Don't Tell Me, Company Commander, You Were Aiming for This?

Lucy's intuition sounded an alarm.

That the woman before her ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was dangerous.

Because her eyes, which seemed to pierce straight through anyone, held a certain madness.

But Lucy did not lose her calm.

What would change just because she was suspected? Nothing.

"Make clear what you wish to say, Cadet Frien. Are you saying I've committed a crime? Or are you saying I'm lying."

Frien's pupils trembled once.

Though she had probed half in doubt, she hadn't expected Lucy to respond so composedly.

Rising from her seat, Frien put on an awkward smile.

"Second Lieutenant? I was merely sharing my experience. According to my experience......."

"I see. Accumulating experience in all things is important. Because it provides a basis for judgment. However, where exactly did you learn this 'experience' of suspecting others without any basis or evidence?"

They were polite but barbed words.

Lucy was asking whether taking an insolent attitude toward a superior was also something learned from her experience.

That was an insult to the family that had educated Frien, and it belittled Frien's very humanity.

Frien was not unaware of Lucy's intention, either.

At that, one eyebrow of the smiling Frien twitched.

Jjaekkak─

In the silence that settled once more, the sound of the clock's second hand echoed emptily.

In the chilly atmosphere, where anything could have happened, the familiar sound of boots drew closer.

The moment Frien reflexively turned, the office door opened and Daniel entered.

"Captain!"

"You've come, sir."

Frien brightened and saluted, and Lucy also rose from her seat to snap a salute.

Daniel, having returned the salutes, paused before conveying the Deputy Chief of Staff's words.

'What's this?'

The air inside the office felt strangely heavy.

'Is it just my mood?'

It was slightly unsettling, but it wasn't important now, so he decided to let it slide.

"Cadet Frien. I've discussed your situation with the Deputy Chief of Staff. He said that while mere cadets are not normally permitted on the battlefield, he'll make a special exception this once as part of training."

Frien did not look greatly surprised.

It was because she had calculated that since the personnel department had already given a definitive answer, the Deputy Chief of Staff above them would naturally approve as well.

Still, hearing it directly from Daniel's own mouth was not so bad.

"I'll do my best! Captain Daniel!"

Daniel, who had been looking at the triumphantly speaking Frien with a somewhat uncomfortable expression, turned his gaze toward Lucy.

"And Second Lieutenant Lucy. It's been confirmed that you will also join the Northern Front Army as my adjutant. So both of you prepare your gear and get ready to go north. We'll set out as soon as the personnel are assembled."

The two gave Daniel a crisp salute signifying they understood.

As Daniel accepted the salutes, Frien smoothly turned her gaze toward Lucy.

"Coincidentally, we'll be spending time together for a while. Second Lieutenant Lucy."

Lucy also did not avoid Frien's gaze, narrowing her eyes sharply.

"Indeed. How very coincidental."

At that murderous atmosphere, Daniel couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat.

'What the hell is it with you two?'

He couldn't understand at all why they were baring their teeth and growling at each other.

*

As soon as the company assembled at General Headquarters, after a brief speech, I exchanged names and ranks with the junior officers who would be my subordinates and we set out at once.

......I had wondered what to do if Lucy and Frien fought on the way to the Northern Front Army, but fortunately, no direct clash occurred between the two.

Of course, occasional minor friction did arise, but each time I gave a warning and mediated, so the war of nerves didn't lead to a firearms accident.

The problem was that despite mediating several times during the month-long march to the northern outpost base, the embers of discord showed no sign of dying out.

"How about sleeping if you're tired? Since I can fully handle the role of Second Lieutenant Lucy."

"A crow-tit by birth claiming to imitate a stork, I'd like to praise you for that."

I, sitting in the passenger seat of the officer vehicle, observed Lucy and Frien through the rearview mirror.

Contrary to their barbed words, both wore placid expressions.

Frien was even wearing a benevolent smile.

But listening in on their conversation was almost suffocating.

Even the driver beside me was glancing furtively into the rearview mirror, his face filled with 'Why on earth are you fighting?'

'Worn out.'

Now, even mediating the fight felt tiresome.

I let out a sigh and looked out the window, confirming that the sun was already setting.

"We'll halt here."

At my words, the driver stepped on the brake and said.

"Are we making camp here today?"

"Yeah."

The officer vehicle, slowly decelerating, came to a complete stop.

I opened the door, stepped outside, and quickly surveyed the surroundings.

Amidst the dense, bare-branched trees, I spotted a clearing big enough for about 200 soldiers to lie down.

There was water nearby too, which made it convenient for water supply.

Moreover, the chilly ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠wind seemed to pierce right through the officer's winter coat.

Exhaling a cold-laced breath, I frowned.

'Even though it's summer, this place isn't much different from winter.'

The only difference from when I had come north before was that the snow had melted somewhat.

This must be why, from the military leadership's perspective, they wanted to end the war before summer passed.

Because if the summer weather was like this, once winter came, soldiers dying of frostbite during the march would surely become a daily occurrence.

'Even among my soldiers now.......'

There were two soldiers who had nearly fallen behind, unable to endure the cold.

Though they were fine now.

When I turned my head slightly, I saw over two hundred soldiers in Imperial Army uniforms standing halted behind the military vehicles, on standby.

The driver who walked over to them conveyed my orders to the platoon leader.

The platoon leader who heard the order turned around and shouted loudly.

Then the soldiers moved in perfect order and entered the clearing.

The soldiers who entered the clearing set down their field packs and began pulling out military tents and setting them up.

A few were retrieving combat rations from the transport truck that doubled as a food storehouse to get the meal started.

As I was watching that sight with my hands behind my back, two platoon leaders strode up to me.

Good timing. There was something I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠needed them to do.

"Lieutenant Mekkel. Take two fast soldiers and reconnoiter the nearby terrain. There's a high hill nearby, so climb it and look around."

"Sir! Yes, sir!"

Mekkel, who saluted immediately, called two soldiers who had been setting up tents and disappeared beyond the forest.

Now I'd bought myself a little time, but Sergeant Glendi wouldn't leave me alone.

"Company Commander. Isn't it too early to camp?"

He had a fairly young face, as if he'd recently been promoted to sergeant.

To put it a bit dramatically, his appearance was so boyish that the traces of boyhood hadn't yet fully faded.

It was a face full of some kind of dissatisfaction, but I answered as leisurely as possible.

"Sergeant. Don't you know that preserving the soldiers' stamina is the most important thing on the battlefield?"

"I understand that, but...... the original estimated time of arrival at the outpost base was five days ago. Five days have passed since the estimated time, and I don't know if we can afford to be at ease."

I nodded, signaling him to continue.

Then the sergeant, as if his earlier passion had cooled, hesitated but clenched his fist and said.

"I wondered why we were delayed by five days. As a result of checking our current location using map reading, this location is not a straight line to the outpost base. I judge that the Company Commander is deliberately taking a detour."

Of course. Because even when there was a main road, he'd deliberately take a side path, and even when he could take a side path, he'd move through rough terrain.

The reason was simple.

'Because if we join even a little later, we can be deployed to the battlefield later.'

Joining early just meant fighting and dying early.

Did he not know this obvious logic?

Well, Sergeant Glendi was a die-hard who would gladly give his life for the Empire.

Not as much as Frien, but he was a case whose brain was polluted by the nationalist spirit to some degree.

As I, who found that pitiful, let out a chuckle, Sergeant Glendi snapped.

"Company Commander! Are you laughing now? I didn't want to mention this much, but the soldiers are also doubting the Company Commander! They're saying that because you're a desk jockey from General Headquarters, you're a coward avoiding the battlefield, and that talk is circulating openly!"

That was welcome news as I listened.

Because the lower my evaluation got, the less General Headquarters would entrust operational support to me.

Of course, since I couldn't reveal these inner thoughts, I decided to talk around it appropriately.

"If you are distracted by the trees, you cannot see the forest. Explaining the forest to someone whose eyes are fixed only on the trees—they wouldn't understand. That is your limit, Sergeant Glendi."

"What on earth does that......."

While Sergeant Glendi was dumbfounded, Lieutenant Mekkel returned from beyond the forest.

He had returned after completing the reconnaissance.

But somehow his face was flushed.

Just as I was wondering what it could be, Lieutenant Mekkel approached me and spoke in a voice trembling with excitement.

"Company Commander! I've—I've found them! An enemy supply unit preparing to camp! From what I understand, even the Intelligence Department couldn't pin down those bastards' supply route......! As expected, you were circling the area searching for this!"

......What is he saying? Why on earth is an enemy supply unit here?

While I was baffled, Sergeant Glendi's eyes took on a militant gleam.

"Is that true? No way, the Company Commander was aiming for this from the beginning......."

Sergeant Glendi's dissatisfied expression turned to awe.

"I'm sorry! I was rude!"

I felt bewildered looking at Sergeant Glendi bowing his head as if seeking forgiveness.

Just as I thought things were taking a strange turn, I met Frien's gaze. She was nearby.

The respect in her eyes was honestly burdensome.

On top of that, the two platoon leaders were also treating me like some kind of genius staff officer.

It felt like crossing a river of no return.

If I ordered them not ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to attack the enemy here, I might get collectively beaten by these nationalist lunatics.......

Unable to help it, I grabbed the brim of my service cap.

"Pass the word to all troops."

Pulling my service cap down low, I said with a suppressed sigh.

"......To prepare to sweep up the little rats."