Ch.186Chapter 20. Patriot (38)

***** *****

“Ellen Burrow. Former 284 National Military Police. Former member of Elza Midwest Regional National Integration Forces. Currently under emergency arrest for charges of national treason.

Virginia Helford, Commander of the South-Central Region, received the President’s emergency order, urgently deployed to the Midwest Regional Command, and swiftly arrested the ringleader of the rebellion.

During interrogation, Ellen Burrow confessed all her crimes in detail. She revealed that a cult of the Goddess of Hunger had indeed infiltrated the National Military Police and had built secret supply depots throughout Elza during the chaos.

Shortly after Virginia’s report was submitted to superiors, an emergency video conference was held, chaired by newly appointed Defense Minister Rice Hoffman. All regional commanders attended except for the temporarily detained Midwest Regional Commander. Virginia, who was in charge of the briefing, continued with shocking statements.

“During the early spread of the Crow virus, the death and disappearance rates of National Military Police were vastly higher than civilians, but injury rates were lower. Until now, it was believed that the National Military Police made heroic sacrifices to protect civilians. But the truth is that cultists who had infiltrated the military simply deserted en masse with their weapons.”

Virginia’s statement could be interpreted as an insult to the entire National Military Police, as it implied that half of the nation’s military had been indoctrinated by a cult.

“Nonsense! Watch your words!”

“No matter if you’re from the Roemer noble family, how dare a green rookie—wait, who are you people?!”

The “anomaly” in the video conference occurred at that moment. The Northern and Northeastern Regional Commanders were pushed back.

Instead, their adjutants appeared on the monitor. Their uniforms were neat, but their faces were haggard, and visible parts of their flesh showed signs of beating and torture. Everyone at the meeting was from the National Military Police, so it was impossible not to notice. Virginia calmly continued her report.

“These are staff members from the Northern and Northeastern regions. They belong to a radical religious group and deliberately conducted wasteful operations to intentionally ‘deplete’ combat power. They were moved by Ellen Burrow’s ‘sincere persuasion’ and submitted handwritten confessions of their treasonous acts to me.”

Though it was for the report, too much was omitted from the story. First, Ellen Burrow had never “sincerely persuaded” them.

Instead, these people had been forced to watch “how Ellen was interrogated” at normal speed from beginning to end, and terrified, they “confessed” their crimes.

Of course, Virginia hadn’t used barbaric methods. She merely had her subordinates strip Ellen naked, lock her in a cage made of iron bars, then chain the cage to a military truck and drag her 400km.

During the first interrogation, Ellen “confessed to all her crimes and even those she hadn’t committed” and also informed on “other officers with definite evidence of treason.”

It was a kind of plea bargain, with the condition that she would be “transported” from Hampton to the capital via paved roads rather than unpaved roads or wastelands. Of course, she was still confined to the cage.

“What, what is the meaning of this, Commander Virginia?!”

“I apologize, Minister. As a mere commander, I couldn’t determine who to trust and who not to trust. So I was compelled to act first and report later.”

“You’re now…!”

Virginia stepped away from the screen. Shortly after, a nervous young female officer sat in front of the camera in Virginia’s place. She was the Defense Minister’s administrative secretary.

“Lieutenant Ilenia!”

The pretty officer could only sob. From off-screen, Virginia testified.

“The mold has bloomed in the Defense Ministry as well, Minister. So, after you and Lieutenant Ilenia left that hotel in the capital together last Friday night…”

“Stop, stooop!”

The Minister seemed to have forgotten how to breathe. He merely gestured wildly at the air.

The chilling realization came next.

There had been no report. Despite his own administrative secretary being “captured,” not a single person had reported it to him.

Even though it was a confidential meeting, the Minister frantically pressed the call button. He intended to berate the officers and soldiers who gathered. But those who came merely looked at the Minister with cold, cynical expressions.

“You called, Minister?”

“You lot, what conspiracy have you hatched with Commander Virginia?”

“Conspiracy? Well, we haven’t done anything like that.”

Personnel Commander Scholtz stepped forward. Despite being in front of the Minister, he was wearing a pistol. Whether it contained live ammunition or if the top three rounds in the magazine were blanks, only Scholtz himself knew.

“However, we deeply sympathize with Commander Virginia’s assertion that the ‘military’ should act more proactively and take more initiative than it does now.”

“The National Military Police is Elza’s shield!”

“Minister, when a person’s arm weakens, even a shield eventually falls to the ground. No matter how sturdy the shield, what meaning does it have if the one holding it is weak?”

Outside the Minister’s office, the sound of military boots grew louder. Soldiers the Minister hadn’t called were gathering. The Minister remembered they were people who often went on “business trips” to Hampton or sought “operational cooperation.”

“What…”

The Minister gasped for breath. Scholtz approached and held the microphone in front of him. On the screen, Virginia appeared with a cigarette in her mouth, replacing Lieutenant Ilenia. The Minister hissed.

“What exactly do you want, Virginia?”

Virginia hadn’t lit her cigarette. She merely spoke with it between her lips.

“I believe a military-wide investigation is necessary. However, with the Crow virus situation becoming prolonged and the National Military Police already overburdened with current duties, we shouldn’t place additional burdens on them. Therefore, I propose establishing a Special Investigation Headquarters directly under you, Minister. I’ve prepared all the documents; you just need to sign.”

A new proposal appeared on the monitor in front of the Defense Minister. He quickly scanned the contents. With each page he turned, his expression grew more distorted.

“…You want me to sign this ‘thing’? This is nonsensical… Even when Roemer directly ruled Elza, it wasn’t at this level! You’re now, ah. Yes. Acting like a Roemer noble, aren’t you!”

“I am a soldier of Elza. Regardless of my origins.”

“I absolutely will not…!”

Virginia made a gesture. Officers surrounded the Defense Minister. Outside the Minister’s office came the sound of a violent struggle. But that sound gradually subsided. On the monitor, Virginia was stroking the cheek of her lovely adjutant Ilenia with the back of her left hand.

“Now, Minister…”

Ilenia sobbed. Virginia flicked her lighter and lit her cigarette. At that moment, the Minister made his decision.

“Virginia Helford, I suspend all your duties effective immediately!”

Virginia nodded. Instead, she whispered quietly into the microphone.

“To the officers in the Defense Minister’s office, Special Investigation Headquarters Chief Virginia Helford orders. Arrest Minister Rice Hoffman immediately. Repeat. Emergency arrest on charges of national treason.”

Officers with batons rushed at the Minister. For the Minister, who was bleeding from his head after being beaten and still didn’t understand what was happening, Virginia removed the webcam attached to the monitor and switched to her own screen.

“Virginia Helford is hereby appointed as the head of the Special Investigation Headquarters. Signed by Defense Minister Rice Hoffman.”

“You haven’t been Defense Minister for long, but I see you’ve already delegated all your work to your secretary. That included matters related to electronic signatures. Thanks to that, my job became easier.”

“You, bitch, won’t, die, peacefully!”

“I think so too. That’s why I want to give you the option of meeting a dignified end. I’ve picked out three newspaper headlines; choose one. The first is ‘Minister Rice Hoffman, Zombified Due to Acute Crow Virus Infection… Disposal Complete.’ The second is ‘New Defense Minister Rice Hoffman, Love Escape with Personal Adjutant…’ The last is…”

***** *****

The commotion had passed. The people on the video conference monitors were rigid. It was closer to anticipation than fear, closer to tingling excitement than awkwardness.

“Officers of the National Military Police.”

Virginia Helford occupied the center of the screen.

“Tonight, we have cut out one rotten root of Elza. It was so deeply festered that no one could know its depth, but it existed. I still cannot believe that a single cult could damage a nation’s military to this extent.”

No one dared to answer. Only solemnity flowed.

“But that is not your fault. It is the doing of incompetent individuals who allowed stagnation and rot. This could never have happened in a normal military and organization. No matter how great a religion claims to be, could it be greater than the nation? No matter how powerful the force of faith, could it be stronger than strict military discipline and order? No! No! Absolutely not!”

“Yet it happened. Because the religion was great? No! Because of incompetent, lazy, corrupt politicians who allowed these vermin to infiltrate!”

Everyone saw that Virginia was suppressing her passion. Everyone watched her with razor-sharp attention. Finally, she broke the silence.

“Patriots!”

Something cool and exhilarating shot through the officers from the tops of their heads to the tips of their toes. It was a phrase they had never heard, not once since joining the military. And now they were hearing it from an officer from a foreign noble family.

“This military, this country, this world! Just once, according to our will! Suppressed, trampled, ignored—our will, just once! Don’t you want to make it truly bloom?”

“We want to make it bloom!”

“Don’t you want to rebuild Elza with our own hands, rather than let it be tainted by incompetent and corrupt old men?”

“We want to rebuild it!”

“Don’t you want to show true patriotism just once?”

“We want to!”

Virginia stood up. The camera carefully followed her. Though the movement was unsteady, her resolve seemed ready to pierce through the crude monitor screen.

“Let’s do it, patriots!”

A determined cheer covered all of Elza. Everyone anticipated Elza’s new future. Elza would become younger and healthier. Everyone was thinking the same thing, except for one woman from Roemer.

‘…I need to meet that guy again.’