Ch.151One Step Forward, Three Steps Back! (3)

#151

Until that afternoon, there had been minor disturbances among inmates, but nothing major enough to require Dexter’s intervention.

Dexter was so bored that he even visited Judy in the adjacent block to exchange light jokes, or asked Dan, who worked with him, various questions about married life.

At least until Himena brought a montage from Anna, the ambassador of the Yekaterina Republic.

“……”

Sitting in the staff area of Block 2, Dexter’s face hardened as he checked the mobile message Himena had sent.

‘This is definitely… the face of the woman who pushed me away at Pink Industry.’

A woman in a black dress that clearly revealed her figure, with a pale face, but possessing a unique aura and seductive beauty.

‘So the middle-aged man next to her was her aide?’

He hadn’t realized the Commander was a woman, let alone someone he had already met.

‘You’ve lost your touch, Dexter.’

Dexter’s expression was serious.

‘You idiot. What did you think the Commander would be like to act so recklessly? Even with thorough preparation it wouldn’t be enough, but you were too busy grinning and hanging around with women you like.’

Dexter’s relentless self-criticism was so intense that inmates passing by the staff area were whispering about him.

“Is something wrong?”

“Nah, with those biceps, there’s nothing he can’t handle.”

“True enough.”

Other correctional officers briefly entered the staff area, patting Dexter’s shoulder and leaving donuts behind, offering light comfort for his serious expression.

Completely unaware of the situation and lost in deep thought, Dexter was surprised to find various snacks and coffee placed in front of him when he finally came to his senses.

“…What’s all this?”

Not realizing he had received free snacks thanks to his frowning, Dexter grabbed a donut and thought to himself.

‘In the end, capturing Commander Olivia is the only way to solve this problem. That woman Anna is definitely hiding something.’

But he couldn’t exactly grab a foreign diplomat by the collar and threaten her to reveal what she was hiding.

‘I haven’t even properly figured out why the Encyclopedia is connected to liquefied Negative.’

He felt like a puppet being pulled in different directions.

“This sucks.”

Dexter devoured all three donuts in front of him without even taking a sip of coffee, then abruptly stood up.

‘Maybe something will come up if I keep moving.’

After getting up, Dexter began patrolling around Medium Security Facility Block 2.

“C.O. coming.”

“No, it’s Hughes, we’re good.”

The inmates gathered in the common area tensed briefly at Dexter’s sudden patrol, but relaxed immediately upon seeing his face and resumed their conversations naturally.

Dexter found this puzzling.

“Don’t inmates usually get tense when a correctional officer passes by?”

“Us? Why would we?”

Claire, an inmate around Emily’s age, cast a seductive glance at Dexter as she spoke.

“Officer Hughes might not be a pushover, but you understand inmates’ situations best and accommodate us, don’t you?”

The “accommodation” Claire referred to was generally Dexter’s tendency to leave inmates alone unless they caused serious problems.

The inmates believed Dexter respected them as people, rather than viewing them sexually or as troublemakers.

With those words, Claire slightly unbuttoned her collar, but Dexter didn’t even glance at her.

“What understanding are you talking about.”

Claire smirked at Dexter’s indifferent reaction to her obvious seduction.

“I like that attitude too.”

“Whatever. Any problems here?”

“You mean besides our burning desire for Officer Dexter to satisfy our needs?”

“None of that nonsense.”

As Dexter coldly rejected her without even a glance and walked away, the surrounding inmates snickered and began gossiping.

“Wow, is he really gay?”

“I heard he’s seeing someone from Block 1.”

“Who?”

“You know, that short officer who’s always smiling brightly.”

“That C.O. with the brown bob? She’s practically a kid.”

“What kid? I heard she’s at least 5 years older than you.”

“No way.”

Ignoring the chattering inmates, Dexter glanced at the single cell where Emily was staying.

After Emily, he wouldn’t take special interest in any inmate again.

‘…Probably.’

Emily, the inmate Dexter paid the most attention to, was leaning against the wall of her cell reading a magazine.

Without entering the cell, Dexter leaned against the wall by the door and casually asked.

“What are you reading?”

“A gardening magazine, sir.”

“Do you garden?”

“No. Just nothing else to read. What’s the point of growing plants you can’t even eat?”

Her response made it clear she had absolutely no interest in gardening.

“So, what brings you here?”

“Do I need a reason to come by?”

“Ah, I see.”

At his words, Emily closed the gardening magazine and sat on the edge of the bed closest to the cell entrance, minimizing the distance between them.

“I guess there’s a reason you’re not coming inside the cell.”

“Someone seems to have complained about us being too friendly.”

“I suppose I was getting too close.”

There was a hint of regret in Emily’s voice, so Dexter glanced at her reflection in the bathroom window and said:

“Well, you’ll be getting out soon anyway.”

“The trial outcome is still uncertain.”

“Himena said not to worry, didn’t she? Hasn’t your lawyer said anything?”

“I’d rather talk about today with Jessie and Himena than spend time talking to my lawyer.”

Hearing such nonsense from Emily, Dexter responded incredulously.

“Talk to your lawyer…”

“Himena introduced the lawyer, so won’t they handle everything properly?”

“No. I’ll schedule a lawyer visit this weekend, and you can meet with them then.”

Dexter was frustrated by Emily’s indifference to her own case.

“You’re so frustrating… I’ve got so much on my mind these days…”

“What’s on your mind?”

“I’m investigating a case, and there’s a witness who clearly knows something. But they won’t talk.”

“Why won’t they talk?”

“I think they’re being threatened. It’s obvious from their attitude, expression, and voice.”

Emily nodded, her legs crossed.

“So they’re afraid.”

“Seems that way.”

Emily wiggled her foot thoughtfully, legs still crossed.

“Isn’t it simple?”

“What is?”

“Make the fear useless.”

“You mean find out what they’re being threatened with?”

“When you’re faced with an unknown safe, it’s natural to learn who made it, when it was made, and how it’s designed. Once you have the information, you crack it.”

A thief’s explanation.

“I don’t know who this witness is, but they’re being threatened because they have something to lose.”

“That’s right.”

“I wonder… what is it they’re most afraid of losing?”

‘What are Stefan and Anna most afraid of losing?’

Dexter first considered their situation.

The former Crown Prince Stefan who gave up his claim to the throne for love, and Anna who’s desperately trying to protect him.

‘No, it’s hard to see them as each other’s weakness. It must be something deeper…’

Stefan met the Encyclopedia because they were from the same planet and because, using his position as OSA’s technical advisor, he could obtain information about the Gaijin Empire much faster than others.

‘Wait, the Commander also met him through the Encyclopedia. So if there’s a weakness related to the Encyclopedia?’

The Encyclopedia had near real-time information about Stefan’s family—the Emperor and Crown Princess—and provided it to Stefan irregularly.

‘What if it was the Commander, not OSA, who provided family information? And then, assuming the Commander discarded the Encyclopedia after he lost his usefulness or for some other reason… and used him as a Negative test subject as a final use…’

It made some sense.

Of course, there could be a gap between what makes sense and what actually happened.

But Emily’s advice helped him determine where to focus on this problem.

Dexter poked his head further into the cell and said with a smile:

“Thanks, Emily. I’ll repay this favor when you get out.”

“How will you repay it?”

Caught off guard by Emily’s sudden demand for compensation, Dexter thought for a moment before answering.

“Well… I’ll grant whatever you want, within legal means.”

“I heard from Himena that she got a ‘One Day Exclusive Rights to Dexter’ as a birthday gift.”

“…That’s right?”

“When I get out, give me that too.”

“You’d need Jessie and Himena’s permission for that.”

“I’ll get their permission.”

The thought that having exclusive time with him had become some sort of reward made Dexter look at Emily with a perplexed expression. Emily slightly lowered the corners of her mouth and said:

“Don’t you want to?”

“No… it’s not that I don’t want to, but how did it come to this?”

‘Am I the abnormal one, or are my women abnormal?’

Dexter wondered.

* * *

That evening.

-Do you think I’m a private investigator?

When Dexter, who had returned home, contacted Eliya from his sofa, Eliya responded in a greasy but curt voice.

-If you start with “how many times have I saved your life” again…

“You dumped Aisha on me and you’re saying that? I don’t dislike Aisha, but did you think you’d be safe after sending her over so abruptly?”

-Hmm! Id-ya told me your women quite liked Aisha…

At Eliya’s shameless words, Dexter frowned deeply and said:

“You bastard. I know you sent her with bodyguards because you couldn’t handle her either. So, do you have information on the Gaijin Empire or not? Speak up.”

-Well, to be serious… you should ask the Strategic Support Team Leader. The Gaijin Empire has just expressed interest in borrowing from our side.

“Tell them to provide substantial support to Crown Princess Victoria, and find out about the current imperial family situation.”

-Oh? Why do you need information on the Gaijin imperial family?

“The Commander. I think I’ve caught her tail.”

Eliya was silent for a moment, then spoke in a lower voice than before.

-As it happens, I’ve also obtained some information about the Commander.

“What? What is it?”

-A beautiful human woman from Earth, they say.

“You bastard! Yanma, I already know that!”

-Do you think I only have that one piece of information? Of course I have more to tell you.

“Stop stalling and tell me. Unless you want a blaster hole in your head.”

At Dexter’s menacing words, Eliya grumbled.

-We may be friends, but you’re truly impatient. Fine, there are rumors that she’s not an alien disguised as a human.

“How did you find that out?”

-There was an alien who briefly worked with the Commander. With appropriate funding and persuasion, they willingly shared information.

“Willingly? You probably put a bag of money in front of them and said ‘Tell me what you know and take the money, or get beaten to a pulp’ and made them choose.”

-You taught me that technique, what are you talking about?

As Eliya snorted, Dexter thought for a moment and realized it was indeed something he often did himself.

“…Anyway. So the Commander is a pure human?”

-Probably. I’m curious why a human would want to destroy Earth. What about you?

“…How would I know?”

He wanted to tell Eliya about the Negative, but couldn’t because it was related to the Galactic Union.

“Anyway, if you find out anything, write it down in detail and send it to me, by computer or whatever. It’s an important matter.”

-Hmm… Alright. I’ll contact you again later.

After Eliya hung up, Dexter stared suspiciously at his phone.

The long exhale at the end bothered him.

‘He’s not usually like this.’

He worried that his request for detailed information might result in something like a history book.

‘This guy can be surprisingly petty.’

It was good that he requested information, but it seemed like another worry had emerged.