EP.166 The Old Veteran Does Not Die
Even though the former general came forward with a humble attitude, Avi was not flustered, as if she did not treat him as a general. She just stiffly said what she had to say.
"I will listen and then judge. Unreasonable demands can be refused, and I am informing you in advance that the fact you made such a demand can also be reported."
Frontain, who would have scolded her for being disrespectful just a moment ago, did not criticize her this time.
"There is no country without crime. There is no country with better public security than the Military Nation, but even that has its limits. Violence exists anytime, anywhere."
Frontain, whose throat was parched, gulped down the water in the cup and brought up the main topic.
"As you know, in the Military Nation, when one becomes an adult, they are given a biometric terminal and simultaneously issued a citizen level. And most citizens... live at that level for their entire lives, or their level drops due to a momentary mistake or misunderstanding. It's best to think that a level increase practically doesn't exist. It means there is no hope of things getting better."
Avi pointed out in a dry voice.
"Warning. Your remarks are excessively negative. The Military Nation acknowledges private property, and if one lives diligently, they can live sufficiently comfortably until death."
"Humans cannot live on canned beans and tap water alone, Captain. For humans to live like humans, they sometimes need dreams and hope."
"People do not die from a lack of dreams and hope."
"No, sometimes they do. You'll know when you raise a child yourself."
Avi, who had never raised a child, could not easily refute him. She was also slightly irked by the old veteran's cunning logic.
Meanwhile, Frontain fiddled with the cross in his hand and let out a sigh.
"It's too rigid. The country is like that, and the citizen levels are like that. It's so rigid that there's not a single gap to squeeze into. At the very least, they shouldn't have rejected the Heavenly God and the Holy Imperial Court."
"Correction. The Military Nation has never rejected the Heavenly God and the Holy Imperial Court."
"They merely imposed a Level 2 luxury tax on religion. If that's not rejection, what is? If you have to pay money for the support of your mind, can people who struggle to even feed themselves afford to buy faith?"
Avi calmly pointed out.
"That is a choice. If faith is that precious, one can spend surplus funds to possess it."
"...Hah, the words make sense. But the world doesn't work like words! How long have you lived in the world to speak like that!"
Avi was about to point out his lack of objectivity, asking if he was saying that because he was a believer of the Heavenly God.
Before she could, Frontain suddenly shouted.
"Young people with nothing left to lose are bound to become violent. They have no dreams or hope. Even the faith that promised them peace and rest after death yielded and was taxed! Where is a heaven that can only be reached by paying taxes! For them, there is no support for their minds at all!"
Frontain clenched his fist in the air. The qi drawn from his old body formed unimpressively on his fist and then faded away.
"They are the scapegoats gathered by the shadows of the Military Nation. Those who lost their dreams and hope and drove their lives into gambling. The shadows used them as scapegoats. Therefore, I..."
In that brief moment, Frontain, who had aged considerably, pleaded with Avi in a voice that seemed ready to break.
"I wish... there could be at least a little mercy for them. The children only wandered for a moment."
The Shelter.
Managing orphanages in several districts and entrusted with operating the ration station, it was a nest created by childless retired soldiers to protect children, and a private welfare office to comfort the families of the fallen.
However, if even an only child does not grow according to their parents' wishes, what about the orphans in the orphanage?
While a child's misdeeds cannot be entirely blamed on the parents, it is perhaps natural for parents to feel a sense of responsibility.
Therefore, feeling a heavy sense of responsibility as the head of that place, Frontain bowed his head to ask a mere captain, but.
That was something Avi could not accept.
"It is impossible."
"...Yeah. I suppose so."
From the moment a crime is committed, there is no mercy. The Military Nation does not forgive.
Therefore.
"However, I can at least ensure they receive a fair judgment."
Because the information provided by the communications soldier carries that much official authority.
If Avi clearly observed and reported all these incidents, the Military Nation would accept it.
"Thank you."
Even at the assurance of a mere captain who did not state her name, rank, or affiliation, Frontain willingly bowed his head.
The atmosphere became solemn for a moment. An atmosphere that could be packaged as a beautiful farewell even if they parted like this.
Pushing through that atmosphere, Avi asked one more thing.
"I have one more question."
"I'm older and once had a higher rank, and I even bowed my head, yet there's more to squeeze out? My, you are a soldier just like the Military Nation. For better or for worse."
Frontain didn't grumble expecting something to change either. He sighed and waited for Avi's question.
"Do you know about the Magician?"
At that, the retired soldier widened his eyes and asked back.
"The Magician? That cheerful criminal?"
Cheerful, criminal?
Avi was puzzled by the incomprehensible combination of words.
"A cheerful crime? How can a criminal be cheerful?"
"There are such things in the world, Captain. I don't know if someone lacking experience like you can understand, though."
"Denial. It is impossible. Crime is an existence that must be avoided and rejected. There can be no such thing as a cheerful crime."
"Well? Listen to the Magician's track record. Can you still deny it?"
Frontain smiled like an old man telling a story to a child and began.
"You know about Cheonui Mubong, right?"
At the name of the most famous holding company in the Military Nation, Avi immediately nodded.
"Of course. It's one of the only five holding companies in the Military Nation that produces Aki Avatas and military uniforms, isn't it?"
Everything in the country belongs to the Military Nation, but there are a few items that the Military Nation cannot produce.
The most famous among them are the Aki Avata and the Alchemy Suit.
The Alchemy Suit can only be used if there is an Aki Avata, the human soul that resonates with it.
Usually paired with a clothing packet, the Aki Avata is a high-difficulty magical artifact that can only be created with very special magic, outstanding skill, and delicate senses, and the Military Nation has attempted to mass-produce it several times but failed.
The only place in the Military Nation that could create Aki Avatas was the holding company Cheonui Mubong.
Cheonui Mubong, which originated from a certain fabric shop in the old kingdom, was the very technological pillar of the Military Nation, having invented the Aki Avata and the clothing packet.
"They almost went bankrupt because of one Magician, didn't they!"
Therefore, the following words surprised Avi.
"How is that possible?"
"It's simple. Those guys tried to sell bags, accessories, wallets, and belts made of leather! But some crazy bastard went around pickpocketing in every district without exception!"
Who could make a once-great soldier who wore stars, an old man whose face is full of scars and wrinkles from surviving countless battles, laugh like such a child.
The Magician, just by speaking his name, did something akin to magic.
"Cheonui Mubong at that time was truly like a thug. They even dragged in laborers to make their goods, and mobilized orphanages saying children with small hands made them better... But thanks to all the accessories they made like that being completely wiped out by a single pickpocket, they went completely bankrupt!"
"Correction. Cheonui Mubong did not go bankrupt."
"Jiknyeo took office as the president and rebuilt it, otherwise it would have!"
Frontain, who had been giggling for a while, soon blankly ruminated on the past and fell into his memories.
"At the orphanage I was in charge of back then, the first future dream was the Magician, and the second was a pickpocket. I had such a headache because they kept playing stealing games with each other... I'm ashamed to say it out loud, but some of them probably became real pickpockets."
"It's bizarre. Did the military authorities make any attempt to catch him?"
The old man's memories were as deep as his years, so it took him a while to snap out of them. Only after Avi urged him a couple of times did Frontain answer.
"A few police officers launched an investigation, but they only came up empty-handed."
"What did the military police say?"
Then Frontain giggled as if he had heard a funny joke.
"What? Use the military police to catch the King of Pickpockets? You know. The Military Nation doesn't bother to intervene unless the public security is significantly compromised. Even if he's the King of Pickpockets, he's a pickpocket. Would it be cost-effective to launch an investigation just for that!"
Rationally, Avi could not agree with him laughing cheerfully at crime. However, since he was genuinely laughing with joy, Avi ended up accepting that emotion.
"Anyway, you're saying he's a criminal. Understood. Thank you for your cooperation."
Frontain, who had laughed to his heart's content, coughed lightly and regained his gravity.
"...Anyway, be careful. The Magician won't touch an officer like you... but those guys calling themselves the shadows are more likely to target you instead."
"Thank you for the advice."
Avi hugged her hat to her chest and bowed. She observed normal etiquette because the other party was a retired soldier no different from a civilian, but Frontain was more satisfied than if he had received a salute.
"Hah, there may be no romance, but there are soldiers. The future of the Military Nation is bright."
Looking at Avi walking across the small courtyard of the shelter, Frontain muttered with a sense of regret.
"The old veteran just steps back... It's a shame I can't step forward."
They are retired soldiers. Those who can no longer fight because they are old or injured.
Once soldiers, but now observers looking at the Military Nation from the perspective of ordinary citizens.
When the vantage point changes, the perspective changes. Because they retired, because they became civilians, they felt very complex emotions looking at the Military Nation.
Behind the proud and flawless emblem, spikes and adhesive patched together haphazardly to maintain its shape. It was a monstrosity that was hard to recognize unless one was at least a retired soldier.
However.
"Still, wanting the country to do well... might be loyalty, or perhaps an attachment because it's a country I built."
The old veteran clicked his tongue and stood up. His lower back, which screamed just from sitting and standing up, was more resentful than usual.
"Let's see. Order some canned goods from that guy Klein... Need to buy some packets too... Ah, and fix the fence."
He had more things to do than his age would suggest.