Chapter 92: Is Actually Like Being an Outcast
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 92: Is Actually Like Being an Outcast
“The Military State will be dispatching an investigation team.”
The golem finished its report impassively.
After hearing the whole story, I tilted my head in renewed confusion. A signaller from the Military State was reporting to me, a mere laborer, of all people.
As if realizing this, the golem added defensively.
“Do not misunderstand. We do not fully trust your opinion. The military authorities consider this situation to be a simple error. This investigation team is being sent to find the cause of that error. Furthermore, the reason you are being informed of this is merely as a simple briefing for the provider of the information.”
“Of course.”
“…I must emphasize, do not do anything rash. The Military State is on high alert regarding this matter, and the investigation team will include a general-officer. Lieutenant Colonel Callis is a soldier of the State. Her actions will be evaluated by the State as well. Even if you find the lieutenant colonel’s conduct suspicious, it is not your place to interfere. I advise you to remain still.”
Even though I said I understood, the golem stressed the point again and again.
Does it think I'm incapable of understanding? The Military State hates wasting effort, yet it's repeating itself.
“If you truly wish to leave the Abyss, then diligently serving your sentence according to the State's directives is the only way.”
I get it already, so why are you so desperate to keep me in line? Don't tell me…
“Are you, by any chance, worried about me?”
“Negative! I am merely stating common sense! It is ten times more realistic and constructive than aiming to escape from a land from which escape is impossible!”
The reply was so firm it was almost hurtful. No need to be so harsh. I gave a timid nod.
After its forceful declaration, the golem composed itself and continued.
“…Lieutenant Colonel Callis has requested a supply of canned meat. Do you have any requests?”
“No, I'm fine. I have a feeling the lieutenant colonel will be handling distribution herself this time.”
“…Understood. In that case, I will now take my leave. Carry on.”
“Yes. You too, Captain.”
The moment I finished speaking, the golem disconnected. Thud. Its body went limp, and I set it upright in a corner of the cafeteria.
Getting to my feet, I muttered into the empty air.
“With this, Lieutenant Colonel Callis is completely isolated. She has no one to rely on. I wonder, how will she act now that she's cornered?”
No answer came.
What, you're obviously listening. If you don't answer, it looks like I'm just muttering to myself.
To make sure I couldn't be ignored, I shouted toward one of the cafeteria walls.
“See? Isn't it great that we left one golem intact? If we'd smashed them all, we couldn't have made a supply request, and we wouldn't know what was happening. Do you understand now that smashing everything isn't always the best solution?”
The opposite wall shimmered like a mirage. The camouflage faded, revealing the Regressor, leaning against the wall with her arms crossed.
Even though she had heard my entire conversation with the golem, the Regressor still replied with displeasure.
“…If we smash the golem and kill her, there'd be nothing to worry about.”
“But they said a general-officer is coming. What are you going to do if we just kill the lieutenant colonel and a general comes down here personally?”
“They might be generals, but not all of them are strong. As long as it's not one of the Six Generals, I can handle them myself. It'll be even easier with Tyrkanzyaka.”
This wasn't arrogance. The generals were the strongest military force leading the nation of the Military State, the very top of its pyramid.
The Regressor declared, as if it were common sense, that she was confident she could defeat any of them, so long as they weren't one of the Six Generals, whose strength was on another level entirely.
Impressive, but there was another problem. I cautiously pointed it out.
“You know, right? From the rank of general upwards, they're key national figures. The moment you kill one, you're marked by the Military State, and you enter a hostile relationship with no room for negotiation.”
“You and I are already marked. You think they're going to leave us alone after we survived in the Abyss on our own terms? Even if we get out of here, we can't dream of a normal life. What are you so worried about?”
Tsk. She had a point.
Left with nothing to say, I grumbled just for the sake of it.
“I'm worried about you, the one who would casually murder a general.”
“Shut up. Says the one who was perfectly calm with a blade at his throat.”
“That was a poker face. I was terrified on the inside.”
The Regressor snorted at my words, clearly not believing a single speck of my excuse.
“You, a petty criminal? If that were true, the Military State would have collapsed last night.”
“No, it's true. The captain and the lieutenant colonel both said it. That I'm a petty criminal.”
“There's no need to try and fool me, too. We might even become allies.”
‘Just thinking about Azzy and Tyrkanzyaka is reason enough to keep him alive. In the next timeline, barring any special circumstances, I'll probably keep him alive then, too. If possible, I'd like to know his true intentions in this timeline.’
It wasn't like she'd believe me if I told her.
But was there any need to correct her? I'd secured my survival not just for this timeline, but the next one too. You're welcome, me of the next timeline. I went through all this trouble for myself.
In any case, my life was spared, so I decided to let it go. I shrugged.
“That's why I understand it even less.”
However, unlike my generous self, the fastidious Regressor couldn't just let her questions go.
She pressed me.
“Is there really a need to keep that lieutenant colonel alive?”
“Captain Abbey just explained it. A general is coming.”
“No, I'm not talking about the situation. From the very beginning, you had no intention of killing the lieutenant colonel. You didn't try to help her, either, but separate from that, it feels like killing her was never even an option you considered.”
Sometimes, the Regressor's thoughts jumped in strange directions.
I didn't know if it was because of that 13th plug-and-play thought circuit or just her nature. But while most of her guesses were off the mark, one or two would unexpectedly and sharply pierce to the core. It was like a cow catching a mouse while walking backward, as they say.
Even as I gave a vague smile, the Regressor continued to question me sharply.
“Why? Don't tell me she's your type?”
“Haha. Of course not.”
“Then?”
“Haa. Well.”
You see, it’s something I felt while occasionally reading the officer’s mind.
The human mind is a fascinating thing.
“Aren't you curious, Shei-ssi?”
“About what.”
The officer's goal is to become a level 4 citizen. That's why she became an officer and joined hands with the secret society that approached her, ‘The Human Regime’.
Her path was smooth. With their support, she received two medals and was promoted to lieutenant colonel at lightning speed. She even gained some fame, to the point where people in the Military State recognized her.
Then, an order came down from ‘The Human Regime’.
Pretend it's a mistake, infiltrate Tantalus, and gather information.
The Abyss, Tantalus. It was an infernal realm that no one should dare approach, but… its danger level had significantly decreased after the prison break, and more importantly, the fact that a laborer sent down earlier was still alive and well was encouraging.
If a mere petty criminal could survive, what reason was there for an elite of the Military State like her not to make it out safely?
So the officer followed their orders and came here.
However.
“A land of complete isolation. The Abyss, where she can't expect help from anyone. Lieutenant colonel is a fairly high rank, yet she was dropped here all alone, without any support. She's being pressured from all sides, but she's accomplished nothing. She's even facing hostility from those she never even considered enemies.”
The criminal threat, Shei, remains on edge.
The Dog King has already formed a deep bond with the laborer, leaving no room to squeeze in.
She needs to do something about that laborer, but the Progenitor, who should be indifferent to humans, is strangely protective of him.
The officer would watch me all day, looking for an opening. Each time, I'd pretend not to notice her gaze and show her just what my position was, how tightly we were all bound together.
The more I did, the more the officer was consumed by despair.
A hopeless mission. She bites her nails, trying to come up with a plan that won't materialize. But in the isolated Abyss, there's no way a solution will just pop out of thin air.
The officer must know by now. That here… there is nothing she, the newcomer, can do.
“No one to talk to, no sense of passing time. Her goal becomes more distant while the end draws near. Her life is no more valuable than a fly's.”
Even if the officer finds a chance to approach Azzy, the moment I ring the bell, Azzy will come running back to me.
Even inside the building, whenever she passes through a shadow untouched by light, she feels a sinister gaze. That's because Tyr is wary of her.
And on top of that, the Regressor in front of me practically radiates killing intent whenever she sees the lieutenant colonel. A woman of her rank can sense raw killing intent, so she's experiencing death several times a day.
“What if I die here? What if I accomplish nothing, am never remembered, and just flicker out like a faint candle? What if they abandon me now that the plan has gone awry? As she worries…”
Her goal is to become a level 4 citizen.
The reason she wants to become level 4 is to leave what she has to the next generation.
But in reality, she has no family, no spouse. Which means if she dies here, it all turns to dust.
Isn't it a contradiction? To risk her life for something that doesn't even exist yet.
“In that rock-bottom situation, what kind of person will she show herself to be?”
At the end of her life, at the end of that contradiction, what will she choose?
“Aren't you curious?”
I was so curious that I just had to ask.
As might be expected, the Regressor didn't understand.
“You orchestrated all this just for that? For something so inefficient?”
“Not just for that. Besides, you can't just kill a living person. And since we're keeping her alive anyway.”
I know this because I'm a mind reader: a person's true feelings only come out when they're actually in that situation. Even people who swear they'd lay down their lives for their country often run when a blade is actually at their throat.
That's true even when I read their minds and found not a shred of falsehood. They had deceived even themselves.
So, a line written down now means nothing. It's only when that scene unfolds right before their eyes, when a situation they can't talk their way out of appears, that a truly valuable, genuine truth emerges.
I just want to see it.
“…Really.”
The Regressor calmly mulled over my words and, surprisingly, seemed to like the idea.
“I'm guessing… you must have been a really bad guy.”
“I'm a petty criminal, I tell you.”
“Hmph. Right. Anyway, apart from what you said, it's certainly… worth a try.”
‘The lieutenant colonel is a woman. So she's not the warden the Undying talked about. She's probably a pawn. Leaving her be might be a more certain way to uncover the truth than interrogating and disposing of her now… though I'd rather not take even such a minor risk.’
Persuaded by my words, the Regressor withdrew her killing intent toward the lieutenant colonel.
She placed Chun-aeng, which she had been gripping tightly, back by her head and fell deep into thought, stroking her chin.
‘I wasn't planning on doing this kind of slow build-up in a throwaway timeline… But since things have turned out this way, maybe I'll change my plans.’
Reading that thought, I couldn't help but be dumbfounded.
I had a feeling, but was this really a throwaway timeline?
Please don't. You're making the mind reader who's reading your mind nervous.
Anyway. I turned my head again, casting a question toward the officer beyond.
What could the officer, now in checkmate, be thinking?
*
Lieutenant Colonel Callis unbuckled the belt she had brought with her.
In the past, shortly after Clothing Packets became commercialized, leather lost its primary purpose and was often used for accessories and consumables instead of clothes.
Wallets, pouches, belts, bags, ornaments, and so on.
The Military State abhorred luxury, but there was no reason to stop the processing of the leather stockpiles that existed throughout the country. Throwing it all away would be an even greater loss.
Thus, a brief leather boom occurred, and it was quite fashionable until a certain incident took place. As is the case with fleeting luxury goods, various variations appeared.
Lieutenant Colonel Callis's belt was a product that had survived after dozens of variations had come and gone, thanks to its rather unique use.
The belt bulged strangely at her left hip. When Lieutenant Colonel Callis hooked her fingers into the gap, a cleverly hidden compartment appeared in the leather. From it, she pulled out three packets.
‘The three packets He gave me.’
She didn't know their contents either. ‘The Human Regime’ had stressed that she should never open them until the situation demanded it. So Callis had tried to save them if possible.
But now was not the time to be picky about her methods.
‘One for communication. Another for escape.’
It wasn't time for the communication one yet. Put that aside.
The escape one was to be used when all hope was lost, when she had to escape the Abyss. That one, too, she'd put aside…
‘Do I really have to save it?’
Callis unconsciously reached for the escape packet, then realized what she was doing and clenched her fist tightly. She took a ragged breath and bit her lip.
‘Not yet, not yet. I can't lose heart already when I haven't accomplished anything.’
Barely managing to compose herself, Callis pushed the escape packet deep back into the compartment with a trembling finger.
Now, only one remained.
‘And the last one… for when I need assistance.’
She didn't know what it contained.
But hope has a way of swelling even larger when its object is unseen.
Callis took out the leather packet with a sliver of hope.
The secret society that had spread its roots deep within the Military State, The Human Regime. Hoping that this, their trump card, contained something that could turn the tables.
‘Please. Let there be something in here that can get me through this crisis…!’
With this desperate prayer, Lieutenant Colonel Callis opened the packet.