9th Grade Civil Servant In Another World Chapter 55 - Nothing Happened (2)

Early August, after finishing organizing the materials.

It was a daily routine mentally crushed as if a lead weight was placed on my chest.

Enough to have nightmares every night.

‘Why aren’t there any rumors about the Ossel headquarters being attacked?’

Only a brief article in the newspaper about a terrorist bombing at the police station appeared. From the day of the attack until now, I’ve scoured every newspaper but couldn’t find even a trace of the letter ‘O’ from Ossel.

What kind of sorcery is this?

And while frantically searching through spread-out newspapers for articles one dawn.

Ring!

The sound of the door opening came as Johann entered the tavern.

Johann’s face was much more gaunt than when I’d last seen him.

His expression was as cold as always, but his eyes couldn’t hide the exhaustion seeping through.

I gathered up the newspapers scattered across the table, stacked them with crisp tapping sounds, and set them down neatly.

“It’s been a while. And you’re not dead.”

“Were you hoping I’d die?”

“Of course not.”

Johann sat in the chair across from me and stared at me quietly.

“Your arm seems to have healed completely?”

His natural gesture of pulling out the chair showed no sign of discomfort at all.

“Lieutenant General Kaiser introduced me to a magical healer.”

“Ah, right, Lieutenant General Kaiser. What happened? What came after that?”

I asked with feigned nonchalance, but inside I was rotting with anxiety.

Since falling into this world, it had always been like this, but this incident was especially like a life-or-death gamble.

I’d been confident of success and had actually succeeded.

But to truly conclude it was a ‘success,’ that incident should have become widely known. The name White Raven Order should have shaken the nation once again.

But there wasn’t a single fragment of rumor about Ossel in newspapers, radio, or even the conversations of tavern customers, so it was maddening!

Though I’d hidden it, Johann seemed to read my anxiety and chuckled.

“Lieutenant General Kaiser intends to cover up this incident. No, he’s already buried it.”

“What do you mean?”

“He’s made it so no one except those who were at the scene that day can know about it, even ensuring the Supreme Leader himself won’t notice.”

I reflexively frowned. Such an absurd thing…

“How is that possible?”

“Because you people killed them all. And because the Supreme Leader hasn’t returned from his vacation yet.”

Johann answered as if it were simple.

I’d tried to kill as many Ossels as possible and wound them to deal a blow.

That’s why I waited for the Supreme Leader’s vacation period. It was the only chance to break through the strict security of Ossel headquarters.

In the end, all that scheming had been a fatal mistake.

I knew the Ossel would try to minimize the incident as much as possible, but I never imagined they’d try to hide it even from their master, Kruger.

“But there were survivors, right? We deliberately didn’t attack the senior Ossels. Before the purpose of setting up a stage for you to play hero, the fundamental goal was to cause confusion—”

“They’ve already been buried in the ground too.”

Johann’s voice was matter-of-fact.

“Lieutenant General Kaiser killed them all that day. They were originally the Supreme Leader’s eyes and ears, keeping the lieutenant general in check, so it seems he took the opportunity to eliminate them.”

“Crazy…”

That was the only word that came out.

No matter how much of a thorn in his side they were, he directly killed colleagues, no, subordinates from the same organization? And made that decision in such a short moment?

“He’s an Ossel who’s followed Kruger since the very beginning. What did you expect?”

Johann sneered.

With self-mockery mixed in, saying Ossel was a group of lunatics, and he was the same.

“Yeah, right. I’ll accept that. It’s not entirely impossible. But how did he handle the aftermath so that no story leaked out at all? If he killed subordinates assigned by Kruger, no matter how he covered it up, it would have been suspicious. No, and dozens of lower-ranking Ossels died too, so complete cover-up is like trying to hide the sky with your palm.”

As I poured out complaints and irritation, Johann fell silent for a moment.

He pulled out a cigarette pack from his chest, took one out, put it in his mouth, and tossed me the lighter.

He does this hierarchical power play every time, disgustingly.

But I obediently lit his cigarette for him. It’s not like it costs money.

After exhaling smoke for a while, he slowly opened his mouth.

“…It’s a fact not widely known, but Ossel began by capturing orphans with nowhere to go and putting them in training camps. The training process included brutal brainwashing. Even after the organization’s foundation was established, they mostly selected only people without blood relatives. Me too, and Lieutenant General Kaiser as well.”

His voice was monotone as if talking about someone else’s story.

“Since they have no family, there’s no backlash when you eliminate them for betraying the organization.”

“You’re saying the impact on society is minimal since all the dead were orphans? Is that what you want to say?”

“That’s right.”

He answered indifferently while tapping his cigarette into the ashtray. A strong urge to smoke arose, but I firmly suppressed it. I don’t want to die of lung cancer in this strange world.

“But wouldn’t the personnel gap be noticeable? The work in each district would be paralyzed immediately.”

“Special mission transfers. One notification is sufficient.”

I was speechless.

No matter how much the Ossel organization is the ultimate example of absolute obedience, this level of thing is possible?

“No, then what about the directors? The Supreme Leader’s eyes and ears that Lieutenant General Kaiser directly killed? What did he tell Kruger?”

“I can’t know that much. But my guess is, he’ll probably pretend they’re still alive.”

“Pretend they’re alive?”

“The Supreme Leader is an extremely closed-off person. Among the Ossels, only the lieutenant general has direct meetings with him. Even the directors only submit periodic reports to the Supreme Leader, so if he just fakes the reports, concealing their deaths is simple. Then slowly, one by one, he can disguise their deaths as accidents or illness. Of course, this is all speculation—I don’t know what exact measures the lieutenant general has taken.”

I was breathless.

Even Johann, who wielded enormous power in District 13, was just a trivial cog in this country’s massive system.

And not just Johann, but even those belonging to Ossel’s highest ranks are seen as mere small tools in the Supreme Leader’s eyes.

Yet here I am, rampaging like thunder trying to kill the Supreme Leader—is this even feasible?

“The talk has gotten long. Let’s skip the useless stories.”

Johann closed his mouth as if now annoyed.

“Ah, right, the important thing is my plan succeeded, right? Lieutenant General Kaiser took a liking to you? Did he promote you to direct aide or something?”

“Hardly.”

He answered dryly.

“I’ve merely become a hunting dog as well. A hunting dog that gets slaughtered if it fails to keep his secrets. Ha, isn’t it laughable? A hunting dog commanding hunting dogs.”

Johann’s face showed no trace of laughter as he said this.

“You’re not thinking this is my fault, are you? I did my best to make you a hero. I just didn’t know Lieutenant General Kaiser would go this far. If we’re being picky, predicting the movements of Ossel internal figures is your job.”

Hisss…

Johann extinguished his cigarette in the ashtray with an expressionless face. And then.

Smack!

He leaned across the table and slapped my cheek mercilessly.

“Ugh! Wh-what are you doing!”

I reflexively clutched my cheek and hunched over. Blood trickled from my nose.

“Acting beyond your station and spouting nonsense. Don’t be arrogant. Even if we’re using each other, I thought you had enough brains to know who holds whose leash.”

“Say it with words, you bastard!”

I glared at him while wiping the dripping blood with a handkerchief. But inside, I felt cheerful enough to dance.

‘Seeing him show this much emotion, he must be in quite a tight spot. Or maybe I’ve become comfortable for him. Either way, it doesn’t matter.’

I tried to analyze Johann’s state and emotions.

He’s under tremendous stress right now.

While he must be happy to have achieved his goal of being taken in by Lieutenant General Kaiser, he’s probably feeling pressure beyond his imagination from him.

Lieutenant General Kaiser doesn’t seem to be an easy person. You can tell just from Johann’s attitude. If he’s that sharp and quick-witted.

He’d constantly suspect and squeeze even Johann, who threw himself, or pretended to throw himself, for his sake.

Binding him with snares so he can’t escape his grasp, controlling him completely.

‘Like… a spider.’

In short, he’d be Johann’s superior version.

Seeing Johann’s gaunt face, I wonder if he committed some kind of mental torture to confirm his loyalty. Johann’s no ordinary person either, so he probably passed the test by avoiding suspicion.

‘Now Johann has no choice but to rely on me more. As prey to offer to Lieutenant General Kaiser if necessary, and as a colleague he can use, no, join hands with when things get dangerous.’

Johann didn’t say it, but he definitely trusts me to some extent. You can tell by how much emotion he’s showing.

Of course, that ‘trust’ is probably something a million light years away from the warm feelings between friends or colleagues.

After the bleeding stopped, I released my hand that had been tightly gripping my nose.

“Alright, Mr. Hunting Dog. Tell me what I need to do as a hunting dog’s hunting dog. I’ll actively cooperate.”

My voice came out perfectly normal without any anger or fear, despite having just been assaulted.

Johann also nodded leisurely with interlaced fingers as if he’d never been angry.

“It’s not time for you to step forward yet. Same for this side. Lieutenant General Kaiser said to wait a little longer and he’ll call, so have patience.”

“Is that so? Hmm, I suppose. Even if limited to Lüdelheim, a considerable number of Ossels died, so the chronic personnel bottleneck would be resolved. It wouldn’t be unnatural to promote you either. Time would also be needed to work on various things to prevent the detailed circumstances from leaking out.”

“Right. At least until the Supreme Leader returns from vacation, I’ll have to continue as before under the Colonel.”

“Speaking of which, what about that Colonel? He was unconscious but knew that enemies had invaded. It’s surprising Lieutenant General Kaiser didn’t kill him, considering you’re one thing but the colonel knew.”

I’d debated a lot about whether to kill the colonel, but ultimately decided to let him live, thinking there might be unexpected consequences for Johann if his direct superior died.

I was also aiming for propaganda like ‘a true soldier who risked his life to protect his superior.’

“I’m not sure if sparing him was the right choice. The lieutenant general seems to be trying to control me through the Colonel. The Colonel’s stupid, but he’s not clueless. He pretends to believe my words while sending suspicious looks. But there’s nothing to worry about. He doesn’t have the people or information to scheme anything on his own.”

“If you’re that confident about it.”

I nodded lightly.

I shouldn’t have.

***

After meeting with Johann, my mind felt much more at ease.

Though I hadn’t achieved the goal of further expanding White Raven Order’s reputation, there had been many gains.

My friends’ mentalities became even stronger after experiencing real combat, and my relationship with Bletter solidified, allowing us to trust each other more.

As agreed with Johann, and as White Raven Order and Bletter consented, everyone returned to daily life for now.

Hannah continued acting as a regular customer, coming and going from the tavern.

The tavern kept raking in money. I’d thought customer numbers would naturally decrease as my fame faded, but I was wrong.

This place wasn’t like my original world with developed internet and mass media.

Though radio exists, there’s only one channel and only refined content flows through it.

It’s incomparable to my world where countless celebrities are constantly born on various platforms, and information spreads at tremendous speed through internet news, communities, and SNS.

So I’m not easily forgotten by people and continue to receive hero and celebrity treatment.

They were peaceful days.

“Huurgh!”

Except for occasionally having nightmares where the people I killed appeared.

I woke up in my boarding house room clutching my heart, and Colin approached whimpering.

When I went downstairs with Colin, there were signs of someone awake.

“Lucas? Did you have nightmares again?”

It was Mrs. Schmidt with a worried expression.

“Ah, no, ma’am. I just suddenly woke up. Sorry, did I wake you?”

“I couldn’t sleep either. Come here. Let’s have some warm milk together.”

Mrs. Schmidt warmed milk for me while making various small talk.

Completely mundane, trivial chatter that had nothing to do with death or blood.

“I’m always grateful, ma’am.”

“Grateful for what. It’s natural as a boarding house owner. If you have any worries, tell me anytime.”

“I will.”

I smiled while making a promise that wouldn’t be kept.