I Won’t Let the Execution Battalion Die, ~Even If the Empire Falls, We Want to Survive~ - Chapter 43: Bonds of Comradeship ②

Since the battalion commander had secured a room for us at Penderltaine Fortress, we’d sleep here tonight. Fortresses weren’t hotels, so at times like this, men and women shared rooms regardless. It couldn’t be helped in the military.

But sometimes, accepting that things couldn’t be helped didn’t actually solve anything.

“Lieutenant…”

“Ah, I was honestly a bit surprised.”

I threw a rope onto the desk. The end was formed into a loop, tied the same way as those used for hangings.

“Where did this come from?”

“Under the pillow. They probably wanted us to see it when we went to sleep.”

“Ugh, terrible taste…”

When we entered the room and checked for dangerous items as usual, we’d discovered the rope under the pillow.

Since such a thing couldn’t have been there originally, it was obviously a warning from someone.

“Lieutenant, this is the innermost section of an Army fortress, you know?”

“It’s probably not that an outsider infiltrated. It wouldn’t be strange for anti-imperial factions to exist within the military, so there are probably some among the soldiers and military personnel stationed at the fortress.”

I picked up the rope and observed it closely.

“This somehow resembles the rope I used to hang you. It’s not the same one, but since similar ones are everywhere, they probably just procured it randomly.”

“So this means…”

“Yeah, we can consider it a warning from ‘Yuo Nevilnel.’ They seem to be saying you’re next to be hanged.”

I hooked the rope’s loop on a hat peg on the wall, drew a stick figure on memo paper, and placed it in the rope’s loop. It looked like it was being hanged.

“What are you doing?”

“This way they’ll probably mess with us again. Each time, we’ll get more clues.”

Right now I wanted any information about the anti-imperial factions.

Actually, I was somewhat on the anti-imperial faction’s side myself. The fact that anti-imperial factions had even infiltrated the fortress interior showed that the Empire’s collapse was entering its final countdown.

However, with crude warnings like this, I wasn’t sure if these people could make the Empire collapse cleanly.

Moderate power transition, or violent revolution? Or would the anti-imperial factions mess up and postpone the Empire’s collapse?

That’s what I most wanted to know.

Of course, I kept such schemes secret, but I remembered my recent exchange with Second Lieutenant Crimine.

I should probably tell my partner about this.

So she could straighten my “cap” someday too.

“Come to think of it, I haven’t told you yet. I’ve never told anyone except the battalion commander.”

“About what?”

“I believe this Empire won’t last much longer.”

An absolutely impossible statement for an officer of the Imperial Ceremonial Battalion—the Emperor’s direct secret police.

I thought Second Lieutenant Crimine would surely be surprised when I looked at her face, but she was unexpectedly calm.

“That’s right, anti-imperial factions have infiltrated even places like this. Besides, the battalion commander seemed to have the same opinion.”

“You think so too?”

“The fact that there are this many people in the Ceremonial Battalion who don’t respect the Imperial Household, like us, made me wonder about it.”

“That’s certainly true.”

Officers of the Empire were normally indoctrinated with loyalty and respect for the Imperial Household. Noble officers had their family territories guaranteed by the Emperor’s authority, and commoner lieutenants received roughly the same treatment as noble lieutenants because the Emperor decreed it so.

So the more capable the officer, the more they recognized the Imperial Household’s power. Regardless of personal likes and dislikes.

“You’re quasi-nobility and part of the Empire’s emerging forces, and you lost your maternal grandfather to burning at the stake. I heard you also struggled quite a bit with gender discrimination at the military academy. Perhaps that gives you a neutral perspective on the current situation.”

“Maybe so. Plus, I’ve seen various things through our missions.”

That was also true.

Also, since this girl completely ignored atmosphere and such, she could probably judge without being too bound by preconceptions. Usually troublesome, but this time it was helpful that the conversation moved quickly.

I nodded.

“If we diligently carry out our duties in this situation, and the Emperor is suddenly overthrown one day, it will be somewhat problematic. The new rulers will dispose of us as remnants of the Emperor’s faction.”

After all, we’d effectively become secret police. I didn’t know what kind of person the next ruler would be, but they probably wouldn’t think to value us.

“There’s no point in exercising wisdom while climbing the scaffold steps. If you’re going to exercise wisdom, now is the time.”

“As expected of you, Lieutenant.”

When said with a straight face, it sounded like nothing but sarcasm, but knowing this girl, she was probably speaking sincerely. I was gradually understanding her.

I toyed with the rope’s end with my fingers while resting my cheek on my hand at the desk.

“The fact that they’re still only making warnings like this means they don’t intend to kill me yet. Or perhaps there’s a reason they can’t kill me. In any case, if there are no concrete demands, there’s no need to worry about it.”

Who was doing this and why?

Of course it was dangerous, but it might become a clue for escaping this labyrinth on the verge of collapse.

“There are countless ‘Yuo Nevilnels,’ but the one who left this rope could also be called one of the ‘Yuo Nevilnels’ in a broad sense.”

“Are you going to capture them?”

“No.”

I shook my head, then revealed the truth only to my partner.

“I’d like to meet and hear what they have to say.”

Second Lieutenant Crimine looked truly surprised, moving her mouth soundlessly before finally answering:

“That’s dangerous. In a… double sense.”

“Right. Being suspected of colluding with the enemy would be very bad. But ‘I questioned the person who left suspicious objects but judged there was no criminal intent and released them’ would be a normal response.”

Catching someone suspiciously but being wrong shouldn’t be uncommon.

We in the Ceremonial Battalion had originally been an execution unit, so we’d dealt with people whose identities and crimes were known and who were already in custody. Mistaken identity was absolutely impermissible.

But from now on it wouldn’t be like that, so I could carelessly make “mistaken identity” arrests repeatedly. Though of course I wouldn’t execute anyone.

“We’ve executed ‘Yuo Nevilnel’ in the past, and we’ve been approached by ‘Yuo Nevilnel.’ We’re closer to them than other officers. I want to use this advantage well.”

“It’s dangerous.”

I was happy that Second Lieutenant Crimine was worried about me, but if I avoided danger here and played it safe, I might not be able to deal with major future dangers.

Having seen the Empire’s dark side through executions and assassinations, I felt that surviving the post-Empire collapse would require certain cards to play.

“I understand, but I’ve judged this to be unavoidable danger. Of course, I’ll clear it with the battalion commander. Please accept that.”

“Well, if you’re reporting to the battalion commander, I guess it’s… okay?”

Second Lieutenant Crimine saluting with a complex expression was cute.

“Then shall we go report to the battalion commander? Ah, leave that rope as it is.”

“But wouldn’t it be better to have the actual item when reporting?”

“There’s something I want to verify.”

I smiled at my puzzled partner.

*****

“So you decided on your own and came to report on your own, is that it?”

The battalion commander, who had been preparing to leave, looked exasperated as she put on her coat.

“The moment I give you discretionary authority, this is what happens. So where is this rope?”

“I deliberately left it in the room. Of course it’s locked.”

When I said this, the battalion commander sighed lightly.

“Being curious is good, but we’re soldiers. Not scholars.”

“But you’re curious too, aren’t you, Battalion Commander?”

When I said this, the battalion commander threw the coat she’d been putting on onto the desk and ordered her direct line infantry:

“Two of you come with me. We’re checking.”

When we returned to the room, the rope was nowhere to be found.

“Even though I locked it, it’s gone.”

The battalion commander sat on my bed and crossed her arms with dissatisfaction.

“Hey, it really was there, wasn’t it? Since I haven’t seen the actual item, there’s no way to confirm if it was your delusion.”

“Please believe me on that. Also, don’t thrash around on the bed because it messes up the sheets.”

“You always complain about where I put my butt…”

The battalion commander stood up with a grunt and checked the door’s keyhole.

“This isn’t a lock an amateur could open. Either there’s quite a skilled locksmith, or they made a duplicate key.”

“Or they have the legitimate key.”

“Normally that would be it.”

The battalion commander said this, then stared at me intently.

“By the way, aren’t you hiding something?”

“You caught me. Actually, I stuck a memo with a stick figure drawn on it in the rope.”

The battalion commander looked exasperated.

“You provoked the enemy with such nonsense?”

“That’s right, I tried to stop him.”

Second Lieutenant Crimine was glaring at me. Weren’t we partners?

I smiled wryly while pointing to a corner of the desk.

“And that stick figure is here.”

Standing on the desk under everyone’s gaze was my handmade stick figure memo.

“It’s standing.”

“I folded it horizontally to make it look hanged and stuck it in. They apparently took the trouble to fold it vertically and make it stand.”

Right. The stick figure that had been bent at the neck was now folded vertically and standing proudly on the desk like a paper sumo wrestler.

“Hmm.”

The beautiful blonde touched her chin with her finger and smiled softly.

“Interesting. Apparently you’re liked by the ghost of ‘Yuo Nevilnel.'”

“I don’t know if I’m liked, but they seem somewhat interested in me.”

I couldn’t explain it well, but I was certain I felt something different from simple hostility or hatred. I couldn’t think they’d become allies, but I couldn’t think of them as mere enemies either.

Somehow concerning. They might be concerned about me too.

The battalion commander seemed to think for a bit, then sighed.

“I’ll let you do as you like for a while. It’s just a mission to drag things out anyway. Go pick up some ghost fragments.”

“Thank you.”

Now, would this become Ariadne’s rope… no, thread to escape the labyrinth?

(T/N: “Ariadne’s rope” refers to the lifeline or guide that helps someone find their way out of a complex or confusing situation.)

I hoped it would work out.