Chapter 61 – 6. Bruhlin Sniper Battle (1)
It is the time of sunset.
The evening light burning in the setting sun is dazzling. After a long flight, I entered the sky over Brullin, and with Adele’s help, I landed in a suitable vacant lot near Böblingen. The destination was, of course, 9th Avenue 109, the safe house of the intelligence department that Elizabeth and I had visited.
“Where do you want to go now?”
“109 9 rue Böblingen, 5th floor, off-white tenement.”
“You’re saying you’re not going to the intelligence department.”
Swift drakes feel like fighter jets in modern times. A state-of-the-art fighter plane has suddenly landed in an empty lot in the middle of the capital, so how can you avoid attracting attention? Moreover, I don’t know how the fight between the Extinction Company and the Wraith Knights in Luneburg ended, but by now the news of my disappearance would have spread far and wide throughout the government.
“Can you not head to the official residence?”
“First of all, you have to understand the situation first.”
Beatrix is furious. I know her character well. If she goes to the official residence and runs into her, she will try to confine her by any means necessary. Even so, he’s so angry that he won’t even listen to me.
“Otherwise, I can’t protect Elizabeth.”
Let’s trust Feininger’s competence. Even if it is not armed, it is a flying dragon that appeared in the city center. When a sighting story starts to spread, isn’t the intelligence director one of the first people to come across it? Even more so, if the place is near a safe house where I have a point of contact, we might come to the conclusion that we are there.
“If I bet my stake, I’ll bet him.”
If things don’t go well, I’ll have to bump into them with my bare body. However, the jet-black knight had a grudge against me so deep that he confessed it with his own mouth. He felt ashamed of his actions, and apart from feeling guilty, he had to confirm the truth.
“Let’s go.”
Adele and I stood on the ground in turn. Then, the flying dragon grabbed the reins of the saddle with its mouth and pulled it hard. I tossed it on the floor as if I was throwing off my stuffy clothes. Then, flapping its wings again, it flew up into the sky.
Ayeek!
The dragon roars. All of this is probably an arrangement to be free from the eyes of the Bernhard Air Force. If it’s a wild drake, it’s rare even in the mountains near Brullin.
“It looks like we are destined to inevitably run into that group of ghost knights again.”
“Yes, this time it was resentful help, but…….”
There is no guarantee that it will happen next time. We ducked into the streets to avoid the gaze of the belated crowd. Fortunately, it coincided with work hours, so I hid from the crowds and arrived at 109 9th Avenue Böblingen, and arrived at the front door of the gray-white apartment house.
“Damn it, it looks more serious than I thought.”
Unlike last time, there was no one at the entrance. I couldn’t believe it, but it seemed that all the guards had been hired out. Still, it’s possible that at least one person was left behind, but it’s just that there’s absolutely no room for that. It is said that the situation is even more serious than when the family was held hostage in Saxony.
To make matters worse, the building was locked up to the door. Grabbing the doorknob on the front door and pulling it roughly, I began to seriously consider whether I should break it down. It was because it would be very difficult to contact Feininger if he could not even use the safe house of the intelligence department now that there was no place to hide.
“I will try.”
Suddenly, Adele stepped forward. She wondered how she was going to open the door, but she opened it in five seconds with a clothespin from the sleeve of her uniform. She overlooked the fact that this level of knowledge is basic for a woman from the back streets of Saxony.
“Crazy…….”
“I apologize.”
Unsurprisingly, she was a scary woman in many ways.
“No, good job. Let’s go right up. I’ll hold the elevator, so lock the door and follow me.”
I tilted the outside doorknob at an angle and walked out into the hallway. The odds of that would be low, but if anyone ever returned, I had to put a sign that I was there. That way, there won’t be any misfortune to just check the entrance and go back.
Dalkadak.
Adele closed the door. At the same time, the elevator arrived. We got on it and headed to the 5th floor. Then, stepping on the carpet on the floor of the hallway there, he reached the maroon-colored double door in front of him. The door was locked as expected, but it only took a little more time, and it wasn’t impossible to open it.
“What should I do first?”
Soon, the interior based on minimalism is revealed. When I visited the other day, we only talked in the living room in a low voice. The only furniture he had was a table and a sofa placed on either side of it as the center. However, the name is the safe house of the Ministry of Information, and it occupies an entire floor, so is there anything to save?
“First, the radio.”
It can’t be, I’m sure there must be something that can help. I shared Adele and her space to search. Unfortunately, no weapons were found, but there was a lot of equipment necessary for espionage activities, such as a walkie-talkie and wired wiretaps.
“I found it.”
There was nothing to measure front to back. I moved to the place where I heard Adele’s voice. The bedroom was not too far from the living room. In the room, a cathode ray tube, which is rare in private houses, was placed along with a radio.
“What about the signal?”
“Please wait a moment.”
Unlike the Atlantic United States, Bernhard’s broadcasting regulations in this country are strict. It is not possible to transmit all day long, and there is no work to produce video media even through public-private partnerships. Here, television is only a tool for propaganda.
That’s why there are no televisions in the residence as well as in the villa. To be honest, all the people who will appear are Beatrix, members of her cabinet, and military officials. Even more so, it’s the same thing that’s broadcast on the radio.
“Caught.”
Adele received the signal after some complicated manipulations with the receiver. Only the empty podium was being projected on the crushed black and white screen. Perhaps one of the dignitaries was about to begin a speech, but either had not yet arrived or the time had not yet arrived.
“I keep it running.”
I tuned the frequency of the radio to various channels. Despite being hated by everyone, the First Lady is the First Lady, so by the time the disappearance in Luneburg had become a public issue, the news would have been noisy with my story.
“This is the next news. The First Lady, who was hiding in a convalescent car at Draken House in Luneburg, suddenly went missing around 2:00 pm today. It seems that the SS authorities, who are known to have been in charge of security, have entrusted the investigation of the case to the National Security Bureau…….」
Also as expected Every time you turn the channel, the news that is delivered is new to your mind. The ghosts didn’t lie. They are still Victoria’s servants, and they have helped me in her will.
「Ernst Heydrich, Director of Public Security, said that he had dispatched all available personnel to Luneburg, and he remained silent, saying that he was not at the stage where he could answer the question of assassination or duke.」
You can’t do that in vain. I will survive as you wish. To do so, the priority is to grasp the current situation and go to rescue Elizabeth. Has Bruhlin’s special general hospital already been occupied?
“So two hours ago, the disappearance of His Majesty the First Lady was officially recognized and a curfew was declared across the country, right? Currently, the Security Bureau of the SS has dispatched all investigators in Brullin for the purpose of fact-finding.”
“According to the announcement by the authorities, His Excellency Yeongbugun took a female employee for a walk around lunchtime. For this reason, even before the statement of the forces that occupied Brulin Express General Hospital an hour ago was released, there were opinions that it was a simple escape or a secret hideout.”
“The announcement of Director Eichmann, who is famous for not appearing in public, is also worth recalling, isn’t it? It was a shocking announcement that the company of His Excellency, who was in charge of guarding the First Lady at Luneburg, had been annihilated. This is unprecedented since the founding of the extinct nation.”
The fight between the ghost of Partenope and the demon of Luneburg seems to have ended with the ghost’s victory. It’s nonsense that there were no casualties while dealing with that terrifying company of annihilators, so they must have wiped their tracks somehow. I would have focused on not getting caught by the tail.
Following the will of a woman who is too undeserved of me.
“…… Then, let’s listen to their statements again.”
I listened attentively to what the presenter had to say. Unforgettable voices flowed through the unpleasant noise. It was a terrifying threat indeed. Unlike when we met at the National Theater, he wasn’t playful, and his voice was extremely serious.
「Julich Renner and 15 people under him inform the authorities. We are currently occupying Brulin Special General Hospital and its surroundings. About 3,000 patients and 800 medical staff are held hostage in the hospital, and if they do not accept the conditions we demand or attempt to suppress them, we will immediately shoot them indiscriminately.”
I should have killed you, Julich Renner.
I should have shot you in the head with your father.
“This is a very personal revenge that has nothing to do with political or religious beliefs. If you want to save the hostages, have the Prince of the East, Seo Jeong-woo, colonel in front of the hospital by midnight today. We will not accept any other negotiations or transactions. Attempting to do so will also be regarded as suppression, and I will respond with the killing of the hostages.”
It is not only Elizabeth who is taken hostage. I was grieved as I gnashed my teeth. If it was like before, I would have been frustrated, asking why this only happened to me, but not anymore.
“Master, it looks like the broadcast is about to start.”
Adele tapped me on the shoulder as I was focusing on the radio.
“This is your Excellency Adler. She climbed the podium herself.”
I turned around in amazement. The blurry black-and-white screen of the television still contained the beautiful image of the Führer, as if dyed in red.
“Dear citizens.”
The queen, who seldom uttered honorifics, begins her speech. As if to prove that she has been on edge ever since she returned from Cherniysk, she is speaking eloquently in the uniform of the supreme leader of the SS.
“I received the sad news that my fiancé, whom I loved, went missing three hours ago. What’s even more devastating is that the traitor who threatened my regime was an assistant to former Secretary of Defense Rolf Renner, who was shot dead last night.”
Beatrix deliberately showed a sad expression. She plays a great man who chose the latter between a beloved lover and a major national event, not as a pitiful woman but as a bitter power figure. Cleverly, to garner public support without compromising my charisma.
“The name of that treasonous bandit is Otto Moritz, the guardian of the Eastern Front and the general who commands the 9th Corps. He, along with Rolf Renner, was the leader of an association that advocated the restoration of the monarchy, and he did this when his carefully planned plan was leaked due to whistleblowing.”
Fearful woman. The ghost said that a warrant was issued for Otto’s arrest last night. Why would the queen, who skillfully uses her propaganda but does not appear on the podium for anything, would point out him as the mastermind behind it in front of everyone?
“In terms of rules, this is unprecedented treason and betrayal. But, folks, this Beatrix Adler will not yield. I won’t lose my fiancé or put my country in danger. We will definitely punish those who are involved in this matter.”
Otto is already in her grasp. She may have already lost her life.
It was only now that I could understand what the ghost had said. She realized what it means to live miserably.
“As of the present time, martial law is declared throughout Brullin in the name of Beatrix Adler, who was nominated by the people and declared by the state.”
The cruel yet beautiful woman’s speech has come to an end. Her official broadcasts ended with her oath of allegiance to her, her invocation of her Heil Adler.
“…….”
What followed was a long silence. Adele and I looked at each other quietly. Then, it was only after I felt a lot of people from the double door outside that I got up.
― Until the last moment, never give up.
– Live through any pettiness and despicable behavior.
There is no exit in the name of death. Suicide is just incomplete. Neither positive nor negative has meaning. At least in my case it was. No matter how much I die, it is the same even if I say that I will come back to life.
Suicide to despair is lazy.
I was a lazy bastard in the way I treated my life. Maybe that’s why they are being punished so severely. But a few suicides and deaths have taught me a lesson. Even with such an opportunity, I haven’t eaten enough to change.
“You are here, Your Excellency, First Lady.”
“Fininger.”
The fight continues.
“Forgive me for being late.”
“Rosenkrants.”
It’s not over yet.
“I will start reporting.”
I can still face it!
