Chapter 52: The Reporter

Akado didn’t waste any more words. He pointed a finger at the beautiful, long-haired, and curvy second lieutenant and said, “You will be my personal secretary, responsible for my personal safety and the arrangement of my daily life. Oh, right! What’s your name?”

“Army Second Lieutenant Anna Gerald salutes you, General! Long live the Greater Germany Party!” The girl raised her arm and gave a very standard new-style military salute. It was clear she was a supporter of the Greater Germany Party.

When this beautiful woman saluted, the magnificent peaks on her chest trembled, nearly giving Akado a nosebleed. Akado couldn’t even imagine where Kurt von Hammerstein had found such a “blonde, blue-eyed, first-class figure, with excellent… skills” great beauty. It seemed the Reichswehr had really spared no expense in selecting a personal secretary for him.

This was because there was an unwritten rule in the army: if one was a member of the Greater Germany Party, they would shout “Long live the Greater Germany Party” when saluting. If they were not a member, they would shout “Long live Greater Germany” when giving a military salute.

Akado nodded with satisfaction. It seemed General Kurt von Hammerstein and the others had really gone to great lengths; the people they found were more or less on the same page in terms of loyalty.

“And you? What’s your name?” Akado asked, pointing to the last second lieutenant. This girl was a bit shy and not as tall as Anna, but she had black hair that Akado was very nostalgic for and fond of.

“My name is Cindra, Cindra Marcus. General, long live the Greater Germany Party!” The female second lieutenant named Cindra also gave a new-style military salute and then introduced herself, “My specialties are cryptography and investigation. I’m from the Reichswehr’s interrogation department.”

Akado was taken aback. He never expected this shy girl to be from the most terrifying and bloody interrogation department within the Reichswehr. He nodded and said, “Alright, Second Lieutenant Cindra. From now on, you will be my work secretary. Stay here.”

“You have been promoted. Congratulations to you, Captain Anna, and Captain Cindra,” Kurt von Hammerstein-Equord said, standing up with a smile. He applauded as he smiled, while the other female officers walked out of Akado’s office with looks of disappointment on their faces.

They had not only lost a chance for promotion, but also a chance to spend their days and nights with a young, handsome, accomplished, and wealthy male superior—so it was impossible for them not to be disappointed. But where there was disappointment, there was also someone whose wish was granted. This could be seen from the smile on Anna’s face and the blush on Cindra’s cheeks.

As for the ever-loyal Gehr, Akado had also prepared a very important position for him. He planned to promote Gehr to Major of the Reichswehr, to command the Reichswehr High Command’s guard battalion, responsible for the security of Akado’s headquarters.

And so, the perennially single Major General Akado Rudolph suddenly had a stroke of luck with the ladies. Not only did he gain a beautiful, blonde, blue-eyed, and curvy personal secretary, but also a petite, lovely, shy, and steady young beauty as his work secretary.

Generally speaking, when in the company of beautiful women, the days fly by. I wonder if you all feel the same, but Akado certainly felt so. Since the two secretaries, Anna and Cindra, came to Akado’s side, more than a month had passed in the blink of an eye.

Unconsciously, it was already April 2, 1925. Because Akado had received a prank report of an American invasion on April Fool’s Day, he was very clear about the date.

These days, Akado’s schedule had improved significantly. Due to reasonable arrangement, Akado could guarantee at least 6 hours of sleep every day. Moreover, his office was kept very clean, and documents were sorted and processed before being sent to him, which made Akado very satisfied with the performance of his two secretaries.

At the end of March, he personally went to the secret military base in Bavaria. There, he inspected a tank force composed of 100 P-2 tanks and 10 No. 3 assault guns, and explained the use and precautions of the assault guns to the instructors of the No. 3 assault gun company.

Guderian, meanwhile, excitedly assured Akado that the 75mm short-barreled gun installed on the newly equipped assault guns could easily destroy the French tanks that served as their hypothetical enemy. Germany’s secretly equipped armored force now surpassed its neighbor, France, in both tactics and technology.

“General, you have an interview this afternoon. The location is the reception hall of the Reichswehr High Command,” Anna, who seemed to always be by Akado’s side except when he was in the restroom, said after glancing at her notepad. “So you need to eat your lunch quickly.”

“Got it. Have the chef cut my steak and wait for me,” Akado said. “Cut yours too. We’ll go over together after we finish eating.”

Akado knew about this interview in advance, because the newspaper interviewing him belonged to the Greater Germany Party. Its name was also surprisingly consistent; it was called the Greater Germany Gazette. And this newspaper was indeed the official paper of the Greater Germany Party.

Akado felt that Krupp was a qualified vice-chairman of the Greater Germany Party. On the second day after the Greater Germany Party went public, he acquired four newspaper companies and integrated them into the Greater Germany Gazette to be used for propaganda and to occupy the high ground of public opinion. This plan was called “Operation Loudspeaker.” It was part of the Greater Germany Party’s propaganda war, and this plan did not disappoint, immediately making the Greater Germany Party a household name.

After finishing lunch, Akado took Anna to the designated location and met the two reporters who had come to interview him: a photographer, and a beautiful young woman dressed fashionably. This female reporter was so beautiful that even Akado couldn’t help but look at her a few more times.

She wore a well-fitting long dress that accentuated her charming figure. Although not as curvy and sexy as Anna, she had the advantage of being well-proportioned and graceful. Although the April weather was still bitingly cold, under her long dress was a pair of taut, smooth calves that looked full of elasticity.

Her charming and sparkling eyes blinked at Akado, her long eyelashes fluttering as if they could speak. At this moment, those eyes curved into charming crescents, smiling at Akado. “Hello, Chairman. I am a reporter for the Greater Germany Gazette. My name is Fanny Ducleric. You can call me Fanny.”

“Hello, Miss Fanny,” Akado was very accommodating. He gestured with his hand towards the sofa in front of them. “Please, sit.” Anna, beside him, pursed her lips almost imperceptibly. If anyone could have read her lips, they would have known she had just uttered a curse word used to describe a woman.

“Thank you,” Fanny replied in her very charming voice, then gave a slight curtsy before sitting down very ladylike. “Mr. Krupp said he wanted the best reporter, so I came.”

A confident girl is usually very charming. At least, confidence made the reporter named Fanny in front of Akado very charming. Following Fanny’s lead, Akado interjected, “I asked them to find a good reporter, but I didn’t ask them to find such a beautiful good reporter. Heh heh heh.”

“What? Doesn’t everyone like beautiful girls?” Fanny raised an eyebrow and rattled off a string of witty remarks. “Even behind Chairman Akado, there stands such a beautiful young lady.” After speaking, she pointed with the pen in her hand to Anna, who was standing behind Akado.

Akado burst out laughing. “Of course I like beautiful women, especially great beauties like Anna and you. But today I came prepared to be interviewed, and your beauty is making me very nervous right now.”

“In that case, Chairman, your youth, success, wealth, and good looks are also making me very nervous. And it seems I’m even more nervous,” Fanny said with a smile. She didn’t look nervous at all.

“Let’s not flatter each other anymore, Miss Fanny. Otherwise, I’ll have to invite you to dinner at the High Command,” Akado decided to get back to the point. He had no desire to spend a whole afternoon flattering a beautiful woman here.

“Chairman Akado is such a witty person. If you don’t want to invite me to dinner, I can invite you. I’m very interested in everything about you. If you have time, I can do a personal feature on you, a continuous report on every aspect of your life,” Fanny said with a smile playing on her lips. She was very magnanimous, so poised and tactful as to be unassailable.

Akado pointed to the materials on the table. “We should get started quickly. I have an important meeting this afternoon. Time is precious.”

Wiping the smile from her face, Fanny also became formal. “Alright then. First, I need to take a photo, a photo that can be published in the newspaper. Is that alright?” she asked, pointing to a bearded photographer who had come with her. “This is the best photographer at our newspaper.”

Akado nodded, straightened his attire, adjusted his military cap, sat down in the chair, and crossed his legs. He leaned to the side, resting his left arm on the armrest of the chair, and naturally placed his left hand on his lower abdomen. His right hand rested on his knee, striking a very casual, at-home pose.

The photographer raised the flash lamp and pressed the shutter, aiming at Akado. At that very instant, Akado suddenly lowered his head slightly, obscuring his eyes.

“Sir, you moved. This shot might not have caught your eyes. Let’s take it again,” the bearded photographer said after a moment’s pause.

“That’s not necessary. Just use this one,” Akado said. He had no intention of easily revealing his appearance. He had already discovered quite a few people tailing him. If he didn’t restrain himself a bit more, his plans might be disrupted by his own exposure.

“Are you sure you want to use this one? It might not be very aesthetically pleasing, you know,” Fanny said with a teasing tone, as if she knew Akado would refuse. She wasn’t surprised at all.

Akado nodded. “Let’s use this one.”

At that time, they still didn’t know that this photo of Akado sitting in a chair with his legs crossed, leaning to the side with his left arm on the armrest, his left hand on his abdomen, his right hand on his knee, and his head lowered with his eyes shaded by his cap—because of Akado’s half-hidden, mysterious smile—would become his most frequently used publicity photo.