Chapter 89: The Officers of the Military State
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 89: The Officers of the Military State
The officer, her brow furrowed in a rude scowl, glared at the golem without returning its salute.
The golem, having missed the chance to lower its hand, continued speaking while holding the salute.
"I have heard much about you, Lieutenant Colonel. I am to serve as your aide until you depart from this place..."
“Yes, Captain. You're late. Even later than the laborer.”
Her sarcastic tone was sharp. The golem hesitated for a moment at her pointed attitude before belatedly adding.
"I will correct this. However, there were circumstances."
“Are you trying to make excuses now?”
“…I will correct this.”
As the golem fell silent, the officer clicked her tongue and turned away. She spoke without even facing the golem.
“I don't care how many of your golems were destroyed, Signaller.”
That's a lie. She cares a lot. Not out of concern, but out of a desire to condemn. The subtext was, "What the hell did you do with all those golems?"
“Likewise, I won't make an issue of the fact that this golem is in worse shape than a can of beans.”
Let's not be mistaken. She's making a huge issue of it. She was even about to tell it to check its attire before saluting, but stopped herself.
The officer then turned, clasping her hands solemnly behind her back. Two silver medals pinned to her chest swayed with the movement.
Emphasizing the medals with a chest full of pride, the officer lifted her chin high.
“However, if your duty is to monitor and manage Tantalus, you should at least be faithful to it. Yet I, who arrived at Tantalus yesterday, have not received a single report from you. Not until this very moment, when a laborer brought you here.”
“…I will correct this.”
“Your new superior arrives in your designated area, and you only show your face a full day later. Is it a lack of ability, or a lack of will? 'Lax discipline' doesn't even begin to cover it.”
My body tingled, itching to act in the face of her relentless criticism.
Should I hold back? Should I?
No, I can't. How can I just let this atmosphere stand?
"...I will corr—"
Just before the golem could finish, I instantly bent down, hugged it tightly, and shouted.
“Don't be so hard on our Captain Abbey! What did my baby do wrong?!”
It's always the same with officers. They try to save face by chewing out some poor subordinate.
About 10% of the time, anyway.
Of course, I won't let it happen. It's no fun if I just let them get their way.
“That's right, it's all my fault! If only I hadn't been such a brat and torn off Captain Abbey's legs! If only I hadn't ripped the speaker from its mouth! Waaah, I'm so sorry, Captain Abbey!”
"Let... let go."
“There, there. It's okay. Don't cry. Santa won't bring you any presents if you cry.”
“…”
Having thoroughly muddied the waters, I swiftly lifted the golem again. It struggled frantically, but I just patted its back as if soothing a child and turned around.
“Lieutenant Colonel Callis! I'm so sorry for making you waste your precious time chewing out a golem just to look cool! Please, carry on with your work!”
“…Tsk.”
With the atmosphere no longer suitable for scolding, all the officer could do was click her tongue. I quickly waved my hand before she could say anything else.
“Well, goodbye!”
Leaving the officer behind, I walked out of the warden's office. The golem in my arms had stopped moving.
Just as I was wondering if she had disconnected…
“…It's not exactly your fault. As the Lieutenant Colonel said, the fact that only one unit remains is due to my own negligence.”
A weak voice flowed from the golem. I replied nonchalantly.
“Still, that was too harsh. I mean, she's the one who fell into the Abyss by mistake, and she's asking why you didn't come find her. It's so unfair.”
“Please, don't worry about it. I'm used to it. For someone like me, who became a Signaller without taking any exams… to become a level 3 citizen, the same as a cadet from the Advanced Military Academy, without any effort or competition… it must feel like an insult to them.”
A graduate of an elementary citizen school is a level 1 citizen.
A graduate of a secondary military school is a level 2 citizen.
They make up the majority of the Military State's population, the very foundation of the nation.
But a foundation, by its nature, is something to be trampled underfoot. They are oppressed, beaten, and tossed about, tilling the soil of the Military State. The nation grows lush and strong, feeding on their blood and sweat.
From level 3, however, everything changes.
Officers, technicians, scholars, factory managers, and the like.
Once you distinguish yourself in a field and become an indispensable talent, your situation changes. Your access to facilities expands, your income increases, and you gain certain privileges that lower-level citizens do not possess.
An officer who graduates from the Advanced Military Academy is a level 3 citizen from that moment on, and they take immense pride in that fact.
Enough pride to despise a Signaller who became a level 3 citizen through sheer luck, with no effort of their own…
…And Lieutenant Colonel Callis knows how to pretend that's all it is.
I read the minds of others. If I listen quietly to their thoughts, I can hear the desires they hold in their hearts.
Wishes they've dismissed as impossible, or shallow beliefs planned with overconfidence.
Things like that come to me, sometimes tinged with a strange resignation, other times brimming with excitement.
And the stance I usually take is…
“Is Lieutenant Colonel Callis always like that?”
“This is the first time I've met her in person as well. She's famous for being promoted to Lieutenant Colonel at a young age. News of her hunting the beast of Auk Valley in a three-day operation and of her finding and single-handedly suppressing a Resistance base spread like wildfire among the Signallers.”
“Someone like that is bad-mouthing a Signaller? Isn't that suspicious?”
…to move the situation in a direction no one expects.
“For someone like the Lieutenant Colonel, who has earned her merits through her own strength, it's only natural to dislike a Signaller who works comfortably without any accomplishments.”
“No, I'm talking about her competence, Captain Abbey. Why would someone so competent do something that puts her at a disadvantage?”
The officer, Lieutenant Colonel Callis, scolded Captain Abbey. Well, "scolded" is one word for it. Acting like that on the very first day is no different from picking a fight.
Whether Captain Abbey is obedient or defiant, she won't go anywhere near a Lieutenant Colonel Callis who acts like that.
“She comes into the Abyss by mistake and then rudely bad-mouths a Signaller. It's a complete mess. Is that the true face of the famous Lieutenant Colonel Callis?”
And that is exactly what Lieutenant Colonel Callis is aiming for.
“Captain Abbey, as you've seen, I've won over the Progenitor. Shei-ssi is an antisocial maniac who slices up every golem she sees. The only ally she has in Tantalus is Azzy, who is an ally to all humans. In other words, she has no one.”
Begin.
Persuasion starts from common ground.
You link arms, state facts you both know, and walk side-by-side.
“So why, on her first day, would she be so cold to Captain Abbey, the only person in Tantalus who would be friendly to her?”
Slowly, slowly.
Bend it so naturally they don't even notice.
Persuasion is turning the direction of their thoughts somewhere completely different from where they started.
“Because to Lieutenant Colonel Callis, you aren't an ally, Captain Abbey!”
When I read her thoughts a moment ago, I felt a sense of unease.
The officer's dislike for the Signaller is clearly genuine.
However, in this isolated Abyss, a Signaller—the only means of contacting the outside world—is an invaluable asset. Does she lack the patience to put her feelings aside for a moment and not show her dislike?
If she were that foolish, she never would have made Lieutenant Colonel.
"What do you mean by that?"
“To put it simply, the Lieutenant Colonel has a reason to avoid your eyes, Captain Abbey! She wants to be isolated again, even within this isolated Abyss! Could it be she's a loner on the same level as me?”
"What are you..."
“Oh, come on. Don't play dumb. You already get it. Do I really have to spell it out for you?”
In truth, she probably already understood. Signallers deal with information, so she must have known something was off.
I can't read a golem's thoughts, but I was certain my words had gotten through.
The reason truth is valuable is simple. It's a matter of economics.
It's unique.
There are countless lies in the world, but there is only one truth.
That's why the real truth always gets through. I told her the fact I had read from Lieutenant Colonel Callis.
“She's plotting something shady, right under the State's nose!”
"Don't try to drive a wedge between us!"
The golem retorted, as if by obligation.
"I will not fall for your tricks. A petty criminal like you, and an officer of the Military State! It's obvious whose words carry more weight! How dare you! The soldiers of the State are bound by blood and iron! Such baseless slander… baseless..."
Each incident on its own was plausible. Something you could ignore and move on from.
But looking back on all of it, they were so suspicious it was hard to believe you hadn't noticed.
Normally, people don't realize it. Someone's intentions aren't visible, and there are too many other things happening in the world to connect the dots.
But if you know the answer, everything that exists becomes evidence.
"But, if what you say is true... this goes beyond insubordination..."
Good. She took the bait.
A Signaller's duty is to report. Even if she doesn't believe me, she'll at least report her suspicions.
And that's it. All I have to do is wait for the Military State to respond.
And while I'm at it, I'll secure my own advantage.
“…Then. Was Lieutenant Colonel Callis's scolding just an act…?”
“No, I think there was some genuine feeling mixed in there.”
The golem shot me a sideways glare. Then it composed itself and faced me directly to speak.
“…I will take my leave now. Please place this unit somewhere safe.”
“You can count on me.”
Click. The golem's body went limp. She had disconnected the synchro.
I carefully set the golem down in a corner of the cafeteria and sat in a chair for a moment, lost in thought.
I don't know what she's plotting, but I'll have to give our elite officer a taste of the real world. A life where everything goes your way is just too boring, isn't it?
And besides, it's better for me this way.
If a startled Military State takes the officer away to verify the truth, then I'm sure I'll see it clearly.
A way to escape this Abyss.
Hmm. Now that I've planted the seed of doubt, maybe I'll use my spare time to read the officer's memories. It'll be easier to deal with her if I at least know what she's planning.
I left the cafeteria again, rounded the corner, and headed toward the warden's office.
And there, I came face-to-face with the Regressor, Chun-aeng raised high above her head, just about to smash down the office door.