chapter_0029

28 – Timeless Spirit of Journalism

28 – Timeless Spirit of Journalism

After dining with Daniel, Kartman did not head home but instead made his way to the Imperial Security Agency.

Upon entering the building, Kartman entered the fifth department, which was responsible for intelligence gathering and espionage activities within the Security Agency.

Feeling a presence, the intelligence analyst turned his head, spotted Kartman, and jumped up in surprise.

“Lieutenant Kartman! Didn’t you say you were off work?”

“Oh, well… first, take this.”

Kartman offered the analyst a cup of coffee.

“Coffee? What’s this about?” The analyst accepted the coffee, puzzled, and Kartman continued.

“I suddenly got curious on my way home, so I turned back. You know how it is. When I get curious about something, I lose sleep until I find out what it is.”

The analyst nodded, still bewildered. It was common knowledge that Kartman was achieving remarkable results within the Security Agency.

“So, I was wondering if you could do a little investigation for me?”

“What kind of investigation?”

“I’m curious about how many military doctors on the Eastern Front have suffered eye injuries and developed aphasia. I’d like you to narrow it down to those with brown hair.”

The analyst took a sip of the coffee in his hand and asked, perplexed, “Is that all? As you know, the units currently operating on the Eastern Front consist of numerous field armies. There are 17 corps under the field armies alone. Are you asking me to investigate all of that?”

“I know it’ll be tough. That’s why I brought a bribe.”

“Are you saying you’ll give me a cup of coffee and expect me to undergo torture?”

Kartman began to sweat.

“I’d buy you not just one cup, but a hundred. To make excuses, it’s inconvenient to obtain other information in this position.”

The analyst sighed and nodded, as if resigned.

“If it’s information you want, there must be a reason. However, it will take a long time since it requires a full investigation and cooperation from the Central Intelligence Agency.”

“That’s fine. It’s not urgent.”

The analyst shot Kartman a glare, as if he truly disliked the request, before sitting down to begin his work.

Watching him, Kartman stroked his chin, recalling the dinner.

“I don’t want to suspect Daniel Steiner, but…”

It wouldn’t hurt to be certain about this.

–

The next day.

Before heading to the staff office, I entered my office to prepare personally, and as expected, Lucy was already there, sitting.

Naturally, she had removed her wig and wasn’t wearing sunglasses.

“Welcome, Lieutenant.”

As always, her greeting was dry and devoid of warmth.

It was hard to believe she was the one who had detonated a bomb and fled over a wall just yesterday.

I glanced at Lucy with a frown before walking to my desk and sitting down.

“…Was there anything unusual yesterday?”

I casually asked while opening the desk drawer, but Lucy didn’t even glance my way, focused solely on reviewing documents.

“I returned to my accommodation right after work and rested.”

“Is that so? I had a bit of trouble after encountering a strange woman on my way to the dessert shop.”

“I see.”

Her indifferent demeanor was infuriating. Someone had spent the whole day entangled with her and ended up not even tasting dessert.

I looked at Lucy with annoyance as I pulled out the documents I needed to review today from the drawer.

After sorting the documents by importance and placing them in my bag, Lucy glanced at me and said, “…How strange was this woman?”

Was she probing me? After hesitating for a moment, I stood up and replied.

“She wore sunglasses indoors.”

“What else?”

“She could hardly speak, possibly due to aphasia. Plus, she had a terrible sense of pride, refusing help multiple times. I wonder how she plans to navigate social life. What a pitiful woman.”

Lucy fell silent, staring at me. No, it would be more accurate to say she glared.

“…”

“…”

The atmosphere grew cold. The probability of being assassinated was rising in real-time.

Feeling a sense of crisis, I cleared my throat and walked toward the door.

“Let’s wrap up the small talk and head to the staff office. We can’t be late.”

“…Understood.”

Leaving my office, I entered the staff office with Lucy.

I was about to walk straight to my seat when I paused.

The staff members were gathered around the central conference table, murmuring.

“This is a masterpiece.”

“Indeed. For something hastily put together, it seems well-made.”

“However, the personnel department works incredibly fast. It hasn’t even been a day since the article came out…”

What were they talking about? I approached, puzzled.

“What are you all looking at?”

At my question, the first to turn was Captain Dengel, the operations support officer.

“Oh! Lieutenant Daniel! The star of the poster is right here!”

“A poster? What are you talking about…?”

I threw my gaze onto the table and froze.

There was a poster featuring a photo of me, frowning with my hand raised in a pointing gesture.

Beneath my photo, the slogan “Your country needs you!” was boldly written.

“No way, what is this, Uncle Sam?”

I clicked my tongue in disbelief.

“Who made this? This pose was meant to tell the reporters not to take my picture. To create a conscription propaganda poster without regard for my intentions is so rude…”

“Lieutenant Daniel, this was a direct order from the personnel department head.”

“…The rude one was me. Upon reflection, it’s perfect.”

Quickly shifting my stance, I nodded in agreement.

Dengel, watching me, smiled and spoke.

“Lieutenant Daniel, you’re already on the early promotion list, aren’t you? Aren’t you working a bit too hard? I never imagined you’d still be active after work.”

One of the staff members listening chimed in.

“Captain Dengel, surely Lieutenant Daniel wouldn’t be doing this for a promotion. He’s a model soldier, after all, working hard to make the Empire greater.”

“Ah, I misspoke. Given my salaryman mindset, I’d say Lieutenant Daniel is on a much higher level.”

If I could, I wanted to confess that the crazy woman wearing sunglasses had detonated the bomb, but I couldn’t say it with Lucy nearby, as it would be too risky.

Besides, I doubted anyone would believe me even if I told the truth.

“Too kind of you.”

So, I had no choice but to feign humility and leave the area.

As I walked over to the operations officer’s desk, I pulled out a chair and said, “Aide, do you have today’s newspaper?”

“Yes, I’ll get you a copy.”

Sitting in the chair, I accepted the newspaper Lucy handed me.

I wanted to know what the article said that led the personnel department head to select me as a propaganda soldier.

As I opened the newspaper, my photo was prominently displayed on the front page, just as I had expected.

【Lieutenant Daniel Steiner! He does it again! Mafia organization dismantled!】

The title alone was dizzying.

I let out a low groan as I skimmed through the content.

“Lieutenant Daniel Steiner, who saved Her Highness the Princess from a terrorist attack, is making headlines again for his significant contributions. According to reliable sources, Lieutenant Daniel conducted a secret operation alone to eliminate the mafia organization that has been parasitizing the Imperial City.”

As expected, it was full of fabrications.

I gritted my teeth and continued reading.

“…After this achievement, Lieutenant Daniel Steiner told the gathered citizens, ‘This is not just my doing. It is the result of all of us contributing in our respective roles for the Empire.’ The citizens could not help but cheer at Lieutenant Daniel’s words.”

My head throbbed.

They had cleverly added other words to what I had said, making it seem like a fact.

I couldn’t read any further and folded the newspaper, tossing it toward the edge of the desk.

Seeing this, Lucy spoke up.

“Thanks to you, Lieutenant Daniel, the corrupt officials associated with that mafia organization have also been apprehended. Most were found to have accepted bribes and assisted in the mafia’s drug smuggling.”

“…Was that in the newspaper too?”

Lucy nodded.

That made me feel uneasy.

‘If the higher-ups read this and get the wrong idea, it could be troublesome…’

Before I could finish my thought, the door to the staff office burst open, and Ernst rushed in.

“Daniel! Lieutenant Daniel! Are you here!?”

Seeing his excited face searching for me made me reluctant to respond.

However, I couldn’t really ignore him, so I stood up and saluted.

“Oh, there you are!”

Ernst returned my salute and approached me.

“Lieutenant Daniel! You’ll be pleased to know that I just came from a meeting, and the deputy operations officer wants to see you when he has time. You understand what that means, right?”

The deputy operations officer is the second most powerful person in the staff headquarters after the chief of staff.

Why on earth would such a person want to see me? A wave of anxiety washed over me.

“Lieutenant Daniel.”

At that moment, Lucy, unusually smiling, spoke up.

“You’ll be able to join the deputy’s line now. Congratulations.”

Lucy’s smile was likely just an act to fulfill her role as a loyal aide, but to me, it felt like she was mocking me in some way.

“…Thank you.”

I replied begrudgingly and turned my gaze toward the window.

Despite my gloomy feelings, the bright sunlight was beautifully illuminating everything.

It was an oppressive summer.