Adaptation is truly terrifying.
When a confused newbie joins the military, it takes only about a year for them to become a soldier fit for war. Similarly, adjusting to a school environment only takes a few weeks. Even awkwardness from part-time jobs, new neighborhoods, or living alone fades with time, allowing everyone to adapt and eventually carry on with casual yawns.
And I was no different.
The discomfort of wearing a saint’s robe was only at the beginning. I wouldn’t say it’s completely shame-free, but the stretchy material of the saint’s robe is no longer uncomfortable. I used to feel like my legs were exposed just by wearing a skirt, but now I’ve adapted to realize I’m wearing a skirt and have almost mastered living with decorum.
…I was just a regular human male who never once thought about wearing skirts in my previous world.
What’s scarier is that, aside from changing my personal behavior, I was slowly getting used to accepting societal perceptions as well.
At first, it was embarrassing to be treated like a saint and praised, to the point where I wanted to say “please stop,” but now I’m using it as a factor to judge whether or not someone is looking down on me.
I’m afraid that at this rate, I might end up irritated or upset just because someone doesn’t treat me like a saint.
—So I thought to myself while blankly staring at the junior officer who was enthusiastically explaining the situation in front of me.
In fact, this is one of the skills I acquired after becoming a saint: while listening to incomprehensible jargon, I zone out while putting on a very focused facade.
Even though I did serve in the military, crawling on the ground as a foot soldier, I couldn’t possibly understand terms like “division” or “subordinate troops” when the officer is explaining them while sticking markers on a terrain map with detailed elevation changes.
I genuinely feel sorry for the young officer in his early twenties, overly excited as he explains, but honestly, I can’t help but wonder who prepared this presentation.
What I barely understood was that the saint knights who arrived before me were quite helpful and that when I was circling the wall, the beasts gathered in one place were completely purified, allowing me to breathe easy.
No matter what, even though I hold the title of a saint, socially I’m just a fifteen-year-old teenager. Is this briefing too much of an overestimation of me?
…Did they think that just because I was personally meeting the president?
No, what really startled me was the expressions of the other kids sitting there, seemingly grasping every detail.
Did they take related classes at the academy while I was away? Even Jian and Rina, who I thought wouldn’t know, looked like they understood, and so did Linea and Aurora.
Am I the only one who doesn’t get it?
“—That concludes the situation briefing,” said the young officer, looking like he was proud to have smoothly finished without a stutter, putting away his command baton.
Uh, should I clap? It wouldn’t seem out of place based on his attitude.
But since the other senior officers seated in the command room stayed silent, I decided to keep my mouth shut for now. Alright. For the moment, I’ll just be quiet and follow the others. After all, my goal is to catch the witch to gather information, not to learn about how government forces operate.
“Is there anything else you want to know?”
As soon as he said that, all gazes in the command room turned to me.
What’s this?
I don’t see why the least knowledgeable one here is the focus of everyone’s attention.
…Wait, in confronting demons, can I consider myself the expert? After all, I can definitely pull off a large scale attack.
Anyway, feeling like it would be awkward to let the moment pass without saying anything, I quickly dug inside my head for a question idea.
Ah, right.
“There’s nothing about magic points. With so many demons and beasts around, there must be magic points generating their forces.”
“Ah, that….”
In an instant, the confident look on the young officer’s face shifted to one of distress.
“Is there some sort of difficult circumstance regarding that?”
When I tilted my head, the stares that had been focused on me suddenly shifted back to the young officer.
“Gah.”
And among them, there might be some very high-ranking personnel. I don’t know the hierarchy of this world well, but I wouldn’t be surprised if a brigade commander or more showed up here.
…Thinking of it that way makes me feel a bit sorry.
I worry that I might have spoken out of turn.
*
The newly commissioned officer felt the world around him blur yellow for a moment.
While he was briefing, the saint stared at him with a seriously intimidating expression, and now those words had come from her. Of course, her tone was purely curious, lacking any hint of reproachful atmosphere.
That’s right. The fact that magic points haven’t been discovered isn’t this young officer’s fault.
This place was one of the most frequently fought battlefields. Naturally, all the nearby forests had burned down and vanished hundreds of years ago, leaving the surrounding lands barren or rocky hills. It was famous enough that scholars discuss how to restore the desertification that came after humanity reclaimed all regions in documentaries.
Therefore, magic points had no choice but to be hidden further back. It meant that the demon forces would be exposed to human firepower for a longer time as they advanced, producing even more troops to replenish their front line all at once, which of course ruled out the option of “sending troops to erase magic points.”
Advancing troops means exposing them to the same attacks as the oncoming beasts for an extended time.
So, conducting demolition works too far away would be seen as wasteful firepower expenditure. Knowing the location doesn’t make it practically possible to erase the magic points.
Since a large number of troops comes at once, if they hold them off once, the assault will stop for a while. This cycle was the daily life here.
But here was a saint asking the question.
Why haven’t they identified the location of the magic points?
And the officer, upon receiving the question, suddenly understood the implication of her words.
‘If I were there, we could overcome that situation; why didn’t we prepare in advance?’
…Seeing the numerous “high-ranking officials” looking at him with scrutiny, and possibly even the higher-ups of the central government’s defense department he had only seen in the news, it would be miraculous if the young officer didn’t wet his pants.
Even if the officer himself was unaware, if the saint realized that fact, she might have leaped up from her seat and given him a standing ovation right then and there.
*
During the meeting’s break time.
After the saint brought up the subject of magic points, the officer couldn’t respond appropriately and hurriedly decided to come up with countermeasures, causing the saint to look uneasy or perhaps even astonished, which led her to request a short break for military personnel to discuss among themselves.
Though it was called a break, it didn’t look much like people were actually “resting” outside the conference room.
“You’re not to blame.”
The joint command chief of staff spoke after discussing things with the defense department officials, addressing the field commander directly with this.
“There’s no way acting according to the strategy could be wrong. Of course not. But….”
The chief of staff took a sip from the paper cup filled with vending machine coffee before continuing.
“The saint has direct experience in eliminating magic points beyond the wall. It could be said that we didn’t consider she might propose such an operation. That could be viewed as somewhat lacking.”
Of course, both the chief of staff and the field commander were aware that the battle conditions here were entirely different from those areas.
However, witnessing the achievements of the saint in front of them, they certainly didn’t want to deny what could be “impossible.”
“I’m sorry. I’ll make sure to inform my subordinates about that.”
“Right. Once again, let me emphasize, you’re not at fault. That was just a possibility that surpassed our understanding. Isn’t that right?”
Their conversation could wrap up with a laugh.
And right after that conversation ended, the field commander approached the commanding officer of the division in charge of this area.
“I understand this is a different kind of operation than usual.”
The field commander spoke with a gentle voice, trying to comfort the division commander.
“But don’t you know how resolutely the saint deals with demons, beasts, and witches? Wouldn’t she be able to come up with a more aggressive and bold strategy?”
“Yes, that’s right. I apologize.”
“No, it’s understandable since the situation we learned and experienced is vastly different. You don’t need to apologize.”
Thus the conversation between the field commander and division commander quietly concluded.
Once done talking, the division commander turned to the brigade commander standing stiffly in the hallway.
“Brigade commander, can’t you do any better?”
“I’m sorry!”
Then the brigade commander reached out to the company commanders under him.
“Don’t you want a promotion?”
“No, sir! I’m sorry!”
Following that, the company commanders gathered their officers and non-commissioned officers.
“The company commander is disappointed.”
Lastly, undoubtedly, the squad leaders and non-commissioned officers gathered their troops.
“The saint says our bombardment is terrible!”
Of course, the saint had never thought nor said such a thing. In fact, she even worried that the installed artillery might be excessive.
But the saint’s command (??) had been exaggeratedly conveyed down to the lowest level, leading to the largest bombardment, unprecedented in human history.
All of this happened within a 15-minute break.
Meanwhile, just as the 15-minute break was about to end, one of the generals gathered in the conference room asked the saint.
“Um, saint, do you have any operation in mind?”
He didn’t expect much when he asked. Of course, the saint was one of the few who fought witches, but didn’t seem to have a good grasp of military science. Yet even so, she was still someone not to be underestimated.
The mere fact that the saint came here indicated that something related to witches was occurring.
Of course, Clara herself came here after receiving a report, but previously, most of her encounters with witches were either the witches approaching her or purely coincidental meetings.
The soldiers here couldn’t possibly know that. To them, it would seem she had received divine revelation and moved to catch a witch.
In fact, she had said as much.
More importantly, her accomplishments were speaking for themselves, right?
When asked, the saint seemed to ponder for a moment before slowly opening her mouth.
“Witch hunting.”
The surrounding area fell into silence upon hearing that response.
Witch hunting, she said.
The witches that humanity had never properly countered, this saint claims she will capture them directly.
She’s declaring to be the hunter, not the prey.
To those present, her words seemed a declaration to retaliate.
Now the generals began to understand why the saint had inquired about magic points.
If the operation proceeded as the saint indicated, it would surely become an unprecedented military operation in human history employing unparalleled firepower. In the recent 500 years since the world was destroyed and its laws redefined, this would be the largest offensive.
A venture so risky they had never dared to attempt, could be realized with the existence of this single saint. No, it even looked promising.
Unsurprisingly, from the highest-ranking generals to the youngest officers, none were unmoved by the saint’s words.
No matter their rank, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for promotion was unfolding right before their eyes.
*
Hmm, does the term have a slightly negative connotation?
Witch hunting is a term often used for mob justice, right? It implies condemning innocent people based on unreasonable grounds. Something the media might love. Sometimes, people misinterpret real criticism as witch hunts.
In this world, where real witches exist, I thought it was fine to use that term, but it seems it didn’t sit well due to its historical misuse. Judging by the stiff expressions on the listeners, it looks that way.
But I can’t take back what I’ve said. I might as well boldly carry on from here.
“Therefore, will you cooperate?”
As soon as I said that, all the soldiers with stiff expressions nodded in agreement. After all, the influence of power tends to work wonders. Watching people far older than me unconditionally agreeing with my words feels powerful.
…Not that I particularly wanted that power, though.
“Then shall we continue the meeting?”
Once I said that, everyone nodded and sat down in their seats, looking determined. Well, during my time in the army, the older officers would often stiffen up when high-ranking individuals were present.
…Feeling a bit pressured by being higher ranked than older officers, but hey, after going through Cardinal Kwon In-Soo, I’d choose this over facing scorn.
And while I let the witch slip away, I won’t even get what I want.
The briefing was led by the pale-faced officer from earlier. Perhaps he regained some composure during the break, as he seemed less ghastly than when I asked about the magic points.
…Unless he just lost it due to the current situation.
The officer was still discussing matters that I couldn’t fully grasp. However, one thing was evident: they planned to use all explosives in the area to remove the nearby forest and identify the magic points through aerial reconnaissance.
“…I believe if the saint assists us, that plan is quite feasible.”
Though it’s that young officer talking, it’s doubtful he crafted this operation alone. Most likely, it was discussed during the break among the higher-ups.
Probably closer to an idea than a complete operation.
The details will likely be finalized in another meeting.
“Understood. Please feel free to ask for my assistance anytime.”
Actually, to be precise, it would be inconvenient not to include me. Facing the witch is one thing, but capturing her is impossible without my abilities.
“Thank you.”
With the young officer’s response, that day’s meeting concluded.
*
“By the way,”
After the meeting, while we settled into a reasonably nice lodging for a frontline facility, Rina spoke to me.
Of course, Jian was in a different room and the other three of us—me, Aurora, Linea, and Rina—shared one room. Although we were mostly just going to use it for sleeping or changing clothes.
“When it comes to capturing a witch, how do you plan to handle her? If she’s aware of her fate, she could take her own life.”
“Well, I thought about that too,” I said, glancing at the baggage I had brought. Though they were still packed, the bulging bag was stuffed with something.
“I’m relieved this witch isn’t the Witch of Resentment; otherwise, we would lose a witness if things went wrong.”
“…….”
As I began changing into more comfortable everyday clothes, Rina silently watched me for a while before she said,
“Sometimes you seem more demonic than the demons.”
How could she say such a harsh thing!?
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