chapter_0020

19 – You Will Be a Good Superior

19 – You Will Be a Good Superior

At the same time, in the Eldresia Kingdom.

In the office of the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency.

“…Is it true that the leaders of the anti-war protests have been captured?”

Colonel Octavian Leopold, the director of the Central Intelligence Agency, spoke with an irritated expression in front of a massive world map hanging on the wall.

Crispin, the head of the Strategic Analysis Department, and Phineas, the head of the Operations Execution Department, stood nervously before the director, swallowing dryly.

Crispin, glancing at the director, finally managed to speak.

“Unfortunately, it is true. They couldn’t withstand the interrogation by the Imperial Military Police and confessed everything.”

Phineas chimed in.

“Furthermore, the Empire is using this as an opportunity to label all those advocating for an end to the war as agents of the Allied Nations and is waging a propaganda campaign.”

This meant that the intelligence department’s plan to incite a popular uprising using the anti-war protests as a catalyst had gone up in smoke.

Of course, even if a popular uprising were to occur, it would be easily suppressed, but the primary goal was to instill a negative perception of the war and the military among the Empire’s citizens.

Once negative public opinion began to accumulate, the Imperial family would no longer be able to ignore it.

If that could halt the Empire’s offensive, the Eldresia Kingdom would buy time.

Time to rearm the defeated army.

But with the leaders captured, everything had fallen apart.

Director Octavian let out a deep sigh, furrowing his brow as he looked at his department heads.

“Who is it? Who on earth has thwarted our plans?”

“…It’s this person.”

Crispin raised the file he was holding in his left hand and presented it to the director.

Taking the file, Octavian frowned at the photo located at the top of the document filled with various personal details.

“Is it this person again…!”

Black hair and black eyes.

The face, which could appear gaunt depending on the perspective, and the wolf-like gaze seemed always ready to pounce on its prey.

【Captain Daniel Steiner, Operations Officer of the Imperial General Staff】

He had become well-known among the kingdom’s leadership for having anticipated the surprise operation in the Tebaita Mountains and for killing Colonel Jeremy, the commander’s aide, during a retreat from enemy territory.

A dark horse of the Imperial army, selected as a person of interest and placed on the priority elimination list.

That was Daniel Steiner.

“He’s interfering at every turn. At every turn!”

Octavian felt an urge to shoot him right between the eyes.

However, for now, he could not harm Daniel Steiner.

Grinding his teeth, Octavian turned to Crispin.

“What have the Allied Nations said about this situation?”

“Well… They are condemning it, saying that the results of unauthorized intelligence activities have only strengthened the Empire’s cohesion.”

“Condemn? Did they just say condemn? Those lunatics!”

When they had asked for help and encouraged joining the Allied Nations, now that they no longer needed it, they were going to cast them aside. It was absurd.

“The kingdom has fulfilled its role diligently! The Allied Nations surely didn’t think the kingdom would defeat the Imperial army! Our role was to divide the Empire’s strength to the north!”

Octavian threw the file he was holding aside.

“The ones who have failed to perform their role are them! What is the Allied Nations doing on the eastern front? Just dragging their feet, repeating victories and defeats like fools!”

Crispin and Phineas could only bow their heads silently at Octavian’s outburst.

Looking at his subordinates, Octavian lowered his voice and raised his hand.

Right. His subordinates were not at fault. After wiping his face once, Octavian spoke with a serious expression.

“…Damn it. There’s only one way left. Unleash the dogs on the Imperial family.”

At those words, Phineas, the head of the Operations Execution Department, broke out in a cold sweat and raised his head.

“But, sir! If we execute that operation, the agents we have planted in the Empire will be slaughtered.”

“It’s only a matter of time anyway. They wouldn’t want to be the frogs boiling in water. So at the very least, we should break some of the Empire’s teeth.”

A brief silence passed between them.

Understanding the director’s intent, Phineas bowed his head with a sense of solemnity.

“Yes. Then I will inform the agents that the time for decisive action has come.”

–

…Is there ever a day when I don’t want to go to work?

Thinking of Lucy, who had requested immediate execution without a hint of expression, still sent chills down my spine.

But I couldn’t just skip work, so I trudged my way to the General Staff.

Before entering the staff room, I wanted to prepare first, so I entered my office, where Lucy was already present.

Lucy, who was eating a croissant, stood up immediately upon seeing me and saluted with precision.

“Good morning, Captain Daniel Steiner.”

I nodded vaguely at Lucy, who was looking at me.

“…You came in early. By the way, that’s a croissant.”

“Yes. The one you bought yesterday was so delicious that I bought a few more for you. You can eat them if you’re hungry.”

“No. I’m fine.”

As I replied and walked to my desk, I pulled out a chair to sit down.

However, Lucy did not sit down but continued to stare at me blankly.

I placed my briefcase on the desk, puzzled, and asked.

“…What’s wrong?”

“I’m waiting for you to assign me a mission.”

“That’s something you can go to the Operations Command for…”

“The head of the Operations Command said that you could work from your personal office today.”

…What? Why? As I blinked in confusion, Lucy added an explanation.

“The head of the Operations Command said to tell you, ‘Captain Daniel has accomplished something significant again yesterday, and since there’s nothing to be done right now, let him spend his duty comfortably.’”

Please, no! I’m not at all comfortable being alone in the office with this woman!

Suppressing the urge to scream, I nodded.

“Alright. Then let’s get to work right away.”

I pulled a stack of documents from my bag and handed them to Lucy.

“These are the documents to review today. You can give it a try.”

“Understood.”

Lucy, who answered flatly, approached me and took the stack of documents.

Returning to her seat, Lucy opened the documents and began her review.

Her calm blinking while reviewing the documents with her red eyes made her a truly exemplary aide.

If I hadn’t known that Lucy was a spy, I might have showered her with compliments.

Moreover, if the aide in front of me were not Lucy but a typical spy, I would have praised her repeatedly to get closer.

‘But this woman is Lucy Emilia.’

For reasons I didn’t quite understand, Lucy had an extreme aversion to traitors.

If I were to say to her, “I’m going to defect, let’s be friends,” the chances of ending up in a bad situation were high.

…In that regard, she was completely unsuited for espionage, so why was she here doing this?

I had my doubts, but my plan remained unchanged.

The only way to secure my safety was to drive Lucy out of my office.

‘Then the fastest way right now is…’

I needed to inform the higher-ups that Lucy’s work performance was terrible so that she would be deemed unsuitable.

Just in time, Lucy was reviewing the documents.

I remembered how overwhelmed I had been when I first took on the aide position, just trying to understand and organize the military terminology that varied by region.

Lucy would surely make the same mistakes.

‘I’ll make her feel the fear of her superior to the bone.’

You can count on it, Lucy Emilia. I’ll point out things that will make you want to quit voluntarily.

Thinking that, I wore a devilish smile and read a book until Lucy finished reviewing the documents.

About four hours later, Lucy came over with the stack of documents and placed them on my desk.

“I’ve finished the review, Captain Daniel Steiner.”

Huh? Already? It was supposed to be enough to review for about eight hours, and this was too fast.

‘As expected. You’re just an inexperienced rookie after all.’

She must have missed something in her review.

As I took the documents to start my critique, I looked inside.

And to my surprise, I found that Lucy’s document review ability was astonishingly perfect.

She had comprehensively checked the accuracy of the information, feasibility, resource planning, risk management, and legal and ethical compliance, and she was also questioning whether the request reflected the higher-ups’ opinions properly.

Moreover, she went a step further and mathematically indicated the expected effects of the operation results and even created an evaluation criteria sheet so that the superiors could grasp the request at a glance.

To be honest, it was perfect.

There was nothing to criticize.

Looking through the other documents, they all had been reviewed to an almost perfect degree.

“Hmm…”

I couldn’t even find anything to criticize, so I nodded.

“Excellent.”

“Thank you. Then now…”

“No. There’s one more thing.”

I opened my drawer and pulled out another stack of documents.

“These are classified materials of the second level. Read them all and report back to me.”

“Captain? But the time is…”

“I will not accept any objections. Finish everything before I return.”

Standing up, I left Lucy in the office and walked out the door.

–

Daniel, leaving the office, headed to the Operations Command.

He planned to keep an eye on Lucy through the CCTV set up in the Operations Command office.

The classified materials Daniel had just given contained military deployment plans and specific unit movement information.

If she were a spy, she would surely be drooling over the materials, so she would likely exhibit suspicious behavior.

If he could capture that and report it to Ernst, he could say goodbye to Lucy forever.

‘Good.’

Thinking this time would be a success, Daniel entered the staff room.

“Ah? Captain Daniel Steiner?”

“Captain! I saw the news! You handled another big case yesterday.”

Nodding vaguely at the soldiers and junior officers, Daniel knocked on the door of the Operations Command office.

“Ah, is that Captain Daniel? Come in.”

Upon receiving permission, Daniel opened the door to find Ernst preparing to leave for the day.

Surprised, Daniel exchanged salutes and then asked a question.

“Sir, are you leaving for the day?”

“Yeah. There’s not much work today, and I have a meeting scheduled with some royal personnel.”

The timing was unfortunate. Still, Daniel couldn’t let this opportunity slip away, so he spoke with a serious expression.

“I’m sorry to interrupt your preparations to leave, but could you please watch the CCTV in the Operations Command office with me?”

“For what reason?”

“I think you’ll understand once you see it. I understand your desire to see your wife as soon as possible, but please spare me a moment.”

Ernst tilted his head, looking even more confused.

“What do you mean? It’s best when my wife isn’t home.”

“…?”

Not understanding, Daniel remained silent, and Ernst chuckled.

“Don’t tell my wife I said this. Anyway… yeah. If it’s your office’s CCTV screen, it’s over there.”

Ernst pointed to the edge of the office where several screens were set up, displaying the personal offices of the staff. This was part of counterintelligence activities to identify any potential traitors.

Additionally, the CCTV was cleverly hidden, so a newcomer wouldn’t know where it was.

“I don’t know what you’re trying to show me, but since it’s your request, I’ll take a look.”

Nodding, Daniel went with Ernst to stand in front of the CCTV screen.

As they looked at the Operations Command office’s screen, they spotted Lucy working diligently.

After watching for about twenty minutes, however, there was no sign of any intent to copy or steal classified information.

Just when Daniel thought it might be a bust, Lucy put down her pen and stared intently at Daniel’s desk.

‘Is she trying to take some other classified materials?’

Having confirmed that she was taking something out of the drawer, there was a possibility.

But instead of getting up, Lucy quietly began to move her lips.

What did she say? Wanting to know for sure, Daniel turned to Ernst.

“Sir, may I request to enlarge and replay that scene?”

“Of course. If you want, go ahead.”

Having received permission, Daniel rewound the CCTV screen and pressed the play button again.

Thanks to that, he could clearly understand what Lucy had said.

I should kill him.

Seeing her lips form those words, Daniel felt a chill run down his spine and covered his mouth.

Meanwhile, Ernst was laughing as if he found it amusing.

“You’ve made a mistake. It’s almost lunchtime, and you’re making her work, so it’s no wonder she’s getting annoyed. Plus, that workload is too much for a rookie to handle.”

Not knowing that Lucy was a spy, Ernst interpreted that ‘I should kill him’ as just a cute complaint from a subordinate.

On the other hand, Daniel had just felt a threat to his life.

With his mouth covered and cold sweat dripping down, Daniel slowly nodded.

“…I will be more careful next time.”

To avoid dying, I’ll have to do the work from now on. As Daniel thought that, Ernst, who had been watching him, soon had a slight realization.

‘Oh, he must want to show off how well his subordinate is doing by asking to watch the CCTV. I thought he was just cold-hearted, but he has this human side too.’

It was truly a commendable and admirable thing.

‘To have such a sincere heart for his subordinate, Captain Daniel will become a good superior in the future.’

Unaware of Daniel’s true feelings, Ernst nodded with a satisfied smile.

Author’s Note:

I’m a bit late because I packed it tightly like a mountain of rice!

It’s a bit much, but I hope you enjoy it. I’ll end the note here.

Have a great day today!