Mistaken for a War Hero

Chapter 27
As I Suspected

Meanwhile, the mafia members were thrown into chaos after confirming the death of their boss, Nickel.

After the initial commotion subsided, they began to seriously discuss ‘who’ killed their boss.

During this discussion, a member who claimed to be an eyewitness stepped forward.

His name was Baldron Mekalana.

Baldron had been smoking a cigarette by the second-floor window when he saw a woman jump out of the third-floor window where the boss was.

At first, he thought he had seen wrong, but after hearing that the boss was found dead in the room, he became convinced that the woman was the assassin.

Baldron told the other members, and the enraged gangsters were united in their desire to find the woman and avenge their boss.

And now,

Baldron frowned as he looked through his folding telescope at the fifth-floor window of the restaurant.

‘Brown hair and a white knit sweater. A brown coat on her lap, a plain-looking shoulder bag next to her chair, and black flat shoes. And quite tall for a woman…’

Except for the sunglasses, her appearance perfectly matched the woman who killed the boss.

After searching the surrounding streets, they had finally found the woman who assassinated their boss.

‘That damn bitch…’

Baldron gritted his teeth as he lowered his telescope.

He couldn’t tolerate the fact that she was enjoying a luxurious meal at a restaurant after killing his boss.

It was as if she was mocking his entire organization.

Trying to calm his boiling rage, Baldron folded his telescope and put it in his pocket, then took out his radio.

Staring at the woman cutting her steak on the fifth floor of the restaurant, he pressed the transmit button.

“I found the woman who killed the boss. She’s at Das Abendlicht Restaurant on Raven 22nd Street. It looks like she’ll be leaving soon, so all members, converge on this location.”

***

As we finished our meal and stepped out of the restaurant, Cartman bowed his head.

“I’ve been terribly rude to you, miss. I’m deeply sorry. Please accept my sincere apologies.”

While Lucy remained silent, Daniel answered on her behalf.

“There’s no need to apologize repeatedly. Miss Seabright understands completely. Isn’t that right, Miss Seabright?”

At Daniel’s prompting, Lucy reluctantly nodded.

Seeing this, Daniel smiled and said,

“Then we’ll be on our way.”

“Ah, yes, of course. It was an honor to talk with you, Captain.”

“It was also a great gain for me to have this conversation with the Inspector, who is always dedicated to the Empire. Well then.”

Daniel bowed his head and turned to leave with Lucy.

After walking for a while, he glanced back and saw Cartman stroking his chin before turning and walking in the opposite direction.

Relieved, Daniel let out a sigh.

“You can speak now.”

Lucy, having regained her freedom of speech, paused for a moment, then said,

“…You treated me like an idiot.”

“Not an idiot, but a patient with aphasia. And I told you, I was just trying to save you from the Security Bureau officer.”

He wasn’t wrong.

Without Daniel’s help, Lucy would have faced Cartman’s direct suspicion.

Although her pride was hurt from receiving help from an enemy, Lucy had to admit the truth.

“I’ll repay this debt someday.”

At Lucy’s whispered words, Daniel couldn’t help but break out in a cold sweat.

He couldn’t tell if she meant “repay” as in “help” or “kill.”

Unable to discern Lucy’s true intentions, Daniel reluctantly nodded.

“…Thank you for the sentiment, but there’s no need to repay me. More importantly, shouldn’t we go our separate ways now?”

If they delayed any longer, the dessert shop would close.

Daniel wanted to enjoy some dessert and unwind, but Lucy shook her head.

“I’m sorry, but that won’t be possible.”

What was she talking about all of a sudden? Daniel, feeling uneasy, blinked his eyes in confusion. Lucy glanced around and said,

“Listen as we walk. We’re being followed. There are people watching us from behind, across the street, and even a block ahead.”

Followed? Daniel immediately narrowed his eyes and scanned the pedestrians on the street.

As Lucy said, he spotted some individuals in suits acting suspiciously.

A few of them had their hands in their pockets, seemingly ready to draw their guns at any moment.

Their movements were clumsy for intelligence agents.

However, they were clearly organized. It meant they were part of a private organization.

If members of a private organization were carrying guns, there could only be one answer.

‘They’re mafia members.’

Judging from their behavior, they seemed to be targeting Lucy, and Daniel frowned with a growing headache.

“…Doctor? What exactly have you been up to that you have mafia members following you?”

But Lucy didn’t answer.

With her characteristically sharp eyes, she quickly assessed the situation and simply grabbed Daniel’s hand tightly.

Her grip was cold yet soft.

“Captain, I’m going to run into the alleyway twenty steps ahead. You’ll become their target if you stay with me, so you’ll have to follow me if you want to live.”

She didn’t particularly want to save Daniel.

However, if Daniel died, the Empire would investigate the incident thoroughly, and Lucy, who was with him that day, would be caught in the Empire’s dragnet.

Wanting to prevent that, Lucy didn’t let go of Daniel’s hand.

“Wait a minute, Doctor. If you have a plan, let’s discuss it together…!”

When they reached the alleyway twenty steps away, Lucy abruptly turned and sprinted.

Daniel had no choice but to run with her, pulled along by her hand.

“Shit! They’re getting away!”

“That damn bitch noticed us! After them!”

“Kill them!”

Shouts and gunshots rang out from behind them.

Whoosh!

A stray bullet whizzed past his ear.

Daniel instinctively ducked his head and picked up his pace, glaring at Lucy.

‘…What kind of grudge did she incur? Did she kill a mafia boss or something?’

He was bewildered, but this wasn’t the time to satisfy his curiosity.

“To the left!”

Daniel followed Lucy’s instructions and turned the corner of the alley.

After running halfway down the alley, Lucy suddenly hid behind an industrial dumpster.

Daniel also hurriedly hid with her, catching his breath.

“…Why are we hiding all of a sudden? Are you planning to fight all the gangsters here?”

Lucy nodded and took out a detonator with a red button from her shoulder bag.

She had planted bombs inside the walls on both sides of the deserted alley in case they were pursued, and she was about to use them now.

‘Huh, she’s quite thorough…’

Understanding what Lucy was about to do, Daniel held his breath and waited.

“They ran into a dead end! After them!”

“Shoot them on sight! Kill that bastard next to her too!”

The gangsters shouted and rushed into the alley.

However, they couldn’t see Lucy and Daniel.

Unaware that they were hiding behind the dumpster, the gangsters walked further into the alley, confused.

“What? I clearly saw them enter here.”

“Did they climb over the wall? Did they really climb over that high wall?”

“Shit, did you check behind the dumpster?”

Just as the gangsters’ voices were closing in,

Lucy pressed the button on the detonator without hesitation.

Immediately after,

BOOOOOOOOOOOM!

With a tremendous explosion, the walls erupted outwards, spewing flames.

The impact was so strong that the ground shook, and Daniel couldn’t help but squeeze his eyes shut.

“Ugh, damn it…”

His ears were ringing.

After taking a few deep breaths, Daniel slowly opened his eyes.

He gritted his teeth and stood up.

Looking towards where the explosion had occurred, he saw mafia members lying among the collapsed bricks.

Nearly thirty gangsters were sprawled on the ground, moaning and bleeding.

“Ha…”

As he stared at the scene in disbelief, new footsteps approached from beyond the alley.

He thought it might be the remaining gangsters and reached for his holster, but the footsteps were light and cheerful.

“Explosion! Did you hear that explosion!?”

“What was that? Did a pipe burst or something?”

“I don’t know, but let’s go check it out! It might be a scoop!”

They were clearly reporters who would rush to any scene of an incident.

Relieved, Daniel took his hand off his holster and said,

“Do you even realize what you’ve done…?”

He looked for Lucy, but she was nowhere to be seen.

Did she escape over the wall when the explosion happened? Over that high wall?

As Daniel sighed in disbelief, the reporters rushed in.

And they froze in their tracks.

Nearly thirty people were lying on the ground, bleeding, and a man in an army officer’s uniform was standing unharmed in front of them. The scene was incredibly intimidating.

The reporter, frozen in shock, lowered his gaze, then his eyes widened.

“These… aren’t these Nickel’s men?”

All the fallen men had hyena tattoos on their necks.

This meant they were members of Nickel’s gang, one of the mafia bosses.

The other reporters also belatedly confirmed this fact and looked up.

Finally recognizing the officer, smiles spread across their faces.

They smelled a scoop.

“It’s Captain Daniel Steiner!”

“…What? Oh my god! It really is Captain Daniel!”

As the reporters made a fuss, citizens who heard the explosion also started to gather.

The citizens who arrived at the alley made the same expression as the reporters, looked at each other, and murmured amongst themselves.

Feeling a sense of foreboding, Daniel raised both hands and said,

“Everyone, you’re misunderstanding something. I didn’t do this—”

“Everyone gather around! Captain Daniel Steiner has dedicated himself to the Empire once again! He single-handedly took down a mafia organization!”

The reporter’s loud voice drowned out Daniel’s words.

The citizens, believing the reporter’s words, erupted in cheers and started chanting Daniel’s name.

As applause followed, Daniel half-heartedly closed his eyes.

‘This is crazy…’

It wasn’t even surprising anymore.

—————

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