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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Simzy
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Letitia returned to her apartment, took off only her coat, and flopped face-down onto the bed.
Still face-down, she tore off all her clothes in disgust.
“This is suffocating.”
Has the live broadcast screen stimulated some sort of fetish in people? All across the country, perverts in skintight suits were roaming around. It was a kind of copycat crime, but there was a difference from ordinary crimes.
The citizens’ reactions.
If a petty thief stole someone else’s property, they became a villain who deserved to die. But if a masked figure in a skintight suit scattered money and treasures on the street, they became a righteous outlaw.
It didn’t matter at all whether they had robbed the rich or extorted from the poor. With free money and jewels rolling around on the street, what was more important than rushing to pick them up?
Hampton, the very starting point of the commotion, had actually quieted down. Letitia’s special public security team had worked passionately, but the popularity of the ‘White-Haired Witch’ also played a part.
Whenever they heard the rumor that ‘the White-Haired Witch cuts off petty thieves’ limbs while they’re still alive and throws them to the zombies to play with,’ people recalled the frenzied Virginia on television.
To the people, she was like a giant tiger or a massive python. A being that was beautiful and cool to look at through a screen.
To be acknowledged by such a woman was a pleasant thing for Letitia, too.
“How’s the progress on securing the outer districts?”
“20% contamination fully eliminated, 4% conscription rate.”
Letitia’s mission was broadly threefold. The first was to arrest the tights-wearer, the second was to completely eliminate the source of contamination in the outskirts of Hampton, and the last was to organize a local reserve force.
Zombies that had run out of food in the unprotected zones were gradually approaching the city’s perimeter. From the zombies’ perspective, they could just die and be done with it, but the city had to clean up the aftermath, making it an incredibly tiring task.
Virginia had proposed the alternative of organizing a local reserve force. Not just anyone, but Virginia herself held street campaigns to encourage participation.
‘It is not for Elza, nor for Hampton. Let us rise to protect our own families, neighbors, and property.’
The beauty with white skin, silver hair, and purple eyes stood out wherever she went. Compared to the 14th National Gendarmerie, whose very existence was unknown, the reviews that she was definitively good at her job were pouring in.
In particular, residents of the city’s outskirts, who had long been dissatisfied with the Gendarmerie’s handling of things, trusted Virginia’s promise to give them food exchange vouchers just for standing guard with a gun near their homes and joined the reserve force organization.
“What is it that the Commander can’t do?”
Lying on her bed, Letitia muttered. Commander Virginia always took the lead in any situation. The fact that Virginia’s superior, the 8th National Gendarmerie Commander Kamio Minto, had imprinted her on the public was also a warning not to hide behind him and do foolish things.
But Virginia used that as an opportunity instead. When she failed to control Kamio Minto, she stepped to the forefront herself and raised her personal approval ratings.
“She is pretty.”
Even if you took a picture of her at a parade without any thought, because she was so beautiful and had such a great figure, it looked like a photoshoot.
On top of that, the neat and tidy feeling unique to the uniform won the favor of many. A new order, a sharp justice. That’s what people called Virginia.
“She’s so loved.”
In the end, Letitia put down her phone. She wasn’t jealous. Because she was a person from a completely different world. In fact, it was Virginia who supported and pushed for Letitia a lot.
She just felt very sorry.
Even after that, Letitia roamed the night streets in her ‘transformed’ state. Her first transformation had an element of spontaneity to it. Not only the 14th National Gendarmerie but also her own 8th National Gendarmerie did not like Letitia, and instead tried to keep her in check.
It couldn’t be helped. The special public security team was, after all, a task force drawn from various departments of each gendarmerie. Subtle checks, power struggles, differences in approach…
She didn’t dislike the debates themselves. There were times when they made her realize things she had been missing. But the meeting on the first day was, literally, a complete mess.
Regarding how to defend and patrol Hampton, each person presented only the method that was convenient for them. In Letitia’s view, they were plans that weren’t even plans, full of gaping holes. It would have been more effective to put up a zombie with a dog collar.
But the officers paid no mind and insisted to the end that their arguments were correct. Letitia had no trouble noticing that this was a way to ‘mess with’ an officer who had received a ‘lightning promotion’.
“Then for now, let’s do as you all say.”
That night, after the officers had withdrawn triumphantly, thinking, ‘Little punk, so arrogant,’ Letitia ‘transformed’. She thought of it as being for the safety of Hampton and to instill a sense of alertness in the lax military discipline, and she exploited the gaps.
The next day, each unit’s ‘regimental flag’ was delivered, neatly packaged, to the entrance of the Public Security Headquarters. On each flag was written, ‘Idiot Moron Ebebebe’.
While the officers hung their heads low and fidgeted, Letitia put on a performance of flipping over the conference room table. In reality, she wanted to smash the desk like Virginia had, but doing so would have broken her wrist.
“We need soldiers, not food-grubbing parasites who just come to get their rations! If you’re going to work with that kind of attitude, don’t waste tax money and get out now!”
The entire officer corps begged for a chance, even submitting their discharge applications, and Letitia added her own to the pile and submitted it to Virginia.
“I’m sorry, Commander. I made this mistake on the first day.”
Virginia tore up Letitia’s, but put the others’ applications into a cabinet.
“It’s a hastily formed organization, so growing pains are inevitable, and I expected it to some extent. I also expected that you would handle it well. If things continue like this, there shouldn’t be any major problems.”
“Thank you.”
“But the behavior of this self-proclaimed ‘magical girl’ has gone too far. If she is arrested, we must impose a public punishment. We need to imprint upon the citizens what kind of end awaits those who mock public authority. I’ll have to consider a punishment more severe than cutting off limbs and throwing them to the zombies.”
Coming out of the commander’s office, Letitia slumped down into a chair. She had felt a sense of relief at having overcome the crisis, a fear of what terrible fate would have befallen her if she had been caught, and a certain thrill.
‘…This is fun.’
Letitia was disliked, but the phantom thief was loved. Almost no one paid attention to her, but the phantom thief aroused curiosity. She was bound by the chains of reality, but the phantom thief was free from all of it.
Above all, she could screw over anyone she wanted to screw over to her heart’s content.
‘What kind of crazy thoughts are you having? Get a grip!’
Letitia had a dream every night. In the sky, Virginia looked down on her coldly, while countless zombies rushed to violate her. The captured Letitia resisted desperately, but her leather clothes were torn helplessly.
Just then, Caesar dramatically rescued her. With nothing left to hide, she crossed over to a happy world with Caesar.
After having such dreams, she always felt empty. Letitia still slept in the nude. Even when morning came, the only things that greeted the lonely and lonesome woman were a blanket soaked in cold sweat and empty liquor bottles rolling on the floor.
And tonight didn’t seem to be any different. Letitia was sick and tired of all of it. She was just idly fiddling with her phone, reviewing what she had to do tomorrow, when…
Vzzz. Vzzz. Vzzz.
In time with the phone’s vibration, Letitia’s heart also pounded fiercely. She thought she should calmly have a glass of gin first and walked to the refrigerator, but her hand answered the phone before that.
“H-hello? Caesar? Is it really you?”
– Leti! Have you been well?
“Why didn’t you call! I was so worried! Where are you now? Are you okay? You’re not being threatened, are you? You got away from those bad people, right? Has it been… a month? Over a month?”
– Sorry I couldn’t contact you. Um, my body is healthy and I’m doing well. I haven’t quite escaped from ‘them’ yet, though. There are some complicated circumstances.
She wanted to storm in with the security force and bring him back right away. But she barely managed to come to her senses, judging that ‘I don’t know what kind of situation he’s in right now.’
“Is a video call possible?”
– I don’t know if it’ll work, but shall we try?
Letitia immediately switched to a video call. And then she belatedly realized she hadn’t taken off her uniform yet. Screaming, she threw her phone onto the bed and hurriedly took off her top first.
– Leti? Can you see me?
“S-sorry! Just a moment!”
Letitia felt like she was going to faint when she saw herself in the video. It was because a glimpse of her bra strap was visible.
Thinking this was just not polite, she took off her underwear as well. In any case, since her underwear wasn’t visible, it wasn’t embarrassing. She just had to show the area above her collarbone, right?
“It’s really good to see you. I missed you. Thank you so much for calling.”
– Don’t mention it. I’m feeling a lot better now, too. I’ve been busy here and there. Got some pretty good alcohol, too.
“I’m curious, can you show me your room?”
At Letitia’s request, Caesar showed her around with his phone.
It was a very clean and tidy place. Under the light of a candle in a lantern, she could see white tiles, a hospital bed, and a desk and chair where guns and ammunition were neatly arranged.
“Looks like you’re in a hospital or something.”
– Well, something like that. It’s nice and comfortable.
It was a short call, but the signal must have been unstable because it started buffering. In Letitia’s experience, once it started buffering like this, you had to give up for the day. The static would only get worse.
“You can’t hear me well, can you?”
– …can’t…ell…yes…see…
“It’s a shame, but I think we’ll have to stop here for today. If there’s anything you couldn’t say, contact me by message. And, please call more often! I’ll… call often, too.”
– …miss…oo…
“I miss you too!”
It seemed Minsk’s situation wasn’t so good these days either. Before, the signal rarely cut out like this.
Bzzzt. A message arrived.
– Leti. Do you want to meet? There’s something I’d like to exchange.
Letitia was moved.
– …And talk about some things we couldn’t.
– Sounds great! You’re bringing alcohol, right? Is there anything you need? If it’s something I can get, I’ll try to get it for you.
Letitia was ready to get him anything he wanted. But the items he requested were a bit unusual. Some of them she didn’t even know.
– Leti. If it’s difficult, just one or two things are enough. I’ll somehow…
– No, no! I’ll try to get them! I’ll get them and contact you right away!
(Sent a photo.)
“If only he’d taken it from a slightly lower angle.”
But Letitia was just happy. Seeing him after a month, he looked more dependable and manly. Most importantly, it was good that he was healthy.
“But no matter how I look at this, these look like medicines or reagents. Why does he need these?”
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