Catfight

I checked the two skills floating before my eyes.

First up, Parallel Processing.

Until now, it had been a fairly useless skill. Commanding a company was something I could manage just fine by running around on my own two feet.

But once I factored in the Jäger Battlegroup I would soon be leading, the calculus changed. Commanding a mixed force of armor, infantry, and air support, a splitting headache of a day was bound to arrive sooner or later.

Yet the moment I laid eyes on the second option, my deliberation evaporated.

"Hoh…?"

The admiration slipped out of me all on its own.

The restriction of "cannot be leveled up" attached to cheat-tier skills like Minimap and Strong Mind had always gnawed at me. Minimap in particular lacked information on elevation changes, terrain features, and the like.

I invested the points without a moment's hesitation.

Along with the familiar chime, the skill was unlocked. Unlike the others, there was no particular sensation attached to it.

Two points remained. I decided to put my newly learned ability to use right away. The target, naturally, was the skill that had been the number-one contributor to my survival and would serve as the eyes of the Jäger Battlegroup.

Yes.

Ding!

I focused on the Minimap floating in the corner of my vision.

At once, every collapsed alleyway of Rosenheim's city blocks embedded itself in my mind like a three-dimensional hologram.

"Incredible."

Luck was on my side. To acquire such a cheat skill right on the eve of breaking through the Ashen Forest, of all times.

I turned my gaze back to the system window.

One point left. I could use Upgrade to push another maxed-out skill even further, or I could bank it for Bullet Time and focus on survival.

But before any of that, I had to check what skill had actually dropped.

"……"

With the new skill laid bare, my deliberation deepened all over again.

Weapon Mastery was tempting. Handling the 88mm at Rosenheim would have been far easier with that skill in my pocket. But I was no longer a captain firing a rifle on the front line — I was a lieutenant colonel who had to coordinate the lives of thousands and the movements of massive armored equipment.

Was I really going to end up driving a tank myself?

I couldn't say. But then again, you never know.

Parallel Processing, or Weapon Mastery. Or, failing either, I could spend it on a skill level-up or another Upgrade.

Too many options.

In moments like these, simply holding the point in reserve was also a valid play.

I closed the window with my single skill point intact. I'd already acquired what I needed for now; spending the remainder flexibly as the situation demanded was the wiser course.

"Whew…."

Letting out a sigh, I sank back into the sofa.

Knock, knock, knock.

The instant I tried to close my eyes, the sound of knocking echoed through the room.

Rolling the clock back a little — the front of the bunker, just after Max Jäger had departed.

Three women had been left standing in the cold night air.

"This is… unbelievable."

Captain Erika von Stahlberg stared at Max's retreating back with a hollow expression.

"Lieutenant colonel. A battlefield promotion, of all things…."

"Accept it, Erika."

A cold voice cut in from beside her. Major Serafina von Reinhardt.

"He has earned the right."

"Don't you… feel even a shred of jealousy, Major? He now outranks you!"

"On the battlefield, rank is decoration. What matters is that the baton passes to whoever has proven their ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠ability. And…."

Serafina's sapphire eyes glimmered in a strangely complicated way.

"He saved my— no, he saved our entire unit. That fact will never change."

"Ugh…."

Erika could find no words of rebuttal in time, and simply bit her lip.

"I… should be going."

Before long she kicked the ground in irritation, spun on her heel, and vanished toward the officers' quarters.

And a short while later.

Step, step.

Someone walked out of the darkness.

Neatly tied brown hair, a guileless, puppy-like face.

"…You were watching, Sergeant Meyer."

"At your service. I was, Major."

Hanna snapped off a crisp salute. Looking every bit as pure and loyal as always.

"Good work. Head back and get some rest."

Serafina waved a hand to dismiss her. But Hanna didn't budge an inch. Her hazel eyes stared unblinkingly at Serafina.

"…Something to say?"

"No, Major. It's merely that…."

Hanna tilted her head as she asked, her tone laced with pure, guileless curiosity.

"Major, are you feeling all right? Your complexion has been… rather odd for a while now. Almost as if you were in pain somewhere."

Serafina's brow twitched. Ever since the ferocious defensive battle at Rosenheim, Max's hospitalization had left her without her Bio-Resonance Attunement treatments.

"I appreciate the concern, but I manage my own condition."

Unable to admit the truth, Serafina offered a convenient deflection and turned away.

"That's a relief. I was worried that…."

At that moment, Hanna closed the distance by a single step behind her.

"—I thought you were on your way to receive treatment from our Lieutenant Colonel. Silly me."

"……!"

Serafina's shoulders went rigid. She hastily swept her surroundings. Fortunately, the guards were posted far off.

"You— what on earth are you…!"

"That's what I thought, isn't it? Captain Elise's medical facility is in the completely opposite direction."

Hanna's eyes narrowed to slits. The look of a predator guarding an intruder who had trespassed into her territory.

"And the direction you're heading right now is, of all places… the very lodging where Lieutenant Colonel Jäger is staying."

Pierced straight through the heart, Serafina scrunched her brow ferociously.

"……It seems I mistook the way."

"…A mistake, was it."

Hanna tilted her head slightly. A smile played on her lips, but her hazel eyes weren't smiling at all.

"Major. Do you know what my billet is?"

"Tactical Intelligence Analyst. What of it?"

"My specialty is… seeing what cannot be seen."

Hanna took another step closer.

"And the mana coursing through your body right now… is screaming, you know."

That's right. Hanna possessed the rare awakened talent of Mana Sense — a discovery of Max Jäger's own making. Trying to hide the symptoms of Mana Overload in front of her was like trying to mask the scent of blood in front of a hound.

"…That's insolent of you, Sergeant. Diagnosing your superior's health without leave is overstepping."

"Not overstepping — assisting. Lieutenant Colonel Jäger said it himself, didn't he? An intelligence officer's duty is to assess the condition of friendlies as much as the enemy's."

Hanna yielded not a single inch. And then she drove the wedge home.

"And I also happen to know that there is exactly one person in all of Rosenheim… capable of calming that unstable mana of yours."

"……"

Silence.

Serafina bit her lip. At this point, she had to assume Sergeant Hanna Meyer knew everything about the secret between her and Max. She must have pieced it together while lingering at his side as his adjutant — and with Mana Sense on top of that.

"…Fine. I'll admit it. I need treatment."

Serafina conceded at last.

"I suffer from a chronic affliction called Mana Overload, and astonishingly enough, Max…"

But Hanna frowned, as if she took issue with the way she'd said his name.

"Lieutenant Colonel Jäger, if you please."

"……Lieutenant Colonel Max knew the means to resolve my condition. It was a remarkable feat."

"A chronic affliction, you say… There could be no more perfect an excuse to strip down and throw yourself at a man. You're rather more… cunning than I gave you credit for, Major?"

"…Mind your tongue, Sergeant."

Serafina ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠practically growled the words.

But it fell hopelessly short of besting Hanna.

"You're not denying it, though?"

"Ahem—! In any case, I overexerted my mana during this battle. Without the Lieutenant Colonel's… attunement, the Sickle Cut Operation itself could be compromised."

Serafina finally fell back on an official pretext. It was the last shred of her pride.

"I'll say no more about the fact that you know of my relationship with the Lieutenant Colonel. Now step ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠aside. This is a matter concerning the entire force."

Serafina moved to push past her. But instead of stepping to the side, Hanna matched her stride and fell in beside her.

"Perfect timing. I happen to have a report to deliver as well."

"…A report?"

"Now that the Lieutenant Colonel has been promoted, it falls to me, as his exclusive adjutant, to manage his upcoming schedule and… to confirm, in close personal detail, whether anything is making him uncomfortable overnight."

Hanna placed a peculiar emphasis on the word close.

Serafina's brow twitched.

That sly little fox of a woman…

That thieving cat of a major…

The two women's glares collided in midair.

In rank they were a major and a sergeant — a gulf as wide as heaven and earth. But in this contest of nerve over a man named Max Jäger, neither would yield a single inch.

And yet both of them knew. Fighting here would only raise a commotion, and that would do Max harm. More ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠than anything—

On one point alone their desires aligned perfectly: they both needed that man, and they needed him tonight.

"…Then follow me."

Serafina turned her head away first.

"An honor, Major."

Hanna trailed after her, playing at tucking her tail.

The two women walked side by side through the darkened streets of Rosenheim. The thud of their boots fell in perfect rhythm, but between them hung a suffocating tension.

Before long, they arrived at the half-collapsed hotel building that served as Max's quarters.

Standing before the old wooden door, the two of them stopped at exactly the same moment.

"Allow me to knock."

Just as Hanna reached out her hand, Serafina's baton lightly barred her wrist.

"It's poor form for an adjutant to step ahead of her superior officer."

With a cold smile, Serafina raised her white-gloved hand to the door.

Knock, knock, knock.

And so, in perfect unison, the two women knocked on one man's door.