Gravenfelt Frontline (2)

“Did… did that answer your question…? Ha! Because of your arbitrary actions…”

“Again.”

“Wh-what do you mean? I’m the frontline’s…”

“Again.”

I held up three fingers right in front of Erika’s eyes.

“Three? What during three times?”

Without a word, I folded one down. Then, to make sure there was no mistake, I folded another one second later.

“I’m sorry!”

Yeah, that’s more like it. Always knew she had it in her.

“Sorry for what?”

“Pardon?”

“I asked what you’re so sorry for. Does saying sorry end the wave? Oh, wait—it already did.”

Erika’s hands trembled as she bowed her head.

“Am I going to eat you or something? It’s just a question.”

Despite my words, the last remaining finger slowly folded down.

“Th-the frontline owes you a great debt, Berga. Thanks to your ingenious tactical maneuvers and overwhelming execution, the Gravenfelt Frontline overcame the wave without a single casualty. We’re truly… grateful…”

“Good. Let’s do better next time.”

Soldiers are all the same everywhere, huh? The troops watching their commander get dressed down in real time looked downright cheerful.

Time to stop teasing the newbie commander.

Oh. Right—one more thing.

“Lutz.”

“Yes, Berga! You called?”

“Carry out your orders.”

“Yes, sir! The moment we reached the second trench, this is what I witnessed of the commander!”

“Go ahead and explain.”

Erika went pale. The blood drained from her already fair face, leaving it ghostly white.

“First, she snatched the scout’s binoculars. ‘Hand it over! You’ve gotta speak clearly! That 2,000 Cron bastard hasn’t died yet?’ she said. Then, ‘What am I supposed to do about my Cron now! I even summoned an extra mercenary!’ and…”

“Hold on. So that happened.”

I cut Lutz off.

“‘2,000 Cron bastard. Hasn’t died yet.’ That came from the commander’s mouth, right?”

Erika flinched at my words. She bowed her head so low it was practically bent double. Silence was her answer.

Hmm. Maybe I didn’t chew her out enough? Looks like the commander needs a little more education. As a senior, that is.

I hope the monsters bleed her out nice and slow. She’s got plenty of waves left to endure on the Gravenfelt Frontline.

“I’m… sorry… sob… sob sob… Forgive… forgive me…”

“‘Me’? Do soldiers use ‘me’ like that?”

“Eek! No, sir… I’m sorry… Don’t get mad… please… please don’t…”

In the end, the bob-cut commander with her sharp features was bawling and babbling like a baby.

“You’re mistaken. I haven’t raised my voice once. Oh. Are you blaming me for your tears? So I’m the one intimidating you. Ahh, my bad. I’ll apologize.”

“Eek!! No, sir! Hic! No… I’m crying because… I’m sorry… I messed up… It’s all my fault… I’m sorry… Hic!”

Still, bawling like this? How fragile is Gravenfelt’s soldier spirit? Lutz didn’t seem that soft, though.

Well, fair enough. She’s a research specialist who didn’t even know the system and stumbled into enlistment—blood, sweat, and tears of military life. After discharge, grad school under the professor, slaving away for his ‘favor.’ Maybe I’m judging by my own standards.

Of course, I did corner her in the trench nook. Big height difference too. The sharp-eyed deputy hurried the troops away, so it was probably just me and Erika left in the second trench. That ramp up the pressure?

“Um… excuse me… could you maybe… step aside… No! Please step… permit you to step… allow you to… grant permission to…”

Damn. Has her mind checked out? Or did I go too hard?

Erika started begging with Gravenfelt-style stacked polite requests.

Time to head back anyway.

“Fine. As long as you get it. Don’t screw up next time.”

As I leaped over the second trench for a final goodbye with Lutz, a twinge of guilt hit me—maybe I went too far. I added one last thing.

“Erika Brandt. Survive long and prosper. I mean it.”

I didn’t turn back, so no clue what her face looked like. No reply either.

“Berga! Thanks to you, we cleared the wave with zero casualties. Thank you!”

“We did it together, deputy. Don’t forget. And hold strong for the next one.”

I clapped Lutz on the shoulder. His eyes welled up red.

Tears are a Gravenfelt tradition, huh?

“I’ll engrave it in my heart! Um… Berga, could I ask one favor?”

“What? If it’s doable, sure.”

“Well…”

Lutz shyly held out his helmet.

“Anything’s fine… could you sign it? Something to prove I met a hero…”

Lutz looked embarrassed. Me too, honestly. Hero? Autograph? Never done it outside paperwork.

“What should I write? Our alphabets don’t match.”

“Anything! I brought a bayonet to engrave it—don’t want to damage your gear.”

I waved off his bayonet and drew my dagger from my belt. Berga. Or Jeong Ji-hoon. Picking one felt weird.

What to write…

Lutz’s expectant face stared at me. It sparked something natural.

I neatly wrote those five Hangul characters on the helmet’s back—no one would read them.

“May I ask what it means?”

“My wish.”

Lutz’s puzzled face vanished behind the alert window. The management office must’ve caught my trick—white light soon filled my vision.

Quick as ever, Lutz saluted me until I fully faded, helmet on his head.

Not bad. Cron is nice, but it feels like I vented some stress too. Usually wiped out mentally after a wave, but not this time.

Let’s check the balance.

Bought two stamina potions before Gravenfelt—one for stock, one for the Waiting ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Room. Haven’t spent a dime besides armor and potions.

Still far from 30,000 Cron.

1,600 per call. Roughly 15 more summons. Daunting.

To scrape Cron, push sponsorships more? Nah. Not ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠at the cost of my dignity. Let them come naturally—don’t refuse if they do.

Stuck with summons, then.

“Sigh… when will I ever save up?”

Feels hopeless. Time to check the seniors’ wisdom.

Huh? Community tab opens to a top post that grabs my eye.

Gravenfelt? Another wave already? I was summoned and waiting—thought multiple calls were fine.

But one crazy merc cleared it before the wave even hit lololol

Looked familiar? For real.

Did bombing and sniping solo—thought space marine maybe? Then pulled a sword and shredded lolololol

I’m a bullet hoarder too—saw naked-eye snipe from max range with shitty local resupply rifle and lost it fr

If you’re seeing this… reply please...

Oh, and what went down with the commander in the trench… explain plz…

Me? Huh. Come to think of it, yeah—“I even summoned an extra mercenary!” Lutz mimicked Erika saying that.

Game let endless summons with enough Cron, so figured it’d happen someday. But seeing eyewitness accounts? Kinda flustered.

Embarrassing aside, no clue how to react. And “what with the commander”? I chewed her out, duh. My consideration backfired into misunderstanding.

Pulled her aside so troops wouldn’t see her cry—er, her subordinates. Deputy dispersed them quick for the same reason. Don’t let the boss lose face.

“Mercs who’ve done military service would get it… tsk.”

Reveal myself? Wanna clear the misunderstanding.

Eh, they wouldn’t believe anyway. Some peer said contract pay’s 300 extra suckers or whatever.

Fine, take the praise and ignore. Just eyewitness stuff. No big deal.

Probably.

Perfect timing—another call from management. Actually good. Not tired, up for one more. Preferably easy. With ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a normal commander.

Wave 1? What idiot summoned me? No clue.