SYNO Chapter 7

He leaned back leisurely in his chair.

“What stage are you at?”

“Well, uh… just a moment. I haven’t slept in days, so my mind isn’t working properly.”

Fredrick closed his eyes, thought for a moment, then continued,

“We’ve been searching Ssangryeong’s body for his Name Object. Starting with, well, an oral examination.”

“Why an oral examination?”

“What do you mean ‘why’? It’s a mandatory procedure.”

“I believe I already mentioned that I’ve done that.”

“Huh?”

Fredrick’s eyes widened. The Commander said he’d done it, but this was the first time Fredrick was hearing about it.

“You did it, Commander? You performed an oral examination on Ssangryeong?”

There was another reason he was surprised. Oral examinations and other Object search procedures were usually performed by lower-ranking officials.

Furthermore, Commander Pienne was rather obsessive and fastidious. All the papers in his office were meticulously arranged in a perfect line, and he even wore leather gloves constantly because he hated getting dirty. Therefore, he wasn’t someone who would perform a task that could involve contact with another person’s bodily fluids. Even if he had gloves on.

“H-How did you end up doing the examination? No, when?”

At Frederick’s question, Pienne recalled the events of a few days ago.

He had set a trap to capture Ssangryeong, the Class A wanted information thief. It was a trap that had been prepared over a long period. 

Ssangryeong, no different from a fish caught in a net. It was right after he handcuffed him, when Ssangryeong had put a cigarette in his mouth. Unexpectedly, the man’s lips, despite being covered in grime, were quite smooth. The glimpse of his tongue had drawn his gaze.

‘That’s when I thought of the oral examination.’ 

He’d done it simply, swept away by a momentary impulse. At the time, wanting to do it was the only reason.

Then, the image of Ssangryeong with his finger in his mouth, drooling, came to mind. His eyes glazed over, his cheeks flushed…

Pienne crossed his arms.

“So what’s the problem?”

“There are many problems. We can overlook the oral examination since you handled it, Commander, but the next steps are the issue.”

Frederick pressed his throbbing temples.

“Whenever the examiners try to search him, Ssangryeong throws a fit. Just struggling would be fine. He’s restrained, so it wouldn’t be much of a problem. The real issue is that Ssangryeong keeps trying to reveal the Name Object information of high-ranking Home Nation officials.”

Pienne raised an eyebrow at the absurd statement.

“What?”

“You know, right? According to Home Nation law; it’s punishable by death if a non-high-ranking official learns a high-ranking official’s Name information. The examiners are all lower-ranking officials. If Ssangryeong reveals the Name information of high-ranking officials, the examiners who accidentally hear it could become subject to execution.”

Frederick protested, as if he was going insane.

Pienne, who had been listening quietly, chuckled. It was a clever, if not desperate, method of resistance. He had overseen countless Name Object examinations of prisoners, but he had never seen anyone use high-ranking officials’ Name information as a threat like Ssangryeong.

‘He’s resourceful, for someone from the Dependent Nation.’

Pienne burst out laughing. In that case, the examiners must have been quite perplexed. They would have to abandon the search every time Ssangryeong started reciting the Name codes.

“What about having them cover their ears during the examination?”

“…Are you serious? We honestly considered that method too.”

Fredrick laughed self-deprecatingly.

“But it’s ridiculous. If investigators from the Home Nation come and ask, ‘Did you hear any high-ranking officials’ Name information?’ are we supposed to say, ‘I couldn’t hear because I covered my ears?’ It’s absurd. They’d think we’re joking. Besides, it’s not like you can’t hear anything at all just because you covered your ears.”

As Pienne continued to laugh as if it wasn’t his problem, Frederick frowned.

“Please, Commander. Our lives are at stake.”

“Your lives?”

“Yes, of course! There are so many eyes and ears here! If someone reports us, we’ll be arrested immediately!”

He pleaded.

“You’re a high-ranking official, Commander. Even if you hear the Name information of other high-ranking officials, you’re not subject to punishment. Right now, you’re the only one in the Dependent Nation who can examine Ssangryeong.”

It was the moment he understood why Frederick had come to ask for his help. As he’d said, Pienne was the only high-ranking official from the Home Nation currently in the Dependent Nation. Other high-ranking officials wouldn’t readily come to a dangerous place like the Dependent Nation.

Pienne, after listening to Fredrick’s pleas, finally stood up.

“Which examination room is he in?”

─── ⋆⋅☼⋅⋆ ───

“Someone shut that bastard’s mouth!”

“Colonel Frederel of the Home Nation, SQAQ46KG…”

“Aaaargh!”

Slam! Another official, unable to bear listening to the classified information being revealed, stormed out. Their current goal was to simply tape Ssangryeong’s mouth shut, although they were in the midst of their countless failures.

Clang! Clang! 

Ssangryeong, his limbs bound to the chair, strained against the shackles. Only the loud metallic sounds echoed, but the restraints held firm.

“Damn it.”

Exhausted from struggling, Ssangryeong threw his head back.

“Haa…”

A single dim light illuminated the dark room. The Dependent Nation experienced frequent power outages, but this government building, despite being located in the Dependent Nation, had a stable power supply and never lost power.

He inhaled deeply, taking in the musty smell of dust.

‘It doesn’t seem like they’ll torture me right away.’

Looking around, he didn’t see any torture devices in sight. It seemed to be a place solely for searching for Name Objects.

“Why isn’t he coming after all this fuss?”

He frowned. His attempts to reveal information to the officials so far were a form of protest, aimed at summoning the ruler, Pienne. 

The lower-ranking officials were useless. There was no point in trying to persuade them.

‘I need to go after the head.’

Ssangryeong glared. If the esteemed ruler wouldn’t come himself, he was prepared to resort to more drastic measures, even if he needs to pee himself right here.

‘Then they’ll have to call him because it’s dirty.’

After waiting for a long time, the steel door finally opened.

Seeing the door opening slowly and silently, Ssangryeong knew instinctively.

It was him.

“Wait outside, Fredrick.”

He addressed Fredrick, who had accompanied him. However, Frederick, covering his ears with both hands, couldn’t hear him.

“What did you say? I can’t hear you!”

As Frederick looked at Pienne with a puzzled expression, Pienne frowned and gestured with his chin for him to leave immediately.

“Ah, yes! I’ll excuse myself now! Commander, please take good care…!”

“Get out.”

Annoyed by the loud noise, Pienne slammed the door shut. It seemed Frederick thought that if he covered his own ears, the other person wouldn’t be able to hear either.

Ssangryeong gritted his teeth at the sight of the man he’d been waiting for.

“Hey, Commander. Let’s make a deal.”

Pienne was adjusting his leather gloves, his gaze fixed on the restrained Ssangryeong.

“Those Home Nation bastards don’t know my real face, right? Because I always wore disguises. And not many officials here have seen my face either.”

The sound of metal clanging echoed as Ssangryeong shifted in his restraints.

“You catch another criminal from the Dependent Nation instead of me. Someone whose face isn’t known. And report that person to the Home Nation as Ssangryeong. If you do that, I’ll help you in exchange. You need the information in my head, don’t you?”

No matter how he thought about it, this was the only way to escape from here. To persuade Pienne.

‘The moment I’m dragged back to the Home Nation, I’m dead.’

His past escape had been a miracle, and even Ssangryeong wasn’t confident he could pull it off twice. So, his time in the Dependent Nation was his last chance.

But Pienne’s expression remained unchanged.

Ssangryeong narrowed his eyes. Had this bastard plugged his ears too?

“Where’s your Name Object?”

“…Hey. Did you even hear what I said?”

Pienne took a step closer.

Ssangryeong instinctively recoiled. He knew from experience that he was no match for the man’s strength.

“We’ll begin the examination. This is a mandatory procedure for criminals, and you have no right to object.”

Saying this formally, like the other officials, Pienne grabbed Ssangryeong by the collar. At the same time, he ripped Ssangryeong’s shirt open and his fair skin was instantly exposed.

“Ugh! You bastard…!” 

He’s conducting the examination this crudely?!

As Pienne’s hand moved towards his pants, Ssangryeong struggled. Clang! Clang! The loud metallic sounds from the shackles seemed to scream.

“It’s not there! It’s not on my body! Are there still idiots who carry their Objects these days? Aargh! Everyone hides it, you idiot! Let go!”

“That mouth.”

Pienne, frowning, covered Ssangryeong’s mouth with his large hand. Then, he said in a low voice,

“Be quiet. If you want this over with quickly.”

“Mmmph!”

“This is what a procedure is. Something we have to go through obligatorily, even though we know it’s not on your body.”

“Uuugh…!”

The rough texture of the leather rubbed against his skin. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t shake the man’s hand off.

Realizing his struggles were futile, Ssangryeong went still. The man, staring at his unfocused eyes for a moment, slowly removed his hand from his mouth.

“Yes, just like that.”

Irritation surged through Ssangryeong.

‘Is that supposed to be a compliment?’

Since things had come to this, it seemed better to let the examination finish quickly.

His Object wasn’t actually on his body anyway.

An unfamiliar touch began to trail down Ssangryeong’s neck. Ssangryeong squeezed his eyes shut and  and shuddered.