9th Grade Civil Servant In Another World Chapter 39 - Turning Point (1)

“Ughhhhhhh!”

“Kyaaaaaah!”

A long corridor with nothing but lanterns hanging from the ceiling.

Terrible screams ricocheted and echoed off the bleak concrete walls. Even the thick iron doors on each room couldn’t completely block out the cries of anguish.

Major Johann Werner of the Ossel, walking down the corridor in his neatly pressed uniform, tried to count how many ‘reactionaries’ had been carried out as corpses by the Colonel’s hand by today.

And he wondered how many others like the Colonel were active throughout Schufaben.

The small man who had ignited this carnage was living it up, merrily running a tavern.

‘He needlessly stirred up the Supreme Leader and escalated things. How much more blood must be spilled before Kruger is satisfied? A man who can sacrifice dozens, hundreds of lives just to save his own skin. Truly fascinating.’

No, that wasn’t quite right.

Johann’s lips twisted.

‘Right, he’s not the type to only look out for himself. The White Raven Order…’

What Lucas Redan was trying to shelter within his fold was just those around him. Less than ten people.

To protect them, innocent people were suffering in agony.

‘No, strictly speaking, that might be the wrong assumption.’

Johann thought of Lucas Redan.

The complete Lucas Redan he had uncovered through constant surveillance, observation, and background investigation.

If Lucas had heard Johann’s words, he would have been furious.

He wasn’t simply trying to save just himself or those around him.

“Even if hundreds or thousands suffer, we must stop the insane war that’s coming! We have to save millions upon millions of lives!”

But there was no one yet who could fully accept those intentions.

Lucas probably knew this too.

That if he said such things, he’d only get ambiguous reactions.

What exactly had he learned, what delusions was he harboring? Where in history had there ever been such mad dictators?

That ambition, madness, the horrors of war.

No matter how far Kruger went, would he really declare war on the entire continent? Far from being that brainless, he was actually quite rational and calculating.

Yet Lucas believed he would inevitably amplify that madness.

He sought to save those who would suffer in the flames of war.

‘Survival would be his top priority, though.’

No matter what, if he really faced a life-or-death crisis, he’d abandon all causes and principles.

But still. He seemed to think that the path to saving himself was the same as the path to saving countless people.

Johann found that unbearably amusing.

The path toward good intentions is paved with evil deeds.

At least in this moment when innocent people writhed in agony.

Every step Lucas took closer to Kruger, young people unrelated to him were dragged away by police, by the Ossel.

Normally, if innocent, ordinary people were brought in, they’d be deemed too much trouble and released after questioning.

But now the situation was different. Ever since the Supreme Leader had ordered the eradication of subversive elements.

Whether through lies or fabrication, they had to fill quotas and catch his eye somehow. Light questioning became coercive interrogation, then brutal torture.

‘And the Colonel really believes he can find traitors this way.’

By mercilessly arresting and beating anyone even slightly suspicious.

Foolishly.

Crossing the corridor and spiraling up the metal stairs led to the top floor. The only bright space in this building where sunlight entered.

Following the hardwood floor instead of concrete corridors, there was an elegant door.

Johann paused to straighten his uniform, knocked a couple of times, then opened the door.

“Long live the Great Supreme Leader! Did you call for me, Colonel?”

“Long live the Supreme Leader. Sit down.”

As soon as he entered, a thick metallic smell hit him. The scent of blood flowing from the gray-haired man behind the finest ebony desk.

The Colonel, with his large build, bumpy face, and glasses, had such a terrifying appearance that ordinary people would be horrified just meeting his gaze.

He enjoyed whipping people.

It wasn’t that the Colonel loved violence or was someone who satisfied his urges by abusing others.

He simply couldn’t control his boiling rage, and thought the whip was the most effective torture tool for making those trashy traitors talk.

In Johann’s eyes, he was the typical well-bred but stupid Ossel.

Of course, his appearance had deteriorated considerably from daily whipping and shouting for over forty years.

“Organize the statements from everyone we’ve brought in this week and submit them. How are things going on your end?”

“I haven’t found any significant leads yet. They appear to be quite cautious.”

Johann lied without his expression changing one bit.

He had arrested people who could be caught for even the slightest reason, tortured them, and extracted confessions. All to deceive the Colonel.

Bang!

The Colonel slammed his fist on the desk with a tremendous noise.

“The police department bastards determined those sons of bitches are hiding in District 13! District 13! The area we’re responsible for! They’ve been operating right under our noses and we didn’t notice at all! This is an enormous disgrace!”

And that disgrace was accumulating in real time.

Johann muttered internally.

“Use whatever means necessary to bring them in. Even the smallest clue will do! If I could get my hands on those traitor bastards, I’d sell my soul to the devil!”

The Colonel was getting excited again. Veins bulged in his right hand gripping the whip, and Johann felt the need to redirect his attention elsewhere.

“I’ll reanalyze the subversive propaganda materials found throughout Lüdelheim in recent years. There have been no acquisition reports since the Brightner kidnapping incident. There might be a connection.”

“Yes, good. If you get any results, report to me immediately.”

The Colonel gently stroked his whip as if caressing a cat’s back.

***

Another hectic day came to an end.

At 2 AM, after closing the tavern, I organized today’s intelligence with Erika, Daniel, and Oscar.

Since it wasn’t the weekend, Richard and Georg didn’t come.

After finishing the organization work, it was 3:30 AM. Erika went upstairs to sleep while Daniel and Oscar headed to their boarding house.

After seeing them off, I lit a small lamp in the hall and transcribed materials into my notebook. Of course, mixing Korean, Chinese characters, and English so no one in this world could decipher it.

Ding!

The tavern door I’d deliberately left unlocked opened with a small bell sound.

I tucked the notebook into my jacket and stretched while checking the clock—4 AM.

A dark shadow stood in front of the door, illuminated by the dim light. When I waved, it walked over and sat across from me.

I rubbed my eyes to shake off fatigue and straightened my back.

“What do you want to talk about?”

Johann Werner’s face, shadowed by the small lamplight, looked extremely sinister even with no expression.

He silently extended his hand.

Ah, damn it.

“Hah…”

I let out a deep sigh and handed over the bundle of papers with White Raven Order intelligence, instead of the notebook I’d just tucked away.

As per our contract, I had to play the role of his hunting dog, informant, and subcontractor getting my spine sucked dry.

***

Johann spent a long time reviewing the organized materials.

Compared to the information he had his subordinates collect, it wasn’t inferior at all.

Of course, it couldn’t reach stories flowing from the Supreme Leader’s residence and various institutions or high society secret gatherings, but even considering that, it exceeded expectations.

“Is this enough now? Go.”

Lucas Redan’s voice was stiff, apparently displeased at having his hard-gathered intelligence stolen.

Johann lightly ignored him and pulled out a cigarette. Only the sound of the cigarette burning could be heard in the quiet darkness.

Lucas, resigned, yawned repeatedly and leaned back in the plush chair.

Johann watched him while lost in thought.

‘Lucas Redan. Descendant of a fallen royal house. He lived a miserable, groveling life. Now that same man has become such a big shot that all the media pays attention and even catches the Supreme Leader’s eye. But. He’s still in my grasp.’

He believed that much was certain.

He’d initially spared Lucas Redan because he carried royal bloodline.

If Kruger ever fell, the Ossel would obviously be purged along with him.

Considering the possibility that old royalty and nobility might regain power, he couldn’t easily kill even a collateral member.

However, he later learned that only Lucas remained of the Redan family—they were virtually extinct. Without family power, he was a useless man.

So he’d considered turning Lucas Redan and his ridiculous rebel organization White Raven Order over to the Colonel to fill his quota.

But Lucas made an absurd proposal.

“How about I fatten up the White Raven Order nice and plump, then you devour it?”

He’d been watching with a ‘let’s see you try’ attitude, but in just six months, Lucas had spread the White Raven Order name nationwide and become a ‘hero’ himself.

When rumors spread that the Supreme Leader would give him a medal, Johann decided to kill him.

A hand that had grown beyond control would only become a threat.

But when Johann reached out to kill him, Lucas Redan said,

He really would kill the Supreme Leader. Otherwise, he himself would die.

He didn’t know what delusions he was harboring, but it was clearly sincere. That was both ridiculous and amusing.

“And since I’ve grown this much, wouldn’t I be more useful too?”

He declared he had no intention of biting Johann’s throat. That he’d remain a faithful hunting dog going forward.

So Johann abandoned the idea of killing him.

For now, at least.

Johann stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray and silently stared at the sleepy-eyed Lucas.

“What? If you have something to say, say it.”

He pulled out a sheet of paper from his jacket and handed it over. Lucas took it with a blank expression and as he read through it, tilted his head.

“What’s this?”

“From the day the Supreme Leader issued the subversive element elimination order until today. A list of people we’ve arrested in District 13 and people we’re monitoring.”

Lucas’s breathing froze for a moment.

His eyes began to shake as he scanned the list. Johann felt a strange satisfaction and kindly added,

“The ones marked with red lines are those who died or became disabled during interrogation.”

Hans Mayer, 40, butcher shop owner.

Karin Müller, 21, university student.

Sven Bauer, 33, janitor.

.

.

.

Lucas obsessively scanned through each of the dozens of names, then looked up at Johann.

“So what? What’s the point of showing me this?”

Eyes wavering with pain. But his voice was dry.

Johann crossed his legs comfortably, clasped his hands, and spoke.

“As you can see, we’re currently dragging in all sorts of riffraff. Since this is all your doing from the beginning anyway, wouldn’t it be better if you pointed them out?”

“Hah…”

Lucas’s eye corners visibly trembled. He rubbed his eyes and sighed.

“This is all because of me? What are you planning by dragging me into this? Think I’ll writhe in guilt?”

Pathetic defiance and bravado.

“I’m tired of making emergency arrests based on flimsy evidence. I just want to work more comfortably. Anyway, with just one word from you calling someone a ‘traitor,’ we can arrest anyone, right? Everyone would believe a hero’s accusation.”

For a moment, Lucas seemed to look at him with contemptuous eyes. Mixed with a bit of anger.

“A hero…”

But soon his eye corners curved into a smile.

“Hahaha! Just say it outright. Got it, I understand perfectly!”

He tore the list to shreds, then leaned forward and whispered,

“So who do you want eliminated? Just tell me.”

Indeed, a useful man.

Johann’s lips twitched. Like someone who wanted to smile but didn’t know how.

***

“Kyaaah!”

Bang bang bang!

“Hey! Owner Redan! Miss Brightner! Come out quickly!”

A perfect spring day.

As dawn gradually broke and the surroundings brightened, screams and urgent calls for the owner echoed in front of ‘Redan Tavern.’

“What on earth is happening this early in the morning?”

I had been sleeping soundly in my second-floor bedroom, but as the noise grew worse, I ran downstairs while combing my disheveled hair with my hands.

The shopping district was just beginning to come alive with business. Shop owners and passersby had gathered in front of the tavern, buzzing with conversation.

Large graffiti had appeared on the main road in front of the tavern, scrawled in red paint.

「Do not forget us」