A War Hero With No Regrets

12 – Uninvited Guest in Black Bok (4)

The next day, Werner, who had fully recovered, finished the problems he had not yet been able to solve.

He visited the Safe House, inspected the wiretapping equipment, contacted a local collaborator who was hired as a waiter at the banquet, and handed over an advance payment.

As a waiter, he naturally blended in with the high-ranking people and had the role of eavesdropping on their conversations.

In any case, since Werner was also included in the list of attendees, it would have been a great disrespect for him to not show.

But the most worrying part is of course.

‘Is it because he was deployed to the Eastern Military District?’

Leah Gilliard accompanied him as an aide to a colonel from the Eastern Military District.

Almost half a year has passed since the fortress commander retired and announced the closure of the Graveyard.

In the meantime, Fort Graveyard was completely closed in accordance with legal procedures.

Of course, the members of the organization were scattered.

So, in preparation for an unexpected meeting, we were even given a list of attendees in advance.

The aide accompanying him was not included in the list, which was a defeat.

‘Still, since he is only an assistant, we probably won’t run into each other in the actual banquet hall.’

It was a blessing in disguise.

This means that as long as you are careful, you will not encounter anything.

The hotel staff, who promised to help out throughout the banquet, also decided to give Leah a word when she visits.

Now all we have to do is be careful of ‘accidental encounters’.

After completing all preparations for tomorrow’s banquet, Werner and Karin visited the pasta restaurant they had promised.

He was a lieutenant colonel dispatched from the highest command and was able to reserve a private room.

Maybe it was because there was no way generals with bushy beards and wrinkles would come to a store like this.

Most of the people waiting in line in front of the store were young men and women.

If we look at both Werner, who turned 25 this year, and Karin, who is only 21, they can be considered young men and women.

And as expected, the pasta seemed to really appeal to Karin.

“Is it delicious?”

“… Yes!”

She shook her head vigorously.

Werner looked at her happily and put the cut steak into her mouth.

It didn’t taste bad.

Everyone was savoring the food in front of them in silence.

Karin opened her mouth first and broke her silence.

“Oh, I… Director.”

“Hmm?”

“Have you been feeling unwell from the beginning?”

“Oh, now that I think about it, I didn’t say thank you. Thank you, Karin. “Even though he looks like this, he has a bit of a neurological disease.”

“Oh, no…” ! I understand. It must be difficult. “Because you are a war hero.”

“What is a war hero…?” .”

Werner muttered bitterly at those words.

“Director, you don’t like that nickname?”

“Is there any particular reason to like it?”

“Ah… hmm….”

I suddenly feel like I am speechless.

Werner lowered her head again and burst into laughter at Karin, who was nibbling at her pasta.

“I didn’t mean to say anything, I just answered the truth.”

“Just…” I usually like nicknames like that. “Not a weird nickname like mine.”

“Reaper, you mean?”

“….”

As soon as she heard those words, Karin’s face darkened.

“What… I, too, once called her by that nickname. “She’s not a very flattering nickname.”

“Yes? Really?”

“Yes.”

Werner, who had already finished eating, wiped his mouth and said.

Was it the seventh regression or the eighth?

She couldn’t quite remember, but she had actually been called by that nickname.

-Remember me, Lutus. My name and what kind of person I was. How hard you fought here.

-Commander. Commander too… Please… In the afterlife again….

-I’m sorry I couldn’t stay till the end. The commander must drink the alcohol he kept. You like that, right?

-Thank you, Luther.

Taang.

He would personally end the lives of his comrades who were dying painfully after being attacked by titans.

Eternal rest.

At that time, Luthers Ethan was the gravedigger who buried the members of the Graveyard, and was the messenger who guided them to peace.

Unlike grandiose nicknames such as the lion of defense or the sentinel of the empire, this is a very crude nickname.

However, Luthers accepted the mission humbly and reverently.

Even if someone pointed a finger at him, he thought it was his duty.

Luthers Ethan.

Of course, all that was left after that duty was one more return.

What we faced atop the lonely fortress was ultimately the destruction of humanity.

But there was someone who held him back.

She was Leah Gilead.

A person who relieved an extremely heavy burden.

“I know you feel guilty about something, Lieutenant. But if he holds on to it like that, he also loses another opportunity.”

This is a true statement that he can say because he has endured countless deaths.

A person who has never lost anyone would not even dare to say it out loud.

He left so as not to be caught up in the past.

He began a new life as Lieutenant Colonel Werner Greim, Director of the Security Strategy Department.

So, Karin Maven just needs to live her new life under her own control.

“The war is over, lieutenant.”

If it had been like before, I would have gotten angry and said, “What do you know?”

Or, it was something that was simply ignored and passed over.

But Karin Maven couldn’t do that.

Last night, the inside of this man I saw unintentionally was as twisted as myself.

Because I could vaguely sense how much pain the man in front of me must have suffered before he came to that conclusion.

Wounds do not heal.

Requesting that something be made into a memory that never existed is nothing but childish and unreasonable.

There were two paths given to her.

Are you caught up in the past like the past days, or are you standing up again with scars like Werner?

Sometimes you may cry, and sometimes you may be frustrated as bad memories come to mind.

Because we are human.

It was natural.

But at the same time, because we are human, we can stand up.

You can move forward on a brighter path.

If I hadn’t met Werner, would I have been able to taste such delicious pasta again?

“… ….”

Karin was silent for a moment.

She soon smiled at Werner and answered.

“… Yes. Because the war is over.”

Somehow, the voice seemed much more reassuring than before.

The next day.

The long-awaited banquet has arrived.

High-ranking military figures and powerful people from all over the country entered Branberg’s fortress one after another.

All roads leading to the castle are completely controlled.

Only vehicles with red badges indicating that they were generals were lined up on the street.

The first large-scale event organized by the Eastern Military District since the end of the war.

As the Eastern Military District was comprised mostly of imperial faction members, among the distinguished guests were some of the emperor’s close associates who have now been relegated to the backroom.

The President has no choice but to have itchy ears.

“This is Lieutenant Colonel Werner Greim, Director of the Security Strategy Department.”

“Loyalty! You have been confirmed. Have a nice banquet!”

You receive a pass from the soldier checking your identity and enter the castle.

It was indeed a grand and old-fashioned building, befitting the residence of an old nobleman.

Perhaps because it is located in the rear, there are no traces of being attacked by titans anywhere.

‘You were holding up well in a place like this.’

The interior of the banquet hall was as luxurious as its exterior.

There were sparkling chandeliers, endless food, and even a mini orchestra in the corner of the banquet hall.

Werner was slightly confused as to whether this was a social party hosted by the imperial palace or a simple ceremony commemorating the succession of the war.

It is an excessively luxurious party.

I roughly expected it, but I never thought it would be like this.

Werner clicked his tongue and quickly left the banquet hall.

The generals were already huddled together in the very center of the banquet hall, as if they had already divided their ranks.

Fortress commanders who manage subordinate forts and divisions in the Eastern Military District, including Lieutenant General Heinrich Randall, commander of the Eastern Army.

All of them are persons of interest.

Soon, Werner made eye contact with the waiter he had previously purchased, nodded his head, and gave his signal.

A waiter slowly approaches a group of generals holding a tray full of champagne.

This operation was roughly like this.

Interception, surveillance, and contact with other military personnel in the Eastern Military District.

You have to be close to hear rumors.

Although they were dispatched from the Supreme Command, ‘subversive acts’ could never be carried out only with troops from the Eastern Military District.

Such information is likely to be obtained from Werner as well.

“Ah, that’s Lieutenant Colonel Werner Greim.”

“Nice to meet you, I am the Director of the Security Strategy Bureau under the Supreme Command.”

“Is that some kind of inspection room?”

“To be precise, I would say that it is an organization that governs the outside of the military, not the inside.”

“Ah! Understand! There is a need for foreign counterintelligence agencies. “Now the war is over.”

“But Colonel… ?”

“The introduction is late. “I am the Fire Support Staff of the Eastern Force Headquarters.”

He continued to interact with other field officers from time to time.

If you blindly approach the rank of general, you may end up creating unnecessary boundaries, so it is important to be cautious and not cross the line as much as possible.

And in the first place, the general cannot do anything alone.

The scale will vary greatly depending on how many officers under his command are recruited.

“So, Lieutenant Colonel Werner will also be coming to the masquerade ball tomorrow?”

“Yes, of course.”

“Oh my… Then, do you have a partner? ?”

“Unfortunately, there is none.”

“Good. I also happened to not have a partner. “I will wait at the front gate on time.”

Of course, Werner’s tall appearance was also effective in a place like this.

Werner was not the only one wearing a black uniform, indicating that he was a direct organization of the Supreme Command.

Among them, there were only a few characters that caught everyone’s attention.

After talking with a few colonels.

Exchanging contact information with lieutenant colonels.

As we got to know the brigadier generals who had been promoted to generals, the first day’s banquet ended in an instant.

Afterwards, countless people applied for after-sales service, but there was no reason to delay as today’s goal was achieved.

Werner shook off all his captors and returned straight to the Safe House.

Then, he sat down at the wiretapping equipment and began to meticulously classify the conversation files.

Most of it was just useless chatter.

[Preparation… Became… Are you?]

[Death…. Armory in the basement….]

[Commander of the Eastern Army… And the gun… Container….]

There were a few conversations that I couldn’t just sit back and watch.

Press the button to repeat the conversation continuously.

Reconstruct the muffled pronunciation and strain your hearing to extract words mixed in among the noise.

Each of them is labor that requires a high level of concentration and time.

Still, it was easier than analyzing the titan’s voice system in detail.

Does it make sense to infer communication by analyzing the pitch of a simple mechanical sound range?

It was impossible even with hard work.

After listening to it over and over for an hour, I was able to restore the quality of the conversation more clearly with the program.

Finally, Werner was able to extract the complete conversation.

“Good.”

Werner muttered briefly and laughed.

No matter how bad the relationship between the President and the Eastern Military District is, they are having this conversation openly at a banquet.

Did he get so drunk on victory that his liver came out of the boat?

However, the content of the conversation thus extracted was a little different from what Werner expected.

[Are you ready?]

[The day of the rebellion is tomorrow, so secure the armory in the basement after the banquet.]

[If you assassinate the commander of the Eastern Army and steal all the guns and ammunition, the Empire will understand.]

Assassination of the commander of the Eastern Army.

As soon as he heard the conversation in question, Werner silently took his gun and stood up.

All events scheduled for tomorrow had to be canceled immediately.