Three days later.
A clear day without a breath of wind. The Republic flag hanging at the Saint-Denis fortress headquarters hung limply.
An ominous atmosphere was permeating the fortress. Nevertheless, Major General Louis maintained his post with unwavering composure.
Clunk.
Soon, the door opened and a political officer from the homeland entered the office. In his hands was a newly arrived telegram from the Revolutionary Committee.
"Comrade Commander. Orders have arrived from the homeland."
"Read it."
Major General Louis expected nothing. It would just be the usual nonsense like fight to the death or no reinforcements are coming.
"To: Commander of Saint-Denis Fortress."
But the contents the political officer read out were beyond his imagination.
"Order 1. Execute on the spot any officers and non-commissioned officers swayed by the Imperial Army's psychological warfare. Those suspected may be shot without trial."
Major General Louis's eyebrow twitched.
"Order 2. For long-term food supply, cease rations to the severely wounded who are unfit for battle. Authorize humanitarian euthanasia if necessary."
"……What?"
Major General Louis shot to his feet.
"What... did you just say? Kill the wounded?"
"It is a rational decision for the revolution, Comrade."
The political officer calmly pushed up his glasses.
"Should we not feed the warriors who can fight with the bread meant for the parasites?"
"These crazy bastards...!"
Major General Louis's fists trembled.
The orders were not yet finished.
"Order 3. If the fortress faces the crisis of falling, blow up the ammunition depot and self-destruct with the fortress. Do not allow a single prisoner. Be aware... that the citizens of Elancia, including the commander's family, are watching."
Family.
It was a clear threat.
And the most vicious kind, worthy of terrorists.
Major General Louis snatched the telegram the political officer held out. A paper stamped with a red seal.
[Supreme Revolutionary Committee Chairman Valery]
That name snapped Major General Louis's last thread of patience.
"…Who are we fighting for?"
Louis murmured.
"Shoot my subordinates, starve the wounded, and in the end, self-destruct together? Is that... an order the Republic gives to its soldiers?"
"That is the spirit of the revolution! Comrade!"
The political officer shouted.
"Comrade Commander! Execute the orders immediately! The 1st Battalion commander is already suspicious. That man must be immediately...!"
Click.
Major General Louis drew his pistol from his waist.
"Yes, I'll carry out an execution on the spot."
"C-Co-Comrade Commander...?"
The political officer stepped backward. Louis's gun barrel aimed steadily at his forehead.
"On the real parasites gnawing at the nation."
Bang-!
The gunshot echoed inside the small command post. The political officer fell backward with a hole in his forehead.
Silence.
The staff officers stared at the commander, frozen.
Major General Louis threw the pistol onto the desk. Then he slowly took off his cap and set it down. A sharp, fierce light swirled in his eyes.
"Communications officer."
"Ye-Yes! Commander!"
"Send a message to the Imperial Army."
"......"
"Tell them I will meet... General Henri."
*
The parade ground of Saint-Denis Fortress.
In the space where disarmed Republican soldiers were lined up, there was a strange sense of relief rather than defeat.
The soldiers rushed to the Imperial Army supply trucks without any particular aversion.
"Bread! Oh my god...! Not brick-like hardtack, but freshly baked white bread!"
"There's canned meat too! Damn, real meat!"
They were often dazzled by the quality supplies.
The six months' worth of food supposedly stockpiled at Saint-Denis Fortress was mostly old and rotten, or hardened like bricks.
A characteristic of a collapsing nation. Supplies broke down due to corruption and chaos, and those in power deluded themselves that they could hold out by trusting only the numbers on paper.
The Republican soldiers suffering from food shortages paid no heed to ideology or patriotism as they stuffed the freshly baked bread into their mouths.
And in front of the headquarters building.
Major General Louis approached Henri and gave a hand salute.
"...It's been a long time, Henri."
"Louis."
The two old generals silently embraced each other. Louis's shoulder shook as he buried his face in Henri's shoulder.
"I'm sorry... I'm truly sorry. When you were branded a traitor, I remained silent. Because I feared for my family..."
"I know. It's all in the past."
Henri smiled bitterly and patted his friend's back.
"I offer my compliments to your friendship."
When I interjected, Major General Louis flinched and stiffened.
"This is..."
"Let me introduce. This is Lieutenant Colonel Max Jäger, Commander of the Imperial Army Jäger Combat Group."
Louis's pupils dilated as if he had seen something he shouldn't have.
"Max... Jäger...! Y-You are that...!"
"Yes, it is an honor to meet you, Major General. I am glad we could avoid unnecessary slaughter."
'Status Analysis.'
[Name: Louis]
[Emotion: Awe, Fear]
The man's spirit was already half broken. There seemed no need to seize the initiative.
"Major General. As promised, we will guarantee the safety of your soldiers. We will provide bread and meat to their fill."
I spoke calmly.
"In return, give your soldiers a choice. Whether to return home, or... to drive out the rotten parasites of Elancia and reclaim the true Republic."
"......We."
Major General Louis slowly opened his mouth.
"We are simply exhausted. Exhausted from watching an incompetent government ruin the homeland, and exhausted from worrying about our families groaning in the aftermath."
Tears welled up in his eyes.
"But I can no longer watch my soldiers starve to death. And I must prevent them from dying like dogs swept up in the madness of revolution."
'Status Analysis.'
[Name: Louis]
[Status: Extreme Mental Fatigue, Sense of Liberation]
"A wise decision. General Henri, please take good care of your friend."
"...Thank you, Jäger."
I stepped back and checked the [Minimap]. The red dots that had filled the fortress were now turning green and white.
That afternoon, the Republic's tricolor flag that hung from the highest tower of the fortress was lowered.
In its place, the Imperial flag with the iron cross fluttered in the wind.
The last shield of the Republic, the impregnable Saint-Denis Fortress, had surrendered to the Imperial Army.
*
Entering Elancia happened in an instant.
Rumble.
The sound of tracks shaking the earth.
At the front, not Imperial Army tanks, but armored vehicles of the BC Republic Corps led by Lieutenant General Henri and Major General Louis stood. My Jäger Combat Group followed in a formation as if escorting them.
We were just passing through the Triumphal Arch on the west side of Elancia.
"It's quiet."
Hannah, seated next to me, murmured as she looked out the window.
It was as she said. The capital was deathly quiet, the streets empty. Tightly shut windows and tens of thousands of eyes hidden behind curtains.
I scanned the [Minimap].
Countless white dots stood in place, watching us. Tens of thousands of dots that could turn green or red, unknowable.
I picked up the radio.
"Begin the operation. Phase 1."
The first thing to do was predetermined. Food distribution. As the ancient saying goes, 'bread and circuses', because well-fed citizens don't start revolutions.
The Imperial Army supply trucks threw off their covers. Steaming white bread and smoked sausages. And boxes of canned goods piled like mountains. These were 'strategic materials' produced by squeezing the supply units for days and even utilizing my [Material Conversion] skill.
The [Minimap] immediately showed a response.
The stationary dots began to move, and their colors started changing moment by moment. Mostly from red to white, and white to green.
The closed windows began to open one by one.
"What... is that smell?"
"Bread? Oh my god, it's the smell of butter!"
The hidden citizens began to come out into the streets. Hollow eyes, gaunt cheeks. Their gazes were fixed not on gun barrels, but on the loaves of bread.
I gestured to the soldiers standing on the trucks.
"Throw them."
The soldiers began tossing the bread into the air.
Thud! Thump!
Unpacked loaves of bread fell onto the street.
"......!"
At that moment, the [Minimap] began to churn violently. The process of tens of thousands of dots moving like crazy was, frankly, grotesque.
"Bread!"
"Move! It's mine!"
"Ahh, God...!"
The people who rushed in madly pushed each other aside to pick up the fallen bread, stuffing the dirt-covered bread into their mouths on the spot.
Children cried, old people said prayers of thanks, and women sobbed clutching the bread to their chests.
"Look, General."
I sent a radio message to Henri riding in the vehicle ahead.
"This is the bare face of the Republic you tried to protect."
[......It is devastating.]
At that moment, men wearing red armbands, a gang of Revolutionary Army, burst out from an alley.
"You reactionary bastards! Don't eat the bread the Imperial dogs give you! It's poisoned!"
"That's bait! Spit out the bread! Spit it out right now!"
The unruly Revolutionary Army tried to snatch the bread while striking the citizens with rifle butts. Normally, the citizens would have retreated in fear.
But a starving human is sometimes the most ferocious beast.
"You... sons of bitches!"
An old man picked up a stone and threw it at the Revolutionary Army.
"They're sipping cognac while starving us?! My granddaughter starved to death!"
"Kill them! Those Reds stole all the food!"
Bam! Thud!
In an instant, the situation reversed. The emboldened citizens, in turn, surrounded the Revolutionary Army.
Stones flew, clubs danced.
"Sa-Save me! We were just following orders... Aaargh!"
People's trials erupted all over the streets. But this time, the judges were not the Revolutionary Committee, but the starving citizens.