Chapter 43 – Winning People (7)

It was three years ago.

“Loyalty!”

That Herman Melville’s spy, Natasha McGrain, assumed a false identity as Charlotte Grace and became a soldier of the Ember of Progress.

Charlotte’s goal was to assassinate one of the generals of the Ember of Progress.

‘They said they are colonizing other Embers. Engaging in indiscriminate murder and forced labor.’

The reason was that the mother’s side of Odin’s second daughter was there, and she was to eliminate the subhuman trash.

“You brought classified information from the Ember of the Firmament? Let’s hear it first.”

Charlotte was commissioned as a second lieutenant in recognition of her contribution in bringing classified information from the Ember of the Firmament, a rival of the Ember of Progress.

Charlotte’s military life after commissioning as an officer was not smooth.

For the Ember of Progress enslaved raiders, swallowed other Embers by force, and advanced using that as their driving force… Indeed, it was an Ember of ‘progress’ that trampled over others to move forward.

In those days, the Ember of Progress, controlled by the military regime, was notorious for the ferocious nature of its leader.

The military regime recruited soldiers through endless propaganda and instigation, the army grew in size by the day, and looting and invasion became a daily occurrence to cover the maintenance costs.

Charlotte, too, could not escape that shackle.

It was her first mission.

“All members of the 7th Platoon, prepare for the mission. The target is an Ember occupied by raiders.”

“Loyalty!”

At Charlotte’s command, the soldiers and officers moved in perfect order.

“Hehehe, it’s finally a mission!”

“I’ve been craving a woman, and now I can finally enjoy one!”

“You pathetic bastards, what’s so fun about that? Pretending to show mercy to someone begging for their life, and then shooting their brats first is the real beauty!”

‘Crazy bastards…’

Soldiers who had begun to be stained with madness, possessed by the excitement of looting and slaughter.

Yet, their perfectly orderly formation, showing how many times they had executed missions, swept her with deep anger and disgust.

But this was a mission.

A mission to allow the Ember of Progress to move forward.

No one called it looting or invasion.

Because it was merely self-defense for survival and the law of the jungle.

If one could not accept it, only death awaited.

“All members of the 7th Platoon, drop!”

Thus, her first mission began.

The mission area was an Ember that had just been promoted to a small city, with a population of twenty-five thousand.

The mission objective was to wipe out the four thousand raiders occupying that Ember.

However, it was not to save the small city in crisis.

It was for the Ember of Progress to push out the existing force and become the new master.

Charlotte, as a captain, had to prove her loyalty.

Bang! Bang! Ba-bang!

Urban warfare broke out. It was a battlefield where civilians and raiders could not be distinguished.

“P-please, spare me. I’m not a raider. I have two children at home who haven’t even been weaned yet. If I die, my kids will starve to death. Please… I beg of you, please.”

A raider or a civilian?

Inside the house she entered to take cover, there was a woman crying and begging for her life, and she fell into a dilemma.

“…”

It was an endless agony.

If she killed the woman, the two orphaned children would follow their mother, but if she did not kill her, she risked having her identity suspected.

‘What… what should I do?’

However, no more time was given to her.

“Hey! Where is the platoon leader?”

“Don’t know, looked like she went in there earlier. But what’s with your tone toward the platoon leader?”

“Platoon leader, my ass. Is there any bastard who actually accepts that pretty girl as our platoon leader?”

Soldiers armed with terrible murderous intent and malice were coming this way.

A choice had to be made.

Whether to prove her loyalty by killing the woman…

‘Should I just kill them all?’

Or cover up the truth by killing all those crazy murderers.

Charlotte, who was tempered by high-level training, had the skills to do so.

However, Charlotte’s dilemma was ended not by her, but by the woman begging for her life.

“Stupid bitch!”

“…!”

The woman drew a pistol from her skirt.

But Charlotte’s reaction speed, driven by instinct, was second to none.

Bang! Bang!

She subdued the enemy in an instant, hitting once in the chest and once in the head.

The interval between the two shots, including the confirming kill, was less than a second.

Slam-!

At the same time, a sergeant appeared along with the sound of kicking the door.

“What’s this, were you here, Platoon Leader?”

“Yes, Sergeant. What is it?”

“I came because a subordinate was worried our commander might have died, what other reason would there be? By the way, did you do that, Platoon Leader? Your skills are better than you look.”

“…”

Charlotte closed her ears and turned her gaze to the woman.

Because she felt she would kill him if she listened to his sarcastic voice any longer.

Should she call it a relief, there was a raider tattoo on the woman’s chest, but.

‘Was it also a lie that she had children?’

Whether even that was a lie could not be known.

She only hoped it was a lie.

‘Forget it. Let’s stop. If I don’t kill, I die.’

Charlotte turned away without regret.

She must not die.

Not because her life was precious, but because she was a person working for the greater cause.

It was just as she turned away, rationalizing the murder.

“Platoon Leader, but what are you going to do about this?”

“About what?”

“Whew, you wouldn’t know because you’re a woman, Platoon Leader, but guys like us go through this dog-like suffering just to have some fun. This bitch, she’s a dirty one, but she’s my type, and of all things, you had to drill a hole in her head… how are you going to take responsibility? I have no interest in corpses.”

The sergeant sneered, fiddling with his groin.

Before long, there were members of the 7th Platoon watching with interest by his side.

“Well… it would be nice if you took responsibility yourself, Platoon Leader. To be honest, ever since you were first commissioned, everyone has been rubbing their groins raw thinking about you—”

Bang!

The sergeant, with a hole in his head, collapsed like a crumbling stone pagoda.

In the silence, Charlotte spoke nonchalantly.

“I don’t know any other way to take responsibility besides sending you to the same place. Is there anyone else who wants to have fun?”

Click-

As her black gun barrel pointed at them, everyone held their breath.

After this mission, Charlotte Grace was promoted two ranks to captain, and.

“I’ve never seen someone as cool-headed as Captain Charlotte. She’s highly respectable. I should become a true soldier like that, too!”

She unintentionally gained a reputation throughout the entire unit as a cold-blooded killer.

‘Typical mindset of murderers.’

Charlotte, who repeatedly crossed the threshold of death through successive missions, survived without dying and was promoted to major.

“Loyalty. Nice to meet you. I am Major Charlotte Grace, and I will be assisting Commander Jeremy Scott starting today.”

Finally, the spy Natasha McGrain was able to face the Commander of the Ember of Progress, Jeremy Scott.

“It’s tedious, so skip the salute, Charlotte Grace.”

“How could I dare do that to the General—”

“I won’t say it twice. Do it.”

“Yes, I will obey.”

Was it because he was the second-in-command of a band of murderers?

Commander Jeremy Scott, who must have slaughtered countless lives with a single order, was exceptionally difficult.

It was to the extent that several soldiers died in a single day because they failed to cater to his temperamental whims.

Due to those indiscriminate executions, even Charlotte, who was supposed to assassinate him, cowered and kept a low profile for a while.

It was simply a wonder that his whims did not target her, his adjutant.

‘Direct assassination… impossible.’

Because his rank was what it was, the security was extremely tight, making assassination impossible; even Jeremy Scott’s own martial prowess, which she observed during training, surpassed Charlotte’s.

Thus, Charlotte devised another plan.

‘There is no choice but to frame him and have him executed under military law.’

It was to execute Jeremy Scott using a greater power.

In this manner, she carried out undercover work to bring down Commander Jeremy Scott for over a year, and.

“I am Major General Peter Paul of the Defense Security Command. By order of Marshal Kalios, we are conducting an internal investigation into Commander Jeremy Scott on charges of abuse of authority, embezzlement of public funds, and treason.”

Those efforts bore fruit.

‘Isn’t it too early? The time hasn’t come yet…’

But it was a strange thing.

The plan Charlotte laid out was a five-year plan.

The full-scale internal investigation should have taken place at least four years later.

Yet, to think it was just one year.

“I order the execution of former Commander Jeremy Scott.”

Ultimately referred to a court-martial, he was sentenced to death.

From the contents of the trial, the primary reason the court-martial could be held was the documents Charlotte had fabricated, but…

‘There is some hidden story.’

There was clearly a real inside story that Charlotte did not know, such as a power struggle among commanders or the whim of Marshal Kalios.

‘Anyway, since the time was shortened, it worked out well.’

Fortunately, she had brought down a four-star general from the sky in such a short period of time.

Furthermore, since she had completed the mission, all that remained was to safely return to the embrace of Herman Melville and the organization.

There was no need to worry about the hidden inside story.

Thus, on the day the execution of former Commander Jeremy Scott was decided.

“Major Charlotte Grace. There was an order from the Commander to visit his private residence tonight.”

Major General Baltics, who followed him at the cost of his life, told Charlotte in a voice filled with anger.

Out of a shred of courtesy for his rank of former Commander, Jeremy Scott was under house arrest until the execution ceremony.

“Yes, I will visit.”

That night, Charlotte equipped herself with weapons in preparation for any contingencies and visited his house.

“You’ve come, Major Charlotte Grace.”

She faced Jeremy Scott, who exuded his usual dignity despite having been sentenced to death.

“Come in and sit.”

“Yes, Commander.”

Thus, Charlotte was able to have a conversation with him for the first time, and she could not help but be shocked by Jeremy Scott’s calm voice as he broke the ice.

“Natasha McGrain, Herman Melville’s minion. The highest-ranking agent of the spy organization ‘Radiance’… Is that correct?”

“…”

He had seen through Charlotte’s identity.

“What are you? Since when did you know?”

Natasha asked, pulling out the magic gun with hands slick with sweat.

An ominous thought flashed through her mind that she might not be able to return home.

“What does pointing a gun at a dying life solve?”

“How do I know what trick you might play?”

“If I intended to kill you, you would have died many times already.”

“…”

Charlotte lowered her hand.

Since he was a former Commander but there were still many soldiers who admired him, if he wanted to kill her, he would have done so long ago.

There must be a reason he called her.

Soon, Jeremy Scott opened his mouth.

“I had my suspicions, but today I confirmed your identity, and this is a fact known only to me and Major General Baltics.”

“…”

“I see why you are called a top-ranking agent at that age. Your skills are quite extraordinary. Enough to make me like this.”

He was referring to the manipulated and forged documents.

“So what is it you want to say? You didn’t call me just to talk about such obvious things.”

But it was a waste of time.

Since her identity might have been exposed, she had to leave the Ember of Progress immediately.

But.

“Natasha McGrain, do you think you can escape this Ember on your own?”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Due to my treason as Commander, strict control over entry and exit of the Ember will be implemented starting today, and a complete investigation targeting everyone in the military will begin. This means there will be plenty of time for your identity to be revealed.”

“…!”

As if ominous forebodings always came true, her escape route was blocked.

‘I am… finished here.’

Just as Charlotte was about to accept death calmly, feeling glad that she had at least achieved her goal.

“I will help you. Escape the Ember right now while the security is still loose. And deliver this to Herman Melville.”

Jeremy Scott spoke to her, handing over a briefcase, and.

“If only we had known sooner. When we supposedly share the same goal… We kept missing each other.”

He uttered words she could not understand.

At that, Natasha, who received the briefcase, asked.

“What does that mean?”

“Everything you are curious about will be contained inside.”

But since she was ordered to leave before she could even ask the reason.

“There is no time to explain, go.”

“Why on earth…?”

“Go out, go straight four times, turn left, and look for a house where the light bulb blinks at three-second intervals. Baltics will be there.”

She was merely hesitating, unable to cross the threshold.

Toward her, the final command of the human Jeremy Scott was delivered.

“Live. Live and deliver this briefcase to Herman Melville. Do you understand?”

“…”

“A door that has closed once does not open twice.”

It was a command directed not at Charlotte Grace, but at Natasha McGrain.