chapter_0202

201 – This Time, I Will Take the Lead

201 – This Time, I Will Take the Lead

After Dolbap signed the surrender document, Daniel occupied the defense headquarters.

He expelled all the existing defense forces and filled the place with key personnel from his side.

Initially, he had planned to occupy the city hall, but considering the citizens’ backlash, he decided to use the defense headquarters as a temporary command center.

Fortunately, the citizens of Penbarch had little objection to the imperial army occupying the defense headquarters.

They already knew they had lost, so they accepted that the city’s military institution would inevitably be absorbed by the imperial forces.

Thus, at present, Daniel and Lucy were working in the defense commander’s office.

The reason for working in the occupied city was simple.

Even though they had taken control of the city, they were not out of danger.

There could still be remnants of the enemy or resistance organizations, and it was also quite possible that the Allied Nations, which had decided to support Penbarch, had not yet given up.

Moreover, to stabilize the city and gain the cooperation of the citizens, they had to inevitably bury themselves in a mountain of paperwork.

Thanks to this, Lucy, who had been helping Daniel with work all day, suddenly felt a headache.

“Ugh…”

As the headache struck without warning, Lucy bit her lip and pressed her forehead.

However, the pain only intensified without any sign of relief.

In the moment when the pain felt like lightning striking in her head, Lucy could see something.

─ Today’s harvest is good, isn’t it?

What she saw were the voices of what seemed to be coachmen and the children loaded in the wagon’s cargo area.

As she examined the shabby-looking children, the coachman’s voice came through.

─ But why are they buying orphans at such a high price in ⬛⬛⬛?

─ I don’t know either. I’ve heard that it’s a direct order from ⬛⬛⬛⬛ ⬛⬛.

─ Huh? I heard it was ⬛⬛⬛⬛’s order. Is that really the case? They say they’re conducting human experiments on orphans…

The wagon jolted as it hit a stone.

─ Speculation is fine, but don’t speak it out loud. The moment something goes wrong, our heads could roll.

─ Oh dear. Understood. But they say war makes people cruel, and there’s no denying that. What wrong have these poor children done?

─ Damn it. Is that something you should say?

With the sound of the coachmen’s laughter, her vision returned to normal.

What was before her now was not the shabby-looking children but a document filled with military terminology.

Just as Lucy was bewildered, blinking her eyes in confusion about what she had just seen.

“Lieutenant?”

Hearing Daniel’s voice, Lucy looked up in surprise.

“…Brigade Commander?”

Daniel, who was looking at Lucy with a puzzled expression, furrowed one eyebrow.

“Is something wrong? You seem unwell; I’ve been calling you for a while with no response.”

Lucy was about to mention the unknown memory that had just come to her but shook her head.

She didn’t want to worry Daniel by speaking of a memory she couldn’t properly explain.

“It’s nothing. I think I just felt a bit drowsy.”

“Drowsy, huh…”

Daniel continued to look at Lucy suspiciously but didn’t press further.

“Well, considering everything that has happened since we came here, it’s understandable to feel mentally and physically exhausted. You can leave early today, so pack your things.”

With that, Daniel lowered his gaze and began to move his fountain pen.

It looked like he was writing a report, so after a brief moment of contemplation, Lucy spoke up.

“…Are you writing a report to submit to the headquarters?”

Daniel nodded while continuing to write.

“They requested a detailed explanation of the circumstances and nature of the battle. Even after I submitted the battle log, it seems they don’t believe us, so we must have fought exceptionally well.”

Daniel laughed it off, but Lucy felt a pang of guilt without realizing it.

Because of her reckless actions, Daniel was left to handle the aftermath alone.

Feeling as if she were sitting on a bed of nails, Lucy spoke in a small voice.

“I’m sorry. You’re suffering because of me…”

“Suffering? Not at all.”

After finishing the report, Daniel signed his name in the designated area.

“It’s already in the past, and thanks to you, many lives in the company were saved, so as the commander, I should actually be thanking you. I’d even want to give you a reward.”

Daniel, who had earnestly mentioned, “I’m on your side! You know that, right?” finished up the report and opened a drawer.

“Speaking of rewards, I remember you liked desserts. So…”

After putting the report away and closing the drawer, Daniel looked at Lucy.

“Once we’ve dealt with the remaining resistance forces in the city and completed the administrative measures, we should be able to take a break for a while. How about spending some time at a dessert shop then?”

“…Are you talking about dessert?”

“Yes. I found out that there’s a place in this city famous for its lemon drizzle cake. They say it’s crispy on the outside and moist on the inside, and the lemon syrup-soaked cake has a refined and clean taste that is highly praised.”

Lucy’s mouth began to water.

“They say that when you order the lemon drizzle cake at that shop, it comes with cold black tea. The refreshing quality of the tea balances the sweetness of the cake, allowing you to enjoy the sweet and soft flavor as if you were tasting it for the first time…”

Lucy’s expression was neutral, but her eyes sparkled with life.

It was clear to anyone that she wanted to eat it, so Daniel pressed on.

“If you want, I can tell you the name and location of the shop.”

With an offer she couldn’t refuse, Daniel’s inner thoughts were as follows.

‘I’ll have to visit the laboratory that the businessman Hamtal informed me about while Lucy spends time at the dessert shop.’

The laboratory that held the secrets of the Lucy Project was located right in this city.

Though it wasn’t his intention, now that he had occupied the city, there was no reason not to visit the laboratory.

So, after finishing all urgent matters, he planned to divert Lucy’s attention elsewhere and visit the laboratory alone.

While it would be safer to bring soldiers along, Daniel had his reasons.

‘No one else should know about the information regarding the Lucy Project.’

Depending on how the information was handled, both Lucy and Daniel himself could be put in danger, so he had to approach it cautiously.

In that sense, Daniel was trying to separate Lucy, but it didn’t go as expected.

“If you’re going, Brigade Commander, then I’ll go too.”

For Lucy, Daniel’s company was more important than the dessert.

–

At the same time, at the Allied Nations Command Headquarters.

Right after the operational meeting concluded.

“How am I supposed to accept that Penbarch has fallen? Do you think a commander would just nod quietly?”

Count Caledra, a special advisor directly under the Supreme Command, growled in front of Commander Bemaret.

In the spacious meeting room, now just the two of them, Bemaret replied as if there was no other choice.

“We didn’t refuse the request for reinforcements. It’s just that we couldn’t divert personnel from the front lines, so it took time to gather available troops.”

From a macro perspective, Bemaret’s words weren’t wrong.

No one could have predicted that Penbarch, which they thought would hold out for a month, would fall in less than two weeks.

Moreover, Caledra, who believed they had been defeated by Daniel Steiner, bit his lip.

“…What about the reinforcements? Where are they located now?”

“Near the Edelbatre Mountains. It’s about 300 kilometers from Penbarch. If they march hard, they could arrive in Penbarch within eight days, but it wouldn’t mean much. Daniel Steiner would likely have set traps and be waiting.”

Caledra raised his hand and pressed his forehead.

After taking a moment to catch his breath, Caledra quietly spoke.

“We cannot give up Penbarch. That place must not be handed over to him.”

“Count Caledra, while I cannot deny that Penbarch is a symbolic city for the Allied Nations, there’s no need to risk a massive attrition battle there.”

“No. We must reclaim it, even if it means enduring attrition.”

After wiping his face once, Caledra leaned on his cane and stood up.

“Commander, order the reinforcements to wait at that location.”

“Count Caledra? As I just mentioned, the odds are not in our favor—”

“The odds are in our favor.”

Cutting off Bemaret’s words, Caledra quietly looked down at the seated commander.

“Gather all the Etherium remaining in the Allied Nations. The empire believes that the Allied Nations have exhausted all their Etherium. So if we launch an assault using Etherium, even Daniel Steiner won’t be able to prepare for it.”

Bemaret, who had been listening to the conversation, jumped up from his seat.

“Count Caledra! Are you saying you’ll pour all the Etherium gathered from across the country into the recapture of Penbarch? If we exhaust all the Etherium this time, we’ll be in a state of resource depletion for at least several months!”

“…Recapture Penbarch? Do you think I’m concerned about something so trivial?”

Caledra’s low and subdued voice made Bemaret’s shoulders tremble.

“Commander, I intend to eliminate Daniel Steiner this time. Also…”

Caledra’s eyes narrowed.

“This time, I will personally command the troops. If you understand, prepare the vehicle.”

“…You mean personally?”

“Yes.”

It was the first time Count Caledra, who always issued orders from a safe rear position, had stated he would take action himself.

This meant that Count Caledra held Daniel Steiner in high regard.

“To catch a ferocious wolf…”

Looking out the window, Caledra tightly gripped his cane as he recalled Daniel Steiner’s face.

“There’s no other way.”