༺ A Road Flows Together With A Traveler – 1 ༻
The Military State was a nation of authoritarian control.
It was a compulsive country where roads and trains were meticulously monitored and guests were required to have their tickets checked one by one.
When a military vehicle destined for the wastelands entered the road, the guard on duty began to inspect it with a more suspicious gaze than ever.
If I were alone, I would have abandoned the vehicle in a secluded area and snuck onto a train or a regularly scheduled flight to go far away.
It wasn’t impossible.
But why endure the inconvenience?
To eat delicious bread, should I cultivate the land myself, set up a scarecrow, water it, and lovingly care for it until the wheat ripens into a golden color, then harvest it with tears in my eyes, brutally grind it, make flour, knead it carefully, and then bake it in an oven to eat deliciously?
If I was going to do all that, I might as well just buy it with money. This was the efficient use of the economic system and infrastructure created by humans.
In short…
“Captain! Salute. Please, go ahead!”
If I had a living ticket, it was practically an automatic pass. There was no need to go around the hard way.
Just one Captain in the driver’s seat was the end all be all. The guard didn’t even touch the passenger seat. Since the other party was a Captain, it was meaningless to check.
“Ah, how comfortable!”
I leaned back in my seat and exclaimed.
When I did so, Captain Abbey, a signaller of the Military State, frowned and muttered as she looked straight ahead.
“Don’t be too comfortable. Be aware of the position you hold.”
“A petty criminal released after serving his term, who is traveling back to the capital with a Captain of the Military State?”
“…That is why I did not restrain you.”
The Captain, still focusing on the road ahead, continued to speak.
“Do not forget. Although your workplace has disappeared, you are still suspected of being involved in a Starfall. The reason you’re not restrained now is that you’re traveling with me to Amitengrad. If you show any treacherous movements or try to escape midway, I will immediately arrest you.”
Captain Abbey, who lived the life of a golem, spoke stiffly even with a soft body.
Anyway, whatever. She’s free to do whatever she wants.
I stretched my legs in front of the vehicle and yawned lazily as I spoke.
“If so, you should have just handed me over to that guard earlier. I would have just been arrested.”
As I said this, I sneakily read her thoughts.
The answer that came to the Captain’s mind was as follows.
｢As a signaller, I must not reveal my mission or position outside of the [Windowless Room]. It is a rule for handling all kinds of confidential information. To hand over a prisoner, they need to listen to the situation, but that would require revealing my situation. A contradiction….｣
“…It is confidential.”
The Captain was tidying up information in her head but saying it was confidential out loud. Was that a characteristic of a signaller?
Anyway, it really was appealing to question her since she was so easy to read. As such, I couldn’t help but ask again.
“And why are you going all the way to Amitengrad? You could go to a nearby corps, couldn’t you? Or send a communication. Why is a signaller not sending signals?”
｢In the event of unavoidable damage to the [Windowless Room] or the need to leave it, all types of communication to that signaller are cut off due to the risk of information leakage. The same applies to me; contact with other signallers is prohibited.｣
The Windowless Room was similar to the huge twin gems used by Callis or Lieutenant General Ebon.
If a signaller’s room was damaged and exposed, a signal would go to the Military State and all signallers were immediately notified.
And to prevent further information leakage, all communication with that signaller was completely cut off. This was to prevent the possibility that the signaller had been captured as a prisoner of war by the Resistance or an enemy nation.
To restore this, one must return to the headquarters in Amitengrad within two weeks.
The Captain, recalling this information only in her mind, answered a beat later.
“…It is confidential.”
The way she organized her information was way too tidy for her to keep calling it ‘confidential’. I didn’t mean to, but I read it all, you know?
“It’s fine to say it’s confidential, but why do you keep pausing a beat?”
｢In order to avoid any possible information leaks, it’s better to maintain a consistent interval in all responses than to answer immediately. In extreme situations, even a short delay in response can become information.｣
“…It is confidential.”
What a model attitude. From the perspective of a Mind Reader, there couldn’t be a more convenient target. It was like finding a manual that thought up the explanations for me.
I read Captain Abbey with the curiosity of seeing a fascinating organism.
This was quite an intriguing book.
It was a kind of encyclopedia; filled with information that existed solely for the sake of passing through, with no correlation to each other. Moreover, there was no personal ‘life’, so the book itself sprawled haphazardly without a single thread.
The only things that existed were trivial, like the rules of a signaller or 99 Ways to Cook With Canned Food.
Other than that, the few memories were conversations shared with other signallers or glimpses from a golem’s perspective. The experiences that constituted oneself were extremely transparent.
Truly, the Military State was remarkable. They used people like they were parts.
｢Honestly, the moment I was caught by this man regarding the Windowless Room, I should have taken poison and committed suicide…. But this person saved me. I truly wonder why he did so.｣
What do you mean why? Obviously, for revenge.
I will take revenge on those who imprisoned me. My mind was solely filled with such thoughts.
And naturally, the Military State was included in those targets. As a petit bourgeois like me, my heart was far too narrow to forgive, even if the opponent was a country.
Moreover, especially keeping this woman, a signaller handling all kinds of confidential information of the Military State, close to me would surely yield useful information.
And maybe I could even persuade her to join my side.
｢…This man knows that I am a signaller. A deeply regrettable blunder. What…should I do?｣
Idle thoughts arose in the Captain’s mind. And those idle thoughts immediately manifested into results. The automaton carriage that should have followed the straight road began to shake wildly to both sides.
My leg, which I had placed in front of me, also banged left and right.
Ah, so this is why they say to sit properly in a car!
Hey, just drive straight! That’s all you need to do!
I grabbed the handle and screamed.
“Euaaaah! Drive properly!”
“……!”
“Honestly, it’s more scary when considering that this is the result of you not saying a word and concentrating! Move over, I’ll drive instead!”
“De…nied…! I am…in the middle of…escorting…! I will…hold…the steering wheel and…!”
“No, Please! I’ll go wherever you tell me to! Just let me drive! Stop right now!”
As I shouted, the Captain turned her head towards me.
“Did I hear wrong…? Did you say to step on the right pedal to stop?”
“That’s the accelerator! Okay, okay, sorry! I won’t disturb you, so just look ahead!”
After shaking and rattling, the steering wheel finally calmed down. I sighed in relief and sat up straight.
“Be honest. Is this your first time driving an automaton carriage?”
“Negative. I am familiar with controlling. Because golems also need to move sometimes, I have learned to operate various types of vehicles….”
When I read her thoughts, I found it wasn’t a lie. Why was this actually true?
“What? Really? Then just now, was that perhaps a psychological issue….”
“…with a golem’s body.”
“I suddenly feel anxious.”
In other words, it was all indirect experience, right? Doesn’t that just mean you can’t drive well with your real body?
Well, I mean…Since it’s a synchro type, if you move like a golem, I’m sure you’ll roughly know the sensation…
“There will be no problem even in an accident. Golems are simply retrieved and repaired.”
“This is our real bodies right now! Both you and I have blood flowing and warm bodies! If there’s an accident, we’ll really die, so go slower!”
Then, the Captain suddenly raised her head and shouted.
“Real…body? Ah, affirmative! I am currently in my original body! I am feeling dizzy from all the shaking!”
“Putting aside the fact that you are surprised as if you just realized, can you please not feel out your sense of reality by shaking the car?!”
Fortunately, the path was not too difficult to navigate and once this road ended, there would be no reason for me to experience the Captain’s terrible driving any longer. Why, you may ask?
One of the State’s Seven Major Inventions, the essence of civil engineering, and a miracle of Earth Art that became the Military State’s greatest achievement.
The Meta Conveyor Belt would be welcoming us, after all.
Thus, the Captain and I drove with our lives on the line until the road reached its end.
Land that flowed like a river. The Meta Conveyor Belt.
A wonder that would astonish anyone who set foot in the Military State for the first time, as well as a collection of civil engineering, Earth Art, and magical engineering. The Military State’s main artery.
In reality, it was a masterpiece made by grinding the blood, sweat, and tears of hundreds of thousands of people.
It sounded grand, but in essence, it was quite simple.
It was a giant conveyor belt that handled most of the Military State’s distribution, circulating through half of the country.
The entire land moved at a certain speed.
And that speed was faster than one might think, so much so that one could reach from one end to the other in just three days.
After crossing the Military State and reaching the coast, it inordinately turned around upwards and returned. On it, all kinds of cargo, luggage, and people were carried; they were dropped off where needed and picked up again, flowing grandly just as before.
It was akin to a giant bloodstream that circulated half the Military State.
The flowing land was nicknamed Terrastream by the Earth Sage. This ceaseless and massive flow sturdily and silently carried people and goods in one direction.
Meta Conveyor Belt Northeast Terminal.
The rapidly flowing tributary split into ten strands, slowing down to exactly one-tenth of its speed at this point.
A giant container followed the tributary towards one of the Terminals.
Cargo spotlights, detecting movement, shone on the container and a large crane with thick chains turned its head. Just the movement alone created a creaking noise in the distance; it truly was a device that was no different from a geographic feature.
Kugugugugung
The container on the Meta Conveyor Belt was fastened with chain hooks. The chains pulled in unison, gradually halting the giant container that flowed along the ground. The sound of friction against the earth could be heard. Simultaneously, the crane stretched out, lifting the heavy container.
The steel body of the crane jerked; the weight of the container was that immense.
However, massive rolly wheels, comparable to its size, turned backward with a harsh metallic sound, causing the chains and wires wrapped around them to screech as they were tightly pulled. The sound of the chains rubbing against each other was like thunder echoing.
Somewhere, the cargo that was heavily loaded and moved in the container thus reached the terminal and left the conveyor belt. The crane holding the container twisted to the other side. The sight of a building-sized container moving on chains was distinctly textured even in the darkness.
It was an overwhelming spectacle to behold.
Of course, that wasn’t the end.
“Hurry up and move!”
At the supervisor’s command, the laborers who had connected the chains to the container ran back along the belt, exhausted.
Those who had attached the chains to the flowing container now had to disassemble it and move the goods inside.
Delivery men with automaton carriages or ordinary horse-drawn carriages were lined up, waiting. They would take the unloaded cargo and deliver it to various places in the region.
This included places like factories or various facilities.
Such was the scene at various points of the terminal. Numerous laborers were needed to operate this giant distribution system. These people, who were likely captured from somewhere, moved busily with their fragile flesh and blood bodies between the steel-bodied devices and the flowing land.
If the Military State was steel, they were the lubricant.
Trapped between the cogwheels, they prevented damage and kept the main body running; they were the laborers of this harsh nation.
To board the Meta Conveyor Belt, whether it was cargo or a person, the destination must be precisely specified. Otherwise, it would keep circulating the Military State and disrupt the traffic.
However, the Captain, whose identity itself was confidential, gave out classified documents instead of speaking; thus, the person in charge was flustered and went to report to the superiors.
After a short while, the Captain and I were called to the Terminal Management Office.
“I am Colonel Kalparus, the head of the Northeast Terminal Management Office.”
A middle-aged man with a dignified beard called out to the Captain.
Suiting the Military State’s top facility, even the person in charge of the management office was not of ordinary status; it was a bona fide Colonel who had reached his position by his own strength, not just as an aide to a general.
Being the Northeast Terminal, which was no different from the borderlands, the person in charge was only a Colonel, but major cities’ terminals were guarded by generals. The Meta Conveyor Belt, the Military State’s main artery, was that important of a facility.
“Captain. A confidential operation, you said? You have the written directives, I’m sure?”
“They are here.”
After saluting, the Captain took out the directives from her pocket and handed them over. The Colonel read these with a stern face.
“A deadline of two weeks from the point of seal release. Four days have passed. Level 4 Security Clearance. Cooperation of the person in charge requested. Hm. Seems like one needs to be at least a general to know the contents. It’s truly inconvenient not having stars on your shoulder.”
Grumbling, the Colonel handed back the orders. The Captain respectfully received them with both hands and tucked them beneath her armpits while waiting for the Colonel’s words.
“Alright, I understand. I’ll grant permission for the ‘transfer’. It’s late today, so get the necessary equipment tomorrow.”
“Thank you, Colonel. However, my mission is urgent. Can’t I depart today?”
“The searchlights are there, but the terminal at night is dangerous. Two weeks isn’t that urgent, so take it easy for a day.”
The Colonel glanced at the wound on the Captain’s head and added.
“After all, you don’t seem to be in good shape either.”
With such consideration from the Colonel, the Captain couldn’t possibly refuse. Moreover, his words were not wrong.
At the terminal where ten tributaries merged into one, all sorts of accidents were bound to happen. For example, becoming minced meat caught in between containers that weren’t supposed to merge on the tributary. Or getting hung in the back of the neck by a chain hook.
If we wanted to travel safely, it was definitely better to do so during the day. I, who could not read the thoughts of inanimate objects, wholeheartedly agreed.
“…Thank you for your concern.”
As the Captain conceded, the Colonel’s gaze now turned towards me.
Unlike the Captain, who was neatly dressed in her uniform, I was in a crumpled shirt, looking like an unemployed bum.
The colonel narrowed his thick eyebrows.
“…So, who are you to join a confidential operation? Are you her lover or something?”
The Captain glared fiercely at this sudden remark.
｢Negative! This person is a suspect. I am only escorting him to Amitengrad!｣
However, she couldn’t explain this.
The duties and positions of the signaller were confidential. That was why they were nominally given the rank of Captain.
The fact that one was a signaller could only be revealed through communication. If she explained everything to the Colonel here, it would be a breach of confidentiality.
Moreover, my own crime was ambiguous.
｢…However, the crime has not yet been proven.｣
If I had the ability or intention to kill a General, would I obediently follow a Captain to the capital?
When just taking away the doubts, I was nothing more than an ordinary laborer, unable to work further due to my ‘overturned’ workplace.
…Phew. It’s a relief that the Captain didn’t see anything else with the golem’s eyes. I should thank the Regressor who destroyed the golem in advance.
｢I could lay out the doubts, but that’s beyond my authority. Also, there’s content I can’t mention…!｣
It was right when the Captain was struggling to speak.
As there was no response, the Colonel’s eyes narrowed with suspicion towards me.
She acts like this yet she claims she wants to keep secrets. Tsk.
It can’t be helped. I lightly tapped the Captain’s shoulder and whispered just loud enough for the Colonel to hear.
“What are you doing! Hurry up and tell him! Say I’m your oppa!”
Might as well pretend to be some fake identity.
At my sudden action, the Captain’s eyes widened in surprise and anger. All sorts of thoughts flowed from her blue eyes.
｢Negative! Negative! What false report is this laborer making! But denying it is also part of a breach of confidentiality…! Dilemma!｣
Ignoring her thoughts, I pretended to be in a hurry, tapping the Captain’s shoulders.
“Why are you hesitating, Bbey! Hurry up and say it! He’s looking at me suspicio…!”
｢Bbey? Who? Me?｣
Right as the flustered Captain was unable to keep her composure…
“Hey!”
The Colonel sternly scolded me instead. As I startled and looked at the Colonel, he frowned and clicked his tongue.
“Tsk. The personal information of someone carrying out a confidential operation is also classified. Even if it’s pointless to hide family relations, someone of higher rank shouldn’t talk so lightly!”
“Um, uh, I-I’m so sorry.”
“What is your citizen level?”
“L-Level 1….”
｢Negative! This petty criminal is actually Level 0! Even Level 1 is an impersonation!｣
However, the Colonel could not read the Captain’s mind. While looking downwards at me, the Colonel clicked his tongue loudly and exclaimed.
“Tsk. You are much worse than your younger sister. Without her, you couldn’t have even boarded the Meta Conveyor Belt! Well, that’s why you’re sticking together, I suppose!”
“Yes, yes.”
“Whatever, fine. Just don’t be a burden to your younger sister! I shall let it slide because it’s me, but anywhere else, you would have been arrested on the spot!”
The Colonel, who had scolded me harshly, gestured towards us. We just nodded and hurriedly left the office.
The Captain didn’t say a word until we were guided to our assigned quarters.
Instead, the moment she opened the door and entered the quarters, she grabbed me by the collar.
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