The captain held me fast and shouted, "What possessed you to make a false report like that!"

Backed against the wall in an instant, I raised both hands and offered an explanation.

"To put his suspicions to rest. Imagine someone on a classified mission traveling with a suspicious stranger. You'd want to check, wouldn't you? That's all the colonel was doing."

"That does not justify a suspect making a false report he cannot back up. Making a false report to a superior is itself a violation of military law!"

"Even on a classified mission?"

The captain reluctantly added, "... Unless one is on a classified mission."

"Then there's no problem."

I shrugged. Then I decided to teach the hopelessly clueless captain how scary the real world could be.

"Do you think he became a colonel for nothing? He was just testing us."

"Testing... us?"

"Yes. Whether I was telling the truth doesn't matter. If I really was your irresponsible big brother, he gave me a serious scolding. If I was lying, he figured we'd made up cover identities for a classified mission and played along. Besides, would it make sense for him to ask a question and then get angry when I answered?"

It had been a test from a wily old colonel. Reading his thoughts had let me glide smoothly through it; otherwise, he would have regarded the captain with some suspicion.

He wouldn't have disobeyed her orders, of course. But he could have put us under surveillance. That much was within his discretion.

"Why would he do such a thing?"

"Maybe he didn't like you, or maybe you looked too clueless to be entrusted with a classified mission."

"... Mmph."

Unable to counter my logic, the captain fell silent. I added in a sorrowful murmur, "And honestly, it wasn't a lie, was it?"

"Not a lie? I do not understand what you mean."

"You don't even remember... When little Bee barely came up to my knees, I carried her on my back and raised her myself... I can still hear you calling me big brother..."

"...! Negative! You forced me to do that! Had I not been subjected to certain threats, I would never! Have done it!"

'Humiliation...! The greatest humiliation of my life!'

Huh. It had been a joke to lighten the mood, but her reaction was much fiercer than expected. What was going on?

I gave her another little prod.

"Forced you? You begged me for piggyback rides at every opportunity. Don't you remember? You were so cute, toddling along with your arms outstretched."

"...! That was a disguise for an operation! In the first place! Had you simply cooperated!"

'Riding on this man's back, being held in his arms, clinging to him like a baby to get around! If I could, I would excise those memories entirely!'

... I'd been wondering for a while now, but was this captain confusing her memories as a golem with her own?

Uh. Wait. This level of immersion.

Could it be?

"Captain AB."

"... What is it now? I am beginning to feel apprehensive."

"Do you stay synchronized the whole time you're operating a golem?"

Mages who operated golems synchronized the movements of puppet and operator to give their puppets fine motor control.

Voodoo practitioners who cast curses synchronized a doll's sensations with those of their target to inflict terrible pain.

The synchronized-type magic golem ingeniously combined the advantages of both. It mimicked its operator's movements while also transmitting sensations and information. In short, it was a puppet that served as one's very own avatar.

Communications officers were the Military State's finest puppeteers, controlling dozens of these golems.

But if what I had read was true...

These communications officers weren't the elite of the elite, freely commanding dozens of expensive golems...

'Affirmative. However, query. Why ask such a question?'

"... That is classified."

Wait, seriously? She'd stayed synchronized through all of that?

"What's classified about that? Sounds like a yes to me. But you can turn off one of the two kinds of synchronization, can't you? Movement or sensory synchronization. Don't you normally leave one off?"

'Partially affirmative. You know only half the story. There is an enormous difference in the amount of information obtained with full synchronization and without it. To avoid missing even the smallest detail, I deliberately keep movement and sensory synchronization at maximum at all times. And...'

In the midst of her thoughts, the captain's expression clouded with bitterness as she inwardly mocked herself.

'... In any case, even if I disengage synchronization... all that awaits me is an empty, dark room. There is no reason not to stay synchronized... Feeling something is far better, even if it is pain.'

"... That is... classified..."

The mood suddenly turned somber.

Now I was starting to feel bad. I'd spread its legs apart and tied it up in bizarre positions specifically to stop her from synchronizing.

Oh, surely not. She wasn't an idiot. Surely she hadn't tried to maintain full synchronization even then? Haha...

Haha.

Wow...

"... Query. What exactly is that look you are giving me?"

The captain sounded thoroughly put off. Feigning sorrow, I dabbed at my eyes with a handkerchief and answered.

"Boo-hoo. My poor little Bee... Your big brother will make lots of money and give you a happy life from now on."

"Stop talking nonsense!"

I felt a little—no, a lot—guilty.

I'd only treated it that way because it was a golem. Had I known a person would feel everything just the same, I wouldn't have done it. It wasn't as if I were some sociopath lacking empathy.

So even an upstanding citizen like me could become a devil when he couldn't read thoughts. Man shall find the devil within himself...

Just then, the clock struck ten in the evening. The captain glanced at it and rose.

"My duty hours have ended. Within the next hour, I must finish washing myself and my clothes and prepare for bed."

"How can you have an end to your duty hours when you're out here? Just sleep when you sleep and wake when you wake."

"A regular routine and a neat uniform are the foundations of duty. Regardless of location or circumstances, one must act according to schedule. Even when no one is watching."

"Come on. Surely you didn't spend every day in that little room wearing an uncomfortable officer's uniform."

"...?"

'Query. How could one possibly not wear an officer's uniform while on duty?'

No, seriously. If no one's watching, make yourself comfortable for once. You can operate a golem wearing nothing at all. So inflexible.

For some reason, I felt somber again. Wiping beneath my nose, I murmured,

"You wash first. I'll let you go ahead."

"... If you wash afterward, I anticipate that you will fail to meet the scheduled bedtime. Wash first. I will tidy the room in the meantime."

Well, in that case. I put down my bag and headed for the bathroom.

The quarters were typical Military State construction. The room could barely have held three beds; it looked as though they had removed one in a grand gesture of generosity to leave us a little space.

Beds, lights, stands. That was the entirety of the room's furnishings.

Clothing packets made wardrobes unnecessary, and meals were served in the dining hall. This space existed for sleeping alone.

Even having a tiny bathroom attached was a luxury.

"Can't complain about this."

The colonel had done us a favor by giving us a truly good room.

Communal quarters were lined with bunk beds whose mattresses were scarcely softer than steel desks.

I went into the bathroom first.

The water ran well, but it was cold water only. I shook my hands. This chill was starting to bring back memories. Now this was the Military State.

Standard-issue magic could produce all the warm water one wanted, but doing that would surely drain my meager mana reserves. Nothing for it.

I turned on the faucet. Perhaps because this was a relatively nice room, there seemed to be no daily water ration. I took off my clothing packet and doused my whole body in cold wat—

"Aaaaargh!"

It chilled me to the bone! Help! The water in the bottomless pit had actually been warmer...!

I had no choice but to wash rather tentatively. As I did, the captain's voice came from outside the door.

"How long do you intend to keep washing?"

"Oh, just wait a minute! I'm almost done!"

"We must not miss bedtime. Hurry."

What was wrong with sleeping in? A little lost sleep wouldn't hurt. What a peculiar creature she was.

I had been washing under the running water for quite some time when...

'Morning Glory... No, I must not use it. Until I return to my unit, I am forbidden to use communication magic.'

I heard thoughts drifting from the bedroom. Using them as background music, I scrubbed every inch of myself.

'... In truth, now that he knows I am a communications officer, I must kill him to silence him. There is no guarantee he will keep this secret forever. If he were to tell everyone who I am...'

Communications officers communicated only through golems. They must never expose their real selves.

Every kind of information passed through them, from the trivial to the vital. If someone captured a communications officer and extracted information through torture or interrogation, that alone could shake the Military State.

The Windowless Room existed to protect these conduits for all information—or to protect the Military State from them. So did synchronized-type golems.

'The exposure of the Windowless Room... and the discovery of my identity... were devastating failures...'

Communications officers had to live exclusively in Windowless Rooms. Their lives had to remain inside a box.

Nothing could venture outside except golem bodies that could be abandoned at any moment.

Only their consciousness could be sent out.

Of course, communications officers weren't born inside their boxes, so at certain times they inevitably had to move. Their easy portability was one of their advantages, after all.

That was why, when communications officers traveled in their own bodies, they were issued classified mission orders to conceal their affiliation and names. Orders with security clearance so high that not even a colonel could open them.

'By the rules, I must... kill him...'

"There, all clean!"

Freshly washed, I put my clothing packet back on and flung open the door.

The beds had been neatly made while I was gone. Crisp-edged pillows and blankets welcomed me, and the lights had been dimmed to a soft glow.

The captain, who had been sitting primly on a bed, rose when she saw me.

"I will wash now."

Shaking the water out of my hair, I said, "The water's warm. You can just pour it right over yourself."

"Acknowledged."

The captain walked stiffly into the bathroom.

CLICK

The door closed. Leaning her back against it, she spent a moment lost in thought.

'... But, humiliating as it is, he saved me.'

The steel box I had stumbled upon near Tantalus had contained the captain, bleeding from the head.

When Tantalus flipped over and landed on the surface, the tremendous impact had spread in all directions. It had been strong enough to split the nearby ground, and apparently knocked the captain unconscious inside her buried box.

I had chanced upon it and opened it, thinking it was a treasure chest.

But all it held was a bleeding captain.

There was nothing to steal from a Military State captain. If anything, I had to worry about getting robbed myself.

I had intended to bandage her head and be on my way.

I would have, had the captain not woken up and asked me a favor.

["... Take... me... over there..."]

["Where's 'there' in this cramped little space?"]

Her eyes barely open, she asked me to move her in a dying voice. I was going to ignore her and leave.

["... Please... big brother..."]

They said one should grant even a dead person's wish. Why not an injured person's? Supporting the barely conscious captain, I brought her over to the desk.

She fumbled in a drawer, took something out, and put it in her mouth.

It was poison for suicide.

["Whoa! You scared me!"]

Startled, I drove my knee into her stomach. The captain vomited up the poison and passed out.

Which left me in a difficult position.

There are two ways to kill an elephant with a gun.

The first is to shoot an elephant that is already on the verge of death.

The second is to shoot the elephant and keep running away until it dies.

What? Wouldn't an elephant die if you shot it? Oh, please. Guns barely worked on people. Why would they work on elephants?

Killing one with a toothpick would be more realistic. At least you could use energy arts with a toothpick.

Anyway, I had struck a dying captain with my fist, so leaving her there somehow felt as if I'd be the one who had killed her. After much deliberation, I took her with me, figuring I ought to save a life.

So far, I was reasonably pleased with that decision. Traveling through the Military State without identification was far too much trouble.

"I am finished."

"Huh? Already?"

The captain emerged from the bathroom.

She had taken off her stiff uniform and was drying her wet hair in just a shirt. By every indication, she had doused her entire body in water.

What? Surely she hadn't poured that water over herself. Had even the faucet recognized an officer and supplied warm water?

No, the Military State gifted cold water to officers too. Anyone who wanted warm water had to heat it with standard-issue magic.

I looked around.

"How was the water temperature?"

"Warm, as you said."

That? Warm? How strange. Had the words describing relative temperatures changed lately?

"The temperature was slightly higher than the average supplied water. I believe the collected water is somewhat warmer because this is a large facility."

Shaking out her hair, the captain looked genuinely untroubled. In fact, she even seemed a little excited.

Looking happier than she had all day, she said, "To be able to pour water over my entire body. This truly is heaven. Larger facilities really are the best..."

Was she a captain or a charity case?

A charity-case captain.