WeTried Translations
Translator: Coughing Baby
Editor: Coughing Baby
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
Chapter 324: Return (7)
──────
Nominally, the highest authority over the refugee military government was the Military Government Minister, a lieutenant general in the Army named Will Lightburn. But it was safe to say Gyeoul would have no reason to meet Lightburn in person, because the Military Government Minister’s office was in the Pentagon in D.C.
At first, Gyeoul had wondered if that was not too far from the field, but once he learned the circumstances, he understood easily. Besides the military government offices for the three western states, there were separate regional military government offices responsible for the East. Since there had been several months before the plague wave that began in China reached Europe, the number of refugees who had crossed the Atlantic was astonishingly large.
The Military Government Minister must have had it rough as well. Even the California regional military government office was divided again into northern, central, and southern branches. Judging by the sheer size of the organization, it was not a role one lieutenant general could handle, but there must have been no other choice because of the chronic manpower shortage.
‘I hear even Britain is considering abandoning its territory lately...’
It had endured until now by relying on its nature as an island, but the refugees it had taken in from all over Europe were apparently too many to handle. The United States naturally covered supplies for anything Britain could not produce on its own, but that only met the bare minimum needed for survival. It could do nothing about the political, economic, and social chaos.
For its part, the U.S. government wanted to preserve the British mainland, along with islands such as Sicily and Sardinia, as bridgeheads toward Europe. Britain in particular had high industrial productivity, so would it not make an excellent forward base someday?
The problem was that no one knew when that someday would come. America’s immediate task was not the recapture of Europe, but the advance on Panama.
So the U.S. Congress rejected the British government’s request for asylum and instead resolved to accept additional refugees. They said it would reduce the cost of transporting supplies and at least ease the chaos caused by refugees. As a result, at this point, the Military Government Minister likely had more headaches in the East than in the West.
That was also the background behind the strengthening of the Fort Roberts base commander’s authority. While explaining the duties that covered both administration and judicial matters, Brigadier General Laughlin paused for breath and gave a bitter smile.
“Do you think we have enough officers to assign to refugee administration when we are short even on commanders for combat units? Senior officers we can entrust with responsibility are even rarer. So if we want to save manpower, we have no choice but to stretch limited personnel around, or concentrate authority in one place like here.”
They had thought things would improve with time, but that had not been the case.
“I did hear some of this in advance, but my responsibility will be heavy.”
Gyeoul’s assessment made the brigadier general nod.
“That is right. It is the perfect set of conditions to break a person. Not because the work is hard, but because there are so many temptations. I never knew power to do anything within sight could be this frightening. I thought I was used to it in my own way as the head of a unit.”
“But you endured it well, sir.”
“In the end. But if not for my brigadier general promotion review, it might have been dangerous.”
In other words, Laughlin had kept himself in check in case any disqualifying issue came up.
“Especially that oil field.”
The brigadier general looked deeply displeased.
“They said production had dropped below the standard and that management would be entrusted to us, but while it may not be profitable from the government’s perspective, here it still involves a great deal of money. It attracted opportunists. That was trouble.”
It was an indirect warning. The brigadier general did not look like someone who was lying, but Gyeoul decided to keep in mind the possibility that Laughlin had secretly engaged in corruption. Checking once after taking office as commander would be enough. Otherwise, Gyeoul might end up taking the blame.
“How much life does the oil field have left?”
Asked that question, the brigadier general rummaged through a file with one hand.
“Rather than having me tell you... here it is. Look for yourself.”
Gyeoul opened the report handed to him. The first thing he saw was a chart showing the field’s history. By total production alone, it had been one of the leading oil fields in California, but its annual output had visibly declined with the passage of time. All the more so because, until recently, it had supplied the fuel needed for large-scale military operations.
Factoring in the cost of production, transport, and supply administration, it had become something like a white elephant from the U.S. government’s perspective. Until the facilities were improved, it would remain solely under Fort Roberts’ jurisdiction.
There were many other interests the base commander had a hand in as well. Gyeoul frowned.
“I understand the permit work for dispatched laborers, but the review of permanent residence and citizenship applications seems like a heavy burden. Especially because it would be easy to bypass restrictions. This could cause trouble later.”
At that, Brigadier General Laughlin answered meaningfully.
“Maybe they handed over that authority intending for you to use it even while accepting that risk.”
“...What do you mean, sir?”
“Once citizenship is approved, it cannot be casually revoked no matter how the government’s leanings change. The same goes for permanent residence. If it is abused too much, Immigration or the higher-ups will step in, but I think they will more or less overlook moderate use. All the more if the decision comes from you rather than me.”
“Are you saying it is insurance against a change in administration?”
“That is my guess, but I imagine the current President thinks so. It also means your judgment is trusted. In any case, if we are to create a dependent territory or territory in the future, it is true that we need a certain number of people who hold citizenship or permanent residence. Otherwise, how would it be any different from here? It would only mean moving the refugee residence district somewhere else.”
Having said that much, the brigadier general took a portion of the documents awaiting approval and pushed them toward Gyeoul.
“Since the subject came up, you should look over this much yourself. There is no better way to get used to it than doing it directly.”
“You mean right now?”
“No. I will hear the results... yes. Five days from now. I only mean you should take them with you when you leave. In return, I will let you go about two hours early today. You need to rest when you can too. Separate from the coming splendid invitation, of course. Hm, to be honest, it does not matter if it is delayed by a few days. Though it will be hard on the people waiting.”
There was still a great deal of work to learn.
“Now, next is the review work for refugee leader candidates. The Refugee Leader Support Bill has entered advance notice of enforcement, so we need to keep pace here as well. You will do better at this than I will too. You are one of the parties concerned. After finishing this, let us stop by the Civil Affairs Bureau for a while. If you do not know how things are running in the field, reviewing agenda items will be difficult, will it not?”
The brigadier general wore a smile that somehow looked relieved.
Late afternoon. After returning to his quarters in the garrison, Gyeoul carefully examined the documents he had brought. It felt as if Laughlin was evenly pushing various duties onto him, but they were all work he would have to inherit anyway.
The refugee leader support policy had been drafted to save both the cost and manpower needed for refugee management. The problem was that few decent people stood out as leaders. So the military government authorities planned to select most of them according to their own arbitrary standards. From the refugees’ perspective, this too would become a sensitive issue.
‘The Vietnamese side is... Mr. Nguyen, then.’
Names he had brushed past once in the past appeared in the documents. But there were many unfamiliar people besides them, so Gyeoul would have to meet them one by one.
Around the time starlight began appearing one by one above the mountain shadows in the dusk, Anne called, and Gyeoul said this.
“I don’t know what the higher-ups trust in me to give me a position like this. I may have plenty of military achievements, but that is separate from this. As the brigadier general said, it seems like the kind of position where people break easily.”
Anne found his words amusing.
「Gyeoul. There is no one better suited to that position than you. I am not saying that because I like you. I mean objectively, too.」
“Why?”
「Because you are someone who is not bound by private interest. The defense donation fund matter is one example. The contract was written recently, but you first expressed your intention back when you were in San Francisco, right? Before that, when the military government office was first created, you turned down a comfortable position. And what about the fact that I am still alive?」
After a short pause, she went on.
「Thanks to all that, the Department of Defense and the White House have had an extremely favorable evaluation of you for a long time. Not just as a soldier, but as a person. In other words, the decision to put you in that position was made after more than enough careful thought. Wouldn’t it be strange to suspect that someone who has repeatedly risked his life for others would act selfishly over minor issues?」
“You never know.”
「You never know... huh... I wonder. Want to make a bet?」
“I don’t. I feel like I would lose.”
「Oh no. It was a guaranteed win.」
Anne burst into laughter. Her voice sounded higher and lighter than before, so Gyeoul asked how she had been.
“You sound bright today. Did something good happen?”
「Why ask that now...? I’m on the phone with you.」
This time, Gyeoul laughed under his breath.
“Other than that.”
「Mm... This is relatively minor, but I am home right now. Not at the office, and not at a crime scene. The sunset was pretty on the way home, I took a thirty-minute shower, I had a Blue Moon a little while ago, I am lying in bed listening to your voice, and I have tomorrow off. Though if an emergency call comes in, I will have no choice but to go.」
“I hope tomorrow is quiet, even if the world ends the day after.”
「Then I should plant an apple tree.」
After giggling again, she added to what she had said a moment earlier.
「Oh, right... About that defense donation fund.」
“Yes.”
「There is a chance it will be made public sooner than expected. At the earliest, it will officially be broadcast within a week.」
“...That is unexpected. I thought it would happen later because of the political circumstances. Major McGuire... no, that is what I heard from the public affairs office too. If policy suddenly changed, something must have gotten tangled. I was not contacted separately either.”
「Don’t worry. Gyeoul will not face backlash.」
Anne’s voice was gentle.
「The reporters only caught the scent. In a way, it was natural. They did keep it secret, but it was handled loosely compared to real confidential information. There are many people involved, time dragged on, and you are always one of the media’s biggest interests.」
“Then what happens now?”
「Speculative articles are already out. They say something like this has happened, but it seems they cannot reveal it because they are watching the mood. Since it has come to this, the authorities plan to keep playing dumb until the reporters create public opinion on their own. They will hold out without confirming or denying it. While quietly leaking things in the background.」
“They want it to look like they tried to hide it, but everything came out, so they had no choice but to acknowledge it, rather than announcing it proactively?”
「Right.」
“That is a decent response for something unplanned.”
「They are experts in that field. Anyway, this is a big problem.」
“What is?”
「This will make people like you even more, so what if someone likes you more than I do? I need to be number one in this field... Ah, of course, security during the event is also a big problem.」
Since there were no dark shadows in her words, Gyeoul took it lightly.
“Really now. Were you always the type whose jokes increase when you drink? You were only pretending to be proper before?”
「Haa, as if. At any party, I am treated as a workaholic.」
Her answer, accompanied by a sigh, sounded so genuinely fed up that Gyeoul ended up laughing without holding back. Hearing the sound, Anne’s voice grew even warmer.
「Even I find myself unfamiliar like this. It is new, and a little embarrassing too... But the words keep coming anyway. And I enjoy it.」
“...”
For some reason, words caught in his throat. Searching for what to say, Gyeoul suddenly looked at the mountains outside the window. The night had deepened, and there were more stars. A view he liked at any time. Even if there were no real stars beyond it, it was still beautiful. As he had thought in the past, beautiful things had value in themselves.
Just as the star he had received from Star Child was a promise regardless of its essence.
「Hello?... Gyeoul? Can you hear me?」
Her voice sounded puzzled by the silence. He could sense a little unease too. She must have been turning her own words over in her mind. Maybe she thought they had burdened him somehow.
“Anne.”
Gyeoul spoke gently.
“I hope I become able to love you.”
At that one sentence, the silence that had been here a moment ago crossed the receiver. The gap was filled only by the ticking of the second hand. After a long while, her quiet answer returned.
「Don’t worry. You definitely will.」
Footnotes:
Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried
