For the next few days.
Sydney and I conducted joint operations.
More precisely, a search operation throughout Weymouth.
The purpose was to secure the enemy remnants and hidden supplies left within the city.
Of course, in reality, there was hardly anything that could be called an “operation.”
Boom!
“Two in the blind spot on the right, behind the drum.”
“Confirmed.”
Rat-tat-tat!
As I kicked in the broken factory door and snapped my fingers, Sydney, who had been glued tightly to my back, smoothly darted out and fired her pistol.
Two remnants wearing red armbands toppled over, spraying blood.
“Clear. Let’s move to the next area.”
The two most capable and powerful figures in Weymouth were currently out in the field themselves. The remaining enemies were nothing more than a bunch of idiots with pathetic weaponry and even worse organization—remnants in name only.
“This way.”
A maze of narrow, dark factory grounds.
No matter where they were hiding, before my [Minimap], they were no different from ants in a transparent glass tube.
We rapidly swept through the enemy forces, and before long, we entered the dark underground.
“I’ll go down first. Director, follow behind me.”
“Understood.”
I adjusted the submachine gun slung across my back and climbed down the ladder. Sydney followed close behind without making a sound.
The basement was damp and dark. It seemed to have been used by the Reds as a temporary warehouse and command post, with stacks of documents and wooden crates piled up in disarray.
“It’s a trap……”
It was just as Sydney was about to step forward.
An information window appeared before me as I repeatedly used [Status Analysis].
[Target: Booby Trap]
[Special Note: An improvised device combining wire and explosives. Can be disarmed.]
I reflexively reached out and seized her firmly around the waist.
“Eek?!”
Clatter—!
A firm yet supple curve was caught in my grasp through the taut fabric of her suit. I roughly pulled Sydney’s body toward me, simultaneously shoving her against the wall.
Thud!
Sydney was trapped between my chest and the cold concrete wall.
“Co, Colonel?! What are you—!”
Her voice, raised in protest, faltered before she could finish.
And for good reason—their bodies were pressed together without the slightest gap between them.
Startled, Sydney drew ragged breaths. Her full breasts, warm and soft through the fabric, rubbed heavily against my rib cage with every breath.
Her lower body was tangled with mine as well. The supple curve brushing between my thighs and the searing warmth of her body strangely stimulated my groin.
“……”
Sydney’s expression from such a close distance was particularly striking.
Her lavender eyes, usually as cold as frost, trembled faintly, clouded with embarrassment and a peculiar shame. Her red lips were slightly parted, and each sweet breath spilled straight against the tip of my chin.
Naturally, I was reminded of the time she had remained my maid. On the train bound for the capital, after she was caught peeking at my documents. Maid Ellie, trembling between fear and pleasure at the thought of losing her virginity to me.
[The skill ‘Iron Will’ is active.]
I did not feel the urge to kiss those red lips at once and push between her thighs.
Instead, I deliberately pressed my lips close to the shell of her ear and whispered.
“……The Director of Intelligence failed to notice a trap. You nearly ended up buried beneath concrete rubble alongside an Imperial Army colonel.”
Each time my hot breath touched her, I could see gooseflesh rising over her white nape.
‘Status Analysis.’
[Name: Sydney Wellesley]
[Condition: Elevated heart rate, shame, adrenaline]
[Emotions: What on earth is he doing…? I already knew there was a trap…! Move away! I need to push him away right now, but… I can’t make my body move….]
“……I knew.”
Sydney finally managed to speak.
“…I was just about to avoid it when the colonel took an unnecessarily violent course of action first.”
“Ah, yes. Of course you were.”
“You are exceedingly rude. If not for the colonel’s overreaction, I would have dealt with it myself.”
[Emotions: This damn lecher… What a rutting beast. ……Ugh! My head is spinning…. It’s just like back then……. No, what happened then…!]
I could feel Sydney’s heartbeat clearly through my chest. It was pounding madly, like a broken pocket watch.
‘Her reaction is absolutely delicious.’
Outwardly, she was an ice witch without blood or tears, but placed in a situation this primal, she was utterly unable to conceal the vulnerability she had shown in her days as Maid Ellie.
Of course, this was the limit. I had no intention of dragging it out any further.
I calmly pulled my lips away from her ear, withdrew my hand from her waist, and took a step back.
I drew the knife at my waist and approached the tripwire. The sensation of the cold blade guided my fingertips.
Click, snap.
I easily disarmed the detonator and severed the wire. Only then did the tension that had filled the basement seem to abruptly release.
“……Ah.”
Sydney took a small, deep breath and peeled her back from the wall. Then she quickly closed the lapels of her disheveled suit jacket and hardened her expression.
[Condition: Relief, attempting to regain composure, inexplicable sense of loss]
[Emotions: …This is utterly ridiculous. I mustn’t let this man dictate the pace.]
“Clear. It’s completely safe now, Director.”
“……Good work, Colonel.”
We switched our flashlights back on and proceeded deeper into the underground area.
We thoroughly searched the hidden documents and supply crates left behind by the Reds’ remnants. There was nothing particularly impressive, but from the Intelligence Bureau’s perspective, they provided meaningful leads for eliminating the remaining forces within Weymouth.
It was when we had successfully completed the basement search and returned to the factory yard aboveground.
Grrrrrr—!
Woof! Woof!
“Whoa, whoa! You insane bastard of a dog! Shoot it right now!”
“Stand back! Killing it carelessly could cause trouble later!”
The Intelligence Bureau agents searching the outskirts of City Hall and the soldiers of our direct-command unit had gathered together, murmuring among themselves.
At the center of the crowd was a military dog as big as a mountain. The beast had dark fur and a ferocious countenance. Perhaps the Reds had abandoned it during their retreat, for it was tethered to a rusted steel frame.
Grrr!
The dog bared blood-red teeth at the surrounding agents and soldiers, barking like mad. Every time someone tried to approach, it looked ready to snap its leash and tear out their throats.
“What is all this commotion?”
When I appeared, parting the crowd without a care, the soldiers hurriedly made way.
“B-Brigade Commander! It’s a military dog the enemy left behind. It’s acting viciously enough to call itself loyal, and we can’t get near it.”
Sydney, who had followed behind me, also frowned. Even her agents were sweating bullets.
Without a word, I approached the fierce military dog.
“Colonel! It’s dangerous!”
Grrrrr—! Woof!
The military dog raised its teeth as if about to leap at me, its eyes bloodshot. But without so much as blinking, I walked straight toward it until I was within range of its jaws.
‘Status Analysis.’
[Target: United Kingdom Military Dog]
[Condition: Extreme hunger, defensive disposition, loss of handler]
After reading the text in the status window, I let out a quiet snort of amusement.
‘…So it’s just a frightened mutt that lost its owner.’
Without hesitation, I reached out and seized the dog’s collar with a powerful grip. Then I roughly pulled the collar downward and lightly touched its body with my fingertips.
‘Touch of Attunement.’
[The skill ‘Touch of Attunement (Lv. 2)’ is activated.]
[The target’s internal energy is stabilizing.]
“Sit.”
Whine—.
The beast that had seemed like a wild animal reacted immediately. As if by magic, it hid its teeth, tucked its tail between its legs, and flattened itself against the ground, rolling over to expose its belly.
I gently rubbed its stomach, appropriately ‘attuning’ it until it calmed down.
The surrounding agents and soldiers watched the scene with utterly bewildered expressions.
“Huh……”
Sydney also let out a small exclamation as she approached.
“…The dog is quite intelligent. It’s quick to catch on.”
I chuckled and rummaged through my pocket. It was a hard piece of jerky taken from a field-ration pack. I thrust it in front of the dog’s muzzle.
“It isn’t intelligence. It’s hunger.”
The beast, which had seemed ready to chomp down on the jerky along with my fingers with a resounding snap—
Lick, lick.
Soon cautiously extended its tongue and licked my palm before beginning to chew only the jerky, as docile as could be.
Its tail wagging so vigorously that it swept the ground like a broom was an added bonus.
Roughly ruffling the fur on the dog’s nape, I continued.
“No matter how fiercely a creature bares its teeth, once its food supply is cut off and the hand holding its leash changes, it knows instinctively.”
“……”
“Whose feet it needs to lie at if it wants a warm place to sleep tonight. It’s pure survival instinct.”
Sydney’s shoulders twitched.
“Besides, judging by its size and coat, isn’t this one originally from the United Kingdom’s Ministry of Defense? It seems the Reds stole it and put it to use.”
I stood up and brushed the dirt from my combat boots.
“Isn’t that right, Director Wellesley? Its owner must have fled to the New Continent and left it behind without even giving it proper meals. To survive, it has to wag its tail at whoever tosses it even a serving of Imperial Army rations.”
Sydney could not say a word. In silence, she merely looked down at the dog, which was docilely begging for my touch.
“Have the Intelligence Bureau use this one.”
I cut the leash and, holding it suitably, forcibly placed it in Sydney’s hand. My fingers brushed over her black leather glove.
“Feed it on time, and it’ll make an excellent search dog. Now, let’s go.”
I took the lead without looking back.
Sydney stood frozen in place. Her gaze shifted between my retreating back and the beast licking its belly where I had just touched it.
“……Perhaps the colonel is right.”
Sydney managed to take a difficult step and followed after me.
‘Status Analysis.’
[Name: Sydney Wellesley]
[Condition: Cognitive dissonance, déjà vu, peculiar sense of subordination]
[Emotions: She feels that being in a position where she accepts the jerky Max tosses her and wags her tail is exactly like her own.]