NOVEL NEXT Chapter 16
“Cough, cough!”
Coughing.
An irritated throat.
And then…
“Have you awakened?”
A familiar man’s calm voice.
“You slept well. I had only intended to lightly knock you out, but for you to sleep so soundly for an entire day… Though, given that you seemed to have been handling numerous tasks alone, it’s understandable that you’d accumulated fatigue.”
The sound of a book closing could be heard.
In sync with that sound, I slowly began to rise.
“I apologize for handling you roughly.”
“…Hitler is trash. What a 0th Empire person like you is.”
“Expressing opinions is your freedom. Moreover, towards an elder who may or may not even be alive anymore…who’s over a hundred and twenty years old.”
“The higher-ups in your organization claim that through the superior German technology, he might still be alive.”
“Let’s acknowledge what needs to be acknowledged. Both you and I know very well that that’s nonsense, right? Especially when we consider how Nazi Germany ultimately fell.”
Since I could move, it seemed I wasn’t restrained.
However…
Hans was clearly holding the German-made pistol that had been taken from me, wiping it gently with a handkerchief.
…Perhaps the worst has not happened yet.
“Let me reintroduce myself. Lieutenant Hans Schultz of the 0th Empire.”
“So you lied about your name as well?”
“Out of necessity.”
I looked around.
There were plenty of empty iron bars, and no sounds were particularly audible.
Is this prison holding only me as a prisoner?
“Seeing you raises quite a few questions.”
“Is that so?”
“While you were knocked out and detained, you didn’t show even a hint of panic, did you?”
“…Do you expect me to collapse and cry?”
“So, I speculate—though using the grand term ‘speculate’ might be unnecessary—but, did we meet you somewhere before? Or were you perhaps one of the residents in the numerous settlements we raided?”
“Hmm.”
Another name.
Another gender.
Another occupation.
Executed, killed in combat, and even used as someone’s plaything at times.
In a way, his words might hold some truth.
But there’s one thing that worries me.
Did the Omen family manage to escape safely?
“Still, in a way, you could say you’re lucky. If you had fallen into the hands of my other colleagues or superiors, you would’ve been immediately put to use for cleaning, menial tasks, or—just for entertainment.”
“Tied up, whipped, used like a piece of furniture…are those the sorts of things you mean?”
“Indeed, you understand well. How about hospitality, then?”
“Obviously, from a man, right?”
“Aha.”
I chuckled a bit along with the guy who gave a soft laugh.
But one thought crossed my mind.
“You wouldn’t do that, would you?”
“How impolite. I have no interest in such unhygienic acts.”
“Still, homosexuals do exist.”
“True, I personally feel an intense discomfort about using certain parts of the digestive system for other purposes. I know well that homosexuality or even homosexual rape is common in nature, but I simply find it unpleasant.”
A gray and neatly tailored uniform.
Shiny boots.
And the pistol being placed back in its holster.
It seemed the current state of the 0th Empire was quite affluent in its early phases.
“But as I mentioned, any use beyond its purpose… doesn’t that displease you?”
“Thus, I plan to make you responsible for the infrastructure of the 0th Empire.”
“Having a conversation with an intelligent person is enjoyable just for this reason, isn’t it? The dialogue progresses quickly, doesn’t it?”
“…If I report this to your superiors, I doubt it would be a very pleasant experience for you.”
“To those who sincerely believe Hitler is alive and are so immersed in the novels they write that they can no longer distinguish reality from fiction—their futures are nonexistent.”
My leg crossed over once.
He retrieved a cigarette from his pocket, placed one in his mouth, and lit it. Hans then lit another one and handed it to me.
…I could perhaps receive some assistance.
“What we currently need are the maintenance of facilities and the training of capable soldiers. Not using reserve supplies, but finding ways to secure and use limited resources efficiently, and the expansion of personnel.”
“But your superiors only hole up as if everything is already over, demanding playthings and indulging in drunkenness.”
“They request tools for immediate luxury and pleasure instead of means and materials to sustain this ’empire.’ So, I ask you this: How long do you think the 0th Empire will last?”
“If the lieutenant plotting a coup succeeds, it could last quite a while.”
The story progression was intriguing.
Though I had heard that such incidents weren’t entirely uncommon.
Like when the Zeitan Church split into various factions,
Or when the leader of the Zeitan Church turned their doctrines into chaos and bragged about it, leading to complete disarray.
“From the moment I encountered your small community, I instantly realized—this is a revelation from heaven.”
“Attempting to kill you by getting ambushed by land bats wasn’t a revelation?”
“Firing shots to clear out spider dens could also be seen as a revelation, wouldn’t you agree?”
“So what is this ‘revelation’ you speak of?”
“A chance to infuse new blood and vigor into a community that’s starting to decay. A sign not to miss it.”
“You might as well have joined us.”
“It might have been fine. But—listening to someone else’s commands is not a pleasant experience. Especially under incompetent people. And being stopped by someone when I believe what I’m doing is right is frustrating as well. Besides, the moment you realized I was from the 0th Empire, you were about to shoot at me, weren’t you?”
No matter how I thought about it, Hans Schultz was undoubtedly dangerous.
He might easily extend the influence of the 0th Empire.
He might even reach the ending where land tunnels are dug all the way to Europe in “For a United Empire,” potentially achieving that without the player’s involvement—this man was perhaps a leader-level NPC.
And such NPCs always interfered with my attempts to drive the story.
“But as you can see, I didn’t pull the trigger. Instead, I’m giving you a chance to make a choice. Shouldn’t that be a reasonable option for you?”
“Perhaps I’ll listen.”
-Tick.
With a snap of his finger, some movement could be heard from outside.
The sounds of boots struck the floor a few times.
With a common salute, a familiar shotgun was handed over through the iron bars.
-Click.
The bullet in the chamber jumped into the air, but Hans skillfully caught it and held it up in front of me.
“Just bunches of wet paper, gunpowder, nuts, and sharply filed rivets as bullets. A water filter made by dismantling a gas mask. A heating device assembled from spare parts.”
“…”
“Would the fact that you could use such skills become less valuable just because the person has yellow skin if proper tools and materials are supplied?”
“So you dislike Nazis.”
“Not entirely. How should I put it…?”
“Sweet, swallow; sour, spit.”
“…An excellent phrase. That’s definitely a proverb from your country, isn’t it?”
Leaning toward me, Hans smiled.
“I like this very rule that places me in a superior position merely by appearance. Besides, I find women with black hair and blue eyes who take the lead quite to my liking as well. They are wonderful not because of their race, but because of their character.”
“…”
“But upholding this rule as if it were absolute… isn’t that foolish? The most superior bloodline being the Aryan race, hence—everything else must die? That was how the Third Reich collapsed. Will the 0th Empire follow in the same path? Why would we walk down the road of a predestined destruction? A foolish act, indeed.”
Snickering,
As he handed back the shotgun and the pistol to the guard behind him,
Hans sighed deeply.
“If you promise to join my side, I will guarantee for you a high-class residential area that you can forget about. I’ll also provide you with women if you want. Or if you prefer, other forms of entertainment. We have gaming consoles and CDs to operate them from the surface world.”
“Then, you expect me to provide you with…”
“Bullets to arm my soldiers. Knowledge and labor to maintain and repair this facility. That’s all.”
“Keep doing what you’ve been doing.”
“Better treatment, of course. Naturally, I’ll also ensure individual supervision so you won’t be treated unfairly by another ‘Aryan.'”
Undoubtedly, it wasn’t a bad offer.
If survival were my only goal, and I had no desires of my own.
But I know that NPCs with such ambitions always plan deceptions or betrayals in secret.
Especially since, despite the terrible first encounter, he’s now here with a smile, making an offer that’s hard to refuse.
Because I alone built such a facility and even made bullets, right?
Perhaps it’s because it’s nearly impossible to remove ammunition from strictly controlled weapon warehouses.
But if they provide me materials that look like regular bullet casings and tips and let me produce ammunition, weapons for the coup could be procured without raising suspicion.
Still.
There was something I could infer from our conversations so far.
Typically, if a comrade had been captured, people use the situation of their comrades to pressure them.
Yet, there had been no such hint here.
Even if they had managed to capture Miss Sarah, for instance, it would have been relatively easy to force the surrender of the other two—but there were absolutely no such mentions.
So there were two assumptions.
One: They killed everyone to avoid mentioning the three altogether.
Two: They were unable to secure even one of the three people.
“Is that all you can offer?”
“Of course, feel free to add anything within my means.”
I probed again, but as expected.
The pistol he held looked like it was taken from me, yet—perhaps not.
It could be that he had already resupplied.
“Then, there’s something I left in my workshop that I might need.”
“What sort of thing?”
“There’s something in the corner to the left…what was it called in English again?… Anyway, it’s essential for my work.”
It was a lie.
I had placed a workbench in the left corner of the workshop, so it wasn’t an “item.”
Even if it was considered an item, it should be multiple ones.
Especially because Hans wouldn’t have been able to access my workshop, there were limited ways for him to know what was inside.
Either they had killed everyone or captured everyone or pushed them all away and completely occupied the base.
Since he said I had been unconscious for a day, they would surely have had enough time to examine the interior, considering how the base contained functioning generators, boilers, and even water purifiers.
Even more so since all the materials necessary for bullet production, of which he now requests, were in my workshop.
If they had occupied that area, they would have known whether I truly needed this item.
They would also know whether I was simply probing them or not.
“…Since our soldiers are gathering items, it would be difficult to provide it if we don’t know the exact name. Would you let us list them, and you can pick from there?”
While showing the pistol again, he carefully wiped it with a cloth,
Giving the impression that it might be the one he retrieved.
Good.
The probability that the three were still alive was very high.
Now, the only remaining question is:
Will they come to rescue me?