Combat Rations Are Naturally Delicious (3)
Combat Rations Are Naturally Delicious (3)
20,171 people.
That's the number of pure soldiers in the Hildea Army.
【Rank: Second Lieutenant】
【Position: Commander-in-Chief's Duty Officer / Supply Officer】
【Direct Unit: None】
【Subordinates: 12 people】
Now I can request food supplies for 20,171 people to consume.
Of course, I have to use the budget, and I can't request quantities exceeding the unit's scale.
'It certainly gives me the motivation to build a larger military.'
But maybe because it's the Pentagon Logistics System, the mindset towards supply itself is different.
「What the supply cheat considers food for 20,000 people
= Food that 60,000 Hildea troops can eat comfortably」
It's like that.
Anyway, while there is an upper limit on request quantity based on unit size, there are no restrictions on items.
I can now request every edible thing, excluding general-grade high premium food.
But since I'm concurrently holding the Duty Officer position, I can also request general-grade high premium food.
Meaning, I can request everything 'edible' from the supply cheat.
As long as I have the budget!
▶ Raw Food Ingredients
: Grains, vegetables, fruits, meats, seafood, others (dairy, oil, etc.)...
▶ Processed/Preserved Foods
: Canned food, retort pouches, pickled foods, powdered food, seasonings...
▶ Desserts & Snacks
: Confectionery, bread, jam, single-serving desserts...
▶ Combat Rations
: Basic MRE sets, high-calorie RTE sets, special MRE (vegetarian, halal, low-salt) sets...
▶ Beverages
: Basic coffee set, premium coffee set, teas, mineral water...
▶ Alcohol
: Beers, wines, whiskey & brandy, other alcohols, non-alcoholic beverages...
▶ Supply Support Equipment
: Cooking utensils, serving equipment, storage equipment (ice boxes, freezing containers, etc.)...
'Why the hell are freezing containers so expensive?'
Including me, we're 13 people, so 52,000 budget comes in every month, but the price of a freezing container was 40,000 budget.
It's an item I shouldn't even look at until I become the unit commander.
'With my current budget scale, it's impossible to feed all 20,000 people.'
It would be possible if I staged a coup, ousted Hildea, and became the Commander-in-Chief myself.
Then a budget for 20,000 people would roll in regularly each month.
But before that, my neck would be sliced clean off by an Aura Blade.
***
Supply Officer is originally a position that should be held by a Captain.
But I'm a greenhorn Second Lieutenant.
Nevertheless, all 10 of my new subordinate soldiers acknowledged my authority.
It is the majesty of the coffee bean powder and cream powder I poured into the commissary warehouse.
"This is what's called barracks coffee. Everyone, just take a little sip and try it."
"Yes, Supply Officer-nim."
Since continuing to call it Basic Coffee was a bit off, I roughly named it 'Barracks Coffee.'
The 10 warehouse management soldiers, now directly under me, carefully stared into their cups before taking a sip.
I put in coffee beans, cream, and sugar at a ratio of 2:4:4.
To minimize the bitter taste and boost the sweet flavor so they could adapt quickly.
As expected, the soldiers' pupils dilated.
"Supply Officer-nim! Wh-What exactly is this?"
"It's a mysterious, sweet, magical drink! I've never tasted anything like this before!"
"More, give me more! Supply Officer-nim!"
Veteran soldiers look down on a newly commissioned Second Lieutenant?
Wouldn't that be because that Second Lieutenant's pockets were empty?
"This time, soak the brick in the barracks coffee and then try eating it."
"Understood!"
Without a word of complaint, they all put their brick biscuits into the coffee and stirred, and soon they were greatly surprised.
"Supply Officer-nim! The brick gets soft right away! It can't even compare to melting it in soup!"
"Good, try eating it."
"H-Huh? It's soft! The moisture is on a whole different dimension compared to melting it in soup!"
"The sweet taste of the barracks coffee soaks richly into the brick biscuit, making it taste like a high-quality pastry! H-How can this be!"
"Just by soaking it in coffee, the brick becomes this kind of high-quality snack?"
When baking in large quantities, it's unavoidable that the biscuits become as hard as bricks.
This is a limitation of the cooking method.
In return, it's advantageous for long-term preservation.
The problem is that you have to gamble with your teeth to eat them.
A brick whose sole purpose was to provide calories.
But now the soldiers were eating it deliciously, as if enjoying a high-quality confection.
In an instant, the bricks Sara into the stomachs of the robust soldiers.
They're all battlefield veterans older than me.
But right now, their eyes are full of respect for their superior.
As expected, power comes from the muzzle of a gun.
"From now on, in all mess halls, with the two meals a day, morning and lunch, one cup of barracks coffee will be distributed per person."
"Wooooah!"
"Is that true?!"
"Long live the Supply Officer-nim!"
The burly soldiers raised their fists and cheered.
I recalled the image of the frail soldiers I saw when I first enlisted.
Just the sugar and carbohydrates contained in the coffee will be a little help to the malnourished field soldiers.
'If I had my way, I'd provide it for all three meals, but they need to sleep at night.'
The proportion of coffee beans is low, and carbohydrates and sugar are higher.
But if the medieval soldiers, who are trying coffee for the first time, have trouble sleeping, that's a big deal.
So I decided not to provide it in the evening.
***
Upon receiving the report that the barracks coffee distribution had begun, Hildea went to the mess hall to eat.
The soldiers, long accustomed to eating in the same space as the Commander-in-Chief for years, didn't mind at all.
The soldiers, encountering new culture, cheered fiercely as if witnessing a miracle.
"Whoa, look at this! When you dip the brick in barracks coffee, it becomes a high-grade biscuit!"
"Damn, have we been eating unfinished high-quality confections all this time?"
"Indeed, mixing coffee with the brick turned it into a high-grade snack. Once I'm discharged, I should try selling this."
The reaction to barracks coffee is extremely hot.
Hildea also tried melting a brick into the barracks coffee and eating it.
The sweet flavor of the coffee naturally seeped in, making it taste like a snack, not a brick.
The soldiers all smiled broadly, fully satisfied.
But Hildea's face was forlorn.
'Th-This isn't it! This isn't coffee!'
If she hadn't had 'that experience,' Hildea could have also been very happy and enjoyed this 'high-grade snack.'
'Giradel Dark Chocolate.... Geisha Coffee....'
That intense yet smooth sweetness that felt like her tongue would melt away.
The mysterious flavor of coffee that started at the tip of her nose and spread throughout her entire body.
Without a doubt, it was a luxurious taste incomparable to the Milk Salt Snack Bar and Barracks Coffee.
If the snack bar is a beginner knight, then Giradel Dark Chocolate is a Sword Imperial.
If Barracks Coffee is a beginner knight, then Geisha Coffee would be a Sword Master.
'Does Lieutenant Piel really have no more Giradel Dark Chocolate and Geisha Coffee?'
Could he have some secretly stashed away?
That is a soldier's instinct, after all.
Hildea was disturbed by the whispers exchanged between the devil and angel fighting in her heart.
The adjutant, Lord Deville, sitting across from her, spoke quietly.
"Commander-nim, the soldiers' satisfaction is very high. The sugar in the barracks coffee makes it sweet while providing a high feeling of fullness."
"Right, it's a relief that we can reduce the soldiers' hunger in the future. Lieutenant Piel has truly done a great thing."
"Having given so generously to this extent, there will be no complaints about a greenhorn Lieutenant taking the Supply Officer position."
Adjutant Dvil was also eating the brick biscuit melted in barracks coffee without paying attention to anything else.
"It becomes soft much faster than soaking it in soup, and the aroma and sweetness of the coffee seep in, giving a feeling like a high-quality snack."
"Have you ever eaten a high-quality snack?"
"...Actually, I haven't."
"I, the commander, have had them a few times before at royal court social parties."
"How does this compare to those?"
"Looking just at the barracks coffee and milk salt snack bar, they are not at all lacking to serve at a royal ball."
"As expected...!"
Hildea, with a forlorn expression, put the brick biscuit into the barracks coffee and stirred it round and round.
"However... there is only one, no, only two things in this world worthy of the name high-quality confection...."
"I misheard you?"
***
"Ch-Chung! Supply Officer-nim!"
"Supply Officer-nim is passing through!"
"Chung!"
I, Piel Anbelreum, who was mistaken for a trash officer on my first day of enlistment, have corrected all misunderstandings.
Now, whenever soldiers run into me, they make an effort to avoid even my shadow.
The senior officers from this place also treat me very warmly.
The high-ranking unit commanders are no exception.
Rather, the higher their rank, the more they wag their tails in front of me.
"Lieutenant Piel, is there any way you can get me a snack bar? I'll compensate you handsomely."
"I'm sorry. The snack bars I currently have must be used as field rations for the reconnaissance unit."
"I know, of course I know. I'm not asking for those, just that later on, could you send a generous supply to your maternal family...."
Sir Basel.
The high-ranking knight who helped me with my reconnaissance experience glanced around and stealthily slipped a small pouch into my hand.
"Sorry that it's the most useless thing in the barracks. This is all I can give you."
"Sir Basel! You shouldn't do this."
I said that while smoothly tucking the pouch into my bosom.
While outwardly wearing a deliberately stern expression.
"Please take it back. Even if you don't do this, won't I think of Sir Basel when the snack bars become abundant?"
"Keh-heum, hrm. I apologize. As a commander, I acted in a manner unbecoming."
After parting with Basel.
In a quiet place, I furtively opened the pouch.
"Gold coins again this time."
The native noble knights seem to have more financial leeway than I thought.
Or else they liked the snack bars that much.
Compared to melting bricks in thin soup when bivouacking in the field, wolfing down a milk salt snack bar is definitely much tastier and more convenient.
***
Again today, Hildea finished her humble meal and returned to her official residence.
A thin soup that does technically include meat and vegetables.
A brick-like biscuit, and the barracks coffee that turns it into a high-quality snack.
Thinking back to the old days, it was an astonishing composition.
Just by adding a cup of coffee, the quality of the meal had skyrocketed.
All the soldiers and knights were greatly satisfied as well.
'But, but, I...!'
Hildea glanced sidelong at the tightly closed Duty Officer's quarters.
She felt as if a sealed great demon was inside, tempting her.
'Giradel Dark Chocolate, Geisha Coffee... Could there be surplus supplies stashed away inside there?'
Every soldier must stash away a share for themselves. This is a truth of the battlefield.
Hildea stood in front of Piel's small room, agonizing for a long time.
Several times, she nearly grabbed and turned the doorknob.
"Hoooh.... I have become the Commander-in-Chief; I cannot violate military law."
The moment she barely shook off her anguish and turned her body around.
Piel was saluting right in front of her, and Hildea was so startled she made a *ching!* sound, drawing her sword.
"C-Commander-nim?"
"Elf assassin! Hiding your presence to approach me! What have you done with my Piel?!"
"...I gave a salute, but you didn't react at all."
"...."
"...."
"Piel? Really?"
"That's right."
"...."
The Sword Master's face flushed bright red.
She realized.
That she had been so consumed by the Giradel Dark Chocolate and Geisha Coffee, she hadn't even heard Piel open the door and walk in.
***
I stood in a saluting posture for a long time.
Hildea is staring at the wall, lost in deep worry.
She must have been so deeply lost that she didn't even recognize me coming in.
How out of it must she have been to mistake me for an elf reconnaissance troop infiltration and even draw her sword?
I freaked out, thinking my neck was about to be cut off.
'The combat supply situation must be really bad these days. That's why her face has been poor this whole time.'
Lately, Hildea always showed a gaunt expression.
She must be caught in deep troubles as the Commander, which I'm unaware of.
'Comforting the Commander's heart is also the duty of the Duty Officer.'
Alright, let's be generously good-hearted for once.
"Commander-nim, have you eaten, by any chance?"
"Just now at the mess hall..., No! No! I haven't eaten anything yet! I've been starving since lunch!"
Good.
"I have a convenience meal my maternal family sent me, and it's tastier than expected. Would you like to try some?"
Chicken Tikka Masala main? Meatball Macaroni?
No, the Beef Brisket main would be the best.
They say this is the best among the MREs.
It's the fundamental foundation of combat rations, covering calories, convenience, and taste all at once.
'And combat rations taste even better when you eat them in the military.'
"However, what worries me is that you might lose your appetite a bit."
"There is absolutely no way that will happen! I am confident!"
Sword Master Commander-nim.
That's not what "losing your appetite" means.