Daniel made it to Tentarvahem, the port city of Belanos, after about three hours of walking.
As he entered the town, merchants selling food and goods from street stalls could be seen among relatively low-rise buildings.
The weather was pleasant—whether it was because of the nice day or because Belanos had a climate less affected by winter, it wasn’t clear—but it was comfortably agreeable overall.
“Not bad. This’ll do.”
Daniel, who would have to evaluate the country’s weather for what might be a long stay, smiled faintly.
“If I pull off this identity change successfully, maybe I should open a bakery here? No, wait. A port city means Empire folks could come by easily, making it dangerous. Better to head inland…”
While planning out his new life, Daniel suddenly frowned.
“The problem is money.”
To establish his fake identity, Daniel needed quite a bit of cash.
It’s not just forging ID documents; you need to secure a social security number from the government, get your passport issued, set up a bank account, and register a residential address—all before you can officially take on a new identity.
And all that requires a hefty amount of cash—not only to bribe officials but also to lobby politicians.
Plus, there are brokers who handle all these tasks for a fee.
“So, how am I gonna make the money…?”
Part-time jobs? Hard to find without proper ID in this era.
Even if he found a job that didn’t check IDs, it likely wouldn’t pay well—and worse, it could drag him into trouble.
“Places that don’t check IDs are usually shady.”
Thinking through these issues, Daniel absentmindedly stroked his chin as he walked when suddenly…
“Hey! Did I say something wrong?! That guy’s a scammer, alright!”
“Losing money doesn’t give you the right to cause a scene. I warned you already. If you start another fuss in my shop, I’ll kick you out!”
Lifting his head, Daniel noticed an argument unfolding in front of a tavern far ahead.
A black-haired woman dressed in fairly elegant casual wear was quarreling with someone who appeared to be the tavern owner. Though petite for a woman, her poise radiated enough confidence to intimidate even adult men.
“Nuisance? Protecting your store from scammers is called a nuisance now? Is it about the money? If it’s money, I’ll pay whatever it takes, just let me deal with that guy…”
“Sir! If you have evidence, I’d understand if you accused someone of being a scammer. But raising a ruckus over losing at gambling without proof? What am I supposed to tell people?”
The tavern owner hit back with logic, leaving the woman struggling to respond.
With a disdainful glance, the tavern owner grabbed the door handle.
“I know this isn’t ideal customer service, but please step outside and calm down before coming back inside.”
Saying that, the tavern owner slammed the door shut.
Standing alone in front of the closed door, the woman looked utterly dejected.
“Poor thing. Guess I should help her out.”
Attracted by the scent of opportunity, Daniel approached. Sensing his presence, the woman turned her sharp gaze toward him.
“What do you want?”
After a brief pause, Daniel placed his hand on his chest.
“To put it simply, I’m a retriever of stolen funds. I couldn’t help but overhear your conversation with the shopkeeper—it seems like you’ve been scammed. Am I correct?”
“…Yeah.”
Since the statement was true, the woman hesitantly nodded.
In seeing potential profit, Daniel grinned and bent his knees to meet her eye level.
“In that case, why not hire me? With some initial funding from you, I’ll retrieve every last coin taken from you. Of course, there are conditions.”
“Conditions?”
“I’ll take half of whatever I recover as my fee. And if I fail? I’ll compensate you fully. How does that sound? It’s a risk-free deal, isn’t it?”
Though startled by the fifty percent cut, the woman realized it was indeed a no-loss proposition due to the promise of full reimbursement in case of failure.
Curious now, she gave a small nod, prompting Daniel to smile and extend his hand.
“My name’s Ribellard. Nice to meet you.”
Of course, it was an alias.
*
Meanwhile, at the Imperial Palace’s Grand Assembly Hall…
“All attendees are present, Your Highness the Princess.”
At Colonel Hartmann’s words, Princess Selvia sitting at the head of the table raised her head.
Seated on either side of the long conference table were key figures of the Empire, maintaining tense postures despite rarely gathering under normal circumstances. Their attendance today was thanks to Selvia issuing an emergency cabinet summons after dismissing the parliamentary leaders.
They were all watching her carefully, having noticed tear tracks on her cheeks—a testament to the three hours she spent alone in the hall suppressing her tears.
In the frosty atmosphere, Selvia slowly opened her lips.
“…Proceed with your reports.”
The first to speak among those waiting was Minister Schiller Daines of the National Propaganda Department.
“I ordered the editors-in-chief and broadcasting directors to keep their mouths shut until we verified the facts, but it proved futile. The news has spread, causing unrest and anger among the populace.”
Next, the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency spoke.
“Your Majesty. After the sinking of the diplomatic vessel, we attempted to trace the origin of the initial command but struggled. Assuming it was the Allied Nations’ doing, we investigated both formal and informal departure records but found no matching logs.”
Selvia’s icy gaze landed on the CIA director.
“You’re suggesting it wasn’t the Allied Nations?”
“That’s not exactly what I mean. Rather, there’s a high probability the submarine departed from a port other than one belonging to the Allied Nations. Thus, labeling this as an ‘Allied Nations terror attack’ prematurely may not be wise.”
The CIA director nervously bowed his head, drenched in cold sweat.
Unable to bear it, the Defense Minister chimed in.
“Your Majesty. The CIA director isn’t entirely wrong. We should avoid rash actions until the situation becomes clearer. Redirecting our anger towards the Allied Nations can wait until after we uncover the truth.”
Selvia’s piercing eyes shifted to the Defense Minister.
“Uncover the truth?”
“Yes. The sinking occurred within Belanos waters. Therefore, it’s highly likely one of Belanos’ naval commanders inadvertently allowed unknown terrorists access to their territorial waters. Investigating who that person is must come first. Also…”
The Defense Minister paused briefly.
“Our naval strategy expert mentioned that Colonel Daniel Steiner might still be alive.”
After a brief silence, Selvia asked urgently.
“Is that really possible?”
“Yes. While the chances are slim, given the ocean currents at the time, it isn’t impossible. If Colonel Steiner was on deck instead of inside the ship, farther away from the torpedo explosion site, and managed to jump into the sea before the ship sank…”
The Defense Minister raised his head.
“It’s conceivable he reached one of the nearby Belanos coastlines near the incident location. As I said earlier, the likelihood is extremely low, but it’s not zero.”
Murmurs rippled through the room, most voices claiming it was implausible. However, for Selvia, even the slimmest hope mattered.
Clutching the armrests tightly, Selvia issued her order.
“Assemble a fleet bound for Belanos immediately. We’re launching a large-scale search operation.”
This declaration brought silence to the Grand Assembly Hall.
Everyone understood the weight of her words.
Breaking the silence, the Defense Minister hesitantly spoke.
“Your Majesty. While a reasonable order, this involves entering another nation’s territorial waters with a fleet. We expect resistance from Belanos. Moreover, to conduct such a military search, we need Belanos’ consent. Perhaps sending a negotiation team first…”
The Defense Minister stopped mid-sentence, realizing Selvia’s gaze was belittling him.
Having silenced the minister, Selvia continued.
“What we need now isn’t negotiation—it’s a message. Convey this to them.”
Standing up abruptly, Selvia caused all ministers and directors to bow their heads.
“If Belanos denies entry to our fleet seeking answers to this tragedy…”
Selvia narrowed her eyes, burning with cold fury.
“They will be treated the same as the terrorists.”
