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Translator: Vine
Chapter Title: Remember the Hero's Death
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Remember the Hero's Death
While Lucy was being honest with her own heart, Daniel was enjoying a leisurely time at a cocktail bar recommended by his client, Leff.
"I honestly thought you'd gone completely mad back then!"
Leff, sitting at the bar table, spoke, unable to hide his excitement.
"Seeing you go all-in with a no-pair hand, I suddenly thought, 'Is this madman playing games with my money?' But it turned out I was worried for nothing. To think a trash hand would turn into a Royal Straight Flush in the blink of an eye!"
Ahahaha! Tears welled up in Leff's eyes as he burst into laughter.
"The crowning glory was seeing that scammer bastard too scared to utter a single rebuttal. What an idiot. It felt so refreshing. Like a decade of pent-up frustration just vanished!"
Leff pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped away the tears from laughing.
"Haa. Honestly, living in this cesspool of a place, there's never anything fun happening. Thanks to you, I've had a good laugh for the first time in ages. At first, I thought you were some crazy person, but I'm glad I hired you."
Daniel, who had been listening to the story from the seat next to Leff, offered a faint smile.
"I'm glad you're satisfied."
Leff, looking at Daniel meaningfully, narrowed his eyes.
"…But it's strange. There's no way I wouldn't know a skilled player like you. You know, you don't seem like a local from Tentarbaham. Am I right?"
"Your guess is correct. I am an outsider."
"Just as I thought. Anyone with skin as fair as yours here is either a noble or an outsider. Noble bastards usually have no manners, but you seem to possess them, so I figured you were an outsider."
Daniel, thinking Leff would now ask where he was from, prepared a fake hometown and an excuse, but Leff didn't seem particularly interested in that.
"So, can you tell me a bit about your past?"
What Leff was curious about wasn't Daniel's identity, but his past.
"I love hearing stories from outsiders, you know. Listening to all sorts of varied tales makes me feel like I'm traveling. So, why exactly did you come to this cesspool?"
To tell the truth, he had been dispatched as a Bellanos diplomatic envoy and was torpedoed while on board a diplomatic vessel, but there was no way he could say that out loud.
Yet, remaining silent would invite suspicion, so Daniel decided to state the fundamental reason for his arrival here.
"I can't go into detail, but to give you a fragmented reason, you could say I ran away because the women in my homeland were terrifying."
"Women?"
Did he get caught cheating like some Casanova? As Leff's eyes sparkled with interest, Daniel said self-deprecatingly.
"There were three women. One who tried to kill me, one who tried to use me, and one who seemed a bit… unhinged, who blindly trusted me. I felt so suffocated I simply couldn't live."
Three of them? Leff's eyes widened in surprise.
"…You were really a bad guy, weren't you?"
What was he talking about? Daniel blinked blankly and retorted.
"A bad guy? Did you even hear what I said properly? They tried to kill or use me."
"Are you an idiot? What woman in the world would try to kill or use a man she has no interest in? They basically had an interest in you, that's how they expressed their affection."
"No…"
Daniel was about to explain the detailed situation, feeling that Leff was misunderstanding something, but he stopped himself.
He didn't have the confidence to convince a tomboyish young lady who seemed to have learned about romance solely from novels.
As Daniel shook his head, the bartender approached and handed him a cocktail.
"Sorry for the wait. Your Bloody Mary."
The cocktail in the tall, slender glass was a vibrant red.
Perhaps because it was a tomato-based cocktail, the color was very rich.
Daniel gazed silently at the cocktail he had received and naturally thought of Lucy.
His adjutant, who had eyes even redder and more beautiful than this cocktail.
'She must have heard the news about the ship being sunk by now...'
What kind of reaction would Lucy show when she heard that news?
'She'd probably be happy, wouldn't she?'
Her assassination target was dead, so she wouldn't be sad.
Unless she felt guilty, that is.
'Besides...'
If the Alliance truly sank the ship, then Lucy must have known about it in advance too.
'There's no way they would have proceeded without informing Lucy. In that case...'
Was even her promise to eat stollen together for Christmas all an act?
Thinking that, a bitter smile formed on his face for some reason.
Leff, watching Daniel from beside him, felt his heart pound.
Gazing at the cocktail with a wistful smile, he looked exactly like someone longing for a lost lover.
'What kind of story does he have?'
For Leff, whose only pleasure was listening to the stories of outsiders, Daniel's current appearance was enough to pique his interest.
"Hey. Your name was Revelard, right?"
Called by his alias, Daniel naturally nodded.
"That's right."
"Good. I've become interested in you, so why don't you come to my mansion? I'd like to treat you to a meal. And hear more of your story at the same time."
"I appreciate the offer, but it's fine."
It was an immediate refusal.
"It's my principle not to form personal connections with clients. So, it would be best if we returned to being strangers after I leave this place..."
"Didn't you say you needed money?"
At the mention of money, Daniel's mouth closed.
Indeed, the money he had received now wouldn't be nearly enough to change his identity and open a bakery.
Leff, who had targeted Daniel's poor financial state, gave a playful smile.
"If you accept my invitation, I can give you much more money than you've received now. And I'm not asking you to come right away. I'll formally invite you in a few days, so come then. Isn't this a deal with no loss, only gain? Are you still going to refuse?"
"Of course..."
After a brief pause, Daniel looked at Leff.
"I will accept the invitation."
It was too much money to refuse.
*
The next morning.
Southern Empire, Grand Cathedral of Glorious Holy Fire.
"Did you hear the news? They say the diplomatic vessel was sunk."
"Could it be the Alliance's doing? Even if it's wartime, civilians..."
The congregants gathered in the grand sanctuary murmured about the recent ship sinking incident.
Prien, sitting in the front row of the sanctuary, let the congregants' murmurs wash over her.
No, to be precise, she was not in a mental state to pay attention to their words.
'Why?'
Why, out of all people, did Daniel Steiner have to die?
'Why?'
Why did God not protect Daniel Steiner?
'Why?'
Why did God even take away my chance to be martyred in Daniel Steiner's place?
Prien's eyes, continuously questioning herself, were hollow.
And her usually lustrous light brown hair was dry and disheveled.
This was the result of her continuous self-torment, not eating or sleeping since hearing the news that the vessel Daniel Steiner was on had been sunk.
'Why?'
As Prien once again questioned herself, Bellaf, Prien's father and the head pastor, ascended the church pulpit.
He tapped the microphone and then looked around at the many people gathered in the grand cathedral.
"Ah, brothers and sisters. I express my gratitude on behalf of God for gracing us with your presence, seeking peace of mind in these difficult and trying times. And I also express my gratitude to my daughter, who graduated early from the academy and brought honor to the name of our Grand Cathedral of Glorious Holy Fire."
Her father's benevolent voice echoed throughout the grand cathedral, but Prien paid no attention.
Her mind was entirely consumed by thoughts of Daniel Steiner's death.
"Praying for the Empire's decisive victory, and before we formally begin the service, my daughter will deliver an address. Prien?"
Prien did not raise her head.
Bellaf, finding this awkward, cleared his throat and spoke again.
"Prien Remiliart!"
Startled by the reprimand, Prien raised her head and looked at her father.
Bellaf looked down at Prien with a displeased gaze before gesturing for her to come up.
Only then did Prien recall why she was here.
Academy graduates receive a short leave before their unit assignment.
Prien, as an early graduate, was no exception, so she had returned home on leave.
Seeing Prien, Bellaf had requested her to deliver an address before the service.
It was to elevate the family's prestige and enhance the church's dignity.
"Yes..."
Prien, led by her father's ambition, rose from her seat and walked.
As she ascended the stairs and walked to the pulpit, Bellaf moved aside.
Standing before the pulpit, Prien found the address placed on the pulpit desk.
It was an address written by Bellaf, not Prien.
Prien let out a hollow laugh as she saw the content of the address, placed as if to be read verbatim.
The address contained numerous phrases like, 'I was born with dark mana and lived a life no different from a demon.'
At the end of the sentences, a long-winded discourse was written about repenting and being saved through the church's teachings.
'Don't make me laugh.'
Prien had been saved not by the church's teachings, but by Daniel Steiner.
The very foundation of Prien's faith was not the church's teachings, but Daniel Steiner himself.
Prien bit her lip hard in anger, then picked up the address and tossed it aside.
As the address scattered and fell to the floor, both Bellaf and the congregants looked surprised.
Prien, taking in the congregants with her eyes, slowly opened her mouth.
"...I felt countless injustices throughout my life."
Her voice, amplified by the microphone, reached the very back of the grand cathedral.
"Simply because I was born with dark mana, I received all sorts of criticism and abuse. Even the clergy, known to be the most merciful, considered me lowly."
"What...!"
A flustered Bellaf tried to remove Prien, but Prien glared fiercely at her approaching father.
As Bellaf faltered, cowed by her imposing aura, Prien raised her head and looked straight ahead.
"But Lieutenant Colonel Daniel was different! He didn't shun me because my mana was dark! Instead, he embraced me closely and told me that my ability was a blessing!"
Prien's voice gradually began to gain strength.
"And that's not all! Do you, congregants, remember Acts 10:34? That God's grace is equally given to all peoples and races! In that regard, Lieutenant Colonel Daniel spread God's teachings beyond borders by abolishing racial discrimination in Nordia!"
Prien raised her hand and gripped the pulpit.
"Furthermore, in the Northern War, where countless sacrifices could have occurred, Lieutenant Colonel Daniel brought an early end to the war with the Kingdom through negotiation. Think of the countless lives saved because of that!"
Prien closed her eyes and sobbed mournfully.
"Ah. He was a saint. To me, and to all, he was nothing short of a saint. And the children of Satan took the life of such an innocent man. Who could that be?"
Some of the congregants who had been listening shouted.
— The Alliance!
Hearing that, Prien slowly opened her eyes.
"Yes. If not the Alliance, no demon exists that would attack our saint! So, what should we do? Should we simply stand by and watch the atrocities of these demons?"
Prien shook her head.
"No! Those who condone evil are no different from demons themselves! We must widely publicize the demons' misdeeds and ensure that Daniel Steiner's death, the hero's death, is not in vain! That must be God's will!"
Nods of agreement and murmurs flowed from various places.
"God does not give us trials we cannot bear. Therefore...!"
Prien tightened her grip on the pulpit and raised her voice.
"It is time to act according to Lieutenant Colonel Daniel's words! I dare to speak to you, congregants, on behalf of God. The meaning of the saint's death is one! It is...!"
Fierce anger began to fill Prien's hollow eyes.
"Holy War!"
The resonance of the word "Holy War" made the congregants rise one by one.
Their anger towards the Alliance was already surging, and Prien's words became the spark that ignited their resolve.
"Brothers and sisters! Children of God! We will never forget the death of Daniel Steiner! So rise up! We will surely rise and fight as one!"
Prien, passionately speaking before the massive cross, appeared almost sacred to the congregation.
Cheers resounded from various places, accompanied by applause.
Among them, some with more zealous temperaments, let out shouts that bordered on roars.
— Holy War!
— Unleash God's wrath upon the demons of the Alliance!
In a space where faith and anger intertwined, Prien clasped her hands and prayed devoutly.
'Although Lieutenant Colonel Daniel has left this world...'
I will surely carry on his will.