[Activating the skill 'Bullet Time'.]
Once again, the world was engulfed in stillness.
Three additional seconds given to me. That is, thirty seconds of time.
Second Lieutenant Julien was already subdued and sprawled across the floor. What remained were five straggler soldiers in the rear, vacantly aiming their gun muzzles.
I plunged between them as if dancing.
The first bastard. He held an old bolt-action rifle. I grabbed the rifle's bolt assembly and forcibly twisted it out. The chunk of metal disassembled in my hand like a toy.
The second bastard. He was trying to pull out a grenade. I undid his entire cartridge belt and dropped it to the floor.
The third, fourth, and fifth.
I confiscated all of their main weapons. I considered gathering the extracted bolt assemblies and magazines to throw them out the window, but for a more dramatic effect, I dumped them in a heap on Second Lieutenant Julien's desk.
*Hoo.*
My breath caught in my throat. It was the price of moving without rest for sixty seconds.
Finally, I grabbed Second Lieutenant Julien by the collar, stood him up, and shoved my face right up to his.
3… 2… 1….
[The skill 'Bullet Time' is deactivated.]
"Hurk!"
Time, which had stopped, came crashing down all at once.
Crash! Clatter-clank!
The bolt assemblies and magazines dumped on the desk clattered as they settled. At the same time, Second Lieutenant Julien realized he had been slammed to the floor and was now instantly caught in my grip, and he swallowed a hollow breath.
"U… uaaak?!"
The soldiers in the back belatedly pulled their triggers.
Click! Click!
But all that could be heard was the hollow metallic sound of a hammer striking nothing. Without comprehending that the core components of their guns had vanished, they stupidly stared down at their barrels.
"Wh… wha…?"
"Th... the bolt…!"
Fear.
That primal emotion one feels when confronted with an incomprehensible phenomenon. In their eyes, I must have looked as though I had teleported.
I whispered quietly into the dazed Second Lieutenant Julien's ear.
"This is the Empire's way, Second Lieutenant. I've gathered those toys for your honorable suicide right over there on the desk."
"A… aaah…."
Julien's gaze turned toward the pile of scrap metal on the desk. The bastard's pupils shook as though an earthquake had struck.
[Status: Loss of fighting spirit, Overwhelming fear, Denial of reality]
"Kill me… just kill me!"
The bastard screamed frantically, but I smirked and tossed him to the floor.
"Death? No, you bastards need to live. Live and testify. To how the Imperial Army subdued you. And what mercy we showed the citizens."
I shouted toward the window.
"Erika! Situation resolved. Come in and clean up."
Crash!
Before my shout could even finish, the second-floor office door was smashed to pieces, and Erika and the company members rushed in.
"Nobody move! Move and I'll shoot!"
"Hands up! Put your hands on your heads!"
The situation ended anticlimactically.
"Jaeger… how did you… by yourself? Surely you aren't hurt…."
"So the day has come when the great Erika worries about me."
"What?! Th-this isn't worry…!"
I ignored Erika's protest and gave direct orders to the company members.
"Hand the prisoners over to the military police, and check the hostages' condition."
"Yes sir! Medic!"
It was then.
Amidst the commotion, a sobbing sound was heard from beneath a desk crammed in a corner.
I slowly approached. Beneath the dusty desk, a girl in a school uniform was curled up. No, perhaps she was closer to a young lady than a girl.
'Status Analysis.'
[Name: Marie Bernard]
[Status: Extreme fear, Leg cramps, Shock]
I knelt on one knee and met her at eye level.
"Hey, miss."
She flinched and raised her head. Her face was a mess of tears, and when she saw me in my Imperial Army uniform, she trembled in fear, her shoulders shaking. The Republic bastards must have taught them that Imperial soldiers were devils with horns.
'Captivating Eloquence.'
I extended my right hand and activated the skill.
[The skill 'Captivating Eloquence (Lv.3)' is activated.]
"It's alright. The bad guys are all caught. It's time to go home now."
The girl stared blankly at my outstretched hand. Thanks to the skill's correction, the wariness in her eyes slowly crumbled.
[The skill 'Captivating Eloquence (Lv.3)' calms the target's fear and generates a sense of trust.]
"Did you… save me, mister?"
"That's right. The Imperial Army won't hurt you."
I smirked as I spoke. Marie carefully placed her white hand on top of my palm. I tried to help her up, but she staggered and sank back down.
"Aack…!"
"Did you hurt your ankle?"
"I was… too scared… my legs have no strength…."
Her voice trembling with fear.
"Excuse me."
Without hesitation, I supported her back with one arm and scooped up behind her knees with the other. The so-called princess carry.
"Kyah! E-excuse me…!"
"Hold on tight. If you fall, it'll really hurt."
"Y-yes…!"
Marie was light as a feather. It wasn't that her nutritional state was poor; likely because her bone structure itself was slender. Held in my arms, she buried her flushed face against my chest, whether because my embrace was unfamiliar yet not unpleasant, or simply out of embarrassment.
"U-um… aren't I heavy…?"
"Light as a feather. You need to eat more, miss."
I let out a deliberately hearty laugh and moved my feet. Then, beyond the broken door, Erika stood waiting with her arms crossed.
"Ha!"
Her gaze locked onto Marie's white forearm wrapped around my neck.
"While someone is struggling with the cleanup, the Commander seems to be on a date?"
"A date? It's a rescue operation. Can't you tell by looking?"
"For a rescue operation, your posture is very romantic. You're practically grinning from ear to ear."
'Status Analysis.'
[Name: Erika von Stalberg]
[Emotion: Relieved at his safe return, yet feeling instinctive irritation at seeing him holding another woman]
Cute.
I deliberately pulled Marie a little closer and spouted nonsense.
"Jealousy is ugly, Captain Erika. If your legs hurt too, tell me. I'll carry you later as well."
"C-carry…?! A-are you crazy?! Why would I do such an embarrassing thing!"
Erika's face turned beet red in an instant. She huffed and turned her head away.
"And I'm perfectly fine! Just hurry up and get out! People are waiting outside."
"Alright, let's go."
When we exited the main gate of the post office, along with the cold outside air, hundreds of gazes pierced toward us.
"They came out!"
"My god, did he really resolve it by himself?"
"Look there! He's carrying Marie!"
The citizens of Soissons buzzed. Before their eyes, instead of the bloodbath they had expected from the Imperial Army's violent suppression, what unfolded was a cinematic scene of an officer without a speck of dust on him walking out carrying a woman.
'Good optics.'
I inwardly rejoiced.
Occupation enforced by guns and blades is the work of amateurs. True occupation begins by stealing hearts like this. Is this not the very model of propaganda?
"Marie! Oh, dear God! Marie!"
Then, a middle-aged man ran out like a madman. I stopped the soldiers who were about to interfere with a glance.
"Dad!"
Marie, who had been in my arms, burst into tears and ran to the man. Father and daughter embraced each other and wailed.
'Status Analysis.'
[Name: Jean Bernard]
[Affiliation: Soissons Central Post Office (Director)]
[Status: Relief, Emotion, Change in perception toward the Imperial Army]
The post office director? So she had been trapped inside because she was the director's daughter.
"Thank you! Truly, thank you, Officer…!"
Soon, Jean Bernard bowed his head as though he would grab my pant leg. His hands, holding his daughter who was covered in dirt, trembled like aspen leaves.
I politely took his shoulder and raised him up.
"Please raise your head, Director. I merely did what was naturally expected of me."
"But… the Republic Army calls you people murderers…."
"War is fought between soldiers."
I spoke with force in my voice so that all the surrounding citizens could hear.
'Captivating Eloquence.'
[The skill 'Captivating Eloquence (Lv.3)' is activated.]
"The Imperial Army does not take pleasure in meaningless slaughter. We point our guns only at enemies who point theirs at us. Good citizens shall receive the Empire's protection."
At my declaration, the murmuring died down.
"Do they really not intend to kill us?"
"Look at that officer. He's like a gentleman."
With this, the first button of governing Soissons was fastened quite nicely.
"Hanna."
"Y-yes, Colonel!"
"Have the injured hostages evacuated to our medical unit for treatment. And escort the Director and his daughter safely to the official residence."
"Understood! 3rd Squad, prepare the escort!"
*
And a few hours later, again at the square in front of the Soissons City Hall.
The place where the Imperial occupation army commander's first speech was scheduled was, as expected, a sheet of thin ice.
"Imperial Army, withdraw!"
"Death to the invaders!"
"Long live the Republic!"
Thousands of people filled the square. The military police had set up barricades and aimed their rifles, but the momentum of the angry crowd showed no signs of being easily broken.
When I revealed myself on the podium, the jeers erupted into explosive shouts.
"That's him! He's the one who destroyed our corps!"
"Murderer!"
"Booooo—!!"
A few rotten eggs and stones flew through the air and struck the military police's shields with dull thuds.
'As expected, no romantic welcome.'
I dusted off the microphone and looked down at the crowd one by one. Hundreds of information windows poured into my vision.
'Status Analysis.'
[Target: Young man holding a flag] [Status: Unyielding, blind hostility]
[Target: Woman carrying a child] [Status: Extreme fear regarding food depletion]
[Target: Old laborer] [Status: Petty pride unwilling to admit defeat]
[Target: Family head in the back row] [Status: More urgent need for an immediate meal than ideology]
[Target: Frightened young girl] [Status: Brainwashed fear of the Imperial Army and hunger]
A hellish scene mixed with hostility, pride, and the most primal hunger.
With their livelihoods on the line, they couldn't help but be on edge. I had garnered some goodwill from the post office incident, but that was only a fraction. To the majority of the citizens, I was still a horned invader.
Hanna, standing beside me, cast a worried glance.
"Colonel, the atmosphere is too hostile. For now, it would be better to step back…."
"No. If I back down here, I'll only look like a man running away because dogs are barking."
I grabbed the microphone.
'Captivating Eloquence.'
[The skill 'Captivating Eloquence (Lv.3)' is activated.]
"Shut up."
The first word, spat out in a low voice, was amplified through the microphone and echoed across the square.
"Cowards."