Growing Pains
Growing Pains
After Rebecca's airburst induction exploits.
Hildea had also secretly participated in the knights' mortar firing training, without Piel knowing.
"As expected of our Commander-in-Chief-nim. An astonishing accuracy rate from the very first round."
"Isn't this surprisingly too easy to hit?"
"Indeed. It's not particularly difficult."
For Hildea, a Sword Master, mortar firing was so easy it was yawn-inducing.
The problem was that the entry barrier was so low that all the knights could do this much.
She felt that even if she were included among the 80 'Mortar Knights,' she would possess no particular advantage whatsoever.
Compared to Rebecca, who achieved shell conservation and maximized firepower through airbursts, she was merely shabby.
So she quietly quit after just one mortar firing practice session.
And she resumed the Aura technique training she had long halted.
'I will show them a weapon that only I can wield, one exclusive to a Sword Master.'
She had restarted the training she had stopped after completing the Aura Blade and Feather Step.
The reason she had stopped training for a while was nothing special.
The caloric expenditure was simply too severe, so she had been conserving her stamina.
Now the situation was different.
The beef brisket combat rations Piel gave her morning and evening were fixed portions, but at lunch, she could eat as much corn soup as she wanted at the mess hall.
Because they had switched to self-service distribution, allowing soldiers to take as much as they wanted to eat.
She could go back for seconds as many times as she pleased.
"Commander-nim, you've surpassed 10 servings again today, as expected. Enjoy your meal."
"Do not tell Major Piel."
"Of course."
Morning training was fine. She could stuff herself with high-calorie corn soup at lunch.
The problem was the afternoon and night training.
She had to make do with the single serving of beef brisket Piel gave her for dinner and hold out until breakfast.
'I never imagined Aura training would consume stamina this severely.'
Once she began training in earnest, Hildea keenly felt just how much stamina Aura manipulation consumed.
'So this is why I quit back then.'
If not for the unlimited lunch soup, she would never have dared to attempt it.
She was training her techniques in a place only she knew about.
In the distance, the sound of a heavy machine gun rang out from the training grounds.
Hildea gritted her teeth and refocused on her training.
She polished her Feather Step to greater precision.
Simultaneously, she expanded her 'Aura Armor' and honed the 'Aura Field Dome,' which enveloped a set radius entirely.
'Piel is fragile. But if I develop Feather Step further and complete the Aura Field Dome, I can protect Piel in any situation.'
The external expansion of Aura Armor was by no means easy.
Nevertheless, Hildea did not stop training.
Because this, precisely, would be her own unique strength—something Rebecca could never provide.
And yet....
"Hildea Commander-nim, you seem to have lost weight."
"I, I have not lost any!"
She was already self-conscious about it, too.
Hildea felt a surge of emotion.
***
The next morning.
As usual, Rebecca came to the official residence grinning from ear to ear.
For the beef brisket breakfast.
"Piel, take the rifle back."
"Still, isn't it better to have it?"
"Mmm, no. The heavy machine gun magical device alone is enough. The rifle just gets in the way, if anything. I only have two hands, after all."
"Understood."
"...."
Hildea silently worked her fork as she listened to the 'affectionate conversation' between Piel and Rebecca.
"Piel. About the southern bastards claiming they subjugated most of the Ancient Tree Legion themselves. The numbers don't add up strangely."
"Is that so?"
"Yeah, you said it was over 2,000, right? But the southern bastards say they caught over 1,000?"
"That is quite a discrepancy."
"But if that many disappeared somewhere, it should definitely be known by now, yet there's been no word at all."
"The Barcos Merchantry also believes the Ancient Tree Legion has been completely subjugated."
"Strange, strange."
"Even so, it has been proven that the Ancient Tree Legion is no match at all for our Mortar Knight Order. At the very least, our Ainshuvan Front has nothing to worry about."
Rebecca, with her abundant intelligence network, was good at bringing news from the rear that Piel was curious about.
Hildea finished her meal in silence, without a word.
'Now the two of them will go off again, all excited, to train with the heavy machine gun....'
"Rebecca Commander-nim, I think you can train alone today. I have something to do with Hildea Commander-in-Chief-nim."
"Mmm? Where are you going?"
"A military operation."
"...Got it. Good luck. And Commander-in-Chief, don't tire out our Piel too much."
"...Carlton Marquis-nim, he is my duty officer."
Rebecca let out a light scoff and left the official residence.
Hildea, curious, stared up at Piel intently.
"Major Piel, what military operation do you intend to conduct with this commander? There was no such thing on the schedule."
"I hastily put it together last night. It is a critically important supply operation for maintaining the combat strength of our 3rd Army."
"Then we must execute it, of course! It must be an operation significant enough to require this commander's strength?"
When it came to supply operations in the 3rd Army, Piel was absolute. He even surpassed Hildea, the Commander-in-Chief.
"Yes, Hildea Commander-in-Chief-nim's strength is absolutely essential. It is impossible without the Commander-nim."
"Good. Just say the word, whatever it is. I will ensure its success without fail. It must be a storage warehouse magic supply escort mission sent by the Marshall family, as expected?"
Hildea pounded her flat chest with confidence.
Piel smiled gently.
"It is an unlimited calorie and serotonin supply operation for the Commander-in-Chief."
"Calories... serotonin... what are those? And an unlimited supply operation?"
"Allow me to guide you, Hildea Commander-nim."
Hildea, puzzled yet secretly pleased, followed Piel with light steps.
Piel guided her to a hill that overlooked the new Commander-in-Chief's official residence currently under construction.
He spread a mat at a spot with a fine view.
Hildea, still in her combat boots, sat down with only her bottom on the mat, keeping her feet off it.
Piel also sat beside her, maintaining an appropriate distance.
"I've been worried lately because you seem to have lost a lot of weight."
"...I have not lost any. You have simply seen wrong."
"If the morning and evening meal portions were insufficient, why did you not tell me sooner?"
"That's not it...."
"Hildea Commander-nim. Maintaining the combat strength of the supreme commander and the Sword Master who is our 3rd Army's core fighting power is a matter of grave importance.
This is not a personal issue of Countess Hildea Valkenhart."
"...."
Hildea turned her head away, feeling embarrassed.
After hesitating for a while, she opened her mouth in a small voice.
"The truth is... thanks to you... I have been more vigorously active than before... so even if I eat a lot of soup at lunch, it is true that I still get hungry...."
"There is an emergency special meal prepared for such times. From now on, if you are hungry, please seek me out regardless of time or place."
"Emergency special meal?"
Hildea's eyes, which had been looking elsewhere, went wide and immediately turned toward Piel.
An unavoidable Pavlovian phenomenon.
"Yes. And this emergency special meal will never be insufficient in quantity, so please feel free to give the order at any time."
Piel took out the special meal from his 'Subspace Bracelet' and laid it out on the mat.
Hildea's eyes shook violently with shock.
"Ma, Major Piel... what in the world are these...!"
"Exactly as I said, an emergency special meal. You can eat it almost without limit, so please speak up at any time."
"Th, this exists in unlimited quantities...?"
At the sight of the hamburger ingredients piled high, her large blue eyes convulsed mercilessly.
Piled high were 300g beef patties, boasting an appetizing brown color from being cooked to a crisp, even perfection.
Golden-baked bacon and mounds of thinly sliced smoky pulled pork (pork neck and shoulder smoked for a long time over low heat).
Wide, flat slices of beef brisket, a familiar sight to her eyes.
And the crispy, golden-baked lumps of bread made her throat instinctively move.
"Th-this is the emergency special meal that's available in unlimited quantities? Just what kind of place is the Marshall family...!"
"It's a dish created with the intention of making a special meal that captures both taste and calories, since the compressed glucose biscuits are excessively tasteless."
"Beef combat rations are scarce, yet why is this, which looks even more incredible, so abundant?"
"This is a special meal my family made long ago, but it was forgotten and piled up in subspace because it wasn't being consumed."
"I can't understand it. Why would a food like this...?"
"Because it's a burdensome food for someone with a small appetite."
"This food is burdensome! How can such a person possibly exist?"
"Yes. That person is me."
"...."
Hildea realized.
Piel is frail and has a small appetite.
Just as young children cannot eat like adults, those foods must be overwhelming and burdensome for Piel.
'Ah, I see!'
The Marshall family must have carefully prepared this emergency special meal, bit by bit, so that Piel would never lack calories under any circumstances.
But Piel, finding it too burdensome to consume, had simply piled it all up without eating it.
"Then, the unlimited calorie and serotonin supply operation will now commence."
Piel took out bottled water and disposable hand soap, washed his hands, and put on vinyl gloves.
In Hildea's eyes, the sight seemed as sacred and reverent as a cardinal preparing for a general worship service.
First, he picked up a flat piece of bread (a burger bun).
A brioche bun, baked and fried in greasy butter, containing saturated fat, sugar, and even eggs, making the bread itself practically a dessert.
Atop it went a thick 300g beef patty.
He placed a few vegetables on it, then generously drizzled mayonnaise, ranch dressing, and barbecue sauce dressing.
The secondary assault of sauces following the beef patty was ready.
On top of that, bacon, thinly sliced pulled pork, and brisket slices were layered one after another, forming a massive meat fortress.
Finally, the roundly baked top bun was placed, completing the US military burger boasting a vicious amount of calories.
A heinous weapon, said to provide an ordinary person with a full day's calories in just one meal.
"...Major Piel, this officer feels a vague sense of unease."
"Why are you uneasy? Here, please eat quickly."
Trembling, Hildea gripped the burger with both hands.
The moment she grabbed it, warm meat juices were already overflowing into her hands.
"The unease that... the moment I eat this, I will never be able to return to how things were before."
"That may be so."
"What if this is just a fleeting dream? If you ever leave our military someday, will I not be desperately longing for this very taste until the day I die?"
"Don't worry and eat to your heart's content."
Piel smiled gently, already making the next burger.
"If you wish, I will ensure you can eat this 'Marshall Burger' for the rest of your life."
"Marshall Burger... Indeed, it is a magnificent food worthy of bearing your family name. I can tell even without eating it."
The moment she swallowed the impregnable fortress built from layers of vicious meats into her mouth.
Hildea realized.
The one defeated in this siege was herself, who had bitten into the meat fortress.
Snack bars?
Corn combat soup?
Grilled chicken skewers?
Beef brisket combat rations?
A vicious destructive power that blew away all the memories of tastes she had experienced, like a mortar barrage, exploded wildly in her mouth.
She couldn't come to her senses, and the moment her eyes regained focus, she was already putting the next Marshall Burger Piel had made into her mouth.
"Next!"
"Next!"
"Next!"
"Major Piel, one more! No, no, ten more!"
"Th-this officer had thought beef brisket combat rations were the Sword Master of the food world until now! But it was merely a squire, not even reaching the level of Sword Expert!
This Marshall Burger can truly be called the genuine Sword Master of the food world!"
Hildea devoured the Marshall Burgers without rest.
"Major Piel, how can food keep going in endlessly like this!"
"Please eat more. Commander Hildea-nim, there are still this many burgers left for you to 'defeat' today."
"I will defeat them all!"
Her stomach filled pleasantly, and a happiness she had never felt before flowed through her.
At some point, Hildea forgot about Rebecca's existence. The image of Piel's eyes sparkling at her mid-air explosion was also erased.
Only the violent meaty aroma of the Marshall Burger filled her body and soul, flowing through her.
At last, the long and ecstatic meal ended.
"Please have just one more."
"I'm... truly at my limit now... I can't eat any more today..."
"Understood. Then I will conclude 'today's' unlimited supply operation here."
With her stomach full, Hildea lay down on the mat.
The scenery finally caught her eye anew.
Right below the hill, soldiers were diligently building the official residence.
Far beyond the horizon, the Forest of Life and Death, where the elves were said to live, was visible.
Suddenly, an absurdly ridiculous thought even crossed her mind—that everything where she was right now was peaceful.
"Is this the thing you called serotonin?"
"That's right. It's a magical spice contained in this Marshall Burger that makes the eater's mood happy."
"A magical spice..."
Drowsiness suddenly washed over her.
Hildea felt an urge to just sleep soundly for the first time in a long while.
"If you're sleepy, please sleep. I will stand guard."
"Mmm... I'll ask that of you. I'm so very sleepy..."
***
I stared blankly at the sleeping Hildea.
As I had sensed, she had indeed lost weight.
If she was hungry, she should have just asked for food.
'I was too stingy.'
Until now, I had deliberately made Hildea eat corn soup for lunch at the mess hall.
It was to increase her dependence on my supply foodstuffs by periodically providing a measured deficiency.
'But the tail must not wag the dog.'
Maintaining the Sword Master's combat power in full condition is the top priority, and this is non-negotiable.
Until now, the lunchtime corn soup served the role of ensuring she wouldn't forget the deficiency.
But now, the combat rations she eats for breakfast and dinner will take on that role.
'I didn't know a Sword Master could eat this well. The image she showed in front of me until now was one of tremendous restraint.'
"Ugh, itchy... itchy..."
Her sleep-talking appearance is cute.
But I don't know why she's scratching her chest so mercilessly like that.
If it were her back, I would scratch it for her.
'I think choosing the burger was a good decision.'
At first, I had thought of grilled samgyeopsal.
All the ingredients were available in the items for Korean soldiers.
I was going to grill greasy, thick pork belly on a wire rack until golden, place it on fresh lettuce, and feed her single wraps of samgyeopsal made with white rice grains, grilled garlic, raw garlic slices, ssamjang, kimchi and bean sprouts grilled in pork fat, and chives until she got sick of it...
'But that would be too cruel.'
I was afraid she'd become a fool who couldn't think of anything else all day except grilled samgyeopsal wraps.
I decided to keep the asymmetric strategic weapon in reserve.