chapter_0105

104 – He Is Coming

104 – He Is Coming

Four days after the Christmas banquet.

In the office of Operations Chief Cedric.

“Colonel Daniel Steiner.”

Cedric said as he skimmed through the documents in his hand.

“Thanks to the permission granted by His Majesty the Emperor and Her Highness the Princess, a request for operational support has come from above, just as you wished. This time, it’s the eastern front.”

Daniel listened quietly to Cedric’s words in a position of attention.

“The location is near the border of the Kingdom of Belmore, one of the Allied Nations. It’s an environment close to barren land. Additionally, it’s a basin surrounded by mountainous areas, which makes it strategically and militarily important, but it’s not heavily fortified, so a small company is stationed there.”

In the unlikely event that the Kingdom of Belmore advances through the mountainous region, this was a warning unit set up to detect it in advance.

Of course, as long as the Kingdom of Belmore was in its right mind, they wouldn’t consider advancing through the mountains.

Advancing through treacherous mountain ranges was essentially a suicidal act.

“You will lead a battalion-sized unit to this location. Upon arrival, join the stationed company and take over command. The mission will begin after that.”

“What do you mean by mission?”

“To rescue an imperial engineer who is being held captive near the border area. Specifically, you must rescue Hans Zernmehart. He is one of the engineers who knows core imperial secrets.”

Understanding the mission, Daniel saluted.

“I will carry out the orders.”

Cedric nodded and returned the salute.

Just as Cedric was about to send Daniel off, he suddenly added, as if remembering something.

“Oh. Just to add, there’s no need to push yourself to complete the mission. The higher-ups prioritize your survival over the rescue of Hans Zernmehart. After all, it’s not easy to penetrate the border defenses with a battalion-sized force to rescue a captive.”

That was a welcome piece of news.

It meant that even if he failed the mission, he wouldn’t be held accountable.

For Daniel, who was worried that the Emperor might use a mission failure as an excuse to keep him in check, this was nothing short of a boon.

“I will keep that in mind. However, I will do my best in the mission assigned to me.”

“Good. If there are no objections, you may return now.”

“Understood.”

With a firm reply, Daniel turned and left Cedric’s office.

As he walked down the corridor, Daniel couldn’t help but feel elated.

‘Great!’

Things were going better than expected.

‘I was worried that if I asked to be sent to the battlefield, I’d be dispatched right into the middle of a chaotic firefight…’

It seemed that the higher-ups had determined that keeping Daniel Steiner alive was beneficial to national interests, so they sent him to the battlefield but to a relatively low-risk area.

They even added the warm words that “it’s okay to fail the mission.”

In blunt terms, it was not much different from telling him to pretend to participate in the battlefield and go rest somewhere else.

‘Now, under the pretext of carrying out the mission, I can stay on the battlefield for a while…’

Once the current Emperor Berthem transferred all authority to Selvia and stepped down, he would return to the Imperial City.

‘From Selvia’s attitude yesterday, it didn’t seem like she intended to keep me in check.’

So if Selvia became the Emperor, he felt he could live safely in the Imperial City.

‘Of course…’

His ultimate goal was not merely to live safely in the Imperial City.

Although the Empire had become more prosperous than expected by subjugating the Eldresia Kingdom and Bellanos one after another, escaping was still the best option.

As the winter frost melted and spring arrived, the great powers would rush to declare war on the Empire.

According to the news he had heard, the Federation and the Republic were gradually mobilizing their forces.

He had also heard that the number of meetings with Caledra, the de facto leader of the Allied Nations, had increased.

It could be said that a world war was on the brink.

The only way to escape the flames of war was, for now, to flee the Empire.

‘But…’

Was it truly right to leave Selvia behind in the flames of war?

Unlike the Emperor, Daniel knew that Selvia was favorable towards him.

Moreover, Selvia knew how to take care of public sentiment but was not adept at politics.

She would surely fall along with the crumbling Empire.

Thinking this way made his head spin.

As he descended the stairs, lost in thought, he encountered a woman with a familiar appearance.

Disheveled short white hair and blood-red eyes.

It was Lucy.

“Lieutenant?”

Wondering why she had come out of the office, Lucy blinked her red eyes and said.

“Oh. An officer from the headquarters direct unit came looking for you, Colonel. I was searching for you to inform you of this news.”

“…From the headquarters direct unit?”

He had a rough idea of who it might be.

Nodding with a reluctant expression, Daniel headed to his private office with Lucy.

Standing in front of the office door, Daniel took a deep breath, grasped the handle, and opened it.

The first thing he saw was a woman with light brown hair cascading down past her waist.

She wore what appeared to be a brand-new insignia on her shoulder.

The woman sensed his presence, turned around, and upon seeing Daniel, her eyes sparkled as she clasped her hands together.

“Ah! Colonel Daniel Steiner! You have no idea how long I’ve awaited this moment. I am grateful to be able to carry out a mission by the side of someone like you, who is akin to a saint. I swear to God that I will dedicate my life to slaughtering the beasts of the Allied Nations—”

Bang!

Having heard enough, Daniel closed the door.

One chilling point was that even after closing the door, Frien’s voice continued to flow from inside.

As if the door was merely a barrier to his sight, Frien was praising Daniel.

Thanks to that, Daniel, feeling exasperated, turned to Lucy.

“Lieutenant.”

“Yes.”

“Is there any chance of a return policy?”

Lucy, who had been staring at Daniel, furrowed her brow unusually.

“Colonel, you shouldn’t say such things about a person.”

“A person…?”

Should he really consider that woman, who was so engrossed in nationalism that she interpreted religion as she pleased, a person?

He almost said that, based on her mental state, she was closer to a monster, but he held back.

He thought it unnecessary to say something pointless since they would have to live together for the time being, whether he liked it or not.

–

Meanwhile, in the basin near the border of the Kingdom of Belmore.

In the operations command room of the Special Operations Company under the Airborne Special Forces Brigade.

“Company Commander.”

The company commander Burnard, who had been dozing off in the command post, opened his bleary eyes.

Blinking slowly, Burnard yawned and sat up.

His military uniform was disheveled, and the laces of his boots were not properly tied, but Burnard didn’t care.

After all, this was a place where that was acceptable.

“What’s going on? Did we run out of alcohol?”

When Burnard asked with a dazed expression, the squad leader shook his head.

Seeing this, Burnard scratched his forehead in annoyance.

“Then what is it?”

“Um… It seems it’s about time for you to start the mission.”

“Mission? Did you just say mission?”

Burnard let out a hollow laugh as if he couldn’t believe it.

“Get a grip, Corporal. We’ve been abandoned here. It’s been over a year since we were told to focus on border duty until new orders came down. Since then, the higher-ups haven’t given us any orders.”

Burnard raised his hand and swept back his disheveled hair.

“So we can just sit here and drink supply alcohol until the war ends. Let’s think positively. It’s a hellhole, but we won’t get shot, right?”

Burnard chuckled but then looked puzzled.

Usually, at this point, the squad leader would chime in, but today his face was pale.

“…What’s wrong? Did the higher-ups issue new orders?”

The squad leader nodded.

“Yes. The headquarters direct unit will send battalion personnel, and we are to take orders from that Colonel.”

“Colonel? Ha. What difference does it make if battalion personnel come here? Are they going to attack the Kingdom of Belmore with less than a thousand men? What nonsense… What the hell is wrong with you?”

Burnard didn’t like the sight of the squad leader trembling like a frightened deer.

When Burnard glared at him as if to demand an explanation, the squad leader took a deep breath and said.

“The colonel coming here is none other than…”

“None other than what?”

“…Colonel Daniel Steiner.”

As soon as he heard the colonel’s name, Burnard froze in place.

Even though this was a remote basin, he could still catch wind of the news coming from the Imperial City.

Operations Chief Colonel Daniel Steiner.

This was a name that no soldier of the Empire could be unaware of.

“Corporal? I don’t like jokes.”

He asked just in case, but the squad leader did not repeat himself.

“I heard it clearly. Colonel Daniel Steiner is coming here…”

Thanks to that, Burnard placed his trembling hand on his forehead.

“If it’s Daniel Steiner… that’s the guy who supposedly skinned the face of an Allied soldier in front of the Foreign Minister of the Eldresia Kingdom…”

Rumors tend to get distorted.

Especially in remote areas, stories tend to grow legs.

What initially started as a simple ‘drunken joke’ transforms into ‘truth’ through the process of being passed around.

The squad leader was also one of those who took the distorted rumors as truth.

“That’s not all. Do you know that when Duke Belvar pressured him, Colonel Daniel Steiner stormed into his mansion? At that time, he shot a soldier dead in front of Duke Belvar.”

“Oh my God…”

Burnard’s eyes trembled.

With cold sweat dripping down, Burnard looked up at the squad leader.

“If that Daniel Steiner sees our current state…”

“Execution. It will definitely be execution.”

Burnard, gripped by fear, let out a hiccup.

Sobered up, Burnard hurriedly stood up and shouted.

“Inform all troops! Tell them to conduct facility inspections and cleaning immediately! Also, order them to import firearms and tidy up their uniforms! We will check everything related to technology!”

“Understood. But how do we explain the reason…”

It wasn’t just Burnard who had become lax over the year.

The troops had also become so accustomed to the peace of the battlefield that they were playing poker during work hours.

However, it was very easy to make them snap back to reality.

Burnard had just experienced that.

“Let them know. Daniel Steiner is coming…”

With his face drained of color, Burnard swallowed hard and said.

“Tell them that the Empire’s demon is coming here.”

Author’s Note

Hello, dear readers!

Today, I woke up early in the morning with nothing to do, so I wrote diligently.

Thanks to that, I’m extremely tired, but thinking of the readers who will enjoy it makes me feel proud.

I hope you like this chapter, and I’ll end my note here.

Have a great day!