TCWGRF 0

Gray raindrops were added to the beautiful city painted entirely in achromatic colors, further doubling its unique gloom.

Especially on nights like this, people who had been deprived of their freedom were afraid to even wander the streets, not leaving their homes unless it was an authorized time.

Having installed barriers and several gates that not just anyone could pass through, the citizens of the city, who had decided to trade internal abundance for external poverty, chose silence and obedience again today.

It had been a long time since they had voted with their own hands, so there were countless people who had forgotten even the fact that they had entrusted their cause to someone. The city, which at first glance seemed perfectly aligned and disciplined, was like a private with sharp military discipline.

On the completely empty road, a black vehicle with its engine on flashed its headlights. Not far away, a driver, who had stepped aside for a secret conversation, stood holding an umbrella as big as his body.

Through the slightly open crack of the rear window, cigarette smoke and angry shouts occasionally leaked out from inside, but thanks to the rain, they couldn’t travel far and were buried and scattered.

“You should not forget who helped you get to that position.”

“…I know.”

“Chief of Public Security, how absurd.”

Currently, the position of Chief of Public Security, who protects the city, was vacant. The background to this involved the rather disgraceful death of his predecessor, but it was not a special event in this city for someone to be dragged away and killed or to disappear without a word.

This was because there were not many deaths that were understandable, and everyone knew that the cause of death was just something you could attach. No, it was more appropriate to say they had become desensitized.

At some point, the people here had stopped attaching titles like ‘questionable’ or ‘suspicious’ to deaths of unknown origin. They simply recognized it as ‘citizen so-and-so, deceased,’ or ‘unidentified body,’ and that was all.

Ever since it was discovered that death was one of the methods used by those in power to silence people, the citizens of this city had become such ridiculous beings that there was no need to even bother adding flimsy excuses.

As soon as the position of Chief of Public Security became vacant for an unknown reason, a successor was chosen as if they had been waiting.

Next to the white-haired old man who was expressing his dissatisfaction with an angry voice. A man with golden hair slicked back so tightly that not a single strand was out of place, and beneath it, a face that held no expression at all, an endlessly cold face. This was the man who would be the new Chief of Public Security of this city starting tomorrow.

“If it were not for his will! Samuel, how could a bastard like you rise to such a position!”

“……”

“A son of a bitch who rolled in from the outside.”

The man named Samuel paid no mind to his adoptive father, who was throwing a fit and spouting insulting remarks. Instead, he looked rather indifferent as he watched the scenery outside the window where the rain was shattering. It was probably because he was tired of hearing words that had been hammered into his ears so many times.

“…Like a dog. You must remember who your master is, who holds your leash.”

“Yes, I will keep that in mind.”

The impromptu meeting, held to warn his adoptive son who had been appointed to an undeserved position overnight for no particular reason, ended as always with the sound of the white-haired old man’s yellowish teeth grinding and Samuel’s concise reply.

“Get lost.”

Only then did the old man, his anger subsiding a little, kick his adoptive son out into the rainy street, beckon the driver who was standing outside with just a hand gesture, and immediately left the place.

‘He acts as if he gave me the position himself. …Ridiculous. Very much so.’

The rain was falling even harder than before, but the white-haired old man was so heartless that he didn’t even give him an umbrella to walk back with.

Coincidentally, Samuel’s destination was in the same direction the vehicle had already sped off in. However, instead of following the path the car had taken, he turned his feet and started walking in the opposite direction.

Stride, stride, his steps were as leisurely as if he were enjoying a walk on a sunny day.

*

— The guard dog that protects the city, the mad dog of the Party, the madman who enjoys murder, will tomorrow ascend to the position of Chief of Public Security, a role that commands the police officers and is comparable to the executives of the Party that has ruled the city.

In that process, his personal will was completely useless. As the Party wished, as certain high-and-mighty people decided, Samuel would occupy the top floor of the ‘Public Security Bureau’ building and would be responsible for eliminating not only those who go against the law but also everything that opposes the city’s power.

‘The work I do won’t change anyway.’

Samuel had been notorious since his days as a low-ranking officer in the Public Security Bureau. His job was to sniff out the rebels who had cunningly infiltrated the city like a ghost, suppress them mercilessly, and subject them to harsh torture.

Sometimes, for the maintenance of the regime, he took the lead in purging those suspected of being rebel spies, and he even personally dragged down those who seemed as though they would never fall, having planted their asses firmly on the seat of power.

So, of course, it was impossible for there to be no opposition. Even if his actions were for the Party and the city, his origins and his deeds were enough to be controversial. After all, his fangs could be turned on them at any moment.

Nevertheless, they had no other alternative. In order to sleep with both feet stretched out in the city, and to effectively respond to the rebels who were infiltrating the city in ever-increasing numbers, they needed a competent individual.

“You there, stop!”

A man was walking down a quiet street, paying no mind to his clean uniform getting wet, taking the falling rain head-on. He stopped his steps at the shout of a police officer that rang out from behind him and turned his body toward the direction the sound came from.

“Wandering around at this hour. Are you out of your mind?”

According to city law, once the sun set and the siren sounded, citizens were not allowed to wander outside carelessly.

Officers on night patrol had the authority to conduct random inspections, and unless one wanted to be caught and suffer harsh treatment, they had to comply obediently.

However, Samuel, standing at a distance, did not take out his identification or raise both hands high. He simply wore a meaningful smile. That point irked the officer, who was tired from his rainy night shift.

“This son of a bitch?”

“…Hey! W-wait a moment.”

The other officer recognized the identity of the blond young man who was enjoying his freedom in the rain and hastily stopped his partner, who was about to draw his bayonet first.

“I almost made a mistake, failing to recognize the Chief.”

“…!”

At the words of his colleague who was urgently asking for forgiveness, the officer, who had only been trying to question a suspicious man in the middle of the night, bent his back beyond a right angle, as if it would touch the floor.

The conspicuously pure white uniform that signified the Chief’s status was hidden under a black coat that came down to his knees, making it difficult to identify him until the owner himself stepped into the light.

As Samuel took a step toward the streetlight, the pure white uniform permitted only to him and the matching cap finally shone a bright yellow.

Soon, the officer’s entire body began to tremble, and rainwater and cold sweat mixed together, dripping down to the floor. Then, cutting through the pitter-patter pitter-patter sound of the rain, the sound of a gulping swallow could be heard.

“Ah, I-I’m sorry. I, I…”

The officer, who had been so bold as if he would punish a lawbreaker in an instant, could no longer straighten his back and couldn’t even manage a proper excuse. Even though the official inauguration was not until tomorrow, as a mere low-ranking officer, he had dared not to recognize the Chief of Public Security, so he must have been afraid for his future.

Besides, this new Chief of Public Security was not an ordinary bureaucrat or an executive from the Party. He was a ruthless butcher who slaughtered people without batting an eye, a beast who showed no mercy even to those who begged for forgiveness with tears.

In this city, there was no one else who swung a sword and fired a gun without hesitation toward those he deemed enemies. There was not even a hint of human hesitation in his every action.

The number of people who had died in the Public Security Bureau was countless, and the majority of them were caught by Samuel and became cold corpses at his hands. The officers who had worked in the same place knew this fact better than the average citizen.

“…You were only following the law. There’s no need to be so scared.”

Fortunately, it seemed the new Chief had decided to be lenient this time. It could be that he was simply in a good mood, or that he was showing magnanimity ahead of a momentous occasion, but the nameless officer had no way of knowing the reason.

The officer, who had just managed to calm his heart, kept his back bent and watched his superior’s expression.

“Ah, I’m truly s-sorry. From now on…”

“I’d like to enjoy my walk a little more. May I do that?”

“O-of course. We’ll go with you!”

“You all must protect the city while everyone is asleep.”

With that, the new Chief, Samuel, gave a light wave of his hand and moved away from the officers who were staring at the ground, not knowing what to do.

The rain showed no sign of stopping, and because of it, the ancient gray city had a cold and damp smell. The raindrops that bounced off the ground were painting hideous stains on the cuffs of his white uniform trousers, but strangely, his mood was refreshing.

In this city, there were a few things that only those with power could do. To go wherever they pleased. And to do so without being threatened or subjected to random inspections.

Samuel, too, was a living power in this city.

Even though his soaking wet clothes should have been bothersous, Samuel fixed his hair, which had started to go limp from the rain, with his stiff cap and walked steadily forward. Step, step.

He deliberately walked slowly, very slowly. He savored the freedom of the street that seemed to have been emptied just for him, and melted into the deep, deep darkness of the city.