Did the 3rd Platoon Not Take Part in the Operation?
As I watched Erika disappear down the corridor, I finally tore my gaze away and set off. Outside the command barracks, the day was in full swing. By the time the battle ended and the reports were filed, the sun had already climbed to its peak.
I headed straight for the 3rd Platoon barracks. My steps felt light. The fatigue of combat still clung to my body, but my mind was strangely clear — perhaps buoyed by the elation of victory.
The closer I got to the platoon's quarters, the louder the commotion grew.
"The Lieutenant's back!"
"Hoorah! Three cheers for 3rd Platoon! Three cheers for Lieutenant Max Jäger!"
The moment they spotted me, the men surged forward with a collective roar of celebration, a few of them looking ready to hoist me onto their shoulders. I raised a hand to calm them down.
"You all fought well. It couldn't have been done without you."
Their excitement still bubbling over, the platoon members clustered in twos and threes, replaying the day's battle.
"My heart's still pounding. When that powder dump went up, I swear I thought the world was ending!"
"And I nearly stepped on one of those traps, you know? One more step and I would've been toast…"
I let out a quiet chuckle and swept my gaze across the 3rd Platoon. The first thing that caught my eye was Private Klaus, standing at the center of the commotion.
"Hey, Klaus, you son of a gun! When leave comes around, I'm buying you the biggest drink of your life!"
A hulking soldier pounded Klaus on the back, and another chimed in with an excited voice.
"No, seriously. How did you hit that crate from that distance? The wind was blowing pretty hard, too…"
Klaus himself had turned beet red, looking like he didn't know where to put himself. The attention, it seemed, was still more than he could bear.
"I-it's nothing. I just… got lucky. It was all thanks to the rounds the Lieutenant gave me…"
I walked slowly toward the middle of it all. As I approached, the soldiers parted to make way. I placed a hand on Klaus's shoulder and spoke.
"You have every right to be proud, Private. That single shot you fired today saved every one of us."
At my words, Klaus's face lit up with emotion as he shouted back.
"Not at all, sir! You're the one who gave me the chance! I'll devote my life to your service from here on out!"
The moment Klaus finished shouting, the surrounding platoon members broke into cheers again, clapping him on the back.
Right beside him, Sergeant Gunter was watching the whole scene with a satisfied look on his face. I walked over and gave him a nod.
"Sergeant Gunter. Thanks to the discipline you've instilled in this platoon, we moved as one even in the middle of that chaos. You did your job as an NCO superbly."
Gunter's rough face split into a broad grin, and he snapped off a salute with a voice like rolling thunder.
"With your leadership, Lieutenant, 3rd Platoon would march straight into hell itself! Sir!"
My gaze then shifted to Corporal Kurt standing at Gunter's side. The instant he felt my eyes on him, he snapped a salute with an oily smile plastered across his face.
"Sir! It is an honor and a privilege to serve under your command!"
Slick little weasel. I smirked and looked him up and down.
"When we were pulling back, I noticed you were the first one sprinting for the rear. Well, I suppose you do have a real talent for running away."
The oily smile vanished from Kurt's face in an instant, leaving him white as a sheet. As if the nightmare of the Pioneer Battalion had flashed before his eyes, his shoulders began to tremble.
"Th-that was…"
"Just kidding, Corporal."
I clapped his frozen shoulder lightly.
"What I meant was, thanks to you covering the rear so quickly, our formation held together and we got out clean."
Kurt let out a long sigh of relief.
Last of all, I walked over to Hanna, who stood quietly near the barracks entrance.
"You were the heart of today's operation, Hanna."
I kept my voice low enough that no one else could hear.
"Without you, half of us would have been dead the moment we set foot in that forest."
"It was all thanks to your leadership, Lieutenant. I only…"
A faint flush rose to Hanna's cheeks. She looked up at me shyly and continued.
"I can do anything… for you, Lieutenant."
Her hazel eyes glistened as if they were wet, shimmering with a subtle heat. She took a step closer, brought her lips to my ear, and a whisper slipped out along with a warm breath.
"On the battlefield by day… and in your bed by night…"
Oh.
Her daring whisper jolted me wide awake. Heat rushed through my body, and before I knew it, my stomach had gone taut. I stole a glance at Hanna's status window.
Emotion: Absolute trust and deep affection for her Lieutenant; a powerful desire to devote everything she is to him.
Well, well…
So she had already fallen for me, deep and completely. Only a few weeks ago, this was a woman who couldn't even hold my gaze — and now here she was, bold as anything.
For a moment, my desire threatened to surge right past the point of no return, but Strong Mind kept me steady. I glanced around. The platoon's excitement hadn't died down yet, but not a single one of them had noticed the delicate shift in the air between us.
Where no one could see, I quietly closed my hand around Hanna's. And then I whispered in her ear, just as she had done to me.
"Wait for me."
At those words, Hanna's shoulders gave a delicious little shudder. She answered with nothing but a small nod, then stepped back a pace, her face flushed crimson.
I turned back to face the platoon.
"3rd Platoon! Quiet down!"
The noisy barracks fell silent in an instant. Every eye turned to me.
"Attention! I have news for all of you. I received it directly from the Company Commander just now."
I met each of their gazes in turn as I spoke.
"In recognition of this operation's success, 3rd Platoon is hereby granted two full days of rest, effective immediately! No training, no details — nothing! Eat, sleep, and rest! That is an order!"
"WHOOOOOAAAAAA!"
A roar erupted loud enough to shake the barracks off its foundations.
"And! A special bonus payment for this operation will be issued to every single man! Rest up and look forward to a fat purse! But keep this in mind — this is time to recharge. Anyone who goes off and causes trouble will answer to me personally, and you will NOT enjoy it!"
"Yes, sir!"
"Three cheers for the Lieutenant!"
The soldiers seized each other by the shoulders and cheered. I watched them with a fond smile.
"Platoon, dismissed! Enjoy your rest, starting now!"
The words had barely left my mouth before the men scattered in every direction with whoops of joy. All their fatigue and tension released at once, the barracks descended into cheerful pandemonium within seconds.
I lingered for a moment, taking in the scene, then quietly slipped out of the barracks.
My feet carried me toward the regimental supply depot. What I really wanted was to rest, but there was something I had to see to first: the experimental magic bullets.
Those rounds were a weapon of enormous strategic value. A trump card capable of turning the tide of a battle with a single shot — which meant they needed to be restocked without delay.
The depot was unusually busy in the aftermath of the battle. Soldiers hauling crates of ammunition, NCOs replacing damaged equipment — the place was packed. I pushed my way through the crowd in search of Hermann, the stout supply master sergeant, and found him drenched in sweat, glaring down at a mountain of ledgers.
"Master Sergeant Hermann."
At my call, he lifted his head with a scowl.
"Ah, Lieutenant Jäger. What can I do for you? Things are a madhouse in here right now…"
Before he could even finish, a voice as cold as ice drifted out from the back office.
"What is it?"
Captain Seraphina. She stood at a desk buried in ledgers, flipping through documents one page at a time. From what I could see, she was reviewing 2nd Platoon's catastrophic equipment losses — which presumably explained the deep crease carved between her brows.
"Nothing to concern yourself with, Captain. Lieutenant Jäger here was just…"
Before Hermann could stumble through his excuse, I stepped past him and moved forward.
"Reporting 3rd Platoon's materiel expenditure and resupply request, Captain."
I placed a single document — prepared in advance — on the desk. Her blue eyes scanned the page. And in that instant, the crease in her brow eased, just barely.
"…150 rifle rounds, 2 grenades, and… 1 experimental magic bullet."
"That is correct."
She fell silent for a moment at my crisp answer. But Master Sergeant Hermann looked at us in open bewilderment.
"…? Did 3rd Platoon sit out the operation and only run drills?"
"No, Sergeant. 3rd Platoon carried out the single most critical mission of the day — infiltrating enemy lines and destroying their command structure."
At Seraphina's answer, he couldn't hold back a derisive snort.
"Ha? What on earth—?!"
Utterly stunned, he cast a furtive glance at the single sheet of paper I'd laid out. The cleaner the document looked to him, the more his expression morphed by the second.
"Heh, heh…"
Finally, he let out a baffled, humorless laugh and returned to his own work. He spread open the mountainous loss report from 2nd Platoon, and what was written there was a sight to behold: machine gun barrels requiring replacement, numerous sets of body armor decommissioned, twelve rifles destroyed. His scowl deepened on the spot, as if the mere sight of it raised his blood pressure.
Status Analysis.
Name: Hermann
Emotion: Contempt for the incompetent commander (Erika); awe and curiosity toward the capable one (Max).
Hidden Desire: To process this infuriating equipment-loss report as quickly as possible and go home.
Contempt and awe, huh…
Simple feelings — yet they cut straight to the heart of this battlefield. To a working man like Hermann, commanders came in exactly two varieties: the competent ones who made his job easier, and the incompetent ones who made it harder.
Just then, Seraphina shoved the stack of documents aside and rose from her seat.
"Step outside with me a moment, Lieutenant."
Without so much as a glance at Hermann, she tipped her chin toward the door. I gave a short nod and followed her out.