Chapter 174: My Lady
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 174: My Lady
The Shadow of the Military State was a motley crew.
Even if they were ordered to start a riot all at once, they might just get cold feet when the time came. No, it was highly likely.
A common thug risking his life to launch a suicide mission on a specific facility? If they were capable of that, the Military State wouldn't have needed to implement such harsh military training in the first place.
What they had done until now was, at the end of the day, just crime.
But what they were about to do was an act tantamount to rebellion. There was the risk of death, or of being sentenced to a lifetime of hard labor. No matter how firm their resolve, would they really move so easily?
Far from starting a riot, they might just hide even deeper out of fear of disobeying their orders.
…However, what if Wolfen had planned for even this?
“…The lawless ones who call themselves the Shadow of the Military State. They were hidden throughout Amitengrad, a kind of wedge meant to make the Military State tear this city apart.”
From the beginning, Wolfen wanted only one thing.
Mutual destruction.
“He plans to start the riots and spread the Taboo of the Military State at the same time! So that the State’s guns will be aimed at everyone who comes into contact with or hears that truth!”
The Family and the Market. Two of the few organizations that existed in Amitengrad, where the Military State’s power was absolute.
He would incite the delinquents, which included the orphans from the Shelter, to fight with those two organizations, luring the Military Police to intervene in the sudden commotion.
And at that moment, he would spread the Taboo. Secretly, from within the shadows.
A potent poison that seeps in just by hearing it, just by touching it. A fatal toxin in the form of information.
The Taboo of the Military State would spread among them.
And then.
“The Military State will eliminate everyone suspected of having come into contact with that Taboo…!”
The Family, the Market, not even the Shelter where a former general resided would be safe.
In the face of a Taboo that could shake the very foundations of the Military State, everyone involved with those organizations, big or small, would be swept away.
They’ll pull out anyone connected to it, and in the process, Anna, Smen, or even you will surely be hurt!
When you pull out weeds, the soil clinging to the roots comes with them. It wouldn't just be me and Anna; all the lower-class citizens connected to us would be pulled out and thrown onto the trash heap as well.
We’d be lucky to be dragged off to a labor camp; we could just as easily be sent straight to the incinerator.
Faced with the signaller’s conviction, I muttered dubiously.
“Sounds like one hell of a Taboo.”
The captain quickly lifted her head and spoke to me urgently.
“You must forget it. Do not wonder about its contents. You must never, ever know what that Taboo is. Nor show any sign that you do!”
Please, I beg you. Even coming into contact with that incident is dangerous. No, even knowing that such a Taboo exists is dangerous! I’d rather you just forgot what I just said…!
The captain’s emotions were so earnest and urgent that I wanted to do just that.
But what could I do? I’d already read it.
…The incident where 162 secondary military school students were massacred by ‘someone’.
No, Captain. I wanted to know about the Shadow’s conspiracy threatening the back alleys. I didn't want to know some horrifying piece of information that could get me killed just for knowing it.
I’m a victim here, too. A victim of mind-reading! It was my mind-reading that did it on its own!
Hah. This had gotten ridiculously complicated. I scratched my head and said.
“…Damn. I was just trying to make some easy money from a marriage scam, and now I might end up in an actual grave. The grave of life, indeed. It doesn't grant entry so easily.”
The moment the word ‘marriage’ left my lips, the captain flinched. I let out another sigh, this one with a different meaning, and looked at her.
The captain, who had been so agitated about the Taboo, felt a different kind of heat starting from her heart and avoided my gaze. The neck visible beneath her straw hat was flushed red.
I spoke in a leisurely tone.
“Alright. I’ll try to forget it. By the way, wasn't there something we were supposed to do but kept putting off?”
“Th-… Affirmative.”
“We were supposed to stop by a government office if we saw one while I was helping with the investigation. But we never seemed to pass one on our route. What a coincidence.”
“Y-yes. Affirmative. A remarkable coincidence.”
As she stammered, I drew out my words and asked her casually.
“You’re not embarrassed, are you, Captain? You said it was just a sham marriage for my payment.”
“Of course not! It is purely to legally provide you with compensation. I had no personal motives whatsoever!”
Her voice, rising half an octave, held as much heat as when she had spoken of the Taboo. She seemed startled by her own words and covered her mouth with her hand.
What do I do…! The truth is, I may have had personal motives in this matter…! Danger, danger! This will become a false report! I will have told a lie!
What’s wrong with a little lie? I smirked and pointed down the street with my finger.
“Shall we stop by the office first, then? I’d rather not be cheated out of my pay.”
“Y-yes, affirmative…”
The captain’s voice grew progressively smaller.
As we walked down the street, the captain’s heart was torn in two.
There was her animosity toward the Shadow, who sought to use the Military State’s power to upend the peaceful back alleys.
And then there was the fluttering excitement of filing for marriage, even if it was just a formality.
Although she knew this marriage was different from an ordinary one, her heart was as giddy as a new bride’s.
Really, I…?
After a quick glance at me, the captain pulled her straw hat down low.
It’s fine. I just need to get his consent and sign the papers. That’s all… but. Even for a moment, I’ll be able to call him my spouse, won’t I? I can at least pretend, for a short while, right? As my spouse, as him. As my… husband.
Hiding her burning face, the captain shivered for a moment in embarrassment. But as she faced the warm, budding feeling of happiness in her chest, as she saw her heart swell, a bitter smile touched her lips.
Now I understand. Why I need the Windowless Room.
When she was a signaller, she was confined to a windowless room, seeing the world only through a golem.
A signaller’s world existed only through a golem. Captain Abbey had seen the color of the sky but could not fathom its height; she had felt the force of the wind but not the refreshing coolness as it tousled her hair. She had been with people, yet she could not feel their warmth.
The world was right before her eyes, but it was a scene beyond a pane of glass. The captain could not live within it.
But in the few days she had spent entirely in her own body, the captain’s heart had undergone a tremendous change.
Taste, smell, connection, emotion, life and death, joy and sorrow. Pain, and happiness.
The warm sunlight offered by moments spent with another person had blossomed in her chest. The captain felt a sun-like warmth spreading out from the center of her heart.
Along with a happiness that felt undeserved.
If you wish for something small, you begin to wish for something a little bigger. Gradually, you become greedy for things you should not touch. Eventually, you will covet everything in the world. I must not be any greedier. I must kill my emotions and fulfill my duty.
The Taboo of the Military State and the Shadow.
The information the captain now possessed was not something to be taken lightly. If she simply passed it on to headquarters, the riots would be quelled several times faster.
But if she couldn't find the Shadow, it would only be a partial success. She had to find them before the Taboo spread.
The only way to find the Shadow before things escalated… was for her, an officer, to become the bait. The Shadow would surely see an officer as the perfect signal flare to kick off their grand plan.
It’s enough. In the first place, I’m the only one who can do this. The Taboo of the Military State, Hamelin. As a signaller, I already know that story… so it won’t be a problem if I come into contact with it.
Her resolve firm, the captain closed her eyes and clenched her fists. Her heart no longer wavered.
I’ve made my decision. After we file the report and finish the paperwork, I will give him this information. Then I will immediately contact headquarters and tell them to tail me.
Her mind was made up; all that was left was to find the way. The captain once again spread her mana and connected to a golem.
Window Connection.
An intangible stem flowed into every corner of Amitengrad. Soon, the golem’s vision appeared in the captain’s eyes.
What she saw now was the very street we were on. A narrow alley with few people, where only the captain and I were walking side by side. Beyond this street was the main road, and on it, the government office. There, she would hold her wedding ceremony—a simple affair to mark her end…
The captain and I walked down the street.
And a few people in cloaks, who had been watching us from a distance, began to stealthily follow us as we moved.
The captain’s head snapped around. In the golem’s vision, the captain’s eyes met her own. Her face was etched with shock.
We’re being followed?!
Huh? Tailed? I didn't sense any hostility.
Just as I was about to turn around, the startled captain grabbed my face, keeping her connection active. Her whisper reached my ear.
“…We have a tail.”
“A tail?”
While living in Amitengrad, I don't spread my mind-reading too widely.
This alley might seem deserted, but the building right next to it was a medium-sized residential block with over two hundred people. If I used my mind-reading indiscriminately, I’d be overwhelmed by the flood of thoughts, so I was keeping it suppressed.
Still, I should have immediately sensed any hostility or fear directed at me. Strange.
“Where.”
I let my mind-reading spread out wide. The dam broke, and a torrent of countless thoughts poured in. I filtered out the miscellaneous noise, tracing the thoughts about me back to their source. My mind-reading reached the cloaked group watching me.
And I let out a dumbfounded sound.
“Huh. What are you guys…?”
Just then, the captain grabbed my wrist and took off running.
“This is no time for that! We need to get out of here!”
“Huh? Uh, okay.”
I ran after her, not knowing what was going on. It felt like we were eloping in the middle of the night.
Even as she ran, the captain maintained her synchronization with the golem.
It was a strange feeling, viewing herself in the third person. She saw the connecting alleyways in advance, then synchronized with a golem in the next alley. The path continued at the edge of her vision. And at the end of that path were two more cloaked pursuers.
The running captain let out a small groan, then turned and headed in the opposite direction. The view of the opposite street appeared in her eyes.
“Tch! They’re systematically blocking the paths! This level of organization…! It’s completely different from the others we’ve dealt with!”
Yeah. I’d say so.
They’re different people, after all.
Though I still don’t know why they’re chasing us.
The cloaked figures were moving with the clear intent of targeting me and the captain. That much was obvious from the movements she saw in her vision.
In fact, from the thoughts I’d briefly skimmed, they were clearly moving with us in their sights.
“Captain, I think we’re being cornered.”
“My apologies…! I let my guard down for a moment…!”
This is why I should never have wished for pleasure! If it were just me it wouldn’t matter, but to think he would get dragged into this as well…!
The sound of urgent footsteps echoed loudly in the narrow alley. The captain ran for her life, speaking to me as if making a vow.
“Leave it to me. I will save you, no matter what!”
Even if I have to use the golems, I will!
Use them to save yourself. Stop trying to use them to save others all the time. Why doesn't your protective instinct work on yourself?
Having a rough idea of our pursuers’ identities, I was much more relaxed about this escape than the captain was.
“Bbey. More importantly.”
I pointed behind us with my finger. The cloaked figures were only approaching slowly, not running after us. As if they didn't care if the distance between us grew.
I pointed that out.
“Don’t you get the feeling we’re being guided somewhere?”
“…!”
The captain fell silent, looking around. The alleys they had passed through flashed in her eyes.
Just as I’d said, we were now being forced into a single choice. Like a river flowing in one direction when a dam is built, we had been driven toward the main road by an unseen hand without even realizing it.
I noticed too late! And of all places, we’re being herded not into a corner, but onto the main road…!
If they had been gradually pushed into a corner, the captain would have noticed something was wrong. Everyone is wary of corners.
But as it happened, we were being herded toward a wide main road, large enough for four lanes of automaton carriages.
But why would the enemy target the main road…! Don’t tell me they want everyone to witness this incident? To think they’d act so soon…!
But they were already cornered. A main road also meant there were many ways to escape.
The captain clenched her fist and thought.
We’ll force our way through!
Just as the captain’s eyes, filled with the golem’s vision, began to glow and she gathered her mana.
I ran out onto the main road a step ahead of her. The moment the narrow alley ended and the wide-open road came into view.
The first thing I saw was not an automaton carriage, but a real one.
Two horses with flying red manes snorted and pawed at the ground. Their energy was so fierce they looked like they might shatter the pavement, but the horseshoes, made of high-level special alchemic steel, smoothly absorbed the impact and the sound.
And the carriage itself was massive, easily twice the size of a normal automaton carriage. Its design was simple, but its luxury was second to none in the world.
As if it had been waiting for me all along, the carriage door opened the moment I appeared on the road. The first thing to emerge was a pair of clean shoes.
She wore crisp suit trousers, a bright red shirt underneath, and a formal scarf. It was a young woman with vivid, sky-blue hair tied to one side.
“It’s dangerous! Step back!”
The captain, who had run out after me, fell silent when she saw the woman’s face. Her eyes widened.
“You’re…!”
“It’s okay. I know her.”
I waved a hand to reassure the captain.
The oldest connection I had, one that began right after I started living in Amitengrad. And my most successful investment.
Facing my one-time student, my backer, and my excellent source of income.
With the mindset of a con artist facing a gullible investor, I put on a flattering smile and waved.
“Hey, it’s been a while, Sephi. Have you been well?”
In response to my casual wave, Sephier Bakiya placed a hand on her chest and bowed deeply.
“Have you been well, Master? I have been eagerly awaiting the chance to see you again.”
Are my messages beef jerky? Why must you ignore them so thoroughly? Do I really have to hear news about you from other people, you loafer?
Wow. Her mouth—no, her thoughts had gotten much rougher.
Looking at the young president whose inner voice had grown so coarse since I last saw her, I gave an ambiguous smile.