༺ Dreams Come True ༻
The night was dark. A faint glow of a lamp tickled Abbey’s bangs before fading away, leaving her sleep undisturbed. As suddenly as the night that had just arrived, Abbey woke up naturally from her slumber.
Abbey gently opened her eyes and blinked for a moment, before springing up from the bed, as if struck by lightning.
“Eut?! When did I…fall asleep…?”
Abbey, who had been having a private conversation with the Weaver in the dining room, had dozed off while listening to the Weaver’s story.
As she had overexerted her mana for several days to explore various districts of the Military State, it had taken a toll on her, both physically and mentally.
But even without that, anyone would fall asleep while listening to a tranquil story. Especially if they had a full stomach and were enveloped by the warm aroma of black tea.
“Negligence…!”
Next to Abbey, having abruptly woken up in the middle of the night, Sephier was sitting leisurely, dressed in a suit.
“Are you awake, Captain?”
Sephier’s attitude was far too serene, as if she had expected all this to happen.
Abbey frantically got up and looked around.
“Question. Where did he go?”
“He left first. And left a message saying that he would wait.”
“…Is that…so….”
Abbey’s voice sank.
Just hours before, during the day, she had been brimming with anticipation for the happiness she would feel at the end of her life.
A simple marriage and an unfortunate farewell.
Though it was merely a formality, it was more than enough to decorate her end.
But her counterpart was a magnate beyond imagination, who would not find it unfortunate at all to lose someone like Abbey. He was someone who operated in the back alleys with a holding company as his backing, influencing all sorts of places.
Perhaps… He was….
Abbey clenched her eyes shut and discarded her stray thoughts. It wasn’t the time for this.
“I have a calling I must fulfill. Can you please lend me a carriage so I may carry out official duties?”
“Lending a carriage is a very easy thing to do. But can you go out in those clothes?”
“Clothes?”
Only then did Abbey realize her attire had changed.
It was not the uniform she had always worn, but a fluffy, yellow outfit that enveloped her entire body; a bizarre, inexplicable garment made of soft fur that covered her shoulders all the way to her legs.
Amidst it all, only the soft touch of the fur outfit was exquisite, making Abbey feel as if she were lying in bed just by wearing it.
“W-What is t-this abnormal outfit?”
“It’s a chick pajama, specially made with my own hands. After pondering over how much I could express the texture of fur in the Arch-Avatar, this masterpiece was born.”
“That is not a response to my inquiry! Why is it that my clothes have transformed into this?!”
“I thought it might suit you, so I tried it on you. It actually suits you quite well. I’ll pack it for you, so take it with you.”
“Refusal!”
The Captain quickly released the packet, but the pajamas, with fine fur attached to every alchemic thread, took quite a while to revert to its packet form.
Sephier muttered.
“It’s the middle of the night. You should rest a while longer. Are you leaving now?”
“I have duties to attend to. I cannot waste time any longer!”
“What are these duties, Captain?”
“It is confidential!”
Sephier responded naturally, as if accustomed to such militaristic answers.
“Then please answer what’s not confidential. After all, I should at least know the Captain’s destination, so my carriage knows where to go.”
It was a subtle threat, suggesting that she better spill some information if she didn’t want to be kicked out of the carriage midway.
Abbey wanted to criticize her attitude but refrained from doing so. The Weaver was a Level 5 citizen; higher than Abbey’s, she was a tycoon who had her hands in various military secrets.
It wasn’t a breach of confidentiality to speak about anything other than the top-secret existence of signallers. Abbey’s affiliation aside, what Abbey was about to do now was to first preserve the Military State’s public order.
Having finished her calculations, Abbey replied.
“My mission is to investigate and monitor the ‘Shadow’ and the ‘Magician’ operating in District 10. I have nearly understood their conspiracy, so now I will monitor their movements and intervene at the opportune moment.”
“The Magician, you say?”
Surprised by this unexpected detail, Sephier asked with a hint of curiosity.
“Why is a Captain of the Military State searching for them?”
“…I do not understand the reason for your inquiry. It is a soldier’s duty to eliminate reactionaries and maintain the public order of the Military State.”
“Hmm. The ‘Shadow’ and the ‘Magician’, you say. Sure, the Shadow is a brutal group that have maintained their lineage since the kingdom era, but why the Magician?”
Why would Sephier Bakiya, who lived in District 1, be knowledgeable about the affairs of back alleys that she should not be concerned with?
The clothing packet that usually changed in an instant took longer to transform today; it appeared it would take a bit more time for it to be fully released.
Abbey spoke out the thoughts she had held deep within during this time.
“The Shadow are heinous criminals intending to commit monstrous crimes. The Magician is like an existence who is a hotbed of all sorts of petty crimes.”
“Yes. Compared to the Shadow, the crimes committed by the Magician can be seen as cute.”
“Affirmative. That is precisely the problem.”
Rather than the Shadow who blatantly caused trouble, the Magician who had survived like a weed for a long time was far more dangerous. Abbey spoke stiffly.
“The Magician blurs the repulsion of illegal activities. He is a criminal who has committed gambling, extortion, theft, instigation, pickpocketing, and much more, but not a single individual shuns or reports him despite him using unimaginable methods. They either admire or fear him. There is no in between.”
As if she was one of such people, Sephier nodded softly.
Her smile was filled with various meanings.
Abbey continued to speak, even while feeling a chill run down her spine.
“Despite seeing him, who is no different from a hotbed of petty crimes…Citizens decide to either overlook his actions or stay idle, ignoring it. This should not happen. Laws must be upheld and punishments must be strict. Only then can a society, built on law and order, be maintained.”
“So, you are going to arrest the Magician too.”
“…Affirmative. However.”
At some point in time, Abbey’s lips had become parched.
“If the Magician actively cooperates with me and helps to eliminate the Shadow…. Depending on the situation, it might be possible to overlook his actions without questioning the suspicions.”
“Is it fine for a Captain, who should uphold the law, to do that?”
“Since he is not caught in the act, there is no evidence to prove his crimes. As always, there is only circumstantial evidence. As such…”
Please, don’t let it be true.
Abbey desperately hoped.
But Sephier shattered Abbey’s hope.
“It seems you were roughly able to guess. That is a relief. Saves me the trouble of explaining.”
Sephier opened her arms wide to welcome Abbey, who had leaned towards the world of the enlightened. Immediately after, Abbey’s pajamas completely unraveled, revealing her pure white nakedness.
While looking at Abbey, who had become completely defenseless, Sephier conveyed the truth.
With a smile full of superiority, sent from someone who knew a secret to one who didn’t.
“Yes, that’s right. The very person you came with is the Magician and also my master.”
Abbey clenched her mouth shut, picked up the uniform packet from the table, and plugged it into her bio-receptor. The alchemic thread took its place over her soft curves. Then, tens of thousands of alchemic threads were sequentially shaped, clothing Abbey in a pitch-black uniform.
It took only a few seconds for Abbey to transform into a Captain of the Military State. The Captain grabbed her officer’s cap and stood up, before passing by Sephier and exiting the room.
Sephier followed closely beside Abbey, who strode gravely.
“I will cooperate, Captain. I’ll lend you my carriage.”
It seemed she had prepared in advance, as a coachman with grown sideburns promptly brought the carriage. Sephier escorted Abbey into the back seat and quickly took the seat next to her.
Abbey glanced sideways at Sephier.
“…I am in the middle of an operation. I cannot guarantee your safety from the forces in the darkness.”
“It does not matter. After all, I can take care of myself.”
“Moreover, all military operations conducted by the Military State are confidential. I cannot disclose the details of the operation to you, a mere civilian.”
“But you’ll have to tell me where this carriage needs to go, right? Isn’t that efficient?”
Sephier’s manner of speaking seemed to forcibly make the other party agree through rational argument. His shadow was reflected in her words. It seemed he had taught more than just knowledge.
Suddenly, Abbey realized she knew absolutely nothing about him. She muttered sadly.
“…From what part was it an act? From where was it all his plan?”
The Magician who dominated the back alleys of the Military State and a criminal sponsored by the holdings company, Seamless Cloths.
The facts that had already been revealed alone were beyond imagination. To the extent that it was strange he was imprisoned in the Abyss as a mere laborer.
“What exactly was the Magician aiming for by approaching me…?”
He hadn’t really dug for information, nor did he try to use Abbey. He complied with every request and took care of Abbey in various ways.
Even the compensation Abbey had thoughtfully considered was meaningless to him. Yet, he readily accepted her requests.
The easiest answer to the question ‘Why?’ would be that he had a liking for Abbey.
But what form of liking would that be?
“I don’t know either. Perhaps no one knows except Master.”
In the midst of vague goodwill, there was only confusion and questions.
Seeing Abbey, who was feeling an emotion she thought she had graduated from long ago, Sephier rejoiced at the birth of a comrade.
“But one thing’s for sure. Master will fulfill your wishes in a way no one can anticipate.”
“Impossible. I do not have…the same wishes as you.”
She was someone who was born in the Military State, raised as a signaller, and lived her life accessing all the information of her country in a dark room.
Abbey had no personal wishes she wished to fulfill, only duties she must uphold….
“Aha.”
Realizing something from Abbey’s words, Sephier sighed softly.
“Now I understand. Master intends to gift you a wish. A wish of your very own, one that is more precious than duty.”
***
In a hideout somewhere at District 14.
While preparing for a major operation, Wolfen, who had summoned the ‘Shadow’, finally spoke after a long wait.
“…Tomorrow is the day of decisive action.”
Half-engulfed in shadows, Wolfen declared solemnly.
“Tomorrow, the Military State will become a cauldron of chaos. The shadow of flames will engulf this city. We shall eliminate the dholes that briefly took our rightful place and we, the true darkness, shall act behind the scenes.”
The ‘Shadows’, anticipating the world to come, cheered. The cheers that swallowed all other sounds filled the meeting room with a quiet fervor.
Wolfen lifted his sword. Even though there was not a hint in his posture that suggested it had been drawn, the small blade, painted pitch-black, was like a ghost, already present in his hands.
“A system is meaningful… But only when used. Oh, Military State. Oh, country of dirt and iron, risen from the ruins of the fallen kingdom. This Umbra shall use your system for our purposes.”
From now on, the Shadow of the Military State would be their domain.
Having heard Wolfen’s plans, the Penumbras quietly gathered their subordinates. They were middle managers, so to speak, and the Enforcers who were the ones to truly take action.
“…The day of decisive action is tomorrow. Prepare. Be ready.”
“They have been waiting for this moment. It was difficult just trying to hold them back.”
“Hold them back just until tomorrow. There must be no problems with the plan. Like a dam bursting, we must move all at once tomorrow to turn the country upside down.”
It would not be an issue if they were highly trained Shadows, but to move a ragtag bunch nimbly, it was much more comfortable to tip them off. The Penumbras passed the word to their subordinates in various places.
Like waves in a dark night, the plan of the Shadow quietly and secretly spread….
***
“Today is the day of action!”
“Hooray!”
“Alright! Let’s go!”
“It’s a revolution! We will flip this damned country up over its head!”
“Market? Family? Look at how arrogantly they act, as if they amount to something, when they are the same pieces of shit! Get ‘em!”
“Guards are human too! Don’t be scared!”
Even though not enough oil had been doused, flames erupted in various parts of Amitengrad.
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