Receiving thanks for something I hadn’t done felt quite odd.
I wondered what on earth he was talking about when Otto slipped his hand into his pocket.
His hand emerged holding several photographs.
“You used quite a humanitarian method, even though you were dealing with an enemy spy.”
The photos depicted people lying down with their eyes closed, as if they had fallen asleep.
Nearby, electronic devices and scattered documents were visible.
Just when I was beginning to wonder about this, Otto added more.
“It seems to me that chloroform was dispersed in gas form, and the entrance was blocked until they lost consciousness. Is my assumption correct?”
Daniel looked up and stared at Otto intently.
I thought he might be joking, but Otto’s gaze had a serious weight to it.
Realizing he needed to clear the misunderstanding, Daniel managed a low chuckle and shook his head.
“I don’t understand. I have no connection to the incident in question.”
“Is that so? Hmm.”
Otto looked puzzled, licking his lips, before setting the photographs down on the table and picking up the briefcase next to the sofa.
Opening the briefcase, Otto rummaged through it until he pulled out a specific photo.
“Then do you know this person? You should remember him before his disguise was removed.”
In the photo was an elderly man presumed to be shot in the forehead, lying down, his eyes closed.
As Daniel examined the old man in the photograph, he nodded in surprise.
He had indeed seen this person before.
“That’s the old man I spoke with briefly at a place called Beer Heaven. Could he really have been an allied spy?”
Otto, maintaining his smile while quietly observing Daniel, nodded.
“That’s right. After speaking with Colonel Daniel Steiner, he returned to his hideout. Shortly after, he encountered some group, and a bullet was planted in his head. There’s more I’ve discovered…”
Otto gestured for a moment as if to ask for patience, and then pulled out several documents from his briefcase.
These were testimonies from enemy spies who had awakened in a state of unconsciousness.
Otto presented them to Daniel, saying, “As you can see, it’s odd how they refuse to mention who attacked them. They all seem terrified to speak. It appears several were killed in the bunker to ensure their silence…”
Otto shrugged once.
“I have a question. If they were all killed, it would certainly ensure their silence, so why leave them alive? Perhaps the person who ordered this respected the value of the information that could be obtained by keeping them alive instead of killing them.”
Killing all the discovered spies would not inflict substantial damage from the perspective of the Allied Nations.
Losing spies was undoubtedly a painful loss, but it meant that the information they could disclose would vanish alongside them.
However, if they could be coerced or tortured into revealing information without being killed, the Allied Nations would suffer astronomical losses.
Daniel Steiner, who had fought multiple battles against the Allies, would be well aware of this simple truth.
Moreover, Daniel Steiner was running an organization capable of easily crushing a branch.
It was common knowledge, not just among fools, that Daniel Steiner had utilized his organization during the arrest of Prince faction members.
On the day the Palencia Branch was destroyed, Daniel Steiner had a certain conversation with their leader, Theobald, at a restaurant.
As a result of piecing together the intelligence, Otto, the head of the Security Bureau, could only conclude that Daniel Steiner was the one orchestrating all of this behind the scenes.
Thus, he had come here personally, asking for the truth only from Daniel, who was just awkwardly caught in the middle without any connection to the enemy spy organization.
“I don’t even know the old man’s name. I simply had a meal with him.”
“A meal, you say…”
Otto nodded as if he couldn’t help it, looking at Daniel as if observing him closely.
“If that is Colonel Daniel Steiner’s wish, I won’t probe any further. However, I do want you to know one thing. The Security Bureau truly wishes to express its gratitude regarding this matter.”
“…I don’t think there’s anything for you to thank me for.”
“Yes. That’s exactly what I’m thankful for. Because you, Colonel Daniel Steiner, maintained your silence, the Security Bureau could monopolize the achievement of obliterating the enemy spies’ hideout.”
Otto who smiled as he collected the photographs and documents spread across the table.
“Many people are eager to collaborate with the Security Bureau and offer money. There are also quite a few who will promise power. However, very few actually provide results like this.”
Having organized the documents neatly, Otto put them back into the briefcase.
“You seem to understand, Colonel Daniel Steiner, that the current regime is certainly in the eye of a storm. I can feel intuitively that something terrible is going to happen.”
Otto, with the photographs tucked under his arm, adjusted his attire.
“What we need right now is results. Regardless of who becomes the master of the Empire, as long as I can prove that the Security Bureau is not incompetent, my head will be safe.”
Daniel felt a sense of discomfort from Otto’s words.
The coronation should have already been concluded, so he found it incomprehensible that the head of the Security Bureau would speak like this.
“…The master of the Empire is solely Her Majesty the Emperor.”
Otto nodded, seemingly in agreement.
“Yes. That’s not wrong. I concur.”
“For someone who agrees, that remark you just made seems unusual…”
“It undoubtedly should be unusual. This is a gift I’m giving to Colonel Daniel Steiner. If you’ve received something, you ought to give something in return, right?”
“I don’t fully understand what you mean.”
“Alright. If that’s the case, I will express my intentions more clearly.”
Though he knew there was no one around, Otto feigned caution as he leaned forward and whispered quietly.
“Be cautious of Duke Belvar. He will stir the storm.”
Daniel’s eyes narrowed sharply at Otto’s words.
‘Duke Belvar…’
He was the old fox who had stood with the prince when the emperor’s children squabbled over their succession rights.
‘I thought he had accepted defeat and rescinded his support for the prince. Could he really be the head of the noble alliance that was pressuring me?’
Although Daniel had vaguely suspected it, hearing it from another person’s mouth was a different matter.
Of course, Otto could also be lying.
However, dismissing the words of the head of the Security Bureau, who had access to a wealth of information, as simple lies was not something Daniel could afford to do.
“I will take your advice to heart.”
Hearing Daniel’s response, Otto smiled and closed the briefcase.
“I hope the information I’ve given you was to your liking. Well then, I’ll take my leave.”
Rising from his seat, Otto started to move before suddenly adding as if he had just remembered something.
“Oh. By the way, do you happen to know a person named Hamtal? He’s a rare black businessman…”
Hamtal? The name sounded somewhat familiar, but Daniel could not recall the details.
“I don’t know him. Why do you ask?”
“Oh, it’s nothing much. He was the businessman who was about to invest in the textile factory of Theobald, the head of the enemy spies. I investigated to see if there was any connection to this incident, but his alibi was so perfect that he was excluded from the list of suspects. But…”
Otto raised his hand and stroked his chin once.
“Do you understand the feeling of suspecting someone mainly because their alibi is too perfect?”
“I’m afraid I can’t comment on that…”
“That’s true. I understand. I hope we can meet again next time.”
Otto extended his hand towards Daniel.
Seeing this, Daniel stood up and exchanged a farewell handshake, while Otto lightly bowed his head in farewell before stepping outside.
As he exited through the entrance of the General Staff Headquarters, an aide who had been waiting nearby approached.
“Director, was the conversation fruitful?”
Otto made a peculiar expression at the aide’s words.
“Well, it didn’t feel much like talking to a person.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“He was like a machine. At least the Daniel Steiner responding to my words was.”
Otto recalled the meeting room where he had spoken with Daniel.
From the circumstances, it appeared correct that Daniel Steiner had used his organization to crush the enemy spy organization.
Yet Daniel Steiner had denied it without the slightest hesitation to Otto’s questions.
While it was easy to predict that he would deny the truth, the issue lay with what came next.
“It was obvious he was lying, but I couldn’t pinpoint that he was lying.”
Otto had dealt with numerous con artists on his way up to the position of head of the Security Bureau.
These fraudsters had laid countless lies before Otto, but he had often been able to see through most of them.
When people lie, they often exhibit discord in their behavior and physiological responses.
Breathing and mana would subtly become erratic.
For Otto, who had been adept at detecting others’ lies since childhood, recognizing such small discrepancies was relatively easy.
However, he felt that Daniel Steiner exhibited no signs of lying whatsoever.
He spoke as if he were articulating nothing but the truth.
“A chill runs down my spine. A shiver…”
With a shudder, Otto rubbed his arms.
He was nearly at a loss for words at the sight of Daniel, who seemed to be deceiving even himself.
“He might even have sociopathic tendencies. Anyway, aide, after our conversation, I feel more convinced that we should adjust our course of action.”
“In what way do you mean?”
“From now on, if Duke Belvar requests cooperation, do not provide more information than necessary. Furthermore, moving our personnel should be prohibited. Conversely, if Daniel Steiner seeks cooperation, ensure we respond beyond what is required.”
The aide seemed slightly taken aback by Otto’s words.
“Are you implying…?”
“Yes. It’s possible that the one who brings the storm to the Empire isn’t Duke Belvar but…”
Otto smiled as if he found it amusing.
“It could possibly be Daniel Steiner.”
