The Dreamer Who Scatters Crimson Blood - 6
Was this a dream?
The thought crossed my mind for a fleeting moment, so utterly bewildered was I. Instinctively my hand twitched to pinch my cheek, but with eyes upon me I held myself in check.
Yet however he interpreted that slight movement of my hand, the man before me shrank even further, bowing his head lower still.
What in the world…
Ordinarily I would have soothed him—told him it was fine, that he need not lower his head so. When someone older than me cowers like that, the deep-seated respect for elders buried in my heart wails in protest.
Of course, that only applies to virtuous elders. The less-than-virtuous are not included.
"Red Wave, you say?"
Yes—the reactionary before me was the exception.
"Y-yes. Robin, mid-level cadre of the Red Wave."
As if showing off just how low he could go, he bowed his head even further.
I nearly barked out a hollow laugh at the sight and barely managed to hold it back. Hearing it again still left me speechless.
A mid-level cadre, huh.
Cadre. Mid-level at that meant he ranked high even within the Red Wave. Below only the single Commander and the handful of senior cadres who attended him most closely, he stood near the very top.
In other words, a genuine republican reactionary—and such a man was voluntarily surrendering?
A deception?
The thought came unbidden. A stranger's sudden visit to my quarters, an abrupt declaration of conscience. It was all so abrupt and positive that suspicion arose of its own accord.
I know my luck well enough. Fortune like this never comes my way. A spy I had discovered might flee, sure—but an undetected spy coming to me of his own free will?
Too clumsy for a deception, though.
Yet calling it a ruse felt odd. These people were so blinded by ideology that they would not hesitate at suicide attacks. In all their history, none had ever surrendered.
And now a mid-level cadre was defecting? I was full of doubts and questions myself—would a deception even work?
"A traitor surrendering."
I organized my thoughts for a moment before speaking.
If I could not grasp his intentions, I need only make him spill them. Whether ruse or genuine, the fact remained that this reactionary had walked into my quarters of his own accord.
"Is there any place for one who has defied the Mandate of Heaven to return to?"
Interrogation was not my specialty, but if I poked around enough, something would come out.
The title of Audit Department Chief was unmatched when it came to applying pressure.
"Is there any place for one who has defied the Mandate of Heaven to return to?"
At the Audit Department Chief's words, I felt my blood run dry.
Simple, yet in the present situation more lethal than anything. A declaration that he would not accept a traitor's surrender.
Damn it all.
The Empire is generous to those who surrender. Acknowledge your faults and throw yourself into the Emperor's embrace, and forgiveness is gladly given. That is the banner the Empire flies.
But would that banner hold even now?
It depends on the Audit Department Chief's will.
The man in charge on site was the Audit Department Chief. Thus the Empire would have no choice but to rely on his report. Whether he accepted a surrenderer or killed him, it all came down to how the Audit Department Chief reported it.
If he killed me here and reported "the traitor resisted and was shot dead," the Empire would simply go "is that so" and move on. Regrettably, members of the Red Wave refusing surrender and dying was all too natural.
Moreover, this was the Audit Department. It had always been the Audit Department that thrashed the Red Wave like dogs. Though the current Chief had never gone on a Red Wave purge himself, he was still of the same Audit Department, was he not? Degree might differ, but hostility toward the Red Wave would be there.
And this is the better option…
I felt like biting my tongue off in this insane situation. A surrender with high odds of death—and this was the best choice available.
Still better than fleeing and being caught and killed, or sitting still and having my head cut off. At least I would have time to speak. Time to show every card I held.
My own karma, I suppose.
If I had not joined this mad pack in the first place, I would not be going through this.
"I sincerely regret my choice and wish to pledge loyalty to His Majesty."
"Well now. Anyone can claim to be a loyal subject with their mouth."
A lukewarm reply, but the one I expected. With nothing yet shown, how could he be persuaded?
"Of course, I have no intention of escaping my sins with mere tongue-wagging."
A lie. I was full of intention to escape with my tongue. I had to sell everything I knew, everything that might win sympathy, and survive somehow.
Fortunately I had no record of causing human casualties. Mostly rear-guard work or surveillance roles.
"Immature and foolish, I was swayed by the rebels' words, but I have realized the right path, however belatedly."
After that I worked my mouth desperately. With the resolve that if my words stopped even a little, my neck would stop with them.
That I was a sinner, an idiot and uneducated fool briefly led astray, that I had never harmed good imperial citizens, that as a mid-level cadre I knew plenty of information, and so on.
"I am prouder of the life I spent as an Academy guard than as a cadre of the Red Wave."
I even spoke of my past years as if they were trash. Which, in truth, they were.
And at those words, a glint appeared in the Audit Department Chief's eyes.
The cadre went on and on in exhaustive detail… what was his name again, Robin? Anyway, I simply listened to the reactionary's words. He was spilling everything without me even prodding much, so there was little more to dig at.
As expected the title of Audit Department Chief was performing magnificently, yet at the same time it was so effective I felt a touch of bitterness. My infamy really was enormous…
"I am prouder of the life I spent as an Academy guard than as a cadre of the Red Wave."
And at that casually dropped line, my tangled thoughts sorted themselves out.
So it was this bastard.
In the original work, the one who would have coordinated from inside when the Red Wave smashed the Academy. Not that Erico fellow or whoever, but this one had been the main.
The mid-level cadre position, the cover identity as a guard. Perfect for creating a crisis for the protagonist, was it not?
That was close.
As the thought stretched that far, relief and a dizzying chill rose together. If things had gone wrong, this could have been a proper disaster.
This cadre named Robin had been lying so low even the Second Division Chief had not found him. If I had grown complacent thinking the only spy was that Erico fellow, I would have taken a decisive backstab at the decisive moment.
What the hell was the original…
At this point I was starting to worry about the state of the original Academy. Being targeted by five organizations was already enough to bring tears, and the guards are republican spies? Just what kind of place was it?
The more it was serialized, the more necks must have rolled. Maybe even the principal got replaced. A pity, that.
"Enough."
I cut off Robin, who seemed about to say more, and shook my head. I had heard all I needed; that was enough.
But taking my reaction for a death sentence, Robin's face went deathly pale. Truth be told, before hearing the guard part I had been fretting over how to handle him, but—
It's a genuine surrender.
I was certain now. This was not some deception or the like, but a mid-level cadre who had seized the chance to make a great escape.
To screw us over, keeping silent the whole time and then backstabbing would have been far more effective than a fake surrender. If he had abandoned that method and come running, it was a real surrender.
I wondered why a guy who would have been highly active in the original was suddenly surrendering, but by that logic the Five Pillars had collapsed under the Hawks' spectacular self-destruction. Probably another case like that this time.
"Realizing one has gone astray may be late, but it is better than never realizing at all."
At my words Robin's face brightened. An admission that he accepted both having sinned and having repented.
Yes—ideally he would not have joined the Red Wave at all, but deserting midway was something. The others were dying with republicanism on their lips right to the end, after all.
"If your loyalty toward His Majesty the Emperor is sincere, then follow me."
"Ah, yes!"
But a final confirmation was necessary.
Interrogation was not my specialty. Robin's surrender seemed genuine, but better to be sure, no?
So I handed him over to an expert in the field.
"There is no sign of the Red Wave's characteristic fanaticism. The surrender appears genuine."
At the news that another spy had been discovered, the Second Division Chief came charging with eyes ablaze. He seemed furious that he had not found the man himself despite personally taking the field.
As a reaction, the Second Division Chief stripped Robin down to his soul, and thanks to that we could reconfirm it was a genuine surrender, not some other ploy.
Only then did I feel at ease. Cross-verification meant the job was done.
"Whoa, I never expected there to be one more."
The First Division Chief, who had been watching from the side, muttered in wonder.
Truthfully I found it wondrous too. That two Red Wave members had been planted in the Academy was surprising, and that the Second Division Chief had missed one even more so. He was not the type to do sloppy work.
"There aren't more, right?"
When I asked casually, the Second Division Chief nodded firmly.
"None. This time I'm certain."
As he turned his gaze on Robin, the man under that glare nodded vigorously.
"Yes! There really aren't any more! The only ones in the Academy are me and Erico!"
At that desperate display I nearly averted my eyes in quiet embarrassment. He had not shed a single drop of blood, so why did he look so wretched? Truly mysterious…
"Unlike the likes of Erico, he is a big shot with a direct line to the leadership."
Regardless, the Second Division Chief continued while glaring at Robin. He certainly was a big shot. We had killed cadres before, but capturing one alive was a first.
"Enough to feed them reverse intelligence, even."
That the sole captured—more precisely, surrendered—cadre was mid-level was also encouraging. Not someone who merely received one-way orders from the leadership, but of a level that allowed two-way communication.
Thus there was no more need to wait endlessly for the Red Wave to come. As the Second Division Chief said, we could feed reverse intelligence through Robin and lure them in.
"We can finish this now."
Mukgwangdae was already standing by to smash their skulls once lured. The bothersome, bothersome work was ending at last.
"If you'd found him first, it would have been over sooner."
"Damn it."
Watching the Second Division Chief shudder, a warm feeling bloomed in one corner of my heart. That I now had material to roast the Second Division Chief for a good while was a joy in itself.
Material good for at least three months. I ought to tell the Deputy Chief as well.