Where on Earth Is That Guy and What Is He Doing?

“Chirp, chirp─!”

As dawn passed, mountain birds began to wake up and chirp one by one.

It was a peaceful morning.

Usually, he would have enjoyed this leisure time and started the day with a warm cup of espresso. Coincidentally, it was a day with fewer schedules than usual, so he could have relaxed on the sofa without worry.

‘…That’s how it should have been.’

Gartel paced the corridor with irritated steps. He had rushed out so hurriedly that he hadn’t even properly groomed his mustache.

“Administrator?”

“Hmm? What brings you here?”

“It’s a summons from the Principal.”

What business could there be to call him in the morning before even the cadets were awake? Lustet wasn’t the type to summon outside of work hours unless it was absolutely necessary.

‘I really don’t know what this is about.’

If so, the answer was one of two things. Either I had committed some grave mistake deserving immediate reprimand,

Creak!

Or a massive incident had occurred that would affect even Astrakhan Military Academy situated in the outskirts of a foreign country.

“You’ve come.”

“I’m here to see you, Commander.”

Gartel entered the principal’s office and immediately bowed at a right angle. Then, slightly raising just his eyes, he tried to gauge the intentions of Lustet, who was sitting silently in his chair.

“Gartel.”

However, there was no time for that. The principal, who had been looking out the window with a pipe in his mouth, approached him without delay.

“I believe it will be faster to see this than to explain in words.”

Unlike usual, his voice was stiff and cold. Lustet threw something onto the desk so that Gartel, whose gaze was directed at the floor, could see it clearly.

“……”

At first, Gartel narrowed his eyes in question. But soon he was shocked and his jaw went slack.

[Hero who caught the arsonist delivers a fantastic speech that moves the hearts of people worldwide at the Ministry of Interior auditorium.]

The front page featured a story about the recent Diet building arson incident that’s been causing quite a stir. One might think there’s nothing shocking about this, as it seems a natural course of events.

“Yena?”

If only there hadn’t been a familiar silhouette of a black-haired child in the newspaper photo, the instructor here would have had the same opinion.

“Didn’t she leave saying she was going to take a rest?”

“……”

“Can you explain why this child is featured in the daily newspaper that people read over breakfast?”

Gartel still couldn’t answer Lustet’s question.

---

“Ahhh….”

Indeed, a warm cup of mocha after carrying out a grand scheme provides an exquisite taste. It felt like being compensated all at once for the mental energy spent concentrating on the speech.

Plop─!

And the feeling of lying down on a soft mattress afterwards….

“Mmmm.”

I felt a softness as if warm, soft down was enveloping my whole body. Maybe it was because it was rest taken after successfully carrying out the plan, but the corners of my mouth lifted involuntarily.

Click─

After rolling around in the blankets for a few minutes, I opened a bottle of whiskey that had been carefully stored in a cool corner of the room and moistened my throat.

“Mmm….”

You might wonder why I’m drinking alcohol in broad daylight, but isn’t this a luxury I won’t be able to enjoy once I return to the military academy? Since abstinence from alcohol is a basic rule there, I should enjoy it to the fullest now while I can.

Still, I was trying to restrain myself as much as possible. I needed to be prepared, not knowing what schedule might come up later.

It was worth the effort.

Stretching out in a spreadeagled position, I extended my clenched fist towards the ceiling and showed my gums in a grin.

The award ceremony was a complete success, as I had poured all my strength into delivering the story while embodying Yena Freud.

After all, a child who was expected to simply give a dry acceptance speech at the award ceremony level ended up delivering a great speech on par with, no, surpassing Erdoff.

“Bzzt, bzzt…, We will now present the award ceremony of Yena Freud, who became a great girl of Bern, not giving up despite her unfortunate childhood and finally standing up on her own two feet.”

No matter which frequency you tune the radio to, it’s my name being mentioned, not Erdoff’s.

The voice that I had unleashed in just one small auditorium had now spread to the point of touching the hearts of young people in remote countryside villages of the fatherland.

[Who is Yena Freud?]

[A girl’s speech moves Bern.]

[What efforts did Bern’s leadership make for a girl to step up so bravely? A remark aimed at reforming politicians.]

Just looking at how the spotlight is now on me rather than Erdoff, the leader of the Labor Party, in any media coverage, you can roughly gauge how big of an impact it had.

“Are you Ms. Yena Freud?”

“Yes, who is this?”

And of course, Erdoff wouldn’t be oblivious to this.

“The Prime Minister has ordered to escort you comfortably to the party leader’s office. This way please, you’ll board the car.”

He’s a man who doesn’t even glance at people who are of no use to him, but warmly embraces those who can be helpful to him – isn’t that the Prime Minister?

It seemed he was trying to guide me to the Ministry of Interior by sending his own secretary.

Now he’s showing proper interest. While his actions before seemed to stem from his responsibility as the Prime Minister of Bern, now it felt like a reaction coming from his true heart.

It means I’ve made quite an impression.

Click, trudge trudge!

The man who came to my house without warning introduced himself as the chauffeur, then guided me outside with a friendly smile.

“We’ll be departing now.”

After that, we headed straight to the Ministry of Interior as the driver had said earlier.

“Nice weather…”

“Pardon?”

“It’s nothing.”

Although the scenery passing by outside the window was unchanged compared to before, the impression given by every little thing – the buildings spread out on both sides, the people walking around them – felt new.

While I might have felt a bit nervous at the thought of meeting Erdoff last time, now I was just comfortable in the car.

“We’ve arrived.”

Perhaps because of that, we arrived at the Ministry of Interior in no time. While I was absentmindedly appreciating the scenery, we were suddenly at the main entrance.

“You can get off here. If you go to the party leader’s office on the 2nd floor of the Ministry of Interior, the party leader should be waiting for you.”

“Ah, thank you.”

“Not at all. I listened to your speech that moved the hearts of many people, Ms. Yena. It was truly an honor to meet you!”

Vroooom!

As if his task was done, the driver asked for a handshake one last time and then disappeared along the road.

“……”

Is even the Labor Party’s driver now familiar with my face?

More than anything else, I watched the tail end of the vehicle disappearing into the distance while mulling over the sentence he left at the end.

Well, of course, he must have received some information about me since he came with the car on Erdoff’s direct orders. But judging by his expression, it wasn’t just a matter of knowing.

He was grinning as if he had shaken hands with Erdoff himself. Is this the effect of delivering a hugely successful speech?

Until now, I hadn’t felt the fame because I hadn’t gone outside since the medal award ceremony, but after meeting such an enthusiastic Labor Party supporter once, I clearly realized it.

“Isn’t that, that Yena Freud?”

“I think so…”

“Could she be here to meet the Prime Minister?”

“No way!”

The fact that my face had been exposed to the entire nation.

Click!

As people around started recognizing me one by one, I squeezed through the main entrance to avoid any further attention.

“Phew….”

I almost got surrounded by a crowd.

For a brief moment, the gazes of all passersby, regardless of age or gender, were fixed on me. If I had stayed there blankly for just a little longer, I would surely have had to deal with citizens without even being able to enter the main building.

It’s not like I have a common appearance, is it?

It’s a bit awkward to say this about myself, but not only do I have a more refined appearance compared to ordinary people, but I’m also one of the few people in Bern with black eyes and black hair, except for Erdoff.

Given that I’m quite an unusual young girl to appear in newspapers, it would be strange if people didn’t recognize me.

Even the instructors in that remote piece of land in the Federation would have recognized me.

I wonder what expressions they’d have.

By this point, I was curious about the reactions of Gartel and the principal who must have been working diligently in Astrakhan, unaware of the news until they came across it.

Additionally, I wanted to see the faces of my classmates like Erika and Rina. How would they feel seeing a student who left for Bern saying she wanted to rest suddenly becoming a guardian of the Empire?

I want to return to school as soon as possible.

For a moment, I found myself missing Erika’s characteristic energetic gestures and her expressions that change dramatically from moment to moment.

“…Of course, this takes priority for now.”

As I rolled my eyes slightly, I saw the white marble unique to the Ministry of Interior and the stairs stretching straight up to the sky.

If I go up these, it will be the moment of my second encounter with Erdoff. I wonder how he’ll welcome me.

Click! Click!

Now that I had actually arrived near my destination, the tension that had been tickling my heart was long gone. I walked towards the office with lighter steps than when I entered.