National Defense Forces Officer Corps' Duty: Part 3
Atlaine the Secretary-General, like Grozny, and even James the Minister of War, had failed to achieve satisfactory results based on Kaldir's data. No, the weapons they produced using that data weren't bad by any means... but they couldn't end the war against the Lucid Empire, which had dragged on for over twenty years, in a single stroke. The greater the expectations, the deeper the disappointment.
But the Secretary-General didn't stop at mere disappointment. "Kaldir claims she implemented it, but we couldn't. So either she lied to us, or it involves technology so advanced that mass production is impossible with our current capabilities..."
From that, he drew the conclusion: "That makes Kaldir all the more worth digging into relentlessly." Just think about it. Atlantis had lost countless technologies over the long war, yet here was Kaldir casually pulling off feats that even their top scientists couldn't dream of.
Even if those technologies weren't purely her creations, it implied she had a backing capable of handing over such advanced knowledge. They had to uncover the truth. Their greatest ally, the Cates Empire, was lukewarm about transferring core tech, so this was an opportunity they couldn't miss.
"I need to meet that girl Kaldir again soon... She's probably with Atlantia... but she's not in her original room?"
With a meeting scheduled with Grozny, they needed to find Kaldir as quickly as possible, down to the minute. Assuming she was with his daughter like family, the Secretary-General sent someone to the twin-bed room he'd assigned them—only to get a report that it was empty. Had they moved to another room without a word in the meantime?
"Atlan, didn't you say you visited Atlantia's room a few days ago? Was there anything unusual?"
"No, Father. She was her usual self? Except she desperately tried to block me from entering."
"She desperately blocked you from coming in? Was she doing something with that girl Kaldir inside, or something like that?"
"Yeah, well... um, maybe she was having fun with her new same-sex friend for the first time in ages, and she just didn't want her annoying little brother—who she sees all the time anyway—barging into her room... Nothing too strange. Oh! Her face was flushed red, though..."
"What? H-Her face was flushed? She wasn't running a fever, was she?"
"No, I asked if she was sick, and she desperately denied it. So I just turned back..."
He questioned his youngest son, who might have clues, but failed to extract anything useful. Atlan hadn't realized that when he'd visited his little sister's room, she'd had her ass stuffed with a dildo by some random girl named Shuga— so he had no meaningful info to offer anyway.
The Secretary-General's search continued, and just under an hour later—as the saying goes, the darkest place is under the lamp—he learned they'd been found in a room on the second floor, not far from the original one: his daughter, Kaldir, and a few mysterious new female guests—Shuga, Solt, Plang. If they'd moved, they could have at least said so... Well, at least they'd found them.
"Tell that girl Kaldir this: Army Marshal Grozny wants to meet her personally. Add that this is the highest honor she could never have imagined."
He passed the message to the person who'd brought news of his youngest daughter. The age gap between Grozny and Kaldir was exactly a hundred years. Normally, people that far apart wouldn't even know each other's names, let alone meet... Yet here a commoner girl was crossing paths with the Army Commander-in-Chief. She had to understand the importance of this.
"Aiiing, Maki... Heading out after so long? And not just to anyone, but to meet Marshal Grozny himself... Looks like your value's shot up without us knowing?"
"It just kinda happened that way, Princess. Seeing you so thrilled, you must know the Marshal too, right?"
"Of course! Who doesn't know the 'Lion of Defense'? You'd have to be a spy!"
Answering the Secretary-General's summons meant Kaldir's first "work" outing in ages, so she dressed in a sharp black suit for the occasion. She'd always had a huge interest in the military as an organization, though she'd never formally enlisted, so she often wore dark suits resembling National Defense Forces uniforms to get in the mood.
As they say, fashion is finished by the face—and while pant suits were mostly for men, it suited Kaldir perfectly. The tailoring flattered her impeccably. The curves of her breasts and hips peeked through no matter how the suit tried to hide them—ngh... At least the shirt buttons could handle her chest.
The suit Kaldir wore now was one the Princess had personally ironed, saying she wanted to feel like they were on a cozy honeymoon. Now the Princess, in nothing but a naked apron, was tying a black necktie around Kaldir's neck, playing the doting wife.
The Princess couldn't hide her excitement as she fastened the tie around her "wife's" neck instead of a collar—because, as she said, Grozny wasn't just the senior-most officer; he was the supreme commander who won a hundred battles without a loss, inflicting casualties on the enemy a hundredfold for every Allied soldier lost.
What woman wouldn't be thrilled that her wife had caught such a man's eye and earned a personal meeting? If Kaldir impressed the higher-ups here, she could rocket up the ranks. Her dad and the Marshal weren't that rigid—maybe she'd pull it off?
"Have a good trip~ You have to succeed and come back! Our daughters' future depends on how you do~"
"Yes, I'll be back, Princess. With good news!"
The Princess ran to the entrance for a light peck to see Kaldir off. Shuga? Today was her day to monopolize Maki, so she should stay put. Jealous? Grind that Luck stat harder.
She'd worn the suit for her private meeting with the Secretary-General too, but on the way to see Grozny, Kaldir kept it polite—no rotor taped on, no dildo stuffed inside. She wouldn't botch this once-in-a-lifetime meeting.
At the same time, Grozny was quietly approving documents in his office when tangled thoughts refused to sort themselves out. Needing a breather, he stepped to the window. Speak of the devil—the sky was overcast with storm clouds, pouring rain, hardly an inspiring view.
"Right, Astra... That surname rings a bell... Colonel Astra. Is there a connection?"
He seemed to be ruminating on events from over a decade ago. Kaldir's adoptive mother, Colonel Astra, was a powerful superhuman who'd plugged countless gaps on the battlefield. Grozny had boldly tapped her as a "strategic reserve" and used her effectively.
Everyone had protested giving a mere woman a colonel's rank and the Knight's Cross with Iron Cross—but Grozny overrode them: "Be it woman, commoner, hybrid, alien, whatever—if they earn merits for the motherland, they deserve evaluation accordingly!" He bestowed her the highest honors.
It was a boldness rare in elderly high nobles. Sure enough, as regiment commander, she exceeded expectations, cutting down hordes of enemies. She might have been Atlantis's first female general.
If comms hadn't collapsed late in the war, severing contact with her unit and many others, he'd have promoted her to general with his own authority.
The last contact with the Colonel had been from an ice planet called Kaldir. And the girl he was about to meet was Kaldir Astra. Coincidence? What were the odds of "randomly" meeting someone bearing the surname of his most valiant known woman and the name of her last destination?
Grozny memorized the names and faces of his officers down to battalion commander level despite his age—and she was the only woman to reach that height—so recalling her was easy.
The Secretary-General took interest in Kaldir through his youngest daughter, reasoning "Our scientists failed where she succeeded—there must be something." Grozny, linking her to a known figure, held high hopes.
The daughter of such a woman would naturally be extraordinary. And as he'd guessed, Kaldir was the Colonel's adopted daughter, equipped to meet his expectations. Those who couldn't read his mind couldn't grasp his intentions.
"Now I get it, Colonel Astra... I see why Your Excellency is so interested in that girl."
Kaif, who'd long served at Grozny's side, puzzled over the same thing in his office and reached the same conclusion. A commoner who'd risen from private to marshal himself, Kaif didn't undervalue the Colonel's feats—and thought her daughter worth expecting great things from. Thus, before even meeting everyone, Kaldir had garnered a handful of expectations from all.