Chapter 436

In the end, I suppose even they found it hard to keep pretending nothing had happened. I was momentarily caught off guard by the 91st Unit representative’s almost declarative greeting before answering.

“…Thank you, Senior.”

“We don’t know what kind of circumstances you were in when you obtained this information, but it’s clear that what you went through must have been more grueling than the trials we faced. That’s why I never expected you to return in less than a day. I have to say, I’m quite amazed.”

The 91st Unit representative spoke while tapping the file, still looking like he couldn’t quite believe it himself. He lifted his gaze from the file and turned it toward us, but continued speaking to the other units.

“Those of you in the 91st Unit and 98th Team A, who have already been deployed on intelligence operations, will understand. The world isn’t making a fuss over their return, and today may look no different from yesterday, making it seem as though they came back without changing anything. But that isn’t the reality.”

“……”

“The reason we can sit here today just as we did yesterday is because of them.”

The members of the 91st Unit who had already taken part in classified Imperial operations slowly nodded. They had done the same kind of work as us as seniors, so they understood what Albertina Hohenzollern was saying.

That was when I realized it. Albertina Hohenzollern was speaking to us, but at the same time, he was using this opportunity to tell everyone else what they needed to know.

In the tense atmosphere, we silently watched the 91st Unit representative. He had no intention of letting the awkwardness in the room drag on. No matter how classified the operation was, this kind of atmosphere would never have existed if we had been members of the 91st Unit ourselves.

‘Of course, it must have been pretty awkward to talk about it as though someone else had done all the work when the very people who brought back the information were sitting right in front of them…’

We needed to read the underlying atmosphere. If we had been the senior-most unit and everyone here had been our juniors, there was a good chance our success would have been accepted as an achievement of the entire organization—something both expected of us and worthy of respect. Our success would have been equated with the success of the Command, and even without anyone saying that we had worked hard on the operation, the atmosphere in this room would have been filled with the relief and pride that came with a victory on such a grand scale, much like the Command had been after Adrian Askanien returned home.

From their looks and their silence, we could feel something we had perhaps been given more of than we deserved—after setting aside the awkwardness that made up most of it, that is: awe. But at the same time, we could not help but sense the fear our seniors had begun to feel. Our success meant a seismic shift in the balance of power for them.

The 91st Unit’s representative continued in much the same tone as before.

“Thanks to your efforts, we are now able to prepare our next course of action here. The Empire sent you abroad to uncover information that could have put the entire continent in danger, and you carried out the Empire’s will perfectly.”

“…….”

“Therefore, there is not a single member of the Command who would dispute your achievements and hard work. This is the will of all of us.”

“It is an honor, sir.”

Narke briefly said what I had been about to say. This was hardly the time for me to say anything more. All I could do was silently feel grateful. The 91st representative’s words had been completely straightforward, with no attempt to skirt around the issue. There was no way we could fail to understand what he was trying to prevent.

“Well, now.”

Albertina Hohenzollern picked up the file again and cut himself off briefly.

“Now that I’ve said what needed to be said first, let us get back to the matter at hand. As you all know, Acqua Panna is a high-end mineral water produced in Tuscany, and the fact that it was disguised as bottled water for importation means the risk of it being brought into Germany is also extremely high. Accordingly, the German Empire is concerned that we may face a second nationwide Rampager outbreak.”

A second nationwide Rampager outbreak.

I agreed with that assessment overall, but there was one crucial difference. The next words sounded almost as if he had read my mind.

“Only this time, it will be an incident of mass brainwashing and slaughter targeting New Humans.”

Exactly. Most of the victims of the previous Rampager outbreak had been Old Humans, but Pleroma had changed its target.

For a moment, the air froze. Somewhere in the silence, I heard someone swallow.

“You certainly have duties to carry out from this point forward, but that is not the only reason we gathered here today. Pleroma has now judged that they cannot win simply by recruiting Old Humans, so they are attempting to bring New Humans under their control. This time, it is not our rivers that are being contaminated. It is our dining tables.”

The 91st representative looked around at everyone seated in the spacious conference room as he spoke.

“From this moment on, you are not to eat or drink anything outside the Headquarters. That includes places where you’ve been invited, as well as meals you would normally have at home. You will be stationed outside today, but whenever you need to eat, you must warp back here and obtain permission from a Prussian divine power mage before doing so. None of you are at a level where you need to worry about the mana required for warping, so make sure you follow this rule. And if there are any Catholics among you, do not use holy water. In fact, do not touch or ingest any liquid that has been stored anywhere.”

‘What a mess.’

The 91st C captain cautiously raised a question.

“How long are we supposed to keep doing this?”

“Until this matter is resolved. Whether that takes days, months, or years, you will have to continue doing so.”

The meeting room froze again, this time for an entirely different reason. Their stunned expressions were plain to see. From their perspective, being unable to eat or drink without a divine power mage present—and not even knowing how long they would have to live like that—was utterly absurd.

The 91st Unit’s representative nodded with an expression that showed he fully understood their feelings, then offered what was, in its own way, a hopeful piece of news.

“Of course, the compressed purification agent developed by Minister without Portfolio Nikolaus Ernst of Bavaria may ease some of this burden. Our government has asked Bavaria to develop a simplified purification agent, one-fourth the size of the existing capsules. Once development is complete, you will be required to carry the medicine with you at all times and purify your water and alcohol before drinking them.”

“…….”

And at that moment, I had to make an effort not to let my eyes wander. First they bring up the intelligence agent, and now I’m being mentioned again…

The purification agent he was talking about was the medicine I had developed during the first Rampager incident, so it could be scattered over rivers, lakes, and other bodies of water and purify them with ease. Until the national disaster had occurred, we hadn’t been able to make advanced mana like divine power something that anyone could use—even now, it wasn’t something literally everyone could use. So when the crisis broke out, there had been no purification agent that could be used immediately. That was why I had compressed divine power into a form that could be used according to the circumstances. More importantly…

‘…I haven’t even checked Nikolaus’s mailbox yet, and they’re already telling me everything they asked me to do here…’

Even when I got back, I probably wouldn’t have time to reply.

I glanced at the clock as I thought that. Meanwhile, the briefing and questions continued.

“Until we develop an antidote for Atropos, we’ll have to handle the entire defense of the country with a total of ninety-four divine power mages, along with additional support from the Papal See.”

“…Isn’t ninety-four too few to cover the entire country? How much support has the Papal See said they can provide?”

“Tomorrow, the Papal See will provide us with fifty Gamma-grade divine power mages. All of these Papal See mages will be placed under Prussian supervision.”

I glanced toward Elias. As expected, he was still curling his lip, completely unconcerned with whether the seniors were watching or not.

Putting all the Papal See mages under Prussian supervision meant Prussia had no intention of giving up its influence over the other German states. If a Papal See mage were sent to a Catholic state like the Grand Duchy of Baden, the loyalty and support of Baden’s people would be directed toward the Papal See rather than the Prussian Imperial Court. Prussia had historically gained and lost influence through arrangements like this, so there was no way it could afford to overlook the risk.

In other words, Prussia’s divine power mages would be sent to other states within the German Empire, such as Anhalt and Brunswick, to fulfill their role as the leading power, while Papal See mages would fill the gaps left behind in Prussia.

“Therefore, you have two assignments. First, today you will be deployed to high-risk border checkpoints, ports, and railway stations near the borders. Lord Askanien and Lord Farnese will be summoned by the government again before long, but for today, remain on standby at your assigned inspection sites.”

Border checkpoints, ports, and railway stations. They were clearly determined to catch anything and everything that might make its way into the country.

“Second, starting tomorrow, each team will be responsible for supervising one of the divine power mages provided by the Papal See. This applies not only to the Command but also to the Association. One mage per team. You are to protect the clergyman assigned to you and ensure that nothing happens to their safety.”

“Yes, sir.”

And in return, that divine power mage would be responsible for protecting each team’s mages from Atropos. It was basically an exchange of protection. Someone asked the 91st Unit’s representative, “Could we get the list in advance?”

Albertina Hohenzollern shook his head.

“The government doesn’t know yet who the Papal See will be sending. However, one unit has already been decided.”

At that moment, Narke’s eyes widened. Albertina Hohenzollern continued, looking down at the document.

“101st Unit. You will be responsible for Lord Narke Farnese.”

From across the room, I could see Ulrike and Elias staring with their mouths hanging open.

“Yay~”

“So we can stay together? Just today? Or… from now on?!”

“From now on.”

“Yay-yay-yay—gasp.”

I quickly packed my bag and came out into the barracks hallway, answering Ulrike’s question as I smacked Elias across the mouth. Elias tried to bite my hand but failed, then clung to my shoulder. He reached over and grabbed Narke by the shoulder as well.

Leo, who was standing beside Zähringen, spoke calmly.

“Welcome back. You did well.”

“Thanks~”

Narke laughed as he took Leo’s outstretched hand and shook it. Leo silently offered me his hand as well. As the vice captain of Eszett, I shook his hand and gave it a firm squeeze.

“…!”

Leo flinched and immediately hunched his shoulders. He seemed so flustered that he couldn’t find the words, only moving his lips before asking with wide, trembling eyes, “Why, why…?”

“Just because, it’s been a while.”

“No, seriously. Why?”

I gestured toward my perfectly clean earlobe and smiled.

“…Unbelievable…”

Once Leo understood what I meant, he looked genuinely exasperated, but he still burst out laughing.

‘Isn’t this a good opportunity?’

Since I still wasn’t wearing the earring artifact, I took the chance to squeeze Leo’s core. I had to do it while he couldn’t retaliate. If I hit him when he could fight back, he’d retaliate too, which would be troublesome.

Truthfully, I also wanted to lighten the mood. Whenever I got too serious, even Leo, who was usually so calm, tended to become subdued along with me. This wasn’t exactly a situation where we could laugh and fool around, but he would probably look at our expressions and wonder what had happened in Austria-Hungary.

Ulrike, who had been watching us, widened his eyes and stared at me. He obviously had no idea that I could squeeze someone’s core, so to him, it probably just looked like we were having a casual conversation. I had a feeling that once Leo left, he was going to ask me if I’d gotten closer to him.

Just then, Zähringen, who had been leaning against the wall, smiled and said, “You left after lunch yesterday, so I didn’t expect you to be back this morning. I’m glad you made it back safely and so soon.”

“Me too. What did you two do in Austria-Hungary?!”

“We investigated…”

I gave a hollow laugh at Elias’s sudden outburst and answered him. Zähringen chuckled lightly before wiping the smile from his face.

“We won’t be able to let our guard down from today onward. Easter is only a week away, which makes things even more troublesome.”

I nodded and patted Narke on the shoulder.

“Exactly. So Narke’s going to have a rough time for at least the next week.”

We had been assigned to inspect the trains at the station. Every time a freight train came in, we would have to purify it, which naturally meant Narke would be doing most of the work. The trains would already have been screened once at the border checkpoints, but we still had to inspect the mana of the people boarding them.

That was when Narke’s voice suddenly sounded directly in my head.

― “You too, Lukas.”

That was true… As Bavaria’s Minister without Portfolio, every time I went to Bavaria, I would have to squeeze out every bit of divine power I could spare. But surely I didn’t have to do that right now.

“Guys.”

Ulrike, who had been checking the time, picked up his bag and said. He held up his pocket watch for us to see.

“We have to go now.”

12:00 PM.

Elias grabbed my arm and stamped his foot.

We moved to the warp coordinates we had been given beforehand. It was the train station in Passau, Bavaria, with Austria-Hungary practically right on its doorstep. We narrowed our eyes as we took in the scene before us. Ulrike muttered quietly, “It’s small.”

“Small.”

Elias said it in the same flat tone before walking into the station. The station really was tiny, yet the six of us had come here along with the six members of 98th A. Far off, I could see one of the 98th A members flinch when he recognized our faces.

‘As for why those guys had to be here too…’

They would soon be moving from Passau station to the checkpoint just ahead. And since I personally needed them, I had deliberately arranged for them to be stationed somewhere nearby. Apparently, it had worked.

‘Actually, rather than ‘them,’ it was only one person I needed, and ‘needed’ wasn’t quite the right word either…’

It was more like I needed someone to keep an eye on things as well.

Just then, the person I had been looking for came out of the station with a slightly stiff expression. The moment he saw me, his mouth fell open. He quickly put on a troubled expression again, hesitated, then approached me. I could feel the 101st Unit friends looking at him with displeasure—one of them even with fear.

Mecklenburg stopped right in front of me and said, “Could you come with me for a moment?”

“…….”

I silently followed him. He stopped behind the station, cast a soundproofing spell, and hesitantly moved his lips.

“Um…”

“What is it?”

“I’m sorry about yesterday.”

I immediately knew what he was talking about. He meant what he had said to me yesterday after bringing up Adrian Askanien. Before I could say anything, he forced himself to continue.

“I don’t know exactly what happened, but it’s obvious that the circumstances themselves are difficult to talk about… I felt like I had made you regret deciding to tell me about it, so I’ve been thinking since yesterday that I should apologize.”

“Why are you apologizing? I never told you anything.”

“…….”

Mecklenburg seemed about to get angry, thinking I was talking nonsense, but he quickly understood the situation and closed his mouth. He was someone who had heard nothing, felt nothing, and noticed nothing. And that was how it had to be. I quietly spoke to Mecklenburg, who stood there looking troubled.

“Are you saying you wanted to apologize because you felt like you should have been my ally, but failed to do so?”

“Do I really have to say it out loud?”

“If you don’t, how am I supposed to know what you mean?”

I let out a short breath before looking him straight in the eye.

“I was never angry. I wasn’t free enough to waste time getting angry at you, and I didn’t dwell on it long enough for that.”

“…….”

“So. Anything else?”

“You were angry.”

No… What does he want me to do when I just told him I wasn’t? I really wasn’t, so there was nothing more for me to say. Just as I was about to let out a hollow laugh, Mecklenburg lowered his gaze and muttered, “If it were me, I’d be angry if someone believed a false rumor about me. It must have felt like I was trying to decide who was in the right between you and… no, between you and that person. So, yes, I did say the wrong thing.”

“…….”

He really had a talent for leaving me at a loss for words.

A false rumor, huh. I smiled, instinctively about to make a sarcastic remark, but stopped myself. He was genuinely trying his best to empathize with me, and he really was sorry. Just as I’d told him, I hadn’t been angry or offended.

He didn’t hesitate to admit his mistake and apologize. From everything I’d seen of him, he wasn’t the sort of person who readily did something like this. He always believed he was in the right. The fact that he had come straight out and spoken honestly meant that he truly believed what he’d said had been wrong.

“Senior.”

Mecklenburg raised his eyes to look at me. I gave him a brief answer.

“I understand. Are you satisfied now?”

“…….”

He was silent for a moment, looking somewhat uncomfortable, before finally giving up and nodding. Then he started walking toward the border checkpoint ahead, gesturing for me to follow. He quickly changed the subject.

“They were talking about you the whole time back at the Headquarters.”

I figured they were. I’d bet at least ten percent of the conversation had been about connecting me to Adrian Askanien. When I looked thoroughly fed up, Mecklenburg added, “It was praise.”

“What kind?”

“Well, obviously… They were wondering how the 101st could beat us and get sent on an intelligence operation.”

“…….”

I let out a small laugh and sighed. This time, I really couldn’t help it. Was that supposed to be a compliment? There was a hint of inferiority, denial of reality, and competitive spirit in his words. I had known for a while how he tended to boost his own self-esteem, but out of all the things he could have heard from their many conversations, the fact that this was what stuck with him most was so utterly like him.

He was always putting on airs because he was conscious of being seven years older than me, but in reality, there wasn’t that much age gap between us. Whenever I saw him like this, I was reminded that he was actually around my age, and all I could do was let out another hollow laugh.

I sighed again and asked, “Can’t you give me a better compliment?”

“You did well.”

I glanced at Mecklenburg.

“Honestly, I was impressed.”

“By what?”

“I’ve been sent into the field since my time at the First Academy. In other words, I was already being deployed when you were old enough to attend the Third Academy. That’s how I gained my knowledge.”

Ever since I’d been on filming sets in the 21st century, I’d gotten used to translating things in my head like this, so I simply listened in silence.

“When you caught Pleroma during that exercise and called the police to bring the situation to an end, I had only just arrived at Gutsmuthsstraße. When I watched your footage later, I was practically tearing my hair out. The answer was so obvious… It was so easy, so straightforward. And I kept thinking, What the hell was I doing?”

“That doesn’t sound like you, Senior.”

Mecklenburg ignored my comment and continued.

“It’s always like that when you look at an answer sheet. The standard, the best possible answer—it always looks easy when you’re a third party looking at it. But once you actually have to act yourself, you realize something. That very simplicity is what separates one level from another. That’s why, for a moment, I even tried to deny it. I wondered if you had some ability that let you see through everything.”

“……”

“It was the same this time. When I heard that you’d returned at seven this morning, I couldn’t believe it until I saw you myself at eleven.”

Mages working at the checkpoint passed by and greeted us. Mecklenburg gave them a slight nod in acknowledgment before turning back to me.

“That’s how impressive it was. So, I hope we can count on you this time too.”

“……”

“We have to find a way to deal with this Atropos business as well, don’t we?”

“Right.”

I took off my glove, grabbed Mecklenburg’s hand, and rubbed his wrist. At that moment, Mecklenburg’s face twisted in disgust. He stared at me with his mouth hanging open before smacking my hand away.

“What the hell?!”

“Your germophobia hasn’t gotten any better.”

“Is that something you can even get better from? Good grief…! What have you been doing all this time, ignoring everything people tell you…?”

Mecklenburg shook his hand vigorously, looking utterly dumbfounded, then looked me up and down. As he turned to leave, I slipped my hands into my pockets and quietly called after him.

“Senior.”

“What now?!”

“How about we meet again around four?”