Chapter 31
Chapter 31
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 31
Chapter Title: Time Flows (2)
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Hindenburg hesitated for a moment before pulling a cigarette case from his pocket.
"...I only have cigarettes. Is that alright?"
"Hand one over."
Count Schlieffen took one and lit it with an incense stick.
Hindenburg, who had been about to pull out a match, awkwardly tucked the cigarette case back into his pocket.
Whoosh! The count blew out the incense stick along with the smoke, and the flame went out.
The flickering image of Count Schlieffen vanished along with it.
"Cough, cough. Ahem, hmm."
Too much stimulation for the patient, perhaps—the count kept coughing before finally calming down.
Hindenburg, who had been silently watching from the side, quietly asked,
"Are you alright?"
"What's alright, and what's not? It's all just a matter of today or tomorrow anyway."
"What are you saying? You need to live much longer."
"His Majesty the Kaiser has taken my soul, so my body must return to ashes as well."
Count Schlieffen muttered in reply.
His tone suggested he had already let go of everything. Hindenburg lowered his head slightly.
The count glanced at him before putting another cigarette in his mouth.
Flick—the dying ember reignited faintly.
"Sigh... In any case... even if I die, the Reich must endure eternally, mustn't it?"
"..."
"That's why I had to test that fellow. To see if he's the type to drag the Reich into ruin out of self-indulgence, or if he's truly a genius."
Hindenburg furrowed his brow at the count's incomprehensible words.
Count Schlieffen continued calmly.
"Getting on in years brings some realizations. It feels like war truly isn't far off."
"...War."
"And whether we win or lose that war, the day will come when that fellow rises to the top."
Hindenburg wanted to say it was too soon to judge, but he ultimately remained silent.
They say that once you reach a certain age, you can glimpse Plato's world of forms.
The count's gaze seemed directed not at this world, but somewhere beyond.
"Yet... whether we win or lose, it feels like he'll sow the seeds of war either way."
"What a grim thing to say. Lose?"
"That's how he seems to think."
Hindenburg's pupils shook at Count Schlieffen's wry chuckle.
"Cough. Even without him saying it outright, I can sense it. There's no conviction of victory and glory—the things every officer of the Reich ought to hold."
Victory... well, maybe. But he showed almost no concern for glory and honor. It stood out even more from how he immediately thought of trench warfare.
It seemed he viewed them merely as ornaments to avoid criticism.
"Genius or prophet—whatever it is, what's even more frightening is... that inhuman, machine-like quality. It's bitterly at odds with the ideal image of an officer the Reich desires."
"..."
"Doesn't he seem like he lives solely for war? Like a war machine."
After thinking long and hard, Hindenburg couldn't hold back and put a cigarette in his own mouth.
He shook his head and exhaled smoke.
"I wouldn't know."
"Is that so."
"But if our fatherland is to be defeated."
The room grew hazy with smoke.
"Wouldn't it be right to employ a man like a war machine?"
At those words, Count Schlieffen chewed his lip before letting out a sigh.
Hindenburg deliberately looked at the opposite wall, avoiding the count's gaze.
"Yes... it's your generation's affair now. As for me... cough."
Schlieffen coughed out a hollow laugh.
"A genius meant to bring victory to the fatherland, risking his life over a mere letter... I had to confirm it."
"..."
"If he couldn't even spot such a simple trap, how could I entrust the future to him?"
"I see."
In the empty conversation, their gazes ran on parallel lines.
Count Schlieffen's face was shrouded in shadow, no longer visible.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
"Alright, all the work's done, so the rest of you can rest now. We'll probably head back to Berlin tomorrow."
"You worked hard."
The long cleanup after the mock battle was finally over.
As a reward for victory, the soldiers got leave, and the officers...
Hmm, I don't remember? They must have given us something. Can't recall what, though.
...Imagining it might help with promotions.
"Sigh."
"Ah, Rommel. What are you planning to do now?"
"Senior."
Manstein approached with a friendly smile.
It felt ominous somehow, but I told him anyway.
"There's a friend of mine working here. I'm waiting to meet him after a long time..."
"Oh, really? I'm curious now, so I think I'll tag along with you!"
"..."
Damn it, picked the wrong one.
That smile means trouble... why did I forget!
'...Wait, thinking about it, if that friend meets my senior.'
A bolt of lightning flashed through my mind.
'Oh... no. No!'
I broke into a cold sweat and forced a grin, tossing out some bait.
"Haha! It'll be a while before my friend arrives, so how about a walk outside? We can continue talking about that panzer from before."
"Sure. Last time, you mentioned buying that Burstyn Motorgeschütz design cheap from Austria?"
"We renamed it the Burstyn Panzer. It's a bit of a problem since neither the General Staff nor the War Ministry is interested."
"I had a lot of questions anyway. First off..."
Perfect! Now just lure him out quick!
Like hypnotizing a horse with a carrot, I led Manstein toward the door.
'Phew, that was close...'
"Is Lieutenant Erwin Rommel here?"
At that moment, a familiar voice rang out as the door opened.
"Ah."
"Lieutenant Rommel is here. And you are...?"
As Manstein spoke with a puzzled look, the man who'd come looking for me stepped inside.
Sturdy build, blond handsome man. The officers' gazes converged on this personification of 'popular guy.'
...I stared dumbfounded at the ceiling.
"Lieutenant Manfred von Richthofen! Nice to meet you!"
My friend—freshly commissioned Manfred—saluted with a cheerful grin.
Manstein returned the salute and asked as if realizing something.
"Ah, so you're the friend Rommel was about to meet. I'm Erich von Manstein."
"Manstein... Ah! I've heard so much about you!"
It was the moment the two talkative Messrs. M shook hands for the first time.
Just watching made my head spin.
"I hear you're the battalion's top brain. And an alumnus senior to boot?"
"Haha! You from Richthofen School too?"
"Graduated and came straight here. Now training to be a pilot!"
"A pilot! Come to think of it, there's a huge aviation school here, right?"
"Yes, it's wide open and..."
The MG08 machine gun fired 500 rounds per minute, didn't it...
They poured out words like machine-gun fire.
Tired and terrified, I quietly backed away, but...
"Ah, Rommel!"
"Rommel!"
They turned toward me with ghostly grins and caught me.
"Can't you two just talk together?"
"Haha, you promised to walk with me and meet this friend! A Prussian soldier doesn't go back on his word!"
"...I'm from Württemberg."
"A soldier of the German Empire doesn't go back on his word!"
No, this damn senior...
You're the one who just did!
"Junkers was saying you don't reply to his letters, so he told me to ask you."
"Where were we? Ah! That Burstyn Panzer."
"Please, let me go..."
Dragged along by the M duo, I sent SOS signals to the surrounding officers.
Can you hear me, money money money, spend spend spend, money money...
But the officers, having just witnessed the duo's verbal barrage, slyly avoided my eyes.
The battalion commander...
"Kuhahaha!"
'Damn.'
He's mocking me with his signature laugh.
Look at him laughing quietly so the duo doesn't notice. Oh man, the chain of command's upside down...
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
The vast, vast plain of Döberitz.
After talking until we ran out of steam, we sat on the bare ground. No path meant no benches.
A refreshing breeze brushed past us.
"Hmm, nice."
"Yeah."
"..."
"That scout plane and artillery coordination you mentioned earlier sounds perfect."
"Right? And then it leads to..."
The two, who had bonded in an instant, chattered away again.
Mouth sore and exhausted, I lay down flat and gazed at the sky.
Then.
"...Huh?"
Dududududu—the faint sound of an engine started coming from afar.
We looked puzzled, but soon Manfred's face lit up.
"Oh! That's the sound!"
Manfred jumped up and waved his arms toward the source.
Far off, a small monoplane like a bird appeared from beyond the hill.
Just faster than a train, armed only with the pilot's pistol—it was a beautiful-looking reconnaissance plane.
"It's our aviation school's Taube! Haha! Over here, here!"
Even such a Taube ranked among the finest military aircraft in existence.
Manfred waved excitedly in greeting.
As if spotting him, the Taube did a loop and flew off.
"Wondrous, truly wondrous."
"Right! Isn't it!"
Manstein had stood up too, staring at the plane wide-eyed.
The Taube gleamed like a sparkling sea under the sunlight before vanishing behind the hill.
"Humanity... is truly amazing. Just a few years after the first flight, and we've made things like that."
"Haha! Save the awe for later! Our Dr. Junkers boasted he'd make an all-metal monoplane!"
As Manstein murmured, Manfred laughed and declared proudly.
Yes, from his letters, Junkers seemed fully committed to aircraft development.
At this rate, it wouldn't take long.
As they resumed talking, I lay back in the grass.
'No more incidents now... mock battle's over, all preparations done.'
The sky the Taube had passed through was clear, blue, and vast.
White clouds drifted slowly but surely.
In the peaceful atmosphere, I savored the feeling.
Good times always pass quickly and never return.
In the end, time flows on.
I'd given my all, no regrets.
Yet the lingering regret was.
'Three years.'
This peace wouldn't last three years.
The Great War was just around the corner.