A War Hero With No Regrets – Chapter 50

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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“What do you mean by that?”

Werner Grimm doubted his own ears.

Charlotte Evergreen?

He had already found out that she had been promoted to colonel at the end of the war and was working at a place called the Future Military Technology Research Institute under the Defense Industry Agency.

The Future Military Technology Research Institute.

The alpha and omega of the Empire’s military innovation.

It was a place that had never failed to capture Charlotte Evergreen’s interest.

Unlike her position as a logistics officer, she was very passionate about technology research.

But for what reason would she steal a hydrogen bomb?

Moreover, she detonated it in the middle of a major city in the Republic of Bostania?

“The Criminal Investigation Division has already issued a warrant for her arrest. They said she went missing along with the hydrogen bomb. When I probed further, it seemed to be almost a foregone conclusion,” Dante said, continuing Werner’s words.

“Did the Inspection Department or the Information Command make any unusual moves?”

“There’s no way they would tell us about this, right? A stolen hydrogen bomb was detonated in the Republic? This isn’t a problem that can be resolved with a few written apologies.”

It was a reasonable argument.

In the unprecedented situation of a hydrogen bomb being stolen, who on earth would take responsibility?

How would they atone to the citizens of Saint Francis who were sacrificed?

This was an unprecedented incident that had to be buried at the national level.

“But… there’s no way Charlotte would do such a thing….”

Werner Grimm muttered in a low voice.

Even if she had a rough mouth, she was still a member of the Graveyard.

He was someone who could confidently say that he knew her personality, inner self, and abilities better than anyone else, so it was even more incomprehensible.

Charlotte would frown and gag at the mere sight of blood, even if she could curse like a sailor.

There were even a few times when she, a non-combatant, roamed the front lines saying she would sacrifice herself, only to get injured and carried away.

Even so, she took terrible care of her subordinates and comrades, so she often clashed with Werner.

Not just in this regression, but in the others as well.

‘Even then, not long after, she would always cry and apologize, saying she was sorry.’

That Charlotte Evergreen stole a hydrogen bomb and detonated it in the Republic?

It was an impossible situation to begin with.

Naturally, the worst-case scenario came to mind.

What if detonating the hydrogen bomb was actually part of the President’s plan?

What if Charlotte Evergreen’s identity was stolen in the process and she was sacrificed?

Or what if she was chosen as a scapegoat to bear all the responsibility when the Republic of Bostania pointed to the Empire as the culprit behind the nuclear explosion?

Once his imagination started, it kept piling up one after another.

Then where on earth was Charlotte now?

Thud, bang!!

Werner Grimm stood up from his seat as if having a seizure.

Second Lieutenant Dante Bay flinched and stepped back.

“Di-Director…?”

“Has Charlotte Evergreen’s whereabouts been confirmed?”

His blue eyes flickered.

An overwhelming aura seemed to engulf the entire space.

Dante, who had never been on the field with Werner until now, finally realized that his superior was a legendary war hero.

That venomous gaze.

It belonged to someone who had gone through dozens of life and death situations.

As if facing a wild beast, Dante was gripped by a feeling of his body stiffening.

“Th-that’s right.”

“Contact me if anything happens.”

“Wh-where are you going?”

Werner didn’t answer Dante’s question.

It was the same as when he heard the news of Lea Gilliard’s discharge.

But this time, there was definitely a place he had to go.

‘The Graveyard.’

He had to go there.

He had to check if there was any abnormality in Akasha, and at the same time, he had to confirm the life and death of those remotely connected to it.

It wasn’t just the war hero Luthers Edan who had developed over more than 100 years, combining all of the regressions.

The ultra-high-performance quantum computer Akasha.

It was time to go and retrieve the ‘formula for victory’ that Luthers Edan possessed.

“If anything happens, make sure to contact m—”

“No, this time I’m going with you.”

“…?”

At that moment, someone opened the door to the director’s office and entered.

“Karin.”

Werner’s cold gaze, as always, turned towards Karin.

“…!!!”

Her breath caught in her throat.

Her body unconsciously shrank.

Goosebumps formed on her forearms, and her legs trembled.

It was a gaze she had never seen before.

The warmth that always made her feel reassured just by looking at him and put her heart at ease.

But now, that man was only exuding killing intent from his entire body.

It was a level of pressure completely different from when she had faced the female drug dealer last time.

“You stay here.”

His voice was cold and resolute.

An attitude that didn’t even allow a moment’s hesitation.

Karin Maven felt like she was about to burst into tears without realizing it.

Hadn’t they built up enough trust to this extent?

Wasn’t it enough to let her stay by his side to this extent?

‘No— I don’t even wish for you to let me stay by your side.’

If you coldly reject me even from following behind you, where on earth are you trying to go?

What are you doing all this for?

At least if you think of me as your adjutant.

If you pulled me out from the room where I was locked up, wishing only for death, and brought me under the bright sunlight.

Please let me accompany you on the path you are trying to take.

I have a duty to do so.

“…I refuse.”

Karin didn’t back down, driven by the emotions boiling up from deep within her heart.

The moment she backed down here, she was sure she would regret it.

Originally, Karin Maven died on the day Emerald Lake collapsed.

Until now, the ghost of the battlefield wandering the closed fortress was one who had not yet escaped from past nightmares.

But now, life and hope had finally taken root in that ghost.

It was time to repay that debt.

“I-I am your adjutant. I have a duty to assist you anytime, anywhere, Director.”

She had already committed.

She straightened her bent waist and shoulders, held back the welling tears, and faced Werner Grimm.

“No matter what you say, I will follow you. You can’t restrict my actions. Didn’t you say it yourself, Director? To become the person you want to be here in the National Security Strategy Agency. To not be trapped by the past!”

Her crimson eyes, filled with conviction, pierced through him.

“So… don’t stop me, Director.”

Although she stood upright, pretending to be fine, Karin’s shoulders were trembling.

-So please don’t stop me, Luthers.

Someone’s voice overlapped with Karin’s words.

Even the way she trembled after committing was the same.

Seeing that, Werner Grimm couldn’t bring himself to reject Karin.

Because she resembled too much those he once loved and still loves.

Werner reached out his hand towards Karin hesitantly, then retracted it.

“…”

Instead, he carefully passed by her side and merely gestured to her.

That was the only answer he could give at the moment.

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The helicopter that departed from Forbidden Lake arrived at the Graveyard after flying for a few hours.

Inside the helicopter, Karin and Werner didn’t exchange a single word.

An awkward silence settled heavily.

However, that didn’t last long either.

Because the ominous tombstone rising beyond the horizon came into view.

The communication control tower.

The Graveyard was still located in the same place.

“That’s….”

The Graveyard.

Karin, who had been looking outside, swallowed her words.

If Forbidden Lake existed for her, then the Graveyard existed for Werner Grimm.

She had risen above her past, but the director was still terrifyingly trapped in his past.

Karin Maven was now facing the viscous fragments of the past.

Just by looking at the scenery, one could tell how fierce the battles fought here were.

The already harsh and ominous landscape, combined with the partially demolished parts, exuded an even more ruinous atmosphere.

The Graveyard.

Could there be a fortress that suited its name, a cemetery, so well?

As the helicopter landed on the empty field like that, Werner silently got out of the helicopter and headed towards the center of the fortress.

Karin tried to quickly follow his footsteps, but at that moment—

“Karin, I’m really sorry, but could you wait here…?”

Werner Grimm stopped her.

It wasn’t the gaze filled with only cynicism and killing intent from a little while ago.

As the director of the National Security Strategy Agency, he sometimes cooked delicious dinners himself and walked along the moonlit lakeshore with her.

He had returned to the usual Werner Grimm.

“…”

“You, as an outsider, cannot enter beyond this point. Instead, I promise I won’t do anything else that might worry you. Please, wait for me here.”

Instead of answering, Karin nodded her head.

The reason she had followed Werner here, even going so far as to disobey orders, was simple.

She couldn’t deny she had a desire to catch a glimpse of the past that was strangling him.

But it was also because Werner Grimm looked so precarious.

How many things had happened in just the past few days?

As one of the people living in the closest proximity to Werner Grimm, Karin Maven could easily notice the small but significant changes in him.

It was dangerous.

As someone who had once been prepared to commit suicide and had actually gone to the brink of it, Werner’s eyes today resembled those from back then.

As if he would fall apart with just a gentle push.

Karin Maven found it too difficult to just stand by and watch.

She thought she should repay him for saving her.

However, probing any further than this would be a great discourtesy, even from Karin’s perspective.

If she had followed him here with a flimsy excuse, it was only natural that she had to compromise to this extent.

“Then…”

Werner Grimm nodded at her, then immediately turned around and proceeded into the fortress.

Akasha.

How long had it been?

As he entered the interior of the fortress, the person standing there was no longer Lieutenant Colonel Werner Grimm of the National Security Strategy Agency.

It was Lieutenant General Luthers Edan, the former commander of the Graveyard Fortress.

At the end of his steps.

There, a huge machine connected by all sorts of wires was still silently in place.

But Luthers had no choice but to stop in his tracks.

Because there was already a visitor.

“…Who are you?”

Luthers immediately drew his gun and aimed it.

An unidentified figure draped in a brown rag.

“Long time no see.”

Just as he was about to engage in idle chitchat, a familiar voice reached his ears.

Turning around, he saw golden hair reflecting the light from Akasha.

“Luthers.”

Luthers Edan couldn’t bring himself to open his mouth.

He had a rather stupid expression.

Charlotte Evergreen.

“I knew you would come here around this time.”

Because those blue eyes, identical to his own, were gazing at him.

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