without hesitation and spoke.
“I intend to find the criminal organization known as the ‘Shadow of the Military State’ and the outlaw known as the ‘magician.’”
“Excuse me?”
Oh. That’s not good. The magician is me, isn’t it?
Was it a petty criminal’s instinct? A military officer was looking for me, right to my face. I felt like a mouse before a cat, my body frozen stiff. Uh, I can’t help with this. To help, I’d have to slap a straitjacket packet on myself.
But why all of a sudden?
“Why are you looking for them?”
“I am a soldier. Does a soldier need a reason to monitor and apprehend criminals?”
“Well, I suppose, but…”
Weren’t you on vacation until you had to return to headquarters?
If the condition was to ‘return before two weeks are up,’ isn’t it a virtue to enjoy society for the full two weeks and then saunter back on the last day? Why was she trying to work during her vacation?
And work on catching me, of all things!
“I require a collaborator who resides in the area and is well-versed in its geography and affairs. I also need to secure a contact who can relay information on my behalf should I encounter any… unforeseen problems.”
“And you want me to do it?”
“Affirmative.”
“I don’t mind cooperating, but I don’t work for free. I get paid a fair price for whatever I do. ‘You get what you pay for’—that’s my motto.”
In short, I was telling her to put a price on the table. The Captain simply nodded in agreement.
‘I know. That is your nature. Even in the Abyss, you would demand a price for the smallest of favors.’
Heh. So she does know.
This is why it’s important not to let yourself be taken for a sucker. Once you’ve built that image, they start thinking about compensation on their own.
“However, before that. I have a proposal for you.”
Oh? Trying to negotiate? With me, a mind reader?
Alright, let’s see. What kind of price did you have in mind? Hazard pay, labor costs, base provision fees… Hmm. It won’t be cheap.
Maybe I’ll just take a peek at what she’s proposing… If she offers some ridiculous terms, I’ll shut it down immediately.
Just as I was about to read her thoughts, she spoke.
“Marry me.”
“Huh? What did you say?”
Excuse me? What did you say?
Even the ability to read minds is useless if you can’t comprehend what you’ve read.
While I stood there, dumbfounded, the Captain clutched her removed cap to her chest and spoke with grave sincerity.
“I am well aware that this is sudden. However, please hear me out.”
I was planning on not just hearing but reading her thoughts and digging through her memories. What kind of thought process led to that conclusion? My first-ever marriage proposal, and it was like this?
‘As a Signaller, my identity has been discovered by you. I should have either committed suicide on the spot or eliminated you. Yet, during our journey across half the Military State, I took no action and merely observed. This is, without a doubt, my own negligence.’
Ah, this pattern again.
“I am greatly indebted to you. You saved my life, provided me with a place to live, and have seen to my every convenience. In contrast, what I have provided you is…”
‘The fact that I… didn’t kill you… does not count as payment. By protocol, I should have killed myself. In a way, thanks to your help, I have been granted a few days’ reprieve to conclude my life…’
“…nothing.”
Well, at least she knows.
So if she knows that, what’s this all of a sudden?
“It’s admirable that you recognize it, but what does that have to do with anything? Are you saying I should be grateful you’re marrying me and serve you for the rest of my life?”
“Negative.”
The Captain stood up straight, her head held high. Her eyes, as blue and clear as the sky, were so transparent that I felt no need to read her thoughts.
“Currently, a mysterious criminal organization and outlaws are running rampant in District 10 of the Military State. For your sake and the sake of those around you, I intend to restore order and eliminate them.”
You? You think you can…? But then, I’d seen too much of what she was capable of.
She wouldn’t even need to do anything else. If she went to the Communications Headquarters and leaked the right information, the organization would be annihilated. With hidden golems tracking them from every corner, no ordinary criminal group could ever hope to escape.
However, if she went to headquarters with her identity compromised, she’d just be forced to commit suicide. It seemed her plan was to gather as much information as possible first.
…Or die fighting the criminals.
“That’s a noble cause.”
“It is my duty. From now on, I will investigate the outlaws who torment the citizens of the Military State and use all means necessary to eliminate them. However, my opponents are lawbreakers who do not hesitate to use violence, even against an officer. My life may be threatened during the investigation. They have no laws or rules, so it is possible I will be killed.”
She still had no intention of living. She spoke of her own death with unnerving calm.
“This is both my request for your cooperation and my repayment for all the help you have given me. Should I die, I need someone to deliver the information I’ve gathered, along with the news of my death, to the authorities.”
“Ah. So.”
I was starting to get it. And where the marriage proposal came from.
“If you die on a mission, there are death benefits. So you’re saying, since the money’s going to waste anyway, I might as well marry you and take it?”
“…”
“Am I right?”
“…Affirmative.”
‘It is the only thing I can give you. As I have no immediate family, the funds would go unclaimed. I would like for you, at least, to receive them.’
She’s going to die anyway.
With that as her premise, the Captain intended to investigate and bring down the shadowy forces that had attacked Anna and thrown the citizens into a state of anxiety.
In the process, her desire to repay her debt to me had bounced around until it suddenly shot out as a marriage proposal.
“This is not a bad proposition for you, either. If I report that you actively cooperated with me in Tantalus, it may be possible to clear some of the charges against you.”
“The Military State will clear my charges? That’s the least believable thing I’ve ever heard.”
“It is an undeniable fact that you helped me return to Amitengrad. If I emphasize that fact, my superiors will not find much fault with you.”
“I’m a level 0 nobody. I’d be more worried about getting arrested before they even listen.”
“That will not be an issue. Upon marriage to a level 3 citizen, the spouse is temporarily granted level 2 citizenship. You can use the time you are a level 2 citizen to resolve all suspicions.”
I wasn’t particularly dissatisfied with my life as a level 0 petty criminal, but the model soldier Captain wanted me to return to a life in the sun.
“You can now wash away all your sins and begin a new life with sufficient assets. This is the compensation I offer you.”
By marrying you, that is.
Uh, I appreciate the thought, and honestly, I appreciate the money. But isn’t this a little… much?
“Do you, uh, really have to die? Can’t you just pull back if things get too dangerous?”
The Captain shook her head firmly.
“I must fulfill my duty.”
The ironclad rule of a Signaller: their very existence must remain an absolute secret.
Having just witnessed the power of a Signaller, I could understand, to some extent.
From a seated position, she could monitor an entire district, receive all sorts of information at once, and process it in an instant.
Her Synchronization Magic, which relayed classified national information and operational orders to other Signallers or units, was personally unimpressive but incredibly powerful when used as a component of the state. Sending commands from headquarters to a distant location with no delay and no cost meant the entire Military State could move with the agility of a single beast.
Long-range communication, information control, surveillance, and management.
Signallers were the nervous system of the Military State. They must never be exposed.
If another part of the state was hit, only that part would be damaged. But if something happened to a Signaller, the entire colossal nation of the Military State would stagger. Due to the nature of Synchronization Magic, a problem with one could spread to the entire country, which was why the State had to be so careful in how it handled its Signallers.
As such, the State drilled the importance of their role and their duty into them, almost like brainwashing.
Just like the Captain standing before me now.
“So you’re saying it’s almost certain you’ll die.”
‘Negative. Even if there were a chance of survival, I do not intend to take it. The confidentiality of a Signaller must be maintained, even if they have a spouse.’
The Captain’s words were different from her thoughts.
“Affirmative. It is that dangerous of a task.”
I get what you mean.
In the end, while I showed you the joys of life for a few days, it wasn’t enough to make you want to live.
If that’s the case…
“…Captain. Don’t you think they might see it as a sham marriage just for the death benefits?”
“That is an unfounded concern. It is an unwritten rule not to question marriages conducted in haste by unmarried soldiers just before they are dispatched to their deaths.”
The reason was simple: to boost morale.
Death benefits are paid upon death. In the Military State, where one could not even leave an inheritance, the death benefits paid to the remaining family were an excellent means of making soldiers resolve themselves to die.
An army without the will to die is a disorderly mob. Therefore, the Military State actively encourages marriage.
To increase the population and military strength, and at the same time, to raise the morale of its soldiers.
“I am merely exercising that right.”
I understood her intentions. Her mindset, too.
There was almost no downside for me. Just stamp a marriage certificate, and it’s done. No kids, and the wife will soon be gone, leaving only the death benefits. Isn’t this the definition of irresponsible pleasure?
This was the Military State. There was no Sanctum, so no one would point fingers at me for being divorced.
“The Captain’s death benefits, and a chance to clear all my charges. It’s not a bad deal for me… but I have a question.”
“Please, ask.”
Enter a sham marriage and receive the benefits as payment.
On the surface, it seemed like a rational proposal, but one question remained.
Would the diligent and exemplary Signaller of the Military State, Captain Abbey, make such a request purely for monetary compensation?
Had her interview with Nehru influenced her somehow, or had meeting people on the streets changed her as a person?
If I dug very, very deep, I might find out.
But not yet. The Captain had not yet found life.
I’ll let her be for a little longer.
“This is strictly a contract, right? There’s no meaning beyond the death benefits I’ll receive?”
“Affirmative.”
The Captain responded instantly. It was a prepared answer, delivered without a hint of hesitation.
“Well, in my case, I also accept payment in kind or promissory notes.”
For some reason, agreeing to this made me feel like the world’s biggest scumbag, but what did I care?
She was the one who offered it first. My only crime was agreeing.
I extended my hand for a handshake.
“Alright. I’ll cooperate, Captain.”
“I’ll be in your care.”
The Captain took my hand and gave me a serene smile.
‘…It should be all right. To be a little more greedy, just this once, at the end.’
‘As a Signaller, I know all sorts of information. From secrets that must never be known to recipes for canned beans. I know most of the knowledge and information accessible within the Military State.’
‘But there is still so much I do not know.’
‘The beating I felt when held in an embrace, the shame that made my face burn red. The regret I feel whenever I think of my own death. And the longing for those I will never see again. I still do not know what these things are.’
‘…Perhaps, if I marry, I might understand? If it is something that can change a person so dramatically, something that gives courage to a soldier heading to their death. Will I change, too?’
‘I have heard that one should marry the person they want to spend the rest of their life with. If that is the case, then I am making a rather fine marriage.’
‘He will never know how I feel. And that is a relief.’
‘There is no time left, so I will not be able to have children, but still… I will have been married before I die.’
‘I will be the happiest Signaller.’