A Veteran Player is Needed in the Apocalypse

Chapter 15. The Wicked Boss

‘What’s with them?’

Wondering about the gazes directed at me, I realized belatedly that my reaction wasn’t normal.

A person had died right in front of me, but I was too calm.

‘What should I do?’

Meursault had told me it was okay to act unpredictably, but he probably didn’t mean for me to behave like a psychopath.

‘Should I pretend to be surprised, even if it’s late?’

I wasn’t confident in my acting skills…

“Oh, I was so shocked. It was really scary.”

“…”

As expected, my poor acting made the officers’ expressions even darker.

At this rate, those NPCs would only see us as a pair of psychopaths.

Judging by their expressions, they’d probably badmouth the Commander’s crazy son if I made it out of this officers’ meeting alive.

In that case, I should play my part as well.

Since my acting skills weren’t good enough to change their impressions now, I needed to leave a strong first impression so the officers would behave properly in the future.

“I’ve heard a lot about you from my mother.”

When I smiled brightly and spoke, a few of the officers trembled in their seats.

It was probably because my face was covered in blood.

“Starting with… you must be Uncle Josef? I heard you took good care of my mother. And next to you is Uncle Luigi.”

I continued to greet each of Hayden’s loyal officers, making eye contact with each one.

“I heard you’re a great marksman? Uncle Franz, are you married now? Uncle Orland, my mother always appreciated your counseling. And…”

When I turned to Daphne’s loyalists, their leader met my gaze with a complicated look.

“Uncle Anton, I heard that although you seem cold, you truly love the zone. Uncle Max, I heard you’re close with the regular soldiers. Uncle Bartom was said to be the most straightforward person… oh, he’s passed away. And Uncle Radu, I was curious if your child has grown up well. I’m so happy to meet you all in person after hearing about you.”

I clasped my hands and spoke as if I were truly happy.

“I know everything about you all, from your families, relatives, and even the dogs you keep in your yards to your neighbors! So, I look forward to working with you.”

After finishing my speech, I smiled politely at them.

Daphne’s loyalists’ fingers trembled slightly.

I wasn’t sure why even Hayden’s loyalists had gone pale.

* * *

In the common soldiers’ barracks.

“Hey, did you hear?”

“Hear what?”

“They say Major Meursault shot and killed Lieutenant General Bartom during the officers’ meeting yesterday.”

“What?”

Tallulah, who had been lying down in the barracks, sat up and asked.

“So what happened to Major Meursault? Isn’t insubordination a serious crime?”

“They say he’s been put on probation.”

“Probation for shooting a superior officer?”

“Well, Lieutenant General Bartom did do something wrong.”

“What did he do to deserve being shot by a subordinate? Especially at an officers’ meeting. Wasn’t His Excellency present?”

Thinking it wasn’t something to discuss loudly, the soldier who started the conversation lowered his voice.

“From what I heard, Major Meursault shot him because he didn’t even say thank you after being forgiven for his rudeness.”

“No way, he shot him because his superior didn’t thank him? Isn’t that psychopathic?”

“Oh, it wasn’t that he didn’t thank Major Meursault. He didn’t thank His Excellency’s son.”

“Then it makes sense.”

Tallulah’s attitude changed immediately upon hearing that the victim was the Commander’s son.

“Bartom couldn’t tell the difference between being straightforward and being rude. I wanted to shoot him a few times myself. But did His Excellency have a son?”

“It seems so. After being married to Lady Daphne for over ten years, it’s not surprising they have a child.”

“There were rumors that he was kept hidden for safety because he was still young, but I guess it was true.”

“Hey, but his son is even more interesting.”

“Why?”

“He’s only about ten years old, but he just worried about the blood on his face after seeing someone get shot in front of him.”

“What? That’s crazy. He was probably too shocked to react.”

“There’s more, listen. Then he smiled with a blood-covered face and started calling out names one by one, like he knew everything about them and telling them not to mess around.”

“That’s scary… But where did you hear this?”

“They say Major Max told us as soon as he returned from the meeting.”

“He still has a loose tongue. He might get shot by Major Meursault.”

“By the way, starting next month, they’ll be calling boy soldiers once a month to have meals.”

“Suddenly?”

“They say the young master wants to eat with kids his age.”

“Is he already trying to gather his people? If that’s the case, he’s not ordinary.”

“Exactly, he’s not ordinary. Hey! Hey, loser!”

The senior soldier looked towards the back of the barracks and taunted his junior.

“What are you going to do? Starting next month, you’ll have to eat with the psychopath young master.”

“…”

Hearing this, the loner cleaning his weapon in the back of the barracks, BangguseokYeoBo, chuckled.

‘That kid must’ve pulled some strings to meet me.’

Since he successfully dealt with the illegitimate child, all he had to do now was climb up and get out of this wretched barracks.

‘But will Tbalrom keep his promise?’

Still unaware that Tbalrom was a dopamine addict, BangguseokYeoBo felt a bit uneasy.

He had said he would call him to the mansion and give him a close aide position as long as he wasn’t useless…

“But this guy just laughs instead of responding when his senior calls?”

“Ah, seriously, that useless bastard. Let’s beat him up.”

“Ow, I’m sorry!!”

Darling Outsider.

As expected by the dopamine addict, he was indeed useless.

* * *

“This is the rumor about Sir Hayden currently spreading within the zone.”

I was quite shocked when I heard the rumors from Meursault.

“Hearing it like this makes me really sound like a psychopath.”

“It’s not entirely wrong.”

Meursault, who would die speaking the truth, said.

“It’s not normal to list people’s details with a smile after someone dies in front of you.”

“No, it’s not normal to just pull out a gun and shoot someone, you know?”

Despite my rebuttal, Meursault just gave a faint smile.

“But how did you come up with such a reaction in that situation?”

Meursault seemed to have realized that my actions at the officers’ meeting were calculated.

“Honestly, I thought you’d be terrified. I wanted to see that.”

This bastard.

“Meursault, you told me not to be underestimated.”

Hearing my answer, a thick smile spread across Meursault’s face.

For a moment, it looked like he was proud of me.

“That’s right. You did well. Even if rumors are spreading that Sir Hayden is a psychopath, His Excellency is very proud of you, so don’t worry.”

“Are you sure I don’t need to worry?”

By the way, I started speaking informally to Meursault.

I still had no rank, so I had to use formal language in front of others, but I was allowed to speak comfortably when we were alone, according to my dad, not Meursault.

“You did it on purpose, didn’t you?”

“What do you mean?”

“Shooting Bartom in that place. Thanks to your act of insubordination, the sudden revelation of the Commander’s son was overshadowed.”

Yes.

Originally, I would have had to endure the gossip as the “illegitimate child” for a while.

But as soon as my existence was announced, a major incident where the Major executed the Lieutenant General took place.

Instead of gossiping about the Commander’s hidden child, the immediate news of a shooting between known faces would be more sensational, wouldn’t it?

Even if they didn’t tell me, there must have been an agreement between the Commander and Meursault.

An agreement that allowed him to shoot anyone who was rude to me.

Meursault’s reputation would suffer from this, but what mattered to him was not his reputation but ensuring I became the Commander’s successor so Daphne could be free.

Meursault once again looked at me with an admiring expression.

“Just like I thought in the meeting… you have great political sense.”

It’s natural since I’ve been the Commander of this zone more than once.

“Don’t ever do that again.”

“You don’t have to worry about that. It was already agreed upon with His Excellency.”

“No, Meursault.”

Meursault might have thought I was saying this out of concern for him, but he was overinterpreting.

There was only one reason I told Meursault not to do such things again.

“They’re people who will become my soldiers someday. I don’t want to lose any of them.”

“…Were you thinking like that?”

Meursault looked at me with an unusually emotional expression, as if he were moved.

To me, it was just that labor was valuable.

“By the way, are you going to have a meal with kids your age?”

“That’s right.”

“What should I help you with?”

He asked what he should do, even though I hadn’t requested it, and it wasn’t an order from the Commander either.

More favorable towards me than before.

Well, since his ultimate goal is to build

a family, he’s naturally pleased that I value human life.

Anyway, it’s good that Meursault would help. Taejong would assist me inside the mansion, but he seemed already overwhelmed with learning his duties.

“I plan to prepare the meal myself.”

“Cooking… A classic way to win people’s hearts.”

Meursault’s analysis that cooking is a classic way to win people’s hearts was spot on.

People usually perceive those who give them food as friendly and reciprocate with affection.

If I not only gave them food but also prepared it myself?

Especially if someone of a much higher rank did it?

They would feel respected.

As they felt affection because they perceived kindness, they would feel respect because they perceived being respected.

What I needed most right now wasn’t ‘obedience’ but ‘respect.’

When those kids grew up and heard about the ‘Second Apocalypse,’ they shouldn’t question or find my orders unreasonable.

Meursault might not know about the Second Apocalypse, but he knew that what I needed most now was ‘people,’ so he seemed to like the cooking plan.

“So, what should I start with? Menu selection? Cooking assistant? What do I need to do first?”

I smiled and answered the enthusiastic Meursault.

“Hunting.”

“…Pardon?”

I looked beyond the walls filled with alien monsters and spoke energetically.

“Let’s start with hunting.”

“You mean gathering ingredients from the start. Understood.”

For some reason, it seemed like Meursault was gritting his teeth, but I ignored it.

Because there was a reason to go out to the outskirts for hunting this time.