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Translator: Vine
Chapter Title: Something Suspicious About the Saintess
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Knock, knock—
Sedric, who had been eating a sandwich and reviewing documents in his office, looked up.
A glance at the wall clock showed the hour hand already at five o'clock.
'…In that case, the one knocking must be Captain Daniel Steiner.'
Around lunchtime, Daniel had requested an audience, saying he needed to discuss support for the Northern Operation.
Sedric, who had wanted to see him anyway, had told him to come at 5 PM, and Daniel had indeed knocked precisely on time.
"Come in."
With Sedric's permission, Daniel opened the office door.
Seeing the inside of the Deputy Chief of Staff's office for the first time through the open door, Daniel was enveloped by a strange sense of intimidation.
This was because the Deputy Chief of Staff's office was unusually devoid of unnecessary items.
No matter how he looked around, there was nothing but a coat rack, bookshelves, a fountain pen, a telephone, a desk, and various documents.
Usually, one might expect to see a personal hobby item, like a golf ball or a stamp, but there was no such trace here.
Only countless confidential documents, filed away, lined the bookshelves on both walls.
"You're here."
The voice was low but sharp.
Sedric, seated at a luxurious mahogany desk, cast a glance at Daniel before finishing his sandwich.
Seeing this, Daniel, feeling inwardly nervous, walked to the center of the office and saluted.
"My apologies for intruding during your meal, sir. However, I have an urgent matter to discuss, and I took the liberty of seeking you out."
Sedric, having finished his sandwich, took out a handkerchief to wipe his hands, then looked at Daniel.
His eyes, with their prominent whites, seemed to inquire in the silence. They demanded he state his business.
"...I don't wish to waste your valuable time, Deputy Chief, so I will be direct. I request that the deployment of my adjutant, Second Lieutenant Lucy, and Cadet Frien to the Northern support operation be revoked."
From Daniel's perspective, both were troublesome individuals, and he wanted to keep them as far away as possible.
However, Sedric, unaware of Daniel's true thoughts, couldn't help but be puzzled.
Sedric, having swallowed the last of his sandwich, posed a question.
"Why?"
If only he could say, 'Lucy is a spy, and Frien isn't in her right mind,' how wonderful that would be.
Daniel, sighing inwardly, thought of a plausible excuse.
"My adjutant and Cadet Frien have only just come of age. I cannot take women who haven't even shed their girlish innocence to a dangerous battlefield."
"While that might apply to Second Lieutenant Lucy, I believe you had Cadet Frien with you when she was a soldier, didn't you?"
"At that time, it was an operation to defend our own territory. Compared to this Northern Front Army operation, which involves penetrating deep into enemy lines, it was a relatively low-risk mission."
It was an unexpected answer, causing Sedric to blink once.
'Unexpected.'
He had thought Daniel was a cold-blooded man who wouldn't care about trivial matters if it meant a promotion.
Seeing him step forward to protect his subordinates, he seemed to have a rather humane side.
'Even a hedgehog finds its own young soft, as the saying goes.'
Caring for one's subordinates could be considered one of a commander's important virtues.
Sedric found Daniel even more to his liking, but he couldn't grant that request.
"I refuse. The Empire's ideology is one of clear rewards and punishments. It focuses on equality of opportunity. Therefore, not sending young women to the battlefield simply because of their age would be a decision contrary to the Empire's ideals."
Daniel had expected this much.
"In that case, I request that at least Frien be excluded from my unit's formation. She is a cadet still undergoing military academy training. I see no reason why I should be burdened with a mere cadet."
There was no need to enlist an untrained cadet into the unit. It was sound reasoning.
However, Sedric saw infinite potential in Frien's 'special nature.'
"Captain Daniel. She is no mere cadet. Having experienced combat with her, you must know this: Frien's mana, unlike that of ordinary soldiers, possesses a 'color'."
Daniel couldn't deny it. When Colonel Jeremy was killed, Frien had imbued bullets with mana and fired them right beside him.
"Frien's mana is black, through which light cannot pass. Considering that ordinary mana is transparent or accompanied by a faint blue light, this is an extremely anomalous phenomenon. One could call it a mutation."
Sedric removed the monocle he was wearing and placed it on his desk.
"Let's talk about something else for a moment. Historically, black has been an omen of ill fortune. It was a symbol of demons, you see. Superstitions about black cats and crows bringing bad luck also originated from that."
Sedric clasped his hands together on the desk.
"Of course, that's all just superstition. In this day and age, if someone were to criticize you for having black hair or black eyes, they'd be considered quite mad, wouldn't they?"
"Indeed, sir."
"But mana is different. Especially if a child born into a family of clergy exhibits black mana? They are bound to face religious condemnation."
Daniel, who had roughly understood what was being said, nodded.
"Cadet Frien didn't enlist voluntarily, then. There must have been external pressure."
"Good, you catch on quickly. Yes. Cadet Frien was abandoned by her family. She was semi-forcibly sent to the military to prove she wasn't a child of Satan by demonstrating her patriotic spirit. In essence, it was no different from sending her to die fighting the enemy."
"The reason you're suddenly telling me this is…"
Sedric opened a drawer and pulled out a letter.
It was Frien's application document for the Northern Front Army.
"Cadet Frien, who had been living in denial of being abandoned by her family, seems to have found someone new to rely on. And that, it appears, is you."
"Your Excellency? I am absolutely not someone Frien can rely on."
"Is that so? The letter states that you offered Cadet Frien considerable comfort in the detention cell, and that you didn't discriminate against her for using black mana when you carried out operations together in the North?"
Daniel was somewhat dumbfounded.
In the detention cell, he had merely chatted with her as a way to pass the time, and his lack of surprise when she used black mana was simply because he already knew about it from game knowledge.
However, from Sedric's perspective, Daniel's feelings weren't particularly important.
"Captain Daniel Steiner. Let me put it plainly. While black mana may be condemned religiously, it deserves praise in the military. This is because it possesses strategic value in itself. Do you understand what I mean?"
Black mana, through which light cannot pass, could facilitate concealment and camouflage simply by being scattered around.
Therefore, based on its high strategic value, the implication was to cultivate Cadet Frien into a suitable asset for the battlefield.
'Why me?'
Daniel wanted to refuse, telling him to assign such a task to someone else more capable, but Sedric's gaze was resolute.
If he were to argue further, he might unnecessarily incur Sedric's wrath.
Ultimately, Daniel, with great reluctance, saluted.
"I will obey Your Excellency's command."
A satisfied Sedric returned the salute.
"Good. Now that your business is concluded, you may leave."
Daniel lowered his hand, turned, walked, and opened the office door to exit.
Watching him go, Sedric leaned back in his chair and let out a low chuckle.
'He reminds me of the old Chief of Staff. Nervous in front of his superior, yet still speaking his mind completely.'
Sedric knew. Such individuals would never be swayed by power.
It had truly been a long time since such a promising talent, one he wished to nurture, had appeared.
* * *
At the same time, Frien and Lucy were gathered in Daniel's private office.
Lucy had come to the office to organize documents as it was nearing quitting time.
And Frien? Daniel had told her to wait in his private office while he met with the Deputy Chief and relayed the results, so she was simply passing the time.
Rustle—
Frien, who had been leaning against the wall, subtly glanced sideways.
She felt a strange envy watching Lucy, seated at her own desk, skillfully organizing documents.
'Captain Daniel's adjutant position should have been mine…'
She felt somehow displaced, and it left a bad taste in her mouth.
Perhaps sensing her gaze, Lucy paused her work and looked up.
Their eyes met.
"..."
"..."
In the strange silence, Lucy was the first to speak.
"What are you thinking about so intently?"
Frien replied curtly to her businesslike tone.
"Nothing much. I was just wondering why Second Lieutenant Lucy applied for Captain Daniel's adjutant position."
"There's no particular reason. If I had to find one, it would be for the glory of the Empire."
It was an immediate reply.
In truth, she had applied because this position was ideal as a cover for her spy work, but she couldn't state that fact.
Lucy had succeeded in completely concealing her true intentions, but Frien couldn't help but tilt her head in confusion.
This was because she had a vague feeling that Lucy was lying.
It was more a gut feeling than intuition.
It was Frien's unique discernment, not always precise but generally accurate.
"Second Lieutenant Lucy? I grew up under my father, who was a priest. So, I used to attend daily services. After the service, people who wished to confess their sins usually stayed behind. They would follow my father into the confessional."
Lucy, wondering what this was suddenly about, stopped organizing her documents.
"So, when I was little, I used to play a game of guessing who among the many people at the service would go to confession. My accuracy was quite high. No matter how devout and upright they seemed in prayer, the faces of those hiding sins always had a shadow cast upon them."
Thud. Lucy closed the document and quietly stared at Frien.
Frien, too, met Lucy's gaze without flinching.
Tick-tock—
After a silence so profound that the ticking of the wall clock was clearly audible, Frien walked over to where Lucy was sitting and placed her hands on the desk.
"But it looks strange to me."
Frien slowly lowered her head and stared intently at Lucy's face.
Their impassive gazes met, and the space seemed to freeze.
In that thin-ice atmosphere, Frien quietly parted her lips.
"The shadow cast upon your face, Lieutenant."