Chapter 23 – 2. Street That Shouldn’t Be There (3)
The feeling of indigestion is severe.
I seem to be missing some important clue. I just can’t get rid of that feeling. And whenever this happens, my triggers are generally accurate.
“…….”
I rested my elbow on the armrest of the sofa. He rested his chin on his face with a very disapproving expression and was lost in thought. Of course, but there was no need to notice. It is true that I need their abilities and allegiance, but they also need my money and my background.
Yes, this is a deal so to speak.
Beatrix taught me the basics of trading. Under her premise of never being impatient, her advice she gave has never been wrong.
Transactions are such a law, but especially when money is exchanged, the impatient side always loses. The reason why those who have power and wealth can accumulate more is because they already have too much. This is because the leeway that comes from it creates an advantage.
Then what about my case?
Do I really have an edge in dealing with Anton Feininger?
I needed more to think about. 10 million marks is about 70 billion won in Korean currency. Of course, Bernhard did not trade with Earth, so this was just an exchange rate based on my own experience. However, just because the ratio changed by a few digits, did the large sum of money turn into a pittance?
Ten million marks is an amount that dares to consider itself a rich man.
“The amount is very different from what I heard from Otto.”
“What I originally heard from others is always a misrepresentation.”
I looked into Feininger’s eyes. The green orc’s deep, hollow eyes were filled with unmistakable sincerity. It was the same that he asked for the money of 10 million marks, and he said that he would not join unless the money was given.
But why?
Let’s think about it for a moment. How much money is 10 million marks? Assuming that it is roughly 70 billion won, it is an amount that will not be easily asked for even if you ate jjambab down the back hole. Even one million marks, which was originally talked about, is actually a huge sum of money, but it was condoned because it was to escape his family.
“May I ask for a purpose? Because he might have gone wrong too.”
“It’s money that will save the lives of me, my subordinates, and their close relatives.”
Feininger added as if reading a bill issued to me.
“Your Excellency the First Lady is buying the loyalty of me, who is now the Chief of Army Intelligence and Major General of the National Defense Force, Bernhardt. The loyalty of my henchmen, Hartmut Heinz and Franz Rosenkrantz, also lives with you.”
“Okay.”
I know that.
“Loyalty is the same as life. Please consider that the price of buying our lives is never expensive.”
“Of course, you can’t put a price on a human life…….”
But it still doesn’t feel good. I feel like I keep missing something important. I rubbed my forehead with the hand resting on my chin. It seemed like a wall would come because of the heavy pressure on my shoulders.
What? What are you missing?
Turning the previously agreed upon amount right before the transaction is truly an act of bullying. Was Anton Feininger just about that? Then why did Otto insist on this man’s competence?
My head is complicated.
“…… Jungwoo, are you okay?”
It took her a while to catch her breath and be lost in thought. Elisabeth, who had been guarding my back the whole time, approached and asked in a whisper. Perhaps he was worried because I, who should be leading the conversation, kept my silence.
“It’s okay, thank you.”
I whispered and kissed her on the cheek. It was a half impulsive act. But on the other hand, I got an unexpected clue from Franz who pretended to admire while blowing his whistle, Hartmut who showed nervousness, and Feininger who silently waited for my words.
Although the interior of the safe house is quiet, it is not enough to hear words whispered in your ear. Feininger and two of his henchmen each had distinct, if different, reactions. Where did that reaction really come from?
A favor I showed Elizabeth?
Not. To them, I am an unequivocal guest. Even though the price was raised right before the deal was concluded, it seems that there is no intention to quit this position. So it’s best not to show a reaction I might find unpleasant.
Then what else could there be?
Was it the very fact that I exchanged words with Elizabeth?
Yes, that would make sense.
Fining, who is good at poker face, didn’t blink an eye, but Franz, who lacked more respect than that, would have had to hide his true intentions with a mischievous whistle. Not to mention, that Hartmut even showed impatience.
“Fininger.”
“Yes.”
“What if I leave this place?”
Feininger was still expressionless. However, Franz tried to keep his distance, and Hartmut couldn’t help but bewildered. Shedding cold sweats was like someone whose life was threatened.
Still, he is an operative whom the head of the country’s intelligence department introduced as his henchman. Is he doing that out of fear of his own death?
Maybe it is. Because death is always scary. However, those agents of the Army Intelligence Department, who are called secret agents, are never easy going. Even if they feel fear, they are constantly trained not to show it.
“I cannot tell you.”
More than anything, Feininger doesn’t seem to have any intention of defeating or cracking down on his subordinates. Are you intentionally misleading? If so, that’s too blatant. It is too low for a trap set by Jang Sung, the head of the intelligence department.
“Can you tell me why?”
“Sorry, but I can’t tell you that either.”
I leaned back on the sofa. He let out a deep sigh and shook his head. Then, with my hands behind my back, I met eyes with that Elizabeth, the reliable bodyguard.
“…… For a moment.”
Something came up.
“Elizabeth, you said you could protect me in case of emergency, right?”
“That’s right.”
Even in the midst of implying a strife, Feininger shows no signs of showing any emotion.
“If I give you an order, will you be able to take care of all the people here?”
“Are you saying kill?”
“Depending on the answers to the questions I will ask you from now on.”
“All right. Just give me orders at any time.”
Franz and Hartmut’s expressions hardened sternly. I straightened my posture and leaned my upper body forward. I finally guessed that the time had come and asked a question.
“Feininger, from now on you will have to choose your horses carefully.”
“…… Yes.”
“This is the first question. Is this place being bugged or exposed?”
“There is not.”
It takes a lot of finesse to know if someone is lying. If it were Beatrix, she would have been able to distinguish between true and false with the movement of her pupils. But I don’t have that kind of insight, and only this head should cover the truth.
“The second question. Did you come here on behalf of Beatrix Adler, Heinrich Heinrich, or someone related to them? Let the two people behind you answer this question together.”
“There is not. I am here only on my own will.”
“It is the same.”
“So do i.”
They’re telling the truth. My intuition says so. Usually, in situations like this, everyone suspects that the other person is lying, but I wonder why they are only talking about the unchanging truth.
“You mean that?”
Why?
I threw a topic at myself. The answer came surprisingly easily. I believed that relationships bound by trust were stronger than relationships held back by fear. Anton Feininger was recommended by my eternal friend, Otto Moritz.
“The third question.”
“Please Xiamen.”
“What is the budget that the Ministry of Information receives every year from the National Assembly?”
Naturally, the budgets of the Bernhardt Defense Forces and the SS are top secret. In particular, agencies that engage in intelligence activities, such as the Army Intelligence Department or the SS Information Bureau, are regarded as a top-notch budget every year because of their uniqueness.
“It’s worth five billion marks.”
Even so, Feininger gave such a secret right away. What would that mean?
“…… This is the fourth question.”
The puzzle is gradually coming together. Now there is only one piece left.
Something one
“What is the market value of this building? Böblingen Street is a fairly well-to-do neighborhood, so the price must be quite high.”
“Even if I can’t, it will be around 500,000 marks.”
It was Heinz who answered my question about the market price of the safe house.
“There must be dozens of these all over the country, right?”
“Of course.”
I pondered for a while. To find and put the last remaining piece together. As it is, I put together the questions that I had been thinking about for a long time.
“Before we conclude the story, let’s listen.”
“What are you talking about?”
“How am I going to prove that you guys are worth 10 million marks.”
“If that is the case, I know that I have already proven it.”
“I admit it if I was guiding Beatrix to the wire. However, considering the price jumped ten times, there is no feeling that it is lacking. So, if that 10 million marks is really the money your life depends on, I have to prove it. Are you really a talent worth paying that much money for?”
It was an outcall. Feininger seemed to be in conflict for a moment, then opened his mouth.
“I know where Miss Schultz is.”
“…… !”
“And let me also tell you that one of the official residence’s employees is in the midst of a clandestine affair.”
I gripped the armrests of the sofa as hard as I could.
“If you said anything to get out of the situation…….”
“You know it’s not. We are different from the people out there who look down on His Excellency First Lady. I know how terrifying you are, do you dare to touch that affliction?”
The fact about the snitch was the last piece I was looking for. But I didn’t even bother to pay attention to that fact, and I had no choice but to ask the whereabouts of the woman he said he knew.
“Where are you?”
“I don’t know exactly. It’s just that she’s now being protected by an unknown powerhouse called the Shadow Lady.”
Eventually, Feininger closed his mouth. It seemed that this was all he could tell at this point. Despite the flood of questions, I managed to suppress it and called for Elizabeth.
“Elizabeth.”
“Yes, Jungwoo.”
Unable to keep up with the context of the pain conversation, she came closer to my name and put her ear in.
“Your fascination was something like mind-controlling magic, right?”
“That’s right.”
“As far as I know, the priority of such magic is first-come, first-served.”
“It will be, unless it is a fairly large gap.”
“Are you going to charm them?”
“…… !”
Finally all the puzzles are put together. I shook my head and waited for Elizabeth’s answer. While confident, I glared at the three of them without losing my tension. I waited for my bodyguard, who had his eyes wide open, to speak in shock.
“It doesn’t seem to work.”
“Of course it is.”
I opened my mouth to Feininger.
“This is the last question.”
“Please Xiamen.”
“Has anyone dear to you and your men been held hostage?”
“I cannot tell you.”
“If so, have any magical acts been performed on your body?”
“…… Yes.”
All mysteries solved. I looked at the faces of the three people, including Feininger. They were all agitated. On the one hand, it was refreshing, and there was also a look up to me.
“I will tell you the story of 9 million marks.”
Like a detective sitting in an armchair, I recited the facts I had deduced one by one.
“I would appreciate it if you could confirm it, but there is no need to overdo it. So listen.”
“Yes.”
“You have been caught.”
Otto Moritz said. Anton Feininger is a competent person. But if that’s really the case, why was he purged in his previous life?
Waffen SS National Security Headquarters 1, so-called intelligence bureau’s trick?
No sound. Beatrix Adler is not an easygoing person enough to play in the power struggle of such subordinates. At least from her point of view, it was not her purge, and a problem occurred that could not be crossed. Despite the ability of that competent orc!
“Assuming all of this is not your deception.”
Again, I believe that relationships bound by trust are stronger than relationships held back by fear.
“Feininger, I believe in your competence. You are a greeting recommended by Otto, a comrade and close friend whom I trust. In fact, you succeeded in the plot to get Beatrix to leave Brullin. I denied it earlier, but it was definitely a proof worth 10 million marks.”
“…… Yes, thank you.”
“The Ministry of Information said that the annual budget is worth 5 billion marks. But you begged me for 10 million marks in cash even though you were in a position to handle that amount of money.”
Anton Feininger is competent. And be honest. He is a blue-and-white man who does not know corruption, befitting the person chosen by the guardian of the eastern front. So he begged me for 10 million marks in cash even though he was the general manager handling the budget of 5 billion marks.
“You are in a good position to embezzle public money, but you have not touched it. He was in a good position to abuse his power, but he did not use it carelessly.”
If it’s natural, it’s a natural fact. Otherwise, there is no reason to stay away from the wealth and glory in front of you and join us.
“You must have been an extremely poor official.”
And the problem arose from there.
“You and your subordinates, who didn’t like Beatrix’s way of governing, would have heard about me from Otto and thought it was an opportunity.”
“That’s right.”
“Certainly, one million marks is a large amount of money, but it is a reasonable amount to spend to evacuate dozens of your relatives abroad.”
“It is as you said.”
“However, what would happen if the head of the Ministry of Information swindled more than one or two people out of the country? The SS Intelligence Agency, which has been waiting for your mistakes, will turn on the light in their eyes and rush at you. The back story is obvious.”
So Feininger needed a million marks.
“You told me that there is an infiltrator among the employees of the official residence. It even went so far as to specify that it was a disquieting organization. How did you know that information? Where did you come across it?”
“I cannot tell you.”
“No need to say. Because you already know You would have acted immediately upon receiving Otto’s offer. Maybe there was a firm trust between the two of you like me and that guy from the beginning.”
The important thing in this story is not the three of them. Are their relatives. Relatives of the army intelligence officers Feininger and his henchmen risked their lives to steal!
“One day, a sick bastard of the SS said that. I mean my eyes and ears are all over the place. So, don’t think about it, and just stay quietly in the official residence.”
Those were Heinrich’s words.
“I have always been curious. Where the hell do your secret agents or the SS intelligence police get all that information from? Of course, you’ll have to dispatch your own operatives as well. But wouldn’t it be better to use sub-organizations or subcontracts that are better to expand than that? I think so. It will be cheaper and easier that way.”
“It is as you say.”
“Okay, then we can add confidence to these assumptions. Anton Feininger and his intelligence agents enlisted the help of some subsystem to get my family out of the country. That organization is also in line with the disquieting organization you mentioned earlier, and they demanded a reward of one million marks for this job.”
That must be the reason for the amount he asked me through Otto.
“You would have accepted the terms and sent your family. They must have decorated the traces that they would have sacrificed in an accident. If such incidents happen simultaneously, it would be too arbitrary, so I would have borrowed the power of the organization once again.”
I presented my acting in a rather exaggerated tone.
“Like this.”
Like an actor who plays the lead role in a play.
“Ah, Your Excellency Adler! The identity of an intelligence agent has been leaked, and the restless have taken my family hostage! It’s threatening! But sir, please take a look! That we did not agree to a deal with the scoundrel! Although I lost loved ones in return, I will remain loyal to my country until the day I die…… !”
It is a well-constructed scenario that the propaganda minister will shed tears when he sees it. With a little luck, he could have become a trusted tycoon in both the army and the SS.
“But now that I think about it, it’s disappointing from the organization’s point of view. It’s not that he didn’t have his bullet canister ready, but he’s still that Beatrix Adler. He must have felt unprofitable after working for only a million marks.”
“…….”
“You must have suddenly raised the price, right? The family took them hostage and stole them somewhere. It’s really something a lamb would do. Not to mention it further enhances the connection with the disturbing organization you mentioned.”
Feininger was still silent. But Franz unknowingly had a hearty smile on his face, and Hartmut let out a breath while sweeping his chest.
“By the way, I am a wizard.”
It’s only 2 pieces at most, but that’s it.
“Even if your knowledge isn’t that deep, you’re quite good at the theory. That’s why I’ve narrowed down the magic that you’re likely to have hit on my hands.”
“May I ask why you’re so sure we have such a spell?”
“Because it makes no sense. Without any means of controlling each other, how can a country’s intelligence agency and a disquieting organization enter into a subcontract?”
In addition, 10 million marks is insignificant compared to the budget handled by the Ministry of Information, but it is an amount that has no way to go unnoticed to be siphoned off in a hurry. Moreover, in the middle of this moment when the SS Information Bureau is awake.
“Ten million marks and the price of your life.”
Relatives and a disturbing organization.
“And even the magic that restricts words and actions.”
Considering all the results, there is only one answer.
“Fininger.”
“Yes.”
Otto’s eyes for seeing people were accurate.
“You must have tried to turn things around by persuading your henchmen to save your family first. I would have used this crisis as a stage to test my abilities. That’s how I was trying to get out of this crisis.”
Feininger had no answer. But he didn’t have to take my story any longer.
“I appreciate your hard work. Thank you for trusting me too. I will save you in return.”
It was time to lift the veil.
“You know how.”
“…… At last, a ray of light shines through the dark future of Bernhardt.”
So, Anton Feininger, Franz Rosenkrantz, and Hartmut Heinz unbuttoned the buttons of my suits one by one.
“The weather is pretty hot.”
Finally, they took off their tops and exposed their lower bodies.
“I know it’s not polite, but please forgive me.”
I could see magical tattoos on their bodies.
“Okay…….”
That magic tattoo that is used to restrict words and actions!
