chapter_0058

57 – How Many Moves Ahead Could He Possibly Have Seen?

57 – How Many Moves Ahead Could He Possibly Have Seen?

The next day, early evening.

In the monastery’s dining hall, Abbot Hieronymus was busy talking with city council members and wealthy donors who had come to make contributions.

Originally, he would have gone out to greet Daniel Steiner, but unfortunately, the donation event coincided with Daniel’s visit, leaving him no choice but to attend to the guests.

Of course, Daniel was important, but from Hieronymus’s perspective as the abbot, the money to feed the numerous orphans was more crucial.

With donations for the orphans steadily decreasing, Hieronymus was doing everything he could to win over the city council members.

“It’s ironic that the number of orphans is increasing due to the war, yet donations for them are decreasing. What are the companies benefiting from the war boom even doing?”

Hieronymus nodded with an awkward smile at the council member’s sanctimonious remark.

“In that sense, Councilman Leden is truly a grateful person. He has stepped forward to generously donate a large sum to our monastery for the orphans. It’s nothing short of God’s grace.”

“A large sum is an overstatement. And I apologize, but our city council may cut the budget for orphanages in the future.”

He had been trying so hard to please them, but the result was not good.

Still, Hieronymus understood.

Even the city council had a limited budget.

Therefore, he couldn’t condemn them as villains for cutting donations.

“If you cut the budget, to what extent…”

As Hieronymus cautiously asked the question, the dining hall door opened.

Hieronymus and the council member reflexively turned their heads and saw a soldier in an Officer’s uniform.

Clack—

The Officer’s boot steps echoed hollowly in the dining hall.

Everyone was frozen and intimidated by the Officer’s appearance as he adjusted his uniform and slowly moved forward.

Hieronymus was also wondering why an Officer of the Empire was here.

“Abbot.”

The Officer, uttering a mid-bass voice, took off his uniform hat.

Only then did Hieronymus’s face brighten.

“Daniel!”

Hieronymus, about to walk towards Daniel out of joy, stopped.

Because he had seen the rank of Major engraved on Daniel’s epaulettes.

Thanks to this, Daniel approached Hieronymus, who was blinking blankly.

“It’s been a while. Have you been well?”

“…Yes. But it seems like a lot has happened to you. A Major? Am I seeing this right? Are you that hero of the Empire?”

As Hieronymus spoke dazedly, Daniel smiled sheepishly.

“I’ve unintentionally gone through many things. But who is this next to you?”

The council member, whose eyes met Daniel’s, answered involuntarily in an attention stance.

“I, I am Councilman Leden. It’s an honor to meet you.”

“The honor is mine as well. If you’re a council member, you must be the one who donates to our monastery. I look forward to your continued support.”

“Yes. Yeeees…”

Daniel, having heard the council member’s answer, looked at Hieronymus while maintaining his smile.

“More importantly, how are the children? Are they doing well?”

“Y-yes. They’re all gathered over there.”

As Daniel turned his gaze, there were children standing in a corner, staring blankly.

The boys were wearing white shirts with black suspender pants and bow ties, and the girls were wearing white dresses with flower-decorated pins in their hair.

‘Nothing has changed.’

Dressing the children neatly for show whenever there was a donation event was the same as ever.

Daniel, letting out a low laugh, said to Hieronymus.

“Then I’ll play with the children until the event is over.”

With those words, Daniel moved towards the children.

The council member, who had been watching his back, fidgeted nervously as if he was tense, and then managed to open his mouth with difficulty.

“…Major Daniel Steiner was from this monastery. I wish you had told me in advance, Abbot. I apologize for reversing my words, but the city council’s budget cut for donations will be canceled.”

“Really? Is that true?”

Of course it was true. The Empire’s war hero, who had personally received the Golden Cross Medal from the Emperor, had said, ‘Please take care of the monastery,’ so they couldn’t proceed with the budget cut.

Just as the council member was nodding with a forced expression, Daniel, who had stopped in front of the children, clasped his hands behind his back solemnly.

“Listen, you all. I am Major Daniel Steiner, an operations staff officer affiliated with the Imperial General Staff. Does anyone know why I came here?”

The children were frightened and only swallowed hard.

Daniel, who had been staring at them coldly, soon smiled and stretched out his hands.

“It’s to play with you all! Ella! Luca! Meli! You’ve all grown so much!”

Only then did the children realize that Daniel was joking, and they burst into laughter and ran towards Daniel.

Some were so excited that they tried to hug Daniel, which was dangerous.

Daniel knelt down on one knee, worried that the children would get hurt, and Ella put her hands together in front of her chest and said.

“Daniel oppa! You should have told us you were coming! I’ve been waiting so long!”

“Sorry. I wrote a letter to the abbot, but didn’t he tell you?”

“He didn’t! The abbot is grumpy!”

Mischievous Luca interjected.

Luca, with his snub nose, raised his voice with an excited face.

“Hyung! But are you really a Major? Isn’t that a really high rank? Do you have thousands of soldiers with guns following you now?”

“It’s not that high of a rank. The number of people I can command is only a few hundred.”

“A few hundred is still a lot! But is that real? Meli said earlier that you came here on a secret mission!?”

The children’s eyes sparkled at the word secret mission.

Daniel was embarrassed by those eyes, but he couldn’t not play along.

The children were practically confined to the monastery except for two outings a month.

So, telling them an interesting story, even if it was a bit of a lie, was a consideration for the children.

“Oh dear. I’ve been found out. Actually, I did come here on a secret mission.”

Luca covered his mouth and widened his eyes.

The other children also looked around cautiously and focused on Daniel’s words.

“Listen carefully. I came here under the Emperor’s orders. Because impure forces have nested here. My purpose is to wipe them out in one blow.”

“…Is that true?”

Even the mature Ella was fooled by the lie and was agreeing.

Daniel, smiling, nodded.

“Yes. They usually act like employees of the shopping district, but underground, they collect various information and engage in covert activities. The number is as many as…”

“As many as?”

How many should I say?

Daniel, thinking it would be anticlimactic if it was too few, spread out five fingers.

“Approximately fifty.”

Gasp! The children gasped in unison and buzzed.

Some of the children seemed frightened, so Daniel continued to speak in order to calm them down.

“But there’s no need to worry. I’ll take care of everything. Understand?”

The children, trusting Daniel, nodded in succession.

Daniel, finding their appearance cute, stopped smiling as he was about to laugh.

Because he felt a persistent gaze from somewhere.

Instinctively turning his head, he met the eyes of one of the wealthy people attending the donation event.

The wealthy person seemed startled, but soon hurriedly walked away in another direction.

‘What is it…’

Am I imagining things?

Just as Daniel was tilting his head, Luca pulled on his arm.

“Hyung! Hyung, you’re so cool! I want to be like you! I want to be a cool soldier like you! So I can help you-”

“No.”

Daniel, interrupting Luca’s words, erased the playfulness from his face and said seriously.

“I warn you, never become a soldier.”

It was advice that came from the heart.

*

Shopping district underground, Dawn’s Twilight headquarters.

“Chief! Chief of Staff!”

The informant who had been sent to monitor Daniel found Morten as soon as he entered the underground.

The informant, who immediately burst into Morten’s office, spoke without even thinking about catching his breath.

“Chief! Daniel Steiner…!”

Morten, displeased with the appearance of his subordinate disguised as a wealthy person, frowned.

“Catch your breath, organize your thoughts, and then speak.”

The informant, nodding, took a deep breath and opened his mouth.

“Not only did Daniel Steiner come down under the Princess’s orders, but it seems he has also grasped the location of the headquarters.”

Morten’s eyebrow twitched as he sat in front of his desk.

He took off the glasses he was wearing and looked at the informant suspiciously.

“…He knows? About this place?”

“Yes. I overheard him jokingly talking to the children, and he mentioned that the headquarters was located underground in the shopping district, and he even grasped the approximate number of people. More than anything…”

The informant said, recalling Daniel’s cold gaze that had been glaring at him.

“…After finishing his words, he glared at me, who was monitoring him. As if he had known everything from the beginning.”

Morten, having heard the informant’s words, groaned and gritted his teeth.

Matching the location and number of people approximately could be dismissed as a coincidence, but when combined with the fact that he had identified the person monitoring him, it could no longer be seen as a coincidence.

‘Moreover…’

Daniel revealed all the information even though he knew that Dawn’s Twilight informant was monitoring him.

In Morten’s view, that was no different from threatening Dawn’s Twilight while pretending to play with children.

“Damn it. Daniel is warning us. He’s saying that he can annihilate you if he wants to, but he won’t.”

“…Why is that?”

“I don’t know the reason. One thing is certain, Daniel hopes to talk to us.”

It was a checkmate because he couldn’t refuse.

His head throbbed with dizziness.

Morten, taking a deep breath, forced himself to overcome his fear and raised his head.

“Alright. If he wants to talk, we have to accept it. I will personally step forward and probe Daniel’s intentions.”

He didn’t know what Daniel’s ulterior motives were.

But for the sake of the organization’s survival, Morten had no choice but to respond to Daniel’s proposal.

Author’s Note

Thank you to the anonymous sponsor for the 50 coin donation! I was drinking coffee while writing today…! How did you know my heart so well? Thank you so much! I’ll enjoy the coffee you bought me!

Thank you to Lee Heechan_551 for the 50 coin donation! Thank you for your silent support! I will take it as a meaning to write hard in the future and strive forward!

Thank you to Toph Beifong for the 23 coin donation! Oh my gosh, the first donation to my work…! Thank you so much! It’s an honor! I will do my best to write so that you don’t regret choosing my work! Thank you!

Christmas is over, but the weekend is coming soon!

Dear readers, I hope you have a great day today and have a happy daily life!

Then I’ll see you again tomorrow! Thank you for always watching!