Goddess of the Battlefield, or the Evil God (1)
Goddess of the Battlefield, or the Evil God (1)
From the very first day, I was stamped as a deadweight.
My military life is completely screwed.
Why did the system have to pop up right then?
Anyone would have been surprised in that situation.
"Then let's have a light informal meeting."
The clueless batchmates were looking at me with envy in their eyes.
They have no idea what's going on.
Did they seriously think the Commander-in-Chief liked my face and made me her duty officer or something?
'I was marked as an officer of interest on day one.'
Commander Hildea, who had personally brought refreshments, threw out gentle questions to everyone one by one.
And sure enough, she asked me nothing.
"Ah, the specialty wheat flour from the Durendal Territory is very useful. Did you know most of the flour we consume on this front comes from Durendal?"
"Yes, I knew that!"
Thankfully, the other second lieutenants in my cohort didn't notice that Commander Hildea was specifically skipping only me in the conversation.
There's over ten of them, they're all extremely tense, and they're completely distracted by Hildea's beauty.
I maintained my rigidly squared-away posture as much as possible.
I had to somehow make amends.
'I can write it off as getting way too nervous meeting the Commander-in-Chief on my first day of unit assignment. I've still got plenty of time.'
I have to prove what a Grade-A soldier—no, a Grade-A military man—I truly am.
Don't get impatient.
'Pentagon Integrated Logistics System, Defense Core....'
I examined the ability I had just awakened.
This is the next-generation integrated logistics management system of the US Department of Defense, something I constantly dealt with back in my KATUSA days.
It seems this kind of authority was given to me due to my past life's experience.
'The system name and logo are the same, but the UI is different. The items handled are different too. Crazy, there's F-22s, aircraft carriers, and even nuclear missiles?'
Of course, all of those are listed as 'Supply Request Unavailable'.
And then there's a notification blinking as if begging to be pressed.
【You have acquired the position of Duty Officer. Please receive your issued personal basic supplies.】
【M4A1 Rifle: 1 gun (7 magazines included)】
【M17 Pistol: 1 gun (3 magazines included)】
【ACH Ballistic Helmet, IOTV Body Armor: 1 set each】
【OCP Combat Uniform Set and Tactical Gloves: 1 set】
【Assault Pack Combat Backpack: 1】
【Combat Knife and Personal Equipment Set】
....
These are the basic supplies just issued to me.
If I press the receive button, will modern US military supplies come raining down from thin air?
I definitely must not press it.
'It'd be hard to use these in front of others anyway. There's no way I can explain where I got them.'
The items I can currently request supplies for are as follows.
【9mm NATO ammo : Request available】
【5.56mm NATO ammo : Request available】
【Body Armor : Request available】
....
For now, I could request supplies for personal issued items as needed.
【User : Piel Anbelreum】
【Position : Duty Officer (Hildea)】
By becoming a duty officer, some items that I can now request have also appeared.
【VIA Instant Coffee】
【Twinings Earl Grey】
【Nature Valley Granola Bar】
【Giradel Dark Chocolate】
【Geisha Coffee】
....
I've become able to request coffee, tea, and snacks for the Commander-in-Chief's fatigue recovery.
'Alright, let's score some points with this.'
When Commander Hildea asks me to bring some kind of sugary supplement, I'll naturally slip one of these in.
If I remove the wrapper and only put out the contents, it won't look suspicious.
What if she asks where I got this stuff?
I'll just bluff and say it's a precious personal luxury item I brought when I enlisted.
It's not weird at all for noble officers on the battlefield to privately procure personal effects.
'I've never seen a woman or a field soldier who hates chocolate. And Commander-nim happens to be both.'
The newly commissioned second lieutenant informal meeting ended.
Hildea made eye contact with each and every one of us, shook hands, gave a word of encouragement, and saw them off.
Only I was left at the very end.
"Second Lieutenant Piel, open that door."
"Yes, Commander-nim."
I briskly opened the door she pointed at, and nearly froze solid.
"You may use that room from now on."
It was a small room.
Probably made for the orderly to use.
It was furnished with nothing but a simple cot, a table, and a bookshelf.
Other than that, it was a completely unused empty room with no blanket, no pillow, nothing at all.
'Commander Hildea hasn't been using any orderlies at all until now.'
Maybe it's her personality, or maybe she's finally reached a situation where even a cat's paw would be useful.
If it's the latter, then I really have been judged as a total deadweight.
Ttiring-ttiring. Ttiring-ttiring.
When Hildea pulled a cord, a bell connected to outside the door rang.
A moment later, the adjutant entered.
"Adjutant, see to it that Second Lieutenant Piel is issued his personal gear. Guide him to the unit facilities as well."
"Yes, Commander-nim."
The burly, fierce-looking knight adjutant took me to the supply pick-up point.
"Affirmative and negative answers will be given concisely as 'Yes' and 'No'. Understood?"
"Yes, Adjutant-nim."
"The Commander-nim does not keep an orderly or a duty officer. She handles everything personally, so your workload will not be difficult."
"Yes, Adjutant-nim."
"Do not step forward trying to do something on your own. Just wait quietly in standby, run over when you are called, and do exactly as you are told. Understood?"
"Yes, Adjutant-nim."
I was handed spare uniforms, a blanket, a sword, and personal daily necessities.
At least they gave me new ones.
But the inside of the ordnance depot I could briefly glimpse was nearly bare.
Carrying the supplies, I followed the adjutant knight's lead and looked around the unit facilities.
"This is the mess hall."
"Yes, Adjutant-nim."
"This is the armory."
"Yes, Adjutant-nim."
"These are the knights' quarters."
"Yes, Adjutant-nim."
"This is...."
After showing me all the major facilities.
The adjutant looked at me and asked.
"I've shown you all the facilities you need to know immediately. Do you have any questions?"
"No."
"Hmm... nothing you're curious about?"
"Since I'm completely in the dark about everything, I don't even know what to ask yet."
"That's unusual. Other second lieutenants always asked the exact same question after being shown the facilities."
"Did they ask about the bathing facilities?"
"That's right. But you aren't asking."
"I figured there wouldn't be any."
"Why?"
"Commoners wash themselves in streams, or draw water and wash in the yard. If even the rear is like that, I guessed the frontmost battlefield wouldn't have the capacity to equip bathing facilities."
"Correct. What's the matter if you get a little sick? There are priests anyway."
More than joy at having somewhat redeemed my deadweight image, the mindset of 'So what if you get a little sick?' made me feel bleak.
Maybe because his impression of me had changed, his voice got a bit softer.
The conversation also grew longer.
"That's strange. You seem like a calm and composed fellow, so why did you make such a ridiculous mistake earlier?"
"When the battlefield hero I've always respected pinned on my rank insignia right before my eyes, I got far too nervous."
"Hahaha, that can happen. I sighed thinking maybe another deadweight had come in, or something."
The adjutant guffawed and clapped me on the shoulder, but it felt like a bear had just taken a swipe at me.
"Call me Adjutant Dvil. Calling me Lord Deville is fine too."
"Yes, Lord Deville."
"How old are you?"
"I'm 19 years old."
"You're the oldest among the second lieutenants commissioned this time."
When we returned to the Commander's office, Hildea was nowhere to be seen.
"She seems to have gone out on patrol. Sit."
"Yes, Lord Deville."
"Normally, you can just take it easy. The Commander-nim is a generous person as long as it's not a combat situation."
He's beating around the bush to tell me to be careful because it's brutal in actual battle.
I continued talking with Dvil.
"Sword? Magic? Which way do you lean?"
"...Neither."
"Yeah, figured as much."
A look that said he hadn't expected anything anyway.
"Then I can assign you administrative work later on."
"I'm confident in that."
"Provided you don't get sacked from the duty officer job first, of course, hahaha."
After roughly explaining the current frontline and unit situation, Dvil left the Commander-in-Chief's office.
Still, he left me with some words of encouragement.
"Anyway, the very fact that you've come to the frontmost line for your country is already a grand military achievement in itself. Face your military life with confidence."
"Thank you, Lord Deville."
I was left alone in the empty Commander-in-Chief's office.
All of a sudden it felt like I was suffocating, so to erase the pointless thoughts I organized the supplies I had received here into my small room.
As I was neatly arranging the dust-coated but brand-new personal equipment locker, tears suddenly welled up before I knew it.
"Fuck...."
To be in the military again.
And not just any military, but a frontline field army where battles break out every other day and people die.
'Count Anbelreum, I will never forget this grudge.'
Even originally, because of my past life memories, he felt more like a sponsor than a father, but now, the existence called father has completely disappeared from my heart.
Suddenly, I missed my mother.
I miss my mother from my past life too, but I also started missing the mother who gave birth to this body.
'When I get leave, I'll have to visit the charnel house first.'
Will I ever even get leave?
***
I decided to examine the Defense Core system.
The next-generation integrated logistics system, Defense Core.
But for now, it's a mysterious authority granted solely to me.
'Literally all the real US military supplies are here.'
Personal firearms, tanks, warships, aircraft, missiles, military satellites, and more—there's nothing it doesn't have.
Even consumables like fuel and food are perfectly covered.
【A monthly budget is provided depending on the size of your direct unit. Use your held budget to make supply requests.】
【Suppliable items are determined by your rank and position.】
【Held Budget : 4,000】
I roughly grasped how the system operates.
1. A monthly budget is granted based on the size of the direct unit I command.
2. Naturally, the larger the unit becomes, the larger the budget becomes.
3. I accumulate that and use it to request (purchase) supplies.
4. Requestable items are determined by my position.
5. Currently, since it's just me alone, a monthly budget of 4,000 is provided.
For now, I still had the unclaimed personal basic supplies, including a pistol, rifle, helmet, body armor, personal equipment set, and so on.
For these, additional requests including consumables like ammunition were possible.
However, there was a quantity limit.
【Pistol : SIG Sauer M18 (1/1)】
【Rifle : M4A1 Carbine (1/1)】
Probably because I'm still a 'one-man corps', it seems I can only hold one of each at a time.
'Let's test it out. First, I'll request some chocolate.'
【Giradel Dark Chocolate : A smooth chocolate boasting a luxurious flavor】
【You have requested a supply of Giradel Dark Chocolate.】
【Current Held Budget : 3,999】
When I pressed the receive button, a small paper box plopped down.
A plain box about 10x10x5cm, with no markings at all.
Opening it, it was packed with chocolate.
I quickly moved it to my room, then unwrapped one and checked the taste.
'Holy shit, this is it...!'
Under the merciless flavor bombardment of food chemistry, my untrained tongue just melted away.
'This is a winner. Absolutely a winner.'
Thud!
Just then, I heard the sound of the Commander's office door open, and I rushed out to salute.
"At ease."
"Yes, Commander-nim."
Hildea's uniform was completely covered in blood.
Even her flowing long silver hair was drenched in blood, making it look like it was naturally red hair.
From head to toe, entirely splattered in gore.
'She went out on patrol, what the hell happened?'
It wasn't even my place to rashly ask questions, so I just kept my mouth shut.
'She'll wash her uniform and then go straight to bathe. After a refreshing bath, if she eats a few pieces of sweet chocolate, my image will improve a bit, right?'
Could a medieval fantasy soldier who has been rolling on the battlefield for five years withstand the sensory bombardment of the crystallization of food chemical engineering?
'I'll just remove the wrapper and present it. If she asks where I got this kind of thing, I'll bluff and say I had a hard time getting it from a peddler before....'
It's a standard custom for noble scions deployed to the battlefield to receive various support goods from their families in the rear.
"My clothes and body have been dirtied with blood. I'll go downstairs to wash my clothes and bathe, then come back up."
I almost reflexively committed the deadweight blunder of asking 'Excuse me?'.
'She'll wash them herself? The Commander-in-Chief? When her duty officer is right here?'
Commander Hildea looked at me and gave a small smirk, then spoke in a kindly voice.
"In my unit, everyone does their own laundry personally. There are no exceptions."
The first-floor utility room.
Drawing water, heating it, hand-washing, and cleaning up after bathing.
Hildea ordered me to do nothing at all.
There wasn't even an opportunity for my chocolate to play its part.