That Bastard Is Coming Here?
That Bastard Is Coming Here?
After a day's travel, Daniel arrived in the Imperial Capital. The moment he stepped off the train, he froze in bewilderment.
"I've been waiting, Major General Daniel Steiner."
It was because Lucy, her silver hair immaculate as ever, had come to meet him at the station.
'This time I gave her detailed leave schedules, so I expected Lucy might come to meet me...'
But the sight of Lucy in her military uniform even on a rest day was jarring enough to fill him with a sense of unease.
Daniel stiffened with an inexplicably ominous feeling, and Lucy drew closer.
After inspecting Daniel's appearance with a meticulous eye, she suddenly raised her hands.
Her gentle touch straightened the collar of his uniform and adjusted his necktie.
She dusted off the grime from the long train journey with a few pats, then stepped back as if satisfied.
"That should do. Now, I would like you to follow me."
"...May I ask the reason?"
"The Chief of the General Staff is waiting."
At the mention of the Chief of the General Staff, Daniel's brow furrowed.
'My ominous feelings have never been wrong.'
He wanted to whine and say he didn't want to meet him, but if his counterpart was the Chief of the General Staff, that was impossible.
Realizing he had no choice, Daniel let out a low sigh and began to walk.
Lucy, acting as his guide, fell into step beside him.
"The Chief of the General Staff is at a cafe near the station."
Her tone suggested she was telling him in advance, guessing he might be curious.
But what Daniel was curious about wasn't the Chief of the General Staff's location, but his intentions.
"Do you have any knowledge as to why he wants to see me?"
Lucy nodded.
"He said he would tell you himself."
"Is that so."
His anxiety grew.
The fact that the Chief of the General Staff, famously reluctant to leave the General Headquarters unless absolutely necessary, had personally made an excursion clearly indicated a special purpose.
Depending on what that purpose was, his life could change, so it was only natural to be worried.
'If only Selvia had come for me, I wouldn't be this nervous...'
Selvia owed him many debts.
So even if Selvia asked an unreasonable favor, Daniel could refuse at least once by saying, 'Please don't do this.'
But Arman, the Chief of the General Staff, owed him nothing.
He was dealing with Daniel purely as a soldier.
For a military superior to issue an order to Daniel was entirely legitimate, so refusing would be tantamount to insubordination.
The weight of having no right of refusal was considerable.
So, he felt deeply unsettled, but since he couldn't run away, Daniel followed Lucy into the cafe near the station.
Just as Lucy had said, the Chief of the General Staff, Arman, was seated by the window with his escort detail stationed behind him.
His large frame made the table look small.
"...Hm?"
Arman, who had been occupying the cafe with his characteristic overwhelming presence, sensed someone's arrival and turned his head.
When Daniel offered a salute, Arman nodded lightly.
"You're here. Come over this way."
Lowering his hand, Daniel approached Arman and sat down opposite him.
Arman regarded Daniel at his leisure and smiled.
"It seems we've been seeing each other quite often lately. I feel sorry about that. Honestly, seeing your superior's face the moment your leave ends isn't a pleasant thing."
Thinking it wouldn't be good to get on the Chief of the General Staff's bad side, Daniel instantly put on a business-like smile.
"Not at all. On the contrary, I'm even pleased to think I can discuss the future of the Empire with you, Chief of the General Staff."
"Is that so? Well, you are among the most devoted soldiers I know to the Empire, after all. Surely you wouldn't refuse anything for the sake of the Empire."
"That's correct. No matter how difficult the task, if it is for the Empire..."
Daniel trailed off and shut his mouth.
Because he somehow felt as if Arman was probing him.
'No way...'
As he broke into a cold sweat without realizing it, Arman looked at him approvingly and spoke.
"In that case, I'll speak frankly. Major General Daniel Steiner. Troops have been prepared, so lead them to the Filoena Highlands in three days."
Daniel's eyes wavered.
"In three days... you said?"
The original assignment order had been set for a month later.
That was because they had judged the enemy's winter offensive would be delayed.
So the sudden acceleration of the schedule was incomprehensible to Daniel.
It wasn't that Arman didn't understand Daniel's feelings, but he also had no other choice.
"Yes. We received a report that the Republic's offensive might begin sooner than expected. So we are also hurrying our personnel deployments. You can consider the Filoena Highlands to be the same."
"...But I'm concerned that three days is too abrupt."
"Even if it's abrupt, it can't be helped. Currently, the highlands are being held by a single regiment. They are gripped by the fear that the Republic might attack at any moment."
Arman shrugged.
"The atmosphere is such that even if we tell them there won't be an enemy attack for a while, they won't believe it. So we need to hurry the troop reinforcement so they can be at ease and focus on defense, don't you think?"
It was a declaration that they were sending Daniel Steiner quickly to use him as a morale-boosting totem.
Seeing through Arman's ulterior motive, Daniel closed his eyes tightly for a moment and then opened them.
"Chief of the General Staff."
Suppressing his anger, Daniel stared at Arman.
"Have I done something wrong to you?"
At Daniel's words, Arman burst into a hearty laugh.
"Something wrong? That's an absurd misunderstanding. I think I told you before..."
Maintaining his smile, Arman looked Daniel straight in the eye.
"I am simply placing a competent subordinate in the right place at the right time."
"A competent subordinate? You misunderstand. I am just..."
"You succeeded in occupying Nordia without any damage, and at the Sceolan Front, despite being at a clear disadvantage, you miraculously secured the retreat of our forces. And what about Penbark? Even when outnumbered, did you not successfully annihilate the enemy?"
Daniel remained silent.
"Well? Would you like me to list more?"
Watching Arman, who held the hint of a laugh, Daniel bowed his head.
"...That's all right."
It was because he could no longer refute it.
*
The border region, inside the division commander's office in the Republic's headquarters building.
"Division Commander! Urgent report!"
The office door burst open and an adjutant rushed in.
Division commander Palome folded the newspaper he was reading and stared at the adjutant.
"An urgent report? What is it?"
"According to intelligence bureau sources, the Imperial Army has accelerated the timing of its troop reinforcement to the Filoena Highlands. The exact date is unknown, but judging by the troops gathering in the Imperial Capital, it seems the reinforcement will be completed within a week."
"...Reinforcing troops? Already?"
The Republic, currently in a lull, had no intention of attacking the highlands soon.
This was because their depleted supplies hadn't been properly replenished, so advancing on the Filoena Highlands now would be tantamount to suicide.
They planned to complete the supply replenishment in at least a month, and only then commit to a war of attrition and launch an attack.
They had thought the Empire would know this too and take its time reinforcing troops, so it was unexpected.
"Why are those bastards in such a hurry?"
"I don't know for certain. However, it seems something unusual is afoot."
"Why do you think that?"
"Because the person leading the troops to the Filoena Highlands is none other than Daniel Steiner."
At the name Daniel Steiner, Palome let out a low groan.
'Daniel Steiner is coming to the Filoena Highlands...'
As the adjutant said, there was a high probability that he was moving with some kind of scheme.
'Clearly, it must have been Daniel Steiner who accelerated the troop reinforcement schedule.'
He could picture it without even seeing it.
The image of Daniel Steiner persuading the Chief of the General Staff to send him to the Filoena Highlands right now because he had an operation to strike the Republic.
'I heard he was a war-crazed bastard, but...'
He hadn't known the man possessed the kind of madness that drove him to hurl himself into fierce battlefields.
'But what on earth is the reason? Could it be that he knows the Supreme Councilor comrade has deployed an Archmage to occupy the Filoena Highlands?'
The fact that an Archmage (self-proclaimed) was participating in the occupation of the Filoena Highlands was information known only to a very select few, including the division commander Palome.
'If Daniel Steiner knows that fact...'
With one wrong move, the army could be routed by Daniel Steiner and lose the Archmage, who was essentially an asymmetric weapon.
"Adjutant."
Palome, breaking out in a cold sweat, looked at the adjutant.
"Report to the higher-ups immediately. Tell them the Empire has devised an unknown plan against us. And a very lethal plan at that."
"How should I explain the reason?"
"You already know, don't you. The Devil of the Empire who slaughtered the Allied Forces..."
Swallowing dryly, Palome spoke without hiding his fear.
"Daniel Steiner is coming."