The information had arrived with alarming urgency.
Even an ordinary civilian could tell at a glance that these were critical matters, so the moment the reports came in, the relevant officials stayed awake through the night, discussing how they might bring the situation under control.
Naturally, there was no possibility of reaching an easy conclusion.
While everyone was groaning and agonizing over what to do, another report arrived.
Strange rumors had suddenly begun circulating throughout the capital.
“What kind of bullshit is this?! Even we only received this information recently—”
The Director of the Intelligence Bureau was about to roar when an agent handed him one of the notices being distributed throughout the capital.
The wording looked strangely familiar.
「The Reason the Southern Rebels Infiltrated the Central Region!」
The notice displayed the sentence in enormous letters, as though it were about to reveal some earth-shattering secret.
One glance was enough to tell that those rebel bastards were responsible.
“Have these lunatics lost their minds and decided they want to die?!”
The Director of the Intelligence Bureau flew into a towering rage, but an organization incapable of bringing the central factions under control had no hope of suppressing the rebels.
It had already been nearly three years since the matter was handed to the Southern Army with instructions to deal with them.
At this point, the situation was practically beyond saving.
Under such circumstances, if the rebels had infiltrated quietly, the Intelligence Bureau might have simply pretended not to notice.
Instead, those bastards had posted notices throughout the capital as though deliberately provoking them, openly announcing, ‘We have infiltrated the Central Region!’
Worse still, they had somehow learned about the urgent report received by the Intelligence Bureau and had included rumors that trouble had broken out in the east.
By now, the news must already have reached the nobles’ ears.
“This is serious! There are calls for you to appear before the Noble Council, Director!”
The Director of the Intelligence Bureau bit his lip as though the inevitable had finally arrived.
As proof of the severity of the matter, even the factions that had been locked in a contest of wills immediately gathered in the central district to discuss it.
However, what could they possibly accomplish when they possessed almost no reliable information?
Until the Director of the Intelligence Bureau arrived, they merely exchanged pointless arguments among themselves.
The moment he entered, however, those arguments ended.
Instead, as though they had never been fighting one another, everyone united to verbally beat him senseless.
“What in the world has the Intelligence Bureau been doing while matters deteriorated this far?!”
“You take every last coin of your budget, yet you could not detect even something like this in advance?”
“The situation in the east occurred suddenly, so that much is understandable! But what were you doing while the rebels infiltrated the Central Region?!”
The leaders of the various factions seized the opportunity to hound the Director of the Intelligence Bureau.
The other nobles also began subtly criticizing and mocking his incompetence.
How much had they suffered at his hands over the years?
A mere bureau director had dared to use information as a weapon and repeatedly threaten high-ranking nobles.
Several nobles had even been attacked by unidentified forces and lost a considerable portion of their influence.
Everyone who possessed any insight knew that the Intelligence Bureau had been behind those incidents.
This was their opportunity to vent all the resentment they had accumulated toward its Director.
‘Let us see whether you survive today!’
With thoughts like those, the nobles found fault with even the most insignificant details.
After serving as their punching bag and enduring their verbal abuse, Grinnell finally returned to the Intelligence Bureau.
Perhaps being insulted by pieces of trash who ordinarily could not even meet his gaze had pushed him beyond his limit.
Consumed by deep fury, he slammed his hand down on his desk.
BANG!
“Why did this have to happen now?!”
The Director of the Intelligence Bureau stared at the letters from the south and east with an expression of utter incomprehension.
For a moment, he wondered whether the two sides had coordinated their actions, but that did not appear to be the case.
The Ropec Empire had suddenly begun moving in the east because problems were erupting throughout its territory and it needed to calm its internal chaos.
The southern rebels, meanwhile, intended to exploit the disorder in the capital.
Was it merely a coincidence?
Upon closer inspection, it clearly was not.
Both sides had seen that Herse’s central politics were descending into chaos and decided to take advantage of it.
‘It will not be easy to send reinforcements east in the current situation.’
Which faction would willingly weaken its own forces to support the east under these circumstances?
Furthermore, once Unit 06 was discharged and the capital descended into a complete mess, it would become the perfect opportunity for the rebels to infiltrate.
The capital was already a disaster, yet it now seemed destined to become even worse.
“This is driving me insane.”
The Director of the Intelligence Bureau released a deep sigh as he looked at the mountain of documents covering his desk once again.
The problem was that even more documents would soon arrive.
Still, there was one source of comfort.
He would not be the only one suffering.
The other ministries would also be forced to work day and night.
Of course….
“Those bastards are probably enjoying another peaceful day.”
The Director of the Intelligence Bureau ground his teeth as he thought of Unit 06.
His stomach began burning as though he had developed gastritis again, making Grinnell grimace.
Just as he predicted, Unit 06 was peaceful that day as well.
Ordinarily, even soldiers awaiting discharge would at least be ordered to patrol the surrounding area.
Unit 06 had not even been assigned that much.
Once Kyle and the members of Unit 06 had been officially approved for discharge, they were excluded from every mission.
More precisely, the higher-ups wanted them to remain inside the base and refrain from going anywhere.
As long as Unit 06 remained there, the factions could not recklessly enter the base and loot its contents.
Some people considered sending thieves inside, but their superiors stopped them.
‘These are men who exterminated even high-ranking assassins. Provoking them unnecessarily will only make matters worse.’
‘What if we poke the hornet’s nest and they decide to destroy only our faction? Do not make a move under any circumstances!’
Everyone shared similar thoughts and therefore refrained from provoking Unit 06.
Thanks to that, its members had nothing to do.
That was acceptable for a day or two, but as it continued, they began feeling somewhat bored.
“Hmm… Have I relaxed too much? I am getting a little bored.”
“Is being bored not still better than the alternative?”
Kyle nodded at Coutinho, who was playing chess beside him, as though nothing more needed to be said.
Even boredom was better than being worked to the bone.
“Still, I suppose we should begin preparing for our discharge.”
Less than a week remained until their scheduled discharge date.
Since they would have to leave the capital immediately afterward, there was a considerable amount to prepare.
First, they had to decide what to do with the classified documents inside the base.
They also needed to handle everything Unit 06 had accumulated while cleaning up after others over the years.
“Hide them well enough to make those bastards suffer.”
“Yes, sir.”
Coutinho answered with a smile.
The other two Battalion Commanders were also smiling.
They had no intention of gathering every classified document inside the base where their enemies could easily devour them.
Several crucial documents had already been hidden outside.
Only clues would be left inside the base.
Even those clues would be arranged so that anyone searching for them would have to go around in circles several times before finally reaching the truth.
‘Have a taste of your own medicine.’
Kyle and the Battalion Commanders laughed wickedly, determined to make the others pay dearly for all the hardship they had inflicted upon Unit 06.
That was not the only matter requiring preparation.
“As I said before, we will head south first. There may be people who try to cause trouble along the way.”
The west was the freest region on the continent.
There were autonomous territories that had practically declared independence from the Empire, as well as several neutral countries.
Despite that, Kyle had chosen the south.
The west’s freedom had attracted all kinds of factions, including numerous revolutionary forces that sought to overthrow the rotten Empire.
Becoming involved with them would only create more trouble.
Naturally, that did not mean the south was safe.
There was a pro-Ropec bloc.
There was also a pro-Herse bloc.
The two sides were divided and engaged in a vicious struggle resembling a proxy war.
However, there was also one country that maintained absolute neutrality between them.
Why did the other nations leave that country alone while it comfortably reaped the benefits?
It was because nobles from every country had secretly hidden enormous slush funds there.
What would happen if Weiden, the neutral country in the south, were plundered?
Countless nobles would be ruined along with it.
This was not limited to one or two countries.
Nearly every neighboring nation was in the same position, so all sides tacitly declared, ‘That place is neutral territory!’ and carefully avoided it while fighting.
For that reason, Kyle’s destination was Weiden.
“Once we reach Weiden, they will not be able to touch us easily.”
“Hmm… Would another continent not be safer?”
Kyle firmly shook his head at Coutinho’s suggestion.
“Herse will have intelligence agents on the other continents as well. They could make deals with local forces and continue harassing us.”
Even if they traveled far away, matters would ultimately become troublesome again unless they intended to live in hiding.
In that case, it would be better to settle somewhere not too far from the Empire.
From there, they could continually remind the Empire that Unit 06 might still possess information capable of harming it.
The rebels, foreign powers, and even the enemy Ropec Empire.
The mere possibility that the information in Kyle’s possession might reach any of those forces would make the Empire hesitate to provoke them.
Unless they intended to take control of some territory and live like kings, Weiden should be a reasonably pleasant place to settle.
Even so, there was still a great deal to prepare.
“The Intelligence Bureau has prepared identification documents that will allow us to cross the border and enter any country in the south, but… we will only use them until we reach the southern region.”
How could they trust anything prepared by the Intelligence Bureau enough to keep using it indefinitely?
Once they reached the south, they would discard those documents and assume the new identities they had secretly prepared themselves.
“Now! Keep all of that in mind and begin your preparations!”
“Yes, sir!”
The Battalion Commanders began moving the moment Kyle issued his order.
“All right! You have rested long enough. It is time to work.”
“Get up!”
“Do none of you want to be discharged?!”
The unit members began rising one or two at a time as the Battalion Commanders hounded them.
Nothing was more irritating than being disturbed while resting.
Even so, the soldiers did not appear displeased.
Perhaps they instinctively sensed that the time had finally come, because the corners of their mouths were curling upward instead.
“The time has come. Everyone, proceed according to the plan!”
The moment Coutinho issued the command, the soldiers scattered toward their assigned areas as though they had been waiting for that exact moment.
Large-scale construction work immediately began throughout the base.
At the same time, the soldiers who had spent the entire day confined within Unit 06 began dispersing throughout the capital.
The already overworked Intelligence Bureau agents became even busier.
“Watch those bastards and find out what they are doing!”
The Director of the Intelligence Bureau developed another headache when Unit 06, which had remained quiet until now, suddenly began moving.
He had no idea why those bastards had decided to act at this particular moment.
“Are they telling us to suffer until the very end?!”
Grinnell muttered through clenched teeth.
However, there was nothing he could do.
He could only hope that Unit 06’s discharge day arrived as quickly as possible.
“At least this part is satisfying.”
Grinnell smiled contentedly as he looked at a report stating that the private troops of the capital’s noble houses were wandering all over the city.
The higher-ups who received those reports would also be suffering from headaches.
Grinnell smiled at the thought that he was not the only one being tormented, then gritted his teeth again.
‘It is only a few more days!’
He clenched his fists and muttered to himself.
“Just endure a little longer.”
With that thought, Grinnell took out some headache medicine and swallowed it.
Just like the Intelligence Bureau, the nobles of each faction received their subordinates’ reports with pained expressions.
Why was Unit 06 suddenly moving so busily at this point?
It was not difficult to understand.
“They are warning us not to touch them.”
The head of one noble house pressed a hand against his throbbing head and released a sigh.
Unit 06 was telling them not to provoke its members after their discharge and to occupy themselves by searching for the documents scattered throughout the capital instead.
The problem was that rumors had already spread among the ordinary citizens, making the situation even more chaotic.
The capital’s residents waited for Unit 06’s discharge day as though a countdown had begun toward the detonation of an enormous bomb.
“I feel like a performing dog in a circus.”
The head of one household muttered the complaint under his breath.
Just as he said, the discharge date of a single military unit had become so infamous that virtually everyone in the capital knew about it.
Despite the chaos both within and beyond the Empire, time continued to pass without interruption.
At last, the long-awaited day of Unit 06’s discharge arrived.