“General, what are you up to right now?”
It is precisely because I understand the hidden meaning beneath Zettour’s words that I am now so eager to know what compromise he has up his sleeve. Or rather, I feel as if I need to know.
How will the war end?
How will this unwieldy and chaotic disaster be managed?
And how deeply will Tanya be involved in it?
In response, however, General Zettour crosses his arms vaguely and stares into the distance.
“Let me tell you a little about when I was younger.”
“Hmm? If you wish, but what brings this on so suddenly…?”
“Both me and that fool Rudersdorf… Excuse me, the late General Rudersdorf, I should say. In any case, when it comes to the General Staff, both he and I were outsiders.”
I sat up straighter at that unexpected word: outsider. Now that the general mentions it, he is right. Both he and the late General Rudersdorf are not exactly part of the mainstream current of the General Staff.
“Do you know what kind of unit I came from originally?”
“I am afraid I am completely unaware.”
“I should think not,” General Zettour says with a laugh. “Officially speaking, I came from an ordinary regiment. Obviously, I have made my way up in the world. On top of that, my personnel evaluations always listed me as the ‘academic type.’”
When General Zettour mentions his evaluation chart, he uncrosses his arms and rubs his chin pleasantly.
“The army has a good eye for people. Which is why, I suppose, you might say…” General Zettour’s voice sounds amused as he shuttles a military-tobacco cigarette to his lips, “…I was sent all over the place as an observer. In that sense, I suppose they had expectations for me—as a relatively convenient tool, that is.”
The high-ranking officer’s back took on a strange hue as he lit the cheap tobacco and laughed at what a cheap man he used to be.
“At the start of the war, both the late General Rudersdorf and I were brigadier generals. Well, that is how I received the title of Deputy Director of Service Corps. The more convenient we made ourselves, the more we came to be recognized as specialists—and the further along we advanced…
“In any case,” said General Zettour, laughing painfully, “further advancement was eventually closed off for me.”
Of course. I grimaced, feeling that sense of confinement when the way ahead is barred. It is something any professional struggles with from time to time, and while it was unexpected to hear that this senior officer had experienced similar woes, I knew it was not surprising.
“A subcontractor to the Service Corps Chief of Staff, underneath the Chief and Deputy Director of the General Staff.”
This man, now effectively the leader of a country, took an emotional drag from his cigarette.
“But then, what do you suppose happened?”
As he spread his arms dramatically and took what looked like a pleasurable, satisfying drag of his cigarette, the old man appeared at once ambitious, selfless, and even a simple actor.
“The Norden, the Rhine, and finally, Dacia.”
The General Staff’s predictions had been wrong, again and again.
The miscalculations of higher-ups can lead to truly unfortunate outcomes, but each time the General Staff failed… I recall how the old general standing before me rose to higher distinction.
“The truth is that, due to circumstances of system and personnel, seats were left open in certain higher positions, which is how I wound up as the head of the General Staff.”
From brigadier general to head of the General Staff. A massive rags-to-riches story.
While Zettour’s abilities, of course, came into play, the environment had also played a tremendous role in his success. He happened to be the one best suited to achieve what was necessary for total war while situated smack dab in the middle of it. General Zettour: too important to be considered replaceable, yet eminently useful as a cog in the machine.
“Someone who should have ended his career as a brigadier general is now the heart of the Empire. It’s laughable, isn’t it? Almost a bad joke. But exactly why it gives rise to a paradox.”
General Zettour’s voice sounds amused as he smiles, seeming to be genuinely enjoying himself.
“People likely remember me as ‘Deputy Director of the Service Corps.’ They probably mistakenly believe I was always a key player throughout the entire current war.”
Is that true? Just as I am about to object, my train of thought screeches to a halt. True, from the elite perspective, Zettour may have appeared as more of a sideshow. But that would have only been apparent if one counted oneself among the inner circle of the Imperial Army. After all, his position of responsibility…his ostensible title as Deputy Director of the Service Corps…had remained unchanged since long before the war started.
Sometimes it is easy to overlook the way things change beneath the surface.
“The reality of the situation was something else entirely.”
“Yes. You may understand that, Lieutenant Colonel, but not many field officers would.”
“What about Colonel Lergen and Colonel Uger? I imagine two men of their ilk would naturally pick up on such a thing.”
“Yes, that is a given. After all, they both came up through the standard General Staff career path. On top of that, their time in the General Staff under both myself and Rudersdorf has been long.”
They were highly familiar with the truth of the situation. Had they understood General Zettour’s role from the beginning? Originally, he had been in charge of practical business as Deputy Director of the Service Corps under the Service Corps Chief of Staff, which belongs to the Chief of the General Staff. But at some point, the Chief of the General Staff was replaced, and the position of Service Corps Chief of Staff opened up. And again, before General Zettour knew it, he found himself covering, as Deputy Director of the General Staff, for practical affairs, by way of an operational kink in the system by which the deputy directors of operations and Service Corps fell under the chief of staff.
There is no way that anyone from the outside would ever understand such convoluted changes in the General Staff’s complicated internal affairs.
With an organization, when it comes to names and reality, there are often many facets determined by odd customs and previous momentum that are difficult for an outsider to fully comprehend. People tend to judge based on surface appearance instead.
Now then, a simple question. The person effectively in charge of the Imperial Army at present is General Zettour. His official position is as Deputy Director of the Service Corps, and he has held that position since the war started. What, then, will later generations take from that?
“This is why I maintain a close relationship with the imperial household.”
I take a step back from General Zettour, whose outstretched arms almost make it look as if he is offering a hug. After putting physical distance between us, I hesitate before speaking in an exasperated tone.
“You are not thinking of a murder-suicide, are you…?”
The root of it all, the one who had started the war, slavishly lurking in the imperial family’s shadows. An obvious icon. Someone who would appear to the outside as an even bigger piece of shit than Being X. The world was sure to paint him as the enemy.
“What a ridiculously cliché idea that would be… I think even picture books would feature more narrative depth than that.
“I only hope the world does not share your opinion,” the general says with a grin.
Of course. Something suddenly occurs to me. This is what he was after—a deliberate crime, in the truest sense of the word.
“Even if the Reich falls, the Heimat can remain. Even if the great imperial government rots, the outcome does not need to be disastrous.”
“And is His Majesty the Emperor prepared for such an eventuality?” I ask, shocked, the question slipping from my mouth. This is something indeed. But I stiffen in surprise at the general’s laid-back response.
“Who is to say? Not yet, I imagine.”
“Wha… What?!”
“On the surface, it all appears as a grand victory, after all. The imperial household is openly ecstatic and is now embarking on a tour of the East in celebration. They are going to hold a blowout sale on hopes and dreams for our friends in the Council for Self-Government while they are at it.”
What a terrible case of fraud. It is unbelievably malicious. Misleading representation must have its limits, surely.
The imperial family truly believes that we have won, and experienced hands on the Council for Self-Government’s side will pick up on that confidence when the emperor makes his rounds… Even the most irredeemable conman would show some indication of remorse at what Zettour has done.
“General, you are going to be despised.”
“Why, Colonel, who would ever despise a simple, artless patriot such as myself?” the General said, smiling brightly like a kindly old man. But this is deliberate premeditation.