Chapter 51: Where the Mountains Once Stood
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 51: Where the Mountains Once Stood
After hearing about weapon specifications in the troop transport for one 20km lap, and then deciding the seatbelt wasn't safe enough in the passenger seat, I did another 20km lap with Mom’s soft breast airbags cushioning the back of my neck.
As if that wasn't enough, I experienced a 30km mountain course, 20km of paved roads, 10km of snowy paths, and even a deep-water fording. By the time we finished, lunch had turned into dinner time.
“Soldier Noona! You’re so cool!”
I ran up to the Staff Sergeant who had worked hard today and shared a bit of the "reward" for her labor. The short-haired soldier froze up, not knowing what to do, but within three seconds, she was grinning ear to ear and hugging me.
“I also have subordinates who know how to drive armored vehicles,” the Red Dragon chimed in, failing to read the room as usual. It was best to just ignore her.
Anyway, for the sake of the soldier who worked hard today, "I"—possessing a demonic beauty and aura that could turn even someone with normal tastes into a shotacon—acted a bit cute for the NCO who looked to be in her early thirties.
“Noona, you were so~ cool! I want to be a soldier just like you! Staff Sergeant! You’re the best! Staff Sergeant!”
“Hehe, right, right. But I’m still just a Junior Staff Sergeant, sweetie.”
It seemed that even in this gender-reversed world, soldiers couldn't escape looking older than their years if they spent too much time under the sun. I remembered how much I followed a Warrant Officer who looked like my grandparent back in my first life.
Just like when I realized the supervisor was younger than my father while writing a personnel report, it seemed soldiers suffered everywhere.
“Junior Staff Sergeant, good work. I’m granting you combat leave for tomorrow and the day after. Get some rest.”
The Junior Staff Sergeant looked like she wanted to talk to me a bit more, but our Brigadier General quickly shooed her out of the office.
“Son, did you have fun?” Hindel asked.
Instead of answering, I buried my face in Mom’s chest.
“Son, are you hurting?”
“He must be sleepy. I think he’s too tired to answer...”
Mom began to respond to the dragon in my stead. I had to maintain a proper distance with the dragon. Lately, I’d been feeling an instinctive sense of crisis that if I wasn't careful, I might end up in a mother-son threesome.
“I want to hold him too, Ame.”
“...He says he doesn't want to right now.”
As I shook my head side to side against Mom’s chest, her internal translator worked perfectly. I had been excited to experience all sorts of things with the driving-specialist Noona, but my childish body was exhausted as the price for playing all day.
I didn't have the stamina to humor Hindel. No matter how much suspension and magitech had advanced, a troop transport was still a military vehicle, and it made sure I knew it.
“...If it wasn't fun, I’ll cancel tomorrow’s schedule.”
I was going to let it slide, but the soldier Noona was trying to pull a fast one.
“I can’t ride the robots and tanks...?”
I pulled away from Mom’s embrace and hugged Hindel.
I had no choice. Unless I actually joined the military, I didn't see another chance to ride awesome tanks and bipedal walkers. I was tired, annoyed, and exhausted, but it was time for some emotional labor.
“Did you hear that? Countess, make the preparations.”
“Dammit...”
Cassia’s face crumpled into a deep scowl.
We were supposed to have dinner at the hotel, but the soldier Auntie—no, correction—the soldier Noona said she had prepared something and invited us to a cabin overlooking a large river.
I felt a strange sense of déjà vu. In times like this, I needed to verify.
“Wow~ Did your subordinates build this house, Noona?”
“Yeah, I asked them to build it, and they were all happy to do it,” the crazy Brigadier General boasted about exploiting her soldiers. I felt like spitting.
“Isn't that illegal?”
Good job, Mom. High-ranking officers who mistreated their soldiers and subordinates were no different from a social plague. I felt like she should just go ahead and arrest her.
“That’s for the regular army. These are my private troops. Why don't you say that to your girlfriend who's always squeezing her own subordinates dry?”
At Cassia’s words, I spat the saliva I was going to aim at her right at Hindel’s feet instead.
“Do you have phlegm? You must be cold.”
Hindel pulled a coat that fit me perfectly out of subspace and put it on me. It was warmer than the windbreaker with heating functions that Morian used to give me. It felt like a warm breeze was blowing.
“Wow~ This is so warm~!”
I clung to Hindel’s thigh and rubbed my face against it. In the service industry, you had to treat the customer according to the gift they gave. Seeing Hindel’s satisfied smile, I gave her a bright grin in return. Emotional labor was truly difficult.
“It’s quite a nice villa. It’ll be great to visit in the winter.”
“You’re welcome to visit often. Except for that dragon.”
Our Brigadier General seemed to have a lot of grievances against Hindel.
“Hindel, Hindel, why does Cassia Noona hate you?”
“...See that mountain?”
Hindel pointed to a massive, U-shaped mountain.
“Yeah!!!!”
“That’s a scar left from when I fought your maternal grandmother.”
I blinked, not understanding for a moment. Cassia let out a long sigh and crouched down to match my eye level.
“Look, kid. See, this is what the scenery used to look like.”
She waved her hand lightly, and a translucent map appeared in the air. It showed mountain ridges that looked even denser than the Gangwon-do mountain range.
“And this is the landscape after she fought with Her Excellency Degrain.”
She flicked her fingers, and only a plain and the U-shaped mountain remained.
“Didn't you also level the remaining mountains for your development project?”
“This crazy bitch, seriously... Phew, I have to hold back in front of the kid.”
“Now, now, both of you stop. Stop. What are you doing in front of the child? Cassia, you said you wouldn't fight. Same goes for you, Hindel.”
They both looked like they had a lot to say, but Mom mediated. I had to help out a bit in times like this.
“If Hindel fights, you’re not my Mama! You’re not my Mom! You’re just a Noona! You’re a mean dragon!”
“...I apologize for this matter, Countess.”
Perhaps the training was working, as the dragon apologized submissively. Cassia’s eyes widened so much her silver pupils looked like they might pop out.
“...You actually apologized? I’ll accept that apology, Dame Vurdia.”
Cassia stared at Hindel with her clear silver eyes before turning her gaze to me.
“Don't covet my son.”
Hindel growled, hiding me behind her hip.
“Crazy bitch... Fine, let’s just eat. I told the kids, so everything inside is ready. We just need to grill the meat. Our Yong-hwan, since you’re in the North, you should taste some wild boar from the Garcia Mountain Range, right?”
“Wild boar meat is gamey!”
“Oh! You’ve tried it? We’ve already done the primary processing using a traditional method to remove the smell, so you can look forward to it, cutie.”
Cassia pressed down and stroked my head. Unlike Mom’s friends, she used so much force that my head was pushed down. It was the clumsiness of someone who had never handled a child.
I was starting to remember what kind of woman Cassia was. She was a radical who believed men only listened when they were beaten properly.
Since I was educating Morian and Alicia well, they would eventually learn the obvious common sense that you shouldn't hit men, but this soldier Noona was physically too far away to learn such things.
“Okay! Cassia Noona! Thank you for inviting me to a place like this!”
“Polite and well-behaved. It’s strange that you’re as interested in equipment as the girls, but I guess you’re raising him well, Ame.”
At Cassia’s praise, Mom’s shoulders puffed up with pride. Her aggressive chest became even more emphasized.
“Stop thrusting your chest out, you wench.”
Cassia poked her as if they were playing a game of tag with their nipples. I thought Hindel would throw a fit, but she just watched, seemingly used to it.
“...I wish the others could have come too,” Mom added regretfully, stepping back while covering her chest with one arm.
“If they came, they’d just say traditional methods are outdated and wouldn't even let us taste this, right?”
Following Cassia inside, I saw a large brazier and a pile of meat that looked like it had been pre-cooked.
“To be honest, it’s not that delicious.”
At Hindel’s remark, the corners of Cassia’s smiling mouth twitched.
“I like unique flavors. Do you hate it, Hindel?”
“...I also like unique flavors. And it’s not Hindel, it’s Hindel Mama.”
The Dragon Lord was persistent. It seemed I had trained her a bit too much with the womb-fucking.
“Ame. What on earth happened for the kid to have two moms?”
“I’m not sure myself. It seems too sincere to be just one of Hindel’s whims. Well, my son likes it too, so I’m just leaving it be since it doesn't seem to matter.”
The Brigadier General and the Police Executive were talking about the crazy mafia dragon. It wasn't that I liked Hindel and treated her this way.
It was an effort to raise her well so she’d give me plenty of allowance, buy me whatever I wanted, and become a future secret friend I could call on for some heavy play.
Besides, it wasn't all good; it was a dangerous tightrope walk where I had to manage the risk of ending up in a mother-son 3P.
To Mom, she probably just looked like a lesbian friend who really, really liked her friend’s son, but the danger this crazy yakuza dragon posed wasn't that innocent!
“Here, eat. It’s a bit dry, but the taste isn't bad.”
Without any sense of hygiene, Hindel tore the pre-cooked meat into bite-sized pieces with her bare hands and held it to my mouth. I turned my head away.
“Hmm, shall we go to my restaurant instead?”
Hindel said, once again failing to read the room.
I dodged the dragon and hugged Mom.
“Mom! I’m hungry!”
The Red Dragon looked at me like an abandoned puppy with her shoulders slumped, but I ignored her. Watching this, Mom chuckled and sat me on her lap.