9th Grade Civil Servant In Another World Chapter 61 - Catastrophe (4)

The carriage Philip hastily arranged was incredibly old and rickety, looking ready to collapse at any moment.As we bounced around on the rough roads, I suffered from motion sickness several times.

“Damn, even the weather’s acting up.”

Philip grumbled irritably. Raindrops were pounding fiercely against the carriage. The dark sky and muddy roads were making us slower and slower.

‘Getting caught this easily? Foreign exile as a solution—this easily?’

I muttered while clutching the fake identification papers Philip had handed me.

When I first fell into this world, I wanted to leave this insane country. I thought about seeking asylum in any slightly more normal nation.

But I lacked the money and ability to do so.

Illegal immigration to become a refugee?

Without even knowing the smuggling routes? If I brazenly applied for asylum, my fanatical history of praising Kruger would surely be exposed and I’d be kicked out.

What if I slipped into a country less administratively developed than Schufaben—one without identity cards or registration numbers—and blended in among the people?

That was also problematic.

How would I handle the language barrier, and what skills would I use to make a living?

Actually, all of that was trivial.

If my suspicions were correct and Kruger started a war, the entire continent would be engulfed in flames anyway.

‘But even so……’

Either way, being far away would be better for survival than staying in Schufaben.

Now I had money and connections.

If Rubellia seemed too close to Schufaben, I’d somehow flee farther, much farther away.

‘But would the kids accept that?’

White Raven Order had gathered purely to bring down Kruger. Now, to suggest fleeing abroad to hide and live quietly…….

But I soon shook my head.

‘Survival comes first. When everyone safely reunites, we’ll decide on our next moves then.’

Soon I’ll be free.

***

“Ah, ah……”

The boy’s straw-colored hair whipped in the hot, acrid wind.

The bag of evening newspapers weighed heavily on his shoulder, but he felt no pain.

His home was burning before his eyes.

Not a real home, but a place that was like home.

A place he’d grown deeply attached to in just a few months.

The time spent crying, laughing, sleeping, and eating delicious food in the underground hideout had given Georg the strength to navigate this world, however trivial it might seem.

He stared up at the burning building with a dazed expression.

The onlookers around him murmured that someone must have set the fire. His mind snapped to attention.

He clearly remembered Lucas being extremely thorough in preparing for earthquakes and fires when constructing even that two-story building.

Georg was exceptionally sharp and clever for his age.

So,

‘This is an attack. They’re waiting for us to panic and rush to the tavern. They deliberately targeted the day off, thinking we’d be scattered and easier to catch.’

It didn’t take long to reach this conclusion.

He immediately turned and ran. At the same time, someone’s hand roughly grabbed the boy’s shoulder.

“Kid, I told you it’s dangerous here.”

An unidentified figure lifted him up. No, carelessly hoisted him up like a sack, making Georg struggle wildly.

“Who are you!”

But his body wasn’t fully grown yet. Even scratching and biting with all his might, he couldn’t handle a sturdy adult man.

“Help me! It’s a kidnapper—!”

His shrill scream was drowned out by all the noisy sounds. A handkerchief stuffed into his mouth cut off his cries.

“Stay still.”

Georg swung his arms with all his strength, but his secret weapon was easily blocked by the man’s hand.

The man snatched the dagger from Georg’s hand and chuckled.

“You try everything. Stop struggling. If it weren’t for Major Werner’s orders, I wouldn’t have bothered with a brat like you.”

Georg’s eyes widened at the mention of Major Werner.

‘Did he really come to rescue me?’

That suspicion was soon resolved by the gunfight that broke out while he was being carried away in the carriage. The man desperately tried to protect Georg.

He said they were going to Rubellia. Georg’s mind became tangled in confusion.

***

Second Airship Assembly Plant.

Ring-a-ling-a-ling!

The frivolous bell rang.

As workers rushed to the changing room to put on their work clothes, the door suddenly burst open and a man dressed as a supervisor stuck his head in.

“Oscar Fisher! There are special instructions, so follow me.”

“What?”

Without giving him a chance to ask questions, the man dragged Oscar away without even letting him button his pants.

‘Wait, was there a supervisor with a face like that?’

When Oscar’s body tensed up, the man stopped in the quiet corridor and pulled out his identification.

“I’ll explain just once, so listen carefully. Colonel Eric Klein……”

The word ‘Ossel’ clearly recorded on the identification burned into his eyes.

Shortly after, a carriage carrying Oscar began heading east.

Richard was facing the last patient to visit before closing the hospital.

“You said you injured your hand. Let me take a look.”

But instead of removing her gloves, the woman pulled out her identification.

“I came on Major Johann Werner’s orders. White Raven Order is currently……”

Richard, who had been listening quietly, nodded calmly.

“Understood. I’ll be out in 10 minutes, so please wait in front of the hospital.”

Ignoring the woman’s suspicious gaze, he pressed the call bell on his desk.

“Please prepare antibiotics and painkillers, then you can go home.”

After the Ossel agent left with the nurse, Richard removed his coat and hung it on the coat rack. He cleared away the medical books densely packed on the bookshelf and pulled out a small bag.

A bitter smile appeared on his lips.

‘I knew a day like this would come. But Lucas Redan, you won’t let me go, will you. And Erika, neither will you.’

Richard met the Ossel agent in front of the hospital with a gentle smile.

“Where should I go now?”

***

Daniel, who had bought cake, stopped short when he saw the boarding house shrouded in darkness.

“Lucas? Mrs. Schmidt?”

He called out toward the interior while unlocking the front door with his key, but there was no response. Not even Colin, who always ran up wagging his tail with joy.

‘Did they prepare a surprise party?’

That thought was fleeting.

Swish—.

As soon as he sensed someone moving in the hallway, Daniel threw the cake he was holding and backed out into the garden.

Splat!

Bang!

He ran away immediately, then reflexively looked back at the sound of clicking tongues to see a man covered in cream chasing him at terrifying speed.

Bang! Bang!

“Hiek!”

Daniel had always been exceptionally good at running. He slipped away using the spider web-like maze of District 13’s alleyways.

‘What could it be?’

Hands reaching for White Raven Order without any warning, without any information.

‘I have to escape. I have to take everyone and run.’

Daniel stopped in the middle of the reeking slums and muttered to himself.

He kept moving constantly.

Until the streetcar service ended, he continued switching trains to shake off his pursuers.

When midnight came, he got off at the edge of the District 13 and crept around looking for a public phone booth.

He couldn’t get through to the boarding house, Richard’s house, or the tavern. The landlord of the shabby apartment where Georg lived cursed him out, asking if he knew what time it was.

His chest felt heavy as if a boulder had been placed on it. He started running again.

‘Now, what should I do?’

It was while he was wandering around in a panic that he stopped dead in his tracks—in front of the square he passed by every day.

At first he thought he was seeing things.

It was such an unreal sight.

A familiar face hanging from the gallows.

“Ah……”

A ridiculous breathing sound escaped his mouth like steam leaving a pot.

But Daniel’s ears heard nothing.

He staggered toward the gallows.

Skin torn and split from torture marks. A face mangled beyond recognition with wounds. Clothes turned into rags.

His hand touched Luisa Schmidt’s body. The unpleasant sensation of caked blood stuck all over came through his fingertips. He couldn’t think of anything at all.

Thump!

Then a man who had quietly approached struck Daniel hard on the back of his neck.

“Finally found you. Persistent bastard.”

Muttering this, he lifted the collapsed Daniel and disappeared into the darkness.

***

“Klein is on his way to eliminate you right now.”

Johann’s breathing stopped as he held the receiver. Lieutenant General Kaiser’s voice on the other end sounded quite cheerful.

“So choose, Major Werner. Whether to die, or to kill.”

Click.

The call ended, but Johann couldn’t put down the receiver.

Only now did all the events come together and make sense.

“Son of a bitch……”

He spat out a curse.

Lieutenant General Kaiser was a son of a bitch.

Actually, all Ossel were sons of bitches. Anyone who wasn’t a son of a bitch got kicked out of the organization quickly.

Could those who arrested neighbors, threatened them, tortured them, and killed them really be human beings?

But Johann didn’t care about that. He was just annoyed that Lieutenant General Kaiser had orchestrated this catastrophe.

His mind, unaffected by any guilt, soon concluded that this was an opportunity.

With a much colder expression, he dialed the phone.

“All personnel not currently on ‘external duty’ are to assemble.”

Lower-ranking Ossel agents began gathering at his house.

Defense was easier than attack, and counterattack even more so.

The bloodthirsty colonel would come charging at him recklessly to take his head. He just had to wait.

***

The rain continued to pour steadily.

In the waiting room, I sat in a chair by the window and held Erika’s trembling hand.

On the road to the border, at this remote country village’s carriage station. This was the first rendezvous point, but only we had arrived so far.

“Adis, seong la tua bihr?”

“Hahaha!”

Over there, some Rubellia travelers were busy chatting and giggling among themselves over coffee.

By the door, Philip stood guard with a hidden pistol, having washed off the blood.

When the clock passed 1 AM and the noisy travelers had begun nodding off, we heard the faint sound of a carriage from outside.

“They’re here!”

Erika jumped to her feet.

“As expected, they made it safely.”

It was Richard who entered, soaked by the rain.

The members arrived one by one.

Georg, Oscar, and finally Daniel.

The friends who had barely been moving collapsed with relief as their tension finally broke.

“Daniel! Ha, thank god.”

I felt relief spreading through my entire body as I ran out into the rain and grabbed him.

Daniel, who got out of the carriage, had no focus in his eyes. His swollen face didn’t look right even though he hadn’t been beaten—he didn’t seem in his right mind.

“What’s wrong with you?”

I wiped the rainwater from my face and shook Daniel. The wounds were irritated and stinging.

***

Daniel couldn’t open his mouth.

For such a long time, he couldn’t bear to say such terrible things to his friend’s face, which was filled with pure joy.

He didn’t want to share this feeling of wandering in hell.

But he knew it was unavoidable. Throwing a tantrum wouldn’t solve anything.

His mouth slowly opened.

He couldn’t hear his own words.

He could only guess that he’d conveyed it properly by watching Lucas’s face turn deathly pale.

Raindrops poured down the young man’s face, frozen like a statue.

The half-moon scar below his eye. The blood that had pooled there flowed down with the rainwater.

Like tears of blood……

No, Lucas was really shedding tears of blood. His eyes, with burst blood vessels, were horribly red.

“AAAAAHHHH! UWAAAAAAAAH!”

Whoooosh!

Finally Daniel could hear the sounds of the world.

Lucas’s screams boiling up from deep within and the sound of heavy rain. The sounds of friends rushing out in alarm.

“Hiek, huh, ugh! AAAAAAAAH!”

Daniel’s spine went cold.

The sight of Lucas writhing his entire body as if possessed, rejecting his friends’ touch and letting out terrible screams he’d never heard before—it didn’t look human at all.

Perhaps this was comparable to the appearance of parents who had lost their children.

Lucas, who had been thrashing about, collapsed to the muddy ground. He writhed while spewing curses mixed with sobs.

Then, staggering to his feet, he looked toward the narrow, muddy road they had traveled.

In that moment, Daniel could sense what he was thinking. Terror washed over him.

“Lucas, you don’t mean—!”

He wasn’t as clever as Lucas. He admitted that himself.

No, that was wrong.

Daniel was smart. He knew a lot and was quick-witted and good at calculations.

But he could never follow Lucas’s vision.

He had been awed watching his friend come up with impossible, dangerous, and brilliant ideas.

But not this.

Now he absolutely couldn’t tolerate him.

“Snap out of it! We survived because of Mrs. Schmidt!”

Oscar, his face covered in tears, grabbed Lucas’s shoulder.

“I didn’t want to survive like this! Not in this damn world! I didn’t want to survive by doing this kind of shit!”

Lucas’s voice cracked like metal. His body trembled violently.

There was an emotion too complex to be called anger in those eyes.

So deep and distant that Daniel couldn’t possibly understand it.

That’s why he couldn’t hold Lucas back.

---

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