The Hunt Begins

Whoosh─!

The sound of dry wind stirred the interrogation room.

Moreover, perhaps because it was a dark, closed room indoors, and Manfred the maintenance officer was being questioned while tied up with ropes inside, the atmosphere was quite eerie.

However, Gartel didn’t mind.

Although it was clearly a scene that would make one nervous, and a place that would only come when interrogating prisoners of war, he didn’t particularly care.

‘How do I make this guy open his mouth…’

Rather, he was only preoccupied with such worries.

‘I need to get a confession somehow.’

Gartel frowned while tapping the table. Then he raised his head, glanced at Manfred who was maintaining silence throughout, and furrowed his brow.

Two hours had already passed since they were locked in this room.

But Manfred showed no signs of opening his mouth.

Even when calling in a subordinate for pressuring interrogation, or pressing hard while slamming the desk with loud voice, the guy didn’t confess.

“…I don’t know anything.”

He just kept claiming his innocence like now.

‘Does he intend to avoid punishment at all costs…’

Gartel glared at Manfred with eyes full of killing intent.

It’s just that there’s no physical evidence, but with overflowing circumstantial evidence, how could he look favorably on someone coming out so shamelessly?

Moreover, the guy’s expression seemed to be saying “If you’re going to catch me, bring proper evidence”, which made it absolutely impossible for him to contain his anger.

‘Is he looking down on me?’

With a brain that reached the rank of maintenance officer, he should have finished grasping the situation, but to respond so brazenly when he should be spilling everything and more?

He absolutely couldn’t forgive it. He didn’t intend to let it slide originally, but this became an opportunity to strengthen that resolve even more.

Clang, squeak─!

For that reason, Gartel pulled his chair back and put his feet on the table, then took out a pipe from his sleeve and lit it.

“Whew, you’re really making this troublesome.”

“…”

And he blew smoke towards Manfred’s face.

‘Then I don’t need to maintain formalities either.’

No matter how much Manfred was a high-ranking officer of the Empire and committed a serious crime, he was a soldier who served in Astrakhan, so he continued the conversation while maintaining a minimum line.

Like a kind of courtesy to former officials, he didn’t push hard or use harsh words because he was a junior. He didn’t use violence even once.

It might seem suspicious to some, but there was a proper reason.

‘I thought he would admit his guilt obediently…’

He thought that if he maintained even a little honor for the position of maintenance officer of the Bern Empire, Manfred would respond docilely to the interrogation.

He judged that if he showed the image of a superior not proceeding too coercively, the other would also acknowledge his wrongdoing and cooperate diligently to get through it a little more leniently.

But reality was different.

No such optimistic situation came.

‘Did I overestimate Manfred?’

Gartel clicked his tongue while staring intently at the man in front of him.

He never imagined the guy would lack even basic dignity and conviction as an officer, it was a problem that he thought he would confess the truth on his own if given some hints.

‘Just for touching Yena Freud, no, a cadet of Astrakhan Military Academy, he’s already given up his qualifications as a soldier.’

He was too merciful in a position where he needed to obtain information immediately, he shouldn’t have treated Manfred with the courtesy befitting an Imperial maintenance officer.

It was right to view him not as an ally but as an enemy – a criminal who tried to kill a cadet, a reactionary who plotted to undermine military discipline.

What more needs to be said about a guy who harmed an awakened one, a precious military strength of the Empire, for his own private interests?

‘It was a momentary misjudgment.’

While blaming himself for forgetting Manfred’s ugliness for a moment, Gartel,

Thud─ Thud─

Slowly moved his steps towards the guy who kept his mouth shut.

“You were commissioned after the Great War, right?”

After approaching the guy’s side completely like that, he immediately asked a question.

It was a question that didn’t seem very helpful in revealing Manfred’s crime. It wasn’t suitable for interrogation, but rather a topic that would be used in daily life.

“Y-Yes, that’s right.”

Perhaps because of that, Manfred answered without much reluctance.

“Should I understand that you started serving at the end of the Great War, and were assigned the task of managing Astrakhan Military Academy after the war ended?”

“Yes.”

“And you were promoted to maintenance officer recently?”

“That’s correct, but…”

Although it was awkward that the instructor who had been glaring at him as if to kill him suddenly opened the conversation in a gentle tone, it wasn’t a question that would particularly harm him if he answered, right?

Compared to the words Gartel had uttered so far, it felt like comfortable chat, so he had no reason to maintain silence.

“Then I was the first you met at the military academy?”

“Yes, that’s right. I occasionally saw your face through the Imperial newspaper, but this is the first time I’ve encountered you directly.”

Thanks to this, Manfred responded to the inquiry with a much more relaxed face.

‘There’s no reason to arouse suspicion by ignoring even trivial questions. As long as I don’t confess, it’s fine, right?’

With this thought, he comfortably answered Gartel’s consecutive non-interrogative questions.

It was truly a moment when he could even take a break.

“So is that why you’re foolish?”

“Pardon?”

But it was only for a moment.

“Did you think everything would be resolved if you just stuck to your opinion because proper evidence hasn’t come out yet? You seem to find your superior and the world ridiculous.”

With Gartel’s sudden rebuke as a turning point, the peaceful time ended in less than ten minutes.

“I don’t understand what you mean, no, I’m really wronged! Carrying out my duties to fulfill my role as an Imperial officer was all of my schedule!”

“Is that so?”

“Yes! I swear on my life that I’m innocent! How could I, with infinite patriotism for my homeland, harm a cadet!”

Manfred desperately made excuses against the instructor’s suddenly hostile gaze.

He expounded his claims with active gestures, such as pounding his chest and trying to wave his hands that were tangled up with ropes.

‘Something feels off about how the situation is flowing.’

Instinctively feeling that Gartel’s attitude had changed drastically from before, sensing that he would be in big trouble if he didn’t break the other’s suspicion here,

Manfred put all his efforts into expressing his convictions more than ever.

“Haha, swearing on your life… Anyway, Manfred, setting everything else aside, I’d like to give you one last piece of advice.”

“Sp-Speak!”

Soon after, as the wrinkles on Gartel’s forehead disappeared and a benevolent smile bloomed on his lips,

‘Di-Did it work?’

He swallowed dry saliva and stared intently at the instructor’s face.

He didn’t care at all what question the instructor was trying to ask. Manfred’s interest was focused solely on Gartel’s change of heart.

After all, shouldn’t he live first? Naturally, Manfred had no choice but to pay more attention to how the instructor reacted.

He could end up in an awkward position if he wasn’t careful. As long as he couldn’t erase Gartel’s doubts, he wouldn’t be able to leave this room, so he had to resolve this situation by any means necessary.

In that sense, Gartel’s current reaction was promising.

‘At least he smiled.’

He who had been frowning all day finally relaxed his expression, it could be seen that the instructor’s mood had improved to some extent.

Perhaps because of this, Manfred,

‘If it passes like this, it would be more than satisfactory…!’

Clenching his fists and meeting Gartel’s eyes, he prayed that this hellish time would end, that this damn situation of being on the list of suspects would be resolved smoothly.

“You’re like worthless trash.”

“…Pardon?”

But the world was cold-hearted.

“As expected, you still haven’t properly grasped the situation. It’s really ridiculous to see you struggling to protect a single position even while stuck in this basement where not a single light comes in.”

Things like the ropes being untied and the interrogation ending didn’t happen, there was no future of breathing fresh outside air.

“I left you alone with the thought of bestowing mercy one last time because your squirming appearance was amusing, but you only made excuses.”

“Th-That’s not…”

“Do I look like someone who can’t see through the intentions of an officer still wet behind the ears? Did you make such a dull-witted judgment, thinking that if you insist, the tangled thread will unravel?”

Only Gartel’s voice, full of killing intent, pierced his ears.

“…”

Manfred couldn’t say anything. He just lowered his head, startled by Gartel’s untimely anger.

His body stiffened at Gartel’s words that perfectly penetrated his inner world to the extent that he didn’t even think of how to respond, so he was too flustered to have room to open his mouth.

“Do you know what my job was during the Great War?”

“N-No.”

Therefore, even when the instructor asked consecutive questions, he could only respond with a dumbfounded appearance.

Of course, that doesn’t mean Gartel would stop the interrogation, right? No matter what state Manfred was in,

“I was in charge of interrogating domestic spies and prisoners of war. Eliminating resistance fighters and mage officers who made our homeland bleed! I carried out a great and noble task.”

“I played the role of thoroughly revealing how they infiltrated this country, what they came for, who their other agents were, or what operations they had planned.”

Sitting on the table right next to the maintenance officer, inhaling a pipe with white smoke rising in wisps,

“My job was to induce those guys to confess while conducting appropriate ‘interrogation’. I spent nearly five years like that.”

He steadily revealed his own story.

“Th-That’s amazing.”

And Manfred, hearing that explanation, expressed admiration for a career he could never even dream of, but,

‘…Surely not.’

He trembled his legs at the approaching anxiety.

There’s no way he would interrogate prisoners of war and spies while having tea time, so the ‘interrogation’ Gartel mentioned was likely a word meaning interrogation of a nasty intensity.

‘But he suddenly mentions that here?’

And there’s no one else in this basement except me and him? No matter how I think about it, it only looks like a topic brought up targeting me.

He was anxious.

‘As if he doesn’t seem to look at me favorably and doesn’t seem to believe me, reciting such a chilling past in the meantime… It’s like saying he’ll do such things to me too!’

Manfred closed his eyes tightly while moving his dry lips.

He felt a threat to his life he had never experienced before, is this how prisoners captured in the Great War felt, an indescribable nervousness permeated his whole body.

On the other hand, he couldn’t hide his bewilderment. He thought he could just get through it somehow, but he never imagined Gartel was someone who had made interrogation and investigation his job.

‘This is driving me crazy!’

Manfred clenched his teeth tightly in frustration.

Usually an investigator would have superior intelligence and intuition than others, it became doubly difficult to persuade Gartel.

No, it wouldn’t be strange to say it was impossible.

How could he deceive a veteran who had rolled through years of war, he would have gained outstanding instincts while dealing with even foreign spies who prepared more thoroughly than me,

What more needs to be said? He regretted the past days when he tried to be clever in front of none other than Gartel in an attempt to overcome this crisis.

‘The result was already determined anyway.’

Manfred covered his face with both hands, discouraged by the dark future ahead where hope couldn’t be seen.

And soon after, he chewed his lips at the greater sense of despair approaching.

“But I’m different, Manfred. You touched Yena, who is not just any cadet. Shouldn’t you receive proper punishment for that?”

“Ah…”

“It doesn’t matter whether you’re really innocent or not. If you’re the culprit, it means my judgment is excellent, and if it’s the opposite, I’ve long resolved to receive corresponding disciplinary action.”

Gartel’s words determining the future,

“So maintenance officer, if you don’t open your mouth in time, it’s going to get very difficult for you. I have no intention of stopping.”

“What?”

Thwack─!

“This fist, I mean.”

Painful notification was heard.

“Urgh!”

---

It didn’t take long to reach the city center.

My movement improved significantly by solving the problem with the mana suppression device, and I didn’t get lost on the way by utilizing my past experience of fighting in urban areas.

Thanks to that, I was able to arrive at my original intended destination without any particular problems.

Where is that, you ask?

‘A building.’

And it was the tallest building that could be found in the training ground, overwhelming even the size of a decent apartment.

“Hah.”

I wiped the sweat from my forehead, recalling the hard past of climbing stairs incessantly.

I couldn’t even remember how many steps I had taken.

I only remembered frantically climbing stairs while avoiding mines, explosives, and holes due to deterioration installed by the military academy.

Of course, that doesn’t mean it was hard. After all, I regained my true strength by neutralizing the mana suppression device.

But since the distance from the abandoned building where I first settled to the city center was far, it was quite mentally taxing.

‘I’m not the only one in this wide area.’

You never know when a cadet might appear and block my path. If I make a mistake, I could step on a mine, or suddenly bullets could come flying at me?

This is not just a simple training ground.

It’s a battlefield prepared with full effort by the military academy.

No matter how stark the difference in level between the cadets and me, I didn’t let go of the tension.

Carelessness means arrogance, and this meant losing the ability to cope with unexpected attacks.

You never know if you might be eliminated by a blind attack from an unknown cadet.

So I always maintained a serious attitude.

Getting injured by guys who haven’t even been officially commissioned yet was absolutely unacceptable to my pride, so I tried not to give even the slightest chance.

“Bang, bang─!”

“Kaboom! Boom!”

The fact that I was able to roam this space where gunshots and explosions were raining down without being detected by anyone was possible because of this mindset.

In that sense, I maintained a smile on my lips even while surveying the view below the rooftop.

The situation flowing according to plan without any deviation gave me a satisfaction no less than others. Who wouldn’t feel joy in this situation!

‘The air is really cool, maybe because it’s high up.’

I smiled gently with my eyes while looking down at the ground, resting my chin on one hand.

Click, clatter─!

Then I carefully took out the gun slung over my shoulder, and took a prone position with my lower abdomen completely touching the ground.

Soon after, I aligned the sight with my line of sight and started scanning the surroundings.

‘It’s about time to start, isn’t it?’

The process of reducing the number of cadets, that is. I muttered to myself inwardly while slowly placing my finger on the trigger.

The sun had already risen to its zenith, now it wouldn’t be long before evening approached and the dark night came.

Before that, I had to take out cadets and accumulate enough points.

For the ultimate goal of winning the ‘joint training’, I had to produce overwhelming results in the individual duel educational course which had the highest evaluation weight, so I couldn’t just sit back and rest.

I had to stuff simulation bullets into cadets’ bodies as quickly as possible, as many as possible.

This was also why I specifically came here.

‘If I settle in a high-rise, I can shoot comfortably.’

I was confident I could hit targets no matter the distance. I dared to say that as long as a safe space was secured, I could comfortably accumulate points.

For that reason, this rooftop, which was relatively safe and allowed me to spot and respond to cadets hiding in the city at a glance, was perfect as a sniping location.

After all, my opponents are just inexperienced first-year cadets.

It was too easy to deal with children with still immature skills. What was there to fear when I had already thoroughly acquired marksmanship through my past life?

I was just happy to be able to indirectly smell the nostalgia of the Great War.

‘Is there any reason to be afraid just because the targets are walking around?’

No matter how many cadets, up to a thousand, were spread out in this city, I didn’t feel any pressure at all. Rather, the joy of hitting targets would only increase.

Click, clatter─!

There was no more hesitation.

Having perfectly positioned myself, I loaded ammunition without delay.

One by one, I filled the empty rifle magazine with simulation bullets boasting sharp edges.

“Whew…”

Finally, after completing the task, I shouldered the stock.

‘One on the left.’

Then, with a moment’s thought,

“Bang─!”

I pulled the trigger without hesitation.

Towards the chest of a cadet,

Who seemed to not have grasped the situation yet, moving clumsily through the city center.