Chapter 73 : Distortion
Distortion
Gregory raised his index finger to silence his comrades. He was not entirely certain, but he said that, for now, they should be left out.
In reality, this whole operation itself was a trap designed to check whether there was a traitor within the group.
Gregory judged that if there was a traitor among his comrades attempting to leak information, his plan was bound to succeed.
'Of course, it's not that I don't trust my comrades...'
So Gregory had figured out a way to expose the traitor for sure. The first step was to distribute false operation information as bait.
You wonder what that has to do with catching a traitor? The story changes if a certain condition is attached here.
It was simply a matter of providing information in limited amounts, on several occasions. If false information about attacking the enemy nation, Blandi Kingdom, was spread, a traitor would have no choice but to relay this.
The idea was to spread a rumor about an attack at a specific time and place while gradually increasing the number of people informed.
From the traitor's perspective, they would be forced to urgently pass on this information. By leaking and recording different secret information each time, it would also be possible to track who was given what details.
By observing which information leaked out, it was possible to trace back who had let it slip.
Of course, this method was not foolproof. Spies would never work alone.
There could well be dozens—if not thousands—already infiltrating Arme.
To quietly eliminate them would inevitably take a lot of time, and avoiding detection would be far from easy.
'Haaa... Still, this is probably the best method for now.'
With the crisis of imminent war, time was extremely scarce.
It might not be possible to completely wipe out the traitors inside Arme within the available time.
However, if a traitor was caught and intimidated, it could lead to the discovery of others.
Gregory was sure there would be traitors willing to leak information even if it meant risking the exposure of their own identity.
He decided to employ the "Boy Who Cried Wolf" tactic using that point.
If the false information about an ambush was repeated, the enemy's alertness would diminish, and no matter how solid their defense, a gap would eventually appear—so he believed.
Gregory provided each of Alessandro, Ernest, Adrian, Brea, and Elisabeth with a different false plan for ambushing the enemy.
They were the comrades he trusted most, but his calculation was to track the route through which the information might leak.
He believed that if he could verify it, even thicker trust could be built than before.
'I hope none of them actually turn out to be traitors.'
Gregory felt heavy-hearted. The thought that those he had long believed to be genuine comrades could in reality be pretentious betrayers filled him with an overwhelming sensation that he would never be able to trust anyone again.
Still, Gregory didn't forget the duty he carried as if destined: to eliminate Meren, who betrayed him, and the king of Blandi Kingdom. On top of that, finding out why he had to be reincarnated into this body was surely his burden alone.
To accomplish this, he had to risk breaking the trust with his comrades. Eliminating traitors was the way to complete his mission.
Gregory summoned each comrade separately and provided them with different information.
***
Thus, Gregory's plan was carried out in secret. But since nothing seemed to change, he could not determine whether there was a traitor among his comrades.
He could not afford to waste any more time, so Gregory decided to trust his comrades. After more than three attempts, his comrades began to grow suspicious of this operation.
Since he hadn't even explained the operation's true purpose at the outset, he thought it would be rude to force it any further.
"Haaa... What should I do now?"
Gregory let out a deep sigh as he stared at the dirt floor inside the tent. His plan had ended in a single day, and now he thought he might need to pull back.
If there really was a traitor outside his group, then all the weaknesses of the Dawn Order's hideout would already have been leaked.
Even so, he didn't have enough strength to hunt down a traitor.
Or maybe, pinning the failure of the operation solely on a traitor was itself a mistake.
Just then, Ernest approached.
"Gregory, what are you thinking? If this goes on, we'll lose the forest."
As Ernest said, it was only natural that they would lose more and more of the forest. He felt frustrated at being unable to strike despite holding the initiative.
They were at the point where they needed to annihilate the enemy right now, so standing still like this made no sense to him.
Unaware of Gregory's inner turmoil, he continued to scold him.
"Hm... I think we should go back for now."
"You want to retreat now? That just means we wasted all this time—what good does it do to go back?"
Ernest's voice grew louder, and Gregory only gazed into the air without saying anything. He couldn't accuse anyone based on mere suspicion.
Ernest started to get furious, thinking Gregory was just dodging the issue.
"Look at my face and talk to me. Are you out of your mind? This is a battle!"
"I think you've got it wrong. Let's calm down for a moment."
Gregory gently placed his hands on Ernest's shoulders.
Ernest, apparently unhappy even with that, knocked Gregory's arm away.
"Wrong? And yet you can look me in the eye like that? What have you done right?"
It wasn't as if Gregory didn't understand Ernest's feelings. Being the eldest hyung, he was burdened with responsibility to complete the mission perfectly and bring benefit to Arme.
Given Ernest's outstanding abilities, if Gregory couldn't carry out his duties, it was only natural for Ernest to feel like he himself should have taken command.
Such complex emotions must have been weighing him down.
"Let's talk when we get back. There's a high chance my rash decision has made things go awry."
Just as Ernest was about to press Gregory further in an agitated voice, their comrades entered the tent.
Alessandro entered, tense from hearing the raised voices from outside.
"W-What's going on?"
Adrian and Elisabeth, too, widened their eyes in alarm. It was the first time they had seen Ernest so upset.
"J-Just calm down, Ernest."
Ernest trembled as if shivering from the cold, managing to calm himself with difficulty as the others entered.
"Haaa... That's enough. Do your job right. If you mess up, I won't sit back and watch."
He stormed out, and silence fell as everyone became hesitant to speak.
Gregory lifted his head, trying to act as if nothing had happened.
"Don't worry. It was just a minor difference of opinion."
Alessandro stammered before saying,
"It's just... I can't help but worry. I never thought I'd see Ernest behave like that."
"It can't be helped. He's not in the mood to listen, so I can't persuade him. When he's calmed down, I'll try again."
"I guess so..."
Adrian asked softly,
"Anyway, what happened to make him so angry?"
Gregory answered calmly, as if he understood everything about Ernest's heart.
"He probably felt frustrated. It was a great chance to seize the initiative, but I'm in command, so he can't just head out as he pleases."
His comrades, too, could not deny that they understood how Ernest felt. They didn't like Gregory's strange plan, either.
Nevertheless, they did not abandon their trust in Gregory. Knowing he cherished his comrades enough to give his life, they didn't think he would just risk such a plan on a whim.
As everyone thinks and acts differently, not to mention their personalities, it was inevitable.
Gregory let out a bitter smile.
"Just wait. We'll definitely find a way to win."
Just then, someone entered the tent. Gregory continued,
"See? They always come back in the end... Who are you?"
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