Chapter Index

    The Moment of Encounter Arrives

    The Moment of Encounter Arrives

    “So you’re saying you secretly followed a man carrying an oil can into the Diet building to stop him?”

    “Yes.”

    “And you subdued the suspect by rushing in as soon as he started the fire?”

    “Yes.”

    “Haha, do you think this makes any sense?”

    The man formed wrinkles on his forehead as he tapped the desk with his fountain pen. He looked me up and down once and then took out a new statement form and pushed it forward.

    “The suspect is a madman who committed arson on a government building. And he threatened you with a knife, you say. Yet you arrested the suspect with those frail arms? Write honestly.”

    His tone suggested he would not tolerate any more jokes.

    “…”

    I was utterly frustrated. Despite writing the truth, he says he won’t let me go unless I write the truth – it was truly a laughable and sad situation.

    I want to get out of here soon.

    It had already been a day since I was confined in this interrogation room with nothing but concrete surrounding me, my arms tied with rope. I wanted to stop breathing this stale air now.

    But the detective in front of me seemed to have no intention of letting me go.

    “This is your last chance, Yena Freud.”

    “Sigh…”

    From his perspective, I was no different from Darnoff as a suspect.

    He probably couldn’t believe the claim that a frail girl alone had penetrated the surveillance and entered the Diet building to arrest an arsonist. Rather, he might be suspecting me of being an accomplice.

    As my status was just an ordinary soldier working in a quiet countryside, this was a mishap occurring because they didn’t know my true identity.

    I wanted to say, “Actually, I’m a magic officer being secretly trained by the Empire,” but that would lead to a court-martial, never mind being released.

    As Gartel had insisted on hiding my affiliation right before I left for vacation, I had to keep my mouth shut even if it was troublesome.

    In the end, it meant I had to wait until the higher-ups got me out of here…

    “Don’t misunderstand, Yena. We threw Darnoff in jail because he’s a foreigner from Holland and he confessed. You could be thrown in there anytime too.”

    “I see.”

    “This is mercy given to you to not tarnish the honor of the Imperial Army. Spill out everything you’re hiding.”

    I didn’t want to listen to any more boring sermons from the man wearing epaulettes with the symbol of workers on his shoulders. I wanted to get out of this stuffy space as soon as possible.

    “Or you could go to prison…”

    Click!

    And that wish finally came true now, a day after the National Diet building fire incident.

    “S-Salute!”

    The man who had been firing questions at me without pause suddenly stopped talking as the door opened unexpectedly and he jumped to his feet.

    “I was in the middle of a thorough investigation, sir!”

    He brought his heels together making his boots clack, brought his clenched right fist to his shoulder, and straightened his neck in a Labor Party-style salute to greet the man at the door.

    “Good, you’ve worked hard. Release her now.”

    “Y-Yes?”

    And the person who received the detective’s greeting ordered my release in less than a second after entering.

    “But sir, the interrogation was still in progress.”

    “Since when did you talk back to your superior?”

    “I-I’m sorry, sir.”

    The detective’s objection was futile. The middle-aged man, whose shoulder epaulettes were adorned with stars and who looked like a high-ranking official at a glance, fixed his gaze on me and pushed through his opinion.

    Finally, they’ve come.

    It was a truly swift procedure. It meant that the noble superiors had finally realized who I was.

    “You’re Yena Freud, correct?”

    “Yes, that’s right.”

    “Follow me. There’s someone who wants to see you.”

    Then it’s only natural to welcome me warmly.

    “We’re sorry for not recognizing a righteous person. It’s just that your body is… so small, we couldn’t help but misunderstand. If the detective did anything rude, I apologize on his behalf.”

    “Not at all. It was a situation where that could easily happen. Rather, I feel guilty for not being able to prevent the fire.”

    “Hmm, I’m glad you say that.”

    Speaking in the most friendly tone possible, I went out of the dark interrogation room. We walked through long and winding marble corridors.

    Was this a police station building?

    When I saw the man’s rank insignia earlier, it was hazy, but after looking around the building a few times, I was sure. This was the Imperial Police Station, not far from the Diet building that should be completely burned down by now.

    The person next to me now, judging by the number of stars and the shape of his uniform, was the Chief of the Bern State Police.

    I had guessed it was an institution managed by the storm troopers because the guy interrogating me wore a Labor Party armband, but I was wrong. It was simply a civilian wearing it voluntarily.

    “…Are they heading towards the path of destruction as history dictates?”

    “What did you say?”

    “Nothing.”

    “Hmm, anyway, we’ve almost arrived. When you go out the back door, there will be a car waiting. You’ll take that, Yena. That’s as far as I’ll help you.”

    The police chief gestured with his chin towards the back door where bright sunlight was shining through.

    “Then go on, officer candidate.”

    Just as he had appeared like a comet, he disappeared in an instant after leaving a few words. I was about to ask where the destination was, but by then he had already left for the opposite corridor.

    Well, I can roughly guess where it is, so it doesn’t matter.

    There weren’t many people in the Empire who had the authority to release someone accused of arson by their own power and who could know that I was a cadet candidate from Astrakhan Military Academy.

    If I narrowed down the range to those who would benefit from calling me right away, the list would be reduced to just one handful.

    Anyway, whoever the protagonist of the meeting was, they were clearly a big shot who ruled the Empire.

    Gulp!

    Imagining meeting the big shot I had been longing for made my heart pound, which hadn’t trembled even during the interrogation. It was for this moment that I chose vacation in the deal with the principal.

    “Haah…”

    As I opened the back door and came outside, my body became languid from the freshness. After not being exposed to sunlight for over a day, it felt warm and cozy like a mother’s embrace.

    “Are you Yena Freud?”

    “Yes, that’s correct.”

    Not long after I savored the freshness by stretching my body like a cross, a car approached from somewhere.

    “Let’s get in. We’ve been waiting.”

    The black-painted exterior gleaming in the sunlight boasted an illegal luxury that only someone like Principal Lustet could afford.

    “Then excuse me.”

    The interior boasted quality as excellent as the exterior of the vehicle. The tightly stretched cowhide seats were basic, and even newspapers were prepared considering the convenience of the passengers.

    Perhaps because the plush seats were in contrast to the hard iron chairs of the interrogation room, my limbs stretched out like deflated balloons.

    “Ugh…”

    “You can rest comfortably. I’ll let you know when we arrive.”

    The driver glanced at me with a pleased smile through the side mirror, then stepped on the accelerator and departed for the destination. It was so well-made that even that didn’t cause any bumps.

    Finally, I can rest comfortably.

    This must be the luxury I’m enjoying now that it’s been proven I’m not an arsonist. Now I was not a suspect, but a hero who caught a criminal who had carried out a terrorist attack aimed at the Empire.

    “Hmm.”

    As I found peace of mind like that, I suddenly became curious. I wondered what impact the Diet incident had on the Empire.

    Rustle, flutter!

    Instead of taking a nap, I pulled out a newspaper that was stuck in one corner of the seat.

    Then I spread the paper wide without hesitation. As it was fresh news that came out in the morning, I looked closely at what had happened from yesterday to this afternoon.

    [Communist Revolution Imminent Due to National Diet Incident? Some Political Circles Demand Investigation of Imperial Communist Party’s State Subversion Activities]

    [Arsonist Revealed as Georg Darnoff, a Communist from Holland… Was It Actually Instigated by the Imperial Communist Party?]

    [Labor Party Official: If the Communist Party Wins This General Election, the Empire Will Follow the Federation’s Governance Method, Citizens Must Rightfully Fight for Freedom…]

    [Imperial Communist Party Denied Entry to Parliament According to Law…]

    As expected, it was a mess.

    The media outlets were unanimously raising unfounded conspiracy theories connecting Darnoff’s independent action to the Communist Party, and as a result, the Communist Party was denied entry to parliament.

    Wondering if other media outlets were different, I looked at the rest of the newspapers in the car, but it was the same. They all slandered the Communist Party.

    It’s incredible.

    Except for a few extremely left-leaning outlets, conspiracy theories that made citizens tremble with anxiety could be seen in almost all newspapers, which suggested one thing.

    Some clever bastard was manipulating public opinion to their liking, either by bribing or inciting.

    Is this the ability of ‘Paulo’?

    The man who had been assisting Erdoff, the leader of the Labor Party, from early on and would later become the Minister of Propaganda who would enchant people worldwide, including the Empire, with his speech that commanded the world. This was certainly the work of Hans von Paulo.

    So how could I not look forward to the upcoming meeting? It’s the first face-to-face encounter with the most powerful enemies I’ll have to deal with in the future.

    “We’ve arrived. I’ll guide you inside.”

    I alighted gracefully as the driver personally escorted me. I carefully followed his gestures.

    [Imperial Secretariat]

    Looking up at the building’s sign.

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