Having completed the mission, Hans returned to his hotel via an automated taxi. The night was at its deepest, so he entered his room with practiced silence. As he flicked on the bedside lamp, the sight of the young girl sleeping soundly on the bed pulled a weary sigh of relief from his chest.
"Even if she is his granddaughter, she's still just a child..."
The girl, Natalia, was a blood relative of one of the "Thirteen Apostles." Under normal circumstances, one would expect Leonid Kondrachenko to have kept her under his own protection. Handing her over to someone whose true identity was shrouded in mystery was a monumental gamble; she was a walking geopolitical fuse that could easily turn into a hostage against the New Soviet Union.
Yet, Kondrachenko had practically begged Hans to take her out of the country. Perhaps the old man sensed that the New Soviet Union was standing on a precipice—even with the presence of their other Apostle, Igor Andreivitch Bezobrazov.
(Did he suspect Bezobrazov might do something impulsive? Even though they're Strategic-Class mages of the same nation?)
"Humans are slaves to their own greed. I should know; I was no different once," a voice echoed in his mind.
(...Coming from you, that carries a disturbing amount of weight.)
Hans began to change his clothes, reflecting on the words of Rudel—a man who had soared over countless battlefields, racking up achievements that even a totalitarian state couldn't fully suppress.
(I doubt the New Soviets are a carbon copy of the old USSR, but that invasion of Sado five years ago... there's no way the Great Asian Alliance pulled that off alone. Even as a diversion, if the truth came out that they were used as pawns, there would be riots. Logically, they should have targeted the Tsushima Fortress or Kyushu. Which means the New Soviets saw the GAA's move and decided to piggyback on the chaos... What a mess.)
At the beginning of this year, Japan had declassified all information regarding the Sado raid, which occurred simultaneously with the Defense of Okinawa. The reports noted that the equipment used was strikingly similar to New Soviet hardware, a fact the Kremlin vehemently denied.
However, the disclosure had sparked localized uprisings within the New Soviet Union. While Hans was undercover there, he'd heard from anti-government factions that a relative of a high-ranking official had been part of the Sado invasion force. The family hadn't bought the "missing after desertion" cover story. Their investigation had dragged in other influential figures, eventually leading to a massive purge reminiscent of the Stalinist era.
"The roots of the Ivan don't change, do they? They talk of ideals, but they treat humans like cattle. Perhaps that's why the old man entrusted her to you, Ernst."
(...That's surprisingly insightful. I thought you'd want to see every New Soviet citizen wiped off the map.)
"I have no interest in destroying every Ivan. I simply annihilated anyone who dared point a weapon at Germany. No more, no less."
Hans didn't know how to take that. Rudel was a man who spoke as if survival had no secret formula, only instinct. Hans slipped into the other bed and killed the light.
"Ever the gentleman, not preying on a defenseless girl. Or perhaps just a coward?"
(Shut up. I'm going to sleep.)
(For the record, Hans would wake up the next morning to find Natalia clinging to him like a koala, prompting a very deep, very long sigh.)
◇ ◇ ◇
-------------------------------
I've already uploaded 70 chapters of this story on Patreon!
If you enjoy it, come check out the latest chapters in advance.
Here's the link:
[patreon.com/Greyhounds]
Thank you so much for your support!!
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"