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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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Arthur Philias didn’t say much.
He just bluntly gave a single address.
“Come to 43rd Street, Lichtenberg. Tell the bartender there that you came to see Arthur and he’ll guide you.”
Lichtenberg was Arthur Philias’ hometown.
As the one who had arranged a residence in his hometown where only himself and his closest aides could enter, Werner also knew what it meant.
‘It wasn’t just a passing remark.’
President Mikhail Bismarck seemed to be mistaken in thinking that Arthur Philias was just a decrepit old tiger with its teeth pulled out.
Even a decrepit tiger could have the strength to turn a person into a pulp.
It meant that although his teeth and claws had been pulled out, he was still sufficient to overturn the board.
Perhaps Arthur Philias had been preparing for the cause for quite a while.
But even Werner couldn’t be 100% sure.
In the end, whether he liked it or not, he had to go there.
For now, he planned to use public transportation.
They wouldn’t think that a former war hero and current director of the Strategic Security Agency would move somewhere using public transportation.
After spending the night at the terminal like that, Werner took the first train and headed straight to Lichtenberg.
As he blankly stared at the winter scenery passing by like an arrow through the train window, Werner found himself at his destination before he knew it.
43rd Street, Lichtenberg.
As Lichtenberg was also quite a remote town like other provinces, it wasn’t difficult to find the pub Arthur had mentioned.
There was only one place selling alcohol on 43rd Street.
An old wooden building that looked like it was about to collapse.
A vintage signboard that looked like it had been carved by hand was hanging on the wall, swaying.
For a moment, Werner felt like he had returned to his childhood, which he could no longer properly remember.
It seemed like that place was like this before it was invaded by the Titans.
In fact, the reason why Werner—Luthers Edan—had enlisted as an officer started from the nightmare of his childhood.
The days when his family lived peacefully in a provincial outpost city like Lichtenberg.
The quiet and harmonious city was turned into rubble by three Titans that suddenly fell from the sky.
In front of the corpses of his family, so damaged that he couldn’t even recognize their forms, Luthers vowed revenge.
After forty deaths, Luthers had accomplished that revenge.
No.
He ‘had’ accomplished it.
Now, with the fragments of Titans, perhaps even more dangerous creatures, sleeping in the Empire’s Armaments Bureau.
His revenge hadn’t been concluded yet.
“…”
Werner put aside his old memories for a moment and entered the shabby pub.
An elderly bartender who had been meticulously wiping glass cups greeted him.
“Welcome.”
He greeted him with a good-natured smile.
But Werner had already noticed the murderous intent hidden beneath that smile.
As soon as he casually put down the cup he was wiping, his right hand moved towards the bottom of the shelf.
There must be a weapon hidden under that shelf.
“I haven’t seen your face before, are you an outsider?”
“I’ve come to see Arthur.”
“Aha, you were a distinguished guest. Please go inside.”
At that moment, the faintly lingering murderous intent scattered in an instant.
‘Quite a capable old man.’
If they had placed such a person as the bartender, the purpose of this place was already firmly established.
Arthur Philias had made a decision.
Werner tucked both hands into his pockets and slowly went down.
The stairs were quite solid and deep for a warehouse in the basement of a quiet pub.
With each step forward, Werner’s expectations became reality.
And finally, when he reached the end of the stairs.
He could see five people.
“You’re later than I thought.”
It wasn’t just Arthur Philias.
Werner stood tall in his place and faced the people who were looking at him as if assisting Arthur, who was sitting in a chair.
They were familiar names.
“I called the others to make some time since you seemed to have something urgent to discuss. Please understand.”
Erwin Staufen, a brigadier general who had risen to the rank of general solely through his achievements in the Northern Military District, where the Imperial faction, who wanted to return to the old aristocratic-centered society, were swarming.
If Luthers was the Lion of Defense on the central front, Dietrich Halder, a major general, was called the Lion of Attack on the western front.
Major General Gunther Braun, who had made remarkable contributions to the annihilation of Titans on the front lines of the northern liberation, and Brigadier General Mia Bierhoff, who had first operated the Imperial Army’s combat medical corps and led the ‘Hexen Operation’ to victory.
They were all the backbone of the military and people who had made their names as war heroes.
“Nice to meet you, Brigadier General Luthers Edan.”
Erwin Staufen, who had been standing at the forefront, offered a handshake.
After shaking hands, he had to exchange greetings with the others one by one.
“This is the first time we’ve met since the end of the war.”
“I heard you had retired, but I didn’t know you were the director of that Security Agency.”
“How is Brigadier General Arwen Orka doing?”
“Ah… I’m sorry, Luthers. Brigadier General Mia Bierhoff is a bit slow on the news of the world. It’s because she’s stuck in the south.”
“Ah, what, did something happen…? No, if you’re going to say that, why don’t you try living in the south? I’m already pissed off enough about being demoted!”
As the stiff atmosphere loosened a bit, they began to converse among themselves.
Just by listening to their tone of voice, it was clear that they were already close to each other.
Werner turned his head and looked at Arthur, who was silently keeping his silence in the middle.
“Supreme Commander, what is going on?”
“Can’t you tell just by looking?”
He smiled faintly instead of answering, spreading his arms.
“…Were you planning a coup d’état?”
“What kind of scary talk is that? We’re not that kind of group, we just gathered to build friendships among ourselves. Don’t you see the pocket pool table over there? Now that it’s come to this, shall we play a game?”
It was nonsense.
In fact, that pocket pool table was covered with white dust.
It meant that it wasn’t being used or maintained.
“I was thinking of calling you someday too, but you were so busy with the Security Agency work.”
Arthur added with a hearty laugh.
“What business did you have to meet me so urgently? It’s been a while since I’ve seen you, Luthers, look so desperate.”
He had no choice but to be desperate.
He had witnessed those terrible things happening in the underground of the Armaments Bureau with his own eyes.
However, he couldn’t help but fall into contemplation for a moment.
Titans sleeping in the underground of the Armaments Bureau?
There was no way those generals gathered here wouldn’t know the meaning of that.
What if one of them recklessly tried to reveal the truth and the whole plan got messed up?
There couldn’t be a bigger blunder than that.
But he couldn’t not say it either.
In the end, Werner decided to lay everything out without hiding it.
He had already been prepared to die from the beginning.
If things went wrong, he could just pull the trigger and start over.
“The Titans are still alive.”
“…!!”
Everyone’s attention was focused in an instant.
It couldn’t be helped.
It hadn’t even been a full year since the end of the war with the Titans had been declared.
Hadn’t Luthers Edan himself, who was currently delivering the news, confirmed the complete annihilation of the Titans with his own eyes?
Their questions quickly turned into shock.
“In the underground of the Armaments Bureau, there were bizarre creatures that seemed to be a fusion of Titans and humans. At least forty of them were identified with the naked eye. The President was thoroughly hiding this fact.”
“…Is that true?”
“It’s a sight I saw just last night. And perhaps the series of incidents that occurred in the Republic of Bostania this time as well…”
“I knew it!”
At that moment, Major General Gunther Braun interrupted Luthers Edan’s words and cut in.
“Why would they detonate a nuclear bomb in Saint Francis? That’s not an accident, nor a terrorist attack, it might have been something that inevitably happened in the process of fulfilling another purpose.”
“That’s right.”
“We have a living witness here.”
Gunther said, politely pointing to Werner with both hands.
He was a more boisterous person than expected.
However, unlike the others who were surprised, Arthur Philias’ reaction was simply nodding his head deeply, as if what was meant to come had come.
As if he had transcended the world.
“Did you know about this, Supreme Commander?”
“No, unfortunately, the Armaments Bureau is a space beyond my reach. I thought they were up to something strange… but they were breeding Titans.”
Arthur got up from his seat and approached Werner.
“They’re the kind of people who would do more than that. Isn’t that right, Brigadier General Werner?”
A bear-like huge palm was placed on Werner’s shoulder.
“Anyway, welcome to the Eagle’s Nest. You are now sufficiently qualified to see the truth of this world.”
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Basically they’re the Illuminati?