༺ Welcome To The Back Alleys ༻
Abbey had donned her uniform for the first time in a while.
She reverted the casual clothes she had quite lacked back into their packet and stored the uniform she had laundered and kept with care in her bio-receptor. The sense of compression that was hard to mimic in everyday clothes wrapped around her body, a slightly unfamiliar sensation.
Still, it was the attire she had worn daily for many years. Abbey quickly became accustomed to it again.
Though she had been told to nurse Anna, a Captain of the Military State was not a nurse.
Abbey was a signaller. Apart from delivering information throughout the Military State with her Unique Magic, gathering information was also a part of her duties as a signaller.
She couldn’t do anything next to Anna, but there were things Captain Abbey the Signaller could do.
“I shall track down the entities disrupting public order.”
The Captain pressed her stiff military cap down firmly and left the room.
“Anna said she went to the market in District 13. Surely, she must have headed to the civilian market there.”
The civilian market in District 13 sold packets, groceries, and various small tools necessary for low-level citizens.
Since the sale of luxury goods up to Level 2 was allowed there, ordinary people who had money would visit from time to time.
As much as it attracted the civilians’ money, pickpockets and robbers also existed in abundance. Nevertheless, this was still the Military State. The risk when caught was enormous, so one would not dare to attempt such crimes without considerable resolve, and if not meticulous, they would be quickly caught and sent to labor camps.
“Since illegal acts have been discovered, it is my duty to collect information about this incident.”
It couldn’t be left to the police or the Military Police. Even if a Level 0 citizen was a victim of a crime, they would not initiate an investigation. They would merely record it, intending to pin it on another criminal caught later.
Therefore, Abbey decided to move as a captain. She resolved to gather undeniable evidence and hand it over to the Military Police.
Though she could not reveal her identity as a signaller, a captain was still a captain. She had more than enough authority to carry out such actions.
“After all, my life is one destined to die anyway….”
Uttering those words aloud made her body stiffen momentarily, but Abbey firmly resolved and took a step forward.
Was it because she had experienced quite a few enjoyable moments before death?
Or was it because she had experienced many new things?
Abbey was no longer afraid of death. If she could die with these memories, she thought that of itself would be more than fine.
“Before I must go, I shall gather information for Anna.”
With such firm resolve, Abbey walked the streets of the Military State.
It was a dark night, where laborers trickled back home after finishing their night shift. Arriving in District 13, Abbey stood with her back against a large building wall.
She placed both her palms on the wall and extended her mana in all directions. A faint magical light spread from her hands.
The vines, taking her fingers as roots, entwined the walls and floors. The Morning Glory Vines, while seeking a place to climb, instinctively sensed the direction of the flowing mana and followed its trajectory.
The vines climbed up using the mana conductive metal as a support, eventually reaching its end. The mana seeking an empty space seeped into a gap. And then…
Chieeek, Chiek.
Somewhere in the State, ‘Windows’ prepared only for signallers lifted their heads with a rough metallic sound.
It was not remote access using a bio-receptor, but a close-range Unique Magic unfolding in proximity to Synchro.
Abbey’s Unique Magic was Morning Glory, a Synchronous Magic specialized in close-range erosion.
The fact that she was assigned nearly 50 Synchro-type magic golems called ‘Windows’ by the Military State was due to the characteristic of her Unique Magic.
Since all the Windows assigned to her were destroyed, she hadn’t had the opportunity to use this until now, but….
“This is part of information gathering. A signaller has the right to handle the magic golems placed throughout the Military State.”
Synchro Magic left no traces. Therefore, this was not an act that would reveal her identity.
In the first place, Abbey’s handling of the golem was solely for information gathering. There was no need for the golems to take action directly or be noticed by people.
Therefore, this was not a rule violation. Convincing herself of this, Abbey looked up.
And all the golems wrapped in vines opened their eyes at once.
“I use my authority.”
Because she was so utterly principled, she found a gap to squeeze into using principles.
The invisible vines wrapped around a small golem hidden in the top of a clock tower, a golem standing on a building rooftop looking down, and a golem that only possessed a head hidden under a streetlight.
The golems placed here and there opened their eyes simultaneously and responded to the signaller’s synchronization. Having gained control over the golems, Abbey exerted her mana.
Then, dozens of perspectives, each showing a different location like fragments of a broken window, entered Abbey’s field of vision.
Despite the darkness of the night, the overwhelming amount of information burrowed into her mind, causing dizziness. Abbey staggered and leaned more heavily against the wall.
Nevertheless, Abbey was still a specialist in handling information, one of the few signallers capable of multiple connections in parallel. A single root greedily absorbed the information conveyed from all the vines. Dozens of lights shone in her blue eyes.
“Initiate search.”
Her pupils moved rapidly, comparing and analyzing each scene in her field of vision: the flow of people, unusual speeds, strange noises, and sights that should not exist.
She was the eyes, ears, and mouth of the Military State.
A signaller was the brain of the State. A nerve through which fragmented information flowed.
Therefore, information about their identity was accessible only to those at the level of general officers, and even one of the Six Star Generals could not use them for personal purposes.
“Search, search, search.”
If they had entered a building with no exits, there would be no way to find them, but Abbey anticipated that they would move during the night. If they had stolen something, they would want to dispose of it before the next day.
“Search, search, search, search, search, search….”
Sitting there, Abbey, observing the streets of District 13, spotted a man with suspicious conduct. He was running with a limp, clutching his stomach, as blood dripped from his shoulder.
He looked more like a victim than an assailant, but it was a scene that clearly suggested a crime.
“End search.”
Abbey disconnected from the other golems and headed in the direction where the suspect was spotted.
Thinking about the escape route, the suspect would pass through the next block. Having completed her calculations, Abbey headed to the next block ahead of time.
And then, she encountered the terrified suspect running towards her. Seeing Abbey’s uniform, his eyes widened in shock.
“An officer?!”
If he was the guilty robber, he would run away or be scared upon seeing Abbey. On the other hand, if he was a victim being chased by a robber, he would ask for help.
It didn’t matter even if he was not the robber Abbey was looking for. There couldn’t be many bold criminals in the Military State, so if she kept tracking, she would eventually find the robber who attacked Anna.
Abbey was considering how she should respond to the two possible scenarios.
“I-I was wrong! I-It’s me who did it! Arrest me! I am Number 1!”
However, the suspect’s attitude was unlike anything she expected.
Calling himself Number 1, he kneeled before Abbey, gasping for breath.
“I committed a robbery! Number 1, Number 2, and Number 3 together! Number 2 is Milsen and Number 3 is Galen! Please, arrest me!”
This was beyond her expectations, but she couldn’t panic as a signaller. Abbey replied stiffly.
“…Explain the situation in an explicit and understandable manner.”
“There’s no time for that!”
The suspect seemed like he had lost his mind. Or he needed to do his business urgently. According to Abbey’s common sense, there was no other explanation besides the two.
After all, it was because he was clutching his stomach, his face wrapped in pain and fear, all while confessing to the crime.
“Number Two, no, Milsen, that piece of shit, told everyone in the organization. He told them there is gold in my stomach…! They are all rushing to cut open my stomach…!”
“It is difficult to understand the whole story, but you seem to be feeling threatened. Are you requesting protection right now?”
“Yes! That’s right! Yes! P-Protect me!”
The suspect nodded frantically. Abbey, intending to obtain information anyway, asked.
“Accepted. But first, I require information from you. To understand the full story, I must know what item you stole from whom and what actions were taken against you.”
“I don’t know who it was. Some auntie at the market was trying to sell poison, no, spices…I stole it and was happy about it, but then he, he….in my mouth…that.”
It seemed obvious that he had attacked Anna. She had not expected to find the perpetrator so easily.
But arresting the culprit seemed to be a whole new problem, separate from finding him; after all, the suspect’s expression was filled with fear and pain beyond expectation.
“He…The man wearing a strange hat…He….the glass bottle with poison…To me.”
While mumbling, Number 1 suddenly grabbed his face.
Abbey revised her assessment. THe expression he had shown until now was nothing compared to the terror now contorting his face.
“AhhhhHH. The Magician. Yes. That’s right. The Magician…! It must be him! W-Why couldn’t I remember before…!”
The suspect, continuously repeating to himself as if he had gone insane, grabbed the Captain’s trouser cuffs in tears. His other hand still clutched his stomach, as if he believed that removing it would cause his belly to split open immediately.
“Please. I don’t want to die like this. To be gutted by the comrades I trusted, what is this…! I, I….I didn’t mean…I didn’t mean for this to happ-ugh….Heuk. Ah, ah.”
Suddenly, Number 1’s eyes widened in the middle of his begging. In the chilling night air, cold sweat formed droplets on his face.
As if something was grasping his head and legs and twisting them, he made a sound as though his lungs were being wrung out.
“Ahugh. N-No.”
Then, in an instant…
“KEUAGGGGGH! AHHHH! KEUAAAAAH!”
Number 1 collapsed onto the ground. As if absorbing all the pain in the world alone, he flailed his legs and violently pounded the ground. His fists became skinned and his body bruised, but he did not stop.
Eventually, his eyes rolled back and he collapsed limply. Foam like soap bubbles flowed from his mouth. Along with his life.
Throughout this, there was nothing Abbey could do.
After all, Abbey was a signaller, not an army surgeon.
“…Confirmed fact of death. It is a murder case.”
Even in the Military State, murder cases could not be ignored. It was a serious crime that eliminated valuable manpower needed for labor, so murderers were made to pay a price sufficient for such loss with their own labor.
That was why even criminals had no choice but to be cautious. After all, a single mistake could get them caught in the State’s surveillance network.
Despite that….
“…Why were they chasing him in a group in the middle of the night?”
The Captain spoke while looking at the approaching crowd. From beyond the shadows of the dark street, a lean man with a cold gaze and a long sword slung over his shoulder appeared.
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