EP.163 Welcome to the Back Alley
Abby put on her uniform for the first time in a while.
She returned her favorite casual clothes to her packet, and loaded the washed and carefully stored uniform into her bio-terminal. The pressure that casual clothes couldn't mimic wrapped around her entire body, bringing a slightly unfamiliar sensation.
Still, it was a uniform she had worn almost every day for years. Abby quickly grew accustomed to it.
She had been told to nurse Anna, but a captain of the Military Nation was not a caretaker.
Abby was a signal soldier. Aside from transmitting information across the Military Nation using her inherent magic, gathering and compiling intelligence was also a signal soldier's duty.
While she couldn't do anything by Anna's side, as Signal Soldier Captain Abby, there were things she could do.
"I will track down the existence disrupting public order."
The captain pulled her stiff peaked cap low over her eyes and left the room.
"Anna said she went to the market in District 13. Surely, she must have headed to the citizen's market in District 13."
The citizen's market of District 13, which sold packets, food, and various sundries needed by low-level citizens.
Since the sale of Level 2 luxury goods was permitted there, commoners who came into money would visit it every now and then.
As such, there were pickpockets and robbers targeting the citizens' money, but this was the Military Nation. The risk if caught was immense, so no one would attempt it without considerable resolve, and if they weren't meticulous enough, their tails would be stepped on quickly, dragging them off to the labor camp.
"Since an illegal act has been discovered by this officer, I have the duty to gather information regarding this case."
She couldn't leave it to the police or the military police. Even if a Level 0 citizen suffered a crime, they wouldn't launch an investigation. They would merely record it with the intention of pinning it on a criminal caught later.
That was why Abby decided to move as a captain. She made up her mind to gather undeniable evidence and hand it over to the military police.
She just couldn't reveal her identity as a signal soldier, but a captain was a captain. She had the qualifications.
"A life doomed to die anyway..."
When she spat those words out, her body stiffened for a moment. But Abby firmed her resolve and took a step forward.
Was it because she had experienced quite a few joyful things before she died?
Was it because she had experienced so many new things?
Abby was no longer afraid of death. If she could die holding onto these memories, that alone seemed fine.
"Before I go, I will gather information for Anna."
With a firm determination, Abby walked the streets of the Military Nation.
Deep in the night, a road sparsely populated by laborers returning from the night shift labor. Arriving at District 13, Abby leaned her back against the wall of a large building.
She pressed both palms against the wall, extending her mana in all directions. A faint mana light radiated out along her hands.
Inherent Magic Partial Blooming, Morning Glory Vines.
Using her fingers as roots, an intangible aura coiled around the wall and the floor. The morning glory vines, searching for a place to wrap around and climb, instinctively sensed the direction the mana flowed and hitched a ride on it.
Using the mana-conducting metal as a support, the climbing vines finally reached their end. The mana searching for an empty space seeped into the gap. And then.
Screech, click.
Somewhere in the Military Nation, a 'Window' prepared exclusively for signal soldiers raised its head with a harsh metallic sound.
Not a remote access using a bio-terminal, but a short-range method of synchronizing by deploying her inherent magic in close proximity.
Abby's inherent magic was the Morning Glory. A synchronization magic specialized in short-range erosion.
The fact that she was assigned nearly 50 synchronization-type magic golems called 'Windows' from the Military Nation was due to the characteristics of her inherent magic.
All the Windows assigned to her had been broken. So she hadn't had a chance to use it until now...
"This is part of intelligence gathering. Signal soldiers have the authority to control the magic golems placed throughout the Military Nation."
Synchronization magic leaves no traces. Therefore, this was not an act that revealed her identity.
In the first place, Abby only controlled golems for intelligence gathering. The golems would never step forward directly, nor would they be seen by people's eyes.
Therefore, this was not a violation of the rules. Having persuaded herself thus, Abby looked up.
And all the golems wrapped in vines simultaneously opened their eyes.
"I am using my authority."
Because it was strictly within regulations, it was a gap pried open using the rules themselves.
The invisible vines wrapped around the small golem housed at the top of the clock tower, the golem standing on the building's rooftop looking down, and the head-only golem hidden beneath the searchlight.
The golems placed everywhere opened their eyes simultaneously and responded to the signal soldier's synchronization. Having gained control of the golems, Abby exerted her mana.
Window Parallel Access. Kaleidoscope.
And then, dozens of visions illuminating different places fragmented like broken windows and poured into Abby's sight.
Despite the dark night, her head grew dizzy from the overwhelming amount of information rushing into her mind. Abby staggered, leaning her body more heavily against the wall.
However, Abby was a specialist in handling information, and one of the few signal soldiers capable of parallel access. The unified root greedily absorbed the information transmitted from all the vines. Dozens of lights shone into her blue eyes.
"Search initiated."
Her pupils darted rapidly. She compared and analyzed the scenes reflected in every corner of her vision. The flow of people, heterogeneous speeds, bizarre noises, sights that shouldn't exist.
She was the eyes, ears, and mouth of the Military Nation.
Signal soldiers were the brain of the Military Nation. The nerves through which fragmented information flowed.
That was why access to information about their identities was only permitted for those of the rank of general or higher, and even a six-star general could not use them for personal reasons.
"Search, search, search."
If they had entered a closed building, there would be no way to find them, but Abby expected them to move under the cover of night. If they stole something, they would want to dispose of it before the next day.
"Search, search, search, search, search, search..."
Scanning the streets of District 13 from where she sat, Abby spotted a man acting suspiciously. Bleeding from his shoulder, the man was running with a limp, clutching his stomach.
He looked more like a victim than a perpetrator, but either way, it was a scene where a crime was clearly suspected.
"Search terminated."
Abby severed her connection with the other golems and headed toward where the suspect was found.
Considering the escape route, the suspect would pass through the next block. Finishing her calculations, Abby headed to the next block one step ahead.
And just in time, she ran into the suspect running in terror. Seeing Abby's attire, the suspect's eyes widened.
"An officer?!"
If he was the robber who committed the crime, he would run away or be terrified upon seeing Abby. If he was a victim being chased by a robber, he would ask for help.
Even if he wasn't the robber Abby was looking for, it didn't matter. There couldn't be many bold enough to commit crimes in the Military Nation, so if she kept tracking, she would eventually find the robber who attacked Anna.
It was when Abby was formulating countermeasures for those two scenarios.
"I, I was wrong! Arrest me! I'm Number 1!"
But the suspect's attitude was unlike anything else.
The suspect, calling himself Number 1, gasped for breath and knelt before Abby.
"I committed robbery! With Number 1, Number 2, and Number 3! Number 2 is Milson, and Number 3 is Gallen! Please, arrest me!"
This was outside her predictions, but a signal soldier wouldn't panic over it. Abby replied stiffly.
"...I would like you to explain concisely what is going on."
"There's no time for that!"
The suspect looked like he had lost his mind. Or he was in a desperate hurry. Or both. With Abby's common sense, she couldn't explain it otherwise.
Because he was confessing to his crime while clutching his stomach, his face consumed by pain and fear.
"Number 2, no, that bastard Milson, told the whole organization. That I have gold in my stomach...! Everyone is coming to cut my belly open...!"
"It is difficult to understand the whole story, but I presume you feel a threat to your life. Are you requesting personal protection right now?"
"Yes! Yes! P-Protect me!"
The suspect nodded frantically. Anyway, intending to at least get some information, Abby asked.
"Accepted. However, before that, I request information from you. To know the whole story, I need to know what you stole from whom, and what actions you suffered from whom."
"I don't know who. It was some middle-aged woman trying to sell poison, no, spices at the market... I took it and was happy about it, but he, he... put it in my mouth."
The circumstances made it clear he was the one who attacked Anna. She hadn't expected to find the culprit so easily.
But finding the culprit and arresting him were two different matters. Because the suspect's expression was filled with even greater terror and pain.
"He... the one wearing a strange hat. A glass bottle of poison. To me."
Number 1, who had been muttering, suddenly grabbed his own face.
Abby revised her assessment. The expression he had been showing up until now didn't even contain a fragment of terror compared to his now contorted face.
"Aaah. The Sorcerer. Right. The Sorcerer...! It was definitely him! Why, why couldn't I remember...!"
Repeating it to himself like a madman, the suspect now shed tears and grabbed the captain's trousers. His other hand was still clutching his stomach, his attitude suggesting he believed his stomach would burst open the moment he let go.
"Please. I don't want to die like this. To die having my stomach cut open by the comrades I trusted, what is this...! I, I. Didn't do this. Didn't do this for this, hic. Ah, ah."
Number 1, who had been begging, suddenly widened his eyes. In the cold night air that made one shiver, cold sweat formed on his face.
As if something was gripping his head and legs and twisting them, he let out a lung-squeezing sound with a twisted tongue.
"Aheoh. N-no."
Then, at some point.
"Aaaaaaaargh! Aaagh, kraaaaaaaagh!"
Number 1 collapsed to the ground. As if he had single-handedly absorbed all the pain in the world, he flailed his legs and slammed the ground violently. He didn't stop even as his fists scraped raw and his entire body bruised.
At some point, his eyes rolled back and he dropped dead. Something like soapy foam flowed from his mouth. Along with his life.
All the while, there was nothing Abby could do.
For Abby was a signal soldier, not a military doctor.
"...Death confirmed. This is a murder case."
Even for the Military Nation, they wouldn't ignore a murder case. Murder was a serious crime that eliminated the precious labor force needed to continue forced labor, so they would make the murderer pay an equivalent price through labor.
Because of that, criminals had no choice but to be cautious. If they made a mistake, they would be caught in the Military Nation's surveillance network.
Yet...
"...What is the reason you are chasing him in a group in the middle of the night?"
The captain said as she looked at the approaching crowd. Beyond the shadows of the dark street, a gaunt man with cold eyes appeared, a long sword draped over his shoulder.