༺ An Old Veteran Won’t Die ༻

Even though someone who was once a general officer presented himself with such humility, Abbey did not show undue modesty, just like how she didn’t treat him with reverence. She simply spoke her mind in a stiff manner.

“I shall listen and judge accordingly. Unreasonable demands may be rejected and I must also inform you in advance that the fact you made such requests may be reported.”

Frontaine, who would have yelled at her for being rude just a little while ago, did not blame her this time.

“Every country has its crimes. There is no country with better public order than the Military State, but even that has its limits. Violence exists anytime, anywhere.”

Frontaine, with a parched throat, gulped down water from a cup and then broached the subject.

“As you know, in the Military State, adults are given bio-receptors and are also issued citizen levels. And most citizens…live their entire lives at that level, or their levels drops due to a brief mistake or misunderstanding. To be honest, it is best to think that there is no such thing as a level increase. It basically means there’s no hope for improvement.”

Abbey pointed out in a bland voice.

“Warning. Your statement is overly negative. The Military State recognizes private property and if one lives diligently, they can live abundantly until death.”

“One cannot live on canned beans and tap water1hey tapwater if you’re reading this :)) alone, Captain. To live as a human being, one sometimes needs dreams and hopes.”

“A lack of dreams and hopes does not cause death.”

“No, sometimes they do die. You’ll understand if you ever raise a child.”

Abbey, who had never raised a child, found it difficult to rebut. She was also slightly irritated by the veteran’s cunning argument.

Meanwhile, Frontaine fiddled with the cross in his hand and sighed.

“It’s all so rigid. The nation, the citizen levels. All of it is too rigid to find any cracks to slip through. At the very least, the Military State shouldn’t have rejected the Sky God and the Sanctum.”

“Correction. The Military State has never rejected the Sky God and the Sanctum.”

“Sure, they just imposed a level 2 luxury tax on religion. If that’s not rejecting it, what is? People have to buy the support needed for their hearts and minds. But how can people who can barely afford to eat buy faith?”

Abbey calmly retorted.

“That is a choice. If faith is so precious, they should spend discretionary funds to maintain it.”

“…Hah, sure, that’s easy to say. But things in the world don’t always work out like that! How long have you lived in this world to speak so?!”

Abbey was about to point out that he was lacking objectivity because he was a believer of the Sky God.

But before she could do so, Frontaine suddenly exclaimed.

“Young people with nothing to lose tend to become violent. They have no dreams, no hope. Even the faith that promises them peace and tranquility after death can’t be attained without submitting to taxes! What kind of heaven is one that can only be entered after paying taxes?! For them, there’s no mental support at all!”

Frontaine clenched his fist in the air. The Qi he mustered with his old body gathered in his fist pathetically, then vanished.

“The sacrificial lambs gathered by the Shadow of the Military State are them. Those who have lost dreams and hopes, thus gambling with their lives. Shadow used them all as sacrificial lambs. So, I….”

In that short time, Frontaine, looking much older, pleaded with Abbey in a voice that seemed on the verge of breaking.

“I wish…there was at least a little mercy for them. The children were merely wandering for a moment, trying to find their way in this world.”

Shelter.

This place, managing several orphanages and entrusted with operating a distribution center, was created by childless veterans to protect children and was also a private Department of Veterans’ Affairs to comfort the families of the fallen.

But even an only child didn’t always grow as their parents wished, so how would orphans in an orphanage be?

It was not fair to blame parents entirely for a child’s misbehavior, but it was natural for parents to feel responsible.

As such, Frontaine, the head of such a place, felt a great sense of responsibility, thus bowing his head to a mere captain.

But it was something Abbey could not possibly accept.

“It is impossible.”

“…Right. I’m sure it is.”

There was no mercy for those who had already committed a crime. The Military State did not forgive.

That was why…

“But I can at least ensure they receive a fair trial.”

After all, the information provided by a signaller carried that much authority.

If Abbey clearly observed and reported all these events, the Military State would accept it as is.

“Thank you.”

Frontaine bowed his head gratefully to the assurance of a mere captain, despite the lack of formal rank or affiliation.

The mood became solemn for a moment. It was an atmosphere that could be called a beautiful farewell, just as it was.

Breaking the mood, Abbey asked one more thing.

“One more question remains.”

“I, who is older and once had a higher rank, even lowered my head, but there’s more you want to squeeze out from me? You truly are a soldier that is akin to the State. In both a good sense and a bad sense.”

Frontaine did not grumble because he expected anything to change. He sighed and waited for Abbey’s question.

“Do you know about the Magician?”

At that, the retired soldier widened his eyes and asked back.

“The Magician? That delightful criminal?”

Delightful…Criminal?

Abbey was puzzled by this incomprehensible combination of words.

“Delightful criminal? How can a criminal be delightful?”

“There are such things in the world, Captain. I don’t know if you, with your lack of experience, would understand, though.”

“Negative. That is an impossible concept. Crime is something to be avoided and rejected. There is no such thing as a delightful crime.”

“Well, who knows? Try listening to the Magician’s deeds. I wonder, will you still be able to deny it?”

Frontaine began with a smile, like an old man telling a story to a child.

“Do you know about Seamless Cloths?”

Abbey immediately nodded to the name of the most famous holding company in the Military State.

“Of course. Isn’t it one of only five holding companies in the Military State, producing the Arch-Avatar and military gear?”

Everything in the nation belonged to the State, but there were a few items the Military State could not produce.

The most famous of these was the Arch-Avatar and Alchemic Fabric.

Alchemic fabric could only be used by those with an Arch-Avatar, the human-patterned mannequin that responded to it.

An Arch-Avatar, usually paired with a clothing packet, was a highly complex magical tool that required very special magic, exceptional technique, and delicate sensibility to create. Because of this, the Military State had failed even though they had tried to mass-produce it several times.

Currently, Seamless Cloths was the only place in the Military State that could make Arch-Avatars.

Seamless Cloths, originally a certain linen shop in the old kingdom, invented the Arch-Avatar and the clothing packet, truly the very definition of a technological pillar for the Military State.

“They almost went bankrupt just because of the Magician alone!”

That was why Abbey was surprised by what followed.

“How is that possible?”

“It’s simple. Those bastards were trying to sell bags, accessories, wallets, and belts made of leather! But then some lunatic started pickpocketing everywhere, regardless of the district!”

Who exactly was the one to make a great soldier, once adorned with stars on his shoulder and now an old man full of scars and wrinkles from many battles, laugh like a child?

Just mentioning the Magician seemed to achieve something similar to magic.

“Back then, Seamless Cloths certainly were shitty. They used laborers to make their products and even mobilized orphanages, claiming that children with small hands were better…But thanks to a single pickpocket, all their hard work was stolen and they almost went completely bankrupt!”

“Correction. Seamless Cloths did not go bankrupt.”

“It was revived when the Weaver Girl took over as president. Otherwise, it would have been over!”

Frontaine chuckled for a long while, then fell into a daze of reminiscing.

“Back then, the orphanage I managed had ‘Magician’ as the most desired future profession, followed by ‘Pickpocket’. I still remember how much I beat my brains out because they were always playing their stealing games with each other…I’m ashamed to say it, but some of them really did become pickpockets.”

“That is strange. Did the military authorities not try to catch that person?”

The old man’s nostalgic memories were as deep as his years. It took him a while to surface from them. After Abbey prodded him a couple of times, Frontaine responded.

“A few policemen investigated, but it was all in vain.”

“What about the Military Police?”

Frontaine chuckled as if he had heard a funny joke.

“What? Use the Military Police to catch the King of Pickpockets? You know how it is. Unless public order is severely disrupted, the State generally doesn’t bother. Even if it was the King of Pickpockets, at the end of the day, it’s just pickpocketing. It wouldn’t make sense to launch an investigation for merely that one person, would it!”

Abbey, with her rational mind, could not agree with him laughing so pleasantly at the crime. However, seeing him genuinely enjoying himself, she couldn’t help but be persuaded by his feelings.

“Either way, you are saying that person is a criminal. Understood. Thank you for your cooperation.”

After laughing heartily, Frontaine cleared his throat and regained his composure.

“…Anyway, be careful. The Magician might not lay a hand on you, a military officer, but…those who call themselves Shadow might target you even more.”

“Thank you for the advice.”

Abbey held her hat to her chest and bowed deeply. Although the gesture was an ordinary courtesy to a retired soldier who was no different from a civilian, Fronatine seemed more pleased than if he had received a salute.

“Hah, even if there is no romance, there are soldiers, it seems. The future of the Military State looks bright.”

Watching Abbey walk across the small yard of Shelter, Frontaine muttered wistfully.

“All an old veteran can do is step back…It is a pity not to be able to come forward myself.”

They were retired soldiers. Those who could no longer fight because they had grown old or were injured.

Once soldiers, but now observers of the Military State from the perspective of the common folk.

When one’s point of view changed, their perspective changed as well. Having retired and become civilians, they gazed upon the Military State with complex emotions.

Behind the proud and flawless curtains of the stage, there were many nails and adhesive stuck haphazardly to maintain its shape. These were blemishes hard to recognize by anyone other than a retired soldier.

But still…

“Even so, I still hope the country does well…Is it out of loyalty or is it out of attachment because it is the country I helped build?”

The old veteran clicked his tongue and got up. His back screamed in agony far more than usual, just from sitting down and standing up.

“Now, now. Let’s see. I need to order some canned food for that guy, Klin…and buy some packets…Ah, and fix the fence too.”

He had far more things to do than his age suggested.

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