Chapter 43

Chapter 43
Anton, head of the pro-Daphne faction, gathered his officers around a circular table and began to speak.

“It seems word has gotten around to you all already,” Anton remarked. “Officers have apparently been prohibited from participating in the upcoming subjugation mission.”

His words instantly caused a stir among the officers.

“Surely they aren’t trying to lock us out completely?” one asked.

“It is not just us. Luna Moon’s loyalists have been barred from joining the campaign as well.”

Hearing that the pro-Hayden officers were also excluded from deploying, the pro-Daphne officers traded perplexed expressions.

“So every single officer is banned…?”

“Why shut us out at all? True, we don’t achieve much, but we don’t get in the way either.”

“Word is that this subjugation will be handled by a small elite unit.”

“A small elite unit…?”

Anton clicked his tongue in annoyance.

“Haydam. That boy has to be behind this scheme. He put on quite a show solely to secure his spot in the campaign.”

None of the officers dared voice a disagreement for fear of Anton’s temper, but rumors of Haydam defeating Anton’s son Platon in the training simulation had long since spread beyond the military academy, becoming famous throughout the entire Cola Area.

A child who commanded universal attention.

They had initially assumed he harbored some political ambition. They never guessed his goal would be keeping the officers out of the subjugation campaign entirely.

“Why go out of his way to exclude us? Whether we tag along or not shouldn’t make a difference.”

Anton maintained a flat, steady tone as he continued.

“As you mentioned, we lack any real grounds for complaint. If we insist on joining now, we will only make laughingstocks of ourselves. The reality is we have spent this entire time idling in the rear.”

“Hmm…”

“Even so, if we accept this ban without a single word of protest, we look just as foolish. For a mere child, he is exceptionally cunning.”

Anton wore a slight smile as he spoke, almost as if he found Haydam’s provocation amusing.

Monitoring Anton’s expression closely, one of the officers ventured a cautious question.

“Then… what do you plan to do, sir…?”

“I intend to prod into something entirely outside the subjugation campaign.”

“Something else?”

“Luna Moon’s grave.”

“What?!”

“Lord Anton?!”

The officers cried out in unison. Even Anton would find no pardon from Commander Hayden if he dared desecrate Luna Moon’s resting place—of that they were certain.

Anton curled the corner of his mouth, appearing entertained by their panic.

“Do you seriously believe I am suggesting we dig up a dead woman’s grave?”

“Th-then…?”

“I investigated that woman’s grave. It turns out it has been there for quite some time. The elders in the slums claim it has occupied that exact spot for nearly ten years.”

“Ten years?”

Sensing an inconsistency, an officer pressed further.

“How is that possible? Lord Haydam is only ten years old.”

“Precisely.”

Anton placed both hands flat on the table and intertwined his fingers.

“Are you saying Lord Haydam might be an impostor?”

Anxiety rippled through the officers, though one spoke up as if struggling to accept the premise.

“No—yet the pro-commander officers all insist that the boy resembles Luna Moon. And… even to my eyes, he bears a strong likeness to His Excellency.”

The others quickly voiced their own doubts.

“Even if Lord Haydam were a fake, how could we possibly prove it? We can’t even verify the exact year the grave was built.”

“More importantly, Lord Haydam has already solidified his reputation. Raise doubts about him now, and you’ll end up executed like Lieutenant General Bartom.”

The vivid memory of watching Lieutenant General Bartom die under Meursault’s gun flashed in their minds, causing the officers to shudder.

“What if we try this approach?”

Anton clearly had a strategy formulated, turning his gaze back to the group.

“If the boy is a fake, he will not recognize Luna Moon’s face. She has been nothing more than bones for a decade, and no photographs of her survived.”

“True. His Excellency has always deeply regretted that fact above all else.”

“Therefore, I plan to present a portrait of Luna Moon to the boy and observe his reaction.”

The officers looked puzzled.

“A portrait of Luna Moon? You just stated that no photographs remain…”

“You aren’t thinking of asking His Excellency or the other officers directly, are you? If we step forward offering to commission a portrait of Luna Moon, Lady Daphne’s dignity…”

“We have Lady Daphne, don’t we?”

Daphne would undeniably recognize Luna Moon’s face. After all, they had fiercely competed for Commander Hayden’s affection.

“Would Lady Daphne cooperate with us on this? Even after the boy hurled such harsh words at her, she instructed us not to treat him as an enemy. She seems rather fond of him. She would never permit us to lay a trap utilizing Luna Moon’s portrait.”

“Tsk. In the end, women just can’t help being soft on children, can they?”

The officer who muttered without thinking caught Anton’s piercing glare and immediately bowed his head.

“Speaking so recklessly—have you gone senile as well?”

“I—I apologize.”

“Still… it is true that Lady Daphne holds a favorable view of the boy…”

Anton had known Daphne since her early childhood. As the sole daughter of the previous commander, she possessed ambitions matching her father’s. She was not the type of woman to favor a child merely out of sentimental softness. She must anticipate some return benefit from Haydam.

“We will simply tell Lady Daphne that we wish to present Lord Haydam with a portrait of his mother as a gift. Outwardly, that will serve as our official purpose.”

“Oh, brilliant. That way we avoid offending either His Excellency or Lady Daphne.”

“Furthermore, if Lady Daphne is the one to present the portrait initially, her standing with His Excellency should improve as well.”

Anton gave a brief nod in response to the officer’s remark.

“Once the portrait is finished, I will summon the boy to an official officers’ meeting. We will claim we prepared a welcoming gift and unveil it to him. The instant he gazes upon that portrait, the truth will come to light. The expression in a child’s eyes upon seeing his own mother cannot be faked.”

The commander would also attend the officers’ meeting. He would notice any unusual reaction from Haydam far more sharply than any of them could.

“If the boy is genuinely Luna Moon’s son, he will recognize his mother’s face at a glance…”

The voice that followed dropped into a sharp, low whisper.

“And if he does not—he will suffer the consequences for masquerading as an imposter.”

—

For reasons I couldn’t quite fathom, rumors circulating through the military academy claimed I had fought a furred crocodile single-handedly and emerged victorious, leading me to join the training simulation solely for Team A’s honor.

Platon… did you only tell them my injuries hadn’t fully healed yet?

Aside from the looming risk that a founding myth might soon emerge about a ten-year-old child beating a furred crocodile with his bare hands and defeating eight cadets simultaneously, daily life at the academy remained peaceful.

Following that incident, my routine settled into a steady cycle of academy classes by day and planning the subjugation campaign alongside Meursault by night. Nothing particularly dramatic occurred.

Before I realized it, a full month had slipped by, and I found myself once again sharing a meal with other kids my age. The gathering had even been elevated with the grand title of a charity party, prompting the attending children to wear neat formal suits instead of standard uniforms or servant attire.

Shut-In Honey, who had slicked back his blond hair and styled himself into unexpected handsomeness, grumbled with an aggrieved expression.

“What’s the point of party food when we aren’t even allowed to taste it? Just hand over the standard slop already.”

When was this guy ever going to adjust his attitude?

Taejeong, who had gained noticeable height over the interim, spoke with a more mature demeanor.

“For us, operational efficiency outweighs flavor. I tested that Star Candy from last time—its performance is extraordinary.”

“Yeah, I tested it too.”

Due to the intrusion of the Unicorn Area player, we never got the chance to thoroughly test our new combat ration, Star Candy, prior to our return. Evidently, once I distributed some on the journey back, they conducted their own trials.

“I was too chicken to test it on a really severe wound, but… as long as you survive the initial hit, it seems capable of bringing you back. The healing speed was absurdly fast.”

Hmm. If I proposed that we deliberately inflict critical injuries just to test it properly, they would undoubtedly refuse.

“You’re making that creepy expression again.”

“What sort of expression is that?”

“The look that signals your dopamine levels are spiking.”

Oh dear.

“I don’t know.”

“What?”

My reply must have sounded entirely ridiculous because Shut-In Honey’s face twisted in disbelief.

“You don’t know?”

“I literally mean I don’t know. All I’m aware of is that he’s a Unicorn Area player, and unlike others, he appears fully grown. Why he’s walking around pretending to be me, or why he sought me out—I have zero clues.”

“So… that psycho could just show up again whenever the mood strikes him?”

Shut-In Honey looked distinctly nervous about the prospect of a repeat encounter. Judging by the way the intruder had mentioned looking forward to the day I visited his area when we parted ways, he likely wouldn’t seek me out proactively again anytime soon.

Compared to Shut-In Honey, Taejeong offered a much more constructive perspective.

“If he returns, I’ll train so we aren’t forced to just take the beating like last time.”

When I looked at him with an appreciative grin, Shut-In Honey scoffed.

“That guy was wearing a magnetic field shield. What kind of training could possibly counter that? Are you planning bullet-dodging drills or something?”

“Shouldn’t little brother be the one running those drills? He was the primary target of that man’s attention after all.”

“Ugh.”

Taejeong… he appears mild-mannered, but he always speaks hard truths.

“For now, trying to deduce that guy’s identity is a waste of energy. There’s simply no way to uncover it at this stage.”

“So we’re just supposed to sit here feeling uneasy about it?”

“Later on, once we travel to the Unicorn Area ourselves, we can investigate. Regardless of anything else, the fact remains that he is a player.”

It wasn’t as though I felt completely comfortable with that guy’s existence hanging over us. Yet it was equally true that nothing could be done about it immediately. Ultimately, he was just another player like us, with the sole distinction being his adult appearance.

Our area had an adult player residing in it as well, didn’t it?

Come to think of it, the time had finally arrived to fill them in regarding Daphne.

“Speaking of players—Daphne was a player too.”

“What?”

“Excuse me?”

Both Shut-In Honey and Taejeong stared at me in absolute shock.

“Daphne was a player? Not Luna Moon?”

“Luna Moon was a player as well.”

“What? Seriously?”

“They weren’t just ordinary NPCs?”

Hmm. How best to explain this situation? First, I would need to clarify that the game those two had transmigrated into differed from our own.

“Within the Safety Zone we entered, they functioned as NPCs, yes. The two of them originated from a completely different game than we did.”

“A different game…?”

“I suspect there may have been multiple distinct channels for transmigrating into this world.”

Shut-In Honey assumed his customary head-aching expression, while Taejeong carefully inquired,

“If it was a different game… what genre did they transmigrate from?”

“A dating simulation.”

“A dating sim…?”

Taejeong’s expression grew complex before an entirely unexpected comment slipped from Shut-In Honey.

“Don’t tell me it was a Handsome Middle-Aged Man Romance Simulation Game?”

What?

How on earth did this guy figure that out?