Ch.123Chapter 17. Desertion (1)

# Chapter 17. Desertion

Rumors, gossip, unverified information, and plausible leaks.

These things circulate wherever people gather. The Intelligence Department faces similar circumstances, but with two key differences.

First, the Intelligence Department must fish out plausible leads from this sea of nonsense. Second, sometimes the Intelligence Department itself is the source of the nonsense.

These two factors were making elite officer Leticia’s head spin.

“‘A cult that worships the Goddess of Hunger is controlling zombies.’ What do you think about this information?”

It was a rare private meeting with Virginia. Leticia couldn’t understand Virginia at all.

Despite appearing in so many broadcasts and becoming a propaganda model for the Elsa government and military, she hadn’t developed any celebrity syndrome. She remained completely unchanged from when she first arrived.

‘It’s not like a uniform is a snake’s skin, but how can someone be so different when wearing it versus not?’

Leticia wondered about the extent of her self-control, or if all people born as “nobility” were like this.

“I think the possibility is extremely low.”

“I’m curious about your reasoning.”

At her superior’s question, Leticia cleared her throat and adjusted her uniform.

For some reason, Virginia slightly furrowed her brow.

‘What’s that about? Is she annoyed that I’m taking my time?’

Leticia was a bit scared, but secretly pleased that she had provoked Virginia.

“More important than determining whether information is true or false is whether the information has value. It’s wasteful to verify useless facts. However, this intelligence could cause tremendous ripples. According to my analysis…”

Leticia presented various pieces of information and clues she had compiled, but her point was concise.

The division of Elsa.

The Goddess of Hunger faith is Elsa’s traditional belief. Regardless of whether one supports Minsk, Römer, or is loyal to Elsa.

Not all Elsa people believe in the Goddess. But it’s true that they were born and raised within the culture of the Goddess faith.

Even atheists use curses like “That bastard is such a miser that even the Goddess wouldn’t ask him for food!”

But what if rumors spread that “fanatics” of the Goddess are controlling “zombies”?

People who follow the Goddess faith would be separated from those who don’t, and even among believers, radicals would split from moderates, and purists from pragmatists.

“The surest way to escape accusations of being a cult is to accuse others of being one. Therefore, I expect meaningless lawsuits and accusations to abound, deepening emotional divides in the process.

Above all, the Elsa government has supported the excavation of Goddess statues as a national project and extensively promoted the Goddess. If stories spread that the Goddess’s ‘cult’ is controlling zombies, the stigma that would fall on the Elsa government would be immeasurable.”

Virginia nodded once, and then once more.

‘As expected, Leticia is still useful.’

Leticia is competent. And she remains loyal to Elsa and to Virginia herself. Whatever her private life may be, that fact doesn’t change.

Of course, her use of the Minsk satellite communication network could potentially violate security laws. But it’s not a serious crime. It’s not like she leaked confidential information; she just sent embarrassing photos of herself to a suspicious man…

“Commander?”

“Uh, hmm?”

“Are you alright? Suddenly your complexion…”

Leticia jumped up and brought cold water. Virginia accepted it gratefully. Her mouth was dry and her throat burning.

“Your face suddenly turned bright red. If you’re feeling too hot, I could open the window for ventilation…”

“No, no. That’s not necessary. I’ll do it after the meeting.”

She even stuttered a little. ‘Could she be coming down with something?’ Leticia thought it was possible. Virginia did handle so many responsibilities.

“I’ll continue my report. From what I’ve heard, this information was sent by an agent operating in Minsk in the Western countries.

What Minsk ultimately wants is to expand their influence in Elsa. The more divided and fragmented Elsa becomes, the easier it is for them to pull us in. It’s easier to eat a pie piece by piece than to swallow it whole.

Therefore, I believe there’s a high probability that this story is false information deliberately fabricated by Minsk intelligence.”

‘Pie, huh. “Like an apple pie with sticky honey flowing through warm flour.”‘

The description was too shocking for Virginia. It was the phrase Leticia had sent to that man Caesar along with her photos.

“You really do seem uncomfortable…”

At Leticia’s careful inquiry, Virginia snapped out of her strange thoughts. Just recalling such embarrassing phrases made her hands and feet tingle.

“Leticia. This information must remain known only to you and me here. And the moment you leave this room, you haven’t heard anything.”

This meant it was classified information that would normally be above Leticia’s clearance level. Sharing it implied that she should formulate a new plan, different from before.

“Yes. I understand.”

“Minsk mercenaries are operating on Elsa territory.”

“What?!”

She nearly jumped up. She had never heard such information in any of her briefings. But Virginia’s face, though slightly flushed, remained rigid.

“This is intelligence gathered by Römer. It hasn’t been shared with Elsa. If this information were shared with the Elsa government, Elsa would inevitably have to respond physically. It means military activity on foreign territory.”

Despite her shock, Leticia understood Virginia’s words. If Elsa went to war with Western Minsk, Römer would automatically have to join as well.

Then war would break out again. All three countries want to avoid war at all costs while they’re already struggling with the virus.

“Minsk’s technology is excellent, but their biotechnology and medical technology fields are inferior to Elsa’s. And Minsk’s situation isn’t exactly good either.

So they’re sending mercenaries to Cybele’s laboratories and factories. They’re trying to find clues about the Crow virus by any means. And the source of this information is…”

Virginia pointed to a map on the wall. Samarano. Half a day’s journey from Hampton.

“This is where the transmission came from.”

“Then.”

Leticia was perplexed. Humans handling zombies? How could such beings exist? It’s common sense that such a thing is impossible.

“This was the last transmission from the Minsk mercenaries. They probably died there. And we don’t know on what basis they sent such a message. There’s no context at all.

In this situation, Minsk plans to dispatch an additional investigation team to the Samarano region. They want to find out what happened.”

“Why hasn’t Elsa Intelligence…!”

Though she herself was part of Elsa Intelligence, she never imagined they could be this incompetent. Above all, hearing such information from a “Römer noble” was somewhat embarrassing.

“Minsk didn’t strike just anywhere. They targeted only the most remote areas among human non-protected zones and moved very covertly.

If they entered human protected zones, they would naturally clash with the Elsa National Gendarmerie. But non-protected zones aren’t under the Gendarmerie’s jurisdiction. They’re places the government shouldn’t enter. Therefore, we can’t conduct operations there either. In principle.”

In principle, that’s true. And the National Gendarmerie is famous for being an organization that “adheres to principles, but in unavoidable cases…” with lengthy footnotes.

Leticia understood why Virginia had shared this information with her.

‘Lead troops to intercept or capture the Minsk investigation team. But don’t make it look like a military operation. Even though it’s not our jurisdiction, provide reasons and grounds for breaking through.’

But Samarano? It’s far from Hampton. Although it’s a human non-protected zone, it belongs to a completely different administrative district. There’s no justification for leading Hampton’s army there.

And she can’t contact the unit responsible for the Samarano region either. They know nothing about this situation. She can’t just say, “Minsk mercenaries are roaming around in your area!”

Because this information is truly top-secret, known only to a select few.

Frustrated, Leticia examined the map again. Virginia was staring intently at her.

Despite wearing tights and committing all sorts of crimes every other day, she wanted to remain a good adjutant to Virginia.

That sense of transgression was incredibly stimulating.

“…Here. In this place, there’s a Cybele research complex. There’s a cultured meat research lab, a seed research lab…”

“And?”

“What if we use the pretext of securing future food sources? There will certainly be zombies in the human non-protected zone. So we could also make the excuse of leading troops to secure supplies.”

“I think that would be problematic.”

Virginia crossed her arms.

No matter how chaotic the Elsa government may be, some minimum principles and concepts remain. It’s also why the National Gendarmerie can’t freely enter human non-protected zones.

Specifically, to prevent acts of looting by the Gendarmerie.

Other National Gendarmerie units and regional defense forces are all short on supplies too. But none of them enter non-protected zones.

If someone crosses that line, eventually everyone will, and the National Gendarmerie that lays hands on civilian property will become a group crazed with bloodlust.

They don’t touch property in non-protected zones. They’d rather let it rot there. This was the unspoken rule.

“Is there no other way? An unavoidable situation where the National Gendarmerie must lead troops into a human non-protected zone.”

There is one.

“…There is.”

“What is it?”

“When criminals or reactionary forces flee to a non-protected zone. In such cases, action can be taken before reporting. But there must be solid evidence.”

“Then things have become simple.”

Leticia looked at Virginia with puzzled eyes. How had things become simple? They seemed more complicated.

“It would have been good if we had captured Liberation Army members… how many Tights Phantoms have we caught so far?”

“Ah… twenty-one. Of those, ten are still alive.”

Eleven had either turned into zombies or been killed by bullets from the National Gendarmerie or civilians. Some had also committed suicide by jumping rather than being captured.

“Drive them there.”

Leticia’s face turned pale. She meant to throw criminals into a human non-protected zone. Rather than killing them outright, this would turn living people into zombies.

“Give them a suitable opportunity to escape, then kill them all. Go to Samarano based on the evidence… that should work.”

“B-but…”

“It’s an order.”

Looking into Virginia’s eyes, Leticia couldn’t move. She swallowed dryly.

“I’ll comply.”

Leticia left the conference room. Virginia opened the window and put a cigarette in her mouth. She hadn’t smoked in a while.

“Now, ‘real Tights Phantom.’ Make your move. I can only catch him if you move.”