9th Grade Civil Servant In Another World Chapter 88 - The Clown (1)

“Hyah!”

The dart flew from Etin’s hand with a sharp whistle and struck dead center in the target.

“Alright!”

The majors teamed up with him cheered in unison.

“Hahahaha! That’s exactly right, Major Etin! This round’s victory is easily decided too! Proprietor! Another round of beer for everyone here!”

I clapped and laughed heartily while lavishly praising Etin.

“You’re too kind.”

Major Etin humbly declined with proper courtesy, then yielded his position to Major Damier, whose turn was next.

With his face flushed red from alcohol, Damier gulped and squeezed his eyes shut as he hurled the dart with all his might.

“Ugh, uaaaah!”

Thunk!

However, the dart missed the target completely and struck the wall, falling powerlessly to the floor.

“Hahahahaha!”

“Oh come on, Major Damier!”

“Why are you always like this!”

When I burst into laughter, the majors on his team all sighed or berated him in unison.

Damier sheepishly went to collect the dart, but tripped spectacularly over a beer keg.

“Ack!”

Crash!

He ended up entangling the proprietor who was carrying beer mugs, and the two performed an acrobatic tumble together, beer spilling everywhere in a perfect slapstick comedy.

“Pffft!”

“Kehehehe!”

This time even the majors burst out laughing, unable to contain themselves as their bodies shook with mirth.

“Ah! I’m sorry! I’m so sorry!”

Damier quickly got up and frantically dabbed at the spilled beer with his clothes while bowing his head repeatedly.

“Look where you’re going…!”

The furious proprietor was about to explode in anger when I quickly approached him.

“My apologies for the trouble. My subordinate is a bit of a troublemaker. Here, this is for laundry costs and damaged equipment. Please accept it.”

“Oh, no, this is too much…”

When I pulled out a thick bundle of bills from my wallet and pressed it into his hands, the proprietor made an awkward expression but discretely accepted it.

“I’ll need to pour fresh beer, so please wait. I’ll bring out some snacks too. Ah, leave that be.”

The proprietor stopped Damier, who was still desperately scrubbing the floor, and returned to the kitchen.

“Phew…”

I plopped back down on the sofa and lit a cigarette. Then I looked around at the majors with a grin.

“You’re all too excited and not thinking straight. How about a game of cards to cool your heads?”

“Excellent idea, Battalion Commander!”

“As expected of the Battalion Commander!”

“I’ll shuffle the deck.”

The flatterers Hoellope and Schwanz eagerly responded, and Köller quickly pulled out cards and spread them on the table.

“Captain Himmel, are you sitting this one out again?”

“My apologies.”

“Nothing to apologize for.”

Only my aide, Captain Alina Himmel, sat rigidly in a corner chair with her fists placed on her knees, wearing an expression as stiff as a board.

I shook my head and watched the cards being shuffled.

This place is Grantz, a small village at the foot of the Colt Mountains.

It’s a typical garrison town that makes its living doing business with soldiers from the 36th Infantry Division stationed on the mountainside.

In other words, the local economy is completely dependent on the military base.

From restaurants and inns to taverns, shops selling goods that flow out of the military, and even red-light districts conducting discreet business targeting soldiers. It’s a small place, but it has everything you’d need.

‘Damn, traumatic memories.’

I almost gagged as memories of the frontlines came flooding back—getting massively ripped off and suffering all kinds of injustices.

Of course, since poker face is crucial during a game, I maintained a cheerful expression on the outside.

Actually, Grantz is a village where I don’t need to worry about such trauma. No, probably all the garrison towns throughout Schufaben are like that.

Because the military’s prestige in Schufaben is unimaginably strong.

First, Supreme Leader Kruger is a former military man, and he’s been steadily increasing defense budgets and expanding military personnel, which naturally created an image that the Supreme Leader backs the military.

Merchants ripping off soldiers would be unthinkable.

Even though the military shares power with Ossel and Ferint, they have enough influence to warrant it, making Schufaben a place where state power is tremendously strong.

Moreover, Grantz has many people connected to the 36th Division soldiers in various ways—families, friends, and such.

‘The company commander’s family lives here too.’

Not just the company commander, but several of the majors who were forcibly enlisted following me have brought their families and lovers to Grantz with my permission.

And I too have been frequently visiting the village with the majors for the past two months.

Given the enormous amount of money we’ve spent over those two months, being treated as valued customers is only natural.

Well, in the case of Damier, the youngest among the majors, his bumbling antics have become known throughout the village, so he can’t quite maintain his dignity.

Today is December 30th.

The last day of the year.

I’m leading the majors in occupying a tavern for our revelry.

It would be lonely celebrating the new year alone.

What a sight it must be—a bunch of men taking over a bar and acting up!

It might not look great to others, but whether it’s because of the alcohol or the excited atmosphere of the village, everyone seems to be enjoying themselves.

***

“Done! I’m taking everything!”

“Ah, damn it.”

Suddenly, I noticed Major Lang sweeping up the coins on the table.

Lost in various thoughts, a round of the game had ended before I knew it. Being catastrophically bad at games, I seemed to have lost again.

“I’ll step away for a moment to take care of something. You all keep playing among yourselves.”

“Understood, Battalion Commander.”

I stubbed out my cigarette and headed for the restroom.

I entered an empty stall and carefully examined my sleeve in the dim light.

The part that had been thoroughly soaked when beer splashed on it earlier. It had already dried, leaving only a faint alcoholic scent.

“Now for the thigh…”

There it is.

I can see a stain faintly remaining on the fabric surface.

It was such a faint stain that someone with poor eyesight or insufficient attention would easily overlook it. However, the whitish discoloration was clearly different from a beer stain.

The sleeve was where beer had splashed when Damier caused his accident, and the thigh was where it had splashed much earlier when I pretended to drink while dumping alcohol under the table.

I haven’t had a single sip of alcohol today.

“Today? Or should I say tomorrow. As expected, they’d target a dramatic moment like the new year. The people must be so shocked.”

Exhilaration shot through my entire body.

‘Delusions of grandeur are also an illness!’

I just ignored the Lucas in my head squawking away.

I’ve been trying to prove my hypothesis all this time.

That Supreme Leader’s choice to send me and the ten majors—the descendants of the old royal family—to this border region must have some meaning.

That if he’s really preparing for war, he’ll use us as a pretext to invade the small nation beyond the border, Cortana, which most citizens consider ‘land that must be reclaimed someday.’

Not just creating an excuse, but killing all of us to eliminate any chance of the old royal faction’s resurgence.

To accomplish this, he would have planted a spy around me or among the majors.

I believed this and constantly worked to root out the spy.

Every time we ate or drank together, I watched for anyone adding suspicious substances, and I deliberately spread stories about ‘secret orders from His Excellency the Supreme Leader’ hoping the spy would hear.

I also burned letters in the fireplace, leaving the remains partially visible to see if anyone would tamper with them.

Others would call it paranoia.

But in this tedious border region, there was nothing else to do.

I desperately hoped there was a spy trying to kill us. No, there had to be.

Otherwise, I couldn’t see a way to escape from here!

And finally, I’ve caught evidence of the spy’s existence!

‘This is why I’ve been eating only with silver utensils.’

People who didn’t know the situation probably criticized it as extravagant. My eyes stung as I recalled all the hardships I’d endured.

I took off my pants and sniffed them. Just the beer smell, as expected. I put my pants back on and left the restroom.

I wonder who put foreign substances in the alcohol. I pushed far aside the thought that the proprietor might have added salt or something to improve the beer’s flavor.

There had to be a spy.

***

The card game continued with heated intensity.

“How about the last place person sings a song?”

Major Loch, thoroughly drunk, proposed a penalty.

“Ah, wouldn’t that be too disadvantageous for me?”

When I smiled, he panicked and waved his hands.

“N-no, the Battalion Commander is excluded! Uh, since all our scores are similar now, we could make it interesting.”

“How could you exclude me? I’ll join in too. Come on, deal the cards.”

I pretended to focus on the cards while carefully observing the majors. They all seemed quite drunk, but nothing appeared particularly abnormal.

‘Not a sleeping drug? Then maybe a stimulant? The atmosphere has been unusually excited…’

Could it be poison?

Something that only takes effect hours after consumption?

I’d never heard of such a thing. I don’t want to believe such things exist in this world. Even with poisons that take time to kill, symptoms usually appear quickly. Like pufferfish poison.

Even if it’s not poison but some other category, there shouldn’t be no symptoms like this.

If it were a poison that accumulates gradually before taking effect, it couldn’t have escaped my inspections so far.

‘Ah, I don’t know.’

I gave up deducing and threw my cards on the table.

Somehow Damier and I had ended up competing for last place.

I couldn’t help but chuckle at the sight of the majors desperately winking at Damier to lose on purpose.

Anyway, rank is everything in the military. Even if I’m about to die, today they’ll prostrate themselves first.

Eventually, Damier made a tearful face and ended the obviously rigged card game.

“Major Damier is in last place! Did you know how to sing?”

“Sing! Sing!”

Clap clap clap clap!

The majors tactfully worked up the atmosphere. Red-faced Damier sang a folk song appropriately.

“I always want to be with you, but I must leave. I must leave!”

However, as soon as he started singing, voices celebrating the new year burst from the radio. From outside came the bustling sounds of people gathered in groups enjoying the festival.

“5! 4! 3! 2! 1!”

“Happy New Year!”

Bang! Pop pop bang!

Even a small, poor village like Grantz couldn’t be left out of the new year fireworks. I threw open the window wide and watched the fireworks bursting in the sky.

Damier’s song, with its off-key melody and rhythm, was completely drowned out by the sound of exploding fireworks and the majors’ cheers.

“Let’s toast! Cheers! Battalion Commander, please give us a toast!”

At cheerful Major Lang’s request, I raised my glass and shouted vigorously.

“May you all receive much good fortune in the new year, gentlemen! Do you know? January 1st is my birthday! And it’s also the day we’ll finally fulfill our sacred mission!”

The cheering stopped abruptly.

“I’ll be with you, I won’t leave, I won’t leave.”

Damier’s terrible song ended awkwardly.

***

“Gasp, wheeze!”

Dawn of January 1st.

I was running around the parade ground with Captain Alina Himmel and Colin.

The soldiers who had gotten a holiday for New Year’s Day were still fast asleep, and the majors suffering from hangovers would be the same.

After months of consistent running, I could now manage about seven laps around the parade ground.

“Good work, Captain! Since it’s New Year’s Day, wheeze, how about we, wheeze, watch the sunrise? It’s my first plan for the new year!”

“I shall comply.”

After collapsing on the ground, I brushed the sand off my workout clothes and headed to the narrow mountain path behind the base.

Though there’s a path, it’s narrow, rough, and treacherous. If you keep going this way, you’d eventually meet Cortana’s border guards. After the path ends and you go straight for several more hours, that is.

“Once again, Happy New Year, Captain Himmel! I hope you have nothing but good things happen!”

“May you have a safe year as well, Battalion Commander.”

“Speaking of which, do you know what sound a person makes most in their lifetime?”

“Ah.”

I chuckled at the captain, who frowned slightly.

“Breathing sounds! Hahaha!”

“Wouldn’t heartbeats be more frequent?”

“Captain, let’s not get too serious.”

I was already out of breath and dying from exhaustion. My body felt sluggish.

I leaned against a tree by the roadside and gasped for air. Everywhere I looked, there was only the twisted trunks, branches, and roots of bare trees.

This is what the Colt Mountains are like.

The snow-covered mountains were pure white and cold. Certainly beautiful, but there’s no time to appreciate such things.

‘When will it ever…’

I watched Colin, who was panting while running around energetically.

“Battalion Commander.”

“What is it, Captain Himm—”

As I turned around.

Swish!

Something sharp pierced through my chest.

“Hk!”

A faint breath escaped from my throat.

Clack!

The sound of the blade hitting bone.

Then a moment of silence flowed.

I looked at Captain Himmel, who had turned pale while gripping the dagger handle, and smiled.

“Found you, spy.”