Chapter 29
Having heard the dreadful news that the higher-ups were taking an interest in him, Daniel resolved that this time he would go to the dessert shop and unwind.
‘Maintaining one’s mental health amid a busy and difficult working life is a good thing.’
Accordingly, Daniel used a shortcut as soon as he left work and arrived in front of the Golden Rose Bakery, a newly opened shop on the outskirts of the capital.
The strong smell of cookies and bread already filling the air was a good sign that it was a proper dessert shop.
Daniel was quite pleased.
If that strange woman beside him had not been there, he might even have hummed a tune under his breath.
“Here it is. This is the place you said you wanted to go, Captain.”
As Lucy looked up at the bakery’s sign and spoke, Daniel let out a quiet groan.
‘……Why did she come along?’
To retrace what had happened, Lucy had spoken to him as they left General Staff Headquarters after work, and Daniel had answered her in a businesslike manner.
During that exchange, the subject of the dessert shop had come up, and Daniel had merely hinted, out of politeness, that she could come along if she wanted.
He had naturally expected her to refuse, but Lucy had accepted, saying she would not reject a kindness offered by her superior.
From Daniel’s perspective, that was profoundly uncomfortable.
‘Is she trying to keep watch on me?’
Lucy’s intentions were obvious, but Daniel gave no sign of noticing and nodded.
“Let’s go.”
Daniel started walking, opened the bakery door, and entered, with Lucy following behind him.
At the appearance of the two of them, the employee sitting at the counter quickly smiled and rose from their seat.
“Welcome! This is the Golden Rose Bakery, where we bring happiness to everyone! How many will……”
The employee stopped mid-sentence and fell silent.
Not only had two soldiers wearing officers’ uniforms entered, they were also staring at the employee with such fierce gazes that their presence felt overwhelmingly intimidating.
In reality, both of them were merely expressionless, but the employee had no way of knowing that.
‘They’re scary……!’
Having burst into tears inwardly, the employee barely regained composure and forced an awkward smile.
“Just the two of you, then. Have you decided on a menu?”
“Ah. Yes.”
Daniel removed his uniform cap, tucked it under his arm, and spoke with a faint smile.
“I hear the Dream Parfait is famous here. It must be delicious, judging by how many people come here to eat it even though the shop only opened recently. We’ll have two, please.”
“Ah……”
He had seemed frightening when expressionless, but seeing him smile and speak softly revealed a strangely captivating charm.
Perhaps one might call it an unexpected side of him. After staring blankly for a moment, the employee soon nodded.
“I-I’ll have them ready right away! If you don’t mind, please take a seat by the window!”
Daniel answered with a slight nod, then went to sit at an available window seat.
Lucy also sat across from Daniel and set her briefcase down on an empty seat.
As she did so, she studied Daniel closely.
He looked around the shop with a languid expression, as though he was familiar with dessert shops.
‘……Was he really telling the truth yesterday when he said he was on his way to a dessert shop?’
If that had been a lie, Daniel would have known her identity from the start and followed her.
He would have invented the fictitious hobby of “going to dessert shops” to conceal that fact.
But he seemed far too natural, as though he had visited several similar shops before.
‘Could it really have been a chance encounter?’
As Lucy drew all sorts of deductions in her head, she suddenly found herself meeting Daniel’s eyes.
“……Why are you staring so intently? Is there something on my face?”
Oh no. She had failed to manage her gaze properly because she had become lost in thought.
Lucy gave a false cough and was just opening her mouth to make an excuse when—
“Two Dream Parfaits, as ordered!”
The employee called out brightly, brought over the two parfaits, and set them down in front of Lucy and Daniel.
“Then I hope you have a delicious day!”
With that, the employee gave a deep bow and returned to the counter.
Daniel was naturally about to pick up his spoon and dig into the parfait when he stopped.
Lucy was literally glaring at the parfait in front of her.
“……”
Of course, Lucy was seeing a parfait for the first time in her life.
She had lived her entire life eating nothing but meals served at military bases and research facilities.
That was why, when she had first been appointed as Daniel’s adjutant, she had once bitten into a freshly baked croissant and inwardly cried out in admiration.
If even a croissant had affected her that much, a fancy dessert like this was completely unfamiliar to Lucy.
Ice cream, cookies, fruit, cream, and chocolate syrup were chaotically combined and stacked in layers inside a tall glass, making the whole thing look almost magnificent.
‘……How am I supposed to eat this?’
As Lucy anxiously fretted behind her impassive expression, Daniel let out a snicker.
He had roughly understood what was going on.
“All right. Shall we try it?”
As though speaking to himself, Daniel plunged his spoon into the ice cream in the parfait.
He slowly lifted the spoon, bringing along half a strawberry and some cream, and ate the ice cream in one bite.
A soft, sweet, and refreshing flavor spread richly through his mouth.
Satisfied, Daniel set down his spoon with a faint smile, and Lucy immediately followed suit.
Of course, she had not expected much.
There was no way something like an Imperial dessert could be delicious.
But the moment she put the spoonful of ice cream into her mouth—
Lucy’s eyes widened.
“Hk……!”
After even letting out a bizarre moan, Lucy set down her spoon and blinked blankly.
All sorts of sweet flavors mingled in her mouth, creating something akin to the taste of heaven.
It could not even be compared to army mess food.
That was only natural. Military food tended to prioritize nutrition over taste.
After eating nothing but military mess food and then tasting a dessert that had devoted itself entirely to “flavor,” she had been thrown into shock.
Daniel found the sight quite satisfying.
‘Yesterday she dismissed it as junk food. Had she never even tasted one before?’
Daniel let out a low laugh and spoke with a triumphant air.
“Well? Is the dessert to your liking?”
At Daniel’s words, Lucy came to her senses and narrowed her eyes halfway.
Realizing that she had failed to control her expression over something as insignificant as a single dessert, embarrassment washed over her belatedly.
She had been defeated by an Imperial dessert, of all things—not some other kind of food.
Lucy, even feeling ashamed, blushed faintly and muttered.
“……It’s edible.”
The slight tremor in her voice spoke for itself about how Lucy felt at that moment.
“I’m glad it’s edible.”
Saying that, Daniel pulled out one of the cookies stuck into the parfait and put it in his mouth.
Its crisp texture was exquisite.
As Daniel savored the parfait’s flavor, he gazed out the window and fell into thought for a moment.
‘My adjutant is a spy, and things haven’t exactly been going my way lately…….’
Perhaps he should be grateful simply for being able to serve in such a peaceful rear area rather than on the battlefield.
Fierce clashes would surely be raging along the front lines right now.
‘There’s no way they could dream of parfait on the battlefield.’
So Daniel hoped he could continue serving in the rear in the future as well.
He hated battlefields where one had to fight for one’s life, after all.
*
Meanwhile, at General Staff Headquarters.
The Deputy Chief of Staff’s office.
Flip─
Surrounded by all manner of classified materials, Brigadier General Cedric Bendel calmly turned the pages of a newspaper.
His eyes, with the whites showing all around the irises, swiftly scanned down the article printed in the newspaper.
Before even thirty seconds had passed, Cedric finished reading the article and set down the newspaper.
‘So he wiped out a mafia organization…….’
The article he had just read said that Daniel had annihilated a mere mafia organization.
‘Why?’
Cedric was curious about the reason.
Captain Daniel Steiner had already earned numerous merits and had been placed on the list of candidates for early promotion.
If he spent the next two years without incident, he would be promoted to major without difficulty.
Daniel himself surely knew that.
And yet he had gone looking for another achievement and annihilated a mafia organization.
Alone, no less, after working hours.
Cedric blinked slowly, understanding Daniel’s feelings perfectly.
‘……So he can’t wait two years.’
On today’s battlefields, existing intelligence could become obsolete after only a year had passed.
From Daniel’s perspective, brimming with the desire to contribute to the Empire, it must have been frustrating.
No matter how much of a hero he was in the capital, as a mere captain, his influence within the military was inevitably limited.
So Daniel was making a demonstration to his superiors by exterminating a mafia organization.
‘I see. He can’t rot away at General Staff Headquarters like this, so he wants to be sent to the battlefield.’
Daniel must be aiming to gain battlefield experience—in other words, build a record of achievement—so that he could be promoted to major ahead of schedule.
Once he became a field-grade officer, his authority would increase beyond comparison with that of a company-grade officer.
It was obvious that Daniel wanted to play an active role on the front lines of the Empire while wielding that authority.
‘He’s a courageous young man. Isn’t he like a brightly burning flame?’
With the succession to the imperial throne and the Allied forces’ offensive throwing the nation into turmoil both inside and out, a talent like Daniel Steiner was worth its weight in gold.
‘Excellent. As it happens, I was thinking of sending operational support to the Northern Army Group.’
If a capable young man wanted an early promotion, it was only right to give him an opportunity.
That would benefit the Empire in the future, after all.
‘Very well. Captain Daniel Steiner. I’ll put my faith in you…….’
Why don’t you go run wild on the battlefield for once.