"Why, Captain Aby?"

A faint sense of rejection emanates from Captain Aby. It's strange. Up until now, no matter what I did, I never felt any rejection from her.

"If everything goes as you wish, what will happen to the other communications officers?"

"They will find freedom. Just like you, Captain Aby."

I said it casually, but Captain Aby took it seriously. She spoke earnestly.

"From what I’ve heard, your plan seems like you intend to abandon the communications officers."

"Abandon? Who's abandoning who? The communications officers are more skilled than me. They've received officer training, can use unique magical powers, and even wield significant influence behind Gun-guk, controlling it from the shadows."

"Exactly. The communications officers hold great strategic value. They are privy to many of Gun-guk's secrets and have access to numerous facilities. If you reveal the truth about them and cause chaos, the communications officers will be the first to be in danger."

That makes sense. If someone is an enemy of Gun-guk, they would target the communications officers first, aiming to gather information and destroy the communications network. But what if they are loyal to Gun-guk? Even if they are, would they protect the communications officers? It would be difficult.

If people realized that the ones who had been giving them orders were mere communications officers, would they continue to follow those orders? It wouldn't be easy, whether logically or emotionally. They might even try to eliminate the communications officers.

I acknowledged Captain Aby's words.

"You have a point, Captain Aby."

"Then…"

"But I can't find a reason to care."

Captain Aby held her breath. I continued speaking while still restraining Yuel.

"The communications officers are Gun-guk's scapegoats. Their lives are stripped away, and they're used like tools, so no one can hold them accountable. In fact, most people don’t even know about them. Thanks to that, Gun-guk, a country created by humans, is gradually becoming something beyond human. A country that controls the human race."

Until now, kingdoms were ruled by kings. There were many historical debates about the roles of kings and their nations, but ultimately, the king was human. Humanity had always been ruled by other humans. However, Gun-guk rules over no one.

"And the communications officers are in an even worse situation. They have access to all of Gun-guk’s facilities, but they themselves rot away in rooms without even a drop of hot water. Thanks to the communications officers, all humans are effectively ruled by Gun-guk, which doesn’t even truly exist! Instead of rotting away in a dark room, wouldn’t it be better to die walking on the ground by their own choice?"

"Agreed. I too believe that would be better. I know how precious joy is."

Yes, Captain Aby fought for her life even in the face of death. It was fulfilling. If anyone could understand that, it would be her.

"But I believe there is a better way."

"A better way?"

Why do we have different opinions? Having seen the harsh lives of ordinary people up close, I thought she would agree with me.

"I had you. Because of you, I was able to accept everything new with joy. However, the other communications officers don’t have you. For them, the harsh world would seem more like a threat than something new. They likely wouldn't be able to overcome it. I fear that…"

Captain Aby paused, searching for the right words.

There was no need for her to reason it out. For someone like a communications officer, who had always made objective judgments through the eyes of Gun-guk, arguments not bound by rules or logic were unfamiliar. Captain Aby barely managed to find words that matched her feelings.

"I don't want that. Even if it's irrational."

If she doesn't want it, that's all there is to it. That alone can be a reason. The world may operate under divine rules, but what drives humans is their heart.

I nodded.

"I understand. But just because Captain Aby dislikes it doesn't mean I will change my mind. Like you, I too have a lingering sense of duty to defeat humanity's enemies."

"Your target... You attack it because it’s not human, right? Is my assumption correct?"

"Yes. Humanity’s enemies may be human, but no matter how vile a murderer is, they cannot be the enemy of humanity. After all, they are still human. Just like a stomach ache doesn’t make your stomach your enemy, or hitting your head with your hand doesn't make your hand your foe."

I shrugged as I answered, and Captain Aby stammered slightly.

"...I am your ally, am I not?"

I could see her thoughts forming. A moment ago, her mind had been a blank slate, but now, an image began to take shape.

The wish of the first communications officer to ever rebel against Gun-guk.

"Gun-guk moves according to the 'orders from the headquarters' that are transmitted through the communications officers. Everyone believes in the existence of a headquarters somewhere."

"It’s essentially the same thing, though. The orders from headquarters are just the processed information of the communications officers."

"It’s different."

"Huh?"

I knew how this conversation would go, but I pretended not to catch on. With firm resolve, Captain Aby told a lie—a lie that no communications officer should ever speak. A lie that would soon become truth.

"I am Aby. The first of the communications officers."

Captain Aby placed her hand on her chest as she spoke.

"There is no hierarchy among the communications officers, but our identification names are assigned based on our abilities. I am the communications officer who inherited the long-vacant name of Aby. Among the communications officers, I am the one with the most powerful abilities, aside from A, who is considered the original. However… A was never a communications officer."

Of course. A is a saint.

A holy power that differs from unique magic. The story of the first saint who answered the calls of believers from far distances.

Yuel used that to communicate with the communications officers. The only difference was that it was merely a conversation, not synchronization. The saint and the communications officers were far too different to synchronize.

That’s how Gun-guk became a country without a king.

But Captain Aby denied Yuel’s actions entirely.

"Thus, I am the most powerful communications officer. I stand above the others, and I could control them if I wished. Therefore, my will has the greatest influence on the collective will of the communications officers."

Her words carefully danced around the lie. Truth or falsehood? It’s impossible to know. The communications officers are all organically connected, and even the will transmitted by one of the lowest officers spreads and mingles with the whole, just like a human nervous system.

Depending on the standard, it could be a lie or it could be the truth. But Captain Aby stated it with unwavering conviction.

"The will that the headquarters transmits throughout Gun-guk originates entirely from me. I am the headquarters."

"...So, in other words, Captain Aby, you were the king of Gun-guk?"

"Affirmative."

Captain Aby gave a sharp nod. It seemed like she was trying to speak solemnly, but her gentle expression didn’t match the tone.

"It seems like you’ve been controlled up until now, though."

"T-That’s because I accepted it!"

"Sure, if you say so. There are plenty of puppets in this world."

Now you're telling me Gun-guk is, in fact, another form of a human-ruled kingdom?

That’s right. Captain Aby may be someone’s enemy, but she can never be humanity's enemy, because she is human.

"This is wordplay."

"But it's true."

"Indeed, if it's you, Captain Aby, it's possible. You possess both life and desire, which means you can bear the responsibility and the guilt…"

I muttered, almost as if the words slipped out. Then I let go of the wire I had been pulling tight. It slackened, and the Saint Yuel was freed.

Bruised from the wire, Yuel quickly clasped her hands together and looked at me with suspicion. If she were to use her power now, if she summoned an angel here, I would be a dead man.

Under normal circumstances, I wouldn’t have done this, but there were no other options. I shrugged and spoke.

"Yuel. Go ahead and kill Captain Aby."

"...What?!"

Everyone in the room gasped audibly. Yuel, in particular, seemed as if she had been hit with a blow.

Why is she so shocked? Wasn’t this what she had been intending to do all along?

"Why act so surprised? Isn’t this your job? To handle a communications officer gone rogue. Weren’t you worried that if a communications officer lost their purity and became an ordinary human, something like this would happen?"

"...If I were to kill anyone, I would kill you before her."

"Oh, feel free. You won’t be able to touch Gun-guk until Captain Aby is dead anyway."

I twirled the wire around my fingers, then stretched it taut like string before it snapped back into the shape of a card. I shuffled it back into the deck and sighed.

"Humans cannot be the enemy of humanity. Captain Aby proclaimed herself the headquarters, and she probably intends to carry it out. The other communications officers cannot stop a Captain Aby who possesses desire. Only you, who maintains this system, can."

"...You didn’t ask me to kill her. Quite the opposite."

"How you interpret it is up to you."

Captain Aby is human. She isn’t humanity’s enemy. But because she declared herself so and actually has the power to back it up, she now qualifies.

Which means that with Captain Aby, Gun-guk is no longer my enemy. It leaves me in a vague position.

I cannot stop someone who seeks to be king in my place.

I cannot stop someone who seeks to be king in my place. At best, all I can do is test them.

Yuel’s eyes trembled, as if she had realized something.

"You've appointed a king? In this Gun-guk...?"

Captain Aby approached Yuel, kneeling down on one knee and looking her straight in the eyes. With a firm gaze, she spoke clearly and deliberately.

"Yuel. Please cooperate with me."

Although Yuel was undoubtedly the stronger of the two, it was Yuel who averted her gaze.

"No… I can’t. I just can't."

"Think rationally. Under any circumstances, it's better than revealing the secret of the communications officers, isn't it? Wouldn't your own evaluation agree?"

"It’s different! Communications officers shouldn't have desires. If they do, you—or rather, you—will follow that desire and move this country. You’ll become king. His dream… his wish to create a nation that doesn’t need a king will be defiled."

Captain Aby glanced at the corpse and spoke.

"He is dead."

"Even if he's dead, his dream lives on!"

As if she were trying to deny the truth, Yuel suddenly hugged the corpse tightly. Clinging to the cold body, she cried out in desperation.

"Gun-guk is the masterpiece created from his ideals. It’s a child we built together! And now, you expect me to just give it up? No! I’d rather we all die here! Bury us with all the secrets! Then…!"

"If that happens, everything he built will vanish. Gun-guk will disappear as well. Are you truly fine with that?"

Yuel gasped. The reason why, despite all her doubts and questions, she had been unable to carry out her threats until now, was because Gunwoong’s corpse and his legacy were still here.

She had held on to a single man's corpse for nearly twenty years, clinging to it out of sheer stubbornness. Someone so deeply attached to the past couldn’t make a final, decisive choice.

Yuel fell silent, her internal conflict deepening.