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Translator: Vine
Chapter Title: The World's Most Difficult Mission
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Military Security Department, under the Legion Command.
Legion Command Headquarters, first basement floor, temporary archives.
"It's already been ten hours since Major Daniel Steiner entered the archives. I'm starting to get worried, shouldn't we check on him?"
At the words of the soldier guarding the entrance, Sergeant Sallodam of the Security Department shook his head.
"The Major told us himself. He said he needed to look through the archives alone and that absolutely no one was to enter. Don't even think about disobeying that order. I don't want to die because of you."
"D-die? What do you mean?"
"This damn kid doesn't know anything. The only reason Major Daniel can wander around the Security Department as he pleases is because the Legion Commander himself gave him the authority. Do you understand what that means?"
In short, anyone who disobeys Daniel Steiner's orders here was treated as if they'd disobeyed the Legion Commander's orders.
The soldier's face turned pale, cold sweat trickling down, and he suddenly snapped to attention.
Sergeant Sallodam, finding it amusing, let out a low chuckle.
"Look at this damn kid, scared stiff. You're such a coward, can you even fight against the Kingdom's army? Of course, it's unlikely we'll ever be deployed to the front lines, but..."
"S-S-Sergeant!"
The soldier, eyes trembling, shot a sidelong glance at Sallodam.
Wondering what all the fuss was about, Sallodam turned his head, only for his face to turn as pale as the soldier's.
Lieutenant Colonel Kalpren, the Legion Commander's aide, was watching them from not too far away.
Sallodam almost reflexively saluted.
"A-aide! What brings you here...!"
Kalpren, with his hands clasped behind his back, wore a benevolent smile.
"I've come for an unannounced inspection, and also to check if Major Daniel is doing his work well. I apologize if this old man has interrupted your pleasant chat."
Kalpren's words and tone were mild, but the meaning hidden within them was sharp.
To translate directly, it meant:
Are the fools guarding the archives entrance so oblivious that they're chatting away, completely failing to notice someone walking right up to them?
The soldier, thinking Kalpren had come to encourage them, let down his guard, but Sallodam, having read Kalpren's true intent, froze, unable to even lower his salute.
"Well, I didn't come here to bother you, so don't worry. More importantly, where is Major Daniel?"
Only then did Sallodam regain his composure and stammer out a reply.
"Ah, well... he went into the archives to look through them alone, and it's already been ten hours."
"Today too? Didn't he practically live in the archives yesterday?"
"Yes. He said he needs to prepare for negotiations, and he only has four days, so time is pressing..."
Listening to Sallodam's words, Kalpren was secretly impressed.
He had thought Major Daniel would interpret the Legion Commander's request as a way of 'passing the buck,' either refusing or merely going through the motions if he accepted. He hadn't expected him to prepare so diligently.
'The rumors said he always gives his best in everything; they weren't wrong.'
If a capable individual also puts in effort, their potential is limitless.
As Kalpren was pondering the character of Daniel Steiner, a light knock sounded from the iron door that Sallodam and the soldier were guarding.
It was a signal that someone wanted to exit. Since the door was designed not to be opened from the inside, this was a necessary step.
"Please wait a moment!"
The soldier grasped the iron door and pulled it open, revealing Daniel Steiner inside.
He looked tired, but his wolf-like eyes stared straight ahead.
His gaze wasn't that of a greenhorn newly promoted to major, but rather that of a seasoned staff officer, enough to make one's shoulders twitch.
After observing Kalpren for a moment, Daniel offered a respectful salute.
"Aide. What brings you all the way here?"
His tone was firm, yet it conveyed proper deference to a superior.
Kalpren returned the salute and replied with a certain tension.
"...I came on the Legion Commander's orders to ask if you need anything to proceed with your work. But are you alright? You look like you haven't slept properly."
"I'm fine. More importantly, could you please move aside? It's time for me to plan the negotiations now."
Only then did Kalpren realize he was blocking the way, and he took a step aside.
Daniel gave a curt nod, then passed Kalpren and ascended the stairs.
Watching Daniel's retreating back, Kalpren let out a sigh of resignation.
'He's a tough one. He shows such determination to somehow make these negotiations succeed...'
However, due to His Imperial Majesty's unilateral decision, signing the agreement is almost impossible.
'Could he possibly have found a way to overturn it?'
He didn't know for sure, but in Daniel's self-sacrificing efforts, Kalpren saw a spark of hope.
Perhaps the hope that he might conclude the negotiations and save countless lives.
*
Walking down the corridor, Daniel checked that no one was following him, then let out a sigh of relief.
'...I thought I was caught.'
When the iron door opened and the Legion Commander's aide was standing there, Daniel's heart nearly stopped.
He had thought he'd been caught secretly jotting down classified information in the notebook he'd brought into the archives.
'If the aide had noticed my attempt to leak classified information, things would have gotten quite difficult.'
In the worst case, it could have been a moment where he'd be branded a traitor and executed.
However, contrary to his fears, the aide had simply come to check on him.
Thanks to that, Daniel was able to keep the notebook filled with classified information.
'Now, to document this...'
Then, at tomorrow's armistice negotiations, he would hand it over to the Kingdom's Foreign Minister and apply for asylum.
No matter how much Daniel was treated as a hero of the Empire, if he handed over second-class military secrets, they wouldn't doubt his sincerity.
'Finally, I'm escaping this damn Empire.'
His steps felt light, thinking of the rosy life that awaited him.
Daniel, suppressing a laugh that threatened to escape, continued walking until he suddenly paused.
Lucy was approaching from the opposite direction.
As the distance between them closed, a strong perfume scent tickled his nose.
Just as he wondered why she'd put on perfume, Lucy, who had reached close proximity, gave a slight nod.
"Major. You were here."
"...Were you looking for me? Did the Legion Commander call?"
"No, not that. It's just..."
Lucy hesitated.
Spraying on perfume to tempt Daniel was a good start.
But how was she supposed to naturally continue the conversation?
What even *was* 'temptation' to begin with? When it came to winning someone's heart, Lucy's knowledge was a blank slate.
That's why she had hastily read a romance novel this morning.
Lucy took a deep breath, then looked at Daniel and spoke.
"...Could I perhaps know your schedule for today?"
"I need to plan the negotiations starting now. I've got a rough outline, so I plan to leave early today. But why are you asking?"
"Ah. Well..."
She had to be confident. Embarrassing as it was, this was a mission.
"If you're free this evening, perhaps you could join me..."
The rest of her words wouldn't come out properly.
She didn't know how to deliver the embarrassing words she'd learned from the book.
"I mean, just the two of us..."
When Lucy got that far, Daniel thought.
Unstable eye contact, slightly quickened breathing, a significant request to meet alone.
Daniel, calculating on the abacus in his mind, arrived at a single prediction.
'...Could it be an assassination?'
Has an assassination order come down from the Allied Nations? He'd thought something like this might happen eventually, but the timing was too soon.
'Yes. The timing is too soon.'
Just as he wondered if it was a misunderstanding, Lucy looked at Daniel as if she had steeled herself.
'I read it in the book. To tempt a man, you need to give a subtle smile...'
But what exactly did a 'subtle smile' mean?
For Lucy, who had never even managed a normal smile, let alone a subtle one, this was rather perplexing advice.
However, as an intelligence agent, Lucy had to carry out the Allied Nations' order: 'Tempt Daniel Steiner.'
After struggling internally several times, Lucy finally managed to force a smile towards Daniel.
Upon seeing that smile, Daniel couldn't help but gasp.
Narrowing her eyes sharply and curving her lips into a thin line, it was quite literally a 'killer smile.'
It was like looking at a hunter observing prey about to die.
As a result, he felt an immense pressure.
'This is one hundred percent an assassination...!'
Daniel, who had absolutely no idea Lucy was trying to tempt him, cleared his throat.
He decided he needed to distance himself from Lucy as naturally as possible.
"Adjutant? It seems I'll have to work overtime today after all."
"...What? But you just said you were leaving early."
"Something I need to do just popped into my head. Well then..."
Daniel, who was about to walk past, suddenly turned back to Lucy as if something had just occurred to him.
"By the way, didn't you put on too much perfume? Perfume is usually used to mask one's body odor, so I'm not sure why an adjutant would use it."
"Ah, I..."
"Your skin doesn't have an odor. In fact, it's rather fragrant. So don't rely on luxuries like perfume."
Daniel patted Lucy's shoulder lightly and continued walking.
'Good. We had a normal conversation, so she won't suspect I've caught on to the assassination order.'
Just as Daniel, having averted danger, let out a sigh of relief, Lucy, who had remained standing, felt her ears turn crimson.
It was because Daniel's compliment had, unknowingly, made Lucy blush.
She didn't quite know what kind of embarrassment it was.
Feeling an unprecedented emotion, Lucy leaned against the windowsill and let out a soft sigh.
'How foolish...'
Both the superiors who gave such a strange order and herself, who was following it, felt foolish.
Still, as long as the order stood, she would have to tempt Daniel someday.
It felt like an overwhelming task.
Lucy, who had been idly staring at her toes and biting her lower lip, deliberately pushed away the shame and slowly began to walk.
First, she thought, she needed to go back to her quarters and get rid of the perfume scent.