Good! It's Going According to Plan!
Good! It's Going According to Plan!
I clenched my teeth and slammed the accelerator pedal to the floor.
If I stopped, I was dead. That was the only thought in my head.
I forced my ragged breathing to calm down and, while driving, pulled out the radio.
"This is Kingfisher! Enemy contact! I say again! This is Kingfisher! Enemy contact! Approximately 42 kilometers toward Mabrachika Village! Requesting immediate support!"
After saying what I needed to say, I hurriedly switched frequencies and this time spoke to my platoon members.
"This is the platoon leader! Respond! Damn it, just say anything!"
The moment I took my finger off the transmit button, a trembling voice came from the other side.
─ S, Sir Lieutenant? I have no idea what on earth happened. F, first off, we turned off onto a side road too. But because of the gunfire, we're on the opposite side path to avoid the enemy from you, Lieutenant!
Judging by the voice, it was Frien.
It would have been better if a slightly calmer guy had been on radio watch, but now wasn't the time to be picky.
"Good. Drive as far as you can, and once you feel the distance from the enemy is sufficient, dismount and disperse! After that, wait for reinforcements from the forward base and assess the enemy's size. If you determine the enemy can be suppressed......!"
Peoong─!
The shock caused the vehicle body to shake violently, and I lost my grip on the radio in my hand.
Amid Selvia's groaning, my vision swam dizzily.
In that utterly insane situation, I grabbed the steering wheel roughly.
'The tire's gone. I don't know if it was aimed or a blind bullet.......'
The important thing was that the gunfire was now sounding quite far away.
We had put considerable distance between us, so it could be said we had bought some time.
But it was too early to feel relieved. We had to get out of their sight as well.
Just then, a curve appeared ahead.
To shake them off as much as possible, I took my foot off the accelerator and pressed the brake.
Kkiiiiik─
As the vehicle screamed from the friction between the tires and the ground, I boldly turned the steering wheel.
The jeep spun half a turn and tilted.
Just before it flipped onto its side, I slammed the accelerator pedal hard.
The wheels spun rapidly and surged forward.
Then, the jeep that had been about to tip over regained its center of gravity and set its four wheels back on the ground.
Along with a Kung sound, Selvia's clear, shrill scream rang out.
It was a pitiful scream that made me want to beg for forgiveness, but this was not a situation to worry about such things.
I shifted gears and then pressed the accelerator again.
Could a jeep really move at such high speed? The thought had barely crossed my mind when my vision spun.
'Damn it......!'
The wheel hit by the bullet hadn't just been losing air—it had completely lost its function.
In my panic, I hurriedly pressed the brake, but the situation only worsened.
The sound of the wheels scraping against the ground echoed for a long moment, and then the vehicle spun sharply.
Then Kwang! At the same time as the sound, a massive shock slammed into the vehicle body.
"Ugh!"
I steadied my body, which had taken the brunt of the shock, and slowly raised my head to see the bonnet embedded in a tree trunk.
Seeing the smoke slowly seeping out, it looked like it had crashed quite thoroughly.
"U, ugh......."
A faint groan came from near my thigh.
Only then did I look down at Selvia and speak with concern.
"Are you alright?"
There was no way she was alright, but I asked out of courtesy.
Selvia seemed to know this too, as she glared at me once before sitting up.
"I'm not alright but...... I can move without any trouble. More importantly, how did they know which route we were taking?"
It was unexpected. I thought she would cry in fear or freeze in terror.
Well, she was the woman who would one day ascend to the emperor's throne and command the Imperial Army, the most powerful military in the world.
If she fell into a panic in a situation like this, she wouldn't have earned the title of Ironblood.
"It seems there was a spy in the forward base communicating with the enemy. It's a common occurrence during wartime."
I spoke while pulling the handle on the driver's seat door. It wouldn't open, likely because the vehicle body was twisted.
After straining several times, I turned my body and simply kicked it out.
After slamming it a few times with my combat boot, the door panel broke off with a Peok and fell away.
Having gotten out first through the open door, I reached a hand toward Selvia.
"Get out for now. The pursuit squad will catch up soon, so we need to put some distance between us."
"Okay. That would be a good idea."
Selvia answered meekly and grabbed my hand to get out of the jeep.
After getting out of the car, Selvia took a deep breath, her shoulders trembling faintly.
She was acting composed, but I guess she was still a girl after all.
I let out a low laugh and led Selvia into the forest.
Selvia, who was following me, seemed to notice my laugh and her face reddened slightly.
"You drive quite terribly, Lieutenant Daniel."
Look at her changing the subject because she's embarrassed. Seeing this, she was no different from any other teenage girl.
"Thank you for the compliment."
"Does what I said sound like a compliment to you?"
"If I hadn't driven so terribly, the reporter and I would have been turned into a honeycomb by enemy fire by now. So what else could it be but a compliment?"
"You wouldn't have been turned into a honeycomb. For me......."
Selvia mumbled something, then closed her mouth.
That's right. To dare try to beat an adult who'd been through all sorts of hardships in a battle of words, you're ten years too early.
"Lieutenant Daniel. From now on, we......."
I raised my hand and covered Selvia's mouth.
Because I could hear enemy voices not far away.
"Mmph?!"
When Selvia tried to struggle, I put my index finger to my lips and gestured for her to be quiet.
Recognizing that the situation was serious, Selvia nodded her head.
I took Selvia and hid behind some nearby bushes, then listened carefully to the voices.
"......He'll be around here somewhere. His car's wrecked, so he couldn't have gone far."
"Haah. Fuck! That's why I told you to hide the spike strips properly!"
"Shut your mouth, Beldome! Grumbling doesn't solve anything!"
I subtly poked my head out to check the numbers; there were six of them.
It looked like they were moving as a squad. At least, no other personnel were in sight.
The problem was that they were gradually heading in this direction.
It was obvious that we'd be discovered if this kept up...... wait a moment.
'Come to think of it, those guys are Allied Nations, right?'
If so, there was a chance they would accept if I surrendered and applied for asylum.
I was an officer of the Empire who had worked at General Headquarters. Unless they were idiots blinded by vengeance, they would judge that I had strategic value.
'If they've been communicating via a spy, they must have also prepared a way to escape to the Allied Nations.'
I never expected to get a chance to defect this way. Either way, it was nothing short of divine luck for me.
"......Reporter."
Of course, I couldn't request asylum right in front of the princess.
If I did that, my life would be in danger before I could even become affiliated with the Allied Nations.
"We will be discovered by them before long. So one of the two of us must make a sacrifice. One person must draw their attention and lure them away so the other can survive. So, I will act as the decoy and lure them away."
Having heard me out to the end, Selvia's eyes went wide.
Her face was filled with clear bewilderment.
Selvia held her breath and whispered fiercely.
"Stop it right now! If you do that, you'll die!"
"If the reporter can live through my death, then that is enough for me. A soldier, after all, is someone who exists to protect the citizens of their nation."
"Lieutenant Daniel......!"
I gently grabbed Selvia's shoulders and spoke as wistfully as I could manage.
"Reporter, please survive. If an era of peace ever dawns upon the Empire, please remember that there once was a person like me."
Selvia's face flushed. She seemed genuinely moved.
This farewell act was convincing enough, so I released Selvia's shoulders and stood up.
"W, wait a moment. There's no need to run......!"
Selvia tried to stop me until the very end, but the die had already been cast.
Pushing off the ground, I ran with all my might in the direction opposite to where Selvia was hiding.
"H, huh!?"
"Catch that bastard!"
Behind me, I heard the sounds of the Allied soldiers chasing after me.
Perfect. Everything was flowing exactly according to my plan.
At this rate, escaping the Empire was only a matter of time!
*
Left alone, Selvia stared blankly in the direction Daniel had run.
As she did so, she was replaying in her mind the words Daniel had said to her.
─ If the reporter can live through my death, then that is enough for me. A soldier, after all, is someone who exists to protect the citizens of their nation.
The image of Daniel, with his melancholic gaze, volunteering himself for death, was vividly drawn in her mind.
It was a truly surreal sight for Selvia.
What officer in the world would give his life for a mere war correspondent?
'......Captain Heinz was wrong.'
That Daniel had no respect for others? That was nonsense.
Daniel was a man who could give his life for the citizens of the Empire!
He was on a different level from the bureaucrats of the Imperial Household who only paid lip service about sacrificing for the nation and its people.
Had he not shown his spirit of sacrifice through his actions, not just words?
Therefore, he had to be saved. He must be taken. The treasure of the Empire could not be lost in such a trivial place.
"Imperial Guard."
As Selvia murmured lowly, the surrounding space distorted, and soldiers wearing gas masks appeared one by one.
They had been hiding around Selvia all this time and had just deactivated their optical camouflage at the word 'Imperial Guard.'
Selvia opened her mouth without even giving them a glance.
"Save Lieutenant Daniel Steiner. If he sustains even the smallest scratch......."
Rolling her eyes slightly, Selvia narrowed them sharply.
"I will not forgive you."
Having heard the order, the Imperial Guardsmen answered by bowing their heads deeply and then pushed off the ground.
Selvia, who had been watching the Imperial Guardsmen moving at high speed, slowly stood up.
As she did so, she placed a hand over her chest and let out a low sigh.
Perhaps an aftereffect of the rough driving, her heart was still pounding harder than usual.