“Sob… Sob…”
I slowly opened my eyes at the sound of sobbing beside me.
Turning my head in annoyance, I saw a girl without any insignia on her shoulder straps. She must be a trainee.
Was her name Prien? She was the girl I met when I was locked up in the military police detention yesterday.
With light brown hair and black eyes, she looked like someone from the southern region.
Since she seemed to be from my hometown, I exchanged a few words with her, and now, having woken up, she was snuggled right next to me, which was exhausting.
I thought about ignoring her, but left alone, she might just start crying again, so I spoke up.
“…It seems you’ve forgotten that soldiers of the Empire should not show tears carelessly.”
Hearing my voice, Prien was startled and stopped sniffing.
“I’m sorry! I-I can’t face you! I suddenly thought of my father back home…”
“Why? Is he unwell?”
“No, that’s not it… He was proud of me for joining the Empire Army, but here I am, unable to even complete my training properly and stuck here. I feel like an idiot, yo.”
“Did you just say ‘yo’?”
As I pointed it out, Prien flinched.
“Ah. I’m so sorry! I’ll correct myself!”
She was hopeless. I turned my gaze away from her stiffly.
“Did you say you ended up here because you refused to fire a gun due to your religious beliefs?”
“Yes, that’s right. I volunteered as a medical soldier, so…”
“Even if you’re a medical soldier, you should be able to shoot. What will you do if the enemy tries to kill the soldier you’re treating? Just let him die?”
Prien did not respond. She probably couldn’t.
“War is not child’s play. If you want to play hospital, you should go teach kids at a kindergarten instead of being on a battlefield.”
Prien lowered her head, looking crushed. Seeing this, I sighed and added,
“But I think your determination to save people by volunteering for the military is noble. Volunteering when women aren’t subject to conscription shows a spirit of sacrifice that is admirable.”
“…Thank you, Second Lieutenant.”
A faint smile appeared on Prien’s face as she huddled.
“Hearing your words gives me strength. I realize now how childish I was being. For the honor of my father, who is a priest, I must return to training and do my best, yo.”
This time, she slipped in ‘yo’ again, but I decided not to point it out.
It sounded like something that slipped out unconsciously, and since I wasn’t her direct superior, there was no need for correction.
So her hesitation to use a gun was because her father was a priest.
I understood that they must have taught her that killing is taboo…
‘Wait a minute.’
Her father is a priest?
And she’s from the south and was disciplined during her training?
I felt a sense of unease because it closely resembled an NPC’s background I had often seen when playing a game.
I wiped my cold sweat away and looked at Prien.
“Soldier. What exactly is your name?”
“Huh? Ah. I’m Prien. My full name is Prien Remilliart.”
Hearing her full name sent a shock of realization through me.
Prien Remilliart was known as the Saintess of the Empire, a named NPC.
She was the one who would cast buff effects across the battlefield with her unique spell, turning soldiers into literal killing machines.
So whenever news of her being on the battlefield reached me, I would usually give orders to retreat unless the power difference was overwhelmingly in our favor.
I was seriously startled to meet a named NPC in detention, but it was not something that directly concerned me.
‘After all, I’m about to discharge.’
Once I left the Empire, I wouldn’t have to see her again, so what was there to be worried about?
“Ah, I see. What a pretty name.”
When I casually responded, Prien blushed shyly.
Even though I didn’t know much, it was clear she had little to no experience with men if she blushed over such a trivial compliment.
What on earth was she doing enlisting in the military when she should be enjoying her youth?
Well, had I not awakened the memories of my past life in the command post, I would have probably considered serving in the military as the greatest honor.
“Second Lieutenant Daniel Steiner?”
At that moment, a sergeant approached the bars to speak with me.
I raised my hand, and the sergeant checked the roster to see if my face matched the name before taking out a key from his waist and unlocking the detention cell door.
“You’re being released. Follow me.”
Had the time come? It seemed that the higher-ups had called for a military tribunal after assessing the situation.
Prien, who was next to me, seemed unaware, blinking her clear eyes with a foolish expression.
“You’re finally getting out. It was an honor to talk to you, Second Lieutenant.”
With a slightly reluctant face (inside, I was cheering), I nodded and stood up, following the sergeant.
As we passed by the military police office and stepped outside the building, Captain Philip was standing there.
He held a box in his hand that somehow felt luxurious.
“Oh, you’ve arrived?”
Captain Philip greeted me with a kind smile.
It felt strange in some way, but I decided to salute out of respect.
Philip, who somewhat accepted my salute, approached me.
“I was going to let you out a bit earlier, but the procedures took time. You’ve been with the General Staff Headquarters for a while, so you understand, right?”
I understood. In the military, the importance of reports and procedures was emphasized over life itself.
But he was trying to get me out early? I stared silently as the nuance of his words made me uneasy, and Philip handed me the box.
“This is a reward for your achievements, Second Lieutenant Daniel Steiner. No, I should be calling you lieutenant now.”
What was this nonsense? Blinking blankly, I took the box and opened it.
Inside were two diamonds symbolizing the rank of lieutenant and an insignia.
I looked up at Philip, confused, and he smiled at me as if I should be proud.
“Your judgment was correct. Major Karl Heinrich has been identified as a spy for the Allied Forces. Thus, the higher-ups wanted to commend your military accomplishments and skipped the promotion review, awarding you a special promotion to the next rank.”
“…Special promotion? For me?”
“Yes. The fundamental principle of the Empire Army is the fair distribution of rewards and punishments. Also, the higher-ups have decided that the position of operations staff officer will be vacant for a while, so you are ordered to act as the deputy operations staff officer.”
Is this a joke? I assaulted my superior, and that superior turned out to be a spy for the Allied Forces, and thanks to that, I received a special promotion? This is utter nonsense.
“I might end up being your superior at this rate. Anyway, congratulations!”
…But Philip’s congratulations indicated that this situation indeed made sense.
Because of that, I had no choice but to shake hands with Philip while lamenting about the Empire.
*
After using the week-long reward leave I received from the higher-ups, I returned to the Empire General Staff Headquarters.
Entering the building and stepping into the Operations Staff Room, the eyes of the staff members who were chatting turned toward me.
They soon wore smiles and began to gather around me.
“Lieutenant Daniel? Aren’t you our hero!”
“Even as a spy, attacking the superior you served must have taken incredible courage!”
“Gathering two military honors in such a short time is astonishing. Did you know your name has been mentioned occasionally by the higher-ups?”
I didn’t accumulate those military honors because I wanted to.
It was frustrating that they congratulated me, unaware of the rot in my heart.
“Please withhold your compliments. I merely acted with the heart to serve the Empire.”
Still, since I couldn’t disregard their goodwill, I answered with a smile.
After a while of exchanging welcome greetings, I walked over to the desk assigned to me in the Operations Staff Room… which used to be where Major Karl sat and worked.
It seemed they had cleared out all of Major Karl’s personal belongings, as the area around the desk was neat.
On the desk were a battle map, a few documents, and a telephone, but the most noticeable thing was, of course, the nameplate.
[Deputy Operations Staff Officer / Lieutenant Daniel Steiner]
Even if it was an interim position, assigning a lieutenant to the operations staff officer position was indeed a radical decision.
An operations staff officer’s role was significant enough to usually warrant a personal office. Typically, it wouldn’t be given to someone just a lieutenant.
In other words, this meant the higher-ups regarded me as a valuable asset.
It was absurd that I, a lieutenant who just completed three months of service, got a special promotion and filled the position of deputy operations staff officer.
I truly felt like an elite among elites; it wasn’t just a stable path; it felt like a flower-strewn road was unfolding before me.
That also meant the road to an honorable discharge had just become much more difficult.
‘…….’
Sitting in my seat while listening to the chirping of birds outside, I frowned and pressed my forehead.
‘Why the hell is this happening to me…’
I felt like I might actually lose my mind.
