EP.160 Morning in the Military Nation
5 minutes is certainly a short amount of time, but even that fleeting moment follows economic logic. For those in a rush, 5 minutes is truly worth a thousand gold, but for those with plenty of leisure, they wouldn't mind giving it away.
Right now, 5 minutes was like a thousand gold to me.
Because I was asleep.
Click, tap.
The alarm was turned off before it could even ring. I don't know which angel did it, but I gained a precious 5 minutes from this. The 5 minutes before opening one's eyes in the morning is something that cannot be exchanged for anything else.
"Please wake up... 3rd attempt. I judge that further attempts are meaningless. I will proceed to the next phase."
Something patted my shoulder, but such a gentle touch cannot disturb my sweet sleep. I will protect these precious 5 minutes more from the wicked invader.
I pulled the blanket up and replied.
"Ung, just 5 more minutes."
"...3rd attempt. I judge that further attempts are meaningless. I will proceed to the next phase."
Huh. What was next again?
Wait. Could it be.
"Whyyyyyyyyyyyyy!"
"Kyaaaaaah!"
A shout louder than any ordinary alarm clock rang in my ears. Rolling off the soft bed, I threw the blanket far away and quickly got up.
"Again today? It's this pattern again today! Yesterday you didn't wake up even when I went 'Whyyy'!"
Unfair. Why am I the only one suffering this? I want to wake you up like this too, so why won't you wake up!
Unable to contain my indignation, I shouted.
"I told you to wake me by tapping my shoulder, didn't I? What's all this racket early in the morning!"
The captain, already fully dressed in her uniform, spoke calmly.
"I already attempted it."
"Attempt, my foot! There's no way I wouldn't wake up!"
"I do not make false reports. Also, why are you so confident when you woke up 10 minutes late past your wake-up time? It is negligence."
"10 minutes?! I woke up 10 minutes late?"
"Affirmative. Sleeping in for 10 minutes is surely an act of negligence. Therefore..."
"Ah, what. Not much time has passed. Wake me up a bit later. Yawn..."
As I tried to lie back down on the bed, the captain grabbed my hand directly and pulled me.
"Wake up! Is negligence ingrained in your body? How can you say you'll sleep more here!"
"Ah, I'm tired. I met a friend last night and couldn't sleep at all."
"You even went out secretly in the middle of the night? I cannot find any will to follow the rules in your words and actions!"
"What are you talking about. You fell asleep yesterday before it was even bedtime."
"Ne...Negation! No, in fact, not a negation but a negation of intent! I had no such intention! It was force majeure!"
Even with her face turning bright red, the captain didn't let me sleep.
Ah, this is why they say having a roommate is inconvenient. Living alone is the best.
"I will not fall asleep like that today. I have recovered from travel fatigue, and I have had enough sleep. I will not show such disgraceful behavior like yesterday!"
"Ah, is that so."
"Affirmative! That incident yesterday was a surprise blow! Today is differ..."
The captain, who was shouting like that, tilted her head with a puzzled face.
"...? Question. I should have fallen asleep inside the bathroom yesterday, how..."
"Now. Shall we go eat breakfast! I'm sorry but today's breakfast is also beans cooked by Anna!"
As I abruptly got up and dashed out the door, the captain innocently left her question behind and trotted after me.
"Question. Why is that something to be sorry about? The bean dish she made was sufficiently... no, extremely delicious."
"Can you eat stir-fried beans again?"
"Affirmative. I can eat it all day long."
Wow, a human is less picky about food than a dog.
The captain, who filled her mouth with Anna's stir-fried beans again today, sparkled her eyes and savored the taste.
"......!"
'It's delicious...! A different taste from yesterday! It definitely looks the same, but...!'
"Is it delicious? I put in a little extra effort today. Eat a lot."
Anna wore a warm smile. The captain nodded repeatedly and put the stir-fried medley into her mouth.
'If I were to ask her to tell me this recipe...! Keuk, impossible. A recipe of this level would surely qualify as classified information! I wouldn't be able to find it out...!'
What do you mean find it out. You just need to remember this. High heat and plenty of oil.
No, wait. Something else was mixed in. This flickering aroma that tames the smell... could it be.
Wow. This?
"Anna. Why are you sprinkling that here!"
I spoke with rebuke, but Anna replied casually.
"I only sprinkled a little. I just added as much as can fit between the thumb and index finger. I didn't even use the 10% commission I'm receiving, so don't worry."
"You're using it like it's your own."
"Is it a waste for it to go into that child's mouth?"
"I didn't intend to put gold powder in her mouth."
When I grumbled, Anna smirked and picked up the bag next to her. Then she placed soup in front of the captain and said affectionately.
"I'll be briefly visiting another district today. The makeshift diner is closed today, so have lunch somewhere else."
"...?! Emergency! Is the closure fact a fact?"
"Hehe. Hughs will guide you to a tastier place, so don't worry. This guy has a wide network, so he'll definitely know a delicious place."
"Negation..."
'To say there's a tastier canned bean dish than this, impossible!'
Why are you limiting it to beans. Have you never thought of other dishes?
Anna's smile looking at the dejected captain was that of a mother looking at her daughter. Anna said with a smile full of maternal love.
"If possible, wait until dinner. I might be able to return by then. Hughs. Take good care of her. I'll go do the errand you asked me to do."
Meaning she'll go sell the spices I entrusted to her. I grumbled.
"Take care of what. She's someone who lives stoutly even by herself."
"I'm saying be her strength. She has no choice but to live bravely by herself, but together, it's okay to be a little spoiled for a while. In my opinion, you both seem to need that."
"Why do you keep treating us like kids left by the water. Worry about me first before worrying about her."
The captain is acting like this because she doesn't know the ways of the backstreets right now, but if she goes to the unit wearing her uniform, there will be plenty of people saluting her first.
If they knew she was a signalman they might ignore her, but when she's her main body, she's hiding her identity, so they'll just think she's a captain.
"...When I return, I'll make something even more delicious with various ingredients, so don't feed her anything too delicious."
Anna smiled like that and left the makeshift diner.
Where she is heading is the market in District 13. She'll probably exchange the gold powder she sprinkled for real gold there. She'll also buy vegetables on the side, and if there's money left, she might buy raw meat, a Level 1 luxury that can only be bought by paying an additional fee.
Hmm. I'm quite looking forward to it. Then shall we just do a simple tour today.
"Beep. Did you eat it all?"
The captain who emptied her bowl nodded.
"Affirmative. It is a remarkably outstanding skill. It is comparable to the best meal I have ever had."
They say the familiar taste is scary, but calling stir-fried canned bean medley the best meal? I can't help but question the military welfare of the Military Nation.
I'm looking forward to what happens when she eats the dish Anna will showcase when she returns. What kind of reaction she'll show when she eats food seasoned with sufficient funds and the highest quality spices.
"Question. Who is Anna? Even among the mess cooks, there was no one who showcased cooking of that level. Was she a former legendary mess cook?"
"Where is there a legend among mess cooks? She's just a normal Level 0 citizen."
"...Level 0, you say? Her?"
The captain opened her eyes wide as if it was unexpected. I didn't miss that gap and poked in.
"You just thought that, didn't you? To think a mere Level 0 is eating such delicious food! Unfair, you thought!"
"Ne...!"
The captain, who was about to say negation, soon swallowed her words and nodded honestly.
"Negation... of negation. It might be so. Because I thought all low-level citizens lived a hard and miserable life."
Low-level citizens do live a somewhat hard and miserable life, but you're the weird one, signalman. Compared to you, any average low-level citizen would relatively become a noble.
...No. Still, the captain's salary must be steadily deposited in the Veterans Affairs Office. No matter how that money might disappear, it must be better than Level 0.
"Still, the life of a Level 0 citizen, treated as half-abandoned administratively, is not so bad. The military authorities would be proud of this too..."
'It means my loyalty to the Military Nation was not meaningless.'
Huh? Her way of thinking is strange.
Normally, upon seeing how they live like this.
-Even a Level 0 enjoys this much luxury and freedom, so why am I, a Level 3, in this state? Dissatisfaction! Rebellion! Strike! Revolution! I will stop my duties starting today!
I thought it would be like this. But she's rather proud that her loyalty to the Military Nation was a good thing?
Beyond expectation. Is she pure, or is she steadfast? At this level, the Military Nation that created the signalman is amazing.
"I won't be able to affirm that. Is that really so? People have no problems when they live together. The problems of those without leeway occur when hardship strikes them."
As commuting time approached, alarm clock sounds resounded from all over the residential area. Unlike last night, no one complained about this noise.
Because if they failed to wake up and were late, their labor days might increase.
The existence of alarm clocks to ordinary citizens is truly a love-hate relationship. While painfully driving away the sweet sleep of the morning, it was also a signal that protected their precious daily lives.
Most of the citizens who woke up as if being kicked out walked the streets like corpses, clutching their hungry bellies without even eating breakfast. The direction they moved was mostly similar, and so the line of people became one massive flow.
A few young men stood in the hallway and knocked fiercely on a door.
"Hey! Philip! Wake up!"
"He's not dead, right? Damn, he looked tired, I should have sent him off early yesterday."
While the young men regretted, the sharp sound of the alarm clock was still ringing loudly from inside the tightly closed door.
The captain asked.
"Why are they knocking on another person's house?"
"In case they can't wake up from sleep even after hearing the alarm, they promised to wake each other up. If they're late, that day's labor could become invalid."
Human cooperation was demonstrated to survive in this urban jungle. It's a union out of necessity.
However, the captain, who lived properly and woke up before the alarm went off, couldn't empathize with this.
"Question. Why is another person's help needed to wake up from sleep? It's a matter of sleeping on time and waking up on time."
"Don't think everyone thinks like you. Like me last night, there are people who went to bed late due to unavoidable circumstances."
"That happened because you were undisciplined!"
Since the captain was quite curious, I decided to follow this flow with her once. The people walking trudgingly along the main road split into a few groups.
Boarding densely like cargo onto a large automatic carriage that rumbled closer.
Lining up in front of a large building in the downtown area.
Or going in as if being swallowed into a factory that looked like a large warehouse.
"Some to factories, some to logistics warehouses, some to stations, some to the engineering corps or supply corps... they go to do that day's labor."
The lower-class citizens of the Military Nation, who don't even have land to farm, only have their bodies. Therefore, the work they can do is also all of the kind that is done with their bodies.
Most of the money ordinary citizens earn comes from the labor sites, and they make a living day by day through labor. Naturally, that salary comes entirely from the Military Nation, and the Military Nation collects the products from the labor sites.
It's safe to think that places using laborers are all under the management of the Military Nation.
"I know that much."
"But you barely knew about the types or intensity of labor, right? Also which labor is mainly preferred."
"...Affirmative."
"Hehe. You're a captain and you don't even know that."
The captain clenched her mouth shut as if her pride was hurt. I suggested before the captain could sulk more.
"Since it came up, shall we go for a labor experience today?"
"Was that the kind of work that could be experienced?"
"What in the world is impossible? If you talk it out well, it's meant to be resolved."
"...Warning. That statement of yours contains a very large risk. The Military Nation has matters prohibited by law, and if you violate them, you will receive a large punishment according to the prohibition level."
Even while saying that, the captain followed me and joined the line as if she inwardly wanted to see inside the factory.
It might be a bit overwhelming for the Indo-Pine captain, but realizing the harshness of labor here would be okay. Perhaps this could be a bigger stimulus.
It was then.
A shout was heard from the middle of the crowd.
"You little thief!"
Smack, a fierce kick struck the small boy. The boy rolled away but waved his hands.
"I, I didn't do it!"
It was the pickpocket boy who put his hands on me yesterday.
Perhaps because he hadn't reached the realm of pickpocketing yet, he was facing the furious, snorting man head-on.
"I saw you trying to pickpocket! What are you trying to hide!"
Everyone passing by looked at them at least once.
But that was it.
The walking citizens glanced at the appearances of the boy and the man once, then walked their way again. The attitude they took was indifference.
"Help me! This person is... ugh!"
Whether robbed, or stealing and getting beaten. It wasn't their concern.
In fact, even when they saw the kid caught by me yesterday, not a single person directly intervened or meddled. It was just that a Military Nation captain was beside me, so they simply looked with hostility.
People with enough leeway to step directly into other people's affairs are, at least in this district, very few.
"...Pickpocketing is a crime. Although the nature of the crime isn't that heavy, committing the same crime calmly after doing such a thing yesterday is clearly a big problem."
And the captain probably didn't have such leeway either.
However, the girl who strangely identified herself with others, tried to step forward for the child screaming in pain.
"However. Private sanctions are not allowed. He has no right to arbitrarily punish a sinner."
She would be the first to break if left as is in the Military Nation. Someone who has no leeway, yet offers herself to create an opening.
Did the Military Nation protect the signalman, or use her?
"...Don't stop me."
"No. I must stop you. The child wouldn't want you to intervene either."
I leisurely adjusted my pace in the flow of people. The man, who was almost late for work, kicked the child one last time and abruptly disappeared into the crowd.
The boy lay as if dead, then opened his eyes narrowly, examined the man's back, and suddenly got up. Strangely, a smile hung on his mouth from which groans naturally flowed.
"...Hehe, even if I get caught during commute time... as long as I don't get dragged to the orphanage... it's worth it..."
No gain, but no loss either.
The boy considered that luck and disappeared back into the streets.
Coincidentally, the captain, who happened to brush past the boy right then, heard those words and clamped her mouth shut.
"..."
'They didn't want it. They didn't want the Military Nation's judgment. If I had intervened, both of them would have faced unwanted results.'
Having become a soldier, from that standpoint, they were negligent in their duties. The boy who committed a crime should rightfully head to the orphanage, and the man abandoned his duty to report the crime instead of imposing private sanctions.
However, the captain truly thought it was a relief that she didn't intervene just now.
I subtly spoke, as if comforting the captain who fell into agony.
"Haha. Don't feel disappointed. This is everyday life."
There was no answer.