chapter 48
48 – Hidden behind the justification (1)
At a time when the whole world was shaken by the unprecedented incident that occurred in St. Francis, Republic of Bostania.
Mikhail Bismarck, the Fuhrer of the Empire, stood directly in front of the people of the Empire.
The main square in front of the Presidential Residence located in the capital Hohenvaren.
The President stood on the podium and looked at the people filling the square.
It was a speech to the nation.
He cleared his throat once and spoke in a voice that could fill the square.
“Fellow citizens, I witnessed all kinds of terrible atrocities during the last great war. The terrifying army of Titans filling the horizon, the heroes of the empire dying and crying out the names of their loved ones!
I, you, will remember. The tragedy of people who had joked and had dinner together until yesterday suddenly turned into pieces of meat whose identity was unknown.
But we overcame it all and stood tall. Those who had fought at the front returned to their families, and festivals took place throughout the imperial city. On the day that victory over the Titans was declared, we laughed to wash away all our sorrow.
And I looked up at the clear sky with a face full of hope, anticipating the peace that would come in the future! Because this moment was the daily life that those who fought and crumbled alongside us really wanted!
But everyone, I almost died once in Bostania. If the bomb had exploded even a little closer, if it hadn’t been for the bodyguards who jumped in to protect me without hesitation as soon as the situation suddenly changed! I would have faced death in a far away country.
Now look around you again. “Our unfortunate neighbors who are in extreme chaos even though the war is over.”
The Fuhrer shouted, raising his hand in the direction of the Republic of Bostania.
“They could have been us! The capital Hohenvaren could burn, the empire would split into eastern and western parts, and the city would be caught in a nuclear explosion, killing hundreds of thousands of people!
Now we must make a decision. We must never turn a blind eye to our neighbors who fought alongside the Titans! “As a people who has finally achieved peace and who has longed for peace more than anyone else, we have a duty to help those who are suffering and suffering in confusion!”
He clenched his fist and pounded his chest.
A speech broadcast live across the country.
People stopped in their tracks and focused on the image of the President beyond the screen.
“Everyone! Please respond to me! Should we fold our arms and look at our neighbors, who are being robbed of the peace they worked so hard to regain and whose daily lives are being shaken to their core? “Do you want to be the cowardly emperor who ignored the Titans the day they first appeared in Vorslava, telling them to take care of their own problems?”
“No!!”
Citizens responded to the President’s words.
The authority of the President was already solid.
Not only did the series of purges work well, but his ability as an actual victorious leader was something that no one could match.
In the first place, the President’s complete victory was a foregone conclusion when the swords once swung by the Security Bureau and the military prosecutors, whether revolutionary or imperialist, were cut off.
His relaxed gaze was no longer limited to just one empire.
“Then, faithful citizens of the empire! “Shouldn’t we be willing to extend a helping hand to our neighbors who are suffering in chaos even though the war is over?”
“That’s right! “That is right!!”
“I, Michael Bismarck, hereby declare myself the Fuhrer of the Reich and your representative, legally elected by the Reichstag!
Soon, the Empire will organize a relief volunteer corps composed of carefully selected people and officially dispatch it to the Republic of Bostania.
They are not for war, but only to help the Republic regain its lost peace!”
“Waaa!!”
“We have always fought! It was like that, it is like that now, and it always will be like that! Now that we have cracked the egg shell, we are looking at the vast horizon!”
“Mikhail! Mikhail! Mikhail!!”
“Only our Empire can help the Republic, our comrades who fought the Titans together! “Mighty and great empire, let us move forward for eternal peace throughout the world!!”
After finishing his speech, the President slowly came down to the podium.
Suddenly, the voices of people chanting his name fill the huge square.
He continued to speak impassionedly with an excited expression, but was only able to show a faint smile when he was behind the podium where no one was watching.
It was a little different than expected, but isn’t using even variables as a winning formula a true ‘superhuman’?
Fuhrer Mikhail Bismarck clenched his fists against his boiling heart.
***
“Is this what happened in the end?”
Werner Grime lit a cigarette while watching the Fuhrer disappear beyond the screen.
Look at him leaving while receiving cheers from tens of thousands of people.
The authority of the Fuhrer in the empire had already grown enormously.
Werner recalled what the Fuhrer had said to him in a meeting one day.
-You are so similar to me.
-We are already looking into the distant future. Unlike other people. Furthermore… The attitude of willing to do anything for that purpose.
-I think I understand why your comrades are more loyal to you than to me.
-If it weren’t for the Titans, you and I would never have been compatible.
-My nemesis, hidden and unknown to anyone, but in the end we both ended up defeated. What a pity!
Hohenvaren was the last line of defense.
Looking at the burning capital of the empire, Fuhrer Mikhail Bismarck bit into the capsule containing the poison without hesitation.
An obsession bordering on madness to maintain the dignity of the President even in death.
From the first time he was called to head the new organization called the Security Strategy Bureau, he had already seen through the President’s true intentions.
The Republic of Bostania was already under the hand of the Fuhrer.
In that case, we first had to see how far the President could go.
First, use the power of the organization called the Safety Bureau and the symbolism of war hero Luthus Ethan to remove the Graveyard members to the rear of the battlefield as much as possible….
It was that moment.
Suddenly.
Lieutenant Dante Veiga opened the door to the director’s office and came in without knocking.
Werner, who had just started contemplating, looked at him with his eyebrows furrowed.
It was an important moment.
The act of taking a single life should never have been done under meticulous and thorough planning.
But seeing the contemplative expression of even Lieutenant Dante Veiga, who rarely showed emotions, Werner sensed that something unusual had happened again.
He must have been entrusted with background investigations related to the DAPA.
Isn’t there only one reason to suddenly rush into the director’s office with an expression like that?
“I’m sorry, Director. But there was something I had to tell you.”
“Is this the worst I thought it would be?”
“I think that’s right….”
He handed a piece of paper to Werner and added,
“A few weeks ago, we confirmed that an ultra-small high-density hydrogen bomb was exported from the confidential weapons depot and weapons research center under the Defense Acquisition Program Administration.”
“f*ck… “I was hoping not.”
Clud.
Werner Grime gritted his teeth.
Should we disclose this information right now?
No.
National public opinion has already turned to the President.
This information should be held in as long as possible and released at a critical moment….
“But there is one questionable part, Director.”
“What is it?”
“The official document says ‘exported,’ but when we hacked into the internal computer network and checked, it said ‘lost.'”
“… ?”
I couldn’t understand.
A loss?
It was common for exported goods to be treated as lost.
This is because he was well-versed in the process of dealing with corruption during his 40 regressions.
However, on the contrary, it is rare for lost items to be taken out.
Only if the lost item is not an item for which liability arises overwhelmingly based on that fact alone.
Of course, an ultra-small hydrogen bomb was a weapon that more than satisfied the requirements.
What if it explodes in the imperial capital?
It will become truly uncontrollable.
There is a high probability that it was literally treated as ‘exported’ to avoid public confusion or to cover up responsibility.
But what on earth can we do to lose the hydrogen bomb?
The classified armory under the Defense Acquisition Program Administration boasted unparalleled security among the numerous military facilities in the empire.
Among other things, we lost a weapon of mass destruction that was supposed to be protected according to the most stringent security procedures?
This would not have been possible unless it had been loaded onto a nuclear submarine or nuclear bomber and the entire aircraft was submerged.
“Please find out more about this part.”
“Actually… I was also seriously concerned about that part, so I checked it in more detail….”
The lieutenant hesitated and hesitated.
“It seems like an insider at the DAPA stole it. “No, I think it would be more correct to say that it was stolen rather than stolen.”
“What?”
“And… “The person who is believed to be the culprit who seized the weapons of mass destruction in question without permission is…”
Werner Grime’s pupils dilated significantly.
“This is Charlotte Evergreen, one of the director’s former comrades.”