Explosion, and Conflict

Dawn, when most cadets have stopped moving and are resting.

Wee-oo, wee-oo!

A siren sound that didn’t fit the quiet forest filled the area.

“The activity zone will be restricted.”

As announced before the individual duel began, it was the military academy’s notice informing that the training ground’s range was shrinking.

As time passed, the number of dropouts increased, and as the number of survivors decreased, the frequency of cadets encountering each other became sparse. The countermeasure to prevent this was precisely the zone reduction.

If the range of movement is restricted, the cadets will be concentrated that much more, and eventually, they will end up fighting each other.

Patter!

Whether the military academy’s intention worked or not, despite the deep darkness of the night, someone was running through the forest.

But there was something strange about that appearance.

It didn’t seem like he was moving to avoid the zone restriction, as the place where he was standing wasn’t originally included in the reduction range, and

“Huff, huff! Just a little further…”

Rather than going to a safe place, it looked like he was running like mad to obtain something specific.

‘Not much further now!’

The man who was confident he was running at the fastest speed among all the candidates, Wolf, finally grinned widely as he saw the shape of a building coming into view.

How many hours had he run to see that tiny abandoned villa?

Even when other children were eating dinner or sleeping soundly, he had been pounding the ground, pressuring his two legs.

Beep, beep, beep──!

Throwing away bags containing food or sleeping bags, he crossed forests and rivers carrying only a rifle and bullets for hunting that bastard, and a tracker that intermittently emitted signals.

And finally now, he was one step away from arriving at the destination indicated by the tracker. This elation was indescribable.

‘That damn woman must be in there.’

It’s the middle of the deep night when even birds aren’t chirping, so she must be sound asleep. To aim for this moment, he had come without even taking a short nap on purpose.

‘Well, it doesn’t matter if she’s awake.’

Can an insect squirming stop a typhoon? The process might be bothersome, but the conclusion is already determined.

Anyway, the current Yena won’t be able to counter even one of my attacks. She must be in a state where all her abilities are weakened thanks to Manfred’s help. It would be impressive if she hasn’t been eliminated yet.

Crunch!

“Tss-huu──.”

As he finally reached a distance close enough to touch the gray concrete building, Wolf hid his body among the bushes and caught his breath.

Beep, beep, beep!

Then, after finally confirming that the tracker was indeed pointing to that house, he stuck to the outer wall of the building with a stealthy movement different from before.

‘This must be it.’

Since it’s a device guaranteed by a skilled equipment manager, the probability of malfunction is almost zero. If the tracker is working fine, Yena, whom I’ve been waiting and waiting for, should be in here.

Patter!

The moment he made up his mind, he didn’t hesitate. Wolf flew with his blonde hair fluttering and landed in front of the door.

“Yena Freud!”

And intending to surprise her, he shouted at the top of his lungs,

Slam─!

And pulled the handle.

Wolf imagined Yena startled and shocked, rising from her sleeping bag, and drew a crescent-shaped curve with his two bloodshot eyes from not sleeping.

“What the hell?”

But contrary to his wishes, in the room he arrived at following the tracker, there was no Yena, not even a single ant.

“Th-That.”

Beep, beep, beep──!

Only the transmitter he had hidden in Yena’s equipment was placed in the middle of the concrete floor, as if mocking him, and

Jingle!

A few safety pins dangling with threads on his ankle were the only welcome.

“Shit.”

BOOM, BANG!

---

“Thank you, I arrived quickly thanks to you.”

“Then I’ll be going. Take care.”

Thud!

Gartel, who arrived in Sevirpol earlier than scheduled, waved to the departing driver while closing the car door.

‘This must be the principal’s office.’

Then he immediately set off to meet Lustet.

“What business do you have…”

“I’m Wilhelm Gartel. It’s an urgent situation, so I’d appreciate it if you’d step aside immediately.”

Before seeing Lustet’s face, he met nearly ten guards, but each time, Gartel broke through them with a venomous face he had never shown before.

“Wilhelm Gartel. Administrator of Astrakhan Military Academy.”

“What is your business?”

“I’ve come to see Commander Lustet. I’ve come to inform him of the progress of the investigation I requested last time. Could you tell me where he is?”

Even when being questioned by Federation personnel, he completed the procedures so quickly that he wondered, ‘Have I ever moved this urgently before?’

“This way.”

Guided by the Federation military, Gartel hurried his steps to the laboratory located in the Sevirpol joint training ground.

Knock knock─

Upon reaching the principal’s office prepared inside the building, after a couple of knocks, he opened the door and entered before the principal’s voice could even be heard.

“Hmm? What brings you here?”

Without giving any explanation to Lustet, who was surprised by the untimely visit, Gartel

Swish─

Simply held out a brown envelope full of papers.

‘This will be faster than a hundred words.’

Lustet was momentarily stunned by Gartel, who suddenly barged into the principal’s office and presented an absurd bundle of documents, but soon changed his expression and accepted the item.

It was because Gartel’s face was unusually serious.

“What is this?”

“It’s a document containing the testimony of Manfred von Eckart, the equipment manager for whom I requested permission to interrogate last time.”

“You came all the way here to give me this?”

“I think you’ll understand when you see it.”

Rustle, rustle…

Except for a brief conversation, the two were silent for several minutes while Lustet skimmed through the contents.

Except for the sound effect of papers rubbing against each other, the sound of the end of the cigar Lustet was smoking burning down, and the fierce roar of the swirling wind,

“…”

“…”

It was coldness itself.

“Gartel.”

“Yes.”

“Is all of this true?”

“…These are the contents I dug up myself.”

After a short while, Lustet, having examined all the documents, closed the cover and opened his mouth, which had been tightly shut.

“Heh heh.”

The only reaction he showed was a laugh that a grandfather might make, but the anger and pressure contained in that brief laughter was absolutely not something that could be overlooked.

“Where is this rat bastard now?”

“He’s temporarily detained in the military academy’s detention center.”

“Hmm…”

Seeing Lustet sighing deeply, Gartel unnecessarily straightened his two legs in a line and adjusted his posture.

Although he was an officer with ten years of seasoned experience, he couldn’t withstand the chilling charisma of the principal who held the great position of Eastern Commander.

Tssss─!

After staring into space for a long time, Lustet finally extinguished the cigar left on the table by pressing it against the desk and took a step.

“Instructor, do you think you can stop Wolf?”

He approached Gartel, put both hands on his shoulders, and raised his head.

“What do you mean…”

Gartel flinched at his sudden action and stepped back about half a step. Stopping Wolf? Regardless of the intention, he couldn’t understand what he meant.

‘Wouldn’t stopping the training be enough?’

Shouldn’t we just stop the individual duel immediately, arrest Wolf, tie him up with Manfred, and give them severe punishment?

“The training must continue. We don’t have conclusive evidence. The burden is too great to stop the education with just this one document.”

Just then, Lustet resolved that question.

“Even if this document is true, we can’t end it unless there’s content that threatens Yena’s life.”

“Principal, but…!”

“Gartel! You, as an administrator, should know the current situation of the Empire best! What would happen if the research project prepared with the Federation for a year ends in vain.”

The principal pressed on Gartel’s shoulders, whose eyes suddenly widened round, and warned him in a louder voice.

“Those damn politicians view the military as a thorn in their side. Especially Erdorf, who’s been appointed as Prime Minister, he definitely won’t sit still. He’ll try to find fault somehow.”

“…”

“If the Labor Party wins in the upcoming general election, they’ll use this incident as an excuse to create a structure favorable to them.”

His words were right.

“St-Still, isn’t it our responsibility as instructors to protect the cadets?”

“Is it not because the cadet in danger happens to be Yena Freud?”

Gartel tried to refute Lustet’s opinion somehow, but soon faced reality and closed his lips.

Given that the Labor Party led by Erdorf was threatening the military by creating a vigilante group called ‘Stormtroopers’ several times the size of the military, they had to move cautiously.

‘…Did I grow attached in such a short time?’

Lustet’s guess stabbed at his heart. Originally, he wouldn’t have considered drastic measures like stopping education for the greater good, but the subject was none other than Yena.

If it had been another child, he wouldn’t have been this desperate.

“I’m giving you an opportunity.”

“An opportunity, you say?”

“Wolf von Stremann, just bring that child out quietly. Then we can resolve the problem peacefully.”

Pat pat…

“This is the best I can arrange, so think it over carefully.”

Lustet patted the back of Gartel, who was standing with both fists clenched tightly,

Click.

And left the principal’s office.