Is This Heaven?
Is This Heaven?
After ordering the regimental commander to guard the entrance of the abandoned mine, Daniel redeployed the personnel stationed on the Philoena Highlands and restructured their assignments.
Once the troop reinforcements were complete, he spent several days surveying the surrounding terrain and examining points vulnerable to enemy attack.
Having faithfully performed his role as division commander, Daniel now smiled quietly inside the division commander's office within the command post building.
Was it satisfaction from having further strengthened the defensive line? Obviously, that was not the reason.
'Colonel Reinhold. By now, he must be writhing in pain.'
While it was the soldiers who lost stamina guarding the abandoned mine entrance, for Reinhold, the regimental commander directing them, it was his mental fortitude that was being consumed.
This was because Daniel had issued Reinhold a separate order: 'Maintain optimal alertness while taking care against the cold.'
On the surface, it was a perfectly reasonable command, but when you dug into the underlying intent, Daniel's trap lay in wait.
'Let's just see about this. If anything at all goes wrong with the soldiers' health, I won't let it slide.'
Daniel's plan was as follows.
1. Under sustained guard duty, a soldier catches a cold.
2. Since the soldier caught a cold, care against the cold was not properly taken.
3. Since care against the cold was not properly taken, optimal alertness could not be maintained.
4. That means Regimental Commander Reinhold failed to properly execute the division commander's orders.
5. Regimental Commander, you lose to me.
It was, truly, a terrifying idea worthy of a demon.
The logic was essentially fault-finding, but Daniel had no intention of reconsidering the plan.
'If things had gone as originally planned, I'd be in the warm capital right now, drinking coffee made from high-grade beans.......'
Because Reinhold had repeatedly submitted reinforcement requests to General Headquarters, Daniel had been forced to come to the Philoena Highlands a full month early, where he was left to sip terrible chicory coffee.
'Just how much more time am I going to have to spend on these highlands...?'
If it were merely a matter of passing time, he would have welcomed it with open arms, but the world did not work so gently.
Before long, the Republic would launch an offensive, meaning the Philoena Highlands would soon become a fierce battlefield.
In the worst case, it meant he would have to fight repeated life-or-death battles here.
As he sat there, sighing at the situation forced upon him and idly crumpling an empty paper cup, he heard a knock.
'......Is it Colonel Reinhold.'
It was about time for him to show up.
The timing was a little early, but if he had come to beg forgiveness, Daniel could grant it with generous magnanimity.
Steadying his voice, Daniel clasped his hands behind his back and spoke.
"Enter."
The door opened and a woman with silver hair that suited her beautifully entered.
"Division Commander. I apologize for intruding while you are so busy with official duties."
Hearing the beautiful voice, Daniel realized it was Lucy who had entered the office.
"The adjutant, is it."
Relieving the tension in his shoulders, Daniel turned around.
"What is it? I was under the impression it's not time for the regular report."
"Ah. I came to report that the matter you were concerned about, Division Commander, has been resolved."
"......A matter I was concerned about?"
When Daniel countered, Lucy answered with an expressionless face.
"At seven o'clock this morning, personnel believed to be Republic soldiers were spotted at Mine Exit 7, and were immediately engaged and killed. We suffered no friendly casualties, and we captured one enemy alive who narrowly survived the gunfire."
After a brief, blank pause, Daniel frowned.
"......Republic soldiers emerged through Exit 7?"
"That is correct. Judging by their position and the amount of explosives, it appears their objective was to destroy the communications relay station."
A faint smile tugged at the corner of Lucy's lips.
"Thanks to your foresight, Division Commander, we were able to prevent a major disaster. As a result, the troops' morale is currently greatly heightened. Regimental Commander Colonel Reinhold of the 1st Regiment also expressed profound gratitude toward you and stated he would come to pay his respects shortly."
Lucy was piling on praise for the mission's success, but Daniel only felt bewildered.
'Why are Republic soldiers coming out of there?'
Of course, it was not an impossible scenario.
However, for that to be the case, the Republic would need to possess the lost blueprints of the abandoned mine and, on top of that, be perfectly equipped with soundproofing gear to avoid detection by the Imperial Army.
Was that all? Even with soundproofing equipment, they could not use an excavator, so they would have to dig a passage leading to the mine by hand.
That was an incredibly time-consuming task, only viable if the mine and the work site happened to be extremely close to each other.
This was precisely the reason why Colonel Reinhold, though he had included the abandoned mine on the patrol route, had not concentrated his vigilance there.
But this time, Daniel had ordered concentrated vigilance, and the Republic soldiers—who normally would have successfully infiltrated and destroyed the relay station—were all killed except for one.
At a loss for words over the absurd discovery, Daniel belatedly collected himself.
He was not sure how the situation had come to this, but an attempted enemy infiltration was not a matter to be passed over lightly.
"The Republic soldier taken alive?"
"He is Sergeant Bordon, the demolitions specialist assigned to the special warfare squad. He was suffering from a gunshot wound and was unconscious, so we evacuated him here and sent him to the medical unit."
He had to be kept alive somehow in order to extract information about the enemy, so it was a natural measure.
Still, Daniel felt an odd sympathy knowing that Sergeant Bordon had been taken to the medical unit.
"......Then who is currently treating Sergeant Bordon?"
"Captain Frien."
At the mention of Frien's name, Daniel let out a low sigh.
Even though the man was clearly nothing more than an enemy who had come to harm friendly forces, the fact that he had been entrusted to Frien stirred a sense of pity within him.
"Poor bastard."
Lucy, understanding what Daniel meant, nodded silently.
*
"......ou okay?"
A gentle voice tickled his ear.
As his consciousness began to return, Bordon slowly opened his eyes.
What came into his blurry vision was a lightbulb hanging from the ceiling, emitting a soft light.
Just as he was wondering where he was, someone grabbed his shoulder and gave it a light shake.
"Are you okay?"
This time, the voice came through much more clearly.
Turning his gaze, Bordon saw a woman with long, flowing locks of light brown hair.
He could see worry reflected in her dark eyes beneath her classic eyelashes.
Her skin was smooth, without a single blemish, and her full lips bore a pale hue like cherry blossom petals.
Moreover, though she wore a tidy knit that completely covered her chest, it failed to conceal the curves unique to a mature woman.
He could not take his eyes off her.
As he stared as though bewitched, the woman smiled warmly.
"What a relief. Do you know how worried I was that you might never wake up again?"
Thanks to the warmth in her words, it felt as though his heart was being healed.
Lowering his gaze, Bordon saw that his body was wrapped in bandages.
There was a faint lingering pain, but that was all.
Realizing that his gunshot wound had completely healed, Bordon looked at the woman, unable to hide his surprise.
"Did you treat me?"
"Of course. You lost a lot of blood, and the gunshot wound was so deep I wondered if it would even work, but I managed to save you somehow."
"Huh. So you're my lifesaver, then."
When he was discovered by the Imperial Army and shot, he had thought he would simply die, unable to move.
But since he had survived, it was only natural to feel gratitude toward the woman in front of him.
"What's your name? My name is Bordon."
"My name is Frien."
"Frien. A name as beautiful as your appearance. Thank you for saving me, in any case. I will never forget this kindness."
"Saying that makes me feel somewhat shy. I only did what I was supposed to do."
Hearing Frien's answer, Bordon could not help but express his admiration.
'I thought she was only beautiful on the outside, but there's not a single sharp corner in her heart either.'
If angels existed in heaven, they probably resembled the woman before him.
Bordon, who had been lost in idle thoughts, shook his head to clear his mind and sat up.
His body felt light, almost as if he had not been shot at all.
Satisfied after clenching and unclenching his fist and rolling his shoulders lightly, Bordon opened his mouth.
"My body feels fine, so it seems there's no need to lie down any longer. By any chance, you didn't see my equipment when you brought me here, did you? I assume those Imperial bastards took it, but I'm asking just in case."
Instead of answering, Frien merely wore a smile of unknown meaning.
"......Is that so. It doesn't matter even if I don't have the equipment. You've cared for me so exceptionally well, so I shouldn't be hoping for anything more. More importantly, I think I should be going now."
"Going?"
"Yes. I can't tell you, a mere civilian, but I have my own business to attend to. I'm not sure if I'll manage it alone, but I have to try. So, won't you move aside?"
Frien blinked several times, as if flustered.
"What? I'm afraid that really won't do?"
"I'm in perfectly fine condition right now. I don't need any more treatment. So why won't it do?"
"Well, it's just that......."
Frien smiled an awkward smile.
"It's because from now on, you'll be tortured by me."
A silence fell between the two.
"......What?"
He wondered if she was joking, but Frien was looking at Bordon with utter seriousness.
Only then, with an inexplicable sense of alienation, did it dawn on Bordon.
'This is something.......'
Something had gone absolutely, profoundly wrong.