Mistaken for a War Hero

Chapter 19
You Would Make a Good Superior

Meanwhile, in the Kingdom of Eldresia.

Director’s Office, Central Intelligence Agency.

“…Is it true that the leaders of the anti-war protests have been captured?”

Standing before a wall adorned with a massive world map, Colonel Octavian Leopold, Director of Central Intelligence, spoke, unable to hide his annoyance.

Crispin, Head of Strategic Analysis, and Phineas, Head of Operations, stood before him, nervously swallowing their saliva.

Crispin, gauging the Director’s mood, cautiously spoke up.

“Unfortunately, it’s true. They couldn’t withstand the interrogation by the Imperial Military Police and confessed everything.”

Phineas added from the side,

“Moreover, the Empire is using this opportunity to label all those advocating for peace as collaborators with the Allied Nations and wage a propaganda war.”

This meant that the Intelligence Agency’s plan to instigate a popular uprising using the anti-war protests as a catalyst had gone up in smoke.

Of course, even if they had succeeded in inciting a popular uprising, it would have been suppressed eventually. However, their primary goal was to instill a negative view of the war and the military within the Empire’s citizens.

If negative public opinion started to accumulate, even the Imperial family wouldn’t be able to ignore it.

And if that forced the Empire to halt its offensive, the Kingdom of Eldresia could buy time.

Time to rearm their defeated army.

But with the capture of the ringleaders, everything had gone down the drain.

Director Octavian sighed deeply and frowned at his department heads.

“Who is it? Who exactly thwarted our plan?”

“…It’s this man.”

Crispin lifted the file in his left hand and presented it to the Director.

Octavian received the file and frowned at the photo at the top of the document, which contained various personal details.

“This man again…!”

Black hair and black eyes.

A face that could be perceived as gaunt, but with eyes that resembled a wolf, ready to tear apart its prey at any moment.

【Captain Daniel Steiner, Operations Staff Officer, Imperial General Staff Headquarters】

He was a figure who had become infamous among the Kingdom’s leadership for uncovering the Tevita Mountains ambush and swiftly killing Colonel Jeremy, the Corps Commander’s adjutant, who was retreating from enemy lines.

A dark horse of the Imperial Army, designated as a person of interest and placed on the secondary elimination list.

That was Daniel Steiner.

“He’s obstructing us at every turn! Every single turn!”

He wanted to shoot this man right between the eyes.

However, he couldn’t harm Daniel Steiner right now.

Gritting his teeth, Octavian turned to Crispin.

“What are the allied nations saying about this situation?”

“Well… they are condemning it, saying it has increased the Empire’s solidarity as a result of unauthorized intelligence activities.”

“Condemning? Did you just say condemning? Those lunatics!”

They invited the Kingdom to join the Allied Nations because they needed help, and now they were abandoning them because they were no longer necessary? It was absurd.

“The Kingdom faithfully fulfilled its role! The allied nations wouldn’t have thought that the Kingdom would defeat the Imperial Army! Our role was to divide the Empire’s forces to the north!”

Octavian threw the file in his hand onto the desk.

“It’s those guys who failed to fulfill their role! What are the Allied Nations doing on the Eastern Front? They’re just pointlessly stalling, going back and forth between victories and defeats!”

At Octavian’s outburst, Crispin and Phineas could only lower their heads.

Looking at his subordinates, Octavian sighed softly and raised his hand.

Yes, his subordinates weren’t at fault. Running a hand over his face, Octavian spoke with a serious expression.

“…Damn it. There’s only one option left now. Unleash the dogs on the Imperial family.”

At those words, Phineas, the Head of Operations, looked up, sweating.

“But sir! If we execute that operation, the agents we’ve planted in the Empire will be killed!”

“It’s only a matter of time anyway. They wouldn’t want to be frogs slowly boiling to death either. So, we need to at least break the Empire’s teeth, don’t we?”

A brief silence fell between them.

Understanding the Director’s intentions, Phineas bowed his head with a resolute look.

“Yes, sir. Then I’ll inform the agents that the time for a decisive battle has come.”

***

…Was there ever a day I hated going to work more than today?

Just thinking about Lucy, who had requested summary execution without a flicker of emotion, sent shivers down my spine.

But I couldn’t just skip work, so I trudged towards the General Staff Headquarters.

I entered my office to prepare myself before entering the staff room, and there was Lucy.

Lucy, who had been eating a croissant, immediately stood up upon seeing me and saluted smartly.

“Good morning, Captain Daniel Steiner.”

Looking at her, I nodded casually.

“…You came in early. By the way, that’s a croissant, isn’t it?”

“Yes. The ones you bought yesterday were so delicious. I bought a few for you as well. Please feel free to have some if you’re hungry.”

“No, I’m fine.”

I replied and walked to my desk, pulling out my chair and sitting down.

But Lucy didn’t sit down, just stared at me blankly.

I placed my briefcase on the desk and asked with a puzzled look,

“…Why are you standing there?”

“I’m waiting for you to assign me tasks.”

“You can do that when we go to the Operations Staff Office…”

“The Chief of Operations Staff said you could work in your private office today.”

…What? Why? As I blinked in confusion, Lucy added an explanation.

“The Chief of Operations Staff said to tell you, ‘Captain Daniel achieved another great feat yesterday, and since there’s nothing I can do for him right now, let him at least have a comfortable workday.'”

Chief, please! It’s not comfortable at all for me to be alone in the office with this woman!

Suppressing the urge to scream, I nodded.

“Alright. Then let’s get to work right away.”

I took out a stack of documents from my briefcase and handed them to Lucy.

“These are the documents to review today. Take a look at them.”

“Yes, sir.”

Lucy replied flatly, approached me, and took the stack of documents.

Returning to her spot, she sat down, opened the documents, and began reviewing them.

The way she calmly blinked her red eyes as she examined the documents was the very image of an exemplary adjutant.

If I hadn’t known that Lucy was a spy, I might have showered her with praise.

Moreover, if the adjutant in front of me wasn’t Lucy but an ordinary spy, I would have praised her to try and build a rapport.

‘But this woman is Lucy Emilia.’

I didn’t know the exact reason, but Lucy had an extreme aversion to traitors.

If I told her, “I’m planning to defect, let’s be friends,” there was a high chance it wouldn’t end well for me.

…From that perspective, she wasn’t suited for espionage at all. So why was she here?

Despite my doubts, my plan remained unchanged.

Getting Lucy out of my office was the only way to ensure my safety.

‘Then the quickest way right now is…’

I had to inform the higher-ups that Lucy’s work performance was terrible and have her deemed unfit.

Coincidentally, Lucy was currently reviewing documents.

I remembered how overwhelmed I was when I first became an adjutant, just trying to understand and organize all the military jargon that varied by region.

Surely Lucy would make the same mistakes.

‘I’ll make her experience the terror of a superior officer.’

Just you wait, Lucy Emilia. I’ll give you so many criticisms that you’ll want to quit voluntarily.

Thinking this with a devilish smile, I read a book while waiting for Lucy to finish reviewing the documents.

About four hours later, Lucy brought the stack of documents and placed them on my desk.

“I’ve finished the review, Captain Daniel Steiner.”

Hmm? Already? It was a volume that should have taken about eight hours to review. This was too fast.

‘As expected, you’re still a newbie.’

She must have missed something in her review.

I received the documents to start pointing out her mistakes and looked through them.

And I couldn’t help but be surprised.

Lucy’s document review skills were astonishingly perfect.

Not only had she comprehensively checked the accuracy of information, feasibility, resource planning, risk management, and legal and ethical compliance, but she had also assessed whether the requests properly reflected the opinions of the higher-ups.

Furthermore, she had even calculated the expected effects of the operations and created an evaluation table so that superiors could grasp the requests at a glance.

Frankly, it was perfect.

There was nothing to criticize.

I checked the other documents, and all of them were reviewed to near perfection.

“Hmm…”

Unable to find even a fabricated fault, I nodded.

“Excellent work.”

“Thank you, sir. Then…”

“No, there’s more.”

I opened my drawer and took out another stack of documents.

“These are Class 2 confidential documents. Read them all and report back to me.”

“Captain? But the time is…”

“I won’t take no for an answer. Finish them all before I return.”

I got up from my seat, left Lucy in the office, and walked out the door.

***

Daniel, having left his office, headed towards the Operations Staff Office.

He planned to observe Lucy through the CCTV installed in the Chief of Operations Staff’s office.

The Class 2 confidential documents Daniel had just given her contained detailed information about military deployments and the movements of specific units.

It was the kind of information that would make any spy drool, so she would surely act suspiciously.

If I could capture that and report it to Ernst, I could finally part ways with Lucy.

‘Alright.’

Thinking that this time, his plan would succeed, Daniel entered the staff office.

“Oh? Captain Daniel Steiner?”

“Captain! I saw the newspaper! You accomplished another great feat yesterday.”

Daniel casually nodded to the soldiers and junior officers and knocked on the Chief of Operations Staff’s door.

“Ah, is that Captain Daniel? Come in.”

With permission granted, Daniel opened the door and saw Ernst preparing to leave work.

Daniel, finding this strange, exchanged salutes and asked,

“Sir, are you perhaps leaving for the day?”

“Yes. I have fewer tasks today, and I have an appointment with someone from the Imperial family.”

The timing wasn’t ideal. However, Daniel couldn’t miss this opportunity, so he spoke with a serious expression.

“I apologize for interrupting your preparations for leaving, but would you mind watching the CCTV footage of the Operations Staff Office with me?”

“For what reason?”

“I believe you’ll understand once you see it. I understand you’re eager to see your wife, but please spare a moment.”

Ernst tilted his head, looking even more confused.

“What are you talking about? It’s best when my wife isn’t home.”

“…?”

As Daniel remained silent, not understanding, Ernst chuckled and said,

“Don’t tell my wife I said that. Anyway… yes, the CCTV footage of your office is right over there.”

Ernst raised his hand and pointed towards the corner of his office.

Several screens were installed there, displaying the private offices of the staff members. It was part of the counterintelligence activities to detect any potential traitors.

Moreover, the CCTVs were hidden in inconspicuous locations, making them impossible to find for newcomers.

“I don’t know what you want to show me, but since it’s your request, I’ll take a look.”

Daniel nodded and stood in front of the CCTV screens with Ernst.

Looking at the screen displaying the Operations Staff Office, they saw Lucy diligently working.

They observed for about twenty minutes, but there was no sign of her trying to copy or steal classified information.

Just as they were about to give up, Lucy put down her pen and stared intently at Daniel’s desk.

‘Is she trying to take other classified documents?’

It was a possibility, considering that he had seen her taking classified documents from the drawer.

However, instead of getting up, Lucy quietly moved her lips.

What did she just say? Daniel, wanting to know for sure, turned to Ernst.

“Sir, would it be possible to zoom in and replay that scene?”

“Of course. Go ahead if you wish.”

Receiving permission, Daniel rewound the CCTV footage and pressed the play button again.

Thanks to this, he could clearly see what Lucy had mouthed.

Shall I kill him?

Confirming her lip movements, Daniel felt goosebumps erupt all over his body and covered his mouth.

On the other hand, Ernst chuckled with amusement.

“That’s your fault. It’s almost lunchtime, and you’re still making her work, so it’s natural for her to be annoyed. Besides, that workload is too much for a newcomer to handle.”

Ernst, unaware that Lucy was a spy, interpreted her “Shall I kill him?” as a cute display of frustration from a subordinate.

Meanwhile, Daniel felt like his life had just been threatened.

Covering his mouth and breaking out in a cold sweat, he slowly nodded.

“…I’ll be more careful from now on.”

I’ll have to do the work myself if I want to stay alive. Ernst, staring intently at Daniel’s profile, had a sudden realization.

‘He wanted to watch the CCTV footage to show off how well his subordinate works. I thought he was just cold-hearted, but he has this human side to him as well.’

It was truly commendable and admirable.

‘To be so devoted to his subordinate, Captain Daniel will make a good superior in the future.’

Unaware of Daniel’s true feelings, Ernst nodded with a warm smile.

—————

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