Chapter 5

I discreetly wiped away my tears and straightened my posture while observing the surroundings.

I don’t quite understand how things ended up like this, but anyway, I’m currently a ‘promising candidate in the Operations Staff Room,’ so I couldn’t afford to act strangely and draw suspicion.

For now, I had no choice but to remain calm and carry out my duties while considering my future.

‘First of all…’

It would be a priority to handle the documents that had come to me.

Letting out a quiet breath, I picked up the documents next to the phone and checked their contents.

Swish—

Flipping through the papers revealed utterly ordinary contents.

Most of them were requests for operational permits or approvals for military construction.

Essentially, I would review them initially, and if there were no logical issues, I would approve them and pass them up the chain.

【Operations Staff => Head of Operations Staff => Deputy => Chief of Headquarters Staff】

That is roughly how the approval process works.

Since it was not particularly difficult, I went ahead with approvals except for certain documents that required readjustment of resources and personnel.

However, when I unfolded the last document, I was taken aback.

《Request for Approval of Logistics Department Construction》

Recipient: Head of Operations Staff (Colonel Ernst Bark)

Sender: Logistics Officer (Captain Arnop Haubt)

Date: March 16, 1944

Subject: Request for Approval of Logistics Department Construction on the Eastern Front and Site Selection

Responsible: Operations Staff (Lieutenant Daniel Steiner)

───────────

It was a request for approval of logistics department construction that shouldn’t have been too strange.

The issue was that the responsible person was explicitly listed as me.

‘…Why?’

That was beyond my understanding.

The logistics department is a small supply aggregation point that effectively receives supplies from the rear logistics headquarters and replenishes the front line.

In other words, the logistics department is a crucial base to secure supply lines and to ensure that supplies are not left unattended.

Logistics is said to be the mother of war, so why would they assign it to an operations officer?

Especially to a lieutenant who awkwardly stepped into the operations officer position after a promotion?

‘It seems there was some confusion in the reports…’

No matter how I looked at it, this was something I should inform the chief of staff about.

Having made my decision, I gathered the documents and stood up to enter the chief of staff’s office located in the Operations Staff Room.

The chief of staff, buried among various reports and documents, looked up when he heard my footsteps.

“Uh? Oh, isn’t that our hero Daniel!”

Colonel Ernst Bark, with a hearty laugh and a straightened back, radiated the vibe of a friendly neighbor.

However, one should not judge a person based solely on appearances.

An individual who has reached the rank of colonel in the Empire must have gone through numerous adversities.

“I’m just doing what’s expected; the title of hero is a bit burdensome.”

Humility is a virtue regardless of the country. Perhaps liking my modesty, Ernst smiled and opened up the conversation.

“So, Lieutenant, what brings you to see me?”

“I came to report that I have completed the initial review of the documents that came into the staff office.”

“Oh, already? Just as I heard, your processing is quite outstanding. Please hand them here.”

I nodded and placed the documents on Ernst’s desk.

However, I did not hand over the logistics department proposal, which indicated me as the responsible party, and upon seeing it, Ernst tilted his head in confusion.

“What’s this?”

“It was assigned to me. Strangely, the approval section from above was blank, so it seems the logistics officer might have made a mistake.”

Ernst blinked a few times before bursting into laughter. Why is he laughing?

“Ah, it would be strange to think so, but that is not a mistake of the logistics officer.”

“If it’s not a mistake, then what is it?”

“That is intentionally giving you work by the upper management. As you can see, I’ve been quite busy lately, so it’s to distribute the workload, and the other reason, well, you probably understand without being told?”

My eyebrows knitted together involuntarily.

This means upper management is trying to test me.

It’s practically saying to prove that catching spies and noticing hidden enemy forces in the hills was not just luck.

Although anyone in the military leadership knows the importance of logistics, determining the appropriate location for building a logistics department is no easy task.

For a logistics department to be constructed, it fundamentally needs to be safe from enemy attacks while also being easily accessible and have sufficient space to accommodate numerous supplies.

So, they must have judged I was suitable to gauge whether I could perform the role of an operations officer.

‘Who is it? Is the chief of staff testing me…?’

I wasn’t entirely sure, but this was an opportunity.

A once-in-a-lifetime chance to showcase my incompetence in a grand manner!

If I build the logistics department in a ridiculous location, my evaluations will plummet, and if that happens, I might be able to naturally step away from the army.

Excited at the thought of my discharge, I saluted Ernst sharply.

“Thank you for your trust! I will do my best to construct the logistics department!”

Ernst seemed pleased with my words and nodded with a smile.

“Good. The budget will be adequately allocated, so don’t worry and proceed with the work.”

“Understood!”

While answering energetically, I secretly wore a sinister smile in my heart.

‘Sorry, but you’ll regret this soon enough.’

Because I will construct the logistics department in the most theoretically disastrous location.

*

Two weeks later, the rear line of the Eastern Front.

Bardenplatz Plain.

Vrrroooom—

Heavy machinery rumbled onto the plain as they transported construction materials, shaking the ground.

Captain Arnop Haubt, the logistics officer watching from a distance, was not pleased with this situation.

‘What on earth is upper management thinking? They’re entrusting the construction of the logistics department to a rookie lieutenant…’

That damn kid gave the order for construction on Bardenplatz Plain, leading to the current depletion of all manpower and resources.

‘Why on earth are they telling us to build a logistics department here?’

Bardenplatz Plain is an open field. It’s highly vulnerable to enemy artillery bombardment.

Therefore, to prevent that, protective walls must be built separately, which leads to severe material wastage.

Is it just the protective walls that are a problem? If we’re going to build a logistics department on the plain, it should have been built in a location that could utilize existing roads.

However, there are no usable roads near Bardenplatz Plain.

That essentially means a new road needs to be laid all the way to Bardenplatz Plain.

If you build the incoming road, you have to build the outgoing road as well, thereby doubling the budget.

It’s practically a waste of money.

‘Was it Daniel Steiner? That damn rookie…’

The empire’s tax money was being wasted in real-time due to a rookie officer who doesn’t even understand the basics of logistics.

Although Arnop considered himself a patriot and didn’t think much of it typically, witnessing tax waste before his eyes stirred nationalistic feelings within him.

However, how could a mere logistics officer defy the orders of headquarters?

Even though Daniel Steiner held a lower rank than him, his authority was substantial.

While complaints grew inside him, he couldn’t utter a single word in front of Daniel; that in itself was proof.

When Daniel visited here a week ago and ordered to proceed with the logistics department’s construction, Arnop couldn’t voice any opposition.

Apart from his thoughts, Arnop was simply yet another bureaucrat of the Empire.

‘If headquarters says to do it, then I have to do it. What can I do…?’

Frustrated, Arnop took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and put one in his mouth.

When he pulled out his lighter and lit the end of the cigarette, the walkie-talkie strapped to his shoulder crackled.

— Logistics Officer! Can you hear me!?

For some reason, this person only contacts me when I’m about to smoke. Taking out the walkie-talkie, Arnop pressed the transmit button and replied.

“Are you forgetting to state your name again? If you keep talking like that, how do you expect me to know who you are?”

— Ah! You’re really a stickler. It’s Sergeant Vinter Enfeld! Is that enough?

“Got it. What’s the reason for your call?”

— Well, we did a ground survey, didn’t we? Brought in specialists, etc.

Arnop nodded.

It’s common sense to conduct a ground survey before erecting a building.

After an incident where a building was erected thoughtlessly and subsequently collapsed due to ground issues, it’s now a mandatory procedure.

— The results from the specialists came in today, and I don’t know how to put it. It seems headquarters wasn’t just reckless in assigning work to Lieutenant Daniel Steiner.

Huh? I found it strange that the sergeant, who had been cursing Daniel just yesterday, suddenly changed his attitude.

“Just get to the point. What does the result say?”

— Hahah! That’s the thing…!

The sergeant exclaimed with a joyful voice.

— Oil! Oil! Oil has been discovered beneath the ground! And in quantities valuable enough for extraction!

Thanks to this, Arnop dropped the cigarette he was holding.

‘What?’

Oil? Bardenplatz Plain is an oil field?

If that’s the case, it wasn’t Daniel who didn’t understand the basics of logistics, but that was Arnop himself.

Sighing in disbelief, Arnop raised his hand to wipe his face.

‘Could it be that Lieutenant Daniel Steiner knew all this from the beginning…?’

As this thought crossed his mind, he began to understand Daniel’s shameless attitude.

A wry smile escaped Arnop’s lips as he clasped his hands behind his back.

‘It seems…’

The headquarters has welcomed a remarkable talent into their ranks.

*

On the other hand, Lieutenant Daniel Steiner, who heard that the logistics department was located on an oil field before the construction, was—

‘Why?’

In real-time, he was flustered.