A War Hero With No Regrets – Chapter 13

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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The next day, the fully recovered Werner swiftly finished the problems he hadn’t been able to solve.

He visited the safe house to check the wiretapping equipment and contacted the local collaborator hired as a waiter for the banquet to hand over the advance payment.

His role was to naturally mingle among the high-ranking officials as a waiter and eavesdrop on their conversations.

After all, Werner’s name was also on the official list of attendees, so not showing up would be a great discourtesy.

However, the most worrisome part was still.

‘Of all places, she was assigned to the Eastern Military District.’

The fact that Lea Gilliard had accompanied a colonel from the Eastern Military District as an aide.

It had been nearly half a year since the commander’s retirement and the declaration of the Graveyard’s closure.

During that time, the Graveyard Fortress had been completely shut down according to proper procedures.

Naturally, the personnel had also scattered.

So, in preparation for a possible encounter, he had even received a list of preliminary attendees.

But it was a mistake that the accompanying aides were not listed.

‘But she’s just an aide anyway, so we won’t run into each other in the actual banquet hall.’

It was a relief in disguise.

It meant that if he was careful, there would be no chance of running into her.

He had also arranged for the hotel staff, who had promised to assist him throughout the banquet, to give him a heads-up if Lea visited.

Now he only had to be careful of an ‘accidental encounter’.

After finishing all the preparations for the banquet the next day, Werner and Karin visited the pasta restaurant they had promised to go to.

As a lieutenant colonel dispatched from the Supreme Command, he was able to reserve a private room.

Perhaps it was because the generals with bushy beards and wrinkled faces were unlikely to come to such a place.

Most of the people waiting in line in front of the restaurant were also young men and women.

Couldn’t Werner, who was turning 25 this year, and Karin, who was only 21, be considered young men and women too?

And as expected, the pasta seemed to be to Karin’s liking.

“Is it delicious?”

“…Yes!”

She nodded her head vigorously.

Werner looked at her with satisfaction and put a piece of cut steak into his mouth.

It wasn’t a bad taste.

Around the time they were silently savoring the food in front of them.

Karin was the first to break the silence.

“Ah, um… Director.”

“Hmm?”

“Have you always been a bit ill?”

“Ah, come to think of it, I haven’t thanked you. Thank you, Karin. I do have a bit of a neurological disorder, even though I may not look like it.”

“Ah, no…! I understand. It must be hard. Since you’re a war hero.”

“A war hero, my foot…”

Werner muttered bitterly at those words.

“You don’t like that nickname, Director?”

“Is there any reason I should like it?”

“Ah… um…”

Suddenly, it felt like her words were caught in her throat.

Werner chuckled at Karin, who had lowered her head again and was picking at her pasta.

“I didn’t mean to say anything, I just answered honestly.”

“It’s just… people usually like such nicknames. Not weird ones like mine.”

“Reaper, you mean?”

“…”

As soon as she heard that word, Karin’s face darkened.

“Well… I was also called by such a nickname at one point. It’s not a very pleasant nickname, indeed.”

“What? Really?”

“Yes.”

Werner, who had already finished his meal, said while wiping his mouth.

Was it the seventh regression or the eighth?

He couldn’t remember well, but he had actually been called by such a nickname before.

-Remember, Luthers. My name, what kind of person I was. How hard I fought here.

-Commander. You too… please… in the next life again….

-I’m sorry I couldn’t stay until the end. You can finish the alcohol I kept. You like it, don’t you?

-Luthers oppa, thank you.

Bang.

He used to directly end the lives of his comrades who were dying in agony after being attacked by the Titans.

Eternal rest.

The Luthers Edan of that time was the gravedigger who buried the members of the Graveyard and the reaper who guided them to peace.

Unlike the grandiose nicknames like the Lion of Defense or the Empire’s Watchman, it was a very frank nickname.

But Luthers accepted that role humbly and reverently.

Because he thought it was his duty, even if someone pointed fingers at him.

Luthers Edan.

Of course, what remained at the end of that duty was just another regression.

What he faced on top of the fortress, left alone in solitude, was after all the same downfall of humanity.

But there was someone who had held onto him.

It was none other than Lea Gilliard.

The person who had lightened the unbearably heavy burden.

“I know what you feel guilty about, Lieutenant. But if you hold onto it like that, you’ll lose another opportunity.”

Those were sincere words that could only be said by someone who had gone through countless deaths.

Because no one who hadn’t lost anyone would dare to say it out loud.

He had left so as not to be trapped in the past.

He had started a new life as Lieutenant Colonel Werner Grimm, Director of the National Security Strategy Agency.

So Karin Maven should also live a new life under him.

“The war is over, Lieutenant.”

In the past, she might have gotten angry, saying what do you know.

Or she might have ignored it and brushed it off.

But Karin Maven couldn’t do that.

Because the inner self of this man, which she had unintentionally seen last night, was as twisted as her own.

Because she could vaguely feel how many wounds he had received to reach such a conclusion.

Wounds do not heal.

Asking to make it a memory that never existed is nothing but an immature and futile effort.

There were two paths given to her.

Either remain trapped in the past like before, or rise again with scars like Werner.

Sometimes she might cry, and sometimes she might be frustrated by bad memories.

Because she was human.
It was only natural.

But at the same time, because she was human, she could rise.

She could move towards a brighter path.

If she hadn’t met Werner, would she have been able to taste such delicious pasta again?

“…”

Karin was silent for a moment.

Then she smiled at Werner and answered.

“…You’re right. Because the war is over.”

Somehow, her voice sounded much more relieved than before.

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The next day.

The long-awaited banquet had arrived.

High-ranking military officials and power figures from all over the country flocked to the castle of Branberg.

All roads leading to the castle were controlled.

Only vehicles with red license plates indicating generals were lined up along the road.

It was the first large-scale event hosted by the Eastern Military District since the end of the war.

Among the dignitaries were also close aides of the Emperor, who had now been relegated to the back room, as the majority of the Eastern Military District was already made up of the Emperor’s faction.

The President’s ears must have been itching.

“Director of the National Security Strategy Agency, Lieutenant Colonel Werner Grimm.”
“Loyalty! You’ve been confirmed. Enjoy the banquet!”

He received an entry pass from the soldier who was checking his identity and entered the castle.

Indeed, it was a majestic and elegant building befitting the former residence of a great noble.

Perhaps because it was the rear, there were no traces of being attacked by the Titans anywhere.

‘They did well to hold out in a place like this.’

The interior of the banquet hall was as luxurious as its exterior.

A sparkling chandelier, endless food, and even a mini orchestra was prepared in the corner of the banquet hall.

Werner was slowly becoming confused as to whether this was a social party hosted by the imperial palace or a simple victory commemoration ceremony.

An excessively luxurious party.

He had roughly expected it, but to this extent.

Werner clicked his tongue and quickly scanned the banquet hall.

Even in the midst of that, they had already divided by rank, and the generals were already huddled together in the center of the banquet hall.

Eastern Army Commander, Lieutenant General Heinrich Rendal, and the fortress commanders who managed the fortresses and divisions under the Eastern Military District.

Every single one of them was a person of interest.

Werner, who had made eye contact with the waiter he had bribed in advance, nodded to give a signal.

The waiter approached the group of generals, carrying a tray full of champagne.

The operation was roughly like this.

Wiretapping, surveillance, and contact with other soldiers of the Eastern Military District.

One had to be close to hear rumors.

Although he was dispatched from the Supreme Command, “subversive acts” could never be carried out solely by the forces of the Eastern Military District.

Surely such intelligence would also reach Werner.

“Ah, you must be Lieutenant Colonel Werner Grimm.”

“It’s my first time meeting you, I’m the director of the National Security Strategy Agency directly under the Supreme Command.”

“Is that some kind of inspection department?”

“To be precise, it’s an organization that oversees the outside rather than the inside of the military.”

“Ah! I understand! We do need a foreign counterintelligence agency. Now that the war is over.”

“But you are…?”
“My introduction is late. I’m the fire support staff officer of the Eastern Army Command.”

He also interacted with other field-grade officers from time to time.

It was important not to approach the general-level officers recklessly and arouse unnecessary suspicion, but to test the waters without crossing the line as much as possible.

And in the first place, a general alone could do nothing.

The scale would vary greatly depending on how many field-grade officers under him were recruited.

“Then will you also be attending the masquerade ball tomorrow, Lieutenant Colonel Werner?”

“Yes, of course.”
“Oh my… Then do you have a partner by any chance…?”

“Unfortunately, I don’t.”
“That’s good. I also didn’t have a partner. I’ll wait for you at the main gate at the appointed time.”

Of course, Werner’s handsome appearance was also effective in a place like this.

It wasn’t just Werner who was wearing a black uniform indicating that he was from an organization directly under the Supreme Command.

But among them, there were few who could attract everyone’s attention like he did.

Talking to a few colonels.

Exchanging contact information with lieutenant colonels.

And making acquaintances with the brigadier generals (prospective) who had successfully been promoted.

Before he knew it, the first day of the banquet had ended.

Countless people requested an after-party afterward, but there was no reason to drag out the time once the goal for the day had been achieved.

Werner shook off all those who tried to hold him back and immediately returned to the safe house.

Then he sat at the wiretapping equipment and began to meticulously classify the conversation files.

Most of them were just pointless chatter.

[Preparations are… ready… right?]

[Uprising…. weapons storage underground….]

[Eastern Army Commander… and… President….]

But there were also a few conversations that couldn’t be left unattended.

Tap, he pressed the button to repeat the conversations continuously.

He reconstructed the slurred pronunciation and strained his hearing to extract words mixed in with the noise.

Each one required a high level of concentration and time-consuming grunt work.

Still, it was easier than precisely analyzing the Titans’ voice system.

Would it even make sense to analyze the ups and downs of a simple mechanical frequency range to infer communication?

That was impossible even with grunt work.

After listening to it repeatedly for an hour and restoring the quality of the conversations more cleanly with a program.

Werner was finally able to extract complete conversations.

“Good.”

Werner muttered and smiled briefly.

No matter how bad the relationship between the Eastern Military District and the President was, to have such conversations openly at the banquet.

Were their livers popping out because they were drunk on victory?

But the content of the conversations he extracted was slightly different from what Werner had expected.

[Are the preparations almost done?]

[The day of the uprising is tomorrow, so secure the underground armory after the banquet.]

[If we assassinate the Eastern Army Commander and steal all the guns and ammunition, even those Imperial bastards will get the message.]

Assassination of the Eastern Army Commander.

As soon as he heard the problematic conversation, Werner silently picked up his gun and got up from his seat.
He had to cancel all the events scheduled for tomorrow right now.

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