The Dreamer Who Scatters Red Blood - 5
The call from the 4th Department Head came that night.
"I expect to arrive by lunch tomorrow."
"Ah, is that so?"
I nodded absently at the words, then felt a belated sense of wrongness. I had only heard today that Mukgwangdae had been dispatched—and they would arrive by lunch tomorrow?
The distance from the Imperial Capital to the Academy took several days even by carriage. Even the teleportation magic circle nearest the Academy was no trivial stretch of road.
Were they somewhere else?
Right—they might have been on an operation nearby and moved the moment the dispatch order came through. Or they might have set out days ago, not today.
Either way, what did it matter? What mattered was that the 4th Department Head and Mukgwangdae were coming.
"Good. The sooner I see them, the better for me."
It was not empty talk. I meant it. If I could have, I would have sent a teleportation mage just to get them here even a little sooner.
Until now I had been keeping the 1st and 2nd Department Heads under control by myself. For whatever reason they had been astonishingly quiet, but those two were time bombs that could go off at any moment. I could not afford to let my guard down.
With the 4th Department Head here, I could finally breathe. The ratio of lunatics to sane people would even out—from two-to-one to two-to-two.
"It would be an honor."
When I spoke with all that sincerity, the 4th Department Head bowed her head.
If she were still under the Audit Department, I would have thrown her a bonus on top. Years had passed, and I still regretted it.
"Then shall we meet in that forest where we met last time?"
I spoke, forcing down the bitter feeling in my gut. She was not coming alone but with a whole group, so meeting at the Academy would be a problem. The stares would be unbearable.
Fortunately, there was the forest we had used as a contact point during the Third Glory affair. That would do.
"Yes. I will head that way."
"Alright. See you at lunch."
Since it would be mealtime, I ought to bring something simple to eat. These people would almost certainly make do with combat rations.
Cookies Luise had made—would not be enough for all of Mukgwangdae, so I would have to stop by a shop.
I could bring the 1st Department Head along too.
She was unemployed with nothing to do right now anyway, so I could drag her along while I was at it. The 2nd Department Head was busy, so leave her.
So I picked up the communication orb I had just set down on my desk. If I suddenly hauled her off tomorrow, she would kick up a fuss about extracurricular activities or whatever else.
"Chief?"
"Yeah, it's me."
Besides, leaving this one alone while I went somewhere else made me distinctly uneasy.
Fortunately, the 1st Department Head came along without any real resistance.
What a good department head. In return, I would grant her the privilege of sharing my luggage.
"You called me just to make me carry this, didn't you?"
"Yeah."
I answered the 1st Department Head's grumbling beside me with a single syllable.
The truth was I was taking her because leaving her behind made me anxious, but saying that would only make her blow up, so I framed it as taking her as a porter. A reason that suited us both.
Still, since the food was for the 4th Department Head, the 1st Department Head grumbled all the way but never tried to desert.
What is with this girl…
I glanced at the 1st Department Head, then turned my eyes forward again. Her personal relationships were a fresh surprise every time I thought about them.
She was close seniors with the Crown Princess, and friends with the 4th Department Head on top of that. It was as if she had deliberately chosen only people who did not match her at all.
Come to think of it, the Crown Princess had silver hair and the 4th Department Head had gray. This one was white-haired.
Is it a hair thing?
There seemed to be something about similar colors flocking together.
…No. Then the 3rd Department Head would be…
"Ugh, why did you buy so much?"
My thoughts were veering in a direction that would have greatly hurt the 3rd Department Head's feelings if she ever found out, but the 1st Department Head's timely complaint stopped me cold.
Sorry, 3rd Department Head. I'll stop smacking people on the head with wet hands for a while.
"With this many people, of course I have to buy this much."
"Anyone watching would think you're donating to an orphanage."
At that, I checked the food we were hauling. One bundle in each of my hands, one in each of the 1st Department Head's. Four bundles in total.
Was it a lot? I wasn't sure. For people who spent their days rolling around in the field, wasn't it too little?
"Doesn't even look like enough for one meal."
"Whoa…"
The 1st Department Head let out a sigh laced with amazement at my answer.
What? It really does look like too little.
I know the Chief has cherished Mukgwangdae since their days as the 4th Department. With all the memories tied to the 4th Department, I can understand that much. I can understand, but…
The direction of his favor…
Something is off about the direction. It does not feel like the way you treat a cherished subordinate or colleague. Not even the way you treat a tool. It is the look you give orphans shivering in the cold on the street.
That those pitiful orphans might get hurt somewhere—that they might be too hungry to move. That kind of feeling.
There are orphans among them, sure.
The 4th Department has quite a few people from orphan backgrounds. Penelia herself became an orphan because of the Great Subjugation War. The Chief picked up kids like that in the first place.
Of course, that is old news. Now they are practically quasi-nobles who can swagger wherever they go. If personnel of the Ministry of Special Affairs—His Majesty's own limbs—lived in poverty, the Empire would be on the verge of collapse.
"Should I have brought the 2nd Department Head too?"
"Then there would definitely be leftovers."
I hastily shook my head at the Chief, who seemed to be seriously considering it.
Even this amount is enough for a full day, not just one meal. Knowing the 4th Department kids' personalities, they would force every bite down saying they could not leave anything the Chief had given them.
And if we brought more than this? That entered the realm of food torture. Someone would definitely throw up.
They really have no sense of how to handle things.
They are truly diligent and quick-witted kids. Their only flaw is being so blunt and serious—maybe taking after Penelia—but they are good kids.
It is just that they take after Penelia so thoroughly that their loyalty to the Chief is at the level of fanaticism.
Where do only kids like that gather…
I seriously wonder. Did the Chief only pick kids like that, or did they awaken after spending time with him?
If the former, the Chief's eye for people is terrifying; if the latter, the Chief's charm is terrifying. Either way, it is because of the Chief.
"Maybe I should buy more—"
"Let's go. The kids will be waiting."
I barely managed to stop the Chief as he tried to turn around. What was he going to buy more for when we did not even have hands left to carry it?
Like a grandmother.
That heart wanting to feed them even a little more. From the perspective of those eating and those watching, an utterly excessive extravagance.
For some reason, from this familiar Chief, I caught the even more familiar scent of a grandmother…
Things have gone sideways.
That is the conclusion I reached after careful deliberation. Sideways does not even cover it—it is a catastrophe.
"It seems we will gain a new comrade. A friend more than qualified to become talent for the new world."
"Haha, is that so?"
The words what nonsense rose to my throat, but I did not spit them out. That was enough. Whatever I thought inside was my freedom.
But the way Eriko spoke so calmly, so joyfully, was utterly ridiculous.
Sure, as Eriko said, he was probably a friend more than qualified to become talent.
Just talent for this world, though.
It was only regrettable that he was talent for maintaining the current world—not the new world Eriko imagined.
This gig is ending.
This year's Academy freshmen were spectacular. Not only an Imperial prince, but a prince from another nation and the next Saint—how could anyone call that modest?
The leadership was ecstatic about that fact. With figures who symbolized the filthy class system all gathered in one place, if we could pull off a proper operation, we could show our will to the continent, they said.
Idiots.
That simple-minded thinking left me speechless. Did they think only we would think that way? Of course the other side would too.
Sure enough, not long after the entrance ceremony, the Empire sent a big shot. They sent the Audit Department Chief under the pretext of an inspector.
The appearance of someone I had never imagined made me almost grab the back of my neck. But the leadership only reacted by saying the targets to drench in red blood had increased, with no particular countermeasures.
Always the field agents who suffer.
With that idiotic response, only I trembled with anxiety. The head of that Audit Department was right next to me. Someone who could tear out my throat at any moment was nearby.
In this worst of situations, Eriko was wholly devoted to spreading republicanism. Put nicely, he was faithful to his role; put honestly, he had no sense of the situation.
Spreading republicanism where the Audit Department Chief was? Completely insane.
Somehow I've held on until now, but…
Fortunately the Audit Department Chief seemed focused on watching the foreign students and did not deal with me or Eriko. From the start I had been holding my breath since the Chief arrived, so there was nothing to catch.
So I spent each day clutching my trembling heart—until:
"Come to think of it, Mr. Robin. There is a fellow named Charles Steiner. He's a newly arrived assistant teacher this time."
The moment I heard Eriko's words, my intuition kicked in.
It's over.
A new assistant teacher mid-semester? Possible. An assistant teacher for Gerhardt, who had never taken assistants before? Also possible. That Gerhardt had recently grown close with the Audit Department Chief? Sure, that could be.
But a newly arrived assistant teacher roaming around constantly—that assistant teacher getting close with Eriko—when things like this happen one after another, no matter how you look at it, that is no coincidence. It is deliberate.
I've held on a long time.
Until now I had been fretting about when the Audit Department would raid, but now that it was right in front of me, my heart felt empty. People need to learn the art of moderate detachment, they say—turns out it is true.
Of course I do not plan to die like this.
I still haven't been found out.
Unlike Eriko, I really, truly lived holding my breath. My role was more surveillance than action.
That said, running away is impossible. Disappearing at this time would only invite suspicion, and escaping from the Audit Department once it has drawn its sword is impossible.
Then there is only one way.
"I actually always hated republicanism."
I muttered, staring blankly at the ceiling. Switching sides would do.
The Empire is oddly merciful to those who surrender. If I bang my head on the ground saying I was a fool who dreamed empty dreams, that I want to throw myself into His Majesty the Emperor's embrace, I can survive.
Fortunately the information I have is decently useful. I joined the Red Wave just to make a living and never thought I would rise to this position.
Shit.
A lament came out automatically as past choices surfaced. I must have been crazy—crazy enough to throw myself into this idiot group.
When kids from the same village enrolled in the Academy, I really got chills. Kids who had it harder than me did not fall onto a strange path and succeeded like that.
Regret does nothing now.
I will just be grateful those kids do not recognize me.