Chapter 13
Chapter 13
Translator: True Detective
Chapter 13: Blowing Wind (1)
Time flowed slowly, but clearly.
One month before the outbreak of war.
As that point approached, a different light from before permeated Iden's face.
The leisure he enjoyed slightly disappeared, and tension remained in his expression.
He didn't leave the site.
As if checking a dead fire again, he checked the sectors he had already checked once more.
The camouflage status of traps, flow of drainage, presence of cracks in castle walls, etc. He didn't miss even seemingly trivial things.
Not knowing the exact timing of the war outbreak was playing a big part.
Iden circled the outer castle once every day.
Morning and evening, sometimes until dawn when he couldn't sleep.
Even in places where engineers said 'it's okay now', he stepped on it once more and touched it.
War was something that dug into gaps.
What he feared was not the enemy, but his own carelessness.
Carelessness would soon lead to collapse, and collapse inevitably breeds great sacrifice.
Because he knew the future, heavy responsibility and a sense of duty were placed in his hands.
Iden intended never to hold it carelessly.
And when he judged all checks were finished, Iden found Erwin.
"Repair and construction work, all completed."
Erwin nodded silently, put down the quill on the document she was reviewing, and headed to the site.
Iden and Melissa followed behind.
The three walked along the outer castle together.
Erwin didn't check by simply glancing.
Just as the Senior Adjutant did his best, she considered she must also do her best.
Stopping in front of the castle wall, she touched the texture of the stone with her hand, and examined the connection between the reinforced part and the existing structure carefully. It was a gaze checking if it was a structure considering long-term use, not temporary reinforcement.
Moving to the moat side, Erwin checked the water level.
She examined the section deliberately lowered and the naturally connected boundary line, and tilted her head as if calculating whether the floodgate was designed to withstand sudden heavy rain.
She also checked the angle of the stakes hidden underwater directly.
It was an arrangement that pierced but left room to escape.
"Good."
Erwin spoke.
"Creating confusion, but reducing unnecessary sacrifice."
In the trap zone, she stepped on the ground with her foot.
Whether it collapses immediately when load is focused although it looks solid on the surface, whether there are elements to notice the trap amidst a charge, etc.
She even gauged the collapse point by deliberately putting her weight on it.
It was a timing neither too fast nor too slow.
It was optimal for breaking the vanguard of a charging formation.
Finally, climbing to the top of the castle wall and looking down at the surroundings, Erwin was speechless for a while.
The defense line entering her view wasn't a simple structure.
It was the result of erasing the attacker's options one by one.
No explanation was needed.
The result was in front of her eyes.
A moment later, Erwin stopped walking.
"...Close to perfection."
It was a low voice.
But it was a clear evaluation.
Erwin turned her body and faced Iden.
And showed a smile she had never shown until now.
Although it was a smile so faint that it would be hard to notice unless one was a close aide.
"You worked hard."
At that one word, Iden lost his words for a moment.
Direct praise from the Engineering Captain, who had been taciturn until now, was an unexpected reaction.
Since the superior named Erwin he had experienced so far was a person stingy with praise and always dry.
Although Iden couldn't yet know that the silence and dryness originated from sorryness and shame for not being able to help as the Engineering Captain.
Anyway.
It was a happy thing.
"...Thank you."
He answered a little late.
Beside him, Melissa smiled brightly as if it were her own affair.
"Senior Adjutant-nim, you really worked hard."
She continued lightly patting Iden's shoulder with both hands.
It was a face full of respect for her senior.
"With this much, you can shrug your shoulders~!"
Iden nodded sheepishly.
It was then.
Erwin turned her gaze away for a moment, then faced Iden again.
A subtle gap occurred in the series of actions, and the end of Erwin's sentence following was faintly blurred.
"...Th, that, do you have... time today?"
Iden's eyebrows rose greatly.
"I want to, buy you a drink."
Instantly, Melissa's eyes also widened.
Even Melissa, who had been with her for a long time, had never seen Erwin drinking alcohol, and it was even the first time seeing her bring up personal words.
Especially the end of the sentence that lost the dignity of a soldier like now.
Because if it were her, it was right to end the sentence with a definite period like 'I will buy you a drink.' or 'I want to buy you a drink.'
Iden also couldn't hide his fluster, and a brief silence flowed.
And in that silence, a sign of small change, different from the tension ahead of war, was being felt.
In the bedroom behind the office, Erwin stood blankly for a while.
When she closed the door, the noise heard from the outer castle cut off in an instant.
What remained was only the weak crackling of the fireplace and her own breathing sound.
The room was organized as always, but today the air felt unfamiliar.
The scene just now when she said she would buy a drink was replaying in her head.
She still couldn't believe herself who brought up those words.
Erwin placed her hand on the small table placed next to the bed.
"...."
During that time, she had suffered from the awareness that she wasn't fulfilling her role as Engineering Captain.
Budget was cut repeatedly, and demands were ignored repeatedly.
There was a limit to fighting with documents.
She knew too well what the result of that was.
The fact that the Senior Adjutant, Iden, emptied his reward money to proceed with defense line repair and trap construction was more painful than anything.
Because a subordinate was doing the work she, the Captain, should have done instead.
That fact pierced deep into her heart beyond Erwin's pride.
Awareness of being incompetent.
Shame of not fulfilling responsibility.
She clenched her teeth several times and looked into the documents again, but there was no answer she could grasp right now.
Eventually, only one thing remained.
'So that it won't be in vain.'
The vow to receive the budget next year by any means necessary so that the passion, time, and heart Iden poured in wouldn't end as simple prolongation or wasted effort.
Even if a sword is held to her throat, the resolution not to retreat.
Only that was everything the current her could do.
Then when she heard the report that defense line repair and trap construction were completed, Erwin felt she couldn't delay anymore.
As a Captain, as a person, she had to do something.
So she took out the emergency safe she had hidden in a corner of the bedroom.
The safe was small and crude.
As she turned the key, an old metallic sound rang low.
Inside was money she had saved in preparation for unforeseen situations during the days she lived a relatively comfortable life as a Lord's daughter.
It wasn't a large amount.
It was even less money enough to solve the Engineering Unit's structural problems.
Erwin took out some of it and handed it to Melissa.
Tell the Engineering Unit members who worked hard to eat and drink their fill just for today.
Melissa nodded with a surprised face, and Erwin avoided her gaze for no reason at that reaction.
It was because the fact that she hadn't been able to take care of the unit members being tied to unsolved numbers was felt from that reaction.
Only after that, she stood in front of the wardrobe.
Uniforms were hanging.
As always, angular soldier's clothes.
Imagining the scene of drinking alcohol wearing that, she didn't feel inclined.
The uniform was a symbol of tension and honor to her.
Something like armor to not become disheveled.
She didn't want to wear that today.
As she opened the wardrobe more, a red dress caught her eye.
Clothes not excessive and modest.
Clothes she used to wear when she was a Lord's daughter.
Clothes left as is without being taken out even once since becoming Engineering Captain.
Erwin hesitated for a moment.
Taking out those clothes felt like going back to the past.
It felt like facing herself again as a Lord's daughter, not a soldier.
Even so.
Today of all days, the thought that she wanted to take off this stifling uniform arose strongly.
She wanted to be liberated even for a day from the heavy responsibility she had been suppressing and swallowing and the guilt in her heart.
Erwin eventually reached out.
As she took off the uniform, the compression bandage wound underneath was revealed.
Bandage tightening the chest firmly.
Breathing wasn't comfortable, but she was used to it.
She considered it unnecessary as a soldier, and hid it thinking it was an element blurring gaze and judgment.
What she had wound every morning as if nothing.
The hand unwinding the bandage was a little slow today.
At the sensation of the chest being liberated as the cloth unraveled, Erwin inhaled shortly.
It feels like the refreshing and cool early evening air cools something inside the body.
Along with the feeling of the body becoming light, an indescribable unfamiliarity surged.
Herself in the mirror looked like another person for a moment.
Erwin stood still looking at that appearance.
It is the day the Engineering Unit's cracks were sealed and what had collapsed was finally set upright.
Although she was ashamed as a Captain, therefore it is a happy day as a Captain.
Erwin, deciding to enjoy the mood for once today, headed to the banquet hall.
The banquet hall used by military executives was clearly distinguished from the place where Engineering Unit members gathered.
The wide hall was quiet, and subtle light flowed from candlesticks placed along the walls.
A restrained space rather than flashy.
As befitting a place considering business consultation or reception, the atmosphere was such that even laughter naturally lowered.
Iden and Melissa were sitting side by side at an inner table.
"The Engineering Unit members are dining together in another place."
Melissa spoke as if reporting in a small voice.
"The Captain even gave an envelope saying let the members eat and drink to their heart's content just for today."
She stopped speaking for a moment, then looked at Iden.
"...Um, Senior Adjutant-nim."
Melissa spoke as if catching her breath.
"Thank you."
Iden looked at her as if puzzled.
"Since you came, Senior Adjutant-nim."
Melissa continued.
"I felt the stagnant Engineering Unit coming alive. Everyone's expressions changed, and they are overflowing with motivation. Especially at the site, before words like 'it won't work anyway' came out first, but now 'let's try somehow' comes out first."
She laughed a bit sheepishly.
"It's all thanks to you, Senior Adjutant-nim."
Iden was silent for a moment. A face that didn't know he would receive thanks out of the blue.
"I just did what had to be done."
He answered carefully.
But Melissa shook her head firmly.
"Everyone knows that's not easy. Isn't that why everyone considers sacrifice noble because it's difficult?"
"...."
At those words, Iden spared his words as if embarrassed.
Although outwardly called his 'sacrifice', he only thought of it as 'investment'.
To go to a higher place.
And to prevent sacrifice.
Therefore, Iden spared his words so as not to spoil Melissa's excitement and the atmosphere.
"Ah—anyway, a party with the Captain... I'm so looking forward to it."
While the two were talking in low voices like that, a subtle presence was felt from the banquet hall entrance.
Sound of the door opening. And short silence.
Following murmuring.
Iden raised his head unconsciously.
The air inside the banquet hall changed in an instant.
Erwin in a dress was entering.
The angular uniform he always saw was gone.
Red soft fabric flowed naturally along her body line, and golden short hair was neatly organized.
Accessories he had never seen also sparkled receiving light.
The sharp impression of a soldier was still there, but underneath, another atmosphere hidden until now overlapped.
"Isn't, isn't that the Engineering Captain?"
"Seems so..."
"Indeed, she was famous for beauty even among the three daughters of the Vermir family. Remember how sad the guys were when she said she was going to the Engineering Unit."
"Wow...... deserves it."
Voices cut off.
Gazes gathered in one place.
Iden looked at that appearance without being able to say anything for a moment, and Erwin standing at the entrance spoke with an awkward face.
"I, I'm not late, right?"