51
While Considering Everything
The Director stared at my face intently.
Her face seemed to be saying, “Spit it out through your open mouth.”
But of course, I had nothing to say. If I were to say something careless to the Director of all people, ah, I might want to write my resignation letter tomorrow.
As I endured her well-honed gaze, I suddenly felt admiration for that Kanuing bastard who was trampled in front of everyone, endured Volkari’s abuse for half a year, and then resigned due to panic disorder, depression, and whatnot. He endured for half a year? What a tough guy. He seems to be of a different breed than me, who grew up delicately under the priest.
As I hesitated, Sebastian came to my side and embraced me. Then he smiled brightly.
“It’s been a while, Director.”
“Hello, Mr. Riegel. It’s very… refreshing and pleasant to see you here.”
“Ah, being refreshing is always good, isn’t it?”
The Director couldn’t blame Sebastian. But she was clearly displeased with the situation and put a barb in her words, which Riegel smoothly deflected. However, the Director’s face didn’t crumble at all.
“Of course. Although maintaining freshness always requires someone’s effort or sacrifice,”
The smile disappeared from the Director’s face in an instant. She glared at me for about a second before turning back to Sebastian with a wide smile.
“That’s necessary, isn’t it?”
Sebastian didn’t bother to add to that. Instead, he offered his seat.
“Would you like to sit?”
I could see the Director was about to refuse. And I felt deeply grateful for her refusal. No, sitting together? What employee wants to sit with their boss?! There’s no such employee anywhere in the world…
As I thought this, I noticed the four goldfish poop people who had followed us to the next table, eating like possessed people and even interfering in our conversation. Four people who liked sitting with the boss and even chirped in on the boss’s date. Right, there are four of them. Right in front of me.
“No, it’s fine. I just came here for a quick errand.”
“Isn’t that errand me? You must have come knowing everything, so please sit. We clearly know what’s going on, so why pretend otherwise?”
Sebastian said. Wondering what he meant, I turned to look at him, and he shrugged.
“The owner here is from the Security Bureau, isn’t he?”
My eyes widened.
What are you talking about? Why would the owner here be from the Security Bureau? He’s not. He has nothing to do with the Security Bureau…
Click, I heard the sound of the door locking. When I turned around, the owner had already locked the door. The restaurant was small with only four tables, and the surrounding customers had already stood up from their seats. They hadn’t drawn their guns, but they had clearly taken defensive postures.
So…
“Are all the people here now Security Bureau agents?”
“Wow, how did you work at the Security Bureau with that level of awareness?”
The youngest muttered. Shouldn’t someone with that level of awareness not even be hired by the Security Bureau? He looked genuinely curious, and the second goldfish poop opened a new beer bottle. Poop―. The sound of the beer bottle cap opening was refreshingly clear amidst all this. Before putting the bottle to his mouth, the second one answered the youngest.
“Someone like Armin Schnieke is useful.”
Then the third also looked at the second with a puzzled expression, but the answer came from Kouri.
“With that level of combat ability, when he’s at the bottom, you attach him to a perceptive superior and let him advance moderately, and when he’s promoted, you attach a perceptive subordinate to him. These days, all the S-class guys are moving to PMCs (Private Military Companies), so you have to use non-standard ones like him no matter what.”
What are they saying…
Come to think of it, I wasn’t the one who planned our team’s operations. Of course, the operations themselves came from above, but detailed operational plans had to be made too, and that was always done by Jay or Walter. I just moved as they wanted and filled in the gaps in the operations. I thought that was because our teamwork was good all this time?
What, was it because I was stupid?
When I looked at the Director, she clicked her tongue. Volkari, who was standing a step or two behind the Director, raised her hand slightly, and the tense atmosphere disappeared instantly. The people sitting at the tables sat down again as if nothing had happened and started talking to each other while eating. As if we weren’t there.
Click, I heard the door open again.
The owner, who had reopened the entrance, approached us and asked the Director, “So, will you be joining us?”
“No, I’ll just take one Sieranka to go,”
Sebastian cut off the Director’s words about taking just one spicy and salty soup to go, with a fresh face.
“Please sit down. I heard you two are getting married soon, so I’ll lend you my hotel for free as it’s a joyous occasion for my fiancé’s superiors.”
Two people? Superiors’ joyous occasion? Superiors? As far as I know, Andrea Dill is single. I thought she probably wouldn’t get married. Not only because of her age in her 50s, but she’s still an elite racing full speed on the path to success. There are times when marriage helps with advancement and times when it doesn’t, and I heard that Andrea had already risen to the position of Security Bureau Director while enduring the disadvantages of being single, so from here on, marriage would rather become a weakness.
I forgot who told me this story. Maybe it was Walter? Andrea Dill is Walter’s ideal type. Walter’s dream is to meet a woman who is perfect like her but also a masochist, which in my opinion was clearly a dream he could never achieve in his lifetime. Anyway, for that reason, Walter was always very interested in Andrea Dill, so it’s likely that Walter told me. In any case, in terms of external aspects, Andrea Dill is Walter’s perfect Madonna.
Yes, I should think like this. I should think about anything. Superiors, he says. Two people, he says. I didn’t want to think specifically about who those two people were. But my desperate attempt was scattered like sand along with the screams of the two tables of Security Bureau employees pretending to chat:
“No waaaaay―.”
One of the men stood up abruptly and asked, pointing his finger:
“Is it true that the Section Chief and the Director are engaged?!”
The Director was no longer smiling. She was glaring at Sebastian with an annoyed face, and Sebastian was happily receiving that expression. It was clear that Sebastian was also annoyed about something. He was looking triumphant at the Director’s displeased face, as if saying, ‘This is how you should react.’
“Then the Director pulling the Section Chief up the ranks is…!”
People think that Security Bureau agents are cold and intellectual, but this is just a world where people live and a normal workplace.
It turns out the Director is a homosexual. The Section Chief is also a homosexual. They’re dating and even about to get married.
Rotman is quite a conservative society, but in the workplace, it’s much more important to determine ‘Is this person receiving special treatment?’ than such things. Honestly, whether they’re homosexual or into SM doesn’t affect me, so whatever.
But the bastard who pointed his finger chose the wrong day, time, and place. It seems he had been feeling somewhat inferior to Volkari’s continuous success, but to burst out like that in front of the Director, and to claim that the Director was giving ‘special treatment’, is not good. Especially when he himself has lost his cool.
Pak―.
A knife stuck into the wall behind the guy who had pointed his finger. And a long red line appeared on his cheek, then blood trickled down.
“What, you bastard?”
Volkari asked with gleaming eyes. Considering that the knife stuck in the wall was an ordinary table knife, Volkari is thinking of slitting this bastard’s throat.
The Director’s fierce gaze fell on me. Your boyfriend did this, didn’t he? Stop him right now! That’s what her eyes were saying.
Ah, shit. I shouldn’t have come here. Don’t be manipulated by emotions! After learning that for so long!
I stepped in front of Volkari as if to block her. Eyes shining with killing intent turned towards me.
“You’re next. Get lost.”
Ah, so I even have my turn.
Ahhh, my spine is bending, bending. Just as I was about to say something, Sebastian pulled me and sat me down next to him. Then he calmly set up my glass, bowl, and cutlery that were across from me in front of me. Then he sat in his seat and waved his hand.
“Sit down.”
The Director and Volkari glared at him simultaneously as if they wanted to kill him, but he was relaxed. His eyes eventually moved to the owner standing next to the Director.
“Don’t pack it, just bring it here. And I’ll rent this place for today. Close the door.”
“That’s a bit…”
“I’ll pay a million Lid just for the rental fee. Food charges separate. How about it?”
I wasn’t surprised. This is Sebastian who paid 2.2 million Lid for a bottle of alcohol. That amount of money probably doesn’t mean much to Sebastian. But it clearly meant something to the owner, as he scuttled past the Director who was staring at him intently, opened the store door, and flipped the Open sign to Closed.
In the end, my two superiors who had been outed sat down across from us, grinding their teeth.
“Mr. Riegel, you know that outing someone is a crime, right?”
“It seems like nothing compared to what you’re doing. You’re surveilling and monitoring my fiancé, aren’t you?”
It would be difficult to deny it now that it’s been exposed like this. The Director frowned. Only then could I understand that Sebastian was angry because of me.
“You dragged Armin into this. But you didn’t share the details with him. So now he’s confused, desperate, and still trying. Just as you puppet him along. So what’s at the end of that road? Canaris?”
I had intended to ask Sebastian about the situation and hear his opinion, but I didn’t expect the scale to be this big. Suddenly, I wondered if he had foreseen this situation from the beginning. Is that why he suggested going to my favorite restaurant?
When I thought, ‘I could have mentioned a different restaurant,’ I realized I only had one favorite restaurant here. Originally, I’m from Romberg and only moved to Lumaier after I was accepted into the Security Bureau. Since becoming a Security Bureau agent, I’ve been on constant business trips, so I didn’t have any other restaurant I could call my favorite besides this one.
He might have investigated my background. That’s natural. I’ve also investigated his background, and I’ve been in this industry too long to feel upset or betrayed by such things.
Rather, I was grateful. Even though he had investigated, he waited as if he didn’t know until I spoke, and gave me what I needed most. That’s a very difficult thing to do. Especially for someone who considers everything like this.
